Article March 2, 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.]

"We are not careful to answer thee in this matter" (Dan. 3:16) —There is some uncertainty as to the exact significance of the Aramaic phrase which is here rendered "we are not careful." Thus, while the Revised Version has: "We have no need to answer thee in this matter," Smith suggests: "We need not waste words in discussing this matter with you."

"O Lord our Lord" (ps. 8:1) —It is noteworthy that in this phrase two different Hebrew words for "Lord" are employed, as suggested by the different ways in which they are printed in our Authorized Version. The term represented by "LORD," both here and in numerous other Old Testament passages, is the Hebrew "Jehovah" (or, more correctly, "Yahweh"), which is usually taken to mean: "He who is, the self-existent One, the Eternal;" though it might also mean, "He who causes to be," and so, "the creator." The word rendered "Lord," on the other hand, comes from a root implying the thought of "rule or command," and so means "Lord, master, or king." Moffatt suggests: "O thou Eternal One, our Lord."

"Man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7)—The term which is here rendered "soul" possesses in Hebrew a rather wide range of meaning, for it can denote, according to its context, not only "soul" or "life," but also "person, self, desire, appetite," etc.

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