εἴδομεν

eidomen

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

Matthew 25:44 · Word #9

Lexicon G3708

Lemmaὁράω
Transliterationhoráō
Strong'sG3708

Morphology V AOR ACT IND 1P 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 1P — 1st person — The speaker ("I" / "we")
Number PL — Plural — More than one

Lexical Info

Lemmaὁράω
Strong'sG3708

SIBI-P1 G3708-06

we were beholding

Rootὁράω (horáō)
Core Meaningsto see, behold, perceive, discern, experience, attend to
Semantic Rangeto see with the eyes, to behold attentively, to perceive or discern mentally, to experience, to notice, to take heed
Conceptual SignificanceIn biblical usage, ὁράω often conveys more than physical sight; it can denote revelatory perception or experiential knowledge of divine activity. Seeing becomes a means of testimony and witness, especially in apostolic proclamation where "we were beholding" underscores lived, observed reality.
Morphological NotesVerb, imperfect active indicative, first person plural (Gr,V,IAA1,,P,). The imperfect denotes continuous or repeated action in past time; active voice indicates the subject performs the action; indicative mood states it as a fact.
Rendering RationaleThe rendering "we were beholding" reflects the imperfect tense (ongoing past action), active voice, indicative mood, and first person plural form. "Beholding" preserves the root sense of ὁράω as attentive, perceptive seeing rather than a mere glance, maintaining the depth of visual and cognitive perception inherent in the verb.

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

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

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