Bible Commentaries

2 Chronicles 1:1 — Creation, according to the English Bible, 2989. -Year before the Incarnation, 1015. -Year before the first Olympiad, 239. -Year before the building of Rome, according to Varro, 262. -Year of the Julian period, 3699. -Year of the Dionysian period, 507. -Cycle of the Sun, 3. -Cycle of the Moon, 13. -Year of Acastus, the second perpetual archon of the Athenians, 31. -Pyritiades was king over the Assyrians about this time, according to Scaliger and others. He was the thirty-seventh monarch, including

Job 28:1 — iron and other minerals, 2; the difficulties of mining, 3, 4; produce of grain for bread from the earth, and stones of fire from under it, 5. He speaks of precious stones and gold dust, 6; of the instinct of fowls and wild beasts in finding their way, 7, 8; and of the industry and successful attempts of men in mining and other operations, 9-11: but shows that with all their industry, skill, and perseverance, they cannot find out true wisdom, 12; of which he gives the most exalted character, 13-22;

Job 39:26 — direction in which she is to go in order to come to a warmer climate? There is much of the wisdom and providence of God to be seen in the migration of birds of passage. This has been remarked before. There is a beautiful passage in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 8:7, on the same subject: "The stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of their coming: but my people know not the judgment of the Lord."

Psalms 116:13 — blessing among the Jews, which, when the person or master of the family lifted up, he said these words, "Blessed be the Lord, the Maker of the world, who has created the fruit of the vine!"But it may probably allude to the libation-offering, Numbers 28:7; for the three last verses seem to intimate that the psalmist was now at the temple, offering the meat-offering, drink-offering, and sacrifices to the Lord. Cup is often used by the Hebrews to denote plenty or abundance. So, the cup of trembling, an

Psalms 124:1 — PSALM CXXIV A thanksgiving of the godly for extraordinary deliverances, 1-4. The great danger they were in, 7. Their confidence in God, 8. NOTES ON PSALM CXXIVIn our present Hebrew copies this Psalm is attributed to David, לדוד ledavid; but this inscription is wanting in three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., as also in the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate,

Psalms 145:1 — PSALM CXLV God is praised for his unsearchable greatness, 1, 2; for his majesty and terrible acts, 3, 6; for his goodness and tender mercies to all, 7-9; for his power and kingdom, 10-13; for his kindness to the distressed, 14; for his providence, 15-17. He hears and answers prayer, 18-20. All should praise him, 21. NOTES ON PSALM CXLV.This Psalm is attributed to David by the Hebrew and all the Versions.

Psalms 19:1 — PSALM XIX The heavens and their host proclaim the majesty of God, 1-6; the excellence and perfection of the Divine law, 7-10; its usefulness, 11. The psalmist prays for pardon and preservation from sin, 12, 13; and thy his Words and thoughts may be holy, 14. NOTES ON PSALM XIXThe title of this Psalm has nothing particular in it; but it is not very clear that it was written

Psalms 46:1 — PSALM XLVI The confidence of believers in God, 1-3. The privileges of the Church, 4, 5; her enemies, and her helper, 6, 7. God's judgments in the earth, 8, 9. He will be exalted among the heathen, and throughout the earth, 10, 11. NOTES ON PSALM XLVIThe title in the Hebrew is, "To the chief musician for the sons of Korah; an ode upon Alamoth, or concerning the virgins:"

Psalms 50:14 — which was the same as the sin-offering, viz. a bullock, or a ram, without blemish; only there were, in addition, "unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; and cakes of fine flour mingled with oil and fried," Leviticus 7:12.And pay thy vows — נדריך nedareycha, "thy vow-offering, to the Most High." The neder or vow-offering was a male without blemish, taken from among the beeves, the sheep, or the goats. Compare Leviticus 22:19 with Psalms 50:22. Now these were

Psalms 54:1 — psalmist complains that strangers were risen up against him to take away his life, 1-3; expresses his confidence in God that he will uphold him, and punish his enemies, 4, 5; on which he promises to sacrifice to God, 6; he speaks of his deliverance, 7. NOTES ON PSALM LIVThe title is, "To the chief Musician upon Neginoth, an instructive Psalm of David, when the Ziphites came to Saul, and said, Doth not David conceal himself among us?"Ziph was a village in the southern part of Palestine. David having

