Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 28:1 — XXVIII This chapter begins with a denunciation of the approaching ruin of the Israelites by Shalmaneser, whose power is compared to a tempest or flood, and his keenness to the avidity with which one plucks and swallows the grape that is soonest ripe, 1-4. It then turns to the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, who were to continue a kingdom after the final captivity of their brethren; and gives first a favourable prognostication of their affairs under Hezekiah, 5, 6; but soon changes to reproofs and

Isaiah 42:11 — Verse Isaiah 42:11. Let the wilderness — The most uncultivated countries, and the most rude and uncivilized people, shall confess and celebrate with thanksgiving the blessing of the knowledge of God graciously imparted to them. By the desert is meant Arabia

Jeremiah 35:2 — they were Kenites, 1 Chronicles 2:55, a people originally settled in that part of Arabia Petraea, called the land of Midian; and most probably the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Compare Numbers 10:29-32, with Judges 1:16; Judges 4:11.Those mentioned here seem to have been a tribe of Nomades or Scenite Arabs, who fed their flocks in the deserts of Judea; they preserved the simple manners of their ancestors, considering the life of the inhabitants of cities and large towns as the

Jeremiah 9:17 — have often witnessed it, and have given a specimen of this elsewhere. See the note on Matthew 9:23. The first lamentations for the dead consisted only in the sudden bursts of inexpressible grief, like that of David over his son Absalom, 2 Samuel 19:4. But as men grew refined, it was not deemed sufficient for the surviving relatives to vent their sorrows in these natural, artless expressions of wo, but they endeavoured to join others as partners in their sorrows. This gave rise to the custom of hiring

Matthew 27:66 — the piercing of his side, we should have found it difficult to believe that such a person could ever have entered the empire of death; but the divinity and the manhood equally appear, and thus the certainty of the atonement is indubitably established.4. But who can reflect on the state of the poor disciples, during the whole of the time in which our blessed Lord lay under the empire of death, without sharing their sorrows! When he expired on the cross their expectation was cut off; and when his body

Luke 3:1 — CHAPTER III. The time in which John the Baptist began to preach, 1-3. The prophecies which were fulfilled in him, 4-6. The matter and success of his preaching, 7-9; among the people, 10, 11; among the publicans, 12, 13; among the soldiers, 14. His testimony concerning Christ, 15-18. The reason why Herod put him afterwards in prison, 19, 20. He baptizes Christ, on

Acts 1:25 — seeming propriety, state that his own place means his own house, or former occupation; he left this ministry and apostleship that he might resume his former employment in conjunction with his family, c. This is primarily the meaning of it in Numbers 24:25: And Balaam returned to HIS OWN PLACE, i.e. to his own country, friends, and employment.4. Others think it simply means the state of the dead in general, independently of either rewards or punishments as is probably meant by Ecclesiastes 3:20: All

Acts 13:33 — though it died for sin, must be raised from the dead before it saw corruption. Thus God owned that human nature to be peculiarly his own; and therefore Jesus Christ was declared to be the Son of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead, Romans 1:4.

Acts 16:1 — Jewess by a Greek father, whom he circumcises and takes with him into his work, 1-3. As they pass through the different cities, they deliver the apostles' decrees to the Churches; and they are established in the faith, and daily increase in numbers, 4, 5. They travel through Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia, and to Troas, 6-8. Where Paul has a vision, relative to his preaching in Macedonia, 9, 10. Leaving Troas, he sails to Samothracia and Neapolis, and comes to Philippi in Macedonia, 11, 12. Lydia, a seller

Acts 18:3 — which was Paul's case, Acts 22:3, to learn a trade, that, wherever they were, they might provide for themselves in case of necessity. And though Paul, in some cases, lived on the bounty of his converts, yet he chose not to do so at Ephesus, Acts 20:34; nor at Corinth or other places, 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 9:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:8; and this Paul did for a reason which he gives in 2 Corinthians 11:9-12. While he was at Corinth he was supplied, when his own labour did not procure him enough,

Romans 10:14 — Verse Romans 10:14. How then shall they call on him — As the apostle had laid so much stress on believing in order to salvation, and as this doctrine, without farther explanation, might be misunderstood, it was necessary to show how this faith was produced; and

Romans 8:35 — because much evil is felt, and much more feared.Or sword? — μαχαιρα, slaughter; the total destruction of life, and especially beheading, and such like, done by the order of the civil magistrate; for the word is used in this epistle, Romans 13:4, to signify the authority and power which he has of judicially terminating life; i.e. of inflicting capital punishment.

1 Corinthians 15:45 — Verse 45. The first man Adam was made a living soul — These forms of expression are also common among the Jews: hence we find אדם הראשון Adam harishon, "Adam the first;" and אדם קדמאי Adam kadmai, " Adam the last." They assert that there are two Adams:

2 Corinthians 5:1 — CHAPTER V. The apostle's strong hope of eternal glory, and earnest longings after that state of blessedness, 1-4. The assurance that he had of it from the Holy Spirit, and his carefulness to be always found pleasing to the Lord, 5-9. All must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 10. Knowing that this awful event must take place, he laboured to convince men

Ephesians 2:3 — produce acts of unrighteousness. It was not the will of God that was done by us, but the will of the flesh and of the mind.And were by nature the children of wrath — For the import of the phrase, by nature, φυσει, Galatians 2:15, and Romans 2:14. To what is said on those passages, I may add, from Dr. Macknight: - "Nature often signifies one's birth and education, Galatians 2:15: We, who are Jews BY NATURE. Also, men's natural reason and conscience, Romans 2:14: The Gentiles who have not the

1 Thessalonians 4:16 — the apostle calls the air, somewhere within the earth's atmosphere.2. Then the κελευσμα, shout or order, shall be given for the dead to arise.3. Next the archangel, as the herald of Christ, shall repeat the order, Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!4. When all the dead in Christ are raised, then the trumpet shall sound, as the signal for them all to flock together to the throne of Christ. It was by the sound of the trumpet that the solemn assemblies, under the law, were convoked; and to such convocations

1 Thessalonians 5:23 — and polluted by sin.2. That each is capable of being sanctified, consecrated in all its powers to God, and made holy.3. That the whole man is to be preserved to the coming of Christ, that body, soul, and spirit may be then glorified for ever with him.4. That in this state the whole man may be so sanctified as to be preserved blameless till the coming of Christ. And thus we learn that the sanctification is not to take place in, at, or after death. On the pollution and sanctification of flesh and spirit,

1 Timothy 4:2 — Verse 1 Timothy 4:2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy — Persons pretending, not only to Divine inspiration, but also to extraordinary degrees of holiness, self-denial, mortification, c., in order to accredit the lies and false doctrines which they taught. Multitudes

2 Timothy 4:10 — Verse 10. Demas hath forsaken me — This is another proof of the posteriority of this epistle: for Demas was with the apostle in his first imprisonment, and joins in the salutations, see Colossians 4:14, which were written when Paul was a prisoner at Rome for the first time.Having loved this present world — Αγαπησας τον νυν αιωνα Having preferred Judaism to Christianity; or having loved the Jews, and having sought their welfare in preference

Hebrews 7:11 — fact that the law was given before any priesthood was established, for Aaron and his sons were not called nor separated to this office till Moses came down the second time from the mount with the tables renewed, after that he had broken them, Exodus 40:12-14. But it was in reference to the great sacrificial system that the law was given, and on that law the priesthood was established; for, why was a priesthood necessary, but because that law was broken and must be fulfilled?That another priest should