GREEN-EYED MONSTER

  By Dr. M. R. Dowler

Words and phrases fascinate me. As a writer and researcher, the history of a word or expression can sometimes add an interesting element to a subject. There is an actual word for the study of words and their origins; it is called etymology. For example, most of us have heard of the “green-eyed monster” referring to feelings of intense jealousy. But can we take this expression literally? Does our eyes actually turn green (or greener) when overwhelmed with feelings of jealousy?

History tells us that the color green has long been associated with sickness, possibly because of the body’s tendency to take on a slight yellow-green paleness, and the greenness of unripe fruit causing stomach ailments. But the actual phrase “green-eyed” comes from two of Shakespeare’s plays, both referring to suspicious jealousy; The Merchant of Venice (1596) and Othello (1604). Othello, the Moor was specifically warned to beware of the “green-eyed monster of jealousy.”

Jealousy is an emotion (good or bad); the Bible speaks of the wide spectrum of God-created human emotions (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Interestingly, jealousy within the context of arrogant covetousness (“a proud look”) is one of the Seven Deadly Sins (Proverbs 6:16-19); and the scriptures also speaks of the natural emotion of jealousy within the bounds of matrimony (Song of Solomon 8:6). When the covenant of marriage is threatened by an actual (or perceived) third-party, feeling of intense jealousy are exercised (Proverbs 6:34).

Theologically, the Bible refers to God as a jealous God twenty-nine times; twenty-eight times in the Old Testament, and once in the New (1 Corinthians 10:22). The primary Hebrew word for jealous is qana meaning to be zealously possessive, and referring to His marriage relationship with Israel. God and Israel entered into a covenant “marriage” at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20; Deuteronomy 5:2-5). And whereas God deals with His own who are spiritually unfaithful to Him, it is to the world that the vicious anger of His jealousy emerges when they mess with His people, the Jews, His city, Jerusalem (Zechariah 8:2-3), and His engaged bride, the church (2 Corinthians 11:2). Praise the Lord; He is zealously protective of us. Think about it.