Hear, See, Know
One of the more prolific themes in the Bible, in terms of number of instances, is the theme of having ears, but not hearing, having eyes, but not seeing.
The first time it appears in the canon is in Deuteronomy 29:4, in Moses’ last address to Israel on the eve of his death and their entrance to the Promised Land. “Yet to this day, the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eye to see, nor ears to hear.” It was an admonition to heed the word of God at all times in the future.
An oblique reference in Psalms 69:23, in David’s request of God to blind his enemies, gives tacit insight to the fact that it is God who gives, and takes away, sight and hearing, and therefore knowledge. The senses are empirical sources of knowledge, and it’s interesting that the Bible makes this connection over and over again.
Three prophets advance the theme, beginning with Isaiah. Indeed, commentators (Watts, WBC) believe “hearing”-“seeing”-“understanding”-“knowing” is a key motif that runs throughout Isaiah (Cf 6:9-10; 42:20; Is 43:8; Is 44:18). Jeremiah and Ezekiel both pick up the theme briefly (Jer 5:21; Ez 12:2), associating blindness and deafness and ignorance with Israel’s rebellion and sin. (In the Bible, hearing is frequently associated with obedience. See, for example, the Sh’ma. “HEAR, O Israel…”)
Jesus quotes Is 6:9-10 in each gospel (Matt 13:14-15; Mk 4:12; Lk 8:10; Jn 12:40) and it is further quoted twice more by the authors of Acts and Romans (Acts 28:26-27; Rom 11:8).
Finally, the theme is repeated for each of the 7 churches in Revelation as an admonition to HEAR (and obey) the Holy Spirit of God: He who has an ear, let him hear.
By my count, there are 21 references to this theme in the Bible, and no doubt I’ve missed a few. Obviously this an important theme, and well worth studying further.
This is a skeleton for a more in-depth study that I hope to develop over time. For now, let (s)he who has an ear, HEAR.
Resources:
Watts, John D.W. Word Biblical Commentary, Vols 24 & 25, 2018
Bratcher, Robert G., ed. Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament, UBS, 1961.