זוהר, בלק ל״טZohar, Balak 39

Segment 1א׳

אָמַר רִבִּי אַבָּא, מִלָּה דָּא לָא אִתְיַישְׁבָא, וְאִצְטְרִיךְ לְעַיְּינָא בֵּיהּ. אָמַר רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, הָכִי הוּא וַדַּאי, פְּלִשְׁתִּי דָּא קָרִיב לְיִיחוּסָא דְּדָוִד הֲוָה, וּבְרָהּ דְּעָרְפָּה הֲוָה, וְהַיְינוּ דִּכְתִּיב, (שמואל א יז) מִמַעַרְכוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים, אַל תִּקְרֵי מִמַעַרְכוֹת, אֶלָּא מִמְּעָרוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים, דְּשַׁוְיוּהָ לְאִמֵּיהּ כִּמְעַרְתָּא דָּא. וְכֵיוָן דִּכְתִּיב, (שמואל א י״ז:מ״ג) וַיְקַלֵּל הַפְּלִשְׁתִּי אֶת דָּוִד בֵּאלֹהָיו, אִסְתָּכַּל בֵּיהּ דָּוִד בְּעֵינָא בִּישָׁא. וּבְכָל אֲתָר דְּהֲוָה מִסְתַּכֵּל בְּעֵינָא בִּישָׁא, כָּל זִינֵי צָרַעַת אִתְמַשְּׁכָן מְעֵינֵיהּ דְּדָוִד. וְהָכִי הֲוָה בְּיוֹאָב, כֵּיוָן דְּאִסְתָּכַּל בֵּיהּ דָּוִד בְּעֵינָא בִּישָׁא, מַה כְּתִיב, (שמואל ב ג׳:כ״ט) וְלֹא יִכָּרֵת מִבֵּית יוֹאָב זָב וּמְצוֹרָע וְגוֹ'.

R. Abba said: ‘This matter is not settled, and it needs looking into.’ R. Eleazar said: ‘So it is, assuredly. This Philistine was near to the lineage of David, and he was the son of Orpah. And this is what is written, “from the ranks of the Philistines” (I Sam. 17): read not mimaarachoth (from the ranks) but mimearoth (from the caves) of the Philistines, for they made his mother like this cave. And since it is written, “And the Philistine cursed David by his gods” (I Sam. 17, 43), David looked upon him with an evil eye. And in every place where he looked with an evil eye, all the kinds of leprosy were drawn out of the eye of David. And so it was with Joab: once David looked upon him with an evil eye, what is written? “And let there not fail from the house of Joab one that has an issue, or that is a leper”, etc. (II Sam. 3, 29).’

Segment 2ב׳

וְהָכָא בְּפְּלִשְׁתִּי דָּא, כֵּיוָן שֶׁקִּלֵל אֶת הַשֵׁם, אִסְתָּכַּל בֵּיהּ בְּעֵינָא בִּישָׁא, וְחָמָא בְּמִצְחֵיהּ דְּאִצְטְרַע. מִיַּד (שמואל א י״ז:מ״ט) וַתִּטְבַּע הָאֶבֶן בְּמִצְחוֹ, וְאִתְדַּבְּקַת הַצָרַעַת בְּמִצְחוֹ. וְכֹלָּא הֲוָה אִשְׁתָּקָעַת עֵינָא בִּישָׁא דְּצָרַעַת בְּמִצְחוֹ, וְאִשְׁתְּקָעַת אַבְנָא מַמָּשׁ בְּמִצְחוֹ, וַדַּאי מְצוֹרָע הֲוָה.

And here, with this Philistine: once he cursed the Name, he looked upon him with an evil eye and saw upon his forehead that he was to be stricken with leprosy. At once, “And the stone sank into his forehead” (I Sam. 17, 49), and the leprosy clung to his forehead. And the whole of it was that the evil eye of leprosy sank into his forehead, and the stone itself sank into his forehead. Assuredly he was a leper.

Segment 3ג׳

רָשָׁע חַיָּיבָא דְּבִלְעָם, עֵינָא דִּילֵיהּ, הֲוָה בְּהִפּוּכָא מֵעֵינָא דְּדָוִד עֵינָא דְּדָוִד הֲוָה מְרֻקָּמָא מִכָּל זִינֵי גַּוְונִין, לָא הֲוָה עֵינָא בְּעָלְמָא שַׁפִּירָא לְמֵחזֵי, כְּעֵינָא דְּדָוִד. כָּל גַּוְונִין דְּעָלְמָא מְנַצְצָן בֵּיהּ, וְכֹלָּא בִּרְחִימוּ לְמַאן דְּדָחִיל חַטָאָה, דִּכְתִּיב, (תהילים קי״ט:ע״ד) יְרֵאֶיךָ יִרְאוּנִי וְיִשְׂמָחוּ. חַדָּאן כַּד חָמָאן לִי. וְכָל אִינּוּן חַיָּיבִין דַּחֲלִין מִקַמֵיהּ.

The wicked sinner Balaam: his eye was the opposite of the eye of David. The eye of David was woven of every kind of colour, and there was no eye in the world so beautiful to look upon as the eye of David. All the colours of the world sparkled in it, and all of them in love toward whoever fears sin, as it is written, “They that fear you shall see me and be glad” (Ps. 119, 74) — they rejoice when they see me. And all those sinners were in dread before him.