Reference: Blindness
American
This distressing malady is very prevalent in the East. Many physical causes in those countries unite to injure the organs of vision. The sun is hot, and in the atmosphere floats a very fine dust, which enters and frets the eye. The armies of France and England, which were so long in Egypt during the French was, suffered severely from ophthalmic disease. In the cities of Egypt, blindness is perpetuated as a contagious disease by the filthy habits of the natives. It is of frequent occurrence also on the coast of Syria. In ancient times the eyes of person hated or feared were often torn out, Jg 16:21; 1Sa 11:2; 2Ki 25:7. Blindness was sometimes inflicted as a punishment, Ge 19:11; Ac 13:6; and it was often threatened as a penalty, De 28:28. The Jews were enjoined by the humane laws of Moses to show all kindness and consideration to the blind, Le 19:14; De 27:18. No one affected with this infirmity could officiate as priest, /#Le 21:18.
Our Savior miraculously cured many cases of blindness, both that which was caused by disease and that which had existed from birth. In these cases there was a double miracle; for not only was the organ of sight restored, but also the faculty of using it which is usually gained only by long experience, Mr 8:22-25. The touching of the eyes of the blind, and anointing them with clay, Mt 9:29; Joh 9:6, can not have had any medicinal or healing effect. The healing was miraculous, by the power of God.
Blindness is often used for ignorance and error, especially our sinful want of discernment as to spiritual things, Mt 15:14; 2Co 4:4. The abuse of God's mercy increases this blindness, Joh 12:40. Blessed are the eyes that fix their adoring gaze first of all on the Redeemer.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance.
Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
for whatever man hath a defect, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or one limb longer than the other,
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way! And all the people shall say, Amen.
Jehovah will smite thee with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;
And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with bronze fetters; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you.
Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch.
And he comes to Bethsaida; and they bring him a blind man, and beseech him that he might touch him. And taking hold of the hand of the blind man he led him forth out of the village, and having spit upon his eyes, he laid his hands upon him, and asked him if he beheld anything. read more. And having looked up, he said, I behold men, for I see them, as trees, walking. Then he laid his hands again upon his eyes, and he saw distinctly, and was restored and saw all things clearly.
Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud of the spittle, and put the mud, as ointment, on his eyes.
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart and be converted, and I should heal them.
And having passed through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man a magician, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus,
to the end that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.
Fausets
Its cure is one of our Lord's most frequent miracles (Lu 7:21; Mt 9:27; Mr 8:23; Joh 5:3; 9:1), as had been foretold (Isa 29:18; 35:5). In coincidence with this is the commonness of it in the E. In Ludd (Lydda) the saying is, every one is either blind or has but one eye. Jaffa has 500 blind out of 5,000 of a population. The dust and sand pulverized by the intense heat, the constant glare, and in the sandy districts the absence of the refreshing "green grass," (the presence of which Mark notices as noteworthy in the miracle of the feeding the multitudes,) the cold sea air on the coasts, the night dews affecting those sleeping on the roofs, all tend to produce blindness.
It is a constant image used of spiritual darkness, and Jesus' restoration of sight to the blind pointed to the analogous spiritual bestowal of sight on the soul. Paul, who had passed through both the physical and the spiritual transition from darkness to light (Ac 9:8-9), instinctively, by an obviously undesigned coincidence confirming authenticity, often uses the expressive image (Ac 26:18; 2Co 4:4; Eph 1:18; 4:18; Col 1:13). Elymas was smitten with blindness at Paul's word (Ac 13:11, compare Ge 19:11; 2Ki 6:18). The blind were to be treated kindly (Le 19:14; De 27:18). The pagan conquerors sometimes blinded captives (2Ki 25:7; 1Sa 11:2).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance.
And they smote the men that were at the entrance of the house with blindness, from the smallest to the greatest; and they wearied themselves to find the entrance.
Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way! And all the people shall say, Amen.
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way! And all the people shall say, Amen.
and slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
and slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and, out of obscurity and out of darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see;
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and, out of obscurity and out of darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see;
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf be unstopped;
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf be unstopped;
And as Jesus passed on thence, two blind men followed him, crying and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David.
And as Jesus passed on thence, two blind men followed him, crying and saying, Have mercy on us, Son of David.
And taking hold of the hand of the blind man he led him forth out of the village, and having spit upon his eyes, he laid his hands upon him, and asked him if he beheld anything.
