Hebrew word · H5788

עִוָּרוֹן

'averet

blindness

Blindness, the condition of being blind. It comes from the same root as ʿiwwer, 'blind man', which appears in the very next verse.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 09, 2026

What it means

blindness

Also means: av.ve.ret (עַוֶּ֫רֶת "blindness" H5788B)

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

Range of meaning: Blindness, the condition of being blind. It comes from the same root as ʿiwwer, 'blind man', which appears in the very next verse.
Against the English: 'Blindness' in every version, and correctly so. What English does not show is that the Hebrew word rhymes with the nouns on either side of it.
Used elsewhere in the period: The noun occurs only here and in Zechariah 12:4, where God strikes the horses of the attacking nations with blindness. That is a deliberate reuse of this verse, aimed at Israel's enemies. A different word (sanwerim, a dazzling or confusing blindness) is used when God strikes the men of Sodom (Gen 19:11) and the Aramean army (2 Kgs 6:18). Ancient treaty curses also threatened loss of sight (see Setting).

Range of meaning: Blindness. An abstract noun from עִוֵּר (ʿiwwer), "blind." It can be literal or stand for helplessness and inability to find one's way.
Against the English: All versions render it "blindness"; NLT "I will blind." The English is accurate.
Used elsewhere in the period: Only in Deuteronomy 28:28 and here (Zech 12:4). In Deuteronomy 28:29 the cursed person "gropes at noon as the blind grope in darkness." Compare Genesis 19:11 and 2 Kings 6:18, where God strikes attackers with blindness (a different Hebrew word, sanwerim), and the attack fails.

Leviticus · 1

Leviticus 22:22 עַוֶּרֶת֩ blindness

You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as a food offering to the LORD.

Deuteronomy · 1

Deuteronomy 28:28 וּבְעִוָּר֑וֹן and with blindness

The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind,

Here: "And with blindness." The state of being blind. Verse 29 turns it into a picture of groping at noon like a blind man in the dark, so the word covers both losing sight and losing all sense of direction.

Zechariah · 1

Zechariah 12:4 בַּֽעִוָּרֽוֹן׃ with <the> blindness

On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and every rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah, but I will strike with blindness all the horses of the nations.

Here: Blindness. This is the third of the three afflictions in Deuteronomy 28:28. A blind warhorse is useless and dangerous to its own side.

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