Reference: Eye
American
The same Hebrew word means both eye and fountain. Besides its common use, to denote the organ of sight, it is often used figuratively in the Bible. Most of these passages, however, require no explanation. The custom of sealing up the eyes of criminals, still practiced in the East, is thought to be alluded to in Isa 6:10; 44:18. The expression, "As the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters," Ps 123:2, is elucidated by a knowledge of the fact that many eastern servants are taught to stand always upon the watch, and are in general directed by a nod, a wink, or some slight motion of the fingers imperceptible to strangers. Many Scripture phrases intimate the soul-like nature of the eye, quickly and truly expressing the thoughts of the heart: such as "the bountiful eye" and the "evil eye," Pr 22:9; 23:6; "haughty eyes" and "wanton eyes," Pr 6:17; Isa 3:16. "The lust of the eyes," 1Jo 2:16, expresses a craving for any of the gay vanities of this life. The threatening against "the eye that mocketh at his father," Pr 30:17, is explained by the habit of birds of prey, which attack the eyes of a living enemy, and quickly devour those of the dead. A "single" eye, Mt 6:22, is one which is clear, and sees every object as it is.
There are allusions in the Bible, and in many ancient and modern writers, to the practice of painting the eyelids, to make the eyes appear large, lustrous, and languishing. Jezebel, 2Ki 9:30, is said to have "painted her face," literally, "put her eyes in paint." This was sometimes done to excess, Jer 4:30; and was practiced by abandoned women, Pr 6:25. A small probe of wood, ivory, or silver, is wet with rose water, and dipped in an impalpable powder; this is then drawn between the lids of the eye nearly closed, and leaves a narrow black border which is thought a great ornament. The powder for this purpose, called kohol, is made by burning a kind of aromatic resin, and sometimes of lead ore and other substances, for the benefit of the eyes. In Persia this custom is as common among the men as among the women; so also in ancient Egypt, as the Theban monuments show. "The females of Arabia," Niebuhr says, "color their nails blood-red, and their hands and feet yellow, with the herb Al-henna. (See CAMPHIRE.) They also tinge the inside of their eyelids coal-black with kochel, a coloring material prepared from lead ore. They not only enlarge their eyebrows, but also paint other figures of black, as ornaments, upon the face and hands. Sometimes they even prick through the skin, in various figures, and then lay certain substances upon the wounds, which eat in so deeply, that the ornaments thus impressed are rendered permanent for life. All this the Arabian women esteem as beauty."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us.
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.
Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies;
The eye that mocks a father And scorns a mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.
Moreover, the LORD said, "Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
"Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."
They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.
And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.
"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Easton
(Heb 'ain, meaning "flowing"), applied (1) to a fountain, frequently; (2) to colour (Nu 11:7; R.V., "appearance," marg. "eye"); (3) the face (Ex 10:5,15; Nu 22:5,11), in Nu 14:14, "face to face" (R.V. marg., "eye to eye"). "Between the eyes", i.e., the forehead (Ex 13:9,16).
The expression (Pr 23:31), "when it giveth his colour in the cup," is literally, "when it giveth out [or showeth] its eye." The beads or bubbles of wine are thus spoken of. "To set the eyes" on any one is to view him with favour (Ge 44:21; Job 24:23; Jer 39:12). This word is used figuratively in the expressions an "evil eye" (Mt 20:15), a "bountiful eye" (Pr 22:9), "haughty eyes" (Pr 6:17 marg.), "wanton eyes" (Isa 3:16), "eyes full of adultery" (2Pe 2:14), "the lust of the eyes" (1Jo 2:16). Christians are warned against "eye-service" (Eph 6:6; Col 3:22). Men were sometimes punished by having their eyes put out (1Sa 11:2; Samson, Jg 16:21; Zedekiah, 2Ki 25:7).
The custom of painting the eyes is alluded to in 2Ki 9:30, R.V.; Jer 4:30; Eze 23:40, a custom which still prevails extensively among Eastern women.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.'
'They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped--what is left to you from the hail--and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field.
For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt.
"And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the LORD brought you out of Egypt.
"So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt."
Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.
and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.
So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, "Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me.
'Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.'"
Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison.
But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel."
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.
"He provides them with security, and they are supported; And His eyes are on their ways.
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.
Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;
Moreover, the LORD said, "Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.
"Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you."
"Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came--for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments;
'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'
not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children;
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Hastings
The eye was supposed to be the organ or window by which light had access to the whole body (Mt 6:22). For beauty of eyes cf. 1Sa 16:12 Revised Version margin, Song 1:15; 5:12, and the name Dorcas in Ac 9:36; in Ge 29:17 the reference seems to be to Leah's weak eyes (so Driver, ad loc.). The wanton or alluring eyes of women are referred to in Pr 6:25; Isa 3:16. Their beauty was intensified by painting, antimony being used for darkening the eyelashes (2Ki 9:30; Jer 4:30; Eze 23:40 [all RV). Keren-happuch (Job 42:14) means 'horn of eyepaint.' Pr 23:29 speaks of the drunkard's redness of eye. In De 6:8; 14:1 'between the eyes' means 'on the forehead.' Shaving the eyebrows was part of the purification of the leper (Le 14:9).
'Eye' is used in many figurative phrases: as the avenue of temptation (Ge 3:6; Job 31:1); of spiritual knowledge and blindness, as indicating feelings
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is your vindication before all who are with you, and before all men you are cleared."
And Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful of form and face.
"It will be on the seventh day that he shall shave off all his hair: he shall shave his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair. He shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in water and be clean.
"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.
"You are the sons of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead.
"Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,' and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you.
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is he."
Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
'Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice, And haughtily lifted up your eyes? Against the Holy One of Israel!
"I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?
He named the first Jemimah, and the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch.
He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the hiding places he kills the innocent; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,
Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.
He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth And does not know that want will come upon him.
"How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves."
"His eyes are like doves Beside streams of water, Bathed in milk, And reposed in their setting.
Moreover, the LORD said, "Because the daughters of Zion are proud And walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, And go along with mincing steps And tinkle the bangles on their feet,
And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.
"Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came--for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments;
"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.
I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.
Smith
Eye.
(The practice of painting the eyelids to make the eyes look large, lustrous and languishing is often alluded to in the Old Testament, and still extensively prevails among the women of the East, and especially among the Mohammedans. Jezebel, in
is said to have prepared for her meeting with Jehu by painting her face, or, as it reads in the margin, "put her eyes in paint." See also
A small probe of wood, ivory or silver is wet with rose-water and dipped in an impalpable black powder, and is then drawn between the lids of the eye nearly closed, and leaves a narrow black border, which is though a great ornament. --ED.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
"Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came--for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments;
Watsons
EYE, the organ of sight. The Hebrews by a curious and bold metaphor call fountains eyes; and they also give the same name to colours: "And the eye," or colour, "of the manna was as the eye," or colour, "of bdellium," Nu 11:7. By an "evil eye" is meant, envy, jealousy, grudging, ill- judged parsimony; to turn the eyes on any one, is to regard him and his interests; to find grace in any one's eyes, Ru 2:10, is to win his friendship and good will. "The eyes of servants look unto the hands of their masters," Ps 123:2, to observe the least motion, and obey the least signal. "Their eyes were opened." Ge 3:7, they began to comprehend in a new manner. "The wise man's eyes are in his head," Ec 2:14, he does not act by chance. The eye of the soul, in a moral sense, is the intention, the desire. God threatens to set his eyes on the Israelites for evil, and not for good, Am 9:4. Nebuchadnezzar recommends to Nebuzaradan that he would "set his eyes" on Jeremiah, and permit him to go where he pleased, Jer 39:12; 40:4. Sometimes expressions of this kind are taken in a quite opposite sense: "Behold the eyes of the Lord are on the sinful kingdom; and I will destroy it," Am 9:8. To be eyes to the blind, or to serve them instead of eyes, is sufficiently intelligible, Job 29:15. The Persians called those officers of the crown who had the care of the king's interests and the management of his finances, the king's eyes. Eye service is peculiar to slaves, who are governed by fear only; and is to be carefully guarded against by Christians, who ought to serve from a principle of duty and affection, Eph 6:6; Col 3:22. The lust of the eyes, or the desire of the eyes, comprehends every thing that curiosity, vanity, &c, seek after; every thing that the eyes can present to men given up to their passions, 1Jo 2:16. "Cast ye away every man the abomination of his eyes," Eze 20:7-8; let not the idols of the Egyptians seduce you. The height or elevation of the eyes is taken for pride, Ecclus. 23:5. St. Paul says that the Galatians would willingly have "plucked out their eyes" for him, Ga 4:15; expressing the intensity of their zeal, affection, and devotion to him. The Hebrews call the apple of the eye the black daughter of the eye. To keep any thing as the apple of the eye, is to preserve it with particular care, De 32:10: "He that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of mine eye," Zec 2:8; attempts, to injure, me in the tenderest part, which men instinctively defend. The eye and its actions are occasionally transferred to God: "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth," Zec 4:10; 2Ch 16:9; Ps 11:4. "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good," Pr 15:3. "The Lord looked down from heaven," &c. We read, Mt 6:22, "The light," or lamp, "of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be single," simple, clear, ??????, "thy whole body shall be full of light; but if thine eye be evil," distempered, diseased, "thy whole body shall be darkened." The direct allusion may hold to a lantern, or lamp, ??????; if the glass of it be clear, the light will shine through it strongly; but if the glass be soiled, dirty, foul, but little light will pass through it: for if they had not glass lanterns, such as we use, they had others in the east made of thin linen, &c: these were very liable to receive spots, stains, and foulnesses, which impeded the passage of the rays of light from the luminary within. So, in the natural eye, if the cornea be single, and the humours clear, the light will act correctly; but if there be a film over the cornea, or a cataract, or a skin between any of the humours, the rays of light will never make any impression on the internal seat of sight, the retina. By analogy, therefore, if the mental eye, the judgment, be honest, virtuous, sincere, well-meaning, pious, it may be considered as enlightening and directing the whole of a person's actions; but if it be perverse, malign, biassed by undue prejudices, or drawn aside by improper views, it darkens the understanding, perverts the conduct, and suffers a man to be misled by his unwise and unruly passions.
