Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BLINDNESS

One of the most frequently mentioned ailments in the Bible and the ancient Near East. Causes of blindness in ancient Israel included congenital defects (John 9:1), physical trauma (Judg. 16:21), and probably a wide variety of infections. Although modern societies and the Talmud recognize degrees of blindness, the usual Hebrew word for a blind person (ʿiwwēr) seems to refer to total blindness (e.g., Deut. 28:29). The corresponding Greek word used in the NT is typhlós (e.g., Mark 8:22).

Ancient Israel had ambivalent attitudes toward the blind. The OT records laws prohibiting obstacles that might injure the blind (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). But blindness was one of the curses that God could bring on the disobedient (Deut. 28:29), and some passages indicate that the blind were undesirable elements that were not allowed in the temple (2 Sam. 5:8). Lev. 21:18 prohibits the blind from serving as priests. It also was improper to offer blind animals for sacrifice (Mal. 1:8).

The community responsible for the texts at Qumran seems to expand the prohibitions against the blind. Thus, the Temple Scroll (11QT 45:12-13) prohibits the entrance of blind persons into Jerusalem for their entire life because blindness was seen as a form of impurity which could defile the sacred city.

The policies in Leviticus and Qumran texts, if actually implemented, would have created a group of second-class citizens with little access to important religious and social institutions. Although the healing of the blind was to be a sign of the coming of the Messiah (Isa. 29:18; 35:5; Matt. 11:2-6), the efforts of Jesus and other disciples to heal and minister to the blind (Matt. 9:27-31; 12:22) also may be seen as a critique of health care practices reflected in Leviticus and Qumran.

Scholars also note the literary uses of blindness and blind persons in many biblical stories. For example, Ahijah retains his perceptive prophetic powers even though he is physically blind (1 Kgs. 14:4-5). The message seems to be that God’s spoken message is so clear that it need not depend on vision (cf. 1 Sam. 9:9, which notes that prophets were formerly called “seers”). Throughout the Bible, blindness also is often used as a symbol of unbelief (Isa. 43:8), ignorance (Isa. 42:16; 56:10), and other moral inadequacies (2 Pet. 1:9).

Hector Avalos

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BLINDNESS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)