The Apple of God's Eye

Guard me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.

                   Psalm 17:8 NRSVue

 You are the sunshine of my life

That's why I'll always be around
You are the apple of my eye
Forever you'll stay in my heart...

                  

                      St. Stevie of Wonder

Apple season has just begun in Ontario and we're in for the variety of fruity treats which will make up for the end of the cherries.

It's appropriate that for a few days last week the daily psalm reading was a portion of Psalm 17, although it doesn't actually include verse 8, which is really wonderful. I snooped around and discovered that there are at last four references in different Hebrew scripture books which include the phrase, "the apple of the eye." I love it even though I have no clue what it is, anatomically, although it is likely an old English term for the "aperture at the centre of the human eye" and refers to something or someone we cherish. 

Curiously, this isn't what the Hebrew says but it is likely one of those William Tyndale (16th C) translations into English which have become part of our vocabularly, along with “my brother’s keeper,” “no new thing under the sun,” “fat of the land,” “chariots of fire,” “from strength to strength,” “a lamb to the slaughter,” “by the skin of my teeth” and many more. Tyndale undertook the seditious work of translating the bible into English ( it was illlegal to do so) and paid for it with his life. Despite being silenced, many of these touchstone phrases made it into the King James Bible, or the Authorized Version of the bible. This one even found its way into one of Shakespeare's plays. 

If you are reading this blog entry you are truly the apple of my eye for doing so, and I'm confident that God cherishes you as well.