Bible Commentaries

Ezra 3:12 — Verse Ezra 3:12. Wept with a loud voice — They saw that the glory had departed from Israel; in their circumstances it was impossible to build such a house as the first temple was; and had this been even possible, still it would have been greatly inferior,

Nehemiah 11:1 — constantly dwell at Jerusalem, and the other nine parts in the other cities and villages, 1. Some willingly offer themselves to dwell in Jerusalem, and the people bless them, 2. An enumeration of the families that dwell in Jerusalem, of Judah, and Benjamin, 3-9; of those of the priests, 10-12; of the chiefs of the fathers, 13; of the mighty men, 14; of the Levites, 15-18; of the porters, 19; of the residue of Israel and the officers, 20-24. The villages at which they dwelt, 25-35. Certain divisions of the

Nehemiah 12:1 — CHAPTER XII Account of the priests and Levites that come up with Zerubbabel, 1-7. Of the Levites, 8-21. The Levites in the days of Eliashib, 22-26. Of the dedication of the wall, and its ceremonies, 27-43. Different officers appointed, 44-47. NOTES ON CHAP. XIIVerse Nehemiah 12:1. Now these are the priests — Not the whole, but the chief of them, as we are informed, Nehemiah 12:7; Nehemiah 12:22-24. The Septuagint omit ver. 3, except the word Shechaniah;

Job 2:13 — Verse Job 2:13. They sat down with him upon the ground seven days — They were astonished at the unprecedented change which had taken place in the circumstances of this most eminent man; they could not reconcile his present situation with any thing they had met

Job 31:26 — Verse Job 31:26. If I beheld the sun when it shined — In this verse Job clears himself of that idolatrous worship which was the most ancient and most consistent with reason of any species of idolatry; viz., Sabaeism, the worship of the heavenly bodies; particularly

Job 36:7 — Verse Job 36:7. He withdraweth not his eyes — Exactly similar to those words of David, Psalms 34:15: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous."But with kings are they on the throne — I think the words should be read thus:-"But with kings upon the

Job 4:11 — lion occurs five times; and in the original the words are all different: -1. אריה aryeh, from ארה arah, to tear off.2. שחל shachal, which as it appears to signify black or dark, may mean the black lion, which is said to be found in Ethiopia and India.3. כפיר kephir, a young lion, from כפר caphar, to cover, because he is said to hide himself in order to surprise his prey, which the old one does not.4. ליש lavish, from לש lash, to knead, trample upon; because of his method of seizing his prey.5. לביא

Psalms 101:1 — PSALM CI The subject proposed, mercy and judgment, 1. The psalmist's resolution in respect to his private conduct, 2. He will put away evil, inward and outward, 3. No evil person shall stand in his presence, 4; nor any slanderer of his neighbour, 4, 5. He will encourage the faithful and upright, 6; but the deceitful, the liars, and the profligate, he will cast out of the city of God, 7, 8. NOTES ON PSALM CIThe

Psalms 116:3 — Verse Psalms 116:3. The sorrows of death — חבלי מות chebley maveth, the cables or cords of death; alluding to their bonds and fetters during their captivity; or to the cords by which a criminal is bound who is about to be led out to execution; or to the bandages

Psalms 127:3 — Verse Psalms 127:3. Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord — That is, To many God gives children in place of temporal good. To many others he gives houses, lands, and thousands of gold and silver, and with them the womb that beareth not; and these are their inheritance.

Psalms 128:2 — shall eat of it. Ye shall all live on the produce of your own labour, and the hand of violence shall not be permitted to deprive you of it. Thus,Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. — Thou shalt have prosperity.Verse Psalms 128:3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine — Thy children, in every corner and apartment of thy house, shall be the evidences of the fruitfulness of thy wife, as bunches of grapes on every bough of the vine are the proofs of its being in a healthy

Psalms 131:1 — PSALM CXXXI The psalmist professes his humility, and the peaceableness of his disposition and conduct, 1, 2. Exhorts Israel to hope in God, 3. NOTES ON PSALM CXXXISome think that David composed this Psalm as a vindication of himself, when accused by Saul's courtiers that he affected the crown, and was laying schemes and plots to possess himself of it. Others think the Psalm was made during

Psalms 133:1 — PSALM CXXXIII The comfort and benefit of the communion of saints, 1-3. NOTES ON PSALM CXXXIIIThere are different opinions concerning this Psalm; the most probable is, that it represents the priests and Levites returned from captivity, and united in the service of God in the sanctuary. This, the preceding, and the following,

Psalms 142:1 — fled from Achish, king of Gath, 1 Samuel 22:1.2. When he was in the cave of En-gedi, where he had taken refuge from the pursuit of Saul; and the latter, without knowing that David was in it, had gone into it on some necessary occasion, 1 Samuel 24:1-3.If the inscription can be depended on, the cave of En-gedi is the most likely of the two, for the scene laid here. But were there doubts concerning the legitimacy of the title, I should refer the Psalm to the state of the captives in Babylon, to which

Psalms 147:1 — PSALM CXLVII The psalmist praises God for his goodness to Jerusalem, 1-3; shows his great mercy to them that trust in him, 4-6; he extols him for his mercies, and providential kindness, 7-11; for his defence of Jerusalem, 12-15; For his wonders in the seasons, 16-18; and his word unto Jacob, 19, 20. NOTES ON PSALM CXLVIIThis

Psalms 43:1 — PSALM XLIII The psalmist begs God to take his part against his enemies, 1, 2; to send his light and truth to guide him to the tabernacle, 3; promises, if brought thither, to be faithful in the Divine service, 4; chides himself for despondency, and takes courage, 5. NOTES ON PSALM XLIIIThere is no title to this Psalm in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee. The Syriac says it was composed "by

Psalms 74:1 — PSALM LXXIV The psalmist complains of the desolations of the sanctuary, and pleads with God, 1-3; shows the insolence and wickedness of their enemies, 4-8; prays to God to act for them as he had done for their fathers, whom, by his miraculous power, he had saved, 9-17; begs God to arise, and vindicate his own honour against his enemies, and the

Psalms 76:3 — Verse Psalms 76:3. There brake he the arrows of the bow — רשפי rishphey, the fiery arrows. Arrows, round the heads of which inflammable matter was rolled, and then ignited, were used by the ancients, and shot into towns to set them on fire; and were discharged

Psalms 82:1 — PSALM LXXXII A warning to corrupt judges, 1, 2; an exhortation to them to dispense justice without respect of person, 3-5; they are threatened with the judgments of the Lord, 6-8. NOTES ON PSALM LXXXIIThis Psalm, which, in the title, is attributed to Asaph, was probably composed in the time when Jehoshaphat reformed the courts of justice throughout his states; see 2

Psalms 85:1 — PSALM LXXXV Thanksgiving to God for restoration to the Divine favour, 1-3; prayer for farther mercies, 4-7; the psalmist waits for a gracious answer in full confidence of receiving it, 8. He receives the assurance of the greatest blessings, and exults in the prospect, 9-13. NOTES ON PSALM LXXXVThe title of this Psalm we