Read Luke 11 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
Luke 11:1-54 Chiastic Structure:
“No man, when he has lit a candle, puts it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that those who enter may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye; therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in you is not darkness.” Luk 11:33-35
Single is in Greek, Strong’s G573, ἁπλοῦς (haplous), an adjective meaning, “simple, whole, fulfilling its office.” Working back from the Septuagint to its Hebrew counterpart, we find the Hebrew Root Word is Strong’s H1288, ברך barak, “to bless.”
Haplous is used in Aristotle’s writings, where ἁπλοῦς means,
Simple, not complicated or convoluted;
Sincere, genuine, without pretense or hidden motives;
Straightforward, direct and clear, like a path without twists or turns.
For the concept of whole, ἁπλοῦς can mean,
Whole-hearted, fully committed, all in without holding anything back, what you see is what you get.
For the concept of fulfilling its office, let’s look at a Hebrew parallel.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Gen 1:31
The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon says of ‘good’ that in Hebraic culture, something good functioned as it was supposed to, it was productive of its ends. In contrast, something evil was dysfunctional, it was vain effort, void and unproductive of its ends. Initially, the earth was ‘without form and void,’ unproductive of its ends, but after God filled it with life, it became ‘very good,’ productive of its ends. It fulfilled its office.
To have a single eye, then, is to be illuminated by a simple and sincere spirit, without pretense; to be honestly straightforward and clear, without hidden motives; to be fully committed and productive; to be of an open and generous nature, desiring to bless others without thinking of grasping to oneself.
Now isn’t it interesting that in the structure, the Holy Spirit, light, and goodness is on one side, Contrasted with demonic spirits, darkness, and evil on the other side? We humans can be vessels of either. So let us take heed that the light which is in us is not darkness.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Tove, “Good,” Strong’s H2896 – Christine Miller
Barak, “To bless,” Strong’s H1288 – Christine Miller
Spiritual warfare series – Christine Miller
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