To look all around — used specifically for Jesus' penetrating, searching gaze in the Synoptic Gospels at moments of challenge, healing, and holy anger.
The Greek periblepō (from peri, around + blepō, to see) means to look around in all directions — a sweeping, comprehensive gaze. It is almost exclusively a Markan word in the NT, used seven times in Mark. Jesus periblepōs in the synagogue with anger and grief at the hardness of hearts (Mark 3:5), looks around at his disciples to identify his true family (Mark 3:34), surveys those seated around him after the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mark 5:32), and gazes at the Temple before leaving (Mark 11:11). It conveys authority, comprehension, and moral intensity.
Mark's frequent use of periblepō is part of his vivid, action-centered portrait of Jesus. The searching gaze — eyes sweeping the room — communicates sovereign awareness. No one is outside Jesus' field of vision; no heart is hidden from this gaze. In Mark 3:5, the periblepō is combined with emotion: 'He looked around at them in anger, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts.' This is holy anger — not impulsive rage but grief-laden indignation at spiritual hardness. The One whose gaze encompasses all creation is moved to anger and sorrow by those who refuse mercy.