Bible Commentaries

1 Chronicles 20:1-3 — brought forth the people that were therein, and cut them with saws and harrows of iron, and with axes. And thus did David to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem." These verses are parallel with 2 Samuel 11:1 and 2 Samuel 12:26; 2 Samuel 12:30-31; and our comments on what is written here are on pages 135, 163-166. We might add here that this chapter marks a terrible turning point in David's life. Not only is there the matter of his torturing

2 Chronicles 15:16-19 — dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa." The unceasing war against Chronicles by the radical critics focuses upon two things in this paragraph. (1)    "In 2 Chronicles 15:17 we read that the high places were not taken away, but in 2 Chronicles 15:8 that they were!"The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 485. This is typical of the type of unprincipled and dishonest efforts of unbelievers to discredit Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 8:7-10 — that bare rule over the people." "Solomon raised a levy of bondservants" These descendants of the original Canaanites whom Israel had displaced, were first conscripted and enslaved for building the temple and the king's house, some 153,600 of them (2 Chronicles 2:1-2); but the significance of this mention of them is that, after the completion of Solomon's building program, they were permanently enslaved. No doubt these were used as waiters and servants of that vast concourse of people who attended

Psalms 109:1-5 — hatred, And fought against me without a cause. For my love they are my adversaries: But I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love." The enemies of David are described here as deceitful liars (Psalms 109:1-2). They are wicked men who hate him (Psalms 109:2-3). They are carrying on a vendetta against him and are returning hatred for his love, rewarding him evil for the good he has done them (Psalms 109:4-5).

Psalms 13:1-2 — favor at the moment does not rest upon him. This consciousness of separation from God has indeed brought an agony of near-despair to the psalmist. The reasons for the psalmist's distress are not far to seek. (1) God is the source of all happiness; (2) he is the source of all wisdom; (3) he is the source of all strength; and (4) he is the source of life itself.W. L. Watkinson, On the Psalms, Vol. 1 (New York: Funk and Wagnalls), p. 50. Because the psalmist feels separated from God, he has (1) sorrow,

Psalms 46:1-3 — trouble. Therefore will we not fear, Though the earth do change, And though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, Though the mountains tremble with the swelling thereof. (Selah)" Psalms 46:2-3 here are considered to be figurative, standing for all kinds of political commotion and turbulent conflict among nations. Rawlinson identified these terrible political upheavals as, "Probably those caused by the Assyrian career of conquest."The Pulpit

Amos 1:3 — "For three transgressions… yea, for four" This is a stylized expression, or idiom, having the meaning of, "for many, or for more than enough."H. Wheeler Robinson, Abingdon Bible Commentary (New York: Abingdon Press, 1929), p. 777. As used here, it denotes, "not a small, but a large number of crimes, or ungodliness in its worst form."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 242. Of course, "Some critics have taken the terms literally, and have tried to identify that particular number

Micah 4:2 — Christ exercised his ministry, died, rose again from the dead, and from whence he commanded his disciples that `repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.'"W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 49. (2) The gospel was not for the purpose of destroying the law of Moses, but for the sake of fulfilling it. The righteousness of Christ himself consisted, at least in part, of his perfect obedience to the ancient Law; and as Christ's righteousness is that

Matthew 11:18-19 — "glutton and winebibber." There was clearly no place in that society for any type of manifestation of God's righteousness, no matter what direction it took. The following criticisms were directed against Christ: (1) He was called a glutton. (2) He was called a winebibber. (3) They said he cast out demons by the prince of demons (Matthew 9:34). (4) They called him Beelzebul (Matthew 10:25). (5) They called him a sinner (John 9:24). (6) They said he had a demon (John 7:20). (7) They said he

Matthew 12:29 — God are taken into consideration, it appears certain that Satan is limited and restrained by divinely imposed boundaries encompassing all infernal activity: (1) Satan cannot tempt a child of God more than is possible to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). (2) He could not enter even a herd of swine without our Lord's permission (Matthew 8:32). (3) God's specific permission was necessary in the satanic harassment of the patriarch Job (Job 1:12). (4) Satan sifted Peter only after the Lord allowed it (Luke

