Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

Shalom Y'all,

In Balak's message to Balaam (Num. 22:5), which he repeats to God in verse 
11, he refers to the Israelites as "there is a people come out from Egypt, 
behold, they cover )t (YN H)RC (et `ein ha-arec)". This is usually translated 
as "the face of the earth". The general meaning is clear, they are so many 
that they cover the whole land. 

However, an (YN, literally "eye", is usually something small and localized. 
It's most common use outside of anatomy is for "spring" or "well". 

So what exactly is "the eye of the earth"? Why should "eye" mean "face"?

Yigal