ἀφορ-άω G0872
to look away from all else and fix one's gaze on, to look intently at, to have in view
This verb captures the focused act of looking away from distractions toward a single object or person. The classical range includes viewing distant objects, looking toward a goal, and fixing attention with purpose. In the New Testament it appears twice with profound theological significance: Paul speaks of 'looking away to' Timothy's situation (Phil 2:23), and Hebrews exhorts believers to look away from all else unto Jesus (Heb 12:2). The multilingual evidence splits between 'seeing' and 'looking intently', with Romance and Germanic languages emphasizing the directed, focused nature of the gaze.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Both biblical occurrences involve deliberate attention directed toward a specific focus. Philippians 2:23 uses the participle form in Paul's expectation of 'seeing' how things turn out, while Hebrews 12:2's famous exhortation to look 'unto Jesus' captures the word's essential meaning of fixing one's gaze by looking away from competing distractions. French 'regarder' and German 'hinschauen' ('look toward') reflect this intentional redirecting of vision that characterized Greek philosophical and athletic imagery. 2×
AR["أُبْصِرَ", "نَاظِرِينَ"]·ben["দেখছি", "দেখি"]·DE["hinschauen"]·EN["I-see", "looking-away"]·FR["regarder"]·heb["אָרְאֶה", "מַבִּיטִים"]·HI["देखते-हुए", "मैन-देख-लुन"]·ID["aku melihat", "memandang"]·IT["aphidō", "aphorōntes"]·jav["kula-ningali", "mirsani"]·KO["내다보면", "바라보면서"]·PT["olhando", "veja"]·RU["взирая", "увижу"]·ES["mirando-fijamente", "vea"]·SW["nione", "tukimtazama"]·TR["Bakarak-", "gorunce"]·urd["دیکھتے-ہوئے", "دیکھوں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀφορ-άω, Ionic dialect ἀπορ-έω, future ἀπόψομαι: aorist ἀπεῖδον:— look away from all others at one, have in view, Refs 5th c.BC+; look at, τι Refs 4th c.BC+; of a distant object, Refs 5th c.BC+compare, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ὅθεν.. look to the point whence.., Refs; εἴς τι or τινα, NT+1st c.AD+: hence, obey,Refs 4th c.BC+:—in middle, Refs 5th c.BC+ __b of Places, look towards, εἰς βόρειον ὠκεανόνRefs…