Article March 16, 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.]

"Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24)—"Mammon" is properly an Aramaic term which means "riches or wealth." Some authorities hold that it is derived from the root "aman" (as is our word "amen"), a root meaning "to be steadfast or firm, to put confidence in, or trust;" and on this view, "mammon" would mean that in which many people place their trust. The early translator, Wycliffe, gives the rendering "riches"; while Goodspeed prefers, "money."

"Take no thought" (Matt. 6:25, 31)—A literal rendering of the Greek would be: "Do not worry," since the noun which corresponds to the verb here used means literally "care, worry, or anxiety."

"Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack" (Dan. 2:4)— "Syriack," now usually spelled Syriac, was the language of the people of Syria, and was one form of what is generally spoken of as Aramaic, which gradually displaced the more classical Hebrew as the language of everyday intercourse in Palestine. Hence, in Daniel 2:4, Smith gives the rendering "Aramaic." Originally, the term Chaldeans simply had reference to the people of Chaldea or Babylonia, but by the time of the completion of the book of Daniel, "Chaldeans" had come to be used in a special sense, as virtually a synonym for those "magicians" or "diviners" who so influenced the policies of the kings of Babylonia, and stood in complete contrast to Daniel and his friends, who served the true God of Israel. Hence, instead of "Chaldeans," Moffatt offers the rendering "diviners," both here and in verses 5, 10, etc.

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