O'Donoghue MTh_Thesis-FinalCopy.pdf - South African Theological ...

Talbert (2006:122) argues this by referring to Jewish literature like Deuteronomy15:9 which says, “…and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give himnothing.” The context of Deuteronomy 15 is one where God is commanding Israel tobe generous in releasing each other from debts.Taking into account that heart and eye are synonymous, and that the good eye is afocused loyalty towards God expressed through generosity to others, the reader cannow ask what does, “your whole body will be full of light” mean? “Your whole body” isa Semitic expression which is a way of saying “you yourself (Carson 1994:86).”Light can metaphorically refer to “goodness and holiness as opposed to evil (Ryken,Wilhoit & Longman III 1998:510).” Light can be a symbol for truth, revelation andblessing (Ryken et al 1998:510-512). Light can also make a reference to purity(Carson 1994:87). The inference by Jesus is then as follows: if the disciplesinnermost affection is directed towards God (expressed through generosity), thedisciples life will be characterised by truth, purity, revelation and blessing. In this waythe disciples “whole body” or the person her or himself will be full of light.There are several possibilities as to what the biblical meaning of the bad eye couldbe. Firstly, it could refer to wicked motive (Roberts 1963:143). 1 Samuel 18:9 is usedas a proof text (p.44). 1 Samuel 18:9 reads as follows, “So Saul eyed David from thatday forward.” Roberts (1963:44) notes that Matthew 6 must be understood in thecontext of Jesus talking about money and so this view on the bad eye does not fitbest.Secondly the bad eye could refer to stinginess (Roberts 1963:143-147). In Matthew20:15 Jesus asks the question, “[O]r is your eye evil because I am good?’ Robertsfavours stinginess as the meaning for the bad eye. He does this by arguing thatMatthew 20:15 draws a contrast between a stingy manager who has an evil eye anda generous employer.Further, (Roberts 1963:143-147) believes the OT passages relating to the evil eyeshould be seen as “definitive” in the way Jesus uses the term. Several passagesfrom the OT promote the evil eye as a stingy disposition:46