Texts of Scripture Misapprehended

Narrator: Chris Genthree
 •  5 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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There prevails among Christians a traditional habit of misquoting or misapplying God's word to ill result. For thereby is given divine authority to what He nowhere says or means. Let us examine some that are most common. To rescue scripture from abuse, to expose any misapplication, to recover its just bearing, is a boon for which every believer should be grateful. A few of these errors may be comparatively slight in appearance; but others are of real and manifest importance. Mistranslations are added as a still more insidious source of error.
Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15). The woman's “Seed” to have the heel bruised but to bruise the serpent's head, is all but universally called a “promise.” But this is a mistake. It was a revelation of grace, and not even said to Adam, but declared in judging the evil one. If at all a promise, it was to the Second man; for the first was not then an object of promise but of judicial dealing because of his fall into transgression.
Gen. 3:1919In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19). “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” It is not merely “thy brow” as generally misquoted. The “face” furnishes a larger and more graphic expression of the fact.
Gen. 32:2424And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. (Genesis 32:24). The wrestling is generally treated as simply to Jacob's honor in wrestling with God. But whatever divine mercy may have done in this as elsewhere (we have ground to know it well), it is certain that primarily it was the inverse; God was wrestling with Jacob. And He must wither natural strength and self-confidence as in the patriarch, while strengthening him to prevail under the new name of Israel.
Gen. 49:1010The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10). “Unto Him (Shiloh) shall the obedience of the peoples be.” It is neither of Israel (though this be true then), nor of the church now, but of the nations who own the great King in the future of His manifestation.
Exodus. 11:2, 35, 36. The real meaning is not “borrow,” but “ask.” There is no need to explain or apologize. Deceit did not exist. They asked, and the Egyptians gave.
Ex. 12:66And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:6). “Between the two evenings,” and not exactly or only “at even” will be found for the most momentous of all passovers, when it was fulfilled in Him Who is the True one. It explains the truth which many commentators on the Gospels have overlooked treating us to unfounded theories, to get rid of the general fact and the special statement in John 18:2828Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. (John 18:28).
Ex. 28:99And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: (Exodus 28:9). It is of interest and importance that the truth which underlies priestly “consecrating” is filling their hand. It is not holiness nor yet devotedness, however necessary and prized, but appropriating the precious sacrifice of Christ in its intrinsic excellency before God. It is therefore no spiritual effort of saints, but Christ Godward possessed by faith.
Ex. 29:1313And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar. (Exodus 29:13). The Hebrew term for “burning” the fat of the inwards, &c., even in the case of a Sin-offering, is the same as for burning incense; so expressive is it of acceptance, whilst the flesh, and skin, and dung were burnt with fire outside the camp. What a witness to Christ, most holy and object of divine complacency, and never so much as when Him Who knew no sin God made sin for us Ex. 34:3333And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. (Exodus 34:33). The A. V. is in substance right, the R. V. wrong, like Dean Alford on 2 Cor. 3; for the meaning is that Moses ended speaking with them, and, or when, he had put a veil over his face. During the communication of Jehovah's words to Israel, he kept the veil over his face until he went in to speak with Jehovah. So, when Israel's heart shall be turned to the Lord, the veil is taken away. But we all who now believe, with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord (which even Moses could not, only His back parts), are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from (or, by) the Lord the Spirit.
Num. 12:2-82And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. 3(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) 4And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 5And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. 6And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? (Numbers 12:2‑8). How much deeper is the sense given by the literal force of the prepositions here! In ver. 2 it is “through” Moses, and “through” us, not exactly “to,” though this was also true. But Jehovah (ver. 6), in making Himself known to a prophet, says, I will speak “in” him in a dream. Of Moses with whom He visibly conversed, He says, Mouth to mouth do I speak “in” him. So it is in Heb. 2:11Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. (Hebrews 2:1), and in Zech. 1:99Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be. (Zechariah 1:9). There was an inner dealing of a special nature shared by the prophets, whatever the privilege of Moses.
Num. 21:1, 141And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. (Numbers 21:1)
14Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, (Numbers 21:14). Here we must omit “when.” It is unwarranted and gives a false sense. We should also translate, ver. 14, “Vaheb in Suphah, and the valleys, or brooks, of Arnon.” Num. 23:1515And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. (Numbers 23:15). Balaam does not say whom he expected, but simply “I will go to meet ... yonder.” In fact “Jehovah” met him (in ver.: 16), as it is said “God” did (in ver. 4). But he was used to enchantments under Satan's power, whatever the pious pretensions by which he deceived. The false prophet was by a miracle forced to utter true prophecies.
Deut. 2:1313Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered. (Deuteronomy 2:13). Carefully omit the unauthorized insertion, “said I"; it is really the word of Jehovah, not what Moses said by the way.
Deut. 33:6, 256Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. (Deuteronomy 33:6)
25Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. (Deuteronomy 33:25). This should be in its last clause, “and let his men be few “; as indeed it was. The latter verse should be “Iron and brass shall be thy bolts (or, bars); and thy rest (or, old age) as thy days “: a very different meaning from a resource according to the need of one's days, as it is so often applied.