Commentary from the Church Fathers Ĭhrysostom: Having spoken of the bringing the understanding into captivity because it was not easy to be understood of many, He transfers it to a sensible instance, saying, The light of thy body is thy eye. Īccording to David Hill, some scholars believe that the metaphor of being filled with light is a reference to the soul, but he notes that this was not a standard metaphor for the soul in Jewish literature of the period. France speculate that this ambiguity is deliberate, and that the verse is speaking about both generosity and single mindedness, as both ideas are discussed in this part of Jesus' sermon. This second interpretation as Singleness of heart links closely with the neighbouring sections where Jesus is warning his followers not to deviate from their focus on God by concerning themselves with worldly things. If the author of Matthew was using this translation this verse would be extolling the eye that is solely focused on one thing, i.e. However, in the Septuagint, haplous is used to translate the Hebrew term for Singleness of heart or "singleness of purpose". By this interpretation the good spiritual eye is one that is generous and can perceive God, and thus allows illumination into the entire body. This wording links this verse to the idea of the evil eye, which was often termed the "ungenerous eye". This verse can thus mean one is "full of light" if one's eye, i.e. This term can mean generous, and its opposite in the next verse clearly means miserly. What is meant by the word ἁπλοῡς, haplous, translated as single in the KJV and sound in the WEB, is uncertain. Harold Fowler suggests that in this verse eye is a metaphor for the conscience and moral vision of the individual, both of which serve as guiding lights. In this case the verse is almost certainly speaking of a spiritual eye rather than the literal organ. Alternatively the lamp might not be meant as a source of light, but rather as a guide through darkness, just as the eye is a guide through life. Interpretation īy lamp, this verse may mean that the eye is a metaphorical window by which light enters the body. The Greek: λυχνος, lychnos, is generally translated as "lamp", but in the King James Version, the Geneva Bible and Calvin's Commentary it was translated as "light". Antique bronze oil lamp with the " Chi Rho", a Christian symbol (replica) Translation
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