ὀφθαλμός (G3788) — Greek Lexicon

ὀφθαλμός

ophthalmós

G3788 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The organ of sight, the eye; by extension, refers to sight, vision, or the act of seeing. In figurative contexts, can denote insight, perception, spiritual understanding, or evaluation. Also used metaphorically to describe states such as envy or desire, especially in phrases like 'evil eye.'

Semantic Range

eye (the physical organ), sight, vision, perception, insight, appearance, look, glance, envy, desire, moral or spiritual evaluation (fig.), object of attention

Root / Etymology

From the root ὀπτ- (related to 'seeing, appearing'), likely derived from the verb ὀπτάνομαι ('to appear, be seen'). Cognate with related Indo-European roots for 'eye' and 'to see.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Classical Greek, ὀφθαλμός principally denotes the physical eye, but also extends abstractly to the concept of seeing or vision. The term was routinely used in secular Greek literature, the Septuagint, and the New Testament. In Hellenistic Greek, it often appears in idiomatic expressions such as 'evil eye' (ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός) to connote jealousy, greed, or malice, reflecting a broader ancient Near Eastern motif. The Septuagint employs ὀφθαλμός as the standard translation for Hebrew עַיִן (ʿayin). In New Testament context, ὀφθαλμός has both a literal sense (bodily eye, sensory organ) and a figurative sense (inner perception or discernment, e.g., Matthew 6:22–23). English 'eye' is an adequate translation for the core literal meaning, but does not always convey nuanced idiomatic or figurative senses, such as the idea of malicious intent or spiritual insight. No standard English translation fully captures the range of figurative meanings, especially in reference to envy or moral evaluation in idiomatic phrases.

Translation Consistency

primary "eye" 50 occurrences

The primary, most natural lexical sense is the physical organ—‘eye’—which also naturally covers related senses (sight, glance, perception, figurative ‘evil eye’ or insight). Most occurrences are rendered as eyes/eye, so the singular base 'eye' can be consistently inflected to fit number and context while remaining natural English.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ὀπτάνομαι; the eye (literally or figuratively); by implication, vision; figuratively, envy (from the jealous side-glance):--eye, sight.

Root Family

ὀπτ- (enṓpion) — to see, to appear

Root ὀπτ- to see, to appear

Strong's	Lemma	SIBI-P1
G1799	ἐνώπιον	in the sight of
G2734	κατοπτρίζομαι	mirroring themselves
G3701	ὀπτασία	to a visible manifestation
G3799	ὄψις	visible appearance
G845	αὐτόπτης	self-seeing witnesses

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`G3788-07`	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes	37
`G3788-02`	ὀφθαλμοί	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes	15
`G3788-05`	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye	15
`G3788-04`	ὀφθαλμὸν	ophthalmon	`N ACC M SG`	eyes	eye (accusative singular)	eyes	13
`G3788-01`	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye	8
`G3788-03`	ὀφθαλμοῖς	ophthalmois	`N DAT M PL`	eyes	to the eyes	to the eyes	7
`G3788-06`	ὀφθαλμοῦ	ophthalmou	`N GEN M SG`	eye	of the eye	of the eye	6

Occurrences in Scripture

101 occurrences

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`G3788-05`	Matthew 5:29	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-04`	Matthew 5:38	ὀφθαλμὸν	ophthalmon	`N ACC M SG`	an eye	eye (accusative singular)	eye
`G3788-06`	Matthew 5:38	ὀφθαλμοῦ	ophthalmou	`N GEN M SG`	an eye	of the eye	of the eye
`G3788-05`	Matthew 6:22	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-05`	Matthew 6:22	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos-2	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-05`	Matthew 6:23	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-01`	Matthew 7:3	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-01`	Matthew 7:3	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo-2	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-06`	Matthew 7:4	ὀφθαλμοῦ	ophthalmou	`N GEN M SG`	eye	of the eye	of the eye
`G3788-01`	Matthew 7:4	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-06`	Matthew 7:5	ὀφθαλμοῦ	ophthalmou	`N GEN M SG`	eye	of the eye	of the eye
`G3788-06`	Matthew 7:5	ὀφθαλμοῦ	ophthalmou-2	`N GEN M SG`	eye	of the eye	of the eye
`G3788-04`	Matthew 9:29	ὀφθαλμῶν	ophthalmon	`N GEN M PL`	eyes	eye (accusative singular)	eyes
`G3788-02`	Matthew 9:30	ὀφθαλμοί	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-07`	Matthew 13:15	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-03`	Matthew 13:15	ὀφθαλμοῖς	ophthalmois	`N DAT M PL`	eyes	to the eyes	to the eyes
`G3788-02`	Matthew 13:16	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-07`	Matthew 17:8	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-05`	Matthew 18:9	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-07`	Matthew 18:9	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-05`	Matthew 20:15	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-02`	Matthew 20:33	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-04`	Matthew 20:34	ὀφθαλμῶν	ophthalmon	`N GEN M PL`	eyes	eye (accusative singular)	eyes
`G3788-03`	Matthew 21:42	ὀφθαλμοῖς	ophthalmois	`N DAT M PL`	eyes	to the eyes	to the eyes
`G3788-02`	Matthew 26:43	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-05`	Mark 7:22	ὀφθαλμὸς	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	an evil eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-07`	Mark 8:18	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-07`	Mark 8:25	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-05`	Mark 9:47	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-07`	Mark 9:47	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-03`	Mark 12:11	ὀφθαλμοῖς	ophthalmois	`N DAT M PL`	eyes	to the eyes	to the eyes
`G3788-02`	Mark 14:40	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-02`	Luke 2:30	ὀφθαλμοί	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-02`	Luke 4:20	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-07`	Luke 6:20	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-01`	Luke 6:41	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-01`	Luke 6:41	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo-2	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-01`	Luke 6:42	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-01`	Luke 6:42	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo-2	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-06`	Luke 6:42	ὀφθαλμοῦ	ophthalmou	`N GEN M SG`	eye	of the eye	of the eye
`G3788-01`	Luke 6:42	ὀφθαλμῷ	ophthalmo-3	`N DAT M SG`	eye	to the eye	eye
`G3788-02`	Luke 10:23	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-05`	Luke 11:34	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-05`	Luke 11:34	ὀφθαλμός	ophthalmos-2	`N NOM M SG`	eye	the eye	the eye
`G3788-07`	Luke 16:23	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-07`	Luke 18:13	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-04`	Luke 19:42	ὀφθαλμῶν	ophthalmon	`N GEN M PL`	eyes	eye (accusative singular)	eyes
`G3788-02`	Luke 24:16	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-02`	Luke 24:31	ὀφθαλμοὶ	ophthalmoi	`N NOM M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes
`G3788-07`	John 4:35	ὀφθαλμοὺς	ophthalmous	`N ACC M PL`	eyes	eyes	eyes

← G3787 Greek Lexicon G3789 →