Behold! That got your attention, right?! Idare you to say“behold” out loud without giggling or cracking a smile. Go ahead. Try it! While “behold” is not a common word in our vocabulary today, we do see it in scripture, and this little word is meant to grab our attention in a big way.
Before we had such a variety of translations, the word behold showed up in scripture muchmore frequently. According to Bible Gateway, behold appears1298 times in the original King James Version.As time has gone on, we nowfind it about half as often in the New King James version, 1069 times in the ESV,& 1,134 times in the NASB. The NIV no longer includes the word behold at all.
Why do some translations continue touse the wordbehold and what exactly does this word mean?Behold is taken from the word bihalden which is an Old English word. If we break this word down, it means to thoroughly hold something (bi- ‘thoroughly’ and haldan ‘to hold’).When we look to Strong’s Concordance, in the Old Testament Hebrew, behold is a translationof the wordhinneh. When this word is used, it is generallyintroducing something new or unexpected. This word indicates that we needto pay close attention to what followsit.In the New Testament Greek, the wordhinnehbecomesidou, which holds the Hebrew meaning and also ties more to our verb “to see”.So why not just say “Look” or “See”?The simple answer is because those words alone don’t accurately conveythe meaning of behold in its entirety.
To beholdis to do more than justglance or look at something.To behold is to be captivated. When you behold something, you see it with your eyes, but you also hold your gaze on it in order to search and to understand. If we take what we know from the Hebrew, Greek and the Old English definition, we’d think of the word behold as more of an intense indicator- something more along the lines of“stop, look and listen”, “don’t miss this”, “this is super important”, or “this changes everything”. The word behold is alerting us that we want to pay attention so that we can truly see and thoroughly understand. We want to behold what comes next because it is so important!
Let’s consider a fewfamiliar verses that contain the word behold.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Luke 2:10
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, Matthew 9:20
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. Matthew 27:51
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” Revelation 3:20
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5
We probably won’t start using the word behold in our everyday lives,but we can be intentional about beholding his Word. Inthe busyness of this world, it can become so difficultto take the time to do this.When we do, we allowhis Truth to reframe what we see. Beholding his Word allows us to understand his plan for restoration, and it reminds us that we can look forward to his promise for the renewal of all things.
Whenwe truly see and seek to understand, itcan change everything!!