Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 2:5-9 — this passage, all of the older and more conservative scholars taking the view that David was fully justified in these instructions for Solomon to execute Joab and Shimei. God's law specifically demanded that murderers should be put to death (Genesis 9:6); and that, as long as murder remained unpunished, the whole land was defiled and under a curse (Numbers 35:33); and Hammond believed that David here ordered Joab's execution as a means of removing such a curse from the land of Israel,The Pulpit Commentary,

Ezra 6:1-5 — sacred text in order to make it say what the scholars suppose it SHOULD have said. The RSV renders this line, "in the house of the archives where the documents were stored"; but Bowman rejects this as "unnecessary,"The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 614. because archaeological discoveries have proved that such decrees were kept in the same vaults where the treasures were also kept. It is to Darius' great credit that when Cyrus' decree was not found in Babylon, he did not abandon the search, which

Nehemiah 4:7-14 — walls might be most easily attacked (Nehemiah 4:13). (4) He brought in the Jews with their families from the outlying areas, armed them and kept them overnight in the city. (5) He stationed armed men throughout the city near the construction workers. (6) He kept a close eye himself upon the situation. (7) He kept a trumpeter by his side, so that in case of an attack, he could promptly order all hands to repel it (Nehemiah 4:18). (8) He called the whole assembly together, saying, "Be not afraid of them…

Job 17:6-16 — darkness; If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, Thou art my mother and my sister; Where then is my hope? And, as for my hope, who shall see it? It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, When once there is rest in the dust." Job 17:6-9 here are difficult. "It is hard to find a path through the profusion of ideas here."Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 184. "All my members are as a shadow" Barnes paraphrased this, "I am a mere skeleton; I am emaciated and exhausted

Psalms 118:21-24 — ignorant of the head architect's plans, had put to one side, as having no place in the building, but was found afterwards to be that on which the completeness of the structure depended, as the chief corner stone"!The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 15-B, p. 356. (2)    The second fulfillment and the Great One was in Jesus Christ who applied the words to himself. Did ye never read the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from

Psalms 132:1-10 — the facts of that event."H. C. Leupold, p. 912. Either of these views is acceptable if the inspiration of what is here written is accepted. "Vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob" This ancient title of God is also found in Genesis 49:24 and in Isaiah 41:16. "I will not come into my house… nor into my bed… nor give sleep… or slumber to my eyes" This can hardly be taken literally. It is rather "A common figure of speech (Proverbs 6:4)."Derek Kidner, op. cit., p. 449. It simply means

Psalms 31:1-8 — laid against him by Saul was the equivalent of just such a device. "Into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Psalms 31:5). Our Lord himself made these the last of his seven words from the Cross, adding only the word "Father," at the beginning (Luke 23:46). However, quite unlike the verse quoted from Psalms 22 on that same occasion, we cannot believe that Jesus' use of these words identified this psalm as a prophecy of himself. In fact, Jesus appears to have used these words in the same understanding

Psalms 46:4-7 — place; but the actual meaning might be, "The river of God's presence and favor,"Ibid. The tabernacles of the Most High typically represent, "God's favor, like a river, is distributed to all the Church."Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 362. "It was the river of God's life-giving presence."The Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 80. "This river is the perennial fountain of God's grace."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 358. Yes indeed, these views are acceptable; but there seems also

Psalms 90:1-6 — "The `God' of this passage is `The Lord,' the covenant God of the Hebrews; and "None can ignore those generations of faithful believers in the developing nation from the days of Abraham, all of whom made the Lord their dwelling place."H. C. Leupold, p. 642. It is true in another sense. From the beginning of Adam's race, God has been the only security of the human family. The discerning souls of all generations found their only hope in God, the only exceptions being the "fools" who said in their hearts

Proverbs 2:1-8 — be earnest and sincere, as indicated by these words."Ibid., p. 34. Furthermore, he must extend himself diligently and search for true wisdom with the same abandon and exertion that men devote to the seeking of earthly treasures. (See under Proverbs 2:6.) "How do men seek money? What will they not do to get rich? Reader, seek the salvation of thy soul as earnestly as the covetous man seeks wealth; and be ashamed of thyself, if thou be less in earnest after the true riches than he is after the wealth

