A common misinterpretation views the thick darkness as a place where God literally hides or resides in obscurity, suggesting He is secretive or unapproachable, which neglects the symbolic representation of His transcendent holiness and glory that veils His presence from sinful eyes; others wrongly assume the people's distance was ideal behavior, promoting a distant piety rather than the biblical call to draw near through faith and mediation, or twist it to endorse mystical practices involving darkness as a spiritual realm, divorced from the context of God's self-revelation at Sinai.
Exodus 20:21
King James Version (1769)
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:21 captures the awe-inspiring holiness of God manifested in thick darkness on Mount Sinai, causing the people to stand at a respectful distance out of reverent fear after hearing the Ten Commandments, while Moses courageously draws near as their mediator to receive further revelation from God, highlighting the tension between divine majesty that overwhelms humanity and the privileged access granted to a faithful intermediary, which ultimately points forward to Jesus Christ as the ultimate bridge between God and people.