What does ἐμβλέπω (emblépō) mean in the Bible?
emblepo means to look at, look intently, fix one's gaze, or direct attention toward someone or something. The word is more focused than a passing glance, but it does not always imply spiritual insight.
Greek · G1689
ἐμβλέπω
To look into/upon
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ἐμβλέπω G1689
Pronunciation emblépō
What does ἐμβλέπω (emblépō) mean in the Bible?
emblepo means to look at, look intently, fix one's gaze, or direct attention toward someone or something. The word is more focused than a passing glance, but it does not always imply spiritual insight.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐμβλέπω (G1689) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1689?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include looked at (3), [and] looked at (1), [Jesus] looked directly at (1), had blinded me (1), he could see (1).
Where does ἐμβλέπω (emblépō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (4), John (2), Luke (2), Matthew (2).
Are there verse guides for ἐμβλέπω (emblépō)?
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Emblepo means to look at, look intently, fix one's gaze, or direct attention toward someone or something. The word is more focused than a passing glance, but it does not always imply spiritual insight. Jesus tells anxious disciples to look at the birds. He looks at the rich man and loves him. He looks at the disciples while teaching that what is impossible with man is possible with God.
The Lord turns and looks at Peter after the denial. John the Baptist looks at Jesus and identifies Him as the Lamb of God, and Jesus looks at Simon and gives him a new name. The word opens attentive sight governed by context: observation, compassion, conviction, witness, and identity.
How the Bible Uses It
The selected witnesses show attentive looking in creation, Jesus' compassionate gaze, divine impossibility, Peter's conviction, John's witness to the Lamb, and Jesus' naming of Simon.
- Matt.6.26
Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Jesus commands disciples to look at the birds as a lesson in the Father's care. The gaze is instructed attention that corrects anxiety.
- Mark.10.21
Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
Jesus looks at the rich man, loves him, and exposes the one thing he lacks. The verb serves a scene of compassionate, searching address.
- Mark.10.27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
Jesus looks at the disciples while declaring that all things are possible with God. The fixed attention intensifies His word after human inability is exposed.
- Luke.22.61
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
The Lord turns and looks at Peter after his denial, and Peter remembers Jesus' word. The gaze becomes a moment of conviction and remembered warning.
- John.1.36
When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
John sees Jesus walking by and says, 'Look, the Lamb of God.' Attentive sight becomes witness that directs others to Jesus.
- John.1.42
Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
Jesus looks at Simon and names him Cephas. The gaze accompanies identity-giving speech under Jesus' authority.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It looked at 3× Mark 10:21, Mark 10:27, John 1:42
[and] looked at 1× Luke 22:61
[Jesus] looked directly at 1× Luke 20:17
had blinded me 1× Acts 22:11
he could see 1× Mark 8:25
he saw 1× John 1:36
Look 1× Matthew 6:26
looked at [them] 1× Matthew 19:26
She looked at 1× Mark 14:67
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:26 ἐμβλέψατε to Look Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 19:26 Ἐμβλέψας to looked at [them] Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 8:25 ἐνέβλεπεν to he could see Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Mark 10:21 ἐμβλέψας to looked at Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 10:27 Ἐμβλέψας to looked at Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Mark 14:67 ἐμβλέψασα to She looked at Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular Luke 20:17 ἐμβλέψας to [Jesus] looked directly at Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 22:61 ἐνέβλεψεν to [and] looked at Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular John 1:36 ἐμβλέψας to he saw Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular John 1:42 ἐμβλέψας to looked at Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 6:26
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 5
Matthew 2 Mark 4 Luke 2 John 2 Acts 1
Source forms
ἐμβλέψας 4x emblepsas Mark 10:21, Luke 20:17, John 1:36, John 1:42
Ἐμβλέψας 2x Emblepsas Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27
ἐμβλέψασα 1x emblepsasa Mark 14:67
ἐμβλέψατε 1x emblepsate Matthew 6:26
ἐνέβλεπεν 1x eneblepen Mark 8:25
ἐνέβλεπον 1x eneblepon Acts 22:11
ἐνέβλεψεν 1x eneblepsen Luke 22:61
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 6x Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:21, Mark 10:27, Luke 20:17
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x Matthew 6:26
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 22:61
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x Mark 14:67
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Acts 22:11
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Mark 8:25
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let the narrative define what the focused look accomplishes before drawing application.
