H8365 H8365
Opened (of the eye), having sight or vision (disputed between opened and closed interpretations)
This adjective appears only in Balaam's oracles in Numbers 24:3, 15, describing him as 'the man whose eye is opened.' The meaning is disputed: most moderns read 'opened of eye' (mental/spiritual perception), while some ancient versions and scholars read 'closed of eye' (physically blind but spiritually seeing) by implicitly changing the root. The context favors 'opened'—Balaam has supernatural vision to see what God reveals. The phrase parallels 'whose eye sees the vision of the Almighty,' supporting the opened interpretation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A state of having one's eye opened to perceive divine revelation, characterizing Balaam's supernatural visionary capacity. Both occurrences in Numbers 24:3, 15 introduce Balaam's oracles with identical phrases, emphasizing his ability to see beyond normal perception. The scholarly debate (opened vs. closed) affects interpretation: is Balaam physically blind with compensating spiritual sight, or specially gifted with enhanced perception? The Hebrew supports 'opened,' and the parallel with seeing God's vision confirms this. Spanish 'abierto' (opened) aligns with this understanding. 2×
AR["مَفْتُوحِ"]·ben["খোলা"]·DE["oeffnete"]·EN["opened"]·FR["ouvrit"]·heb["שתם"]·HI["खुली"]·ID["yang-terbuka"]·IT["apri"]·jav["ingkang-katutupen"]·KO["감겨진"]·PT["de-olho-fechado"]·RU["открытого"]·ES["abierto-de"]·SW["aliyefumba"]·TR["açık"]·urd["کھلی"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† שָׁתַם vb. dub.; if text correct, open (NH Aramaic שׁתם open [vessel]);—only Qal Pt. pass. cstr. הַגֶּבֶר שְׁתֻם הָעָ֑יִן Nu 24:3, 15 (poems in JE) the man opened of [mental] eye, so 𝔖 Ki Ew al. RVm; 𝔙 Röd Ke Di al. render closed of [bodily] eye, reading then implicitly שְׂתֻם (cf. סָתַם, שָׂתַם La 3:8); v. further Gray.