Article March 26, 1938 Issue

Bible Notes

"The world passeth away, and the lust thereof" (I John 2:17)—Moffatt suggests the rendering: "The world is passing away with its desire;" and Goodspeed: "The world with its cravings is passing away;" while the translators of the Twentieth Century New Testament provide a less literal rendering: "The world and all that it gratifies is passing away." With reference to the phrase "and the lust thereof," Dr. Plummer justly remarks: "Not the lust for the world, but the lust which it exhibits, the sinful tendencies mentioned in verse 16. The world is passing away with all its sinful tendencies."

"Hezekiah ... shewed them all the house of his precious things" (II Kings 20:13)—There is some uncertainty as to the correct rendering of the Hebrew phrase "beth nekoth" (the house of his precious things), which could mean either "treasure house" or "house of spices" (cf. the margin of the Authorized Version "of spicery"). Keil contends that the "house received its name from the spices for the storing of which it was originally intended, although it was used for the storing of silver and gold" (Commentary on Kings, p. 466).

"The house of his armour" (II Kings 20:13)—Some suppose that these words refer to the famous "house of the forest of Lebanon," the erection of which by Solomon is described in some detail in I Kings 7:2ff.; especially since in Isaiah 22:8 we read these words: "Thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest." (Cf. Skinner: First and Second Kings, p. 404.)

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