Bible Notes

[The Biblical citations given in the Christian Science Quarterly are from the Authorized King James Version. The Bible Notes in this column can be used, if deemed necessary, to elucidate some of the words or passages contained in the Bible Lessons.]

"My servant shall deal prudently" (Isa. 52:13)—The Hebrew verb which is here rendered "deal prudently" has various shades of meaning, which include "to have insight, understanding, or intelligence" and "to prosper." The Septuagint offers the following translation of the verse: "Behold, my servant shall understand, and be exalted and glorified exceedingly."

"Who hath believed our report?" (Isa. 53:1)—The word which is here translated "report" is sometimes used idiomatically in the sense of "the report which reached us," rather than in that of "the report which we gave." A literal rendering of the Syriac version would be: "Who will believe what we have heard?"

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows" (Isa. 53:4)—Both here and in the previous verse the word rendered "grief" means literally "sickness," while that translated "sorrows" means more exactly "pains"; and in view of the fact that the verb rendered "bear" means also "take away," we are justified in translating: "Surely he has taken away our sicknesses and carried off our pains."

"The chastisement of our peace" (Isa. 53:5)—In Hebrew, the term translated "of" can also mean "leading to"; and since the word translated "peace" is widely employed in the sense of "health, success, welfare," we could translate: "He bore the chastisement which led to our health." Moffatt suggests: " 'Twas for our welfare that he was chastised."

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted" (Isa. 53:7)—The verb here rendered "be afflicted" has the alternative meaning of "humble oneself." Consequently, Smith translates: "When he was oppressed, he humbled himself;" while Moffatt has: "He was ill-treated, yet he bore it humbly."

"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isa. 53:11)—Smith suggests the rendering: "The fruit of his suffering shall he see, and be satisfied."

"It was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter" (John 10:22)—This feast commemorated the rededication of the temple about 164 B. C., following its desecration by the Greeks. Under the name "Hanukkah" (the Hebrew word for dedication) it is still observed by the Jews during their month "Chisleu," that is, about Christmas time, according to the Christian calendar.

"Solomon's porch" (John 10:23)—The colonnade or portico thus popularly described in Jesus' day appears to have run along the eastern side of the temple enclosure; while Josephus suggests that it was indeed almost the only portion of the original Solomonic temple still extant in the first century A. D.

"How long dost thou make us to doubt?" (John 10:24)—The Twentieth Century New Testament gives a rendering into more idiomatic English: "How long are you going to keep us in suspense?" while Weymouth (Fifth Edition) offers a similar translation.

"They shoot out the lip, they shake the head" (Ps. 22:7)—The reference to "shoot out the lip" may be compared to the English idiom "to curl one's lip," in the sense of "to express contempt" or "sneer." Compare Moffatt's rendering: "They toss their heads and sneer;" though Smith prefers: "They make mouths at me and toss their heads."

"Art thou the King of the Jews? . . . Jesus said . . . Thou sayest" (Matt. 27:11)—There is some uncertainty as to the exact significance of the words rendered "Thou sayest." Many commentators and most modern translators take it as implying a definite affirmative, which might be represented by, "Certainly I am," or, "Certainly" (Moffatt). McNeile, however, takes the phrase as implying: "Thou art verbally correct, but the truth is beyond thy comprehension."

"The place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha" (John 19:17)—Our familiar English word "Calvary" derives from the Latin "Calvaria," "a bare skull." In the Vulgate version, "of a skull" was rendered "Calvariae," and when Wycliffe translated that version into English he retained this Latin word without translating it. Thus "Calvary," which is really a synonym for "Golgotha," found its way into our language.

"The hour of prayer, being the ninth hour" (Acts 3:1)—Since the Jews usually rekoned their hours from 6 a.m., the "ninth hour" would be 3 p.m., as we count time. This was the time of the offering of the so-called "evening" sacrifice in the temple at Jerusalem. Special prayers were offered at that hour.

"The gate of the temple which is called Beautiful" (Acts 3:2)—Of the various gates of the temple there is one (often known as the Corinthian Gate) which, Josephus tells us, "greatly excelled" the others both in its value and in its design. It appears to have been wrought of solid bronze, and was doubtless the "Beautiful" gate mentioned in Acts.

"His name through faith in his name hath made this man strong" (Acts 3:16)—Among the Jews, the term "name" often meant "character" or "characteristics" ; and since the character or characteristics of Christ Jesus were expressed in his statement, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), it is readily understandable how the faithful acceptance of the meaning of such a "name" could bring healing to the cripple.

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