Evil Eye
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 November 2014
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 November 2014
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0112
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 November 2014
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 November 2014
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0112
Introduction
People throughout the world have believed that “certain individuals, animals, demons, or gods had the power of casting a spell or causing some damaging effect upon every object, animate or inanimate, upon which their glance fell” (John Elliot‘s “The Evil Eye in the First Testament: The Ecology and Culture of a Pervasive Belief” in The Bible and The Politics of Exegesis: Essays in Honor of Norman K. Gottwald on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday, p. 148 [cited under New Testament: The Evil Eye and John H. Elliot]). This belief has been referred to by many names: ayin ha-ra (Hebrew), baskaino (and related terms, Greek), invidia or fascinus (Latin), ‘ayn (Arabic), mal occhio (Italian), mal de ojo (Spanish), böser Blick (German), and so forth. However, it is commonly referred to in English as the “evil eye.” The belief is typically connected to envy and often emerges in cultures that believe in an extramission theory of vision (see Theoretical Explanations), that is, one in which the eye is understood as an active organ, capable of emitting light from it. Women and outsiders, in particular, are thought capable of casting the evil eye, and those who are beautiful, healthy, wealthy, or young are especially vulnerable to it. Yet, it is believed that individuals can protect themselves against the negative influences of the evil eye by wearing amulets and reciting certain incantations (see, e.g., Gideon Bohak‘s Ancient Jewish Magic: A History [cited under Ancient Near East], E. A. Wallis Budge‘s “The Evil Eye” in Amulets and Superstitions [cited under General Overviews: Classic Overviews], Christopher A. Faraone‘s “The Amuletic Design of the Mithraic Bull-Wounding Scene" and James Russell‘s “The Archaeological Context of Magic in the Early Byzantine Period” [both cited under Greece and Rome: Artistic and Archaeological Representations], James N. Ford‘s “Ninety-Nine by the Evil Eye and One from Natural Causes: KTU2 1.96 in its Near Eastern Context" [cited under Ancient Near East]. The scholarly study of the evil eye is vast. Siegried Seligmann‘s Die Zauberkraft des Auges und das Berufen: Ein Kapital aus der Geschichte des Aberglaubens, a classic survey (cited under General Overviews: Classic Overviews), lists more than 2,100 scholarly treatments, and, today, more than three thousand separate examinations of the phenomenon are found around the world. This article thus provides a selective list of relevant scholarship on the evil eye belief in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the New Testament, Rabbinic Literature, and Early Christian Literature. Views from the Ancient Near East and Greece and Rome on the evil eye are included as background for the belief in biblical communities, as is a survey of scholarly explanations (Theoretical Explanations) for the belief around the world. Since a growing number of scholars are interested in the relationship among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, scholarship on the evil eye belief in Islam is also included. The relevance of the belief for the history of Biblical Reception is also noted.
Introductory Works
The following works provide brief introductions to the evil eye belief in Judaism (Noy 2007), Christianity (Orr 1960), Islam (Marçais 1986), and religion more generally (Meslin 2005). Each would be appropriate introductions for undergraduate students. Frobes-Cross and Dundes 2012 asks and answers common questions people have about the evil eye.
Frobes-Cross, Nicholas, and Alan Dundes. “The Evil Eye: An Interview with Alan Dundes.” Cabinet Magazine 5 (Winter 2012).
A published phone interview with noted scholar of folklore Alan Dundes conducted by an undergraduate student at Bard College. Answers eight basic questions nonspecialists might have about the evil eye belief.
Marçais, Ph. “‘Ayn.” In The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 1. Edited by H. A. R. Gibb, B. Lewis, J. Schacht, et al., 786. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1986.
A brief encyclopedia article on the evil eye belief in Islamic literature. New edition.
Meslin, Michel. “Eye.” In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 5. 2d ed. Edited by Lindsay Jones, 2940–2943. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
A brief introduction to the evil eye in religious contexts. The brief section on the evil eye (pp. 2941–2942) is part of a larger article on the religious symbolism of the eye more broadly.