- Use Jesus' searching gaze to call readers toward truth and mercy, not toward speculative psychology.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim emblepo always means spiritual insight.
- Do not claim Jesus' look at a person carries the same meaning in every passage.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
John 1:36 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμβλέψας emblepsas to look into/upon The participle makes the verse read as a prompted witness report: seeing comes first, then testimony follows. Read verse guide John 1:42 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμβλέψας emblepsas to look into/upon It sharpens the scene by showing attentive, direct regard before the spoken naming and promise. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Greek word. To look intently or directly at someone/something, often with deep attention or significance.
Source Gloss
to look into/upon
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
12 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:26 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
ἐμβλέψατε embleyate
I look into, look upon
Read verse Matthew 19:26 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμβλέψας embleyav
I look into, look upon
Read verse Mark 8:25 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνέβλεψε enebleyen
I look into, look upon
Read verse Mark 10:21 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμβλέψας embleyav
I look into, look upon
Read verse Mark 10:27 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμβλέψας embleyav
I look into, look upon
Read verse Mark 14:67 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐμβλέψασα embleyasa
I look into, look upon
Read verse Luke 20:17 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐμβλέψας embleyav
I look into, look upon
Read verse Luke 22:61 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνέβλεψε enebleyen
I look into, look upon
Read verse embleyav
I look into, look upon
Read verse embleyav
I look into, look upon
Read verse Acts 1:11 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐμβλέποντες emblepontev
I look into, look upon
Read verse Acts 22:11 Verb First Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
ἐνέβλεπον eneblepon
I look into, look upon
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 11 Tenses Aorist, Imperfect Voices Active
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 7×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active Matt 6:26 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Imperfect Active Mark 8:25 · Acts 22:11 2×
Aorist Active Luke 22:61 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 11 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 9 imperfect 2
Voice
active 11
Mood
participle 7 indicative 3 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 6:26 ἐμβλέψατε aorist active imperative imperative Matthew 19:26 ἐμβλέψας aorist active participle participle Mark 8:25 ἐνέβλεπεν imperfect active indicative background Mark 10:21 ἐμβλέψας aorist active participle participle Mark 10:27 ἐμβλέψας aorist active participle participle Mark 14:67 ἐμβλέψασα aorist active participle participle Luke 20:17 ἐμβλέψας aorist active participle participle Luke 22:61 ἐνέβλεψεν aorist active indicative completed John 1:36 ἐμβλέψας aorist active participle participle John 1:42 ἐμβλέψας aorist active participle participle Acts 22:11 ἐνέβλεπον imperfect active indicative background
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Luke 22:54–62 ἐμβλέψας emblépō
Having looked intently
Showing 1 selected witness from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐμβλέπω is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
Emblepo is a focused look, but Scripture gives that look different pastoral force in different scenes. Jesus tells anxious disciples to look at birds and learn the Father's care. He looks at the rich man with love before naming the demand the man will not receive. He looks at the disciples when human impossibility must yield to God's possibility. Most tenderly and painfully, the Lord looks at Peter after denial, and Peter remembers the word Jesus had spoken.
John's Gospel uses the verb for John the Baptist looking at Jesus and bearing witness to the Lamb, and for Jesus looking at Simon and naming him Cephas. The word teaches attentive sight under the Word of Christ. What matters is not bare eye contact, but what the passage shows the look doing: instructing, loving, exposing, witnessing, naming, and restoring.
Anchor passage
Luke.22.61
Doctrinal connections
- G3708 Horao, see: emblepo is a focused seeing verb within the broader sight family.
- G991 Blepo, look or see: the shared root helps distinguish ordinary sight from intentional attention by context.
- G3056 Logos, word: Luke 22 links the Lord's look to Peter remembering Jesus' spoken word.
- G286 Amnos, lamb: John 1 turns John's attentive look into witness to Jesus as the Lamb of God.
- G25 Agapao, love: Mark 10 joins Jesus' look to His love for the rich man.
- G3686 Onoma, name: John 1 connects Jesus' look at Simon with naming and future identity.
Emblepo combines looking with directed attention. The verb should not be over-spiritualized; it can refer to observing birds, seeing clearly, or looking at a person. The immediate narrative supplies the theological meaning.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture often joins seeing with attention, recognition, fear, compassion, or judgment. The New Testament centers faithful sight on Jesus: looking at creation under the Father's care, seeing the Lamb, and receiving the gaze and word of the Lord.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain