9/3/2012 Bible punctuation, revisitedA rich man took a piece of paper and wrote his last wishes: I LEAVE MY GOODS TO MY SISTER NOT TO MY NEPHEW NEVER WILL BE PAID THE BILL OF THE TAILOR NOTHING TO THE POOR But he passed on before he applied any punctuation to his letter. Who did he leave his fortune to? His nephew decided on the following punctuation: I LEAVE MY GOODS TO MY SISTER? NOT! TO MY NEPHEW. NEVER WILL BE PAID THE BILL OF THE TAILOR. NOTHING TO THE POOR. But the sister disagreed. She punctuated the note like this: I LEAVE MY GOODS TO MY SISTER, NOT TO MY NEPHEW. NEVER WILL BE PAID THE BILL OF THE TAILOR. NOTHING TO THE POOR. The tailor asked to see the original note. He punctuated it like this: I LEAVE MY GOODS TO MY SISTER? NOT! TO MY NEPHEW? NEVER! WILL BE PAID THE BILL OF THE TAILOR. NOTHING TO THE POOR. Last of all, the town council entered the discussion of the note. They proposed their version: I LEAVE MY GOODS TO MY SISTER? NOT! TO MY NEPHEW? NEVER! WILL BE PAID THE BILL OF THE TAILOR? NOTHING. TO THE POOR!!! Click photo to find source. The Biblia Hebraica Blog. Punctuation, clearly makes a big difference. Ancient Hebrew, the original language from which Old Testament texts are translated, had no punctuation to indicate the beginning or ending of an idea, phrase or sentence. It also had no past tense. Translators, using their best judgment, added punctuation, time tenses, and even words, to bring out the ideas as clearly as they understood them. Give it a try, yourself. Taking out time references and the added words not present in the original, how would you punctuate Genesis 1:1,2 to bring out your best understanding of creation? GOD CREATES THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE EARTH IS WITHOUT FORM AND VOID AND DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVES UPON THE FACE OF THE WATERS "The decisions by vote of Church Councils as to what should and should not be considered Holy Writ; the manifest mistakes in the ancient versions; the thirty thousand different readings in the Old Testament, and the three hundred thousand in the New, — these facts show how a mortal and material sense stole into the divine record, with its own hue darkening to some extent the inspired pages. But mistakes could neither wholly obscure the divine Science of the Scriptures seen from Genesis to Revelation, mar the demonstration of Jesus, nor annul the healing by the prophets, who foresaw that 'the stone which the builders rejected' would become 'the head of the corner.'" MARY BAKER EDDY, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, 139 If you find this post interesting or helpful, please share it!
Also, it is quite easy to subscribe to the blog if you would enjoy receiving updates. Simply put your email address in the box provided in the righthand column and click "Subscribe me!" You may also wish to: VISIT MY WEBSITE HOME PAGE FIND A LIST OF MY OTHER PUBLISHED CONTENT
Barbara Budan
9/3/2012 09:15:35 am
What a lovely reminder to watch where we put the punctuation marks in what we hear, especially in this political climate of campaigning with half truths! Thank you again for helping me gain clarity and insight.
Michelle Nanouche
9/3/2012 09:41:48 am
Great thought, Barbara. Reminds me of something Mary Baker Eddy said in the autobiography, Retrospection and Introspection - "The human istory needs to be revised and the material record expunged." Revision isn't rewriting. It is updating according to one'spresent understanding. And as we see here, comma placement and dropping a few exclamation points can completely change meaning and greatly influence outcomes. Love the idea of linking this to the political stir.
Barbara Budan
9/3/2012 10:05:44 am
"The material record expunged...." No rewriting, just updating understanding, expunging the past...perfect! 9/3/2012 09:52:59 am
I love this Michelle! It is such a good reminder of the power of words - and punctuation!
Michelle Nanouche
9/3/2012 10:02:01 am
I use this example in teaching Primary class in Christian Science. It helps unlock the Bible (particularly the old testament) from certain constraints and narrow interpretations that lead thought away from an entirely spiritual reality - simply because of punctuation.
Susan
9/3/2012 11:32:17 am
Great lesson for me about Hebrew -- and confirmation that the Spirit moves us to understand what is needed in the moment. So often I've been blessed by remembering the spiritual meaning of a Scriptural text, though it may come to me in a different form or different words.
Michelle Nanouche
9/4/2012 10:55:12 am
So good, Susan. Thank you for that! Comments are closed.
|
Find me on YouTube I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
INFORMATION |
SERVICES |
HELP |
© 2011-2024 Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche, CSB. All rights reserved. Pages updated October 10, 2024.