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.]

"Gird up the loins of your mind" (I Pet. 1:13)—In various Bible passages the girding up of the loins, in a literal sense, is referred to, this being an act which was done in preparation for active motion. For an Easterner to run in his long, flowing robes was next to impossible, unless he girt up his loins. Thus Elijah "girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab" (I Kings 18:46). So, when the expression is used metaphorically in I Peter, one might render freely: "Prepare yourselves for mental activity."

"Be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you" (I Pet. 1:13)—While "be sober" is a literal translation of the Greek verb, it may be noted that it was a term which was often employed to mean "be temperate" in the wider sense of that term, in the sense of to be "calm or undisturbed" in one's thinking; while the adverb which is rendered "to the end," had the literal meaning of "completely" or "perfectly." Good-speed renders the complete verse as follows: "Therefore, prepare your minds for action, and with perfect calmness fix your hopes on the mercy that you are to experience when Jesus Christ is revealed."

"Your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers" (I Pet. 1:18)—In this passage, as in so many New Testament verses, the Greek word rendered "conversation" has no reference to "conversation" in its modern sense of "talk," but means rather "manner of life" or "way of living." Thus Weymouth (Fifth Edition) suggests: "the futile habits of life inherited from your forefathers." The Twentieth Century New Testament renders: "the aimless way of living which was handed down to you from your ancestors."

"If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him" (Gen. 4:7)—The verb which is rendered "do well" twice in this verse derives from a Hebrew root with a variety of meanings, suggesting the sense of "to be joyous, pure, cheerful," as well as "to do or be good." Then, in seeking to discover the meaning of the verse, it may well be borne in mind that the words rendered by "his" and "him" can mean just as literally "its" and "it," respectively; while the verb which is here translated "rule" also means "have dominion." In view of this, one would be justified in translating the passage as follows: "If you are not good (or 'joyous' or 'cheerful' or 'pure') sin is lying at your door. And its desire is against you, but you shall have dominion over it." Compare Moffatt's rendering of the complete verse: "If your heart is honest, you would surely look bright. If you are sullen, sin is lying in wait for you, eager to be at you—but you ought to master it."

"The light of thy countenance" (Ps. 89:15)—While the Hebrew word "panim" does mean literally "face" or "countenance," it was also used in a wide variety of figurative senses, including "person, regard, presence, favor;" while the word translated "light" often had special reference to "the light of day" or to "sunshine." Hence a justificable rendering would be: "the sunshine of thy presence;" while Moffatt suggests, similarly, "the sunshine of thy favour."

"The prisoner of the Lord" (Eph. 4:1)—The Greek preposition which is here translated "of" has the primary meaning of "in," though it is used in various senses. Weymouth and Goodspeed prefer to translate: "the prisoner for the Lord's sake." There seems to be no doubt that the epistle to the Ephesians was written during the course of Paul's first captivity at Rome; and in view of this his reference to himself as a prisoner is very natural, whether it be understood literally or metaphorically.

"Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3)—Since the Greek verb usually translated "guard" or "keep" (as here) is quite often employed in the sense of "hold firmly," and since the preposition rendered "in" constantly means "with" or "by," we could translate: "endeavouring to hold fast the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace." Weymouth suggests the rendering: "earnestly striving to maintain, in the uniting bond of peace, the unity given by the Spirit."

"Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. 4:7)—In some of the more modern translations the sense is brought out that the word "measure," as it is used in this context, implies no thought of limitation, for we find such renderings as these: "To each of us individually His grace was given, measured out with the munificence of Christ" (Weymouth); and, "Each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure" (Goodspeed).

"For the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12)—The word which is here translated "edifying" has the literal meaning of "building" or "upbuilding." Thus, while Goodspeed has, "for building the body of Christ;" the American Standard Version renders: "unto the building up of the body of Christ."

"He ... shall not see when heat cometh" (Jer. 17:8)—When the Hebrew Bible was first written, only the consonants were set down, and the reader was supposed to supply the correct vowels. This not seldom resulted in variant readings. For instance, in this verse the Hebrew verb could be read and understood either as "YiRe" ("see") or as "YiRa" ("fear")—indeed, the rendering "fear" is preferred by the Septuagint and other early versions. This, incidentally, explains the reason for Dr. Moffatt's rendering: "untouched by any fear of scorching heat."

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