And taking hold of the hand of the blind man he led him forth out of the village, and having spit upon his eyes, he laid his hands upon him, and asked him if he beheld anything.
In that hour he healed many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and to many blind he granted sight.
In that hour he healed many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and to many blind he granted sight.
In these lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, awaiting the moving of the water.
In these lay a multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, awaiting the moving of the water.
And as he passed on, he saw a man blind from birth.
And as he passed on, he saw a man blind from birth.
And Saul rose up from the earth, and his eyes being opened he saw no one. But leading him by the hand they brought him into Damascus.
And Saul rose up from the earth, and his eyes being opened he saw no one. But leading him by the hand they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without seeing, and neither ate nor drank.
And he was three days without seeing, and neither ate nor drank.
And now behold, the Lord's hand is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell upon him a mist and darkness; and going about he sought persons who should lead him by the hand.
And now behold, the Lord's hand is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell upon him a mist and darkness; and going about he sought persons who should lead him by the hand.
to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.
being enlightened in the eyes of your heart, so that ye should know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
being enlightened in the eyes of your heart, so that ye should know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
being darkened in understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance which is in them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts,
being darkened in understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance which is in them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts,
who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love:
who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love:
to the end that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.
to the end that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.
Hastings
Morish
Used metaphorically to describe the state of man by nature under the influence of Satan, 2Co 4:4; also a professing Christian who hates his brother, 1Jo 2:11; also the state of Israel in their heartless profession, Mt 23:16-26; and the judicial blindness on Israel. Joh 12:40. In Ro 11:7,25; 2Co 3:14; Eph 4:18, it is rather 'obdurateness or hardness,' from ?????,'to harden.'
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Woe to you, blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold, or the temple which sanctifies the gold? read more. And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it is a debtor. Fools and blind ones, for which is greater, the gift, or the altar which sanctifies the gift? He therefore that swears by the altar swears by it and by all things that are upon it. And he that swears by the temple swears by it and by him that dwells in it. And he that swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him that sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat, but drink down the camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they are full of rapine and intemperance. Blind Pharisee, make clean first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that their outside also may become clean.
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they may not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart and be converted, and I should heal them.
What is it then? What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded,
For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, that ye may not be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the nations be come in;
in whom the god of this world has blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving, so that the radiancy of the glad tidings of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine forth for them.
being darkened in understanding, estranged from the life of God by reason of the ignorance which is in them, by reason of the hardness of their hearts,
And to all these add love, which is the bond of perfectness.
But he that hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and knows not where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Smith
is extremely common in the East from many causes. Blind beggars figure repeatedly in the New Testament
and "opening the eyes of the blind" is mentioned in prophecy as a peculiar attribute of the Messiah.
etc. The Jews were specially charged to treat the blind with compassion and care.
Le 19:14; De 27:18
Blindness willfully inflicted for political or other purposes is alluded to in Scripture.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way! And all the people shall say, Amen.
And Nahash the Ammonite said to them, On this condition will I treat with you, that I thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and, out of obscurity and out of darkness, the eyes of the blind shall see;
to open the blind eyes, to bring forth the prisoner from the prison, them that sit in darkness out of the house of restraint.
and he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with chains of brass, to carry him to Babylon.
Then was brought to him one possessed by a demon, blind and dumb, and he healed him, so that the dumb man spake and saw.
Watsons
BLINDNESS is often used in Scripture to express ignorance or want of discernment in divine things, as well as the being destitute of natural sight. See Isa 42:18-19; 6:10; Mt 15:14. "Blindness of heart" is the want of understanding arising from the influence of vicious passions. "Hardness of heart" is stubbornness of will, and destitution of moral feeling. Moses says, "Thou shalt not put a stumbling block before the blind," Le 19:14, which may be understood literally; or figuratively, as if Moses recommended that charity and instruction should be shown to them who want light and counsel, or to those who are in danger of going wrong through their ignorance. Moses says also, "Cursed be he who maketh the blind to wander out of his way," De 27:18, which may also be taken in the same manner. An ignorant or erring teacher is compared by our Lord to a blind man leading a blind man;
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Thou shalt not revile a deaf person, and thou shalt not put a stumbling-block before a blind one; but thou shalt fear thy God: I am Jehovah.
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way! And all the people shall say, Amen.
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and healed.
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? and deaf, as my messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he in whom I have trusted, and blind as Jehovah's servant,
Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch.