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θεάομαι G2300
V-ANP  |  23× in 2 senses
To behold, gaze upon with attention; in the passive, to be seen or to appear visibly before others.
More than casual seeing, theaomai denotes deliberate, attentive beholding — the contemplative gaze of one who takes in what is before them. Jesus asks the crowds, 'What did you go out into the wilderness to behold?' (Matt 11:7, Luke 7:24), using this verb to underscore purposeful observation. John's first epistle opens with the powerful declaration, 'what we have beheld' (1 John 1:1), where the verb carries eyewitness weight. The rarer passive sense surfaces in Jesus' warnings against performative piety — doing righteousness 'to be seen' by others (Matt 6:1, 23:5). Spanish 'contemplar/contemplado' and German 'betrachtet/schauen' both preserve the contemplative quality that distinguishes theaomai from ordinary horao.

Senses
1. behold, gaze upon Active attentive beholding: to gaze upon, observe, or contemplate something or someone with deliberate attention. Covers indicative, participial, infinitival, and imperative uses across 20 occurrences. Key passages include Jesus' question to the crowds about John the Baptist (Matt 11:7, Luke 7:24), the king inspecting wedding guests (Matt 22:11), Jesus seeing Levi at the tax booth (Luke 5:27), and the apostolic eyewitness claim of 1 John 1:1. Spanish 'contemplado/contemplar,' French 'contempler,' and German 'schauen/betrachtet' consistently select contemplative verbs rather than neutral sight words. 20×
BODY_HEALTH Sensory Events and States Seeing and Perceiving
AR["أَرَا-كُمْ", "انْظُرُوا", "تَرَوا", "رائِيًا", "رَآهُ", "رَآهُمَا", "رَأى", "رَأَوْا", "رَأَى", "رَأَينا", "رَأَيْتُ", "رَأَيْنَ", "رَأَيْنَا", "شاهَدناهُ", "شَاهَدْتُمُوهُ", "لِتَرَوا", "لِيَرى"]·ben["আমরা-প্রত্যক্ষ-করেছি", "তারা-দেখল", "দেখ", "দেখতে", "দেখলাম", "দেখলেন", "দেখিলে", "দেখে", "দেখেছি", "দেখেছিলেন-যারা", "দেখেছে", "ἐθεάσαντο-দেখলেন"]·DE["betrachtet", "schauen"]·EN["I-have-beheld", "beheld", "has-seen", "have-beheld", "having-beheld", "having-seen", "he-saw", "look-at", "saw", "to-see", "we-beheld", "you-beheld"]·FR["contempler"]·heb["הִתְבַּנְּנוּ", "הִתְבּוֹנַנּוּ", "לִ-רְאוֹת", "לִרְאוֹת", "רְאִיתֶם", "רְאוּ", "רָאִינוּ", "רָאִיתִי", "רָאָה", "רָאוּ", "רוֹאִים"]·HI["देखकर", "देखना", "देखने", "देखने-को", "देखनेवालों-पर", "देखा", "देखा-है", "देखी", "देखो", "नहीं-देखा", "हमने-देखा"]·ID["Aku-melihat", "Ia-melihat", "kami-melihat", "kami-saksikan,", "kamu-melihat", "lihatlah", "melihat", "melihat;", "telah-melihat", "yang-telah-melihat"]·IT["etheasametha", "guardare", "tetheametha", "tetheatai", "vedere"]·jav["Kula-mirsani", "ingkang-sampun-mirsani", "kita-mirsani", "mirsani", "mirsani;", "mirsani?", "ningali", "panjenengan-sedaya-mirsani", "pirsanana", "sampun-kawula-ningali", "sampun-mirsani", "sampun-ningali", "sasampunipun-mirsani,"