2. The orientals, in some cases, deprive the criminal of the light of day, by sealing up his eyes. A son of the Great Mogul was actually suffering this punishment when Sir Thomas Roe visited the court of Delhi. The hapless youth was cast into prison, and deprived of the light by some adhesive plaster put upon his eyes, for the space of three years; after which the seal was taken away, that he might with freedom enjoy the light; but he was still detained in prison. Other princes have been treated in a different manner, to prevent them from conspiring against the reigning monarch, or meddling with affairs of state: they have been compelled to swallow opium and other stupifying drugs, to weaken or benumb their faculties, and render them unfit for business. Influenced by such absurd and cruel policy, Shah Abbas, the celebrated Persian monarch, who died in 1629, ordered a certain quantity of opium to be given every day to his grandson, who was to be his successor, to stupify him, and prevent him from disturbing his government. Such are probably the circumstances alluded to by the prophet: "They have not known nor understood; for he hath shut their eyes that they cannot see; and their hearts that they cannot understand," Isa 44:18. The verb ???, rendered in our version, to shut, signifies "to overlay," "to cover over the surface;" thus, the king of Israel prepared three thousand talents of gold, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the temple, 1Ch 29:4. But it generally signifies to overspread, or daub over, as with mortar or plaster, of which Parkhurst quotes a number of examples; a sense which entirely corresponds with the manner in which the eyes of a criminal are sealed up in some parts of the east. The practice of sealing up the eyes, and stupifying a criminal with drugs, seems to have been contemplated by the same prophet in another passage of his book: "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed."
3. Deprivation of sight was a very common punishment in the east. It was at first the practice to sear the eyes with a hot iron; but a discovery that this was not effectual, led to the cruel method of taking them out altogether with a sharp-pointed instrument. The objects of this barbarity were usually persons who aspired to the throne, or who were considered likely to make such an attempt. It was also inflicted on chieftains, whom it was desirable to deprive of power without putting them to death. For this reason the hapless Zedekiah was punished with the loss of sight, because he had rebelled against the king of Babylon, and endeavoured to recover the independence of his throne: "Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death," Jer 52:11.
4. Females used to paint their eyes. The substance used for this purpose is called in Chaldee ???, cohol; by the LXX, ?????. Thus we read of Jezebel, 2Ki 9:30, that, understanding that Jehu was to enter Samaria, she decked herself for his reception, and (as in the original Hebrew) "put her eyes in paint." This was in conformity to a custom which prevailed in the earliest ages. As large black eyes were thought the finest, the women, to increase their lustre, and to make them appear larger, tinged the corner of their eyelids with the impalpable powder of antimony or of black lead. This was supposed also to give the eyes a brilliancy and humidity, which rendered them either sparkling or languishing, as suited the various passions. The method of performing this among the women in the eastern countries at the present day, as described by Russel, is by a cylindrical piece of silver or ivory, about two inches long, made very smooth, and about the size of a common probe; this is wet with water, and then dipped into a powder finely levigated, made from what appears to be a rich le
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.
"He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.
Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings;
The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD'S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us.
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.
The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness And yet I know that one fate befalls them both.
festal robes, outer tunics, cloaks, money purses,
They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.
And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Although you dress in scarlet, Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold, Although you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you make yourself beautiful Your lovers despise you; They seek your life.
"Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you."
"But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, never mind Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go."
Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death.
"I said to them, 'Cast away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.' "But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not cast away the detestable things of their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
"Furthermore, they have even sent for men who come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and lo, they came--for whom you bathed, painted your eyes and decorated yourselves with ornaments;
"And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword that it slay them, And I will set My eyes against them for evil and not for good."
"Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD.
For thus says the LORD of hosts, "After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye.
"For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel--these are the eyes of the LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth."
"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.
not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.