Noy, Dov. “Evil Eye.” In Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 6. 2d ed. Edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 584–585. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007.
A brief encyclopedia article on Jewish beliefs about the evil eye and the methods used to protect against.
Orr, James, ed. “Evil Eye.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Wilmington, DE: Associated Publishers, 1960.
Originally published 1915. A brief introduction to the evil eye in the New Testament.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Nabataea and the Nabat...
- Aaron
- Acts of Peter
- Acts of the Apostles
- Adam and Eve
- Aelia Capitolina
- Afterlife and Immortality
- Agriculture
- Alexander the Great
- Alexandria
- Altered States of Consciousness in the Bible
- Amos
- Ancient Christianity, Churches in
- Ancient Israel, Schools in
- Ancient Medicine
- Ancient Mesopotamia, Schools in
- Ancient Near Eastern Law
- Angels
- Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
- Apocryphal Acts
- Apostolic Fathers
- Aram
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Ammon and the Ammonite...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Aram and the Arameans
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Judah and the Judeans ...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Phoenicia and the Phoe...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel ...
- Archaeology, Greco-Roman
- Art, Early Christian
- Asceticism
- Astrology and Astronomy
- Athaliah
- Atonement
- Augustus
- Babylon
- Baptism
- Barnabas, Epistle of
- Benefaction/Patronage
- Bible and Film
- Bible and Visual Art
- Bible, Exile, and Migration, The
- Biblical Criticism
- Biblical Studies, Cognitive Science Approaches in
- Caesarea Maritima
- Canaanites
- Canon, Biblical
- Ceramics
- Cherubim
- Child Metaphors in the New Testament
- Children in the Hebrew Bible
- Children in the New Testament World
- Christian Apocrypha
- Christology
- Chronicles, First and Second
- Cities of Refuge
- Clement, First
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement, Second
- Clothing
- Colossians
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversion
- Corinthians, Second
- Cosmology, Near East
- Covenant
- Covenant, Ark of the
- Crucifixion
- Cyrus
- Daniel
- Daniel, Additions to
- David
- Death and Burial
- Deborah
- Demons
- Deuteronomistic History
- Deuteronomy
- Diaspora in the New Testament
- Didache
- Digital Humanities and the Bible
- Divination and Omens
- Domestic Architecture, Ancient Israel
- Early Christianity
- Early Christianity and Slavery
- Ecclesiastes/Qohelet
- Economics and Biblical Studies
- Edom
- Education, Greco-Roman
- Education in the Hebrew Bible
- Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Election in the Bible
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Enoch
- Ephesians
- Epistles, Catholic
- Epistolography (Ancient Letters)
- Eschatology of the New Testament
- Esther and Additions to Esther
- Ethics
- Evil Eye
- Exodus, Book of
- Exorcism
- Ezekiel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Faith in the New Testament
- Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament
- Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- Food and Food Production
- Friendship, Kinship and Enmity
- Funerary Rites and Practices, Greco-Roman
- Galatians
- Galilee
- Genesis, Book of
- Gentiles
- Gilgamesh
- Gnosticism
- God, Ancient Israel
- God, Greco-Roman
- God, Son of
- Gospels
- Gospels, Apocryphal
- Great, Herod the
- Greco-Roman Meals
- Greco-Roman World, Associations in the
- Greek Language
- Hagar
- Heaven
- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Law in the
- Hebrew Language
- Hebrews
- Hell
- Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
- Hermas, Shepherd of
- Historiography, Greco-Roman
- History of Ancient Israelite Religion
- Hittites
- Holy Spirit
- Honor and Shame
