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Daniel 10 describes a radiant figure with eyes like torches, reflecting an ancient belief that light comes from the eyes. Similar language appears in other Jewish texts, including Sirach, which says God’s eyes are brighter than the sun.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Daniel 10:6
Hebrew Bible
4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was beside the great river, the Tigris. 5 I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen; around his waist was a belt made of gold from Ufaz. 6 His body resembled yellow jasper, and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd. 7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. On the contrary, they were overcome with fright and ran away to hide. 8 I alone was left to see this great vision. My strength drained from me, and my vigor disappeared; I was without energy.
Date: 200–101 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Sirach 23:19
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
17 All bread is sweet to a fornicator. He will not cease until he dies. 18 A man who goes astray from his own marriage bed says in his heart, “Who sees me? Darkness is around me, and the walls hide me. No one sees me. Of whom am I afraid? The Most High will not remember my sins.” 19 The eyes of men are his terror. He doesn’t know that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun, seeing all the ways of men, and looking into secret places. 20 All things were known to him before they were created, and also after they were completed. 21 This man will be punished in the streets of the city. He will be seized where he least expects it.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Expressions in the Old Testament imply that the Jews thought of the eye as having its own light. 'The light of my eyes – it also has gone from me' (Ps 38[27]:10), 'The light of the eyes rejoices the heart' (Proverbs 15:30), 'The Lord gives light to the eyes' (Proverbs 29:13). In Tobit 10:5 we read: 'my child, that I let you go, you who are the light of my eyes'. Though these expressions could be interpreted metaphorically, the point of reference relies on common knowledge of the functioning of the eye. In eight places we read that eyes became darkened (Genesis 27:1; 48:10; Deuteronomy 34:7; 1 Samuel 3:2; Job 17:7; Psalm 69:23; Lamentations 5:17; Zechariah 11:17). The most natural explanation for this metaphor is to recognize the correlation between the eye and the sun. As the heavenly source of light darkens, so too can the bodily source of light dim. In Daniel 10:2–9, Daniel has a vision of a glorious man. He describes him: 'His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches...' (Daniel 10:6). Zechariah tells of a vision in which he saw a lamp stand and seven lamps on it (Zechariah 4:1–14). The record of this vision is followed by a conversation with an angelic interpreter who concludes: 'These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth' (Zechariah 4:10) ..."
Francois P. Viljoen, “A Contextualized Reading of Matthew 6:22-23: Your Eye is the Lamp of Your Body,” HvTSt 61.1 (2009): 1–9.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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