Hebrew word · H4236

מַחֲזֶה

machazeh

vision

A 'vision' or 'seeing', from ḥazah, 'to see' (especially of revelation). It occurs only four times: here, in Num 24:4 and 24:16 (Balaam 'who sees the vision of Shaddai'), and in Ezek 13:7 (false prophets' 'vision').

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

vision (in the ecstatic state)

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 Genesis 15:1

Range of meaning

A 'vision' or 'seeing', from ḥazah, 'to see' (especially of revelation). It occurs only four times: here, in Num 24:4 and 24:16 (Balaam 'who sees the vision of Shaddai'), and in Ezek 13:7 (false prophets' 'vision').

Against the English

'Vision' is accurate. Readers should not hear it as a dream, a daydream or a 'vision statement'. It is a revelation in which the person sees.

Used elsewhere in the period

Related words: ḥazon ('vision', as in Isa 1:1, Obad 1) and ḥozeh ('seer', 2 Sam 24:11). The Greek Septuagint renders it horama, 'sight, vision'.

From the study of Numbers 24:4

Range of meaning

The root ḥzh means "to see". It is the ordinary verb in Aramaic, and in Hebrew it is used mostly for seeing revelation in visions. The noun maḥazēh means "a vision, a thing shown". A related noun, ḥozeh, means "seer" (2 Sam 24:11, Amos 7:12).

Against the English

English "sees a vision" is accurate. What it loses is the echo of the professional title "seer", and the fact that the noun and verb come from one root, so the line reads roughly "the envisioning of Shaddai he envisions".

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 15:1 ("the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision"), Ezek 13:7 (false visions). In the Deir ʿAlla plaster inscription Balaam is called ḥzh ʾlhn, "seer of the gods", and the gods come to him at night and he sees a vision. The vocabulary is the same.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 15:1 בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה in the vision

    After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

    Here: 'In the vision'. The word is rare and comes from the verb 'to see', the root behind ḥozeh, 'seer'. The message comes in a seer's experience of seeing as well as hearing.

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 24:4 מַחֲזֵ֤ה <the> vision of

    the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

    Here: A rare noun (only here, 24:16, Gen 15:1 and Ezek 13:7) for something shown to a seer. It comes from the same root as "seer" (ḥozeh), the term used for Balaam outside the Bible.

  2. Numbers 24:16 מַחֲזֵ֤ה <the> vision of

    the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 13:7 מַֽחֲזֵה־ a vision of

    Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?

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