פָּקַחpâqach

open eyes and (once) ears

Pronunciation: paw-kakh' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H6491

Meanings

Qal: active, passive (Job 27:19; Job 14:3; Genesis 21:19)

1. open, eyes

a. one's own (2 Kings 4:35; Job 27:19; Proverbs 20:13)

b. eyes of others (Genesis 21:19; 2 Kings 6:17; 2 Kings 6:20)

2. open ears = hear (Isaiah 42:20)

Niph`al: be opened, of eyes (Genesis 3:5; Isaiah 35:5; Genesis 3:7)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 20 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 3:5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
  • Genesis 3:7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
  • Genesis 21:19 Then God opened Hagar’s eyes, and she saw a well full of water. She quickly filled her water container and gave the boy a drink.
  • 2 Kings 4:35 Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!
  • 2 Kings 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
  • 2 Kings 6:20 As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, now open their eyes and let them see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).