Bible Commentaries

Genesis 14:21-24 — that he promised Jehovah such restraint in case the victory for which he prayed was granted. Melchizedek also acknowledged that it was in answer to Abram's prayers that the victory had been granted. Thus, there is no way to make the passage in Exodus 6:3 refer to anything other than to increased and more specific knowledge of Jehovah than had been granted to Abram, who did most certainly know Jehovah, and by that name, as indicated here. The generosity and magnanimity of Abram appear dramatically here,

Genesis 22:17-19 — and likewise, the number of grains of sand on the earth, allowing 10,000,000 to a cubic foot, and 10^15 for the square feet of earth's surface makes the estimated number of grains of sand exactly the same, i.e., 10^25!"Henry M. Morris, op. cit., p. 384. Neither of such remarkable numbers was known to the ancients; and thus, "This is an excellent example of scientific truth found in the Bible long before scientists, by other means, learned that the two metaphors are essentially identical! "Seed"

Exodus 3:7-8 — the Canaanites that the same fate awaited Israel. "The first movement of God toward Moses was to outline in words what God proposed to do."Hywel R. Jones, The New Bible Commentary, Revised (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2962), p. 123. The "Canaanites" mentioned here are sometimes called the "seven nations." All of them were settled in Canaan (Palestine) centuries before Israel. a)    The word "Canaanite" applied to all of these related groups, and also to one

Exodus 7:11-13 — Notes, Exodus (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, Reprint 1982), p. 21. The O.T. nowhere gives the names of those opponents who threw down their rods before Moses and Aaron; but, strangely enough, Paul mentions two of them, "Jannes and Jambres" (2 Timothy 3:8). Cook believed that these men were the "principal magicians" in view here.Ibid. Some of the rabbinical legends report that, "Jannes and Jambres were so impressed by Moses that they eventually joined the Israelites, but died in the course of the Exodus."Isaac

1 Kings 5:7-12 — harem, for Sidonian women are listed among those foreign women whom he is said to have loved; and it is said that his heart was turned away after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians (1 Kings 11:1; 1 Kings 11:4-5)."Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 172. CONSCRIPTING SUFFICIENT LABORERS TO BUILD THE TEMPLE Enthusiasts who manifest such appreciation for the Temple of the Jews should remember that it was built with slave-labor.

2 Kings 17:24-26 — places mentioned here from which captives were placed in the cities of Samaria were: (1) Babylon, which Tiglath-pileser had conquered; (2) Cuthah, "a city of Babylonia, the seat of the god Nergel;"T. C. Mitchell in The New Bible Dictionary, p. 285. (3) Avva, "the same as Ivah (2 Kings 18:34), whose citizens worshipped the idols Nibhaz and Tartak (2 Kings 17:31); (4) Hamath, identified by J. G. G. Norman as "an important city on the Orontes river,"J. G. G. Norman in The New Bible Dictionary, p. 501.

2 Kings 3:4-8 — thousand," The RSV adds the word "annually" here, despite the fact of its not being in the Hebrew, but this is probably correct, because Keil agreed that the usage of this terminology throughout the O.T. indicates annual tribute.C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 301. Calkins labeled such an annual tribute as "excessive,"The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 198. but Keil stated that, "Such an annual tribute would not have been exorbitant, because the land of the Moabites abounded in excellent pasture and was especially

1 Chronicles 28:20-21 — commanded; but they were enslaved by Israel. (See the opening chapters of my commentary on Judges.) "2 Samuel 20:24 indicates that David used forced (slave) labor; that passage does not say who composed the labor gangs";Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 346. and, although David might not have forced Israelites into his forced labor gangs, the enslaved Canaanites were certainly used; and Solomon quickly extended them to include Israelites also. There is no way that the evil, secular and political

2 Chronicles 1:7-13 — place that was at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, unto Jerusalem; and he reigned over Israel." "That night God appeared unto Solomon" First, we should dispose of the critical suggestion that this is a contradiction of the statement in 1 Kings 3:5 that, "Jehovah appeared unto Solomon that night in a dream." Curtis (Madsen) commented that, "The dream has disappeared, and the revelation is a more direct one."International Critical Commentary, Chronicles, p. 317. Such a comment is totally in error.

