Bible Commentaries

Jeremiah 31:21-22 — impossible for this to refer to the Virgin Mary's bearing the Christ in her womb, because, he said, "The definite article for woman does not appear, as in Isaiah's promise that `The Virgin' shall conceive."T. K. Cheyne, Jeremiah in the Pulpit Commentary, p. 13. This objection has no weight because the great protoevangel of Genesis 3:15 likewise omits the definite article in the announcement that "The seed of woman" shall bruise the head of Satan, there being no definite article for woman. Also, let it be

Jeremiah 35:6-11 — Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 542. No greater contrast to the disobedience of Israel could possibly have been imagined. It should be noted that, "What is praised here is not Jonadab's injunctions, but the faithful obedience of his sons."Ibid., p. 543. The superiority of the obedience of the Rechabites over that of Israel is inherent in a number of elements: (1) the person they obeyed was only a mortal man; Israel was disobeying God. (2) Jonadab had long been dead, some 250 years in fact; God lives

Jeremiah 48:1-4 — shall pursue thee. The sound of a cry from Horonaim, desolation and great destruction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard." "Nebo" "This is not the mountain from which Moses viewed the Promised Land, but the city of Numbers 32:3; Numbers 32:38, built by the Reubenites."R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 174. "Kiriathaim" "A city six miles south of Dibon."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 845. Dibon was where the Moabite Stone was found. "Heshbon"

Jeremiah 49:23-27 — same usage. "Hamath… Arpad" During Sennacherib's invasion of Judah, Rabshakeh (his commander) mentioned the pagan gods of these cities, which Sennacherib had destroyed, and from this warned Hezekiah and Jerusalem not to trust in Jehovah (Isaiah 36:18). Hamath marked the farthest extent of the Solomonic empire, which was mentioned as having been restored by Jeroboam I (2 Kings 14:25). This ruthless, pagan city fully deserved the judgment of God pronounced upon then. One of their most intolerable

Ezekiel 13:10-16 — daubing going on with the same kind of untempered mortar! Keil identified the daubing with untempered mortar as, "A figurative description of deceitful flattery and hypocrisy, the covering up of inward corruption with outward appearances, as in Matthew 23:27, and Acts 23:3."Carl Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 168.

Ezekiel 3:22-27 — I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; he that heareth let him hear; and he that forbeareth let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house." FINAL INSTRUCTION IN THE COMMISSION (Ezekiel 3:22-27) The conclusive instruction for Ezekiel in his divine commission was thus described by Barnes: "Here he learns that there is a time to be silent as well as a time to speak, and that both are appointed by God."Ibid., p. 214. Some scholars interpret

Daniel 3:1 — seeks to make men bow down before something he has made… The egocentric man has idols before which he insists that other men bow. These usurp the place of God."Arthur Jeffery, The Interpreter's Bible, Daniel (New York: Abingdon Press, 1954), p. 395. (3) Also, as Young observed, "It was customary for the Assyrian kings to erect statues of themselves."Edward J. Young, The New Bible Commentary, Revised, Daniel (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, p. 692. There is nothing in the text

Hosea 2:6 — many others) have pointed out, "Some of this language applies to Hosea's family, some to the nation, some to both, the literal and figurative alternating."Henry H. Halley, Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1924), p. 325. But throughout a great part of this chapter from here to the end of it, the restraint, punishment and "wooing" of the whore on the part of God extend far beyond the primary application of these things to the historical Israel which has already been

Hosea 5:10 — Judah in this passage; and some are ready to rush in with suggestions of glosses or interpolations; but such views are founded upon a simple misunderstanding of what situation is prophesied. As noted above by McKeating, this was the civil-war period of 734 B.C.; and it was most appropriate that Judah be mentioned here, because it was Judah which had foolishly enlisted the intervention of Assyria, through which power all Israel was punished. Another enlightening comment on how the princes of Judah removed

Nahum 1:15 — wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off." This verse is similar to Isaiah 52:7 and is definitely Messianic, as indicated by "The wicked one shall no more pass through thee." "This is a reference to the "holy Jerusalem" of Joel 3:17 (See in my commentary on the minor prophets, Vol. 1, p. 64). The whole passage looks forward to the "spiritual Israel" yet in the future, in which the good tidings of peace should be proclaimed to all men. Any good news of the fall of Nineveh would

