A2376 — חֵזֵו (chêzêv)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H2376 (Aramaic)
Original: חֵזֵו
Transliteration: chêzêv
Pronunciation: khay'-zev
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (Aramaic)
Root: From חֲזָא (chăzâʼ, H2370) — "to gaze upon, see, behold" (Aramaic cognate of Hebrew חָזָה, chazah H2372)
Occurrences: 15 tokens / 12 unique verses (all in Aramaic Daniel)
First Occurrence: Dan 2:19 — "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision (chêzêv)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

(Aramaic) From חֲזָא (H2370, "to gaze"); a sight, vision, appearance. BDB: emphatic חֶוְוָא (Dan 2:19); suffixal forms וִי־ (Dan 7:2), ־וִהּ (Dan 7:20); plural construct חֶזְוֵי (Dan 2:28+). Two senses: (1) vision as mode of revelation — Dan 2:19, 2:28, 4:5, 4:9, 4:10, 4:13, 7:1, 7:2, 7:7, 7:13, 7:15; (2) appearance — Dan 7:20 ("whose look"). The word is the Aramaic counterpart to Hebrew חָזוֹן (chazon, H2377) and חִזָּיוֹן (chizzayon, H2384). In every revelatory use in Daniel it functions as a technical term for the visionary content perceived in prophetic disclosure, typically occurring "by night" (בְּלֵילְיָא) or "of the head" (רֵאשִׁי) upon the bed.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
and the visions	3	20.0%
the visions	2	13.3%
visions	2	13.3%
vision / in a vision / in my vision / in the visions / and visions	5	33.4%
whose look	1	6.7%
(in / in the — fragments of "in the visions" across tokens)	2	13.3%

KJV renders chêzêv as "vision(s)" in every revelatory occurrence (11 of 12 verses). The single non-revelatory use (Dan 7:20) is rendered "look" — the physical appearance of the little horn.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Daniel	12	3.4

All occurrences fall exclusively in the Aramaic section of Daniel. Concentration: Dan 2 (2 verses), Dan 4 (4 verses), Dan 7 (6 verses). The word is absent from Dan 3, 5, 6 (narrative-only chapters) and from the Hebrew chapters (1, 8–12). This is one of the most book-restricted nouns in the OT: every use is in Daniel, and every use is Aramaic.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Night Vision as Medium of Secret-Revealing¶

Dan 2:19 — "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision (chêzêv). Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven."
Dan 2:28 — "there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets... thy dream, and the visions (chezvê) of thy head upon thy bed, are these"

chêzêv is the channel by which the "secret" (רָז, raz) is disclosed — paired directly with the verb "reveal" (גְּלָא, gelaʼ) and the noun "secret."

2. Visions of the Head Upon the Bed (Formulaic)¶

Dan 4:5 — "I saw a dream which made me afraid... and the visions of my head troubled me"
Dan 4:10 — "Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed"
Dan 4:13 — "I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher"
Dan 7:1 — "Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed"
Dan 7:15 — "I Daniel was grieved in my spirit... and the visions of my head troubled me"

The stock formula חֶזְוֵי רֵאשִׁי ("visions of my head") + עַל־מִשְׁכְּבִי ("upon my bed") frames chêzêv as the experiential content received during sleep-revelation. Recurring effect: "troubled" (בְּהַל, behal) the dreamer.

3. Visions Paired With the Dream¶

Dan 4:9 — "tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof"
Dan 7:1 — "Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed"

chêzêv is distinguished from chêlem (A2493, "dream") as the seen content within the dream-event. The dream is the experience; the chezvê are the discrete visual scenes perceived.

4. Night-Vision Apocalyptic Sequence (Daniel 7)¶

Dan 7:2 — "I saw in my vision (chêzvî) by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea"
Dan 7:7 — "After this I saw in the night visions (chezvê lêylyâʼ), and behold a fourth beast"
Dan 7:13 — "I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven"

The triadic formula "I saw in the night visions" structures Daniel 7 into three apocalyptic scenes (winds/sea; fourth beast; Son of man). chêzêv here is a literary-structural marker of apocalyptic disclosure.

5. Appearance / Outward Look (Non-Revelatory)¶

Dan 7:20 — "that horn... whose look (chezvêh) was more stout than his fellows"

Sole non-revelatory use. The word denotes the observed appearance of the little horn relative to the others — sense 2 of BDB. Same noun, shifted from "what is seen in prophecy" to "how a thing appears to the eye."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
רֵאשׁ (rêʼsh)	H7217	6x (50%)	"visions of my/his head" — stock formula
לֵילְיָא (lêylyâʼ)	H3916	4x (33%)	"night visions" (chezvê lêylyâʼ)
חֲזָא (chăzâʼ)	H2370	8x (67%)	"I saw in the visions" — cognate verb pairing
חֵלֶם (chêlem)	A2493	4x (33%)	"dream and visions of the head" — paired noun
מִשְׁכַּב (mishkab)	H4903	5x (42%)	"upon my bed" — setting formula
בְּהַל (behal)	H927	3x (25%)	"visions troubled me"
אֱלָהּ (ʼĕlâhh)	H426	3x (25%)	God as revealer; "the God of heaven"
גְּלָא (gelâʼ)	H1541	2x (17%)	"revealed... in a night vision" (Dan 2:19)
רָז (râz)	H7328	2x (17%)	"secret" paired with vision as its disclosure-medium
קֳדָם (qŏdâm)	H6925	3x (25%)	"before me" — visionary frame of reference

Typical pattern: chêzêv is most often governed by (1) the cognate verb chăzâʼ "see" in perfect/participial form ("I saw in the visions"), (2) anchored to the night-bed setting (lêylyâʼ + mishkab), and (3) paired with rêʼsh "head" in the construct phrase "visions of my/his head." The word's apocalyptic technicality is established by the triad: chêlem (dream-event) + chêzêv (vision-content) + rāz (secret-referent).

