Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 21:11-16 — the example of Joshua and the stoning of Achan (Joshua 7), and it will be remembered that not only Achan, but his wife and all of his sons and daughters were also stoned with him. Yes Jezebel took care of everything. They stoned all of Naboth's sons (2 Kings 9:26) at the same time as the stoning of Naboth so that there would not be any heirs!

2 Kings 2:15-18 — you, Go not?" Keil pointed out that there were two purposes in the miracle of Elisha's smiting the Jordan with Elijah's mantle: (1) It confirmed in the mind of Elisha that God had granted his prayer for a double portion of the spirit of Elijah, and (2) it established Elisha as the legitimate successor to Elijah and the Divinely-appointed leader of the prophets. He then added that, "The two following miracles recorded in this chapter were also intended to accredit Elisha in the eyes of the people

2 Kings 9:17-20 — another son of Ahab, sent fifty men to arrest Elijah; and when fire from heaven fell upon them, he sent another captain with his fifty; and the same thing happened again! Could one believe it? He did it the third time! It was evidently a family trait (2 Kings 1:9-13). Here Joram himself became the third attempt to meet Jehu before he arrived in Jezreel. "The driving is like the driving of Jehu;… for he driveth furiously" "The last clause here has become an amusing proverb in our times referring

2 Chronicles 15:1-7 — rewarded." Azariah's purpose here is clear enough, namely, the encouragement of God's people to be constant in their faithfulness to their God, for it was their lack of faithfulness which had so frequently resulted in manifold sorrows for the Chosen People. 2 Chronicles 15:3-6 are interpreted in various ways. Cook believed that, "They refer to the many apostasies of God's people in the times of the Judges."Albert Barnes, Chronicles, p. 391. Curtis (Madsen) applied the words to, "The Northern Kingdom";International

2 Chronicles 34:1-7 — shame of all Israel was that they not only disobeyed God's commandments in these particulars, but they adopted the licentious pagan worship of their predecessors in Canaan; and even sinned worse than the people whom God had driven out before Israel (2 Chronicles 33:9).

Nehemiah 11:19-21 — THE PORTERS AND GATEKEEPERS NUMBERED 172 "Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, that kept watch at the gates were a hundred seventy and two. And the residue of Israel, of the priests, the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance. But the Nethinim

Job 41:12-17 — the American crocodile some four feet shorter. "Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror" "`The doors of his face,' i.e., his lower and upper jaws. `Round his teeth is terror,' in the upper jaw usually 36, in the lower jaw 20, long and terrible to look at."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 365. Rowley, however, wrote that, "The formidable teeth of the crocodile inspire terror; in the upper jaw, there are thirty-six, and in the lower thirty"!New Century Bible

Psalms 128:3-4 — "stays at home." "This is in sharp contrast with what is said of the promiscuous wife in Proverbs 7:11, `She is loud and wayward, her feet do not stay at home.'"Derek Kidner, Vol. II, p. 443. In the New Testament, this quality is mentioned in Titus 2:5. "Like olive plants around thy table" "As the husband looks on his sons gathered around his table, he is reminded of the numerous seedlings that shoot up under a cultivated olive tree."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IV, p. 673. Numerous offspring were

Psalms 40:15-17 — of the Christ. Our Lord had nowhere to lay his head, and apparently the only thing he ever owned was the clothing that he wore. This does not apply to David. "He who was rich became poor for our sakes, that we through his poverty might be made rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). "Yet the Lord thinketh upon me" What a delightful thought is this! It is impossible to calculate what the advantage may be for them upon whom the Lord `thinketh.' In the story of Jonah, when the storm threatened the destruction of

Psalms 5:1-3 — lines. (1)    There must be "words" in which prayers are offered. It is not sufficient merely to sit silently as if in some inner communion with God, such as was characteristic of the Quakers. Prayers are presented in words and sentences. (2)    Prayer is personal. The prayers of my preacher, or of my friends or parents, cannot suffice. Note the words: `my words,' `my meditation,' `my cry,' `my voice,' `my prayer,' `my King,' and `my God.' Prayer is the breathing of

