What does חָזוֹן (ḥāzôn) mean in the Bible?
Vision describes a communicated or perceived message whose source and content the surrounding text must establish. Isaiah identifies his vision as concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Hebrew · H2377
חָזוֹן
Vision describes a communicated or perceived message whose source and content the surrounding text must establish. Isaiah identifies his vision as concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
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חָזוֹןH2377
Pronunciationḥāzôn
What does חָזוֹן (ḥāzôn) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for חָזוֹן (H2377) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H2377?
The BSB source-word alignment has 35 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the vision (8), vision (7), a vision (3), [This is] the vision (2), in the vision (2).
Where does חָזוֹן (ḥāzôn) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Samuel 3:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Daniel (12), Ezekiel (7), Habakkuk (2), Isaiah (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Vision describes a communicated or perceived message whose source and content the surrounding text must establish. Isaiah identifies his vision as concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Habakkuk is commanded to write a particular vision clearly and wait for its appointed fulfillment. First Samuel says visions were scarce in those days, while Jeremiah warns about prophets speaking visions from their own minds rather than from the Lord.
The noun therefore cannot authenticate a claim merely because a person calls it a vision. Proverbs pairs the absence of vision with people casting off restraint and blesses the person who keeps the law; that contrast should not be replaced with a lesson about an organization's business plan. Read the attributed speaker, actual message, audience and response.
A vivid private experience or ambitious goal gains no automatic authority over another person's conscience, safety or responsibilities through this word.
How the Bible Uses It
Isaiah's prophetic heading, Samuel's scarce-vision setting, Habakkuk's written message and Jeremiah's false-vision warning locate the word in accounts that explicitly evaluate the message and its source.
- Hab.2.2
Then the Lord answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.
The Lord commands Habakkuk to write this vision clearly, and the next verse speaks of its appointed time; the instruction concerns a named prophetic message rather than any desired project.
- Prov.29.18
Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law.
The proverb connects absent vision with cast-off restraint and contrasts this with keeping the law, retaining instruction rather than replacing it with modern strategic planning.
- Jer.23.16
This is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.
The Lord warns against false hopes from visions arising in prophets' own minds and distinguishes these from His mouth, explicitly challenging a claimed source.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itthe vision8×Ezekiel 7:13, Ezekiel 12:27, Daniel 8:13, Daniel 8:15
vision7×Proverbs 29:18, Jeremiah 14:14, Lamentations 2:9, Ezekiel 12:22
a vision3×Ezekiel 7:26, Ezekiel 13:16, Daniel 8:1
[This is] the vision2×Isaiah 1:1, Obadiah 1:1
in the vision2×2 Chronicles 32:32, Daniel 8:2
of the vision2×Daniel 11:14, Nahum 1:1
visions2×Jeremiah 23:16, Ezekiel 12:24
And in the vision1×Daniel 8:2
and visions1×1 Samuel 3:1
in a vision1×Psalms 89:19
like a vision1×Isaiah 29:7
of visions1×Daniel 1:17
revelation1×1 Chronicles 17:15
their visions1×Hosea 12:10
this vision1×Habakkuk 2:2
without visions1×Micah 3:6
Show sample aligned rows
1 Samuel 3:1חָז֖וֹןtoand visionsNoun - masculine singular1 Chronicles 17:15הֶחָז֣וֹןtorevelationArticle | Noun - masculine singular2 Chronicles 32:32בַּחֲז֞וֹןtoin the visionPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular constructPsalms 89:19בְחָ֡זוֹןtoin a visionPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singularProverbs 29:18חָ֭זוֹןtovisionNoun - masculine singularIsaiah 1:1חֲזוֹן֙to[This is] the visionNoun - masculine singular constructIsaiah 29:7חֲז֣וֹןtolike a visionNoun - masculine singular constructJeremiah 14:14חֲז֨וֹןtovisionNoun - masculine singular constructJeremiah 23:16חֲז֤וֹןtovisionsNoun - masculine singular constructLamentations 2:9חָז֖וֹןtovisionNoun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row1 Samuel 3:1
Aligned rows35
Books represented15
1 Samuel11 Chronicles12 Chronicles1Psalms1Proverbs1Isaiah2Jeremiah2Lamentations1Ezekiel7Daniel12Hosea1Obadiah1Micah1Nahum1Habakkuk2
Source forms
חָז֖וֹן5xḥā·zō·wn1 Samuel 3:1, Lamentations 2:9, Daniel 1:17, Daniel 10:14
חֲז֣וֹן2xḥă·zō·wnIsaiah 29:7, Ezekiel 13:16
חָזוֹן֙2xḥā·zō·wnEzekiel 7:26, Habakkuk 2:3
חָז֣וֹן2xḥā·zō·wnDaniel 9:24, Hosea 12:10
חָזֽוֹן׃2xḥā·zō·wnEzekiel 12:22, Ezekiel 12:23
בְחָ֡זוֹן1xḇə·ḥā·zō·wnPsalms 89:19
בֶחָז֤וֹן1xḇe·ḥā·zō·wnDaniel 9:21
בֶּחָזוֹן֒1xbe·ḥā·zō·wnDaniel 8:2
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular15x1 Samuel 3:1, Proverbs 29:18, Lamentations 2:9, Ezekiel 7:13
Noun - masculine singular construct8xIsaiah 1:1, Isaiah 29:7, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 23:16
Article | Noun - masculine singular6x1 Chronicles 17:15, Ezekiel 12:27, Daniel 8:13, Daniel 8:15
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular3xDaniel 8:2, Daniel 9:21
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular1xPsalms 89:19
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct1x2 Chronicles 32:32
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular1xMicah 3:6
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Allow accountable questions about leadership proposals without labeling questions rejection of God's vision.
