An eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
עַיִן (ʿayin) is a high-frequency Hebrew noun for an eye and, by extension, sight, appearance, viewpoint, or presence. Genesis 3:6 says the forbidden tree was desirable to the eyes, Genesis 24:64 says Rebekah lifted her eyes and saw Isaac, and Ecclesiastes 2:14 says the wise person's eyes are in the head.
Reader summary
Full entry for עַיִן (H5869) · Open the biblical lexicon
עַיִן (ʿayin) is a high-frequency Hebrew noun for an eye and, by extension, sight, appearance, viewpoint, or presence. Genesis 3:6 says the forbidden tree was desirable to the eyes, Genesis 24:64 says Rebekah lifted her eyes and saw Isaac, and Ecclesiastes 2:14 says the wise person's eyes are in the head.
The BSB source-word alignment has 887 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (109), in the sight (106), my eyes (51), your eyes (38), in the eyes (36).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 3:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (80), Ezekiel (70), Psalms (66), Deuteronomy (60).
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
עַיִן (ʿayin) is a high-frequency Hebrew noun for an eye and, by extension, sight, appearance, viewpoint, or presence. Genesis 3:6 says the forbidden tree was desirable to the eyes, Genesis 24:64 says Rebekah lifted her eyes and saw Isaac, and Ecclesiastes 2:14 says the wise person's eyes are in the head. Idioms such as “in the eyes of” can mean in someone's view, favor, or judgment, as in Genesis 18:3. Sight is embodied and interpretive, not an infallible route to moral truth.
First Samuel 16:7 contrasts human and divine assessment when Samuel looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. The verse critiques appearance-based judgment in the selection of a king; it does not say bodies never matter, grant humans access to other hearts, or permit suspicion to replace evidence. Psalm 33:18 says the Lord's eye is on those who fear him and hope in his steadfast love, while First Kings 8:29 asks that God's eyes be open toward the temple. Such divine-eye language communicates knowledge, attention, and care through embodied metaphor without reducing God to a physical organ.
The noun also names water sources and appears in legal and perceptual scenes. Genesis 16:7 places Hagar by a spring, and Exodus 15:27 counts twelve springs at Elim. Exodus 21:24's “eye for eye” belongs to a judicial framework of proportion and does not authorize private revenge. Second Kings 6:17 says God opens the servant's eyes to see the heavenly army, while Psalm 19:8 says the Lord's command enlightens the eyes. These texts distinguish physical organ, water source, legal equivalence, ordinary perception, revelatory sight, and moral illumination.
ʿAyin names eyes and springs and supports idioms of appearance, viewpoint, favor, presence, attention, and perception. Literal, figurative, legal, and theological uses must be distinguished by construction.
The woman sees the tree as good for food, desirable to the eyes, and desirable for wisdom before taking its fruit.
The angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, using ʿayin for the water source.
God opens Hagar's eyes, and she sees a well that supplies water for her son in the wilderness.
Eye for eye occurs within covenant case law as a principle of proportion rather than a license for personal vengeance.
The manna's appearance is compared with bdellium, illustrating the noun's appearance sense.
God redirects Samuel from impressive appearance to divine knowledge of the heart when choosing David.
Elisha prays for his servant's eyes to be opened, and the servant sees the mountain filled with heavenly forces.
The Lord's pure command is said to enlighten the eyes within praise of Torah's life-giving effects.
The Lord's eye rests on those who fear him and hope in steadfast love, expressing attentive care.
Haughty eyes head a list of things the Lord hates, using visible posture to name pride.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
עַיִן is a primitive word - no further derivation.
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
ʿAyin helps a congregation examine how seeing becomes judging. Samuel's first impression is understandable but inadequate, and God redirects him toward a heart only God fully knows. That should make communities slower to rank people by beauty, disability, clothing, ethnicity, wealth, charisma, or visible success. Hagar's opened eyes lead to provision already available in the wilderness, while Elisha's servant receives a particular revelatory sight in crisis.
Neither episode promises that every answer is presently visible. Psalm 19 connects moral clarity to God's instruction, and Psalm 33 connects God's gaze to faithful care. The legal eye-for-eye formula calls for proportion and public justice, not retaliatory violence.
1Sam.16.7
H5869 covers bodily eye, appearance, viewpoint, presence, and spring or fountain. In the eyes of is often an evaluative idiom rather than a statement about anatomy.
Jesus and the apostles use eye and sight language for perception, desire, judgment, healing, and spiritual blindness. Those teachings can continue the canonical field while requiring direct exegesis of their Greek vocabulary and social setting.