Hebrew word · H7688

שָׁגַח

hishgiach

to gaze

To look intently, gaze, watch closely. In the Bible it occurs only three times: Psalm 33:14 (the LORD "looks out" from his dwelling on all who live on earth), Isaiah 14:16 (onlookers "stare" at the fallen king), and here.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Hiphil) to gaze, stare

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 Song of Songs 2:9

Range of meaning

To look intently, gaze, watch closely. In the Bible it occurs only three times: Psalm 33:14 (the LORD "looks out" from his dwelling on all who live on earth), Isaiah 14:16 (onlookers "stare" at the fallen king), and here.

Against the English

"Gazing" (BSB, NIV, ESV), "looking" (NASB, WEB), "looketh forth" (KJV). KJV's "looketh forth at the windows" could sound as if he is inside looking out, which reverses the scene.

Used elsewhere in the period

Later Hebrew built hashgachah ("providence, divine oversight") and mashgiach (a supervisor, today especially a kosher-food inspector) on this root. Those meanings are post-biblical.

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 33:14 הִשְׁגִּ֑יחַ he looks

    From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 2:9 מַשְׁגִּ֙יחַ֙ [is] gazing

    My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look, he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.

    Here: "Gazing": a steady, attentive look. It is a rare verb. Psalm 33:14 uses it for God looking down from heaven on the people of the earth.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 14:16 יַשְׁגִּ֔יחוּ they will stare

    Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble,

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