King James Bible: Idioms-3 (The Apple of his Eye)

"The apple of his eye," an expression which is still used in Modern English, refers to a thing or person which is somebody's favorite. This phrase is used several times in the King James Bible. The first place is in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 32:10~11
In a desert land he found him,
   in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
   he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
   and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
   and carries them aloft.
12 The LORD alone led him;
   no foreign god was with him.

In modern English, "the apple of his eye" usually appears with another word in place of "his."

Here are a few web pages that use "the apple of [SOMEBODY'S] eye" as a page title, often with some sort of word play:

A Store That's The Apple Of Microsoft's Eye
http://news.discovery.com/tech/microsoft-store-111118.html
[Microsoft is trying to compete with the Apple Company]

The Apple of His Eye
http://www.colby.edu/colby.mag/issues/58/article/1315/the-apple-of-his-eye/
[A monologist whose show focuses on Steve Jobs]

Jobs book is Apple of publisher’s eye
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/jobs_book_is_apple_of_publisher_4ZPmVqbnytkJf2eeFtIZeN
[A book about the founder of the Apple Company]

No clues to why baby is Apple of Gwyneth's eye
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1462102/No-clues-to-why-baby-is-Apple-of-Gwyneths-eye.html
[An actress who chose "Apple" as the name of her baby]

---------

More KJV quotes:

Psalms 17:8
    Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings

Proverbs 7:2
    Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

Lamentations 2: 18
    Their heart cried unto the Lord, O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night: give thyself no rest; let not the apple of thine eye cease.

Zechariah 2:8
    For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.

Update on Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 06:00PM by Webmaster

Readers can do their own Google search for more examples of "the apple of sb's/sth's eye"