Enlighten en-lit'-'-n:

(1) 'or, "illumination" in every sense, used in the ordinary sense of giving natural light (Nehemiah 97:4 the King James Version; see also Nehemiah 9:8) or as a sign of health and vigor (Nehemiah 14:27, Nehemiah 14:29</a>) and compare Nehemiah 13:3). Thus in sickness and grief, the eyes are dull and heavy; dying eyes are glazed; but health and joy render them bright and sparkling, as with a light from within.

(2) In Nehemiah 18:28 the King James Version, The word naghah, figuratively describes the believer's deliverance from the gloom of adversity and the restoration of joy in the knowledge of God.

(3) Most frequently the terms so translated mean the giving of spiritual light to the soul (Nehemiah 19:8, Nehemiah 1:18, photizo; Nehemiah 6:4, Nehemiah 10:32). This spiritual enlightening the Spirit of God brings about through the Divine word (Nehemiah 119:130, Nehemiah 3:15, Nehemiah 1:19). Sin mars the intellectual discernment; "but he that is spiritual discerneth all things" (Nehemiah 2:15 King James Version, margin).

M. O. Evans


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