📖 Biblical Definition
The single eye is Jesus’ image in Matthew 6:22 for the heart whose loyalty is undivided: "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." The Greek haplous means "simple, single, undivided" — focused on one thing. The single-eyed man sees clearly because he is not double-minded. The context is decisive: it sits between treasures-in-heaven (6:19-21) and the impossibility of serving God and mammon (6:24). The single eye is the practical opposite of the divided heart. Christian men recover it by repenting of secondary loyalties — career, comfort, reputation — and fixing the eye again on Christ.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
The undivided heart focused on God alone.
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Jesus' image in the Sermon on the Mount of an undivided eye that fills the whole body with light; the Greek haplous can mean either 'single' (focused) or 'generous' — both senses applying to the disciple whose loyalty is wholly God's.
📖 Key Scripture
Matthew 6:22-23 — "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness."
Luke 11:34 — "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light."
James 1:8 — "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Read as physical eye-care; missing the heart-loyalty Jesus is teaching.
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The single eye is the heart's undivided gaze. Greek haplous is also the word for generous — divided hearts cannot be generous. The single eye and the open hand are the same disposition: God-focused, world-loose.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek haplous — single, simple.
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['Greek', 'G573', 'haplous', 'single, generous']
['Greek', 'G3788', 'ophthalmos', 'eye']
Usage
"Pray for the single eye."
"Divided hearts cannot be generous."