Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 13:1-10 — backed up and revealed as valid by the most startling signs coming from God Himself. "There came a man of God out of Judah" "Josephus said his name was Jadon; Tertullian supposed he was Shemaiah; and some have thought he might have been Iddo the seer (2 Chronicles 13:22). But these are all untenable guesses."F. W. Farrar in Expositor's Bible, p. 297. We do not know his name. The close connection of this narrative with the preceding chapter, "Shows that it is the fifteenth day of the eighth month that

2 Kings 10:25-28 — man of no religion (as was Jehu), the worship of Baal and Jehovah were alike. If he preferred either, it was merely for political reasons."Adam Clarke, op. cit., p. 517. Some scholars are confused about the number of pillars mentioned here, plural in 2 Kings 10:26 and singular in 2 Kings 10:27. There were probably a number of these, the one being called "the pillar of Baal," was probably of stone;C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 352. and it was not burned as

2 Kings 8:1-6 — Shunammite's properties. Hammond believed it was Jehoram,The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 5b, p. 164. and Martin wrote that it was Jehu.The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 458. (See our introduction regarding the uncertainties regarding the chronologies in 2 Kings.) The very fact of the sacred author's omitting the information that men seek regarding such questions underscores their lack of importance. It really does not make any difference which king it was. The big point of the narrative is that of the

Ezra 3:1-5 — were consecrated, and of every one that offered a freewill-offering unto Jehovah." "And when the seventh month was come" "This was the month Tishri, corresponding to our September-October."H. Porter in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 532. "This was the first day of the month (Ezra 3:6), The Feast of Trumpets (Numbers 29:1-6), a foreshadowing of Israel's final regathering. Assuming a two-year delay in the beginning of the journey from Babylon after Cyrus' decree, this would have been

Psalms 113:1-9 — Pentecost, Tabernacles, and Dedication (Hanukkah, or the Feast of Lights)."C. M. Miller, co-author with Anthony L. Ash, p. 373. Delitzsch adds that, "The Hallel was also sung on New Year's Day and on the Day of Atonement."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-C, p. 202. One of these customary closing songs (Psalms 115-118), "Must have been the one that Jesus and his apostles sang following the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30)."Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 247. "From

Psalms 145:1-7 — blessings God has bestowed upon him even before he eats breakfast. "It is proper then that we should give thanks to God every day."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. III, p. 320. No Christian should think of omitting prayers of thanksgiving three times daily at mealtimes. It was the neglect of this simple duty that began the long decline and eventual debauchery of the pre-Christian Gentile world (Romans 1:20-26). "One generation

Isaiah 12:1-6 — the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel." In 1924 and for some time previously, critical commentators arrogantly rejected this song as having any right to be in Isaiah at all. Typical of what critics were saying at that time is this blunt, unsupported assertion by Peake, "This is a late appendix."Peake's

Isaiah 28:1-6 — social custom of crowning the head of a drunk with a garland, might also have suggested some of Isaiah's terminology here. Verse two identifies God's instrument of destruction as the empire of the Assyrians, metaphorically described here as (1) a hail, (2) a destroying storm, and (3) as a devastating flood. The Assyrians were ready and would soon destroy Ephraim; but the Ephraimites continued to lead lives of, "libertinism and debauchery, in which even the clergy participated with disgusting excess."Wycliffe

Isaiah 30:27-33 — the forthcoming destruction of Sennacherib's host, "They further apply to the end time. One day, the godless powers of the earth will find themselves caught like Judah (Isaiah 8:8) in a rising tide, and drawn by God's bridle (like Assyria in Isaiah 37:29) to their destruction."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 607. However, the grave of the oppressors on that Day of Judgment will not be the Red Sea, but Tophet. This mention of "bridle" appears to be a reference to the habit of the Assyrians of

Jeremiah 30:18-22 — Israel's punishment has been completed and a marvelous prosperity will return to them. "The prophet speaks of Judah here as a type of the Church, with Immanuel as her king."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 472. The title of all four of the chapters here is "The New Covenant"; and the racial Israel hardly enters the picture at all. "And the city shall be builded upon its own hill" "The Hebrew word here for `hill' means mound (of a ruined city) and corresponds

Jeremiah 31:34 — obey the gospel. Under the old covenant a child was a Jew as soon as he was born and had to be taught this fact after he was old enough to understand."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. IV (Murfreesboro, Tennessee: George DeHoff Publishers, 1978), p. 205. The significance of this passage is very great. It means that no untaught person can be a Christian, hence no infants in the true sense are Christians. "Ye must be born again," Jesus said; and all infants have been born only once. Infant membership

Jeremiah 49:19-22 — C. CONSEQUENCES OF GOD'S JUDGMENT ON EDOM (Jeremiah 49:19-22) "Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the pride of the Jordan against the strong habitation: for I will suddenly make them run away from it; and whoso is chosen, him will I appoint over it: for who is like me? and who will appoint me a time?

