ἁπλοῦς

From the study of Matthew 6:22

Range of meaning

Basic sense: 'single, simple, not double or folded'. In moral use it describes someone undivided and straightforward, sincere, without guile or hidden agenda. In Jewish Greek the related noun haplotēs (singleness) often means open-handed generosity, giving without a second motive. Applied to an eye, some Greek writers use it for a sound, clear eye, though how common this was is debated.

Against the English

KJV 'single' (from the Vulgate's simplex) keeps the root meaning but now suggests 'focused' or even 'unmarried'. 'Healthy', 'clear', 'sound' and 'good' (BSB, ESV, NASB, WEB, NIV) keep the physical picture but drop the moral sense of undivided loyalty and generosity. YLT's 'perfect' points toward wholeness but sounds like flawlessness.

How it drifted

English 'single' lost its old moral sense of 'sincere, without duplicity'. 'Single eye' is now heard as 'single focus' or concentration. The generosity idiom has no English equivalent, so it disappears in translation.

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX of Proverbs 11:25 uses haplē for a 'soul of blessing', which in Hebrew means a generous person. In 1 Chronicles 29:17 David gives freely 'in singleness (haplotēs) of heart'. Paul uses haplotēs for generosity (Rom 12:8; 2 Cor 8:2; 9:11, 13), and James 1:5 says God gives haplōs, 'generously'. The Testament of Issachar (chs. 3–5), a Jewish text from around the same era, praises haplotēs as integrity that does not covet and gives to the poor. In Greek ethics haplous is the opposite of diplous, 'double'.

From the study of Luke 11:34

Range of meaning

Literally 'single, simple, not folded or doubled'. Morally it means sincere, without hidden agenda, undivided, wholehearted. The related noun haplotēs and adverb haplōs often mean 'generosity, giving freely' (Rom 12:8; 2 Cor 8:2; 9:11, 13; Jas 1:5, where God gives 'haplōs', generously and without grudging). Whether haplous also meant 'healthy' when used of an eye is disputed, and the evidence for that sense is thin.

Against the English

KJV 'single' and YLT 'simple' keep the literal picture. BSB/WEB 'good' keeps the contrast with 'evil' (as in the Hebrew idiom). NIV/ESV/NLT 'healthy' and NASB 'clear' turn the image into eyesight, and lose the moral sense and the link to generosity.

How it drifted

Modern versions read the saying mainly as a medical comparison (a good eye sees well, a diseased one sees poorly) and chose 'healthy'. Modern English 'single' has also lost its old sense of 'undivided, sincere', so the KJV wording now reads as obscure.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Testament of Issachar, a Jewish work probably from around the time of Jesus, the virtue of haplotēs ('singleness') is the theme. The upright man 'walks in singleness of eyes' (T. Iss. 3:4; cf. 4:6) and gives generously to the poor (3:8). The Greek Old Testament (LXX) uses the haplo- word group for integrity of heart (e.g. 1 Chr 29:17; Wis 1:1). Philo and other Greek writers use haplous for the plain, unmixed, sincere person.