beneficial to remind oneself of what is really vital to our existence and what is simply desirable. Finally,
abstinence intensifies our pleasure and satisfaction of the good things in life. It helps us to really enjoy the
special ̳treats‘ in life.
6:19-22 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth...
―(19) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves
break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21) For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also. (22) The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be
full of light‖.
Jerusalem Talmud, Pe'ah 15b: ―It happened that manobaz had squandered his father's wealth to charity. His
brothers admonished him: "Your father gathered treasure and you wasted it all!" He replied: "My father laid
up treasure where human hands control it; I laid it up where no hands control it. My father laid up a treasure
of money; I laid up a treasure of souls. My father laid up treasure for this world; I laid up treasure for the
heavenly world‖.
6:23 But if thine eye be evil
―But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be
darkness, how great is that darkness!‖
Here we have a verse that is consistently misinterpreted. What is this "evil eye?" Note the context of the
verses before and after the term. In both cases, Y‘shua is talking about serving YHWH and not money. Why
would He interrupt this discussion about "YHWH and money" to interject something about an "evil eye?"
The answer is that the term "evil eye‖, in this context, is a Hebrew figure of speech for being ―stingy with your
material wealth‖. This verse alone offers evidence that the book of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew;
as whoever translated it into the Greek was not aware of what the term "evil eye" meant. They simply copied
the phrase which loses its meaning in the Greek and English.
It is therefore tragic that seminaries and Bible colleges focus attention on Greek and Hellenistic theology.
Their students are not given the proper tools for doing serious Biblical study. The Greek of the New
Covenant manuscripts is not only poor but most expressions in the New Covenant are meaningless in
Greek. For example, Matt 6:22-23 literally reads:
"The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body is full of light; but if your eye is evil
your whole body is full of darkness..."
Greek has no such idioms, nor does English. However, the expressions "good eye" and "bad eye" are
common Hebrew idioms for "generous" and "stingy". This is also found in the writings of Israel's Sages
(Avot 5:15).
In the Bible, the ̳eye‘ is reflective of a man‘s character (Deut 25:12; 28:54, 56; Prov 28:22, etc.). A man with
an ̳evil eye‘ is explained to be one who is greedy and miserly when confronted with the need of another:
(7) ―If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which
the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
(8) But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in
that which he wanteth.
(9) Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of
release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry
unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee‖. (Deut 15:7-9)
Good eye (`ayîn tôwbh) / Evil eye
The literal Greek of Matt 6:22 (ean oun ê ho ophthalmos sou haplous) ―if therefore your eye is single" has
been translated several ways. The Greek word only occurs in this saying of Y‘shua and literally means
'single'.
Other translations have rendered it 'unclouded, sound, clear, healthy' or 'good':
"unclouded eye" (Westcott & Hort).