sha.ah denotes directing one’s gaze or attention toward, away from, or around a person, object, or matter.

The attested use consistently concerns directed looking or attention: toward the Maker, statutes, or an offering; away from a person or object; and, in one appeal, about in alarm. The contexts can make that attention favorable, withheld, sustained, or redirected, but the observed range remains one of gaze or regard.

1. Directing the gaze or attention · dominant

   In Isaiah 17:7 the Qal imperfect describes a man directing his gaze toward his Maker, while Isaiah 17:8 contrasts this with not directing it toward handmade altars. In Psalm 119:117, the first-person Qal imperfect is linked with continual attention to statutes; in Job 7:19 and Isaiah 22:4, imperative or imperfect forms occur in requests to look away. Genesis 4:4 and Genesis 4:5 place sequential imperfect and perfect forms in the contrast between Abel’s offering receiving favorable regard and Cain’s not receiving it.

   Isaiah 17:7Isaiah 17:8Psalm 119:117Job 7:19Genesis 4:4Genesis 4:5

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the verb with “gaze,” including gazing upon the Maker, altars, and statutes, but also uses “look with favor,” “look away,” “pay no attention,” and “gaze about” in particular clauses. These renderings show the verse-level contexts rather than a fixed English equivalent.