Bible Commentaries

Nehemiah 8:1-8 — reference to the very next month after the completion of the wall in the sixth month (Elul), "There is nothing against the inference that the seventh month of the same year is intended."C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 3c, p. 227. Short also agreed that the events of this chapter, "Came only a few days after the completion of the wall, which occurred on the 25th day of the month Elul (Nehemiah 6:15), the sixth month."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 540. Throughout

Jeremiah 44:24-30 — burning of incense" This action, frequently spoken of throughout the chapter is not limited to any single action, but, "It includes, besides, all the other elements of idolatrous worship."C. F. Keil in Keil-Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, p. 163. This figure of speech, used throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament is called synecdoche." "My name shall no more be named" This would be true because of two things. (1) The syncretistic worship of both God and the pagan deity would

Ezekiel 13:17-19 — that hearken unto lies." PROPHECIES AGAINST THE FALSE PROPHETESSES A number of prophetesses are mentioned in the Bible: Miriam in Exodus 15:20; Deborah, Judges 4:4; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14; Noadiah, Nehemiah 6:14; Elizabeth, Luke 1:41-45, Anna, Luke 2:36-38, the four virgin daughters of Philip, Acts 21:9, and Jezebel, Revelation 21:20. Isaiah's wife is also called "a prophetess" (Isaiah 8:3); but in her case, the title is usually construed as meaning merely, "the prophet's wife." The evil prophetesses

Ezekiel 20:33-40 — to sin. That would appear to be the condition of those elders who sat in front of Ezekiel. A feature of this chapter here is the unchanging purpose of God to redeem all mankind through the posterity of Abraham, as he said at the beginning (Genesis 12:3). Many of Abraham's literal posterity will have no part of God's intention; but God will do it in spite of them. Jamieson paraphrased the thought of Ezekiel 20:40 "Although you, the rebellious portion of Israel, withdraw from my service, others of the

Daniel 4:8-18 — not then present; but, as far as we have been able to determine, the sacred text has no hint of the reason. Owens complained that the connection between the names Belteshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar's god "is unsupportable."John Joseph Owens, op. cit., p. 398. However, such an opinion is altogether presumptuous because of our total ignorance of which god the name is supposed to suggest. "My god in Daniel 4:8 is of uncertain identity. It may mean Bel as in Belteshazzar, or Nabu as in Nebuchadnezzar, or

Hosea 8:1 — this metaphor. "It is the griffon vulture which is mentioned. The slaughter has already taken place, since this bird is a scavenger of carrion.G. J. Polkinghorne, The New Layman's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), p. 933. So Job, referring to this very eagle, writes: `Her young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there is she" (Job 39:30).'"Harold Cooke Phillips, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VII (New York: Abingdon Press, 1957), p. 643. Thus, the movement

Amos 3:14 — other he put in Dan'" (1 Kings 12:28-29). "It has commonly been assumed that the golden calves were direct representations of Yahweh as bull-god,"Merrill F. Unger, Archeology and the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1954), p. 236. and some commentators claim that the true God was thus worshipped in Israel; but the very making of those golden calves was a flagrant violation of the law of God as known for centuries prior to Jeroboam. Aaron, it will be remembered, had done such

Micah 5:1 — of this very type of humiliation inflicted upon our Lord. "Then did they spit in his face and buffet him: and some smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ: who is he that struck thee?" (Matthew 26:67-68, etc.). (3) The ancient commentators, and some recent ones, did not fail to see this: The New Testament makes it plain here that the smitten One is none other than the Christ.H. A. Ironside, Notes on the Minor Prophets (Neptune, New Jersey: Liozeaux Brothers,

Zechariah 1:11 — represented as riding a red horse; but, on the other hand it perfectly fits him who traveled in the greatness of his strength with the garments dyed red, who came from treading the wine-press alone, and whose lifeblood was sprinkled upon his garments (Isaiah 63:1-3). We do not hesitate to identify him as "none other than the Angel of the Presence (Exodus 23:23), Jehovah himself, the Messiah in his pre-incarnate glory."Merrill F. Unger, op. cit., p. 27. We have walked to and fro through the earth" This is the

