Bible Commentaries

1 Chronicles 23:3 — Verse 1 Chronicles 23:3. Thirty years and upward — The enumeration of the Levites made in the desert, Numbers 4:3, was from thirty years upwards to fifty years. In this place, the latter limit is not mentioned, probably because the service was not so laborious now; for the ark being fixed they had no longer any heavy burdens to carry, and therefore even an old man might continue to serve the tabernacle. David made another ordinance afterwards; see on 1 Chronicles 23:24; 1 Chronicles 23:27.

1 Chronicles 4:22 — Verse 1 Chronicles 4:22. And Joash, and Saraph — "And the prophets and scribes which sprang from the seed of Joshua, and the Gibeonites, whose office it was to serve in the house of the sanctuary, because they had lied to the princes of Israel; also Joash, who is the same as Mahlon; and Saraph, who is the same as Chilion, who took wives of the daughters of Moab and Boaz, the chief of the wise men of the college of Bethlehem, and of those who existed in former days." - T.

1 Chronicles 4:31 — allegiance from the house of David, the kings of Judah extended their domination as far as possible into the territories of that tribe, so that they were obliged to seek pasture for their flocks at Gedor, and in the mountains of Seir, as we find 1 Chronicles 4:39-42.

2 Chronicles 13:1 — CHAPTER XIII Abijah begins to reign over Judah, and has war with Jeroboam, 1-3. His speech from Mount Zemaraim to Jeroboam, before the commencement of hostilities, 4-12. While thus engaged, Jeroboam despatches some troops which come on the rear of Abijah's army, 13. Perceiving this, they cry unto the Lord, and the Israelites are defeated with the loss of five hundred thousand men, 14-18. Abijah retakes several cities

2 Chronicles 22:1 — CHAPTER XXII Ahaziah beans to reign; and reigns wickedly under the counsels of his bad mother, 1-4. He is slain by Jehu, who destroys all the house of Ahab, 5-9. Athaliah destroys all the seed royal of Judah, except Joash, who is hidden by his nurse in the temple six years, 10-12. NOTES ON CHAP. XXIIVerse 2 Chronicles 22:1. Made Ahaziah his youngest son king — All the others had been slain by the Arabians, c. see the preceding chapter, 2 Chronicles 21:17.

2 Chronicles 23:1 — the Lord, 16. The people break down the temple of Baal, and slay Mattan his priest, 17. Jehoiada makes several alterations, and remodels the kingdom, 18-21. NOTES ON CHAP. XXIIIVerse 2 Chronicles 23:1. And in the seventh year — See on 2 Kings 11:4, &c.

Esther 7:1 — CHAPTER VII The king at the banquet urges Esther to prefer her petition, with the positive assurance that it shall be granted, 1, 2. She petitions for her own life, and the life of her people, who were sold to be destroyed, 3, 4. The king inquires the author of this project, and Haman is accused by the queen, 5, 6. The king is enraged: Haman supplicates for his life; but the king orders him to be hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, 7-10. NOTES ON CHAP. VII

Job 19:4 — Verse Job 19:4. And be it indeed that I have erred — Suppose indeed that I have been mistaken in any thing, that in the simplicity of my heart I have gone astray, and that this matter remains with myself, (for most certainly there is no public stain on my life,) you must grant that this error, whatsoever it is, has hurt no person except myself. Why then do ye treat me as a person whose life has been a general blot, and whose example must be a public curse?

Job 7:4 — Verse Job 7:4. When I lie down — I have so little rest, that when I do lie down I long for the return of the light, that I may rise. Nothing can better depict the state of a man under continual afflictions, which afford him no respite, his days and his nights being spent in constant anguish, utterly unable to be in any one posture, so that he is continually changing his position in his bed, finding ease nowhere: thus, as himself expresses it, he is full of tossings.

Psalms 11:4 — Verse Psalms 11:4. The Lord is in his holy temple — He is still to be sought and found in the place where he has registered his name. Though the priests be destroyed, the God in whose worship they were employed still lives, and is to be found in his temple by his upright worshippers. And he tries the heart and the reins of both sinners and saints. Nothing can pass without his notice. I may expect his presence in the temple; he has not promised to meet me in the mountain.

Psalms 149:6 — Verse Psalms 149:6. Let the high praises of God — Let them sing songs the most sublime, with the loudest noise consistent with harmony.And a two-edged sword in their hand — Perhaps there is an allusion here to the manner in which the Jews were obliged to labour in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem: "Every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon," Nehemiah 4:17.The two-edged sword, in Hebrew, is פיפיות pipiyoth, "mouth mouths."

Psalms 22:4 — Verse Psalms 22:4. Our fathers trusted in thee — David is supposed to have been, at the time of composing this Psalm, at Mahanaim, where Jacob was once in such great distress; where he wrestled with the angel, and was so signally blessed. David might well allude to this circumstance in order to strengthen his faith in God. I am now in the place where God so signally blessed the head and father of our tribes. I wrestle with God, as he did; may I not expect similar success?

Psalms 49:4 — Verse Psalms 49:4. I will incline mine ear to a parable — This was the general method of conveying instruction among the Asiatics. They used much figure and metaphor to induce the reader to study deeply in order to find out the meaning. This had its use; it

Psalms 5:6 — Verse Psalms 5:6. That speak leasing — Falsity, from the Anglo-Saxon [A.S.] leasunge, a lie, falsity, deceit; from [A.S.] leas, lie, which is from the verb [A.S.] leasian, to lie. See on Psalms 4:2.The Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. — איש דמים ish damim, the man of bloods; for he who has the spirit of a murderer, will rarely end with one bloodshedding. So the Jews, who clamoured for the blood of our Lord, added to that,

Psalms 56:4 — Verse Psalms 56:4. In God I will praise his word — באלהים belohim may mean here, through God, or by the help of God, I will praise his word. And, that he should have cause to do it, he says, "In God I have put my trust," and therefore he says, "I will not fear what flesh can do unto me." Man is but FLESH, weak and perishing; God is an infinite SPIRIT, almighty and eternal. He repeats this sentiment in the tenth and eleventh verses. Psalms 56:10-11

Psalms 62:4 — Verse Psalms 62:4. To cast him down from his excellency — They are consulting to dethrone me, and use treachery and falsehood in order to bring it about: "They delight in lies."They bless with their mouth — Probably alluding to Absalom's blandishments of

Psalms 77:4 — Verse Psalms 77:4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking — Literally, thou keepest the watches of mine eyes - my grief is so great that I cannot sleep.I am so troubled that I cannot speak. — This shows an increase of sorrow and anguish. At first he felt his misery,

Psalms 78:4 — Verse Psalms 78:4. We will not hide them] In those ancient times there was very little reading, because books were exceedingly scarce; tradition was therefore the only, or nearly the only, means of preserving the memory of past events. They were handed down from father

Psalms 78:64 — Verse Psalms 78:64. Their priests fell by the sword — Hophni and Phinehas, who were slain in that unfortunate battle against the Philistines in which the ark of the Lord was taken, 1 Samuel 4:11.A Chaldee Targum on this passage says, "In the time in which the ark of the Lord was taken by the Philistines, Hophni and Phinehas, the two priests, fell by the sword at Shiloh; and when the news was brought, their wives made no lamentation, for they both died the same day."

Psalms 97:4 — Verse Psalms 97:4. His lightnings enlightened the world — Though this be no more than a majestic description of the coming of the Lord, to confound his enemies and succour his followers, yet some spiritualize the passage, and say, the lightnings signify the apostles,