In Mark 7:22 Jesus warns against the evil eye which defiles a man
from his heart. Prov. 22:9 speaks of the generous man as the “good of eye.” Matt.
6:22 speaks of the eye as the lamp of the body, and the generous eye makes the
whole body ful of light.” (Goulder, 302)
Pirke Aboth 2:9 R. Johannan b. Zakkai said: “Go forth and see
which is the good way to which a man should cleave. R. Eliezer [b. Hyrcanus]
said, A good eye. R. Joshua said, A good companion. R. Jose said, A good neighbor.
R. Simeon said, One that sees what will be. R. Eleazar said, A good heart. He
said to them: I approve the words of Eleazar b. Arak more than your words, for
in his words are your words included. He said to them: Go forth and see which
is the evil way which a man should shun. R. Eliezer said, An evil eye. R.
Joshua said, An evil companion. R. Jose said, An evil neighbor. R. Simeon said,
He that borrows and does not repay. He that borrows from a man is as one that
borrows from God, for it is written, The wicked borroweth and payeth not
again but the righteous dealeth graciously and giveth [Ps. 37:21]. R. Eleazar
said, An evil heart. He said to them I approve the words of Eleazar B. Arak
more than our words for in his words are your words included.”
Pirqe Aboth 2:11 R. Joshua said: “The evil eye and the evil nature
and hatred of mankind put a man out of the world.” Pirqe Aboth 5:19: “He in whom
are these three things is of the disciples of Abraham our father; but [he in
whom are] three other things is of the disciples of Balaam the wicked. A good
eye and a humble spirit and a lowly soul—[they in whom are these] are of the
disciples of Abraham our Father. An evil eye, a haughty spirit, and proud
soul—[they in whom are these] are of the disciples of Balaam the wicked.”
In Mark 7:21-22, the list of vices corresponds with similar
compilations which probably arose in Hellenistic Judaism (cf. E.g.
Romans 1:29-31; Gal. 5:19-21; Col. 3:5-8; 1 Tim. 1:9-10; 2 Tim. 3:2-5). “Doing
evil” is placed alongside covetousness here and in Rom. 1:29, too. (Eduward
Schweizer, The Good News According to Mark, 150)
The evil eye in a Jewish context meant envy, but if the list is
from a Gentile provenance, it may mean the malevolent glance which casts a spell.
(D. E. Nineham, The Gospel of St. Mark, 196-97) (Mitchell Pacwa,
"Appendix 2: Excurses on Matthew 15:1-20 & Mark 7:1-23," in Not
By Scripture Alone: A Catholic Critique of the Protestant Doctrine of Sola
Scriptura, ed. Robert A. Sungenis [2d ed.; State Line, Pa.: Catholic
Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2013], 524-25)
