ἀνάβλεψις

anáblepsis

G309 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

the act of regaining or receiving sight, especially after having been blind; in some contexts, a looking up (with reference to raising the eyes or regaining perspective), but primarily denotes the recovery or restoration of physical vision.

Semantic Range

recovery or restoration of sight, regaining vision, the act of seeing again, looking up (rare/derived sense)

Root / Etymology

from ἀναβλέπω (to look up, to regain sight), itself formed from the preposition ἀνά ('up', 'again') and βλέπω ('to see').

Historical & Contextual Notes

ἀνάβλεψις is a rare noun, primarily found in technical or medical contexts in Koine Greek, notably in the New Testament (such as Luke 4:18) in the phrase "recovery of sight to the blind." The base verb ἀναβλέπω has a broader semantic range including both 'to look up' and 'to recover sight', but the noun ἀνάβλεψις is specialized for the medical or miraculous restoration of vision. It does not occur in classical Greek, emerging instead in Hellenistic and medical Greek. The Septuagint does not use this term. Its appearance in the Gospels underscores its association with healing and the restoration of physical capacity. Later translation traditions render it as 'recovery of sight', but the lexical sense does not extend to metaphorical enlightenment in its historical usage.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἀναβλέπω; restoration of sight:--recovery of sight.

Root Family

ἀνάβλεψις (anablepsis) — regaining sight, seeing again, looking up

Root βλέπ- to see, to look

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G309-01 ἀνάβλεψιν anablepsin N ACC F SG recovering of sight restoration of sight restoration of sight 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G309-01 Luke 4:18 ἀνάβλεψιν anablepsin N ACC F SG recovering of sight restoration of sight restoration of sight