The rare Hebrew sanver (סַנְוֵר, plural sanverim) refers specifically to sudden, supernatural blindness — not gradual loss of sight but a divine striking of the visual faculty. It appears only twice in the Old Testament: when the angels strike the men of Sodom with blindness (Genesis 19:11) and when Elisha prays for the Syrian army to be struck blind (2 Kings 6:18). The term is distinct from ordinary blindness (ivver, H5787).
Sanver is consistently a divine instrument of judgment and protection. At Sodom, the supernatural blindness prevents the mob from finding Lot's door — God's protection through disorientation. In 2 Kings 6, God strikes the Syrian army with blindness at Elisha's prayer, then has Elisha lead them directly into the capital city of Israel — an act of holy irony. The supernatural blinding of Saul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:8, Greek) follows this Old Testament pattern: the one who was spiritually blind is struck physically blind, then healed as a sign of his spiritual transformation. Sanver reminds us that God can remove sight to give true sight.