Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 15:1 — CHAPTER XV Abijam's wicked reign, and death, 1-8. Asa succeeds him in the kingdom of Judah, and rules well, 9-15. He makes a league with the king of Syria against Baasha king of Israel, who is obliged to desist in his attempts against Judah, 16-22. He is diseased in his feet and dies, and is succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat, 23-25. Nadab, son of Jeroboam, reigns

1 Kings 2:9 — Verse 1 Kings 2:9. Hold him not guiltless — Do not consider him as an innocent man, though I have sworn to him that I would not put him to death by the sword; yet as thou art a wise man, and knowest how to treat such persons, treat him as he deserves; only as I

1 Kings 9:11 — Verse 1 Kings 9:11. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities — It is very likely that Solomon did not give those cities to Hiram so that they should be annexed to his Tyrian dominions, but rather gave him the produce of them till the money was paid which he had advanced

1 Kings 9:15 — Verse 1 Kings 9:15. This is the reason of the levy — That is, in order to pay Hiram the sixscore talents of gold which he had borrowed from him (Hiram not being willing to take the Galilean cities mentioned above; or, having taken them, soon restored them again)

2 Kings 13:1 — CHAPTER XIII Jehoahaz reigns in Israel seventeen years; his various acts, and wars with the Syrians, 1-8. He dies, and Joash reigns in his stead, and does evil in the sight of the Lord, 9-13. Elisha's last sickness; he foretells a three-fold defeat of the Syrians, and dies, 14-20. A dead man raised to life by touching the bones of Elisha, 21. Hazael dies, having long oppressed Israel; but Jehoash recovers many cities out of the hands

2 Chronicles 17:7 — Verse 2 Chronicles 17:7-9. To teach in the cities of Judah. — "To teach the fear of the Lord in the cities of Judah."-Targum.In these verses we find a remarkable account of an itinerant ministry established by Jehoshaphat; and in this work he employed three classes of

2 Chronicles 28:9 — Verse 2 Chronicles 28:9. But a prophet of the Lord - whose name was Oded — To this beautiful speech nothing can be added by the best comment; it is simple, humane, pious, and overwhelmingly convincing: no wonder it produced the effect mentioned here. That there was much

Job 9:3 — Verse Job 9:3. If he will contend with him — God is so holy, and his law so strict, that if he will enter into judgment with his creatures, the most upright of them cannot be justified in his sight.One of a thousand. — Of a thousand offences of which

Job 9:30 — Verse Job 9:30. If I wash myself with snow water — Supposed to have a more detergent quality than common water; and it was certainly preferred to common water by the ancients. Of this we find an example in an elegant but licentious author: Tandem ergo discubuimus,

Psalms 65:9 — Verse Psalms 65:9. Thou visitest the earth — God is represented as going through the whole globe, and examining the wants of every part, and directing the clouds how and where to deposit their fertilizing showers, and the rivers where to direct their beneficial

Psalms 67:2 — known to all the nations upon the earth! God's way is God's religion; what he walks in before men; and in which men must walk before him. A man's religion is his way of worshipping God, and going to heaven. The whole Gospel is called this way, Acts 19:9.Thy saving health — ישועתך yeshuathecha, "thy salvation." The great work which is performed in God's way, in destroying the power, pardoning the guilt, cleansing from the infection, of all sin; and filling the soul with holiness, with the mind

Psalms 74:20 — Verse Psalms 74:20. Have respect unto the covenant — הבט לברית habbet labberith. Pay attention to the covenant sacrifice; to that offered by Abraham, Genesis 15:9, c., when the contracting parties, God and Abram, passed through between the separated parts of the covenant sacrifice. An indisputable type of Jesus Christ and of God and man meeting in his sacrificed humanity.The dark places of the earth — The

Ecclesiastes 11:1 — CHAPTER XI Give alms to all, 1-4. The works of God unknown to man, 5. Diligence necessary, 6. Prosperity frequently succeeded by adversity, 7, 8. There will be a day of judgment, 9, 10. NOTES ON CHAP. XIVerse Ecclesiastes 11:1. Cast thy bread upon the waters — An allusion to the sowing of rice; which was sown upon muddy ground, or ground covered with water, and trodden in by the feet of cattle: it thus took root, and grew,

Ecclesiastes 6:9 — Verse Ecclesiastes 6:9. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire — This is translated by the Vulgate, as a sort of adage: Melius est videre quod cupias, quam desiderare quod nescias, "It is better to see what one desires than to covet what one

Jeremiah 9:2 — Verse Jeremiah 9:2. O that I had in the wilderness — In the eastern countries there are no such inns or houses of entertainment as those in Europe. There are in different places public buildings called caravanserais, where travellers may lodge: but they are without

Judges 10:1 — CHAPTER X Tola judges Israel twenty-three years, 1, 2. Jair is judge twenty-two years, 3-5. After him the Israelites rebel against God, and are delivered into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites eighteen years, 6-9. They humble themselves, and God reproves them, 10-14. They put away their strange gods, and gather together against the Ammonites, 15-17. The chiefs of Gilead inquire concerning a captain to head them against the Ammonites, 18. NOTES ON CHAP. XVerse

Judges 14:1 — CHAPTER XIV Samson marries a wife of the Philistines, 1-4. Slays a young lion at Timnath, in the carcass of which he afterwards finds a swarm of bees, 5-9. He makes a feast; they appoint him thirty companions, to whom he puts forth a riddle, which they cannot expound, 10-14. They entice his wife to get the interpretation from him; she succeeds, informs them, and they tell the explanation, 15-18. He is

1 Samuel 27:1 — CHAPTER XXVII David flies to Achish, king of Gath, who receives him kindly, and gives him Ziklag to dwell in, where he continues a year and four months, 1-7. David invades the Geshurites and Amalekites, and leaves neither man nor woman alive, 8, 9. He returns to Achish, and pretends that he had been making inroads on the Israelites, and Achish believes it, 10-12. NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIIVerse 1 Samuel 27:1. I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul — This was a very hasty conclusion: God

1 Samuel 5:1 — The people of Ashdod refuse to let the ark stay with them; and the lords of the Philistines, with whom they consulted, order it to be carried to Gath, 7, 8. They do so; and God smites the inhabitants of that city, young and old, with the same disease, 9. They send the ark to Ekron, and a heavy destruction falls upon that city, and they resolve to send it back to Shiloh, 10-12. NOTES ON CHAP. VVerse 1 Samuel 5:1. Brought it from Eben-ezer unto Ashdod. — Ashdod or Azotus was one of the five satrapies

2 Samuel 19:1 — discouraged, 1-4. Joab reproves and threatens him with the general defection of the people, 5-7. David lays aside his mourning, and shows himself to the people, who are thereby encouraged, 8. The tribes take counsel to bring the king back to Jerusalem, 9-12. He makes Amasa captain of the host in place of Joab, 13. The king, returning, is met by Judah at Gilgal, 14, 15. Shimei comes to meet David, and entreats for his life, which David grants, 16-23. Mephibosheth also meets him, and shows how he had