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 — gods. What thing soever I commanded you, that shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." "This paragraph is an emphatic repeat of the warning given in the first four verses of the chapter."Merrill F. Unger, op. cit., p. 249. Even the countless repetitions of the Old Testament were not enough to deter Israel from falling into the same "abominations" practiced by their heathen predecessors in Canaan. Cousins warned against the tendency of men to look with favor and appreciation

Deuteronomy 33:1-5 — assembly of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people were gathered, All the tribes of Israel together." This paragraph is the introduction to the main body of the blessing which extends from Deuteronomy 33:6 through Deuteronomy 33:25. "Some of the outstanding manifestations of God's power and glory and his goodness toward Israel are reviewed here as a proper introduction to the blessings,"Bruce Oberst, Deuteronomy (Joplin: College Press, 1968), p. 387. That Moses is called "the

Joshua 9:22-27 — place which he (God) should choose" was a customary reference to Jerusalem is erroneous. We encountered many such critical assertions in our studies of Deuteronomy, but, as we pointed out, Jerusalem is nowhere mentioned in Deuteronomy, nor is Joshua 9:27 here a reference to it. Note the future tense in "God should choose," meaning that the permanent site of the tabernacle at this point in time had not been chosen. On this account, we reject absolutely the etiological explanation quite arbitrarily assigned

Judges 18:1-6 — is your way wherein ye go" "The Danites sought them an inheritance" The Danites indeed had been allotted their inheritance in Canaan, but their distress was due to the encroachment against their territory: (1) first by the Amorites (Joshua 3:10 and (2) also by the Philistines (Judges 13:1; Judges 13:5; Judges 14:4; and Judges 15:11). It is a mistake to hold the Danites guiltless in this situation. "Their failure to drive out the Amorites was not due to lack of power, but to lack of faith. The Danites

1 Samuel 29:1-5 — Fortunately, the temptation that came to David in this trial brought with it the promised "way of escape," as the Lord promised (1 Corinthians 10:13). David wrote in Psalms that, "I do not sit with false men… I hate the company of evildoers" (Psalms 26:4-5); but at this juncture in his life he had been closely associated with the wicked for years. God alone could have spared him from the disastrous results which might have ensued. WHY THE PHILISTINE COMMANDERS REJECTED DAVID Willis cited no less

2 Samuel 12:26-31 — returned to Jerusalem." "Now Joab … took the royal city" This is a topic sentence followed by a more detailed explanation. "I have taken the city of waters" "This means that he had captured the city's water supply."Arthur S. Peake's Commentary, p. 289. That of course, assured his conquest of the whole city, exactly as General Eisenhower's capture of the twenty-one water wells that supplied the city of Casa Blanca resulted in his capture of the city during the invasion of Africa in World War II. "The

2 Samuel 2:8-11 — years. Some of the older commentators understood this perfectly as, for example, did Adam Clarke. "Some think that Abner in effect reigned the last five years of Ishbosheth, who had only the name of king after the first two years."Adam Clarke, Vol. 2, p. 312. Another possible explanation of this is that offered by Haley: "Ewald and Keil maintain that after Saul's death, five years were spent in warfare against the Philistines, before Ishbosheth was anointed king over Israel."@@JWH, p. 400. This,

2 Samuel 3:12-16 — against letting any church or any preacher or religious prelate lay down the rules on how to "fix the situation." Some things CANNOT be "fixed." DeHoff put it this way: "Some of the problems, no human being can solve."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 187. Young pointed out that what David did (by taking Michal back as his wife) was against God's law. "According to the law of Deuteronomy 24:1-4, David could not legitimately receive his wife back after her marriage to Paltiel."Wycliffe Old Testament