Bible Commentaries

Exodus 33:9 — Verse Exodus 33:9. The cloudy pillar descended — This very circumstance precluded the possibility of deception. The cloud descending at these times, and at none others, was a full proof that it was miraculous, and a pledge of the Divine presence. It was beyond

1 Kings 21:13 — Verse 1 Kings 21:13. And stoned him with stones — As they pretended to find him guilty of treason against God and the king, it is likely they destroyed the whole of his family; and then the king seized on his grounds as confiscated, or as escheated to the king, without any heir at law. That his family was destroyed appears strongly intimated, 2 Kings 9:26; Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, AND THE BLOOD OF HIS SONS, saith the Lord.

1 Kings 9:16 — Verse 1 Kings 9:16. Pharaoh - had gone up, and taken Gezer — This city Joshua had taken from the Canaanites, Joshua 10:33; Joshua 12:12, and it was divided by lot to the tribe of Ephraim, and was intended to be one of the Levitical cities; but it appears that the Canaanites had retaken it, and kept possession till the days of Solomon, when his father-in-law, Pharaoh king of Egypt, retook it, and gave it to Solomon in dowry with his daughter.

1 Kings 9:2 — Verse 1 Kings 9:2. The Lord appeared to Solomon — The design of this appearance, which was in a dream, as that was at Gibeon, was to assure Solomon that God had accepted his service, and had taken that house for his dwelling-place, and would continue it, and establish him and his descendants upon the throne of Israel for ever, provided they served him with an upright heart; but, on the contrary, if they forsook him, he would abandon both them and his temple.

2 Kings 9:22 — Verse 2 Kings 9:22. What peace, so long as the whoredoms — Though the words whoredom, adultery, and fornication, are frequently used to express idolatry, and false religion, in general; yet here they may be safely taken in their common and most obvious sense, as there is much reason to believe that Jezebel was the patroness and supporter of a very impure system of religion; and to this Jehu might refer, rather than to the calf-worship, to which himself was most favourably disposed.

Job 20:1 — CHAPTER XX Zophar answers Job, and largely details the wretchedness of the wicked and the hypocrite; shows that the rejoicing of such is short and transitory, 1-9. That he is punished in his family and in his person, 10-14. That he shall be stripped of his ill-gotten wealth, and shall be in misery, though in the midst of affluence, 15-23. He shall at last die a violent death, and his family and property be finally destroyed, 24-29. NOTES ON CHAP. XX

Job 29:1 — CHAPTER XXIX Job laments his present condition, and gives an affecting account of his former prosperity, having property in abundance, being surrounded by a numerous family, and enjoying every mark of the approbation of God, 1-6. Speaks of the respect he had from the young, 7, 8; and from the nobles, 9, 10. Details his conduct as a magistrate and judge in supporting the poor, and repressing the wicked, 11-17; his confidence, general prosperity, and respect, 18-25. NOTES ON CHAP. XXIX

Job 38:10 — Verse Job 38:10. And brake up for it my decreed place] This refers to the decree, Genesis 1:9: "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place."And set bars and doors — And let the dry land appear. This formed the bars and doors of the sea; the land being everywhere a barrier against the encroachments and inundations of the sea; and great rivers, bays, creeks, &c., the doors by which it passes into the interior of continents, &c.

Psalms 66:9 — Verse Psalms 66:9. Which holdeth our soul in life — Literally, "he who placeth our soul בחיים bachaiyim, in lives." We are preserved alive, have health of body, and feel the life of God in our hearts.And suffereth not her feet to be moved. — Keeps us steadfast in his testimonies. We have our life, our liberty, and our religion. O, what hath the Lord wrought for us! "Make, therefore, the voice of his praise to be heard." Let God and man know you are thankful.

Isaiah 38:8 — Verse Isaiah 38:8. Which is gone down - "By which the sun is gone down"] For בשמש bashshemesh, the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read השמש, hashshemesh. - Houbigant. In the history of this miracle in the book of Kings, (2 Kings 20:9-11,) there is no mention at all made of the sun, but only of the going backward of the shadow: which might be effected by a supernatural refraction. The first ὁ ἡλιος, the sun, in this verse is omitted in the Septuagint, MS. Pachom.