]·KO["그-를", "내가-보았다", "만나다", "목격하고", "보고", "보기-위해", "보라", "보려고", "보시고", "보시지-않고", "보았다", "보지-못하였다", "본-자들에게", "우리-가-바라보았다", "우리가-보았다"]·PT["Contemplei", "O-contemplastes", "contemplamos", "para-ver", "tendo-o-visto", "tendo-visto", "vede", "vendo", "ver", "vimos", "viu;"]·RU["Увидел", "видевшим", "видели", "вы-видели", "и-", "не-видел.", "осмотрели", "посмотреть", "посмотрите", "созерцали-мы,", "увидев", "увидевшие", "увидел", "увидели", "увидеть"]·ES["He-contemplado", "a-ver", "contemplad", "contemplamos", "ha-visto", "habiendo-visto", "hemos-contemplado", "que-habían-visto", "veros", "vieron", "vio", "visteis", "viéndolo"]·SW["-", "Nimemwona", "akamwona", "akimwona", "akiona", "akiwaona", "amemwona", "kuona", "kuona-nini?", "kuwaona", "mlivyomwona", "tazameni", "tuliona", "tulitazama", "tumeona", "wakimwona", "waliomwona", "waliona", "walioona", "waliweza"]·TR["Gördüm", "bakın", "giderken", "gördü", "gördük", "gördüler", "görenlere", "görerek", "görmedi", "görmek-için", "görmeye", "görmeye?", "görmeyi", "görmeyince", "seyreden", "seyrettik"]·urd["-سے", "اور", "اُنہوں-نے-دیکھی", "تم-نے-دیکھا", "تمہاری", "دیکھ-کر", "دیکھا", "دیکھا-ہے", "دیکھا،", "دیکھنے", "دیکھنے-والوں", "دیکھوں-گا", "نہ-دیکھ-کر", "نہیں-دیکھا؛"]
2. be seen, appear visibly Passive visibility: to be seen, observed, or put on display before others. In Matt 6:1, Jesus warns against doing righteousness 'to be seen' (theathēnai) by people, and Matt 23:5 extends this to the Pharisees who broaden their phylacteries 'to be seen.' Mark 16:11 reports that the risen Jesus 'was seen' (etheathe) by Mary Magdalene. Spanish 'ser vistos / fue visto' and English 'to be seen / was seen' clearly mark the shift from agent-of-seeing to object-of-seeing, a distinction the French and German glosses leave more implicit.
BODY_HEALTH Sensory Events and States Seeing and Perceiving
AR["شُوهِدَ", "يَراكُم", "يُراوا"]·ben["দেখা-গেল", "দেখা-যেতে", "দেখানো-হতে"]·DE["betrachtet", "schauen"]·EN["to-be-seen", "was-seen"]·FR["contempler"]·heb["הֵרָאוֹת", "לְהֵרָאוֹת", "נִרְאָה"]·HI["दिखाई-जाने", "देखा-गया-था", "देखे-जाने-को"]·ID["dilihat", "telah-dilihat"]·IT["vedere"]·jav["dipun-tingali", "dipuntingali", "sampun-dipunpirsani"]·KO["보였다고", "보이도록"]·PT["serdes-vistos"]·RU["был-виден", "быть-увиденными", "показаться"]·ES["fue-visto", "ser-vistos"]·SW["alionekana", "kuonekana", "na-"]·TR["görüldü", "görülmek", "seyredilmek"]·urd["دکھائے-جانے", "دیکھا-گیا", "دیکھے-جانے-کے"]

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
θεάομαι, Epic dialect and Ionic dialect θηέομαι (see. below), Doric dialect θᾱέομαι, Θάομαι (which see), imperative θεῶ Refs 5th c.BC+; optative θηοῖο (for Attic dialect θεῷο) Refs 8th c.BC+; participle θηεύμενος Refs 5th c.BC+imperfect ἐθηεῖτο, ἐθηεῦντο, Refs; Epic dialect θηεῖτο Refs 8th c.BC+ poetical cited in Refs 1st c.BC+future θεάσομαι [], Ionic dialect -ήσομαι: aorist ἐθεᾱσάμην, Epic