The Little Man of the Eye

"The eyes are the gateway to the Soul." This quote is often attributed to Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick and other novels. Herman Melville is now well known in the literature world, however when he died in 1891 his works were largely unknown. Strange how fame has a way of showing up AFTER one dies... Herman Melville was friends with Nathaniel Hawthorne, who is predominately famous for The Scarlett Letter. Now, that's just a little blurb on who said it. :)

However, regardless of the quote being attributed to Melville, the concept is much older. Ancient peoples believed the eyes to be the gateway of the soul. If you have ever watched Mongol, (and be forewarned: there are more heads coming off in that movie than anything else) you may have caught a slight cultural reference to the same concept. In Mongol, Genghis Kan seeks to choose a wife. He is just a little boy, traveling with his father, when he sees the girl he wants. His father's words were to the audience and to little Genghis (whose real name is something else)--choose a bride with narrow eyes as wide eyes are too often invaded by spirits. (By referencing Mongol, I mean only to illustrate the presence of the concept in ancient cultures.)

Many missionary books mention various cultures of having the impression of the eyes as windows or openings to the soul. I keep thinking Peace Child mentioned something along those lines, although, I can't find the book to check. Anyhow, I could go on and on, but I won't.... see, as a kid, I was constantly wondering about things: this being one of them.

I wondered: Why did people say the eye was the gateway to the soul? and Was it true? and Where did they get the idea? Well, :) , I found a verse....

I was reading about apples --back awhile-- and I noticed that where our KJV reads "apples" there were two different Hebrew words used. So, I looked them up.

Whenever it was talking about the "apple of my eye" or along those lines , the Hebrew was really refering to the pupil of the eye --- ok. not exactly earth shattering --- BUT looking into what the Hebrew word was literally showed that it was saying "the little man of the eye"

(My Newberry reference Bible also made reference to this)

The little man of the eye.

I laughed aloud. What a great way to describe it. Not so much as a gateway or a window to the soul, as romantic as both those sound, it was the "little man of the eye." The "real" you looks out your eyes.

So I did a search on the Hebrew word (how I love e-sword!) and the word is used 5 times in the old testament. Three times as the "apple of the eye" .

Deu 32:10 He found him in a desert land,

and in the waste howling wilderness;

he led him about, he instructed him,

he kept him as the apple of his eye.

Psa 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye,

hide me under the shadow of thy wings,

Pro 7:2 Keep my commandments, and live;

and my law as the apple of thine eye.

The Hebrew word used is ee-shone אישׁון ( "eesh" אישׁ is Hebrew for "man")

So next time you look someone in the eye, think about how the Hebrew says it -

The Little Man of the Eye