- Do not turn imagery or strong impressions into individualized predictions, diagnoses or instructions to disregard danger.
Avoid claiming...
- Every leader's strategic vision carries the same authority as Habakkuk's message.
- The noun supplies a complete interpretation of every dream or prophetic symbol.
Evidence Summary
Revelation
Hebrew word. Supernatural seeing that bypasses normal perception; divine communication through mental imagery rather than external sight
Source Gloss
a sight (mentally), i.e. a dream , revelation , or oracle
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Supernatural seeing that bypasses normal perception; divine communication through mental imagery rather than external sight
a sight (mentally), i.e. a dream, revelation, or oracle BDB: vision Usage: vision.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Prophetic revelation or divine sight.
Prophetic revelation or vision.
Revelatory sight or prophetic vision granted by God.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 35 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
חָזוֹן is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Its removal signifies divine judgment and the end of authentic revelation among corrupt prophets.Isaiah 22:1-8
The city with revelation fails to perceive God’s purpose.Isaiah 28:7-13
Erring in vision indicates distortion of divine revelation.Micah 3:5-8
Canonical Themes
Revelation
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
A vision must be interpreted through the account that presents it. Habakkuk hears the Lord's answer and receives instructions to write the message and wait for its appointed fulfillment. Isaiah's opening identifies a particular people, place and historical reigns as the vision's setting. Jeremiah names a different problem: speakers give false hopes from their own minds while claiming divine authority.
The noun can appear within both attributed revelation and a condemned claim, so the label cannot settle authenticity. Proverbs also keeps the law visible in its contrast between cast-off restraint and blessed obedience. Teach these texts through their actual messages rather than borrowing their language to guarantee a leader's proposal. Daniel's account even preserves exhaustion and lack of understanding after a vision; no reader should be promised effortless certainty about every symbolic passage.
Anchor passage
Hab.2.2
Doctrinal connections
- Habakkuk 2:1-4 places written clarity and waiting within the Lord's answer, contrasting the proud person with the righteous person's faith rather than guaranteeing a personal ambition.
- Proverbs 29:18 explicitly joins the vision saying to keeping the law, resisting a replacement of its instruction with mere organizational goals.
- Jeremiah 23:16-18 names false hopes, stubborn conduct and visions from the speakers' own minds, preserving the passage's judgment of their claimed source.
- First Samuel 3:1-3 describes rare words and scarce visions in those days, setting up Samuel's account without licensing every later private impression.
- Isaiah 1:1-3 identifies Judah, Jerusalem and named reigns before the Lord's charge concerning rebellion, giving a concrete prophetic audience and message.
- Daniel 8:24-27 calls the explained vision true and future while also reporting Daniel's illness and perplexity, retaining limitations in the hearer's understanding.
The Hebrew noun's licensed range includes vision or revelatory sight. Context distinguishes a message attributed to the Lord from a falsely claimed vision; the noun does not by itself certify the source or translate every modern use of vision as prophetic revelation.
From Old to New Testament
Hebrews 10:35-39 uses the language of coming without delay and living by faith in an exhortation to endurance, connecting with Habakkuk's waiting and righteous-faith passage. This Greek exhortation is not another occurrence of the Hebrew noun. Its stated hope and warning must remain intact rather than becoming a guarantee that any present-day plan will succeed on a predicted schedule.