רָאָה

𐤓𐤀𐤄

râʼâh

H7200 verb

SILEX Entry

Root ראה to see, to perceive, to consider, to appear, to show

Definition

To see, perceive with the eyes; by extension, to perceive mentally, to consider or understand; to experience, to witness; to appear, be visible; to be shown or caused to see. רָאָה covers direct, physical seeing as well as figurative senses of perceiving, understanding, or experiencing. The verb can function transitively (to see something/someone), intransitively (to appear), and causatively (to show, to make see).

Semantic Range

to see visually, to perceive mentally, to observe, to discern, to witness, to appear, to be visible, to cause to see (show), to experience, to meet, to consider, to have vision, to enjoy

Root / Etymology

From the root ר-א-ה, which fundamentally denotes 'to see.' The verb is used in multiple stems (qal, niphal, hiphil, etc.), with the core semantic idea of visual or perceptual awareness.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, רָאָה is the principal verb for the act of seeing or perceiving, used literally for visual perception (e.g., Gen 1:4, 'God saw that the light was good') and figuratively for mental or spiritual perception (e.g., 'seeing' as understanding or discerning, Exod 32:9). The verb is also used for experiencing events ('see trouble,' Eccl 7:15), and in idioms for encountering or meeting (Num 22:23), for being presented or made manifest (God 'appearing' to individuals, Gen 12:7). In the causative stem (hiphil), it can mean 'to show' or 'cause to see.' Later Hebrew and other Semitic languages retain similar senses. English translations often struggle to catch the breadth, especially the experiential or perceptual meanings. Distinct from related roots like חָזָה (chazah, 'to see' in a visionary or prophetic sense). Usage ranges from concrete to highly abstract, mirroring changes from early narrative contexts to later prophetic and poetic usages. The nuances between visual, mental, and spiritual perception are especially important in prophetic literature.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative); advise self, appear, approve, behold, [idiom] certainly, consider, discern, (make to) enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, [idiom] indeed, [idiom] joyfully, lo, look (on, one another, one on another, one upon another, out, up, upon), mark, meet, [idiom] be near, perceive, present, provide, regard, (have) respect, (fore-, cause to, let) see(-r, -m, one another), shew (self), [idiom] sight of others, (e-) spy, stare, [idiom] surely, [idiom] think, view, visions.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ראה (r-ʾ-h) — seeing, perceiving, appearing, showing

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1254 בָּרָא and he saw
H3372 יָרֵא he sees
H4179 מוֹרִיָּה the Seen-of-Yah
H4758 מַרְאֶה in the appearance
H4759 מַרְאָה in the visible-manifestation

Word Forms

216 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7200-147 וַ/יַּ֧רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw 131
H7200-82 רָאִ֛יתִי raiti HVqp1cs I have seen I saw 88
H7200-60 לִ/רְא֖וֹת lireot HR/Vqc to see to see 54
H7200-90 רְאֵה֙ reeh HVqv2ms See See! 52
H7200-86 רָאֽוּ rau HVqp3cp saw they saw 48
H7200-211 יִרְאֶה yireeh HVqi3ms he sees he sees 46
H7200-159 וַ/יִּרְא֤וּ vayireu HC/Vqw3mp and they saw and they saw 40
H7200-73 רָאָ֨ה raah HVqp3ms saw seeing 35
H7200-105 רֹאֶ֖ה roeh HVqrmsa see seeing one 35
H7200-119 תִרְאֶ֔ה tireeh HVqi2ms you will see you will see 32

Occurrences in Scripture

1314 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7200-147 Genesis 1:4 וַ/יַּ֧רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw
H7200-188 Genesis 1:9 וְ/תֵרָאֶ֖ה veteraeh HC/VNi3fs and let appear and she will appear
H7200-147 Genesis 1:10 וַ/יַּ֥רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw
H7200-147 Genesis 1:12 וַ/יַּ֥רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw
H7200-147 Genesis 1:18 וַ/יַּ֥רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw
H7200-147 Genesis 1:21 וַ/יַּ֥רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw
H7200-147 Genesis 1:25 וַ/יַּ֥רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms and saw and he saw
H7200-147 Genesis 1:31 וַ/יַּ֤רְא vayare HC/Vqw3ms And God saw and he saw
H7200-60 Genesis 2:19 לִ/רְא֖וֹת lireot HR/Vqc to see to see
H7200-142 Genesis 3:6 וַ/תֵּ֣רֶא vatere HC/Vqw3fs saw and she saw