Blindness in the Bible

Disqualified for priestly office

Leviticus 21:18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous,

⇒Bible Encyclopedia for BLINDNESS.

Of animals, disqualified for a sacrifice

Leviticus 22:22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.
Deuteronomy 15:21 And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.
Malachi 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.

⇒Definition of blindness

Miraculously inflicted upon the Sodomites

Genesis 19:11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

Syrians

2 Kings 6:18-23 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. 20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? ...

Saul of Tarsus

Acts 9:8-9 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

Elymas

Acts 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Sent as a judgment

Deuteronomy 28:28 The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:

Miraculous healing of

Matthew 9:27-30 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on us. 28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. 30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Also Matthew 12:22; 21:14.

The miraculous healing of Bartimaeus

Matthew 20:30-34 And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? 33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. ...
Mark 10:46-52 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. ...

The miraculous healing of a man of Bethsaida

Mark 8:22-25 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

The miraculous healing of a man born blind

John 9:1-7 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. ...

INSTANCES OF

Isaac

Genesis 27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

Jacob

Genesis 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

Eli

1 Samuel 4:15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.

Ahijah

1 Kings 14:4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

SPIRITUAL

Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
Deuteronomy 29:4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
Deuteronomy 32:28-29 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. 29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
Judges 16:20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
Also Job 21:14; 22:13-14; Psalm 10:5-6; 14:1,4; 73:2-28; 79:6; 82:5; 92:6; 94:7-8; 95:10; 119:18; Proverbs 1:7,22,29-30; 4:19; 7:7-23; 10:21; 13:18; 14:12; 17:16; 19:2-3; 28:5; Ecclesiastes 7:25; Isaiah 1:3; 5:13,20; 6:9-10; 9:2; 26:10-11; 27:11; 28:13,15; 29:10-12; 40:21,27-28; 42:6-7,18-20; 44:18-20; 48:8; 53:1; 56:10; 60:2; Jeremiah 2:8; 4:22; 5:4-5,21; 8:7-9; 9:3,6; 16:10; 17:9; Ezekiel 12:2; Daniel 12:10; Hosea 4:1,6,14; 5:4; 7:11; Amos 9:10; Micah 4:12; Matthew 5:15-16; 6:23; 13:13-16,19; 15:14; 16:3; 22:29; 23:16-24,26; Mark 4:11-12,15; 6:52; 7:18; 12:24; Luke 4:18; 8:10,12; 11:52; 12:48,57; 19:42; 23:34; John 1:5,10; 3:4,7,9-12,19-20,31; 4:10-11,15,22; 6:52,60; 7:28; 8:12,15,19,27,33,42-43,52,54-55,57; 9:29-39; 12:38-41; 14:17; 15:21; 16:2-3; 17:25; Acts 3:17; 13:27; 17:23; 19:2; 26:18; Romans 1:19-22; 2:4; 11:25; 1 Corinthians 1:18,20-21; 2:8,14-15; 15:34; 2 Corinthians 3:14-15; 4:3-4,6; Galatians 4:8; Ephesians 4:18; 5:8; Colossians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5; 5:4-7; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 2:1,12; 2 Timothy 3:7; Titus 1:16; Hebrews 5:11-12; 1 Peter 1:14; 2:9; 2 Peter 1:9; 3:16; 1 John 1:6,8; 2:4,9,11; 3:1,6; 4:8; 3 John 11; Jude 10; Revelation 3:17.

See AFFLICTION, OBDURACY IN

See MAN, IGNORANCE OF

See GOD, PROVIDENCE OF, MISUNDERSTOOD

INSTANCES OF

Israelites

Numbers 16 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: 2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: 3 And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? 4 And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: ...
Numbers 17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and take of every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers twelve rods: write thou every man's name upon his rod. 3 And thou shalt write Aaron's name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers. 4 And thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you. ...

Moab

2 Kings 3:27 Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Scribes

Matthew 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

See in the printed text above for other instances