Article August 1, 1942 Issue

Bible Notes

[The Biblical citations given in the Christian Science Quarterly are from the Authorized King James Version. The Bible Notes in these columns can be used, if deemed necessary, to elucidate some of the words or passages contained in the Bible Lessons. The Notes in this issue are related to the Lesson-Sermon designated to be read in Christian Science churches on August 16, 1942.]

"Unite my heart to fear thy name" (Ps. 86:11)—In the original Hebrew, which consisted solely of consonants, the form "YCHD" could be taken to mean either "unite" (as in our Common Version) or "rejoice." The Septuagint Version suggests the latter alternative, reading: "Let my heart rejoice, that I may fear thy name." Similarly Moffatt has: "May reverence for thee rejoice my heart."

"The assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul" (Ps. 86:14)—The Hebrew word "nephesh," which is here translated "soul," was used by the Hebrews in a variety of senses, including not only "life" or "soul," but also "living being, creature, person, self"—as Feyerabend observes in his Hebrew Dictionary. Hence we find that "my soul" is often equivalent in meaning to "myself" or to "me." Smith suggests: "A gang of bandits seeks my life," while the French version also prefers the rendering "life."

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