Shining a light on the weekly Bible Lessons published in the Christian Science Quarterly®
God the Preserver of Man
The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.
Near the end of his life, Moses blesses each of the tribes of Israel. Verse 12, the benediction on the tribe of Benjamin, is an affirmation of safety that may have geographical as well as symbolic meaning.
Kātēf, the Hebrew term rendered shoulders in this verse, can refer to the slope of a hill or mountainside. Because Zion, where Jehovah was believed to dwell, was in the land of Benjamin, some scholars see shoulders as an allusion to that habitation. One writes, “Jehovah is here said to dwell between Benjamin’s shoulders, i.e., mountain slopes.”
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Resources quoted in this issue
GT: Dummelow, John Roberts, ed. A Commentary on the Holy Bible by Various Writers. New York: MacMillan, 1936.
RR: Benson, Joseph. Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. New York: T. Carlton & J. Porter, 1857. Also available at biblehub.com/commentaries.
Cit. 9: Barclay, William. The Daily Study Bible: The Acts of the Apostles. Edinburgh: Saint Andrew, 1955. Revised and updated by Saint Andrew, 2001. Reprinted as The New Daily Study Bible: The Acts of the Apostles. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2001–04.
Cits. 9 and 11: Keck, Leander E., et al., eds. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 9, Acts. Introduction to Epistolary Literature, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015.
Cit. 17: Contexticon of New Testament Language: Copyright © 2009 by Contexticon Learning and Research, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. All rights reserved.
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Scriptural quotations marked New Century Version are taken from the New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked Common English Bible are taken from the Common English Bible, copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scriptural quotations marked New Living Translation are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked International Children’s Bible are taken from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked GOD’S WORD Translation are taken from GOD’S WORD®, copyright © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God’s Word Mission Society
© 2021 The Christian Science Publishing Society. The design of the Cross and Crown is a trademark owned by the Christian Science Board of Directors and is used by permission. Bible Lens and Christian Science Quarterly are trademarks owned by The Christian Science Publishing Society. Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptural quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
