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Deuteronomy uses the evil-eye language known at Ugarit for refusing aid to the poor, making selfishness toward a neighbor a danger within the community.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE

KTU 1.96:2

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
Ancient Near East
The eye goes and […] It sees its brother, how fair its brother is […] how handsome. It devours his flesh without a sword, it drinks his blood without a cup. It turns back the eye of the sorcerer, the eye of the sorceress, it turns back the eye of the warrior, the eye of the assembly, the eye of the gatekeeper. The eye of the gatekeeper to the gatekeeper let it return. The eye of the assembly to the assembly let it return. The eye of the warrior to the warrior let it return. The eye of the sorcerer to the sorcerer let it return. The eye of the [sorceress] to the sorceress let it [return] […]
Date: 1350 - 1185 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)

Deuteronomy 15:9

Hebrew Bible
7 If a fellow Israelite from one of your villages in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive to his impoverished condition. 8 Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite and you do not lend him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be regarded as having sinned. 10 You must by all means lend to him and not be upset by doing it, for because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you attempt.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References

#6867
“... The “Eye” of line one (‘nn)81 stands as a synecdoche for the entire Evil-Eyed person, as lines 2–12 make clear. This same pars pro toto usage appears in other Mesopotamian incantations and also in later biblical Evil Eye texts as well (Prov 23:6 [HT]; Sir 14:10). The Evil Eye/Evil-Eyed person can strike not only external enemies but also a “brother,” a member of one’s own social group.82 This is a theme83 also found in Greek and Roman sources84 and numerous biblical Evil Eye texts (Deut 15:7–11; 28:54–57; Sir 14:8; Tob 4:5–19; Matt 6:22–23/Luke 11:34–35; Matt 20:1–15). The “loveliness” of the brother is thought to attract the attention of the Evil Eye (lines 2–3). This notion that beauty and handsomeness arouse an Evil Eye remains for centuries a regular feature of the Evil Eye belief complex.85 The damage caused by the Evil Eye here is gruesome: the devouring of a neighbor’s flesh and blood. Deuteronomy 28:54–57 presents an equally gruesome biblical scenario involving the devouring of placenta by the Evil-Eyed husband and Evil-Eyed wife.86 ...”

* 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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