Word

ὀφθαλμός

ophthalmós · G3788 · Greek · 100 occurrences

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Meanings

eye

Eye, normally including the eyelids

Examples
Matthew 5:29 “Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Matthew 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘EYE FOR EYE, and TOOTH FOR TOOTH.’
Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
seeing, sight

(A figurative extension of meaning of ὀφθαλμός ‘eye,’) The capacity to see

Examples
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?
Mark 12:11 THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?”
Acts 1:9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight.
to be able to understand, to come to perceive, understanding

(A figurative extension of meaning of ὀφθαλμός ‘eye,’) Capacity to understand as the result of perception

Examples
Luke 19:42 saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
John 12:40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND SO I WILL NOT HEAL THEM.”
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
(An idiom, literally: evil eye) A feeling of jealousy and resentment because of what someone else has or does (jealous(y))

Examples
Matthew 20:15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
Mark 7:22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
stingy, miserly

(An idiom, literally: evil eye) To be stingy

Examples
Matthew 6:23 “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Matthew 20:15 ‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
Mark 7:22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
to have become very sleepy, to be very sleepy

(Idioms, literally: their eyes were weighed down) To become excessively or exceedingly sleepy

Examples
Matthew 26:43 Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
Mark 14:40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to say in reply to Him.
to refuse to learn, to refuse to recognize

(An idiom, literally: to close the eyes) To be unwilling to learn and to evaluate something fairly

Examples
Matthew 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’
Acts 28:27 FOR THE HEARTS OF THIS PEOPLE HAVE BECOME INSENSITIVE, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY HARDLY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.”’
to cause to not understand, to make unable to comprehend

(An idiom, literally: to blind the eyes) To cause someone to no longer have the capacity for understanding

Examples
John 12:40 “HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WILL NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED, AND SO I WILL NOT HEAL THEM.”
1 John 2:11 But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

How it’s used In 9 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

71 occurrences in 10 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 30
σύyou 22
ἐγώI, we 8
ἀδελφόςbrother 4
Other words · 6 groups that occur once or twice (7) 7

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

8 occurrences in 8 groups

δύοtwo 2
δεξιόςright 1
ἀκατάπαυστοςnever ceasing 1
ἑπτάseven 1
ἴδιοςone’s own 1
μεστόςvery full 1

Named alongside itApposition

7 occurrences in 4 groups

κάρφοςspeck 4
δοκόςbeam 1
εἰμίto be 1
βλέπωto see 1

What it doesIt is the subject

18 occurrences in 10 groups

ἀνοίγωto open 4
εἰμίto be 3
σκανδαλίζωto cause to stumble, to offend 3
Other words · 7 groups that occur once or twice (8) 8

What is done to itIt is the object

38 occurrences in 15 groups

ἀνοίγωto open 10
ἐπαίρωto lift up, to raise 7
ἔχωto have 6
Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15

What it is said to bePredicate

9 occurrences in 5 groups

μακάριοςblessed, happy 2
πονηρόςevil, wicked, bad 2
φλόξflame 2
ἁπλοῦςsound, healthy 2
δίκαιοςrighteous 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

5 occurrences in 4 groups

λύχνοςlamp 2
δοκόςbeam 1
σῶμαbody 1
φόβοςfear 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

25 occurrences in 7 groups

ἐκfrom 12
ἐνin 10
ἐπίon 6
ἀπόfrom 6
κατάaccording to, against, down 3
ἀντίfor, instead of 1

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

2 occurrences in 2 groups

ἐπιθυμίαdesire, lust 1
ῥιπήblinking 1

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

In the other Testament 2 words

עַיִן ʻayin · H5869 · eye, proof of innocence, vindication: עַיִן (ʻayin, H5869) and ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós, G3788) both denote the physical eye and share the same figurative extensions (vision, perspective, judgment, envy); ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós, G3788) is the standard LXX rendering of עַיִן (ʻayin, H5869) across literal and metaphorical uses.
עַיִן ʻayin · H5870 · eye: Greek ὀφθαλμός and Hebrew עַיִן are direct translation equivalents denoting 'eye' in both literal (physical organ of sight) and figurative (vision, perspective, attitude) senses, with substantial alignment attestation reflecting genuine cross-linguistic semantic correspondence.

