Article December 7, 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.]

"I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit" (Isa. 48:17)—This is a strictly literal translation of the original, but Smith suggests the alternative rendering: "I the LORD am your God, who teaches you for your profit;" while Moffatt has: "I am the Eternal your God, training you for your good."

"I will . . . give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth" (Isa. 49:8)—The word translated "covenant" can also mean "pledge," while an alternative rendering of the word translated "earth" is "land." From the context it would appear as though the primary reference were to the land of Palestine, whose "desolate heritages" were to become fruitful once again, when the stern experience of Israel's exile in the land of Babylon came to an end.

"Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them" (Isa. 49:10)—The Hebrew word "sharab," here translated "heat," means literally "a mirage," which is largely caused by the waves of shimmering heat arising from the desert sands. Whitehouse suggests the rendering: "glowing sand"; while Moffatt, taking the word as referring to a hot wind, renders: "Never shall sun or sirocco plague them."

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