📖 Biblical Definition
"Blind," in Scripture, is physical inability to see — and a recurring metaphor for spiritual incapacity. The two meanings interlock. Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped" (Isaiah 35:5); the Gospels record Christ doing it repeatedly — Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), the man born blind (John 9), the blind men outside Jericho (Matthew 20:30-34). Paul was struck physically blind on the Damascus road and given new sight three days later (Acts 9:8-18). But the more deadly variety is spiritual: "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matthew 15:14). Only the Light gives sight.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
BLIND, a.
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1. Destitute of the sense of seeing, either by natural defect, or by deprivation; not having sight. 2. Not having the faculty of discernment; destitute of intellectual light. 3. Not directed by reason. 4. Heedless; inconsiderate; undiscerning.
📖 Key Scripture
Isaiah 35:5 — "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened."
John 9:25 — "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."
Matthew 15:14 — "They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."
Revelation 3:17 — "Knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern self-confidence is Scripture's clearest case of unrecognized blindness.
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The most dangerous blindness in Scripture is not the physical kind. It is the Laodicean kind — the man who sincerely believes he sees while he is blind. Knowest not that thou art... blind. The Pharisees of John 9 are diagnosed by Christ in the same chapter: If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. Confessed blindness is the doorway to sight; pretended sight is the lock on the door.
Modern educated culture is in this exact disorder. Saturated with information, confident in opinions, self-assured in moral judgment — and increasingly unable to see Christ. Pray for the salve of Revelation 3:18. Confess the blindness. Christ specializes in restoring sight to the man who admits he is in the dark.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew iwwer (H5787); Greek tuphlos (G5185).
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Usage
"Confessed blindness is the doorway to sight; pretended sight locks the door."
"Modern educated culture is Laodicea: knowest not that thou art blind."
"Christ specializes in restoring sight to the man who admits he is in the dark."