Semantic domains 8 entries

To have become very sleepy, to be very sleepy23.69: This domain covers ὀφθαλμός within the idiom of heavy-laden eyes signaling overwhelming sleepiness, as Jesus returns a second time to find His disciples asleep in Gethsemane: “Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.” (Matthew 26:43)
Seeing, sight24.16: Here ὀφθαλμός names the plain faculty of sight itself, as the healed blind man testifies before the Pharisees: “here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes!” (John 9:30)
To refuse to learn, to refuse to recognize27.50: This domain covers ὀφθαλμός within Jesus' rebuke of willful spiritual blindness, quoting Isaiah: “and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15)
To be able to understand, to come to perceive, understanding32.24: Here ὀφθαλμός names the eyes as the organ of inner spiritual perception, as Paul prays for the Ephesians: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling.” (Ephesians 1:18)
To cause to not understand, to make unable to comprehend32.25: This domain covers ὀφθαλμός within the idiom of eyes deliberately darkened against understanding, as Paul quotes the psalmist concerning Israel's hardening: “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” (Romans 11:8)
Stingy, miserly57.108: Here ὀφθαλμός appears in the idiom of a 'bad eye' meaning stinginess, as Jesus contrasts a generous eye with a begrudging one: “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Matthew 6:23)
Eye8.23: This domain covers ὀφθαλμός naming the literal physical eye, as Jesus rebukes hypocritical judgment: “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:4)
Jealous(y)88.165: Here ὀφθαλμός appears in the idiom of an 'evil eye' meaning envy, as Jesus answers the workers who begrudge the landowner's generosity: “Is your eye envious because I am generous?” (Matthew 20:15)

Word family 33 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

ὁράω horáō · G3708 · to see, sight, seeing · 682×ὀφθαλμόςophthalmós · G3788ἐνώπιον enṓpion · G1799 · in front of, before, in the sight of · 94×πρόσωπον prósōpon · G4383 · face, person, individual · 76×ὅραμα hórama · G3705 · something seen, sight, vision · 11×ἀόρατος aóratos · G517 · what cannot be seen, invisible · 5×ὀπτασία optasía · G3701 · vision · 4×ὅρασις hórasis · G3706 · vision, appearance · 4×προοράω prooráō · G4308 · to see beforehand to have seen previously, to know beforehand, to know already · 4×προσωποληψία prosōpolēpsía · G4382 · to show favoritism, to be partial, partiality · 4×φρουρέω phrouréō · G5432 · to guard against, to keep under watch, to watch over · 4×κατενώπιον katenṓpion · G2714 · in front of, before, in the sight of · 3×ὄψις ópsis · G3799 · face, outward appearance, external form · 3×Αἰθίοψ Aithíops · G128 · an Ethiopian · 2×ἀφοράω aphoráō · G872 · to think about, to fix one’s attention on, to learn about · 2×ἐποπτεύω epopteúō · G2029 · to observe, to see, to watch · 2×ἔσοπτρον ésoptron · G2072 · mirror · 2×ὄμμα ómma · G3659 · eye (normally including the eyelids) · 2×ὀφθαλμοδουλεία ophthalmodouleía · G3787 · eyeservice · 2×σκυθρωπός skythrōpós · G4659 · sad, gloomy · 2×ὑπωπιάζω hypōpiázō · G5299 · to annoy and wear out, to wear someone down by annoying, to keep under control · 2×ἀντοφθαλμέω antophthalméō · G503 · to face · 1×ἀπροσωπολήπτως aprosōpolḗptōs · G678 · impartially, in an impartial manner · 1×αὐτόπτης autóptēs · G845 · eyewitness, personal witness · 1×ἐπόπτης epóptēs · G2030 · eyewitness, personal witness · 1×εὐπροσωπέω euprosōpéō · G2146 · to wish to show off, to make a good showing · 1×καθοράω kathoráō · G2529 · to learn about, to perceive clearly · 1×κατοπτρίζομαι katoptrízomai · G2734 · to see as in a mirror, to see by reflection, to reflect · 1×ὀπτάνομαι optánomai · G3700 · to be seen by, to be visible to · 1×ὁρατός horatós · G3707 · what can be seen, visible · 1×προσωποληπτέω prosōpolēptéō · G4380 · to show favoritism, to be partial, partiality · 1×προσωπολήπτης prosōpolḗptēs · G4381 · one who shows favoritism, a respecter of persons · 1×

Also from the root ὁράω

μονόφθαλμος monóphthalmos · G3442 · one-eyed, blind in one eye · 2×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon ὀφθαλμοῦ, ὁ (from the root, ὀπ, to see; allied to ὄψις, ὄψομαι, etc.; Curtius, § 627),…

