Safe javascript variables

gistfile1.txt

/*
Returns a nested property / executes a nested function from a variable, or a default value, without having it throwing any error
*/

var safeVar = function(string, def) {
  var properties = string.split(".");
  var filtered = [];
  try {
    properties.forEach(function(property) {
      filtered.push(property);
      eval(filtered);
    });
  } catch(err) {
    return def;
  }
  return eval(string);
}