Article September 17, 1938 Issue

Bible Notes

"Let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation" (Isa. 45:8)—The Hebrew term "tsedeq," here rendered "righteousness," can also mean "justice, deliverance, victory, prosperity" (Brown, Driver, Briggs: Hebrew Lexicon, p. 842); while additional renderings of the word translated "salvation" are, "deliverance, safety, welfare" (ibid., p. 447). Moffatt suggests: "Shower down victory, ye heavens, rain it from above, ye skies! Let earth's womb open for the birth of peace;" while Smith has: "Let the clouds rain righteousness; Let the earth open her womb, and bring forth salvation."

"Wisdom ... hath hewn out her seven pillars" (Prov. 9:1)—Various conjectures have been made from time to time as to the significance of the "seven pillars," but as pointed out by Gore, Goudge and Guillaume in their "New Commentary on Holy Scripture" (p. 388), "probably originally" the number "only signified completeness."

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10)—"Fear" is a literal translation of the Hebrew term "yire'ah," though that term was often employed in the sense of "reverence, awe, or piety" (ef. Brown, etc., op. cit., p. 432). In referring to the use of this word in the Old Testament, Professor Toy oberves that "the sentiment gradually advances from the form of mere dread of the divine anger to that of reverence for the divine law" (Commentary on Proverbs, p.10); while Dr. Perowne holds the view that "fear," as employed in this particular context, "is not slavish dread ... but childlike reverence" (Commentary on Proverbs, p.42). Moffatt translates: "The first thing in knowledge is reverence for the Eternal;" while Smith has: "The beginning of wisdom is reverence for the Lord."

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