Texts in Conversation
Galatians 3 and Wisdom of Solomon 4 both refer to the evil eye, understanding it as a force that distorts your reasoning and creates envy. In Galatians, the community is said to have been harmed by it, while Wisdom uses the term for the evil eye often translated as “fascination” to show how it blinds people to what is good.
Share:
Wisdom of Solomon 4:12
Deuterocanon
10 There were some who pleased God and were loved by him, and while living among sinners were taken up. 11 They were caught up so that evil might not change their understanding or guile deceive their souls. 12 For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind. 13 Being perfected in a short time, they fulfilled long years; 14 for their souls were pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took them quickly from the midst of wickedness. 15 Yet the peoples saw and did not understand, or take such a thing to heart, that God's grace and mercy are with his elect, and that he watches over his holy ones.
Date: 100-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Galatians 3:1
New Testament
1 You foolish Galatians! Who has given you the evil eye?* Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified! 2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so many things for nothing?—if indeed it was for nothing. 5 Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?
Date: 54-55 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Tags:
Search:
Notes and References
"... Galatians 3:1 ... In his letter to the Galatians, Paul implies that a competing group of Christians who followed the Jewish law, led by James, would have been jealous of the freedom Paul had given them in not being bound to Torah: 'O uncomprehending Galatians, who has injured you with an evil eye, you before whose very eyes Jesus Christ was proclaimed as crucified?' ... Damage caused by the Evil Eye ... Mishnah Avot 2:11, Proverbs 23:6; 28:22, Sirach 18:18; 31:12-13, Wisdom of Solomon 4:12 ..."
Elliott, John H.
"The Evil Eye" in Crook, Zeba A., (ed.) The Ancient Mediterranean Social World: A Sourcebook
(pp. 7-11) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.