Re: Naked Bible 162: The Evil Eye
The notion that one can bring about harm to something or someone through a nasty expression on the face while gazing at the object is perhaps the most universal superstition across every human culture in history.
However, in Scripture the concept waffles just a bit between actual power and simply expressing displeasure. It seems to signal an evil intent. Often, the nearest translation into English is an expression of envy or stinginess. There is something about projecting evil intent that signals a resolve do do harm. Heiser cites the mythical example of Sauron’s eye in the Lord of the Rings series. If the eye catches you, you are in trouble.
Examples in Scripture abound. For us, it’s mostly an idiom.
1. 1 Samuel 18:6-9 — When the men arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. The women who were playing the music sang,
”Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!”
This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, “They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?” So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.
Saul looked upon David with en evil eye when he noticed David managed to get more positive acclaim from the people. In this context, the evil eye signaled an intent to harm David.
2. Numbers 23:11-13 — Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you can observe them. You will see only a part of them, but you will not see all of them. Curse them for me from there.”
Balak asked Balaam to move to another location where he could cast an evil eye upon the Israeli camp in order to curse them. The literal translation of the Hebrew text points to an expectation of using the evil eye.
3. Job 40:11-12 — Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger.
Look at every proud man and bring him low;
Look at every proud man and abase him;
crush the wicked on the spot!
God challenges Job to use an evil eye to actually bring down someone who is wicked, something God can clearly do without effort. God could certainly use His gaze as a blessing, as well (Psalm 25:18-20). In Job 7:19 he asks God to turn His fierce gaze away so Job can catch a break.
4. Proverbs 23:6 — Do not eat the food of a stingy person, do not crave his delicacies…
The actual Hebrew phrase “evil eye” is hidden by English translations. The literal translation would be, “Don’t eat food from [someone who has] an evil eye.” Likewise, 28:22 would read, “The evil eye hastens after riches” as opposed to someone with a “good” eye who is generous and giving.
5. Deuteronomy 15:9 — Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the LORD against you and you will be regarded as having sinned.
Read literally, “Beware lest your evil eye does evil to your brother…” Later in 28:54-57, referring to a warning what Israel might experience if she is unfaithful, God says, “The tender man among you will do evil with his eye against” his family. Contrast this with Proverbs 22:9 which should translate as, “Someone good of eye…”
6. Proverbs 10:10 — The one who winks his eye causes trouble…
“Whoever bites/stings with the eye…” Also, Job 16:9, to “sharpen the eye” like a weapon. It’s not just a bad habit or bad character, but it’s a stronger intent.
In the New Testament…
7. Matthew 6:22-23 (& Luke 11:34-36) — “The eye is the lamp of the body. If then your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
Unlike the modern concept of lighting coming into the eye, the Hebrew image was light coming out of your eyes. It’s a question of what is inside of you. See Daniel 10:6. It also shows up in Second Temple literature.
We know that we are wired to respond in some measure to way people look at us, what their gaze and face portray. It’s not so much the power of the evil eye, but the nature of human response.
In ancient Hebrew culture, much as today in any honor/shame society, it was common among peasantry to be hesitant to accept too much praise, too much reward, etc. because there would always be envious people around to give the evil eye. Never flaunt or gloat among your peers. There was this notion that one man’s gain was another’s loss unless it was shared. Among peasants, everything was in shortage. This is why “evil eye” is associated with envy in those cultures.
Thus, a good eye is the characteristic of having no hidden motives. There’s no coveting. Casting an evil eye is simply showing the darkness inside of you.
Galatians 3:1-5 — You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? Have you suffered so many things for nothing? — if indeed it was for nothing. Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?
Heiser relates how Paul hints at believers sandbagged by the influence of Jewish and pagan false notions about how to gain salvation through mere conduct. Paul uses the term “bewitched” (baskaino), which shows up only once in the New Testament Greek and once in the LXX OT — back in Deuteronomy 28:54-55, where starvation could make some men “begrudge with his eye” (literally “bewitch with his eye”) their own family members to point of engaging in cannibalism.
Paul uses the same image from Deuteronomy to point out just how deeply accursed someone is who clings to legalism. They will end up cannibalizing their fellow Christians, they will “bite and devour” each other out of selfishness and envy. They cannot see clearly the crucified Christ who was so utterly open and guileless. Instead, they keep looking for hidden meanings and keep turning it all back on themselves and their personal benefit. They are bewitched; someone has cast an evil spell upon them. The Judaizers were like sorcerers, the kind of people who would cannibalize their own kin.
Instead of magic amulets to ward off the evil eye, all you need is the Cross in your heart.
