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."
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When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies,
The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures.
The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet,
Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."
They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--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.
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Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.'
and they shall cover the face of the land, so that no one can see the land. And they shall eat what is left to you after the hail, and they shall eat every tree of yours that grows in the field,
They covered the face of the whole land, so that the land was darkened, and they ate all the plants in the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Not a green thing remained, neither tree nor plant of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the LORD may be in your mouth. For with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.
It shall be as a mark on your hand or frontlets between your eyes, for by a strong 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 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 face to face, and 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.
sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me.
'Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.'"
And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel."
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.
They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
He gives them security, and they are supported, and his eyes are upon their ways.
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet,
And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'
not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--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
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So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
To Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated."
Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.
And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.
You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
"You are the sons of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.
Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, 'The seventh year, the year of release is near,' and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin.
And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he."
And Saul eyed David 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 of the window.
"Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel!
"I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?
And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch.
He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes;
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
A stingy manhastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him.
Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves.
His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool.
The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet,
And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and 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.)
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When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window.
They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself 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
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Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
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 the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, 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 of the window.
3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house,
The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he has mercy upon us.
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I perceived that the same event happens to all of them.
the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags;
They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
Now, behold, I release you today from the chains on your hands. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you well, but if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, do not come. See, the whole land is before you; go wherever you think it good and right to go.
He put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, 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. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.
They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments.
And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."
Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.
For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye:
For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. "These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth."
"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.
not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.