The evil eye of YHWH

It is commonly argued that concepts of the vicious agency of the eye, as expressed in the ancient Near Eastern belief in the evil eye, is foreign to the Hebrew Bible. Recent research has demonstrated, however, that several expressions in biblical Hebrew are best understood in terms of the ancient be...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kotze, Z. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2008
In: Journal for semitics
Year: 2008, Volume: 17, Issue: 1, Pages: 207-218
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:It is commonly argued that concepts of the vicious agency of the eye, as expressed in the ancient Near Eastern belief in the evil eye, is foreign to the Hebrew Bible. Recent research has demonstrated, however, that several expressions in biblical Hebrew are best understood in terms of the ancient belief that the eye was capable of projecting a harmful substance. By providing a conceptual analysis of such idioms, this article will demonstrate the presence of a belief in the evil eye of YHWH in ancient Israel. Focusing on the deleterious powers of the eye, these linguistic expressions should not be reduced to mere metaphors for divine retribution.
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for semitics
Persistent identifiers:HDL: 10520/EJC101080