Isaiah 49:9 — Verse Isaiah 49:9. To them that are in darkness - "And to those that are in darkness"] Fifteen MSS. (five ancient) of Dr. Kennicott's, eleven of De Rossi's, and one ancient of my own, and the two old editions of 1486 and 1488, and three others, add the conjunction ו vau at the beginning of this member. Another MS. had it so at first, and two others have a rasure at the place: and it is expressed by the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.

Jeremiah 38:9 — Verse Jeremiah 38:9. My lord the king, these men have done evil — He must have been much in the king's confidence, and a humane and noble spirited man, thus to have raised his voice against the powerful cabal already mentioned.There is no more bread in the city. — They had defended it to the last extremity; and it appears that bread had been afforded to the prophet according to the king's commandment, as long as there was any remaining. See Jeremiah 37:21.

Daniel 12:9 — Verse Daniel 12:9. The words are closed up — The prophecy shall not be understood, but in its accomplishment; and then the depth of the wisdom and providence of God will be clearly seen in these matters. See on Daniel 12:4. We must wait "till the time of the end;" and this, it appears from the following calculations, will not arrive before the TWENTIETH CENTURY. We here see the reason why these prophecies are at present so imperfectly understood. God has sealed them.

Hosea 9:4 — Verse Hosea 9:4. As the bread of mourners — By the law, a dead body, and every thing that related to it, the house where it lay, and the persons who touched it, were all polluted and unclean, and whatever they touched was considered as defiled. See Deuteronomy 26:14; Numbers 19:11; Numbers 19:13-14.For their bread for their soul — The bread for the common support of life shall not be sanctified to them by having the first-fruits presented at the temple.

Numbers 1:16 — those who were summoned by name to attend. The order of the tribes In the above enumeration may be viewed thus: - 1. Reuben | 2. Simeon | 3. Judah |- Sons of Leah. 4. Issachar | 5. Zebulun | 6. Ephraim | 7. Manasseh |- Sons of Rachel. 8. Benjamin | 9. Dan......... 1st son of Bilhah, Rachel's maid 10. Asher....... 2d son of Zilpah, Leah's maid. 11. Gad......... 1st son of Zilpah. 12. Naphtali.... 2d son of Bilhah.

Numbers 6:1 — CHAPTER VI The vow of the Nazarite, 1, 2. In what it consisted, 3-8. When accidentally defiled, how he is to be purified, 9-12. The sacrifices he is to bring, and the rites he is to perform, when the vow of his separation is fulfilled, 13-21. The manner in which the priests are to bless the people, 22-26. The name of the LORD is to be put on the children of Israel, whom He promises to bless, 27. NOTES ON CHAP. VI

Joshua 9:8 — Verse Joshua 9:8. We are thy servants. — This appears to have been the only answer they gave to the question of the Israelitish elders, and this they gave to Joshua, not to them, as they saw that Joshua was commander-in-chief of the host.Who are ye? and from whence come ye? — To these questions, from such an authority, they felt themselves obliged to give an explicit answer; and they do it very artfully by a mixture of truth, falsehood, and hypocrisy.

Judges 9:21 — Verse Judges 9:21. Went to Beer — Mr. Maundrell, in his journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 64, 5th edit., mentions a place of this name, which he thinks to be that to which Jotham fled, and supposed to be the same as Mishmash, 1 Samuel 14:5; 1 Samuel 14:31. It is situated, he says, towards the south, on an easy declivity; and has a fountain of excellent water at the bottom of the hill from which it has taken its name.

Judges 9:54 — Verse Judges 9:54. Draw thy sword, and slay me — It was a disgrace to be killed by a woman; on this account, Seneca the tragedian deplores the death of Hercules: - O turpe fatum! femina Herculeae necis Autor feritur. HERC. OETAEUS, ver. 1177. "O dishonourable fate! a woman is reported to have been author of the death of Hercules." Abimelech was also afraid that if he fell thus mortally wounded into the hands of his enemies they might treat him with cruelty and insult.

1 Samuel 29:9 — Verse 1 Samuel 29:9. As an angel of God — There is some reason to think that Achish had actually embraced or was favourably disposed towards the Jewish religion. He speaks here of the angels of God, as a Jew might be expected to speak; and in 1 Samuel 29:6 he appeals to, and swears by Jehovah; which, perhaps, no Philistine ever did. It is possible that he might have learned many important truths from David, during the time he sojourned with him.