Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 10:1 — queen of Sheba visits Solomon, and brings rich presents; and tries him by hard questions, which he readily solves, 1-3. She expresses great surprise at his wisdom, his buildings, his court, c. and praises God for placing him on the Jewish throne, 4-9. She gives him rich presents, 10. What the navy of Hiram brought from Ophir, 11, 12. The queen of Sheba returns, 13. Solomon's annual revenue, 14, 15. He makes two hundred targets and three hundred shields of gold, 16, 17. His magnificent ivory throne,

2 Kings 10:34 — be done by these means? The men were, no doubt, profligate and wicked, and God permitted their iniquity to manifest itself in this way; and thus the purpose of God, that Ahab's house should no more reign, was completely accomplished: see 1 Kings 21:19; 1 Kings 21:21; 1 Kings 21:29. And by this conduct Jehu is said to have executed what was right in God's eyes, 2 Kings 10:30. The cutting off of Ahab's family was decreed by the Divine justice; the means by which it was done, or at least the manner

Job 16:22 — — He felt himself as in the arms of death: he saw the grave as already digged which was to receive his dead body. This verse shows that our translation of the twenty-second verse is improper, and vindicates Mr. Good's version.I HAVE said on Job 16:9 that a part of Job's sufferings probably arose from appalling representations made to his eye or to his imagination by Satan and his agents. I think this neither irrational nor improbable. That he and his demons have power to make themselves manifest

Job 39:9 — Verse Job 39:9. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee? — The "fine elegant animal like a horse, with one long rich curled horn growing out of his forehead," commonly called the unicorn, must be given up as fabulous. The heralds must claim him as their

Job 5:1 — proceeds to show that the wicked are always punished by the justice of God, though they may appear to flourish for a time, 1-8; extols the providence of God, by which the counsels of the wicked are brought to naught, and the poor fed and supported, 9-16; shows the blessedness of being corrected by God, in the excellent fruits that result from it; and exhorts Job to patience and submission, with the promise of all secular prosperity, and a happy death in a mature and comfortable old age, 17-27. NOTES

Psalms 135:1 — PSALM CXXXV An exhortation to praise God for his goodness and greatness, 1-5; for his wonders in nature, 6, 7; his wonders done in Egypt, 8, 9; in the wilderness, 10-12; for his goodness to his people, 13, 14. The vanity of idols, 15-18. Israel, with its priests and Levites, exhorted to praise the Lord, 19-21. NOTES ON PSALM CXXXVThis Psalm is intimately connected with the preceding. It is

Psalms 144:1 — PSALM CXLIV The psalmist praises God for his goodness, 1, 2. Exclamations relative to the vanity of human life, 3, 4. He prays against his enemies, 5-8; and extols God's mercy for the temporal blessings enjoyed by his people, 9-15. NOTES ON PSALM CXLIVThe Hebrew, and all the Versions, attribute this Psalm to David. The Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, and Arabic, term it, A Psalm of David against Goliath. The Syriac says, "A Psalm of David when he slew Asaph, the brother of

Psalms 98:1 — XCVIII God is celebrated for his wondrous works, 1, 2; for the exact fulfilment of his gracious promises, 3. The manner in which he is to be praised, 4-6. Inanimate creation called to bear a part in this concert, 7, 8. The justice of his judgments, 9. NOTES ON PSALM XCVIIIIn the Hebrew this is simply termed מזמור mizmor, a Psalm. In the Chaldee, A prophetic Psalm. In the Vulgate, Septuagint, AEthiopic, A Psalm of David. In the Syriac it is attributed to David, and stated to be composed concerning

Proverbs 2:1 — CHAPTER II The teacher promises his pupil the highest advantages, if he will follow the dictates of wisdom, 1-9. He shall be happy in its enjoyment, 10, 11; shall be saved from wicked men, 12-15; and from the snares of bad women, 16-19; be a companion of the good and upright; and be in safety in the land, when the wicked shall be rooted out of it, 20-22. NOTES

Ecclesiastes 5:1 — CHAPTER V The reverence to be observed in attending Divine worship, 1-3. We should be faithfu1 to over engagements, 4-7. The oppression of the innocent, 8. The king dependent on the produce of the soil, 9. Against covetousness, 10, 11. The peace of the honest labourer, 12. The evil effect of riches, 13, 14. Man cannot carry his property to the grave, 15-17. We should thankfully enjoy the blessings of God, 18-20. NOTES ON CHAP. VVerse Ecclesiastes 5:1.