Habakkuk 2:4 — soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith." Designated by many commentators as, "one of the profoundest utterance of the O.T.,"J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1937), p. 589. this passage is quite generally grossly misunderstood. There is no reference whatever here to the inward, subjective faith of believers. As Moffatt translated the passage, "The good man lives as he is faithful." "Faith" in the biblical sense

Zechariah 14:20 — this: THERE IS A NEW MEANING OF WHAT IS SACRED in the religion of Christ. The words here listed as being "upon the bells of the horses" was exactly the inscription engraved upon a plate of pure gold on the turban of Aaron the High Priest (Exodus 28:36-38). "Holy unto Jehovah" was thus in the life of Israel reserved for the highest and holiest position and function imaginable… on the turban of the loftiest spiritual dignitary of the nation and its representative before God.Merrill F. Unger,

Zechariah 3:6-7 — our access in one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). Furthermore, this was not any kind of temporary or emergency arrangement. The apostle stated plainly that such access through Christ was "according to the eternal purpose" of God (Ephesians 3:11-12). Thus, this whole passage has in view the ultimate access that would be available to the old Israel and to all the Gentiles as well, "In Christ Jesus our Lord." This word, like everything else in the chapter points squarely to the New Covenant

Zechariah 5:1-2 — And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits." Taking the cubit as a measurement approximately of eighteen inches, the dimensions of the roll were 30 feet X 15 feet. Scholars find these to be equivalent to the dimensions of Solomon's porch, or to the Holy of Holies in the ancient tabernacle; but, when it comes to making any kind of a worthwhile deduction based upon such facts, the commentators who

Malachi 4:6 — Christ is as eloquent as any found upon the sacred page: "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the World." It is a most significant truth that no other prophet appeared between Malachi and John the Baptist. The bitter prophecy of Hosea 3:4-5, began at this point to be fulfilled. Many true souls grieved over the long spiritual drought: We see not our signs:There is no more any prophet;Neither is there among us any that knoweth how long!(Psalms 74:9). All of God's prophets had done their

Matthew 10:2-4 — and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. There are four listings of the Twelve in the New Testament, always occurring in groups of four, with positions 1, 5, and 9 always listing Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus in that order. See Mark 3:13; Luke 6:12; Acts 1:13. From this, it is conjectured that Peter, Philip, and James the son of Alphaeus were the respective leaders in each of their groups of four. The other names do not always follow a given order, but they do not occur outside the

Matthew 26:50 — in this passage does not convey the exact meaning. The Greek word is actually "companion." In the New Testament, this term is again and again addressed to the enemies of the Lord, and that of a particular kind. For example, in Matthew 20:13 and Matthew 22:12 this term is applied to those who, nominally righteous, were yet at variance with the divine will. "Companion" Judas certainly was; friend he was not.The Emphatic Diaglott (Brooklyn, New York: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society),

Mark 10:29-31 — and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. This tremendous threefold promise of: (1) possessions and (2) family being multiplied a hundredfold in this present life, and (3) of eternal life in the world to come is one of the grandest in the word of God. No man ever tried this promise without finding it true; and yet, as Taylor said: "Such an utterance cannot be tested by human observation, because the motives that

Mark 3:16-19 — custodians and deliverers of God's message to mankind, they are fully worthy of the honor God has reserved for them in the inscription of their names upon the foundations of the Eternal City (Revelation 21:14).MATTHEWMARKLUKEACTS(Matthew 10:2-4)(Mark 3:16-19)(Luke 6:14-16)(Acts 1:13)Peter Andrew James John Philip Bartholomew Thomas Matthew James, son of Alphaeus Thaddaeus Simon the Cananean Judas Iscariot Peter James John Andrew Philip Bartholomew Matthew Thomas James, son of Alphaeus Thaddaeus Simon

Luke 6:13-16 — Thomas. James the son of Alphaeus … This Alphaeus was different from the man who was the father of Matthew. "Had that not been the case, this James would have been more clearly identified as `the brother of Matthew'."Ray Summers, op. cit., p. 73. Simon who was called the Zealot … There was a revolutionary group in those days which bore this title; but there is no proof that "Simon the Zealot was a former member of a terrorist group dedicated to the overthrow of Rome."Herschel