Psalms 74 overview — JERUSALEM This is another of the Psalms accredited to Asaph. However, "Asaph, like Jeduthun and Heman, became a tribe-name, attaching to all the descendants of the original Asaph, and was equivalent to `the son of Asaph.'"The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-B, p. 83. The occasion for this Psalm has been assigned to three different dates: "These identifications are (1) the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 B.C. (2 Kings 24), (2) the suppression of a Jewish insurrection by a Persian

Jeremiah 39 overview — Jerusalem was given over to "the sword, the famine, and the pestilence," as so often stated in Jeremiah. There are no less than four Biblical accounts of the fall of Jerusalem: (1) the account recorded in this chapter; (2) the account in Jeremiah 52; (3) the record in 2 Kings 25; (4) and yet another in 2 Chronicles 36. As should be expected, there are variations and differences in these several accounts, just as there are in the four Gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; and we learned

Deuteronomy 12:8-14 — thee." Deuteronomy 12:8-12 here are the second pronouncement of what some have called "The law of the one altar." There are three such pronouncements in this chapter: (1)    Deuteronomy 12:2-7 (2)    Deuteronomy 12:8-12 (3)    Deuteronomy 12:13-19 The law of the one altar, however, actually should be read as "one altar at a time," and not that any place, wheresoever, should be honored as "the ONLY altar." Shiloh and Shechem were just as legitimately

John 21 overview — Richardson, The Gospel according to John (London: SCM Press. 1959), p. 214. by various scholars, some of whom insist that the Gospel ended with chapter 20; but this student has found no reason for dissociating it from the rest of the Gospel. John 20:30-31 COULD HAVE BEEN USED by John as a conclusion, but he did not so use them. In 1 John 5:13, John used nearly these same words in what could have been a perfect ending of his epistle at that point; but, instead, he went on for eight more verses. The

Acts 10 overview — view for a considerable time afterward, as seen in the Pauline epistles. That the devout Gentile chosen by God for the special treatment accorded him in such things as (1) visitation by an angel, (2) hearing the gospel preached by one of the Twelve, (3) having the Holy Spirit fall upon him in a manifestation suggesting that of Pentecost, etc. — that the Gentile chosen for such blessings should have been a soldier must be regarded as significant. Ryle noted that "In no case is there the

Joshua 7:6-9 — and from that we know that the spies simply failed in their mission. "John Calvin made some severe remarks on Joshua's folly and want of faith here, but it may be paralleled by most Christians in adversity."Alfred Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 3, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 121.

Judges 11:1-3 — Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him" "And Gilead begat Jephthah" "The word `Gilead' has two meanings: (1) the name of the country so-called, and (2) the name of an individual."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 3-C, p. 119. However, this presents no problem to this writer, since he has never heard of "a country" begetting a son. Gilead is here, of course, the name of an individual. As Keil noted, "We are forced to this conclusion by the fact that the wife of

1 Samuel 13:2-4 — commander in charge of a thousand men. "Michmash … and Bethel" "Michmash is the modern Mukhmas, located about seven miles northeast of Jerusalem; and Bethel is the modern Beitin four and one half miles northwest of Mukhmas."John T. Willis, p. 134. Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines at Geba (1 Samuel 13:3). This poses a problem for some who point out that the garrison of the Philistines was actually at Gibeah (1 Samuel 10:2); but there is no problem at all. The Philistines had

2 Samuel 15:32-37 — God's own heart; and this part of his life is richly illustrated by the Psalms which he wrote during the pressure of this great affliction. Psalms 41 shows how poignant was his anguish over Ahithophel's treachery."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 368. "Psalms 3 and Psalms 4 were David's morning and evening songs `when he fled from Absalom his son.' David's grief at the loss of his privileges of worship in Jerusalem. In Psalms 27, we have the contrast between Jehovah's abiding goodness and the

2 Samuel 2:1-4 — king: (1)    His first anointing was by Samuel (1 Samuel 10:1) which indicated God's secret purpose and ultimate intention. (2)    Here is the second anointing when the men of Judah elevated him over the house of Judah. (3)    His third and final anointing made him king "over all Israel" (1 Chronicles 14:8). The delay between David's anointing and his ultimate assumption of the throne correspond in some degree with the four-year time interval between

2 Samuel 21:18-22 — 17, where it is stated that David killed Goliath. For any who might be interested in a more detailed discussion of this, D. F. Payne in The New Bible Commentary (Revised) devotes a special appendix to the problem,The New Bible Commentary, Revised, pp. 318, 319. Bearing in mind the admitted corruption evident in this chapter, the Christian should have no difficulty with the problem. There are a number of ways to resolve the matter: (1) The parallel account in 1 Chronicles 20:5 states that, "Elhanan…