Greetings from Jerusalem!
Today I wanted to touch on the subject of Hebrew idioms, or wordplays, which have caused problems for translators in many instances. The verse I wish to address is Matthew 6:22, a verse commonly misunderstood b/c of a Hebrew idiom used by Jesus (Yeshua). I was first introduced to this concept by David Bivin (www.jerusalemperspective.com), and just recently read about it in the fascinating new book, “Behold the Man! Discovering our Hebrew Lord, The Historical Jesus of Nazareth,” by Dwight D. Pryor (www.jcstudies.com). I highly recommend that you stop reading this right now and go buy this book and the accompanying DVD!!! It is awesome! Ok, I’ll calm down.
The NASB translates the verse as follows, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So then, if your eye is clear your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is bad your whole body will be full of darkness. And if then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness (Matt. 6:22, NASB)!”
Notice the NASB translates the Greek phrase as “if your eye be clear.” The King James translates the phrase as “if your eye be single.” Other translators say, “if your eye be whole, or “if your eye be healthy.” Now what does all of this mean? Are we supposed to cut out one of our eyes so that we can have a single eye? If our eyesight is unclear are we bad people? According to Dwight Pryor, this verse is frequently used by advocates of New Age Mysticism to teach that Jesus had learned secret meditation techniques during his “lost years” (ages 12-30) and he learned how to focus on the “single” or “third” eye to achieve enlightened consciousness (Pryor, 55). But this is not the case at all. Pryor disagrees with the New Age claim totally and outlines what this teaching would have meant to a Jewish person listening to it in the 1st century. This verse makes perfect sense when taking into account the teachings of the Rabbinic Sages, and the Hebrew idiom contained in the verse.
The Rabbis taught that someone who had a “good eye” was someone who was very generous, as opposed to a person who had a “bad eye,” and was stingy. These two phrases were commonly used by 1st century Rabbis, and everyone who heard this in the 1st century would’ve known that someone with a “good eye” was generous, and someone with a “bad eye” was stingy, or greedy.
Notice other usages of this Hebrew idiom in the Hebrew Bible, or “Old Testament.” Proverbs 22:9 says, “The person who has a good eye is blessed, because he is generous and gives to the poor.” Proverbs 23:6 states, “Beware of the man with the evil eye, he knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.”
Pryor makes the case that when we place these idioms back in their original Hebrew context, the meaning becomes crystal clear:
“Are you choosing to serve God or Wealth? If you are a generous person and give of yourself, you are filled with the light. It’s a sure sign that the Spirit of God is working within you. If you are a miserly, stingy or covetous person, how deceived you are. What should be light in you is instead darkness. Rather store up treasure in heaven (by giving to the poor).”
"The truly illumined person, like Jesus himself, will be noted for a "good eye" -- for giving generously -- even, if required, one's life -- to help others, especially those in need (Pryor, 57)."
Hope you stuck with me and enjoyed this study. And as always, may you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi Jesus and drink in his words thirstily. Until next time…
Stay Dusty,
Rob Kol
Further Study on this topic:
“Understanding the Difficult words of Jesus,” and “New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus,” by David Bivin. (www.jerusalemperspective.com)
“Behold the Man! Discovering our Hebrew Lord, the Historical Jesus of Nazareth,” by Dwight D. Pryor (www.jcstudies.com)