ὀφθαλμοῦ, ὁ (from the root, ὀπ, to see; allied to ὄψις, ὄψομαι, etc.; Curtius, § 627), the Sept. for עַיִן (from Homer down), the eye: Mt 5:38; Mt 6:22; Mk 9:47; Lk 11:34; Jn 9:6; 1 Cor 12:16; Rev 7:17; Rev 21:4, and often; ῤιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ, 1 Cor 15:52; οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου εἶδον (see the remark in γλῶσσα, 1), Lk 2:30; cf. Lk 4:20; Lk 10:23; Mt 13:16; 1 Cor 2:9; Rev 1:7; (ἀνέβλεψαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί Mt 20:34 R G); ἰδεῖν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, Mt 13:15; Jn 12:40; Acts 28:27; ὁρᾶν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς (see ὁράω, 1), 1 Jn 1:1; ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, desire excited by seeing, 1 Jn 2:16. Since the eye is the index of the mind, the following phrases have arisen: ὀφθαλμός σου πονηρός ἐστιν, i. e. thou art envious, Mt 20:15; ὀφθαλμός πονηρός, envy, Mk 7:22 (עַיִן רַע, an envious man, Prov 23:6; Prov 28:22; cf. Sir. 34:13; בְּאָחִיך עֵינֲך רָעָה, thine eye is evil toward thy brother, i. e. thou enviest (grudgest) thy brother, Deut 15:9; ὀφθαλμός πονηρός φθονερός ἐπ' ἄρτῳ, Sir. 14:10; μή φθονεσάτω σου ὁ ὀφθαλμός, Tobit 4:7; the opposite, ἀγαθός ὀφθαλμός, is used of a willing mind, Sir. 32:10, 12 (Sir. 35:10, 12)); on the other hand, ὀφθαλμός πονηρός in Mt 6:23 is a diseased, disordered eye, just as we say a bad eye, a bad finger (see πονηρός, 2 a. (where Lk 11:34)). κρατεῖν τούς ὀφθαλμούς τοῦ μή κτλ. (A. V. to hold the eyes i. e.) to prevent one from recognizing another, Lk 24:16; ὑπολαμβάνω τινα ἀπό τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τίνος, by receiving one to withdraw him from another's sight (A. V. received him out of their sight), Acts 1:9. Metaphorically, of the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowing: ἐκρύβη ἀπό τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν σου, hidden from thine eyes, i. e. concealed from thee (cf. Buttmann, 320 (274)), Lk 19:42; διδόναι τίνι ὀφθαλμούς τοῦ μή βλέπειν, to crease one to be slow to understand, Rom 11:8 (cf. Buttmann, 267 (230)); τυφλουν τούς ὀφθαλμούς τίνος, Jn 12:40; 1 Jn 2:11; σκοτιζονται οἱ ὀφθαλμοί Rom 11:10; πεφωτίσμενοι ὀφθαλμοί τῆς διανοίας (cf. Buttmann, § 145, 6), Eph 1:18 Rec.; τῆς καρδίας (as in Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 36, 2 [ET]), ibid. G L T Tr WH; ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τίνος (פּ בְּעֵינֵי (cf. Buttmann, § 146, 1 at the end)), in the judgment (cf. our view) of one, Mt 21:42; Mk 12:11; οὐκ ἐστι τί ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τίνος, to neglect a thing (cf. our leave, put, out of sight), Rom 3:18; γυμνόν ἐστι τί τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τίνος (see γυμνός, 2 a.), Heb 4:13; οἱ ὀφθαλμοί τοῦ κυρίου ἐπί δικαίους (namely, επι( (or απο() βλέπουσιν, which is added in Ps 10:4), are (fixed) upon the righteous, i. e. the Lord looks after, provides for them, 1 Pet 3:12. Other phrases in which ὀφθαλμός occurs may be found under ἀνοίγω, p. 48{b}, ἁπλοῦς, διανοίγω 1, ἐξορύσσω 1, ἐπαίρω, p. 228^a, καμμύω, μοιχαλίς a., προγράφω2

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 7 entries

Parts of the Body75 occurrences Sleep, Waking2 occurrences See11 occurrences Be Willing To Learn2 occurrences Capacity for Understanding8 occurrences Give3 occurrences Envy, Jealousy2 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0