The phrase "Covering of the Eyes" is found in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 20:16^[1]. King Abimelech of Gerar is speaking to Abraham and his wife Sarah whom he had taken as his wife thinking her Abraham's sister. 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article is about the term Hebrew Bible. For the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh (Jewish tradition) or Old Testament (Christian tradition). ... The angel prevents the sacrifice of Isaac (Rembrandt, 1634) Abraham (Hebrew: , Standard Avraham Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom Tiberian  ; Arabic: ,  ; Geez: , ) is a figure in the Bible and Quran who is by believers regarded as the founding patriarch of the Israelites and of the Nabataean people in Jewish, Christian and... The angel prevents the sacrifice of Isaac (Rembrandt, 1634) Abraham (Hebrew: , Standard Avraham Ashkenazi Avrohom or Avruhom Tiberian  ; Arabic: ,  ; Geez: , ) is a figure in the Bible and Quran who is by believers regarded as the founding patriarch of the Israelites and of the Nabataean people in Jewish, Christian and... Engraving of Sarah by Hans Collaert from c. ... This article may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

"And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved." — KJV

This has been regarded as an implied advice to Sarah to conform to the custom of married women, and wear a complete veil, covering the eyes as well as the rest of the face.^[2] Other translations are: The King James or Authorised Version of the Bible is an English translation of the Christian Bible first published in 1611. ... Veils are articles of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, which cover some part of the head or face. ...

• vindication before all^[1] (NASB)
• "silence any criticism against you"^[1] (GWT)
• "your honour is clear in the eyes of all."^[1] (Bible In Basic English)
• Sarah must look at no other^[1] (WES)

Abimelech's statement to Abraham made with the giving of 1000 pieces of silver - may this one that will be thine have a covering on her eyes - is interpreted in the midrash^{[citation needed]}, and sometimes elsewhere^{[citation needed]}, as a curse and re-translated ... his eyes, in order to interpret it as the reason for Isaac's later blindness in his old age. Such a curse was seen as righteously carried out, since Abraham's deliberate deceit was to blame for Abimelech's innocent error, and hence its visitation on Abraham's son was considered just. More modern critical readings view it simply as an instruction to purchase a veil for Sarah, so that she would be clearly identified as being married, in which case it forms a sly reproach against her for not already wearing one. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is an English translation of the Bible. ... Sylt Airport is the airport of Westerland, Germany. ... The Bible In Basic English (also known as BBE) is a translation of the Bible into Basic English. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... An angel prevents Abraham from sacrificing Isaac Tedla in this illumation from a 14th century Icelandic manuscript. ...

The Jewish Encyclopedia^[3] states that Abimelech wants his wrongdoing overlooked in exchange of silver in a kind of ransom (kofer) similar to the Teutonic Wergeld. The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... Look up Heresy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Weregild (Alternative spellings: wergild, wergeld, weregeld, etc. ...

References

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. Eastons Bible Dictionary generally refers to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, by Matthew George Easton M.A., D.D. (1823-1894), published three years after Eastons death in 1897 by Thomas Nelson. ...

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Several translations of Genesis 20:16.
2. ^ "Covering of the Eyes". Easton's Bible Dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
3. ^ This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia article "Atonement" by Kaufmann Kohler, a publication now in the public domain.