Psalm 88/Notes/Lexical.V. 13.28277

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  • v. 11, 13: singular of פֶּלֶא as a collective noun
See note under v. 11.
  • v. 13: חֹשֶׁךְ used figuratively
The direct context of חֹשֶׁךְ, namely vv. 12-13 each of which appear in parallel, reveals a sequence of places which serve as the locations of each its respective clauses: בקבר, באבדון and בארץ נשיה. It therefore calls for a similar reading of בחשך, metonymically, as "place of darkness" or "dark region" referring to the world of the dead, rather than as a natural phenomenon in our world, namely "at night, when it's dark". This reading is backed by NET and NIV.