a.var denotes blinding, either Zedekiah’s eyes in captivity or the impairment of judgment by a bribe.

The attested use most often describes the blinding of Zedekiah’s eyes following his capture; in legal warnings, it describes a bribe’s blinding effect on those who see or on the wise, alongside the perversion of righteous words.

1. Blinding a person’s eyes · dominant

   The Piel perfect form occurs in accounts of Zedekiah’s capture: in 2 Kings 25:7 the APB renders the sequence, “blinded Zedekiah himself,” before he is bound and taken to Babylon. In Jeremiah 39:7 and Jeremiah 52:11, the APB specifically renders that his eyes were blinded before he was bound.

   2 Kings 25:7Jeremiah 39:7Jeremiah 52:11
2. Blinding discernment in judicial settings · common

   In Exodus 23:8, the Piel imperfect form appears in the warning that a bribe blinds “those who see” and perverts righteous words. Deuteronomy 16:19 similarly places it in the clause that a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise while justice is not to be perverted.

   Exodus 23:8Deuteronomy 16:19

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB uses “blinded” for Zedekiah in 2 Kings 25:7, Jeremiah 39:7, and Jeremiah 52:11, and “blinds” for a bribe’s effect in Exodus 23:8 and Deuteronomy 16:19. These renderings present the surrounding clauses rather than definitions.