Article November 9, 1940 Issue

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.]

"He that loveth his life shall lose it" (John 12:25)—The word rendered "life" in this phrase, and in "he that hateth his life," is "psuche," which often has reference to a personal or human sense of life, and is contrasted with "zoe," the wider, deeper term for "life" found in the phrase "eternal life," also found in this verse. The verb "philo," here rendered "love," implies vivid personal clinging to "life" (psuche), as contrasted with the deeper verb "agapo," used elsewhere with reference to loving God (e.g., Matt. 22:37).

"He that hateth his life" (John 12:25)—As used in the original languages of the Bible, the verbs rendered "hate" often do not mean "hate" in the modern sense, but imply, rather, relative disregard for or lack of interest in someone or something. So we might give the thought of the passage by rendering: "He that holds his human sense of existence as of little account."

"A certain ruler" (Luke 18:18)—It seems probable that the reference was to a "ruler of the synagogue." Each synagogue had one or more of these functionaries, whose chief were to preserve order and to arrange for the conduct of the services.

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