Bible Commentaries

Exodus 11:1 — among the Egyptians, 3. Moses predicts the destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians, 4-6, and Israel's protection, 7. On seeing which, Pharaoh and his servants should entreat the Hebrews to depart, 8. The prediction of his previous obstinacy, 9, 10. NOTES ON CHAP. XIVerse Exodus 11:1. The Lord said unto Moses — Calmet contends that this should be read in the preterpluperfect tense, for the Lord HAD said to Moses, as the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth verses appear to have

Exodus 7:9 — Verse Exodus 7:9. Show a miracle for you — A miracle, מופת mopheth, signifies an effect produced in nature which is opposed to its laws, or such as its powers are inadequate to produce. As Moses and Aaron professed to have a Divine mission, and to come to Pharaoh

1 Kings 5:1 — V Hiram, king of Tyre, sends to congratulate Solomon on his accession to the kingdom, 1. Solomon consults him on building a temple for the Lord, and requests his assistance, 2-6. Hiram is pleased and specifies the assistance which he will afford, 7-9. He sends cedars and fir trees, 10. The return made by Solomon, 11. They form a league, 12. Solomon makes a levy of men in Israel to prepare wood and stones, 13-18. NOTES ON CHAP. VVerse 1 Kings 5:1. Hiram king of Tyre — It must have been at the

2 Kings 18:1 — places, breaks to pieces the brazen serpent, and walks uprightly before God, 1-6. He endeavours to shake off the Assyrian yoke, and defeats the Philistines, 7, 8. Shalmaneser comes up against Samaria, takes it, and carries the people away into captivity, 9-12. And then comes against Judah, and takes all the fenced cities, 13. Hezekiah sends a message to him at Lachish to desist, with the promise that he will pay him any tribute he chooses to impose; in consequence of which Shalmaneser exacts three hundred

2 Kings 23:5 — Baal-zephon, Baal-zebub, c.The planets — מזלות mazzaloth. The Vulgate translates this the twelve signs, i.e., the zodiac. This is as likely as any of the other conjectures which have been published relative to this word. See a similar word Job 37:9; Job 38:32.

2 Kings 9:1 — of Judah, who had come to visit him; he slays them both: the former is thrown into the portion of Naboth; the latter, having received a mortal wound, gives to Megiddo, and dies there, and is carried to Jerusalem, and buried in the city of David, 15-29. He commands Jezebel to be thrown out of her window; and he treads her under the feet of his horses; and the dogs eat her, according to the word of the Lord, 30-37. NOTES ON CHAP. IXVerse 2 Kings 9:1. One of the children of the prophets — The

2 Chronicles 24:1 — CHAPTER XXIV Joash begins to reign when seven years old, and reigns well all the days of Jehoiada the priest, 1-3. He purposes to repair the temple of God; and makes a proclamation that the people should bring in the money prescribed by Moses, 4-9. They all contribute liberally; and the different artificers soon perfect the work, 10-13. The rest of the money is employed to form utensils for the temple, 14. Jehoiada dies, 15, 16. And the people after his death become idolaters, 17, 18. Prophets

Leviticus 18:1 — and Canaanites, 1-3. They are to do God's judgments, and to keep his ordinances, that they may live, 4, 5. Marriages with those who are near of kin are prohibited, 6. None to marry with his mother or step-mother, 7, 8; with his sister or step-sister, 9; with his grand-daughter, 10; nor with the daughter of his step-mother, 11; nor with his aunt, by father or mother, 12, 13; nor with his uncle's wife, 14; nor with his daughter-in-law, 15; nor sister-in-law, 16; nor with a woman and her daughter, son's

Numbers 12:1 — suddenly called to the tabernacle, 4. The Lord appears in the pillar of the cloud, and converses with them, 5. Declares his purpose to communicate his will to Moses only, 6-8. His anger is kindled against Miriam, and she is smitten with the leprosy, 9, 10. Aaron deplores his transgression, and entreats for Miriam, 11,12. Moses intercedes for her, 13. The Lord requires that she be shut out of the camp for seven days, 14. The people rest till she is restored, 15, and afterwards leave Hazeroth, and