Matthew 4:3 — passage as the Lord's antagonist in three different guises, giving rise to the impression that Satan too has a triune nature. Three names characterize Satan in the book of Revelation. He is called the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 20:10). He appears in three guises: as a serpent (Revelation 20:2), as a lion (1 Peter 5:8), and as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). This same triple pattern is seen in the temptation of Adam and Eve, through the lust of the flesh, the lust of

Acts 8:18-19 — Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands, he may receive the Holy Spirit. See under preceding verse. Through the laying on of the apostles' hands … In focus here is one of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity (Hebrews 6:2). It has nothing to do with ordaining church leaders, nor any reference to such a ceremony as confirmation; but it is basic to the understanding of such facts as: (1) the cessation of apostolic miracles, (2) the termination of inspiration among evangelists

2 Corinthians 5:14 — Christ's love of him? "It matters little whether this be interpreted as a subjective genitive, `Christ's love to men,' or as an objective genitive, `our love to Christ'; the two suppose and interfuse each other." F. W. Farrar, op. cit., p. 121. One died for all … Here is the same "all" encountered in 2 Corinthians 5:10, and it includes all who ever lived. "He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). The

Ephesians 4:8 — purpose of fraud and deception. As Bruce pointed out, the first three words of this verse may be translated in either of two ways, thus: "Wherefore he (i.e., God) saith, or Wherefore it (i.e., Scripture) saith." F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 82. Since it is clear that the Scriptures do not say what Paul wrote here, the conclusion is reasonable that the first of these renditions is the correct one. Led captivity captive … See discussion of "The Triumph Metaphor" under 2 Corinthians

1 Thessalonians 2 overview — There are three clear topics in this chapter, the first (1 Thessalonians 2:1-12) dealing with what is usually referred to as Paul's defense against criticism, the second (1 Thessalonians 2:13-16) stressing the fidelity of the Thessalonians under persecution, and (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20) a warm expression of Paul's affection

Hebrews 11:34 — great heroes who achieved the remarkable things mentioned in this list are left anonymous in this reference to them, a familiarity with the Old Testament reveals the identity of many of them. Thus, it was Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Daniel 1—2) who through faith quenched the power of fire. Their faith was so strong that although they confessed that God might not choose to deliver them, they nevertheless refused to worship the king's image, knowing they would certainly be thrown into the fiery

Hebrews 12:28-29 — resemblance in this exhortation with that of Peter who said, Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day God? (2 Peter 3:11-12). This appeal to the holiness of God and his burning wrath toward all evil issues in the declarations that "Our God is a consuming fire." People cannot fully understand what God is like, and any understanding of his nature should

2 Peter 2:3 — majority, are not sincere and honest in any sense of the words. Their words are "feigned," translated by Goodspeed as "pretended," Edgar J. Goodspeed, The New Testament, An American Translation (Chicago: The Chicago University Press, 1923), in loco. by Weymouth as "bogus," J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960), in loco. and by Williams as "messages manufactured by themselves." Charles B. Williams, The New Testament, a Translation

1 Samuel 14:16-23 — ark of God," and some scholars prefer that reading. It appears to us that Willis is correct in his observation that, "Saul's bringing the ark from Kiriath-jearim to Gibeah in a time of crisis is no more out of harmony with the statements in 1 Samuel 7:2 and in 2 Samuel 6:2 than David's taking the ark out of the tent he had made for it (2 Samuel 6:17), so that it could accompany Joab and his army in the siege and conquest of Rabbah (2 Samuel 11:11)."Ibid., p. 143. "Withdraw your hand" Saul was here

2 Samuel 23:20-39 — group gave David, "Strong support in his kingdom" (1 Chronicles 11:10). "He smote two ariels of Moab" The meaning of ariels is unknown; the common guesses suppose that it might mean lions or lion-like men. THE NAMES OF THE MIGHTY MEN OF THE THIRTY (2 Samuel 23:24-39) "Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty" He was one of the three sons of Zeruiah, David's sister, who lost his life when he tried to kill Abner (2 Samuel 2:18-23). Joab avenged Asahel's death by murdering Abner (2 Samuel 3:26-30). "Elhanan