Texts in Conversation
Galatians refers to the “evil eye,” an ancient belief that envy or greed could harm through a hostile gaze. Roman writers like Pliny describe the eye as emitting damaging rays, and Paul uses this image to frame the Galatians’ actions as destructive envy.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
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?
Pliny the Elder, Pliny Natural History 7.2.16
Classical
Isigonus and Nymphodorus inform us that there are in Africa certain families of enchanters, who, by means of their charms, in the form of commendations, can cause cattle to perish, trees to wither, and infants to die. Isigonus adds, that there are among the Triballi and the Illyrii, some persons of this description, who also have the power of fascination with the eyes, and can even kill those on whom they fix their gaze for any length of time, more especially if their look denotes anger; the age of puberty is said to be particularly obnoxious to the malign influence of such persons.
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Notes and References
"... The eye was not only the “chief indicator of the soul”; it was also the source out of which rays of light emitted, effecting upon those objects which they touched. This theory of vision lay at the base of what was known as the “evil eye” tradition. Envy was the emotion most associated with the one who possessed the evil eye, and this envy had a negative effect not only on the person with the evil eye but also on those upon whom the evil eye gazed ... In a fascinating passage that echoes aspects of both the racial and anatomical methods, Pliny the Elder asserts that among the African peoples ... ..."
Parsons, Mikeal Carl
Body and Character in Luke and Acts: The Subversion of Physiognomy in Early Christianity
(p. 78) Baker Academic, 2006
* 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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