Bible Commentaries

Exodus 18:21 — heard and tried. Some of the rabbins have supposed that there were 600 rulers of thousands, 6000 rulers of hundreds, 12,000 rulers of fifties and 60,000 rulers of tens; making in the whole 78,600 officers. But Josephus says (Antiq., lib. iii., chap. 4) that Moses, by the advice of Jethro, appointed rulers over myriads, and then over thousands; these he divided into five hundreds, and again into hundreds, and into fifties; and appointed rulers over each of these, who divided them into thirties, and

Exodus 30:13 — sanctuary, was ultimately devoted to the use and profit of those who gave it.3. That the standard by which the value of coin was ascertained, was kept in the sanctuary; for this appears to be the meaning of the words, after the shekel of the sanctuary.4. The shekel is here said to be twenty gerahs. A gerah, according to Maimonides, weighed sixteen barleycorns, a shekel three hundred and twenty of pure silver. The shekel is generally considered to be equal in value to three shillings English; the redemption

2 Kings 13:20 — for this latter opinion are strong, the objections against it very feeble. His being fed by an angel is no proof that he was not an angel incarnate, for God manifest in the flesh was fed by the same ministry. Of him the following from Ecclesiasticus 48:1-11 is a nervous character: -1. Then stood up Elias the prophet as fire, and his word burned like a lamp.2. He brought a sore famine upon them, and by his zeal he diminished their number.3. By the word of the Lord he shut up the heaven, and also three

Job 39:1 — CHAPTER XXXIX Several animals described: the wild goats and hinds, 1-4. The wild ass, 5-8. The unicorn, 9-12. The peacock and ostrich, 13-18. The war-horse, 19-25. The hawk, 26. And the eagle and her brood, 27-30. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXIXVerse Job 39:1. Knowest thou the time — To know time, c., only, was easy, and has

Psalms 113:9 — excite men to praise God.This Psalm contains three parts: - I. An exhortation to God's servants to praise him.II. A form set down how and where to praise him, Psalms 113:2-3.III. The reasons to persuade us to it. 1. By his infinite power, Psalms 113:4-5. 2. His providence, as displayed in heaven and earth, Psalms 113:6.I. The prophet exhorts men "to praise the Lord;" and,1. He doubles and trebles his exhortation, that it be not coldly but zealously done, or else to show that he alone is worthy of

Psalms 119:16 — Verse Psalms 119:16. I will delight myself — The word is very emphatical: אשתעשע eshtaasha, I will skip about and jump for joy.14. He must exult in God's word as his treasure, live in the spirit of obedience as his work, and ever glory in God, who has called him to such a state of salvation.15. He must never forget what God has done for him, done in him, and promised farther to

Psalms 18:2 — safe from his enemies. He refers to those inaccessible heights in the rocky, mountainous country of Judea, where he had often found refuge from the pursuit of Saul. What these have been to my body, such has the Lord been to my soul.Deliverer —4. מפלתי mephalleti, he who causes me to escape. This refers to his preservation in straits and difficulties. He was often almost surrounded and taken, but still the Lord made a way for his escape - made a way out as his enemies got in; so that, while

Psalms 82:8 — and the judges are the cause of it.1. Through ignorance: "They know not the law," Psalms 82:5.2. Through obstinacy: "They will not learn it," Psalms 82:5.3. Through their determination to walk in their own way, Psalms 82:5: "They walk on in darkness."4. They shall in consequence be brought, 1. To an untimely death: "Ye shall die like men." 2. To a shameful death: "Ye shall fall like one of the princes," ye shall have a mighty fall, Psalms 82:7.III. The prophet's prayer. Since judgment and justice

Proverbs 12:4 — Verse Proverbs 12:4. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband — אשת חיל esheth chayil, a strong woman. Our word virtue (virtus) is derived from vir, a man; and as man is the noblest of God's creatures, virtue expresses what is becoming to man; what is noble, courageous,

Proverbs 4:7 — Verse Proverbs 4:7. Wisdom is the principal thing — ראשית חכמה reshith chochmah, "wisdom is the principle." It is the punctum saliens in all religion to know the true God, and what he requires of man, and for what he has made man; and to this must be added, under