Psalms 64:1-4 — against the enemy, but that he may be delivered from the fear that might be caused by the situation. "This makes good sense, because such deliverance would put an end to all impediments to clear thinking and firm resistance."Derek Kidner, Vol. 1, p. 228. "Secret counsel… secret places" A prominent feature of the activity of the evil-doers here is their secrecy. They did not come out openly against David, but contrived many devices by which they hoped to undermine his authority and eventually

Song of Solomon 8:8-10 — marriageable age. `If she be a wall,' meant that she would be strong and virtuous, and that no man would be able to seduce her. `If she be a door,' meant that she would be weak and easily `entered,' as through a door, by some seducer."James Waddey, p. 126. "I am a wall" "I was a wall,"From the Revised Standard Version. is far better here, corresponding with the past tense in the next line. "This means that the Shulamite kept herself chaste and pure for the man she married."James Waddey, p. 127. "Then

Isaiah 47:8-11 — not know the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not." The various sins of Babylon are listed here: (1) her egotistical boasting; (2) her reliance upon the black arts of sorcery and enchantments; (3) her having given herself wholly to lustful, sinful pleasures; (4) her trusting in her wickedness; (5) her over-confident sense of security; (6) her reliance upon her own wisdom and knowledge;

Jeremiah 18:13-14 — Lebanon fall from the rock of the field? or shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?" "The willfulness of Israel in forsaking Jehovah their God was without parallel in the ancient world, as Jeremiah had already mentioned in Jeremiah 2:9-13; Jeremiah 5:20-25, and in Jeremiah 8:7. The horror is heightened by calling her a virgin. She had indeed been a virgin hedged about by the Lord to protect her sanctity."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 492. There are

Jeremiah 22:18-19 — concern that "We have no confirmation of this prophecy." None is needed. God said it would happen, and it did. There's not a line to the contrary anywhere in the Bible; and we can see no purpose in noting that when the death of Jehoiachim was mentioned in 2 Kings 24:6 there was no reference to what happened. The passage merely states that, "Jehoiachim slept with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his stead." Nevertheless, the passage bears witness to the fulfillment of this prophecy, because,

Jeremiah 32:1-5 — it does not seem to indicate any such thing. Zedekiah's fate was much worse than that which usually befell defeated ancient kings. They slaughtered his sons before his eyes, and then put his eyes out, and carried him to Babylon where he died (1 Kings 25:2-7). Harrison noted that this incident and others recorded here through Jeremiah 44 all happened during the kingship of Zedekiah.R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 140.

Jeremiah 33:1-5 — difficulties in the text, some have supposed the destruction here to be connected with the demolition of houses by the army of the invaders; but our translation indicates that the houses were destroyed to provide materials for the erection of mantelets (Nahum 2:5) or mounds with which to oppose the invading Babylonians. We do not see the difference as a problem, because houses were in all probability destroyed by both the defenders and the invaders. Thus the text is true no matter which translation is used;

1 Samuel 14:36-42 — invocation of that pagan oath and have asked the forgiveness of all the people; but instead, he decided to pursue the matter to its bloody end. "Urim… Thummim" "The Urim and Thummim are specifically mentioned only eight times in the O.T.: Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 14:41 (LXX); 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65.John T. Willis, p. 147. However, in many other situations described as "casting lots," or "inquiring of the Lord," they were doubtless used

1 Samuel 3:15-18 — love, respect and honor, as was the case in this instance with Samuel. "He opened the doors of the house of the Lord" The mention of doors here is not, "Another evidence that the House of Yahweh was not a tent."International Critical Commentary, p. 29. It only means that, "Solid buildings had been constructed around the tabernacle for purposes of defense."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 67. The fact of Samuel's opening these doors gives us a glimpse of the nature of services the young man was

2 Samuel 16:15-19 — purpose. Hushai's deception of Absalom was a masterpiece. "He was naturally suspect (being David's friend), but he cleverly ingratiated himself; the (deliberate) flaw in his appeal was the suggestion that Absalom, in any sense whatever, was `chosen' (2 Samuel 16:18) by `all the men of Israel.'"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 309. ABSALOM RAVAGED THE TEN CONCUBINES OF DAVID Incredible as it may seem, the man who murdered his brother for the rape of a half sister was now guilty on ten counts of