Word Family / Cognates¶

H2370 חֲזָא (chăzâʼ) — Aramaic root verb: "to gaze upon, see, behold" (31x in Aramaic portions). Direct verbal root of chêzêv.
H2372 חָזָה (châzâh) — Hebrew cognate verb: "to see, behold, perceive (especially prophetically)."
H2377 חָזוֹן (châzôwn) — Hebrew noun: "vision" (35x); used in Hebrew Daniel (Dan 1:17; 8:1, 2, 13, 15, 17, 26; 9:21, 24; 10:14; 11:14). The Hebrew counterpart of chêzêv: chêzêv carries the Aramaic-section visions, châzôwn the Hebrew-section visions.
H2378 חָזוֹת (châzôwth) — Hebrew noun: "revelation, vision" (hapax, 2 Chr 9:29).
H2380 חָזוּת (châzûwth) — Hebrew noun: "conspicuousness, vision, appearance."
H2384 חִזָּיוֹן (chizzâyôwn) — Hebrew noun: "vision, night-vision" (9x; Job 4:13, 33:15; Isa 22:1, 5; Joel 2:28 etc.); semantically the closest Hebrew parallel to chêzêv, especially for night-visions.

Synonyms¶

A2031 הַרְהֹר — Aramaic "thought / meditation," surfaced by search_relationships.py in the wider sight-thought-vision field.
H2472 חֲלוֹם (chălôwm) — dream; close Hebrew analogue where revelatory content is received during sleep.
A2493 חֵלֶם (chêlem) — Aramaic "dream"; the paired Daniel noun for the dream-event, alongside chêzêv as the seen content.
H4758 מַרְאֶה (marʼeh) — appearance, sight, vision; broader Hebrew sight/vision noun overlapping with the appearance sense in Dan 7:20.
H4853 מַשָּׂא (massâʼ) — burden/oracle; linked at the level of revelatory disclosure rather than visual form.
H7080 קָסַם (qâçam) — to divine; not a true synonym, but a neighboring revelatory term surfaced by the tool.

Antonyms¶

No antonym entries were returned by search_relationships.py for this Aramaic noun.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חָזוֹן (châzôwn)	H2377	"vision"	Hebrew cognate; used in Hebrew Daniel and throughout Hebrew prophets (Isa 1:1; Hos 12:10); chêzêv confined to Aramaic Daniel
חִזָּיוֹן (chizzâyôwn)	H2384	"vision, night-vision"	Hebrew; closest semantic parallel — especially "visions of the night" (Job 4:13, 33:15) mirrors chezvê lêylyâʼ
חֵלֶם (chêlem)	A2493	"dream" (paired with vision)	Aramaic cognate; chêlem = dream-event; chêzêv = vision-content within it; juxtaposed in Dan 2:28, 4:5, 4:9, 7:1
מַרְאֶה (marʼeh)	H4758	"vision, appearance, sight"	Hebrew; used in Dan 8:16, 26, 27; 9:23; 10:6 etc.; broader "appearance" semantics, including non-prophetic sights
מַרְאָה (marʼâh)	H4759	"vision"	Hebrew; used of waking prophetic visions (Num 12:6; Ezek 8:3; Dan 10:7–8, 16)
רָז (râz)	H7328	"secret" (not a synonym, but paired)	Aramaic; the referent disclosed via the chêzêv — not confusable in sense but lexically linked

Key distinction: chêzêv and châzôwn are the same semantic category in two dialects. The book of Daniel uses chêzêv in its Aramaic chapters (2, 4, 7) and châzôwn in its Hebrew chapters (8–12). Within Daniel 2–7, chêlem names the dream-event while chêzêv names the seen content; the two are juxtaposed, not equated.

LXX Mapping (Aramaic → Greek)¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ὅρασις (hórasis) G3706	6	7.04	Primary rendering — "act of gazing, vision, sight." Standard LXX/Theodotion equivalent for chêzêv.
θεωρέω (theōréō) G2334	5	8.40	"To gaze at, behold" — renders the verbal idiom "I saw in the visions" (chăzâʼ + chêzêv).
ὅραμα (hórama) G3705	4	8.42	"Something gazed at, spectacle" — renders chêzêv as the visionary object itself.
ἐνύπνιον (enýpnion) G1798	4	6.86	"Something seen in sleep" — overlap with chêlem pairing; renders the night-vision framing.
μυστήριον (mystḗrion) G3466	3	9.47	"Mystery" — renders paired rāz "secret" alongside the vision.
κοίτη (koítē) G2845	5	7.30	"Bed, couch" — renders mishkab in night-vision formulas.
κεφαλή (kephalḗ) G2776	5	4.94	"Head" — renders rêʼsh in "visions of the head."
νύξ (nýx) G3571	4	5.20	"Night" — renders lêylyâʼ in "night visions."

The dominant bridges are chêzêv → ὅρασις (primary general equivalent) and chêzêv → ὅραμα (when the vision is treated as a discrete visual object). Greek ὅρασις carries chêzêv's apocalyptic technicality into Revelation (Rev 4:3, 9:17) and into NT prophetic citations. ὅραμα is used for Peter's vision (Acts 10:17, 11:5) and Paul's Macedonian vision (Acts 16:9–10), preserving the "seen object in prophetic disclosure" sense of chêzêv.

Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002004001005	See	`search_relationships.py` places chêzêv within the broader perceptual field of seeing, fitting both the visionary uses in Daniel and the lone "appearance/look" use in Dan 7:20.
002004002015	Vision	Direct match for the noun's core Danielic function as a technical term for revelatory vision.