איוב, פרק כ״ד, פסוק י״ז

Wicked individuals, such as thieves and adulterers, exist in a reversed psychological reality where they share a common mindset and fate [מצודת דוד]. For them, the natural order of the world is entirely flipped. Daylight serves as a source of intense anxiety, while the deep darkness of the night becomes their safe haven.

The primary approach among commentators is that dawn brings terror and gloom to these criminals. They hate and fear the morning light just as ordinary people fear the dark of night. Consequently, they spend their days hiding and locked away in their homes [רמב״ן, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The morning is associated with the darkness of the grave [מצודת ציון], bringing about a deathly confusion and a paralyzing dread that feels as terrifying as an encounter with demons or harmful spirits [מצודת ציון, תקות אנוש, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This intense dread of the morning stems from several interconnected reasons. Primarily, there is a deep fear of human recognition. As daylight breaks and people can clearly see one another, criminals are terrified of being identified and caught. To them, this fear of human discovery is as severe as the fear of death or demonic forces [מצודת דוד, רלב״ג, רמב״ן, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, morning is the time when the crimes committed under the cover of darkness are finally exposed. A victim wakes up to find their home emptied, realizing the horrors that took place overnight. As the morning brings discovery and outcry from the victims, the thief is forced into hiding to avoid being hunted down [מלבי״ם, אלשיך].

This behavior reveals a striking theological irony. The thief completely ignores the ever-watchful eye of God, who sees everything done in the dark. Instead, his only concern is the judgment of other people who might discover his actions in the light of day [אלשיך]. However, another perspective notes that God is the one who truly recognizes their actions, knowing that their fitting punishment is this exact experience of deathly fear [תקות אנוש]. This fear of the morning also foreshadows their future punishment. The criminals who gather to divide their stolen goods in the morning will eventually be punished together on one morning, meeting their ultimate death [תקות אנוש].

A unique approach views this dynamic from a slightly different angle, highlighting the dark courage of these criminals. They are so accustomed to operating in the shadows that they are completely unfazed by the typical dangers of the night. Even if they encounter terrifying spirits in the dark, they feel no fear. Instead, they act with calculated cunning. During the day, they secretly mark the homes of the wealthy using the scent of balsam. Then, at night, they break into these homes freely. They have absolutely no fear of the night or its dangers; their only true terror is the light of day [רש״י].