Song of Solomon 4:9 — Verse 9. Thou hast ravished my heart — לבבתני libbabtini, "Thou hast hearted me," i.e., taken away my heart; as we say, "He has barked the tree," i.e., he has stripped it of its bark; "He has fleeced the flock," i.e., deprived them of their wool.With

Deuteronomy 24:1 — case of a divorced wife, 1-4. No man shall be obliged to undertake any public service for the first year of his marriage, 5. The mill-stones shall not be taken as a pledge, 6. The man-stealer shall be put to death, 7. Concerning cases of leprosy, 8, 9. Of receiving pledges, and returning those of the poor before bed-time, 10-13. Of servants and their hire, 14,15. Parents and children shall not be put to death for each other, 16. Of humanity to the stranger, fatherless, widow, and bondman, 17,18.

Deuteronomy 33:7 — make prayer and supplication to him;2. That God will hear such prayer; and,3. That his hands shall be increased, and that he shall prevail over his enemies. This blessing has a striking affinity with that which this tribe received from Jacob, Genesis 49:9; and both may refer to our blessed Lord, who sprang from this tribe, as is noticed on the above passage, who has conquered our deadly foes by his death, and whose praying posterity ever prevail through his might.

Joshua 18:1 — received their inheritance, 2. Joshua orders three men from each tribe to be chosen, and sent to examine the land and divide it into seven parts, which should be distributed among them by lot, 3-7. The men go and do as commanded, and return to Joshua, 8, 9. Joshua casts lots for them, 10. The lot of Benjamin, how situated, 11. Its northern boundaries, 12-14. Its southern boundaries, 15-19. Its eastern boundary, 20. Its cities, 21-28. NOTES ON CHAP. XVIIIVerse Joshua 18:1. Israel assembled together at

Joshua 20:9 — Verse Joshua 20:9. For all the children of Israel, and for the stranger — As these typified the great provision which God was making for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, hence the stranger as well as the Israelite had the same right to the benefits of these

Joshua 5:1 — Canaanites by the late miracle, 1. Joshua is commanded to circumcise the Israelites, 2. He obeys, 3. Who they were that were circumcised, and why it was now done, 4-7. They abide in the camp till they are whole, 8. The place is called Gilgal, and why, 9. They keep the passover in the same place, 10. They eat unleavened cakes and parched corn, on the morrow after the passover, 11. The manna ceases, 12. The captain of the Lord's host appears to Joshua, 13-15. NOTES ON CHAP. VVerse Joshua 5:1. The Amorites

Joshua 9:5 — Verse Joshua 9:5. Old shoes and clouted — Their sandals, they pretended had been worn out by long and difficult travelling, and they had been obliged to have them frequently patched during the way; their garments also were worn thin; and what remained of their

Judges 9:1 — his brethren; Jotham, the youngest only escapes, 14. Jotham reproves him and the Shechemites by a curious and instructive parable, 7-21. Abimelech having reigned three years, the Shechemites, headed by Gaal the son of Ebed, conspire against him, 22-29. Zebul, governor of the city, apprises Abimelech of the insurrection, who comes with his forces, and discomfits Gaal, 30-40. Abimelech assaults the city, takes, beats it down, and sows it with salt, 41-45. Several of the Shechemites take refuge in the

Ruth 2:2 — Any person may permit or prevent it in his own grounds. By the Irish acts, 25 Hen. VIII., c. 1, and 28 Hen. VIII., c. 24, gleaning and leasing are so restricted as to be in fact prohibited in that part of the United Kingdom. See the note on Leviticus 19:9.After him in whose sight I shall find grace. — She did not mean Boaz; but she purposed to go out where they were now reaping, and glean after any person who might permit her, or use her in a friendly manner. The words seem to intimate that,

1 Samuel 6:1 — drawn by two milch kine from whom their calves shall be tied up; and then conclude that if these cows shalt take the way of Beth-hemesh, as going to the Israelitish border, then the LORD had afflicted them, if not, then their evils were accidental, 7-9. They do as directed; and the kine take the way of Beth-shemesh, 10-13. They stop in the field of Joshua; and the men of Beth-shemesh take them, and offer them to the Lord for a burnt-offering, and cleave the wood of the cart to burn them, and make