- Hosea, Book of
- Idol/Idolatry (HB/OT)
- Idol/Idolatry (New Testament)
- Imperial Cult and Early Christianity
- Infancy Gospel of Thomas
- Interpretation and Hermeneutics
- Intertextuality in the New Testament
- Isaiah
- Israel, History of
- James
- Jeremiah
- Jeroboam
- Jerusalem
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Christianity
- Jewish Festivals
- Jezebel
- Job
- Joel, Book of
- John, Gospel of
- John the Baptist
- Joshua
- Jubilees, Book of
- Judaism, Hellenistic
- Judaism, Rabbinic
- Judaism, Second Temple
- Judas, Gospel of
- Jude, Epistle of
- Judges, Book of
- Judith, Book of
- Kings, First and Second
- Kingship
- Lamentations
- Latino/a/e and Latin American Biblical Interpretation
- Letters, Johannine
- Letters, Pauline
- Levi/Levittes
- Levirate Obligation in the Hebrew Bible
- Levitical Cities
- Leviticus
- LGBTIQ Hermeneutics
- Literacy, New Testament
- Literature, Apocalyptic
- Lord's Prayer
- Luke, Gospel of
- Maccabean Revolt
- Maccabees, First–Fourth
- Man, Son of
- Manasseh, King of Judah
- Manasseh, Tribe/Territory
- Mari
- Mark, Gospel of
- Martyrdom
- Mary
- Matthew, Gospel of
- Medieval Biblical Interpretation (Jewish)
- Mesopotamian Mythology and Genesis 1-11
- Messianism
- Metaphor in the New Testament
- Midian
- Midrash and Aggadah
- Minoritized Criticism of the New Testament
- Miracle Stories
- Modern Bible Translations
- Moses
- Music
- Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
- Myth in the Hebrew Bible
- Nahum, Book of
- Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
- New Testament and Early Christianity, Women, Gender, and S...
- New Testament, Feminist Scholarship on the
- New Testament, Men and Masculinity in the
- New Testament, Rhetoric of the
- New Testament, Social Sciences and the
- New Testament Studies, Emerging Approaches in
- New Testament, Textual Criticism of the
- New Testament Views of Torah
- Numbers, Book of
- Nuzi (Nuzi Tablets)
- Old Testament, Biblical Theology in the
- Old Testament, Social Sciences and the
- Orality and Literacy
- Otherness in the Hebrew Bible
- Pain and Suffering in the Hebrew Bible
- Parables
- Paraenesis
- Passion Narratives
- Pastorals
- Paul
- Pauline Chronology
- Paul's Opponents
- Pentateuch
- Performance Criticism
- Period, The "Persian"
- Peter
- Philemon
- Philippians
- Philistines
- Philo of Alexandria
- Piety/Godliness in Early Christianity and the Roman World
- Poetry, Hebrew
- Pontius Pilate
- Priestly/Holiness Codes
- Priest/Priesthood
- Prophets
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Pseudepigraphy, Early Christian
- Pseudo-Clementines
- Q
- Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
- Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels
- Revelation (Apocalypse)
- Romans
- Ruth
- Sacrifice
- Samaria/Samaritans
- Samuel, First and Second
- Satan
- Scriptures
- Second Baruch
- Sects, Jewish
- Septuagint
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sexual Violence and the Hebrew Bible
- Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
- Sirach
- Slavery
- Sojourner
- Solomon
- Solomon, Wisdom of
- Song of Songs
- Succession Narrative
- Synagogue
- Synoptic Problem
- Tales, Court
- Talmud
- Targum
- Temples and Sanctuaries
- Temples, Near Eastern
- Ten Commandments
- The Bible and the American Civil War
- The Bible and the Qur’an
- The Bible in China
- The English Bible: History and Translations
- the Hebrew Bible, Ancient Egypt and
- The New Testament and Creation Care
- Thessalonians
- Thomas, Gospel of
- Tobit
- Trauma and the Bible, Hermeneutics of
- Twelve Prophets, Book of the
- Ugarit
- Virtues and Vices: New Testament Ethical Exhortation in I...
- War, New Testament
- Wisdom
- Wisdom—Greek and Latin
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testa...
- Worship in the New Testament and Earliest Christianity
- Worship, Old Testament
- Zadok
- Zechariah
- Zoology (Animals in the New Testament)