²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

Matthew 6:22 (KJV)

Note for those who read this: I’m starting on a… sub quest, to really understand what I’m memorizing. Rather than just memorize… I’m trying to consume the words and really, understand. So I’m first observing the passage, and I’ll post my observation notes. Then I’ll update Interpretation and Application. Understand my entire purpose of documenting my memorization quest is to inspire others to memorize scripture. But if we are just memorizing the words, and not the depth of the meaning… whats the purpose?

Observation:

• This verse has two clauses (independent ideas, the second which explains or illustrates the first)
• The First Clause
  • is between body and eye is the verb
  • eye is a noun and the subject of the sentence, It is the noun that is performing the verb “is”.
  • light and body are the nouns that are the direct objects in this sentence
  • of is the preposition shows the relationship between “light” and “body”
• The Second Clause
  • if therefore is a conjunction phrase, with a condition clause and a result clause
  • condition clause – if this is true
    • verb is “be” as in “eye be single”
    • eye is again is the subject
    • single is the object
  • result clause – then this will happen
    • body is the subject
    • whole adjective to body
    • thy is the possessive case of thou, used as an attributive adjective for the body
• Observational Questions
• what is the light being described here, literal or figurative?
• what is the eye being described here, literal or figurative?
• body is used in both sentence clauses, except in the second clause it is possessive which in turn leads the first clause to be possessive.
• how can an eye be single? how can my eye be single?
• how can a body be full of light?

More Observation

Looking at words in various translations to give a better understanding of the meaning of this passage.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,

Matthew 6:22 (ESV)

• English Standard Version
  • Healthy is used instead of Single
  • “The eye is the lamp of the body”

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts].

Matthew 6:22 (AMP)

• Amplified Bible
  • adds the idea of spiritually perceptive, and benefiting from God’s precepts.

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.

Matthew 6:22 (HCSB)

• Holman Christian Standard Bible
  • If you eye is good.

Now looking at the various translations of this passage, I see that the various translators translated the ideas in various ways, but there are some big ideas: Light, Eyes, (Healthy, Good, Clear, Single), then the whole body being full of light.

My observation is not yet complete, I’m going to do a word study to determine how those exact words from the greek translation, were used else where in the Bible. Also I’ll look at a few commentaries to get ideas of what those words mean.

Geneva Study Bible Notes:

6:227 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine g eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
 (7) Men maliciously and wickedly put out even the little light of nature that is in them.
 (g) The judgment of the mind: that as the body is with the eyes, so our whole life may be ruled with right reason, that is to say, with the Spirit of God who gives light to us. 

Matthew Henry complete commentary:

 We must take heed of hypocrisy and worldly-mindedness in choosing the end we look at. Our concern as to this is represented by two sorts of eyes which men have, a single eye and an evil eye,v. 22, v. 23. The expressions here are somewhat dark because concise; we shall therefore take them in some variety of interpretation. The light of the body is the eye, that is plain; the eye is discovering and directing; the light of the world would avail us little without this light of the body; it is the light of the eye that rejoice the heart (Prov. 15:30 ), but what is that which is here compared to the eye in the body. 1. The eye, that is, the heart (so some) if that be single —haplous —free and bountiful (so the word is frequently rendered, as Rom. 12:8 ; 2 Co. 8:2, 2 Co. 8:9 :11, 13; Jam. 1:5 , and we read of a bountiful eye,Prov. 22:9 ). If the heart be liberally affected and stand inclined to goodness and charity, it will direct the man to Christian actions, the whole conversation will be full of light, full of evidences and instances of true Christianity, that pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father (Jam. 1:27 ), full of light, of good works, which are our light shining before men; but if the heart be evil, covetous, and hard, and envious, griping and grudging (such a temper of mind is often expressed by an evil eye,ch. 20:15 ; Mk. 7:22 ; Prov. 23:6, Prov. 23:7 ), the body will be full of darkness, the whole conversation will be heathenish and unchristian. The instruments of the churl are and always will be evil, but the liberal deviseth liberal things,Isa. 32:5-8 . If the light that is in us, those affections which should guide us to that which is good,be darkness, if these be corrupt and worldly, if there be not so much as good nature in a man, not so much as a kind disposition, how great is the corruption of a man, and the darkness in which he sits! This sense seems to agree with the context; we must lay up treasure in heaven by liberality in giving alms, and that not grudgingly but with cheerfulness, Lu. 12:33 ; 2 Co. 9:7 . But these words in the parallel place do not come in upon any such occasion, Lu. 11:34 , and therefore the coherence here does not determine that to be the sense of them.2. The eye, that is, the understanding (so some); the practical judgment, the conscience, which is to the other faculties of the soul, as the eye is to the body, to guide and direct their motions; now if this eye be single, if it make a true and right judgment, and discern things that differ, especially in the great concern of laying up the treasure so as to choose aright in that, it will rightly guide the affections and actions, which will all be full of the light of grace and comfort; but if this be evil and corrupt, and instead of leading the inferior powers, is led, and bribed, and biased by them, if this be erroneous and misinformed, the heart and life must needs be full of darkness, and the whole conversation corrupt. They that will not understand, are said to walk on in darkness,Ps. 82:5 . It is sad when the spirit of a man, that should be the candle of the Lord, is an ignis fatuus: when the leaders of the people, the leaders of the faculties, cause them to err, for then they that are led of them are destroyed,Isa. 9:16 . An error in the practical judgment is fatal, it is that which calls evil good and good evil(Isa. 5:20 ); therefore it concerns us to understand things aright, to get our eyes anointed with eye-salve.3. The eye, that is, the aims and intentions; by the eye we set our end before us, the mark we shoot at, the place we go to, we keep that in view, and direct our motion accordingly; in every thing we do in religion; there is something or other that we have in our eye; now if our eye be single, if we aim honestly, fix right ends, and move rightly towards them, if we aim purely and only at the glory of God, seek his honor and favor, and direct all entirely to him, then the eye is single; Paul’s was so when he said, To me to live is Christ; and if we be right here, the whole body will be full of light, all the actions will be regular and gracious, pleasing to God and comfortable to ourselves; but if this eye be evil, if, instead of aiming only at the glory of God, and our acceptance with him, we look aside at the applause of men, and while we profess to honor God, contrive to honor ourselves, and seek our own things under color of seeking the things of Christ, this spoils all, the whole conversation will be perverse and unsteady, and the foundations being thus out of course, there can be nothing but confusion and every evil work in the superstructure. Draw the lines from the circumference to any other point but the center, and they will cross. If the light that is in thee be not only dim, but darkness itself, it is a fundamental error, and destructive to all that follows. The end specifies the action. It is of the last importance in religion, that we be right in our aims, and make eternal things, not temporal, our scope, 2 Co. 4:18 . The hypocrite is like the water-man, that looks one way and rows another; the true Christian like the traveler, that has his journey’s end in his eye. The hypocrite soars like the kite, with his eye upon the prey below, which he is ready to come down to when he has a fair opportunity; the true Christian soars like the lark, higher and higher, forgetting the things that are beneath