The Hebrew verb nabat means to look, to look intently, to behold, to consider, to gaze upon. It is often used in a Hiphil (causative) form meaning to 'cause to look' or to 'look carefully at.' Unlike the simple verb 'to see,' nabat implies intentional, sustained attention — a deliberate act of beholding.
The theology of nabat is profound. God commands Israel to 'look to the rock from which you were hewn' (Isaiah 51:1) — not casual glance but intentional remembrance of origin. The prophets use it for gazing on the LORD's glory and for the longing look toward salvation: 'Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth' (Isaiah 45:22). Moses made the bronze serpent — and all who looked (nabat) upon it lived (Numbers 21:8-9). Jesus explicitly connects this to His own crucifixion: 'Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up' (John 3:14). Saving faith has a direction — it looks to Christ.