Hebrew word · H8159
שָׁעָה
sha'ah
to gaze
If from šāʿāh "to gaze, look", the reflexive form gives "look about oneself", i.e. glance around anxiously. If from a separate root šātaʿ (known from Ugaritic, the language of a Canaanite city of c. 1200 BC, where it means "fear"), it simply means "be afraid, be dismayed".
Appears 15 times in 15 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) to look at or to, regard, gaze at or about
1a) (Qal) to gaze at, regard, behold, look about
1b) (Hiphil) to look away, cause gaze to turn away
1c) (Hithpael) to look in dismay, gaze about (in anxiety)
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 41:10
- Range of meaning
If from šāʿāh "to gaze, look", the reflexive form gives "look about oneself", i.e. glance around anxiously. If from a separate root šātaʿ (known from Ugaritic, the language of a Canaanite city of c. 1200 BC, where it means "fear"), it simply means "be afraid, be dismayed". The word appears only here and in Isa 41:23.
- Against the English
KJV/ESV/NIV "dismayed"; NASB "anxiously look about you"; YLT "look not around". "Dismayed" is a reasonable meaning, but in modern English it has weakened to "disappointed, upset" (see drift).
- How it drifted
In 1611 "dismay" meant to lose courage or be struck with terror. Today it usually means mild disappointment.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Isa 41:23 "that we may be dismayed (or: look at one another) and see". The Greek Septuagint reads μὴ πλανῶ ("do not wander / go astray"), and the Latin Vulgate ne declines ("do not turn aside"). Both show that early translators were unsure and read it as a movement of the eyes or body. HALOT lists a root šʿʿ/šātaʿ with Ugaritic support.
- Range of meaning
Two Hebrew roots look almost the same. שָׁעָה (sha'ah) means 'to look, gaze, regard with interest' and, with 'to/upon', 'to look to for help, rely on' (Gen 4:4-5, of God regarding Abel's offering; Isa 17:7-8; 31:1). שָׁעַע (sha'a') means 'to be smeared over, plastered', and so of eyes 'to be blinded, stuck shut' (Isa 6:10 'shut [smear] their eyes'; Isa 29:9 'blind yourselves and be blind').
- Against the English
KJV/WEB 'be dim', BSB/NIV/ESV 'be closed', NASB 'be blinded', YLT 'dazzled'. All except a strict reading of the Masoretic pointing take it as the 'smear shut' root. 'Dim' suggests eyesight slowly fading; the Hebrew picture is eyes sealed over.
- How it drifted
'Dim' in KJV was a fair approximation in 1611, but today it suggests old age or poor light rather than a blindness that has been imposed.
- Used elsewhere in the period
HALOT and most commentators (e.g. Wildberger, Blenkinsopp) list this occurrence under שׁעע and repoint the form (as tishsha'nah). The Septuagint read שָׁעָה in its 'rely on' sense: 'they will no longer trust in men'. The Vulgate 'non caligabunt' ('will not be darkened') follows the blinding sense.
- Range of meaning
Shāʿāh means to look at, gaze, or regard with attention (Gen 4:4–5, God "regarded" Abel's offering), and also to look with longing or reliance (Isa 17:7–8; 31:1). Followed by "from" (min), it reverses into "look away from, leave alone."
- Against the English
KJV/WEB "look away from me" is literal. BSB/NIV "turn away from me" is close. NASB "turn your eyes away" makes the eyes explicit. All capture the request for space. None quite show that this is a fixed sufferer's idiom.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Job 7:19 and 14:6 ("look away from him, that he may rest"), and Psalm 39:13, where the psalmist asks God, "look away from me, that I may smile again." In each case someone in pain asks the watching eyes to withdraw. The Septuagint here simply says "Leave me alone" (Aphete me).
Where it appears
Genesis · 2
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Genesis 4:4 וַיִּ֣שַׁע and he looked
while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Here: A rare verb meaning to look at something with attention and interest, to turn one's gaze toward it (compare Exod 5:9; Isa 17:7; 31:1). Here it means God's favourable notice. The text does not say how that notice was shown.
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Genesis 4:5 שָׁעָ֑ה he looked
but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
Here: God did not turn an attentive, favorable gaze toward Cain and his gift. In verse 4 the same verb comes in narrative form ('and he looked'); here it is a flat completed negative, a closed verdict.
Exodus · 1
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Exodus 5:9 יִשְׁע֖וּ them pay attention
Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”
2 Samuel · 1
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2 Samuel 22:42 יִשְׁע֖וּ they looked
They looked, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.
Job · 2
Psalms · 2
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Psalm 39:13 הָשַׁ֣ע smear
Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”
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Psalm 119:117 וְאֶשְׁעָ֖ה and I may have regard
Uphold me, and I will be saved, that I may always regard Your statutes.
Isaiah · 7
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Isaiah 17:7 יִשְׁעֶ֥ה he will look
In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
Here: Not a passing glance but looking to someone with attention, dependence and expectation. The same verb is negated in v. 8 ('they will not look to the altars'), so the verse describes a turning of trust from one object to another.
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Isaiah 17:8 יִשְׁעֶ֔ה he will look
They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
Here: The very verb used in v. 7 ('will gaze upon his Maker'). It means looking at something with interest and expectation, looking to it for help. The future form describes what will happen 'in that day' after the judgment. The subject is singular, 'he', picking up 'the human being' (hāʾādām) of v. 7 as a whole group.
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Isaiah 22:4 שְׁע֥וּ look away
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
Here: A plural command, "look." With "from me" after it, it means "look away from me, stop watching me, leave me alone." He is speaking to a group of people around him, apparently would-be comforters.
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Isaiah 31:1 שָׁעוּ֙ they look
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
Here: "They have looked/gazed": to turn one's eyes toward something with attention and expectation. The perfect tense shows a settled failure. It is a sound-pun on yiššā‘ēnû ("they lean").
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Isaiah 32:3 תִשְׁעֶ֖ינָה they will gaze
Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
Here: The disputed word. As pointed it would mean 'gaze, look'; but in context nearly all translators take it as the verb for eyes being smeared or plastered shut, the same verb God uses in Isaiah 6:10 ('shut their eyes'). The point: the blindness that came as judgment will no longer hold.
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Isaiah 41:10 תִּשְׁתָּ֖ע you fear
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Here: Probably the darting, searching look of someone panicking and scanning for danger or rescue (YLT "look not around"). Many scholars connect it to a root meaning "be afraid" (see debates). Either way it is the partner of "fear", describing alarm you can see.
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Isaiah 41:23 וְנִשְׁתָּ֖עָה and let us fear
Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.