Psalms 80:1 — PSALM LXXX A prayer for the captives, 1-3. A description of their miseries, 4-7. Israel compared to a vineyard, 8-14. Its desolate state, and a prayer for its restoration, 15-19. NOTES ON PSALM LXXXThe title: see Psalms 45:1; Psalms 60:1; Psalms 69:1, where every thing material is explained. This Psalm seems to have been written

Psalms 83:1 — PSALM LXXXIII The psalmist calls upon God for immediate help against a multitude of confederate enemies who had risen up against Judah, 1-5. He mentions them by name, 6-8; shows how they were to be punished, 9-17; and that this was to be done for the glory of God, 18. NOTES ON PSALM LXXXIIIThe title, A Song or Psalm of Asaph, contains nothing particular. Among a multitude of conjectures relative to the time and occasion of this Psalm, that which refers it to

Ecclesiastes 7:29 — Verse Ecclesiastes 7:29. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright — Whatever evil may be now found among men and women, it is not of God; for God made them all upright. This is a singular verse, and has been most variously translated: עשה האלהים

Song of Solomon 1:7 — Verse Song of Solomon 1:7. Tell me - where thou feedest — This is spoken as if the parties were shepherds, or employed in the pastoral life. But how this would apply either to Solomon, or the princes of Egypt, is not easy to ascertain. Probably in the marriage festival

Song of Solomon 4:7 — Verse Song of Solomon 4:7. Thou art all fair - there is no spot in thee. — "My beloved, every part of thee is beautiful; thou hast not a single defect."The description given of the beauties of Daphne, by OVID, Metam. lib. i. ver. 497, has some similarity to the above verses:

Isaiah 44:12 — exceeds any thing that ever was written upon the subject, in force of argument, energy of expression, and elegance of composition. One or two of the apocryphal writers have attempted to imitate the prophet, but with very ill success; Wisd. 13:11-19; 15:7, c. Baruch vi., especially the latter, who, injudiciously dilating his matter, and introducing a number of minute circumstances, has very much weakened the force and effect of his invective. On the contrary a heathen author, in the ludicrous way, has,

Isaiah 51:1 — Gentiles, encourages them to look for a portion in the same salvation, 4, 5; the everlasting duration of which is majestically described, 6. And as it is everlasting, so is it sure to the righteous, notwithstanding all the machinations of their enemies, 7, 8. The faithful, then, with exultation and joy, lift their voices, reminding God of his wondrous works of old, which encourage them to look now for the like glorious accomplishment of these promises, 9-11. In answer to this the Divinity is introduced

Isaiah 56:9 — charge of corruption and apostasy becomes more general against the whole Jewish Church. Some expositors have made great difficulties in the 9th verse of this chapter, where there seems to be none. It is perfectly well explained by Jeremiah, Jeremiah 12:7; Jeremiah 12:9, where, having introduced God declaring his purpose of punishing his people, by giving them up as a prey to their enemies the Chaldeans, a charge to these his agents is given in words very nearly the same with those of Isaiah in this

Isaiah 9:10 — Verse Isaiah 9:10. The bricks — "The eastern bricks," says Sir John Chardin, (see Harmer's Observ. I., p. 176,) "are only clay well moistened with water, and mixed with straw, and dried in the sun." So that their walls are commonly no better than our mud walls; see Maundrell, p. 124. That straw was a necessary part in the composition of this sort of bricks,

Jeremiah 14:1 — chapter begins with foretelling a drought that should greatly distress the land of Judea, the effects of which are described in a most pathetic manner, 1-6. The prophet then, in the people's name, makes a confession of sins, and supplication for pardon, 7-9. But God declares his purpose to punish, forbidding Jeremiah to pray for the people, 10-12. False prophets are then complained of, and threatened with destruction, as are also those who attend to them, 13-16. The prophet, therefore, bewails their