Leviticus 16:21 — Verse Leviticus 16:21. Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head, c. — What this imposition of hands meant see in Clarke's notes on "Exodus 29:10", and "Leviticus 1:4".And confess over him all the iniquities - transgressions - sins — The three terms used here, INIQUITIES, עונת avonoth, from עוה avah, to pervert, distort, or turn aside TRANSGRESSIONS, פשעים peshaim, from פשע pasha, to transgress, to rebel; and

Numbers 19:12 — whole clearly.1. The red heifer with them signifies the flesh of our Lord, formed out of an earthly substance.2. Being without spot, c., the infinite holiness of Christ.3. The sex of the animal, the infirmity of our flesh, with which he clothed himself.4. The red colour, his passion.5. Being unyoked, his being righteous in all his conduct, and never under the yoke of sin.6. Eleazar's sacrificing the heifer instead of Aaron, Numbers 19:3, signifies the change of the priesthood from the family of Aaron,

Numbers 6:24 — Verse Numbers 6:24. The Lord bless thee — There are three forms of blessing here, any or all of which the priests might use on any occasion. The following is a verbal translation: - 1. May Jehovah bless thee and preserve thee! 2. May Jehovah cause his faces to

Numbers 7:1 — twelve tribes had prepared six covered wagons, drawn by two oxen each, one wagon for two tribes, for the service of the tabernacle, 1-3. Moses is commanded to receive this offering, and distribute the whole to the Levites according to their service, 4, 5. Moses does so, and gives two wagons and four oxen to the sons of Gershon, 6, 7; and four wagons and eight oxen to the sons of Merari, 8. The sons of Kohath have none, because they were to bear the ark, c., on their shoulders, 9. Each prince is to

Deuteronomy 32:5 — perform any sacred rite to their god without his mark on the forehead; the marks are generally horizontal and perpendicular lines, crescents, circles, leaves, eyes, c., in red, black, white, and yellow. This very custom is referred to in Revelation 20:4, where the beast gives his mark to his followers, and it is very likely that Moses refers to such a custom among the idolatrous of his own day. This removes all the difficulty of the text. God's children have no sinful spots, because Christ saves them

Joshua 11:18 — six or seven years. There are some chronological notices in this book, and in Deuteronomy, by which the exact time may be nearly ascertained. Caleb was forty years old when he was sent from Kadesh-barnea by Moses to search out the land, about A.M. 2514; and at the end of this war he was eighty-five years old; (compare Joshua 14:10 with Numbers 13:16, and Deuteronomy 1:36;) consequently the war ended in 2559, which had begun, by the passage of Jordan, on the tenth day of the first month of the year

Joshua 11:23 — two white pillars with an inscription in the Phoenician language, of which this is the translation: WE ARE THE PERSONS WHO HAVE FLED FROM THE FACE OF JOSHUA THE PLUNDERER, THE SON OF NAVE or Nun. See Bochart, Phaleg and Canaan, lib. i., c. xxiv., col. 476. Many, no doubt, settled in different parts of Africa, in Asia Minor, in Greece, and in the different islands of the AEgean and Mediterranean Sea: it is supposed also that colonies of this people were spread over different parts of Germany and Sclavonia,

Joshua 20:7 — it has the metaphorical one of GOVERNMENT.3. חברון chebron HEBRON, from חבר chabar, to associate, join, conjoin, unite as friends; and hence chebron, fellowship, friendly association, or with the diminutive nun, the little fellow-ship or association.4. בצר BEZER, from batsar, to restrain, enclose, shut up, or encompass with a wall; and hence the goods or treasure thus secured, and hence a fortified place, a fortress.5. ראמות RAMOTH, from ראם raam, to be raised, made high or exalted, and hence Ramoth,

Joshua 7:1 — CHAPTER VII The trespass of the Israelites, 1. Joshua sends men to view the state of Ai, 2. They return with a favourable report, 3. Three thousand men are sent against it, who are defeated, and thirty-six killed, 4, 5. Joshua is greatly distressed, prostrates himself, and inquires of the Lord the reason why he has abandoned Israel to their enemies, 6-9. The Lord raises him, and informs him that, contrary to the command, some of the people had secreted some of

2 Samuel 23:39 — Verse 2 Samuel 23:39. Uriah the Hittite: thirty and seven in all. — To these the author of 1 Chronicles 11:41 adds Zabad son of Ahlai.1 Chronicles 11:42 - Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a captain of the Reubenites, and thirty with him.1 Chronicles 11:43 - Hanan the son of Maachah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite,1 Chronicles 11:44 - Uzzia the Ashterathite,