The Meaning, Usage and Possible Applications of “The Pupil of His Eye” in Deuteronomy 32:10

Seminary N235

The chief purpose of this paper is to decipher the meaning, usage and proper application of the term ’îšôn ‘ênô´, “pupil of his eye” found in Deut 32:10. The impetus for this study resides in various speeches and sermons heard where this phrase has been quoted in connection with 21st-century philosophical or ethical jargon. Most have been reminiscent of Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas’s phenomenology of the face (the face-to-face relationship with others) in one way or the other. It is this author’s intimation that persons who use this phrase to imply an ethical imperative are exegetically incorrect. On the other hand, principles of application can be learned from the relationship between God and Israel described in the text. This paper takes an exegetical and contextual look at Deut 32:7–14 and considers the findings along the concept of phenomenology of the face taught by Lévinas.