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.
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And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
For whatever man he may be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way: and all the people shall say, Amen.
The LORD shall smite thee with the madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
But the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison-house.
Then he touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it to you.
Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leadeth the blind, both will fall into the ditch.
And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man to him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. read more. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees walking. After that, he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
When he had thus spoken, he spit on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
And when they had gone through the isle to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
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).
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And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
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 they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught.
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught.
And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities, and diseases, and of evil spirits; and to many that were blind he gave sight.
And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities, and diseases, and of evil spirits; and to many that were blind he gave sight.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent persons, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
In these lay a great multitude of impotent persons, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth.
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from his birth.
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in me.
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in me.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son:
That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
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.'
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Woe to you, ye blind guides, who say, Whoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools, and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? read more. And whoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools, and blind: for which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoever therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things upon it. And whoever shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ye ought to have done, and not to leave the others undone. Ye blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits) that blindness in part hath happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles shall be come in.
In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them.
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because darkness hath 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.
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Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way: and all the people shall say, Amen.
And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may 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 the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.
Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.
Then was brought to him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb; and he healed him, so that the blind and dumb both spoke 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;
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Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
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 shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant?
Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leadeth the blind, both will fall into the ditch.