τυφλό-ω G5186
to blind, make blind; to cause loss of sight or perception, whether literal or metaphorical
The verb means to deprive of sight, whether physically or mentally. Classical Greek used it both literally (for actual blindness) and metaphorically (for intellectual or moral blindness). In the New Testament, it appears only in the metaphorical sense—spiritual and mental blindness that prevents people from seeing the truth. Notably, the agent of blinding varies: God, Satan, or sin itself can blind minds and hearts. This imagery draws on the Hebrew Bible's language of hardening hearts and closing eyes as divine judgment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — John 12:40 quotes Isaiah 6:10, describing God's judicial hardening: "He has blinded (tetuphlōken) their eyes," preventing unbelieving Israel from seeing and turning. Second Corinthians 4:4 attributes the blinding to Satan: "the god of this age has blinded (etuphlōsen) the minds of unbelievers" to keep them from seeing the gospel's light. First John 2:11 shows hatred itself as the blinding agent: "the darkness has blinded (etuphlōsen) his eyes," causing the hate-filled person to walk in darkness. The multilingual glosses (Spanish cegar, French aveugler/rendre aveugle, German blenden) uniformly convey the causative sense—making blind rather than being blind. The perfect tense in John emphasizes the ongoing state of blindness. 3×
AR["أَعمى", "أَعمَت", "أَعْمَى"]·ben["অন্ধ-করেছে"]·DE["blenden"]·EN["He-has-blinded", "blinded"]·FR["aveugler", "blenden", "rendre-aveugle"]·heb["עִוְרָה", "עִוֵּר"]·HI["अंधा-किया", "अंधे-कर-दिए-हैं", "ने-अन्धा-कर-दिया"]·ID["Ia-telah-membutakan", "membutakan"]·IT["accecare", "etuphlōsen", "tetuphloken"]·jav["Panjenenganipun-sampun-wuta-aken", "sampun-nyumerepi", "sampun-wutakaken"]·KO["눈멀게-했다", "멀게-했다"]·PT["cegaram", "cegou"]·RU["Ослепил", "ослепил", "ослепила"]·ES["Ha-cegado", "cegó"]·SW["Ameyapofusha", "amepofusha", "limepofusha"]·TR["Kör-etti", "kör-etti", "zihinlerini-"]·urd["اندھا-کر-دیا", "اندھا-کر-دیا-ہے"]
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
τυφλό-ω, blind, make blind, τινα Refs 5th c.BC+; ὄμματα, ὄψιν, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, to be blinded, to be or become blind, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἕλκος τυφλωθέν a blinding wound (passive of τυφλόω ἕλκος inflict a blinding wound), Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 metaphorically, blind, baffle, Refs 5th c.BC+ __II make blind or without passage, stop up, τὰς διόδους ἁμάξαις Refs 4th c.BC+; τ. ὀφθαλμοὺς [ἀμπέλου]…