EYES
Eyes
Used symbolically for the omnipresence of God. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place,” Pro 15:3; “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous.” Psa 34:15; 1Pe 3:12: cf. 2Ch 16:9; Zec 4:10. His eyes are also upon the wicked, and His eyes will not spare, neither will He have compassion in the day of judgement. Eze 5:11. The eye is also used symbolically for the organ that transmits the light to the soul. If the eye is single – there being but one object (the glory of God) before the soul – the whole body is full of light; but if the eye be evil, having divers objects (as when an eye sees double), the whole body is full of darkness. And if the light (true light it may be) be darkness, how great is that darkness! A Christian in this condition may do the very things he had strongly condemned in others. Mat 6:22-23; Luk 11:34-36.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Eyes
Eyes. The practice of putting out the eyes as a mode of punishment has been in both ancient and modern times very common in the East. Captives in war, and those who might be supposed likely to head rebellions against the sovereign were frequently thus treated. Jdg 16:21; 1Sa 11:2; 2Ki 25:7. The painting of the eye was and is usual among Eastern women. This was what Jezebel did, 2Ki 9:30, marg., R. V. “painted her eyes;” comp. Jer 4:30; Eze 23:40. A peculiar brilliancy is imparted to the eye, and a languishing, amorous cast given to the whole countenance. The eyelids and eyebrows are thus painted with what is called khl. “The powder from which khl is made is collected from burning almond-shells, or frankincense, and is intensely black. Antimony and various ores of lead are also employed. The powder is kept in vials or pots, which are often disposed in a handsomely worked cover or case; and It is applied to the eye by a small probe of wood, ivory or silver, which is called meet, while the whole apparatus is named mkhly.”
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
EYES
Eyes admit of various interpretations, according to the circumstances; upon the account of their light and use, they are the symbol of government and justice. Thus the sun is called the eye of the world, as governing, or enlightening it under God. By Aristophanesf1 he is called the “Eye of the sky;” and the moon, the “Eye of the evening,” by Pindar;f2 and the “Eye of the night,” by schylus.f3
Agreeably to this, says Diodorus Siculus,f4 in speaking of some Egyptian hieroglyphics, “the eye is the observer of justice, and the keeper of the whole body.” Thus when God is preparing to execute judgment, he is said to come and see, Gen 18:21. Thus Artemidorus,f5 concerning the eyes, saith “they are the leaders and rulers of the body.”
Hence the similitude of our Saviour, Mat 6:22, “The light (or lamp) of the body is the eye;” the eye serving for a light or lamp to direct the whole body in its several motions and actions. The Indian Interpreter, chap. 52, saith, “They are the symbols of fidelity, glory, and knowledge.” Upon these accounts the angels of the Lord are called his eyes,f6 as being the executioners of his Judgments, and watching and attending for his glory. In imitation whereof, the favourites and prime ministers of state, in the Persian monarchy, were called the king’s eyes, according to the Oriental customs and notions.f7 Thus in Num 10:31, to be instead of eyes, is equal to being a prince, to guide and rule the people.
In Pindar, Olymp. 2., the eye of Sicilia is given as a title to one of the chief men in Sicily, shewing his power. And thus also in the same, the eye of the army,f8 stands for a good commander. Thus in Deu 11:12, the eyes of the Lord signify the Divine Providence, or special care, which God promises.
In Deu 13:18, eyes are considered as the symbol of justice; Right in the eyes of the Lord, there signifying what he judges to be right; as it is explained in Deu 16:19, “a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.”
Farther, the eye, or eyes, according to the style of the Hebrew language, frequently signify the behaviour, desires, and designs of men. Thus in Job 24:25, “The eye of the adulterer” is the desire or the design of him that watches his neighbour’s wife. So accordingly, in Psa 54:7, when David says, ” Mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies,” the latter part explains the former. Thus a good or evil eye signifies good or bad desires and designs, as Deu 28:54, “His eye shall be evil towards his brother;” Deu 28:56, “Her eye shall be evil towards the husband of her bosom, and towards her son, and towards her daughter,” that is, shall envy and form cruel and wicked designs to kill, and even to eat them, as is evident from Deu 28:53; so Mat 20:15, “Is thine eye evil because I am good,” i.e. wilt thou envy thy brother, and endeavour to do him mischief, by alienating my mind from him, because I desire to be kind to him? So Pro 22:9, a bountiful or good eye, is said of one that does good, and is liberal to the poor; and Pro 28:22, “an evil eye hasteth to be rich,” i.e. an ill man by wicked actions hasteth to grow rich. And hence the expression in Dan 7:8, of “eyes like the eyes of a man,” may signify the desires, designs, and behaviour of a man, implying that the intentions, appearance, and power are like, and no more than those of a man, even of a common or mean man; as the word , man, is taken in Isa 8:1, and Isa 31:8, and other writers.f9
The desire of our eyes, as in Eze 24:16; Eze 24:21, signifies our great joy and delight: and in Euripides , the eye of life, is the pleasure of one’s life.
F1 Aristoph. Neb.
F2 Olym. Od. 3.
F3 Sept. c. Teb. ver. 396.
F4 L. 3. p. 101.
F5 L. 1. c. 28.
F6 Zach 4:10.
F7 Aristoph. in Acharn. Hesych. .schyl. Pers. Heliodor. .th. L. 8. Plut.
F8 Pindar. Olymp. Od. 6.
F9 See the Septuagint Version.
Fuente: A Symbolical Dictionary
EYES
to be guarded against evil
Psa 119:37; Pro 4:25; Isa 33:15; Mat 5:29