Bible Commentaries

Jonah 1:1 — THE PROPHET JONAH Chronological Notes relative to this Book, upon the supposition that the repentance of the Ninevites happened in the twenty-third year of the reign of Jehu, king of Israel. -Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3142. -Year of the Julian Period, 3852. -Year since the Flood, 1486. -Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 150. -Year since the division of Solomon's monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 114. -Year before the first Olympiad, 86. -Year

Matthew 10:1 — CHAPTER X. Jesus calls, commissions, and names his twelve disciples, 1-4. Gives them particular instructions relative to the objects of their ministry, 5, 6. Mode of preaching, c., 7-15. Foretells the afflictions and persecutions they would have to endure, and the support they should receive, 16-25. Cautions them against

Matthew 11:5 — they see not the way of truth and salvation.2. They are lame - not able to walk in the path of righteousness.3. They are leprous, their souls are defiled with sin, the most loathsome and inveterate disease; deepening in themselves, and infecting others.4. They are deaf to the voice of God, his word, and their own conscience.5. They are dead in trespasses and sins; God, who is the life of the soul, being separated from it by iniquity.Nothing less than the power of Christ can redeem from all this; and,

Matthew 19:9 — to abide by the positive declaration of the law, as it was popularly understood, till these eminent schools had proved the word had another meaning. The grand subject of dispute between the two schools, mentioned above, was the word in Deuteronomy 24:1, When a man hath taken a wife-and she find no grace in his sight, because of some UNCLEANNESS, ערות eruath: - this the school of Shammai held to mean whoredom or adultery; but the school of Hillel maintained that it signified any corporeal defect,

Matthew 27:53 — religion.2. The earthquake, that this dispensation of the Gospel is to make known through the earth the judgments of God against sin and sinners.3. The rocks being rent declare that the sacrifice of Christ is to make way for the grace of repentance.4. The graves being opened, that it is to destroy the death of sin, and confer the life grace on sinners.5. The rising of the bodies of the saints shows that this death of Christ is to merit, and his Gospel publish, the eternal happiness of body and soul

Matthew 4:10 — Verse Matthew 4:10. Get thee hence — Or, behind me, οπισω μου. This is added by a multitude of the best MSS., VERSIONS, and FATHERS. This temptation savouring of nothing but diabolical impudence, Jesus did not treat it as the others; but, with Divine authority,

Luke 23:1 — CHAPTER XXIII. Christ is led to Pilate, and accused by the Jews, 1, 2. Pilate examines, and pronounces him innocent, 3, 4. The Jews virulently accuse him, 5. Pilate, understanding that he was of Galilee, sends him to Herod, by whom he is examined, 6-9. The chief priests and scribes vehemently accuse him, and Herod and his soldiers mock him, 10, 11. Pilate and Herod become

John 1:46 — Verse 46. Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? — Bp. Pearce supposes that the τι αγαθον of the evangelist has some particular force in it: for, in Jeremiah 33:14, God says, I will perform that good thing which I promised, c. and this, in Jeremiah

John 21:22 — remain till I come and take him away by a natural death, what is that to thee? follow thou me to thy crucifixion. On this it may be observed, that all antiquity agrees that John, if he did die, was the only disciple who was taken away by a natural death.4. Others imagine that our Lord was only now taking Peter aside to speak something to him in private, and that Peter, seeing John following, wished to know whether he should come along with them; and that our Lord's answer stated that John should remain

John 6:15 — a considerable time afterwards that even the disciples fully understood that his kingdom was not of this world.Into a mountain — That on which he was with his disciples previously to his working this miracle: see John 6:3.St. Matthew, Matthew 14:22-23, and Mark, Mark 6:45-46, say that, before this, Jesus constrained his disciples to embark in the vessel, and go along the sea coast towards Capernaum, or Bethsaida-see here John 6:17, and the note on Mark 6:45; and that, after they were gone,

