Article April 30, 1938 Issue

Bible Notes

"Man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7)—The word "nephesh," which is here translated "soul," possesses in Hebrew a rather wide range of meaning, signifying not only "soul" and "life," but also "self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, passion" (Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 659).

"For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law" (Rom. 5:13)—In the phrase, "until the law," the law referred to is, of course, the Mosaic Law (cf. verse 14). Goodspeed suggests the rendering: "It is true sin was in the world before the Law was given, and men are not charged with sin where there is no law;" while Weymouth (fifth edition) has: "For prior to the Law sin was already in the world, only sin is not entered in the account when no Law exists." In explanation of Weymouth's rendering "entered in the account," it may be noted that the Greek word translated "imputed" in our Common Version was really a technical verb employed in connection with the business transactions of the early centuries, and meaning "reckoned up" or "eatered in a ledger" (cf. Souter: Greek Lexicon, p. 146f.). Another rendering would be: "For before the Law came, sin was in the world; but sin is not accounted as such when there is no law (by which to judge it)."

"But not as the offence, so also is the free gift" (Rom. 5:15)—Moffatt renders this somewhat cryptic phrase as: "But the gift is very different from the trespass;" and Weymouth: "But it is not the same with the transgression as with God's free gift;" while the Greek appears to imply that the greatness of the "free gift" is out of all proportion to the greatness of the "offence"; for in the remainder of the verse it is stated that "much more the grace of God ... shall abound unto many." A similar thought is expressed at the beginning of verse 16.

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