τυφλός G5185
Blind, sightless; literally of physical inability to see, figuratively of spiritual ignorance or moral imperception.
A common adjective describing those who cannot see, used throughout the Gospels especially of people whom Jesus heals — the two blind men of Matthew 9, the man born blind in John 9, blind Bartimaeus. Nearly every occurrence is physical, and the multilingual evidence confirms this: Spanish 'ciego,' French 'aveugle,' and German 'blind' all converge on a single concrete meaning. Yet in Revelation 3:17 the word takes a striking metaphorical turn, addressed to the self-satisfied Laodicean church who cannot perceive their own spiritual poverty.
2. blind (spiritual/metaphorical) — Spiritual or metaphorical blindness — inability to perceive spiritual reality. Used once in Rev 3:17, where Christ tells the Laodicean church they are 'wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.' French notably renders this with 'blind' rather than 'aveugle,' subtly distinguishing it from the physical sense. The metaphor draws on the literal meaning to expose self-deception. 1×
AR["الأَعْمى"]·ben["অন্ধ,"]·DE["blind"]·EN["blind"]·FR["blind"]·heb["עִוֵּר"]·HI["अन्धा,"]·ID["buta,"]·IT["tuphlos"]·jav["wuta"]·KO["눈먼-자"]·PT["cego"]·RU["слепой,"]·ES["ciego"]·SW["kipofu,"]·TR["kör"]·urd["اندھا"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. blind (physical) — Physical blindness — the inability to see with the eyes. This is the overwhelmingly dominant sense (49 of 50 occurrences), covering every Gospel healing narrative and Jesus' references to 'blind guides' who are literally sightless. Spanish consistently renders 'ciego,' French 'aveugle,' and German 'blind,' with no variation across these passages (Matt 9:27–28; 11:5; 12:22; John 9:1–41). 49×
AR["أَعمى","أَعمَى","أَعْمَى","الأَعمى"]·ben["অন্ধ","অন্ধকে","অন্ধের"]·DE["blind"]·EN["a-blind-man","a-blind-person","blind","blind-man"]·FR["aveugle"]·heb["עִוֵּר"]·HI["अंधा","अंधे","अंधे-का","अंधे-को","अनध","अनधअ","अनधे-को","अन्धा","अन्धा।","अन्धे-से"]·ID["buta","orang-buta"]·IT["cieco"]·jav["Wuta","tiyang-wuta","tiyang-wuta,","wuta","wuta,","wuta."]·KO["눈-먼","눈-먼-자-를","눈-먼-자는","눈먼","눈먼-자","눈먼-자-를","눈먼-자가","눈먼으로","눈먼을","눈먼이","눈먼인","눈먼인에게","소경을","소경이"]·PT["cego"]·RU["слепого","слепого.","слепой","слепой,","слепому","слепым"]·ES["a-ciego","ciego"]·SW["kipofu","safisha"]·TR["kör","kör,","kör-olanı","köre","körü","körün"]·urd["اندھا","اندھے","اندھے-نے","اندھے-کا","اندھے-کو","راہ-دکھانا"]
Matt 9:27, Matt 9:28, Matt 11:5, Matt 12:22, Matt 15:14, Matt 15:14, Matt 15:14, Matt 15:14, Matt 15:30, Matt 15:31, Matt 20:30, Matt 21:14 (+37 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
τυφλός, ή, όν, blind, once in Refs 8th c.BC+, frequently in other writers; τυφλὸς ἐκ δεδορκότος Refs 5th c.BC+; τ. Ἄρης, Πλοῦτος, Refs 3rd c.BC+; τ. ὄψις, ὀφθαλμοί, Refs 5th c.BC+ blind to.., Refs 5th c.BC+; but τ. τῆς προνοίας lacking vision of the future, Refs; τὰ τ. τοῦ σώματος, i. e. one's back, Refs 5th c.BC+; καὶ τυφλῷ γε δῆλον even a blind man can see that, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 of the limbs…