Numbers 15:14 — Verse Numbers 15:14. If a stranger sojourn — See the notes on Le 19:33; Le 22:9. When the case of the Jewish people is fairly considered, and their situation with respect to the surrounding idolatrous nations, we shall see the absolute necessity of having but one form of worship in the land. That alone was genuine which

Numbers 15:38 — Verse 38. Bid them - make them fringes — We learn from Numbers 15:39 that these fringes were emblematical of the various commands of God. That there was any analogy between a fringe and a precept, it would be bold to assert; but when a thing is appointed to represent another, no matter how different, that first object

Deuteronomy 31:1 — the people together, and exhorts them to courage and obedience, 1-6. Delivers a charge to Joshua, 7, 8. Delivers the law which he hod written to the priests, with a solemn charge that they should read it every seventh year, publicly to all the people, 9-13. The Lord calls Moses and Joshua to the tabernacle, 14. He appears to them, informs Moses of his approaching death, and delivers to him a prophetical and historical song, or poem, which he is to leave with Israel, for their instruction and reproof,

Deuteronomy 6:1 — they may continue in peace and prosperity, and be mightily increased, 1-3. The great commandment of the law, 4, 5, which shall be laid up in their hearts, 6; taught to their children, 7; and affixed as a sign to their hands, heads, doors, and gates, 8, 9. How they are to act when they shall come into the promised land, 10-19. How they shall instruct their children, and relate the history to them of God's wonderful acts, 29-25. NOTES ON CHAP. VI Verse Deuteronomy 6:1. Now these are the commandments,

Deuteronomy 6:8 — spiritual.And they shall be as frontlets — טטפת totaphoth seems to have the same meaning as phylacteries has in the New Testament; and for the meaning and description of these appendages to a Jew's dress and to his religion, see the notes on "Exodus 13:9", and See "Matthew 23:5", where a phylactery is particularly described.

Joshua 4:1 — tribe, to take up a stone on his shoulder out of the midst of the river, and carry it to the other side, to be set up as a memorial of this miraculous passage, 1-7. They do so, and set up the stones in the place where they encamp the first night, 8, 9. The priests stand in the river, till all the people are passed over, 10, 11. Of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 40,000 fighting men pass over with the other tribes, 12, 13. Joshua is magnified in the sight of the people,

Joshua 5:11 — passover — That is, on the fifteenth day; for then the feast of unleavened bread began. But they could neither eat bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, till the first-fruits of the harvest had been waved at the tabernacle; (see Leviticus 23:9, c.) and therefore in this case we may suppose that the Israelites had offered a sheaf of the barley-harvest, the only grain that was then ripe, before they ate of the unleavened cakes and parched corn.

Judges 3:1 — 5-7. They are delivered into the power of the king of Mesopotamia, by whom they are enslaved eight years, 8. Othniel is raised up as their deliverer; he discomfits the king of Mesopotamia, delivers Israel, and the land enjoys peace for forty years, 9-11. They again rebel, and are delivered into the hand of the king of Moab, by whom they are enslaved eighteen years, 12-14. They are delivered by Ehud, who kills Eglon, king of Moab, and slays ten thousand Moabites, and the land rests fourscore years,

1 Samuel 5:5 — should perpetuate their disgrace, the insufficiency of their worship, and the superiority of the God of Israel.It is supposed that the idolatrous Israelites, in the time of Zephaniah, had adopted the worship of Dagon: and that in this sense 1 Samuel 1:9 is to be understood: In the same day will I punish all those who leap upon the threshold. In order to go into such temples, and not tread on the threshold, the people must step or leap over them and in this way the above passage may be understood. Indeed,

1 Samuel 8:1 — pervert judgment; and the people complain, and desire a king, 3-5. Samuel is displeased, and inquires of the Lord, 6. The Lord is also displeased; but directs Samuel to appoint them a king, and to show them solemnly the consequences of their choice, 7-9. Samuel does so; and shows them what they may expect from an absolute monarch, and how afflicted they should be under his administration, 10-18. The people refuse to recede from their demand; and Samuel lays the matter before the Lord, and dismisses

1 Samuel 9:5 — Verse 1 Samuel 9:5. Were come to the land of Zuph — Calmet supposes that Saul and his servant went from Gibeah to Shalisha, in the tribe of Dan; from thence to Shalim, near to Jerusalem; and thence, traversing the tribe of Benjamin, they purposed to return to