Matthew 24:29 — Edgar J. Goodspeed who supposed that Matthew composed these words AFTER the fall of Jerusalem, as "a welcome solution for the problem that perplexed them."Edgar J. Goodspeed, The Story of the Bible (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1936), p. 59. On the contrary, the author of Matthew's gospel, by the amazing manner in which the prophecies were intermingled, provides overwhelming proof that the "problem" did not exist at the time he wrote. It is upon this undeniable fact

Mark 16:15-16 — INTO Christ. The preconditions upon which Christ promised to transfer sinners into himself are here stated as faith and baptism. For extended discussions of the theological questions involved in such considerations, see my Commentary on Romans, Romans 3. Since Christian baptism is the initiatory rite by which the sons of Adam are inducted into Christ, it was absolutely correct for the Lord to have linked it with faith in this passage as a prerequisite of salvation. There is no way that people can remove

Luke 20:27-40 — Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast said well. For they durst not any more ask him any question. Parallels: Matthew 22:22-33; Mark 12:18-27. The Sadducees' question regarded a projection that was theoretically possible, but actually quite unlikely and ridiculous on the face of it. It is impossible to see how they considered this any greater problem than if only two brothers

Luke 21:20 — spoke is not serious scholarship at all, but prejudice. There is a whole volume of evidence which refutes such prejudice; but the simple affirmation of the sacred author, Luke, that he gave us an account "of all things accurately" (Luke 1:3) is far more than sufficient refutation of it. Matthew and Mark in the parallels used the words "the abomination of desolation," both of them being Jews; but Luke the Gentile, while using "desolation," selected another word that

Luke 6:5 — even if their actions were illegal (although they were not) they would have been sanctified by the holy purpose of serving the greater temple. In the old temple, priests continually did things which were not allowed otherwise than in temple service. (3)    He showed that the spirit of the ancient law of God should have been heeded, not merely the letter of it. "If ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless"

John 3:9 — here are: (1) How did God create the heavens and the earth? People strive in vain to answer this; but they cannot agree. It is enough for the child of faith to believe that "God spake, and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast" (Psalms 33:9). (2) How does God answer prayer? Does He answer by performing a miracle? How can prayer do any good when God already knows everything? We must confess a little sadly that we do not know; but we believe that "The effectual fervent prayer of

Romans 13:11 — events as to their simultaneous occurrence. He knew, for example, that his own death would precede the final judgment (2 Timothy 4:6), that a space of time sufficient to allow the revelation of the man of sin would intervene before it (2 Thessalonians 2:3 ff), and that the fullness of the Gentiles would come in first (Romans 11:25), all of which knowledge on Paul's part made it impossible for him to have considered the judgment day as being just around the corner. His reference to Christ's coming, and

Romans 16:1-2 — to give full participation in the work and worship of a new congregation. (2) Some hesitate out of a sense of loyalty to the old congregation, not realizing that loyalty to the old one is best expressed and proved by ardent loyalty to the new one. (3) Others do not wish to be obligated in a new congregation and seize the chance to "float around" for a while without forming a stable relationship. (4) Still others are just weak Christians who do not have sufficient power to pursue the life

Ephesians 1:4 — requirements of holiness and perfection. The ethical and moral requirements of Christianity are higher and stricter than the Law of Moses, because the intention and motivation of men are considered. (2) It may not be accredited through any man's achieving it. (3) It may not be accredited upon the basis of what any mortal man ever believed or did. Man in his own identity, man as himself, is wicked and sinful; and absolutely nothing that sinful man can ever believe or do can change that. In his own identity,

1 Peter 2:5 — built up a spiritual house … It is important to note that house here bears its ecclesiastical sense of temple. Jesus himself used the word in that same sense when he declared, "Behold your house is left unto you desolate" (Matthew 23:38). In this statement, Peter gave the same teaching that Paul gave, who said, "Ye are a temple of God" (1 Corinthians 3:16 f), and "being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner

Revelation 20:3 — restraint whatever during that brief period. Due to all that is revealed of Satan's nature in the Bible, it cannot be supposed that the race of man, or the whole world, would continue very long after such an eventuality. See more on this in CMY, pp. 129-134. We must point out that in such an interpretation we might indeed have fallen into the constant danger that assails all commentators on Revelation, that of literalism. That some things in the prophecy are literal is certain; but just which are, and