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Greek · G3788 · unreviewed

ὀφθαλμός

Eye

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ὀφθαλμός G3788
Pronunciation ophthalmós

What does ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós) mean in the Bible?

ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós) is a Greek word meaning "eye". ὀφθαλμός, -οῦ, ὁ, [in LXX chiefly for עַיִן ;] the eye (as in cl.

Full entry for ὀφθαλμός (G3788) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

eye
Extended definition

Beyond physical sight, eye metaphorically denotes moral perception and ethical character, especially regarding envy and spiritual discernment.

the eye (as in cl., chiefly pl.): Mat.5:38, Mrk.9:47, Luk.6:41, Jhn.9:6, al.; τοὺς ὀ. ἐξορύθσσειν (figuratively), Gal.4:15; ἐπᾶραι, Luk.6:20, Jhn.6:5; ἀνοῖξα, Act.9:40; id., of restoring sight, Mat.20:33, Jhn.9:10, al.; ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφθαλμοῦ, 1Co.15:52; by anthropom., of God, Heb.4:13, 1Pe.3:12; pleonastically (cf. Thackeray, Gr., 42f.), εἶδον οἱ ὀ. μοθ, Luk.2:30 (similarly, ib. 4:20 10:23, Jhn.12:40, 1Co.2:9, 1Jn.1:1, Rev.1:7). Metaphorical (as otherwise in cl.; see LS, see word);

aof ethical qualities: ὀ. πονηρός (meton., for envy; cf. Heb. עַיִן רַע, Pro.28:22; cf. Sir.14:10 34:13), Mat.6:22, 23 Mrk.7:22, Luk.11:34; ἁπλοῦς, Mat.6:22, Luk.11:34; ἐπιθυμία (which see) ὀφθαλμῶν (cf. Ecc.4:8, Sir.14:9), 1Jn.2:16; ὀ. μεστοὶ μοιχαλἰδος, 2Pe.2:14;
bof mental vision: Mat.13:15, Mrk.8:18, Luk.19:42, Jhn.12:40, Rom.11:8, Gal.3:1, Eph.1:18, al.; ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς before genitive (on the absence of the art., seeBl, §46, 9.II; M, Pr., 81), Mat.21:42, Mrk.12:11.
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 5:29 · Matt 6:22 · Matt 6:23 · Matt 18:9 · Matt 20:15 · Mark 7:22 · Mark 9:47 · Luke 11:34 · 1 Cor 2:9 · 1 Cor 12:16 · 1 Cor 12:17 · 1 Cor 12:21 · Rev 1:7 15×
Nominative · Plural · Masculine Matt 9:30 · Matt 13:16 · Matt 20:33 · Matt 26:43 · Mark 14:40 · Luke 2:30 · Luke 4:20 · Luke 10:23 · Luke 24:16 · Luke 24:31 · John 9:10 · Rom 11:10 · 1 Pet 3:12 · Rev 1:14 · Rev 19:12 15×
Genitive · Plural · Masculine Matt 9:29 · Luke 19:42 · Acts 1:9 · Acts 9:8 · Acts 9:18 · Rom 3:18 · 1 John 2:16 · Rev 4:6 · Rev 4:8 · Rev 7:17 · Rev 21:4 11×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine Matt 5:38 · Matt 7:4 · Matt 7:5 · Luke 6:42 · 1 Cor 15:52 6×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Matt 7:3 · Matt 7:4 · Luke 6:41 · Luke 6:42 8×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Matt 13:15 · Matt 21:42 · Mark 12:11 · John 12:40 · Acts 28:27 · Heb 4:13 · 1 John 1:1 7×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 13:15 · Matt 17:8 · Matt 18:9 · Mark 8:18 · Mark 8:25 · Mark 9:47 · Luke 6:20 · Luke 16:23 · Luke 18:13 · John 4:35 · John 6:5 · John 9:6 · John 9:11 · John 9:14 · John 9:15 · John 9:17 37×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 5:38 1×
100 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Witnesses
Luke 11:33–36 ὀφθαλμός ophthalmós
Eye
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

ἐπαίρω · ὀφθαλμός G1869, G3788
lift up the eyes
ὀφθαλμός · κρατέω G3788, G2902
their eyes were restrained or kept
ὀφθαλμός · πονηρός G3788, G4190
evil eye, envy
ὀφθαλμός · βλέπω G3788, G991
eyes / see
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 26 — Paul Before Agrippa: The Risen Christ Sends Light to Jews and Gentiles John 17 — The Son’s High Priestly Prayer: Glory, Preservation, Sanctification, Unity, Mission, and Love Luke 11 — Prayer, Kingdom Conflict, True Hearing, and the Exposure of Hypocrisy Luke 24 — The Risen Christ Opens the Scriptures, Commissions Witnesses, and Ascends in Blessing Mark 7 — True Defilement and Boundary-Crossing Mercy Mark 8 — Seeing Jesus Clearly: Bread, Blindness, Confession, Cross, and Discipleship Matthew 20 — The First-Last Kingdom, the Ransom-Giving Son of Man, and Mercy for the Blind Matthew 6 — Hidden Righteousness, the Father’s Reward, and Seeking First the Kingdom

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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