Article June 13, 1936 Issue

Bible Notes

"His understanding is infinite" (Ps. 147:5)—The original Hebrew means literally: "His understanding has no number;" from which the sense of infinitude is very naturally deduced. Moffatt suggests: "His wisdom is unsearchable;" and Smith: "There is no limit to his understanding."

"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3)—The Greek preposition "dia," rendered "by," can also mean "through"; and the word translated "without" is more exactly "apart from" (Souter: Greek Lexicon, p. 286). Hence, Goodspeed has: "Everything came into existence through him, and apart from him nothing came to be;" and Moffatt: "Though him all existence came into being, no existence came into being apart from him;" while Weymouth (fifth edition) suggests: "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing that now exists came into being."

"The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:5)—The Greek verb "katalambanein," here rendered "comprehend," means literally "to lay hold of so as to make one's own; appropriate, attain to, and so, 'overtake'" (Thayer: Greek Lexicon, p. 332); indeed, in John 12:35 the same verb is rendered "overtake" by the Revised Version. In John 1:5 Weymouth suggests: "The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never overpowered it;" and Goodspeed: "The light is still shining in the darkness, for the darkness has never put it out;" while Moffatt reads: "Amid the darkness the Light shone, but the darkness did not master it;" and the Revised Version: "and the darkness apprehended it not."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Testimony of Healing

Testifying to the healing efficacy of Christian Science is...