Article September 15, 1934 Issue

Bible Notes

"Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian" (Ex. 3:1)—We are informed in verses 18-21 of the preceding chapter that the name borne by Moses' father-in-law was Reuel; but this apparent contradiction is readily explained by the fact that many Biblical characters—such as Daniel in the Old Testament (Dan. 1:7) and Paul in the New (Acts 13:9)—bore two names (cf. Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, p. 465). Others, however, contend that the word rendered "father in law" had, as in Arabic, the more general sense of "a relative by marriage," and that while Reuel was indeed Moses' father-in-law, Jethro was Reuel's son, and so brother-in-law to Moses (cf. Rawlinson: "Moses: His Life and Times," p. 66).

"The backside of the desert" (Ex. 3:1)—Since it was customary among the Jews to face the east when computing their directions, the "backside" or "back" came to be used as a synonym for the "west"; moreover, the Hebrew "midbar" means "wilderness" rather than barren "desert," and is often used, as here, to denote great "tracts of land, used for the pasturage of flocks and herds" (Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 184). Consequently Moffatt translates: "The western side of the prairie." It may be added that since "the land of Midian" (Ex. 2:15) is supposed to have lain to the east of the peninsula of Sinai, close to the shore of the Gulf of Akabah, the eastern arm of the Red Sea, the reference to Mount Horeb as lying towards the west (Ex. 3:1), is strictly in accord with the geography of that region.

"The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2)—Weymouth, by a slight change of punctuation, offers the interesting rendering: "The Spirit's law—life in Christ Jesus—has set me free from the law of sin and death." Moffatt suggests: "The law of the Spirit brings the life which is in Christ Jesus, and that law has set me free...." Then Goodspeed, reading "you" instead of "me," translates: "For the lifegiving law of the Spirit through Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Testimony of Healing

For some time the desire has been growing within me to...