Article August 7, 1937 Issue

Bible Notes

"Unite my heart to fear thy name" (Ps. 86:11)—In the original Hebrew, which consisted solely of consonants, the form "YCHD" could be taken to mean either "unite" (as here), or "rejoice"; and the Septuagint Version suggests the latter alternative, reading: "Let my heart rejoice, that I may fear thy name." Similarly Moffatt has; "May reverence for thee rejoice my heart" (see also Kittell: Biblia Hebraica).

"I will set my tabernacle among you" (Lev. 26:11)—The term "mishkan" which is here translated "tabernacle" has the literal meaning of "dwelling place", but was often employed with reference to the sacred tent, or tabernacle, in which Yahweh himself was believed to "dwell" (cf. Ex. 29:42–45).

"How amiable are thy tabernacles" (Ps. 84:1)—In modern English, we are accustomed to employ the term "amiable" chiefly with reference to a person's conduct or disposition (cf. Webster's Dictionary), but in this verse it has its earlier sense of "lovely." Thus we find that Smith translates: "How lovely is thy dwelling place;" and Moffatt: "How dear thy dwelling is," while we also find: "How lovely are thy habitations" (Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 1015).

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