Article January 29, 1938 Issue

Bible Notes

"God is a Spirit" (John 4:24)—It may be noted that an equally literal rendering is, "God is Spirit," which, indeed, is preferred by such scholars as Westcott, Moffatt, Goodspeed, and Weymouth.

"Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16; comparre verse 25)—In both these passages, the American Revised Version sets down the more literal rendering "by (instead of 'in') the Spirit," while a still more exact translation would be simply "by Spirit," since the definite article "the" is not represented in the original. It may be added that the Greek verb translated "walk" in Galatians 5:16 is constantly used in the sense of "to regulate one's life, or conduct oneself" (Thayer: Greek Lexicon, p. 504); hence, we should be justified in translating: "Regulate your life by Spirit, and you will not give in to material desires."

"Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay" (Isa. 29:16)—The Hebrew word "haphkekem" is connected with a root meaning "to overturn," hence the rendering of our Common Version: "your turning of things upside down;" but it is now generally conceded that the more exact meaning of "haphkekem," as here used, is "oh! your contrariness," or "oh! your perversity" (cf. Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 246). Hence, Smith renders: "O the perversity of you! Is the potter of no more account than the clay?"

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