Hebrew word · H2380

חָזוּת

chazut

vision

Something seen. It covers (1) a prophetic vision or revelation, (2) a conspicuous appearance (Daniel 8:5, 8, the 'prominent' horn), and in Isaiah 28:15, 18 (3) an 'agreement', perhaps a pact made after consulting seers.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) vision, conspicuousness

1a) vision, oracle of a prophet

1a1) agreement

1b) conspicuousness in appearance

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 21:2

Range of meaning

Something seen. It covers (1) a prophetic vision or revelation, (2) a conspicuous appearance (Daniel 8:5, 8, the 'prominent' horn), and in Isaiah 28:15, 18 (3) an 'agreement', perhaps a pact made after consulting seers. It belongs to the family of ḥāzâ 'to see', ḥāzôn 'vision' (Isaiah 1:1) and ḥōzeh 'seer'.

Against the English

'Vision' is the natural English word and it is accurate here. Modern English also uses 'vision' for an organisation's goals or a person's dreams for the future. Here it means a revelation shown to the prophet, which he receives passively ('has been told to me').

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 29:11 uses ḥāzût for 'the vision of all this', which has become like a sealed book. The ḥ-z-h family is the standard prophetic vocabulary of 'seeing' (Isaiah 1:1; 2:1; Amos 1:1). The Aramaic cognate ḥzh is used for visionaries in the Deir ʿAlla inscription about Balaam (8th century BC).

From the study of Isaiah 28:18

Range of meaning

From chazah, 'to see,' the verb used of prophetic vision. Elsewhere chazut means 'vision' (Isa 21:2; 29:11) or 'conspicuousness' (Dan 8:5, 8). Only in Isa 28:18 does it clearly mean something like 'agreement,' and in 28:15 the related word chozeh ('seer / vision') plays the same role.

Against the English

'Agreement' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV, NIV), 'pact' (NASB), 'provision' (YLT). The translations are right about what the word does in the sentence, but they lose the strange 'vision' sound that a Hebrew hearer would catch.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list a special sense 'agreement' just for these Isaiah verses. Some scholars link it to a possible Semitic sense of 'meeting, arrangement,' and others see a deliberate pun. The Greek translation (LXX) is usually reported to render it 'hope.'

From the study of Daniel 8:5

Range of meaning

From chazah, 'to see, behold (especially in vision)'. Its senses are: (1) a vision or revelation (Isa 21:2; 29:11); (2) appearance, conspicuousness, something that stands out to the eye (Dan 8:5, 8). Some lexicons treat the Daniel use as 'conspicuousness' (BDB) and others as 'prominent' or 'striking appearance' (HALOT).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'notable', ESV/NASB 'conspicuous', NIV/BSB 'prominent', YLT 'conspicuous'. All capture 'eye-catching'. None can carry the echo of 'vision' (chazon, 8:1, 2, 13, 15, 17, 26) that a Hebrew ear may have heard.

How it drifted

KJV's 'notable' (from the Vulgate's cornu insigne) meant 'easy to notice, conspicuous' in 1611. Today 'notable' tends to mean 'famous' or 'worth mentioning', which slightly shifts the picture from a horn you can see to a horn you have heard of.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 8:8 the same word describes the four horns that rise in place of the broken one: 'four conspicuous ones' (chazut arba'). The Old Greek seems to have read or interpreted the word as 'one' (κέρας ἕν). Theodotion has a 'visible/remarkable horn', and the Vulgate cornu insigne, a 'distinguished horn'.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 21:2 חָז֥וּת a vision

    A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”

    Here: A revelation that is seen, from the verb ḥāzâ 'to see (as a seer sees)'. It names what the prophet receives: a scene shown to him, not a plan or an idea of his own.

  2. Isaiah 28:18 וְחָזוּתְכֶ֥ם and agreement your

    Your covenant with death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be trampled by it.

    Here: "And your pact." The word normally means "vision" or "something seen" (from the verb used of prophets' visions). Paired with "covenant" it must mean an agreement, but the 'vision' sound lingers: perhaps a deal backed by seers or oracles, or a sarcastic jab at their 'visionary' policy.

  3. Isaiah 29:11 חָז֣וּת [the] vision of

    And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”

Daniel · 2

  1. Daniel 8:5 חָז֖וּת conspicuousness

    As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.

    Here: From the verb 'to see': a horn that catches the eye, impossible to miss. It may also echo the word for 'vision' (chazon) that runs through the chapter.

  2. Daniel 8:8 חָז֤וּת conspicuousness

    Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.

    Here: Something conspicuous, easy to see, repeating the 'conspicuous horn' of verse 5. It is the awkward word in this verse, and the text may be damaged at this point (see the study and textual notes).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.