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).
"Until the breaking of the day" (Gen. 32:24)—While this well expresses the sense of the original, the literal meaning of the Hebrew phrase is "Until the rising of the dawn."
"Peniel" (Gen. 32:30)—The term "Peniel" means literally "the face of God." It may be noted that the word "Penuel," which is mentioned in the following verse, is simply a different spelling of the same word.
"Take heed, and beware of covetousness" (Luke 12:15)—It may be observed that the Greek phrase translated "beware of" means literally "keep yourselves from" or "guard yourselves against." Moffatt suggests: "See and keep clear of covetousness in every shape and form;" and Weymouth: "Take care, be on your guard against all covetousness;" while Goodspeed renders: "Take care! You must be on your guard against any form of greed," and continues: "for a man's life does not belong to him, no matter how rich he is."
"There will I bestow all my fruits" (Luke 12:18)—The term "fruits," used in the previous verse, is a literal translation of the Greek "karpous" which, incidentally, can also mean "crops" (Goodspeed, Moffatt, Weymouth, etc.); but here, in verse eighteen, the word "fruits" represents a different Greek noun "siton" (with the literal sense of "corn" or "grain"). Hence Goodspeed translates: "In them I will store all my grain;" and Weymouth: "In them I will store up all my harvest."
"This night thy soul shall be required of thee" (Luke 12:20)—The Greek noun "psuche," rendered "soul" in this and the preceding verse, can also mean "life," and so the margin of the Revised Version has: "This night is thy life required of thee." Moffatt, however, prefers to render: "Foolish man, this very night your soul is wanted."
"A daily provision of the king's meat" (Dan. 1:5)—The rare word which is here translated "meat," is really a term borrowed from the Persian, and means apparently "delicacies," such as would be found at the royal table (cf. Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 834). So Moffatt translates: "The king ordered them a daily share of the delicacies he ate and of the wine he drank."
"Why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort?" (Dan. 1:10)—The Hebrew idiom here rendered "worse liking" (that is, apparently, "worse looking") means more literally "more dejected" (cf. Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 277). Smith translates: "I am afraid ... lest he find you looking more haggard than the youths of your own age;" and Moffatt: "I am afraid of him noticing that you are in poorer condition than the youths who are of your own age;" while Kent suggests: "I fear lest ... the king ... should see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age."
"Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel" (Dan. 1:11)—It is apparent that the translators of our Authorized Version took the term "Melzar" to be the name of a man; but it is now generally conceded to denote "governor," though there still remains some doubt as to the status of the official referred to (Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 576). The Revised Version suggests the rendering "steward"; while Moffatt has: "Daniel said to his guardian, whom the governor of the eunuchs had put in charge of Daniel;" and Smith's rendering is: "The 'steward' whom the chief of the eunuchs had placed over Daniel."
"The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes" (Prov. 21:10)—Moffatt suggests the rendering: "Bad men are bent on doing harm; none wins a kindly thought from them;" while Smith translates, similarly: "The wicked man is bent on doing harm; His neighbor finds no pity in his eyes." Kent has: "The wicked desires to do harm; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes."
"There were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel" (Rev. 7:4)—It is plain from the verses which immediately follow this passage that the number here given was composed of twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel; while in Revelation 14:3f. "the hundred and forty and four thousand" are further described as having been "redeemed from the earth," and as following "the Lamp whithersoever he goeth." Moreover they have "his Father's name written in their foreheads" (Rev. 14:1). (Cf. Charles: Revelation, Vol. I, p. 199; and Vol. II, p. 5.)
