Behold (irregular verb)

'To behold' is an archaic verb. Do not use it in your own writing; but be aware that you may find it in the Authorised Version, and in writing by some of Shakespeare's contemporaries, as well as by modern writers who wish to sound more traditional or conservative than is natural to them. Behold is derived from Hold (irregular verb), with the prefix be-. Its sense seems to have developed from 'holding', 'holding to' or 'maintaining [a belief, etc]' through 'observing' in the sense of 'keeping' or 'putting into practice' or 'celebrating [saints' days, etc] to the general idea of 'observing [with the eyes]', 'looking at' or 'seeing'. It is in this sense that Bianca, in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, says when belittling men:

Believe me, sister, of all the men alive

I never yet beheld that special face

Which I could fancy more than any other.

(II i 10-12)

A last main meaning to be considered is "To hold by some tie of duty or obligation, to retain as a client or person in duty bound" (OED, which adds the note "Found only in the pa[st] p[articiple] BEHOLDEN." This is used in such phrases as "I am beholden to you", ~ 'I owe you some return [for the favour that you have done me'.The other inflections of the verb can no longer be used with that meaning.

The imperative of the verb (in the base form) is often used in the Authorised Version as an interjection meaning much the same as 'See [here]' or 'Look at this': "Fear not," says the angel to the shepherds when announcing the birth of Jesus, "for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy."

'To behold' is an irregular verb. Its forms are given here:

Base form	past tense	-ed participle	Remarks
behold	beheld	beheld (or beholden	an archaic verb, ~ 'to look at' or 'to see' - in special sense 'obliged to': see above.)

This is one of the "the 250 or so irregular verbs" listed in Quirk 1985. The list "contains most of the irregular verbs in present-day English ... but is not meant to be exhaustive, particularly with regard to derivative verbs." AWE has copied most of the entries in that list. The verb 'to behold' belongs to Quirk's Class 6 A