What does τυφλόω (typhlóō) mean in the Bible?
τυφλόω (typhlóō): Metaphorically, blinds the mind to spiritual truth; Satan blinds unbelievers to Christ's gospel.
Greek · G5186
τυφλόω
To blind
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τυφλόω G5186
Pronunciation typhlóō
What does τυφλόω (typhlóō) mean in the Bible?
τυφλόω (typhlóō): Metaphorically, blinds the mind to spiritual truth; Satan blinds unbelievers to Christ's gospel.
Full entry for τυφλόω (G5186) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5186?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include has blinded (2), He has blinded (1).
Where does τυφλόω (typhlóō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 12:40. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 John (1), 2 Corinthians (1), John (1).
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 has blinded 2× 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 2:11
He has blinded 1× John 12:40
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 12:40
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 3
John 1 2 Corinthians 1 1 John 1
Source forms
ἐτύφλωσεν 2x etyphlōsen 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 2:11
Τετύφλωκεν 1x Tetyphlōken John 12:40
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x 2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 John 2:11
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x John 12:40
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Metaphorically, blinds the mind to spiritual truth; Satan blinds unbelievers to Christ's gospel.
Strong's G5186
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 3 times Word forms 1 form 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to blind
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Metaphorically, blinds the mind to spiritual truth; Satan blinds unbelievers to Christ's gospel.
(τυφλός), [in LXX: Isa.42:19 (עִוֵּר), Tob.7:7 א, Wis.2:21 א * ;] to blind, make blind: metaphorically, Jhn.12:40 (LXX, καμμύω), 2Co.4:4, 1Jn.2:11.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 12:40 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Active Indicative
Τετύφλωκεν tetuflwken
I make blind
Read verse 2 Corinthians 4:4 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτύφλωσε etuflwsen
I make blind
Read verse 1 John 2:11 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐτύφλωσε etuflwsen
I make blind
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 1 Aligned forms 3 Tenses Aorist, Perfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Aorist Active 2 Cor 4:4 · 1 John 2:11 2×
Perfect Active John 12:40 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 3 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 2 perfect 1
Voice
active 3
Mood
indicative 3
NT Occurrences
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)
Word Origins
τυφλόω is built from this root:
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.
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