John 7:1 — CHAPTER VII. Jesus continues in Galilee, 1. He is desired to go to the feast of tabernacles, 2-5. His answer, 6-9. He goes up, and the Jews seek him at the feast, 10-13. He teaches in the temple, 14-24. The Jews are confounded by his preaching, 25-27. He continues to teach; they wish to slay him, 28-30. Many of the people believe on him, 31. The Pharisees murmur, and our Lord reasons with them, 32-36. His preaching on the last day of the feast,

John 8:6 — time we know not. On this the pious Quesnel makes the following reflections:-"1. Since Jesus Christ never wrote but once that we hear of in his whole life; 2. since he did it only in the dust; 3. since it was only to avoid condemning a sinner; and, 4. since he would not have that which he wrote so much as known; let men learn from hence never to write but when it is necessary or useful; to do it with humility and modesty; and to do it on a principle of charity. How widely does Christ differ from

Acts 18:24 — Verse Acts 18:24. A certain Jew named Apollos — One MS., with the Coptic and Armenian, calls him Apelles; and the Codex Bezae, Apollonius. It is strange that we should find a Jew, not only with a Roman name, as Aquila, an eagle; but with the name of one of the

Romans 11:27 — connected with the 28th.It may not be amiss to subjoin here a collection of those texts in the Old Testament that seem to point out a restoration of the Jewish commonwealth to a higher degree of excellence than it has yet attained. Isaiah 2:2-5; Isaiah 19:24, Isaiah 19:25; Isaiah 25:6, etc.; Isaiah 30:18, Isaiah 30:19, Isaiah 30:26; Isaiah 60:1-22; Isaiah 65:17-25; Jeremiah 31:10-12; Jeremiah 46:27, Jeremiah 46:28; Ezekiel 20:34, Ezekiel 20:40, etc.; Ezekiel 28:25, Ezekiel 28:26; Ezekiel 34:20, etc.; Ezekiel

Romans 5:2 — — Have solid happiness, from the evidence we have of our acceptance with Him.In hope of the glory of God. — Having our sins remitted, and our souls adopted into the heavenly family, we are become heirs; for if children, then heirs, Galatians 4:7; and that glory of God is now become our endless inheritance. While the Jews boast of their external privileges-that they have the temple of God among them; that their priests have an entrance to God as their representatives, carrying before the mercy-seat

Romans 6:4 — Verse Romans 6:4. We are buried with him by baptism into death — It is probable that the apostle here alludes to the mode of administering baptism by immersion, the whole body being put under the water, which seemed to say, the man is drowned, is dead; and, when

1 Corinthians 3:1 — CHAPTER III. Because of the carnal, divided state of the people at Corinth, the apostle was obliged to treat them as children in the knowledge of sacred things, 1-3. Some were for setting up Paul, others Apollos, as their sole teachers, 4. The apostle shows that himself and fellow apostles were only instruments which God used to bring them to the knowledge of the truth; and even their sowing, and watering the seed was of no use unless God gave the increase, 5-8. The Church represented

1 Corinthians 4:15 — Verse 1 Corinthians 4:15. For though ye have ten thousand instructers — μυριους παιδαγωγους, Myriads of leaders, that is, an indefinite multitude; for so the word is often used. The παιδαγωγος, from which we have our word pedagogue, which we improperly apply to a school

Galatians 5:1 — CHAPTER V. The apostle exhorts the Galatians to stand fast in the liberty of the Gospel, and not by receiving circumcision bring themselves into a yoke of bondage, 1-4. Shows the superior excellence of Christianity, 5, 6. Mentions their former steadiness, and warns them against the bad doctrine which was then preached among them, 7-9. Expresses his confidence that they will yet return; and shows that he who perverted

Ephesians 4:29 — reproachful; whatever has a tendency to injure the name, fame, or interest of another.In short, it appears to mean any word or thing obscene, any thing that injures virtue, countenances vice, or scoffs at religion. In the parallel place, Colossians 4:6, the apostle exhorts that our speech may be seasoned with salt, to preserve it from putrefaction. See Kypke and Macknight.But that which is good to the use of edifying — To be good for a thing is a Graecism, as well as an Anglicism, for, to