Theaomai denotes visually observing, whether directing attention toward something or being seen by others.

The attested usage denotes visual observation: people direct their attention toward fields, persons, a tomb, or events, and witnesses report what they have observed. In passive clauses it describes actions done so as to be visible to people or a person having been seen.

1. Visual observation and visibility · dominant

   The aorist middle forms describe attention directed toward what is present: in John 4:35 the APB renders the clause "lift up your eyes and look at the fields," while in Luke 23:55 the women observe the tomb and the placement of the body. In 1 John 1:1, the first-person aorist middle form stands in a shared testimony alongside hearing, seeing with the eyes, and touching; the APB renders it "we looked at." The perfect middle forms in 1 John 4:12 and 1 John 4:14 concern whether God has been seen and what the speakers have seen, while the aorist passive infinitive in Matthew 6:1 concerns righteousness done "in order to be seen by them."

   John 4:35Luke 23:551 John 1:11 John 4:121 John 4:14Matthew 6:1

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB uses varied visual expressions, including "looked at," "saw," "looking," and "to be seen." Because its text is a whole-verse translation, these renderings show the verses' visual context rather than fixed translations of the lemma.