The Evil Eye in the Bible and Ancient World: Volume 3

Throughout the Old Testament, Israel's parabiblical writings, and the New Testament, various terms and expressions are used to repeatedly refer to the Evil Eye. The Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament contains a total of fourteen text segments with approximately twenty explicit references to the Evil Eye (Deut 15:9; 28:54, 56; Prov 23:6; 28:22; Tob 4:7, 16; Sir 14:3, 6, 8, 9, 10; 18:18; 31:13; 37:11; Wis 4:12; 4 Macc 1:26; 2:15; Ep Jer 69/70). An additional three texts are likely implied references to the Evil Eye (1 Sam 2:29, 32; 18:9), and a few other texts may also allude to it. The Evil Eye is referenced in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the writings of Philo and Josephus, all of which will be discussed in the subsequent pages. Beliefs and practices associated with the Evil Eye also persisted within the early Jesus movement. Jesus himself mentions the Evil Eye on multiple occasions (Matt 6:22-23; Luke 11:33-36; Mark 7:22), and in his letter to the Galatians, Paul makes both explicit and implicit mention of it (3:1; 4:12-20). The possible implicit references to the Evil Eye are also analyzed. The common and distinct characteristics of the Evil Eye belief within the biblical texts are identified, along with its impact on various levels such as biological/physiological, psychological, economic, social, and moral, and its diverse purposes. The numerous references to the Evil Eye in Israel's rabbinic writings and the writings of postbiblical Christianity (second-sixth centuries CE), as well as the material evidence from this period, will be examined in the fourth volume.

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