{"id":79091,"date":"2020-08-20T19:04:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-20T16:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=79091"},"modified":"2020-08-20T19:04:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-20T16:04:04","slug":"the-pupil-of-gods-eye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-pupil-of-gods-eye\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pupil Of God\u2019s Eye"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"79091","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64450,"related_cahpter":"552","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"A reflection of protection\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

In the second chapter of his book, Zechariah tells the Jewish exiles to return to their land, and not to fear being harmed by the other nations:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAway, escape, O Zion, you who dwell in Fair Babylon! For thus said the LORD of Hosts\u2014He who sent me after glory\u2014concerning the nations that have taken you as spoil: \u2018Whoever touches you touches the pupil of his own eye. For I will lift My hand against them, and they shall be spoil for those they enslaved.\u2019\u2014Then you shall know that I was sent by the LORD of Hosts.\u201d (Zechariah 2:11-13)<\/span><\/p>\n

The divine warning that whoever hurting the Jews will be like touching \u201cthe pupil of his own eye\u201d is somewhat strange. Why should touching your own eye be so terrible? The sages in the Midrash Mekhilta say that this was a scribal change, and it originally was \u201cthe pupil of My eye\u201d \u2013 i.e. God\u2019s eye. It was changed to avoid speaking about God in a dishonorable way.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hebrew phrase <\/span>bavat ayin<\/span><\/em>, \u201cpupil of the eye,\u201d not only refers to the physical pupil, but also to something dear and important, like the English phrase \u201capple of one\u2019s eye.\u201d\u00a0 The first word in the phrase, <\/span>bava<\/span><\/em>, may mean \u201creflection,\u201d like the related Hebrew word <\/span>bavuah<\/span><\/em>, with the same meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another word related to this root is the Arabic <\/span>babbat<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>meaning little child. The little child is considered a \u201creflection\u201d of a man. A similar development is found in English. The Latin word <\/span>pupus<\/span><\/em>\u00a0meant \u201cboy\u201d (<\/span>pupa<\/span><\/em>\u00a0for \u201cgirl.\u201d) This word gave us both the word pupil meaning \u201cstudent,\u201d since students were children, and pupil (of the eye). The latter came from the tiny image of yourself that you see reflected in the eye of another. That tiny reflection looked like a little child, or a doll, also known as a <\/span>pupa<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The Arabic <\/span>babbat<\/span><\/em> had a related word for \u201cdoll\u201d \u2013 <\/span>bubu<\/span><\/em>. And it was this word that inspired the founder of the modern Hebrew language, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, to come up with the Hebrew word for doll \u2013 <\/span>buba<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

All of these words \u2013 pupil of the eye, a young child, and a doll \u2013 express a degree of love and sensitivity that underscore just how much God\u2019s love for the Jews will protect them when they return to their land.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Screenshot from IMAX\u00ae 3D movie Hidden Universe showing the Helix Nebula (\u201cEye of God\u201d) in infrared.jpg \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":79092,"id":79092,"title":"zech2-gods eye","filename":"zech2-gods-eye.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/zech2-gods-eye.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-pupil-of-gods-eye\/zech2-gods-eye\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"zech2-gods-eye","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":79091,"date":"2020-08-20 16:02:32","modified":"2023-11-01 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