STRONGS NUMBER G991

Original Word: βλέπω
Transliteration: blepō
Phonetic Spelling: (blep'-o)
Part of Speech: Verb
Short Definition: to look (at)
Meaning: to look (at)behold, perceive, take heed.

A primary verb; to look at (literally or figuratively) -- behold, beware, lie, look (on, to), perceive, regard, see, sight, take heed. Compare optanomai.

see GREEK optanomai

STRONGS NT 991: βλέπω

βλέπω; (imperfect ἔβλεπον); future βλεψω; 1 aorist ἔβλεψα; (present passive βλέπομαι); the Sept. for רָאָה, פָּנָה, חָזָה, הִבִּיט; in Greek writings from Aeschylus down; to see, discern:

1. With the bodily eye;

a. to be possessed of sight, have the power of seeing, opposed to τυφλός: Matthew 12:22; Matthew 13:16; Matthew 15:31; John 9:7, 15, 19, 25; Acts 9:9; Romans 11:8, 10; Revelation 3:18, etc. (Sophocles Oed. Col. 73; Aristophanes Plutarch, 15; Xenophon, mem. 1, 3, 4; Aelian v. h. 6, 12, etc. Exodus 4:11; Exodus 23:8, etc. Tobit 11:15). τό βλέπειν sight, the power of seeing, Luke 7:21 (G L T Tr WH omit τό).

b. to perceive by the use of the eyes, to see, look, descry; α. absolutely: βλεπόντων αὐτῶν while they were looking, Acts 1:9; ( Tr marginal reading WH marginal reading); ἔρχου καί βλέπε, Rec. in Revelation 6:1, 3, 5, 7. β. with the accusative of person or thing: Matthew 7:3; Matthew 11:4; Matthew 24:2; Mark 5:31; Mark 8:23; Mark 13:2; Luke 6:41; Luke 24:12 (T omits; L Tr brackets WH reject the verse); John 1:29; Acts 4:14, etc.; (Revelation 18:18 Rec. ὁρῶντες); τήν φωνήν, him who uttered the voice, Revelation 1:12; ὅραμα, Acts 12:9; he who has free access to one, as princes, ministers, and personal friends have to a king, is said βλέπειν τό πρόσωπον τίνος (הַמֶּלֶך פְּנֵי רֹאֵי 2 Kings 25:19; Jeremiah 52:25; Esther 1:14); hence, in Matthew 18:10 angels of closest access or of highest rank are referred to (see ἀρχάγγελος). Passive τά βλεπόμενα the things that are seen: 2 Corinthians 4:18; Hebrews 11:3 (L T Tr WH τό βλεπόμενον the sum-total or complex of things seen); ἐλπίς βλεπομένη hope of things that are seen, i. e. that are present, Romans 8:24.

c. to turn the eyes to anything, to look at, look upon, gaze at: γυναῖκα, Matthew 5:28; εἰς τί or τινα (Winer's Grammar, § 33 g.), Luke 9:62; John 13:22; Acts 3:4; εἰς τόν οὐρανόν, Acts 1:11 T Tr WH; in the sense of looking into (i. e. in order to read), βιβλίον, Revelation 5:3f.

d. universally, to perceive by the senses, to feel: τόν ἄνεμον ἰσχυρόν (T WH omit ἰσχυρόν), Matthew 14:30 (κτυπον δέδορκα, Aeschylus sept. 104).

e. to discover by use, to know by experience: τί, Romans 7:23; followed by ὅτι, 2 Corinthians 7:8; by attract. τό θηρίον, ὅτι κτλ., Revelation 17:8; ὑπέρ ὁ βλέπει με for ὑπέρ τοῦτο, ὁ βλέπει με ὄντα, lest he think me greater than on personal knowledge he finds me to be, 2 Corinthians 12:6.

2. metaphorically, to see with the mind's eye;

a. to have (the power of) understanding: βλέποντες οὐ βλέπουσι, though endued with understanding they do not understand, Matthew 13:13; Luke 8:10.

b. to discern mentally, observe, perceive, discover, understand; absolutely: δἰ ἐσόπτρου, 1 Corinthians 13:12; of the omniscient God βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρύπτω seeing in secret, where man sees nothing, Matthew 6:4, 6, 18 (here L T Tr WH βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυφαίῳ); ἐγγίζουσαν τήν ἡμέραν, Hebrews 10:25 (from certain external signs); Ἰησοῦν ... ἐστεφανωμένον, we see (from his resurrection and from the effects and witness of the Holy Spirit) Jesus crowned, Hebrews 2:9; followed by ὅτι, Hebrews 3:19; James 2:22.

c. to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to a thing, to consider, contemplate, look to; absolutely βλέπετε take heed: Mark 13:23, 33; with an accusative of the thing or person, 1 Corinthians 1:26; 1 Corinthians 10:18; 2 Corinthians 10:7; Philippians 3:2; Colossians 2:5; followed by πῶς with indicative (Winers Grammar, 300 (282); Buttmann, 255 (219)), Luke 8:18; 1 Corinthians 3:10; Ephesians 5:15; to weigh carefully, examine, followed by the interrogative τί with indicative Mark 4:24; εἰς πρόσωπον τίνος, to look at i. e. have regard to one's external condition — used of those who are influenced by partiality: Matthew 22:16; Mark 12:14. By a use not found in Greek authors ἑαυτόν βλέπειν to look to oneself (equivalent tosibicavere): Mark 13:9; followed by ἵνα μή (cf. Buttmann, 242 (209)), 2 John 1:8; βλέπειν ἀπό τίνος (equivalent tosibicavereabaliquo) to beware of one (Winers Grammar, 223 (209), cf. 39 (38); Buttmann, 242 (209), cf. 323 (278)), Mark 8:15; Mark 12:38; look to in the sense of providing, taking care: followed by ἵνα, 1 Corinthians 16:10; followed by μή with subjunctive aorist, Matthew 24:4; Mark 13:5; Luke 21:8; Acts 13:40; 1 Corinthians 8:9 (μήπως); 1 Corinthians 10:12; Galatians 5:15; Hebrews 12:25; followed by μή with future indicative, Colossians 2:8; Hebrews 3:12. The Greeks say ὁρᾶν μή (cf. Winers Grammar, 503 (468f); Buttmann, 242f (209)).

3. in a geographical sense, like Latinspecto (English look), of places, mountains, buildings, etc., turned toward any quarter, as it were facing it: followed by κατά with the accusative, Acts 27:12 (cf. Buttmann, D. American edition under the word ) (the Sept. (Numbers 21:20); Ezekiel 11:1; (); πρός, Xenophon, Hell. 7, 1, 17; mem. 3, 8, 9; Herodian, 6, 5, 2; (Diogenes Laërtius 1, 2, 48; the Sept. Ezekiel 9:2; Ezekiel 40:24; (); εἰς, , etc. (for other examples see Sophocles Lexicon, under the word)). (Synonym: see under the word ὁράω. Compare: ἀναβλέπω, ἀποβλέπω, διαβλέπω, ἐμβλέπω, ἐπιβλέπω, περιβλέπω, προβλέπω.)