עָוַר (a.var)
a.var
to blind
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb a.var in its Piel stem means to blind or to put out the eyes of. It appears only five times in the Old Testament, with significant occurrences in Exodus, II Kings, and Jeremiah. The word describes a physical act of causing blindness, often through violence or divine judgment.
In Exodus 4:11, God uses this term when asking who gives sight to the blind, establishing it as an action under His sovereign control. Later, in II Kings 6:18, Elisha prays for the Aramean army to be blinded so they cannot see their path, demonstrating its use in a military context where physical perception is removed. Jeremiah 5:21 employs it rhetorically, urging the people to consider why they have become blind to spiritual truths despite having eyes.
This word carries weight because it links physical disability with spiritual condition. While it primarily denotes the literal removal of sight, its placement in prophetic texts suggests a deeper layer where blindness represents a failure to perceive God’s actions or moral reality. Translators typically render it simply as "blind" or "make blind," preserving the directness of the Hebrew action without adding metaphorical nuance that might obscure the original physical sense.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
This Hebrew word describes the physical act of blinding or putting out eyes. It appears in contexts of violence, such as King Zedekiah’s captivity, and in warnings against corruption. The text reminds us that accepting bribes blinds the wise, distorting justice and perverting the words of the righteous. This is a sobering reminder that moral compromise has real consequences for our perception of truth.
While the word primarily denotes literal blindness, its use in legal codes highlights how sin affects spiritual insight. When we allow greed or partiality to influence our decisions, we risk losing clarity about what is right. The Bible encourages us to seek integrity, knowing that God values justice above all else.
In your daily life, this word invites reflection on what might be clouding your judgment. Are there areas where you need to ask for clearer vision? Trust in God’s guidance can help restore perspective when the world around you seems distorted by unfairness or deceit.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- he made blind3×
- it makes blind2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עִוֵּ֑ר2×
- עִוֵּ֔ר1×
- יְעַוֵּר֙1×
- יְעַוֵּ֣ר1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 23:8
“You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.
This verse connects the physical act of blinding with the moral consequence of bribery, showing how corruption distorts justice.
-
II Kings 25:7
They killed Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes, then put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.
Here the word describes the brutal punishment of Zedekiah, illustrating its use in historical narratives of judgment.
-
Jeremiah 52:11
He put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison until the day of his death.
This occurrence reiterates Zedekiah’s blinding, emphasizing the finality of his defeat and captivity.