1. Revelation 4:2 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the function of "behold"?

Revelation 4:2 (ESV)

2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.

Undoubtedly there was so much to see in heaven, with its countless inhabitants and actions as the rest of this chapter and the next make clear. But the word behold is used to indicate what immediately caught John’s attention: a “throne” and someone seated on it.