Proverbs 3:11-20 — Christian is thankful for the very afflictions that some despise, because he is able to use them as the occasion for his complete return to duty."George Lawson's Commentary on Proverbs (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1980), p. 42. "Hebrews 12:5-6 quotes this passage verbatim from the Septuagint (LXX) and Sinaiticus Versions of the Old Testament."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 560. For further commentary on the subject of Chastening, we refer to Vol. 10 in our New Testament Commentaries

Ecclesiastes 7:1-4 — better than the day of his birth; because his Church celebrates his death, not his birth. Paul declared that, "It is better to depart and be with Christ (Philippians 1:21-23), Also; "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Psalms 116:15). In spite of these scriptures, we find it very hard to believe that Solomon had anything like that in mind. His viewpoint here seems to be like that of a tribe in Thrace mentioned by Herodotus, "Who bewailed the birth of a child because of its entry

Song of Solomon 2:15-17 — scholars say it might mean: "These `mountains of separation'Waddey's translation is here used an alternate reading in the ASV (footnote). refer to her breasts, and, by metonymy, to her whole person. Comparing Song of Solomon 1:13 and Song of Solomon 4:6 we have similar usage. The Shulamite says, `My beloved is unto me a bundle of myrrh betwixt my breasts'; and Solomon sings, `I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.'"Ibid. In case there is any doubt of what is meant by this,

Isaiah 44:1-5 — children of far distant generations, and particularly among those, only to the obedient. Note what this little paragraph actually promises: "The outpouring of the Spirit (Isaiah 44:3) is a glimpse of the new covenant as in Jeremiah 31:31 ff; Ezekiel 36:26; Joel 2:28, and Acts 2.The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 614. Isaiah 44:5 is a foretaste of Gentile conversion.Ibid. These verses promise redemption and the reception of the Spirit through the success of the Gospel of Christ.Adam Clarke's Commentary

Deuteronomy 24:6-15 — that are in thy land within thy gates: in his day, thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it (for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it); lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee." In Deuteronomy 24:6, the KJV has "the nether or the upper millstone," instead of "the mill or the upper millstone." The KJV is preferable, because, by any definition, "the mill" would include both millstones. "The upper millstone was concave and fitted like a lid over

Deuteronomy 28:15-19 — the fruit of thy ground, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out." It is obvious that these five verses are the exact reverse of Deuteronomy 28:3-6. Entry into Canaan would in no sense EXEMPT Israel from the obligations of the covenant. Can it be otherwise in the kingdom of God? There is a powerful parallelism between what happened to Israel and what can and frequently does happen to members in

Joshua 14:6-9 — those two men alone we are compelled to find the source of this material. The ancient tradition of Joshua's authorship of this book that bears his name is strongly supported by this and other similar incidents recorded. "Caleb, the Kenizzite" (Joshua 14:6). "Kenaz was evidently a descendant of Edom, but was assimilated into the tribe of Judah."William H. Morton, op. cit., p. 354. Caleb rose to the chief of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 13-14). He was born in Egypt, survived the wilderness experience of

Joshua 17:14-18 — prove it by driving out the Canaanites!" In this arrogant presumption of the Josephites, "Again we have a sign of that deep undercurrent of consistency which underlies our history, and is a guarantee of its authenticity."Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 262. As Dummelow said, "This throws light on the character of the children of Joseph. It shows the spirit of self-aggrandizement and self-importance."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 152. Furthermore,

Judges 3:1-6 — borders."International Critical Commentary, p. 79. Dummelow also restricted the meaning of "the Canaanites" in this passage to those living in the lowlands, the Shephelah, in the Southwest adjacent to the Philistines."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 161. "The five lords of the Philistines" These were the rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. At first, Israel occupied some of these cities (see under Judges 1:18), but these enemies of Israel were able to re-take their territory from Israel

2 Samuel 2:18-23 — opponent, and of David's nephew, Asahel. "The three sons of Zeruiah were Joab, Abishai and Asahel" "Zeruiah was a sister of King David; and her three sons, David's nephews, all held important positions of trust in David's army."Everyone in the Bible, p. 366. Joab commanded his army; Abishai was with David when they found Saul asleep and pleaded with David to allow him to kill Saul (1 Samuel 26:6-12); both he and Asahel were reckoned among David's thirty mighty men (2 Samuel 23:8-38; 1 Chronicles 11:26