εἶδον

eidon

they saw

properly, to stare at (compare ὀπτάνομαι), i.e. (by implication) to discern clearly (physically or mentally); by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear:--behold, perceive, see, take heed.

G3708

John 19:33 · Word #7

Lexicon G3708

Lemmaὁράω
Transliterationhoráō
Strong'sG3708
In-contextthey saw
Literalthey-saw

Morphology V AOR ACT IND 3P PL All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past
Voice ACT — Active — The subject performs the action
Mood IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality
Person 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they")
Number PL — Plural — More than one

Lexical Info

Lemmaὁράω
Strong'sG3708

SIBI-P1 G3708-07

they were beholding

Rootὁράω (horáō)
Core Meaningsto see, to behold, to perceive, to discern, to experience, to appear
Semantic Rangeto see with the eyes; to perceive mentally; to notice or recognize; to experience; to witness; to appear (in passive forms)
Conceptual SignificanceIn biblical usage, ὁράω often extends beyond physical sight to spiritual perception or revelatory experience. Seeing can signify understanding divine truth, witnessing mighty acts, or encountering God’s self-disclosure, making the verb central to themes of revelation and testimony.
Morphological NotesVerb; imperfect tense, active voice, indicative mood; 3rd person plural. The imperfect denotes continuous or repeated action in past time.
Rendering RationaleThe rendering "they were beholding" preserves the core sense of ὁράω as active, attentive seeing or perceiving. The imperfect active indicative, third person plural form is reflected by "they were," conveying ongoing past action, and "beholding" retains the vivid, perceptive nuance of the root rather than a simple punctiliar "saw."

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root ὁράω (to see, to behold, to perceive, to discern, to experience, to appear)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
G3708-01 eidamen we were beholding
G3708-02 eidan they caught sight
G3708-03 eiden he/she was beholding

Word Usage (684 occurrences of G3708)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Matthew 1:20 ἰδοὺ idou behold
Matthew 1:23 ἰδοὺ idou Behold
Matthew 2:1 ἰδοὺ idou behold