Greek word · G1896
ἐπεῖδον
epeidon
to look upon
To look at, fix one's gaze on, take notice of. Used of God, it means turning attention to a situation in order to act, whether to help the afflicted or to deal with the arrogant.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἐπ-εῖδον 2 aor. without Pres. in use;
[in LXX chiefly for רָאָה ;] to regard with attention, look upon (in cl., of the gods)
1. with a view to bless: with inf., Luke 1:25 (cf. DB, 136b).
2. To punish: before ἐπί, Acts 4:29.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To look at, fix one's gaze on, take notice of. Used of God, it means turning attention to a situation in order to act, whether to help the afflicted or to deal with the arrogant.
- Against the English
KJV 'behold', WEB 'look at', BSB 'consider', NASB 'take note of'. All are acceptable. 'Consider' sounds more mental, as if God were weighing an argument. The Greek is the picture of God turning his eyes toward something.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Only twice in the New Testament: here and Luke 1:25, where Elizabeth says the Lord 'looked on me to take away my disgrace among people'. In the Greek Old Testament, God 'looks upon' (various forms of ide/epide) affliction and insult. The closest model is Hezekiah's prayer against the Assyrian king's threatening letter: 'open your eyes, O LORD, and see; hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God' (Isaiah 37:17; 2 Kings 19:16).
- Range of meaning
To look upon, watch over, take notice of. In Greek literature it is a typical word for gods watching human affairs, with an eye either to help or to punish. Context decides which.
- Against the English
KJV, ESV and YLT keep the plain "looked on," which leaves the favorable sense to the reader. NASB and BSB add "with favor." WEB's "looked at me" is weakest, because in modern English "look at" is casual.
- How it drifted
Modern "look at" means only visual attention. The ancient word, used of a god, meant attention that leads to action.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the New Testament it appears only here and at Acts 4:29, where the believers pray, "Lord, look upon their threats," so there it is God's watchful attention toward hostile people. In Homer the sun-god is the one "who looks upon all things" (Iliad 3.277, panť ephorais), watching over oaths. The idea of God looking on a barren woman's lowliness is central to Hannah's prayer (1 Samuel 1:11, with a related verb, epiblepō). Luke uses that verb for Mary in 1:48.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 1:25 ἐπεῖδεν He looked upon [me]
“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
Here: God turned his gaze on her with intent to act. It is attentive, purposeful regard, and here clearly favorable. The object "me" is not written but understood.
Acts · 1
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Acts 4:29 ἔπιδε do look
And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness,
Here: 'Look upon, take notice of.' A command form, the usual way of asking something in prayer. In Jewish speech, God 'looking upon' a situation means he notices it and acts on it (Luke 1:25 uses it of God looking on Elizabeth to take away her disgrace).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.