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what "take in scorn" means?Date: December 28, 2012 by Edden Cohen Seri  Views: 1075
hello!
I try to understand the song "god rest ye merry, gentelmen", and I got stuck on "the which his mother mary did nothing take in scorn".
I must say I speak hebrew - so its kinda hard to me, but I understands that mother mary didnt felt humiliated because her son (jesus) was born on the manger. am I right? if not, what it is means? can you tell me every word and it meaning?
thank you!
Replies (7): Threaded | Chronological
John Howell on December 28, 2012 7:31pm
Shalom, Edden. I'm afraid that is not included in any of the four verses as they appear in the Oxford Book of Carols (according to Wikipedia), and without the context of the rest of the verse it's difficult to give you a more exact meaning, but I think you are probably correct.
Like many Christmas Carols, this may be very old, although it was first published as late as 1760 in English translation. And these carols often have many different translations or added verses. But if you can give the entire verse, we can give it a try.
All the best
John
on December 29, 2012 12:46am
This exact same question was discussed here two years ago:
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Regards,
Jaakko Mäntyjärvi
Helsinki, Finland
on December 29, 2012 1:27am
Hello!
first of all, thank you for your help, and second, there it is:
"In Bethlehem, in Israel
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger Upon this blessed morn The which His Mother Mary Did nothing take in scorn Oh, tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy Oh, tidings of comfort and joy"
on December 29, 2012 9:42am
Edden: Thanks to you (and others who have supplied that verse). In English, word order is important to meaning. (I'm afraid I know nothing about Hebrew for comparison.) So the key words here are "The which," and within this sentence the meaning of that is "all of which" or "all of this." And it refers back to the first three lines of the verse as a whole.
So it is saying that Mary did not "scorn" (that is, did not reject or object to, in more modern terminology) anything at all about the situation in which her son was born. (In the opinion of the poet, of course; I doubt that anyone thought to ask Mary what her feelings actually were at the time!!!) But it simply reinforces the thoughts first presented in the "Magnificat" text in the Gospel of Luke, of her feely accepting what had been ordainded for her.
All the best,
John
on December 29, 2012 6:07am
I don't see any evidence that "take in scorn" was a common expression. I always took it to mean that she did not scorn any aspect of the Nativity: the pregnancy, the trip to Bethlehem, the manger, etc.
These are the words from that verse. There are, of course, variations.
In Bethlehem, in Jewry,
on December 29, 2012 6:14am
The whole verse:
In Bethlehem, in Israel,
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