Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 22:5-7 — introduced as prophets of Jehovah, but as "the prophets." (2)    Their message was not given in the name of Jehovah, but in that of [~'Adonay], a term that in that culture applied as well to Baal as to the covenant God of the Hebrews. (3)    Besides that, their message was as deceitful and crooked as any that ever came out of the pagan Oracle of Delphi. Strip the word "it" out of their crooked message (Note that it is italicized in the KJV), and what did they say?

2 Kings 18:29-35 — was a theological one. Hezekiah had indeed taken away the high places and the altars mentioned; and Rabshakeh's false argument was that such must have displeased Jehovah. This, of course, was an outright lie. God was pleased with Hezekiah's actions. (3)    The third argument (2 Kings 18:23-24) called attention to the overwhelmingly large army of the Assyrians. This was true; but the joker in that argument was that it would take an army of a million just as long to besiege a city

2 Kings 20:1-21 — THE RECOVERY OF HEZEKIAH FROM A FATAL ILLNESS This chapter, along with its parallel in Isaiah 38 and Isaiah 39, is one of the most difficult in the O.T. "Due to the variations in the duplicate texts, and even more to the complex historical problems, no other section of Kings has produced more critical debate."International Critical Commentary,

2 Kings 21:10-15 — tormented them that dwell on the earth" (Revelation 11:10). Alas, in our day, that element of faithful preaching is sadly lacking. "The sermons of some ministers would never cause the ears of anyone to tingle."George DeHoff's Commentary, op. cit., p. 345. But if preachers of God's Word do not sound the alarm against the wickedness of mankind, who will? "The line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab" "This denotes the measure (the extent) of the destruction of Samaria, and the extermination

2 Kings 8:1-6 — hers" "The primary meaning of the word officer here is eunuch, and the secondary meaning is court minister."Ibid. "Eunuch is the preferred meaning here for propriety's sake when a man accompanied a lady."International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 391. The introduction of eunuchs into the social structure of the royal families of Israel was due to their shameful harems. David possessed eunuchs (1 Chronicles 28:1), and presumably Solomon also; and afterward "Eunuchs were common in the Samarian court

Nehemiah 2:9-16 — of action, concealing it from every person who might have been in a position to discourage or hinder it. "The valley gate" This was one of the nine gates of the city, located at the southwest corner of Jerusalem;Archeology and the Old Testament, p. 313. and Nehemiah's exploration of the walls extended along the southern elevation of the city, past the southeast corner and some distance up the Kidron valley as far as the king's pool. He did not go around the whole city, but turned back and reentered

Job 30:1-9 — scrub and gathered among the nettles. Base men, children of fools, having dishonored humanity, they had been whipped out of the land. Even these abhorred Job, mocking him in song and byword, even spitting in his face."The Expositor's Bible, Vol. 14, p. 325. Blair pointed out that, "These people refused to work, and were too proud to beg."Blair, p. 256. This left them the option of stealing and/or scrounging for whatever they might find in the wilderness. In neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament,

Psalms 113:1-9 — of the dust, And lifteth up the needy from the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, Even with the princes of the people. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, And to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye Jehovah." "In Judaism, Psalms 113-118 are known as the Egyptian Hallel (`Hallel' means `Praise'). Psalms 113 and Psalms 114 were sung before the Passover meal; and Psalms 115-118 were sung after it. They were also sung at the feasts of Pentecost, Tabernacles, and Dedication (Hanukkah,

Psalms 123:1-4 — With the scoffing of those that are at ease, And with the contempt of the proud." Regarding the date and authorship of this psalm, nothing is definitely known. "The only circumstance which throws any light on its origin is the statement in Psalms 123:3-4 that the people of God were exposed to derision and contempt."Albert Barnes' Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. III, p. 239. Of course, that could have been the case in a number of circumstances in the long history of the chosen people. We cannot

Psalms 32:3-5 — moisture was changed as with the drought of summer I acknowledged my sin unto thee, (Selah) And mine iniquity did I not hide: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." "When I kept silence" (Psalms 32:3). This speaks of a period when David did not acknowledge his sin, nor confess it. "The time here spoken of is that immediately after David's sin of adultery and murder and which continued till Nathan uttered the words, 'Thou art the man.'" The Pulpit

Psalms 45:8-9 — the body of Jesus; and Nicodemus assisted in the burial by, "Bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in the linen cloths with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury" (John 19:39-40). "Myrrh was an aromatic resin, and aloes was a sweet-smelling wood from India. Cassia is a dried cinnamon blossom used as incense."Ibid., p. 357. In all probability, this was also used in the burial of Jesus, because, "It was one of the perfumes

Psalms 88:13-18 — that is an unqualified marvel. Truly, this Old Testament saint can be our master and teacher."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 506. Kidner addressed the question of, "What, really, is the roll of this psalm in Scripture?"Derek Kidner, op. cit., p. 319. and we are indebted to him for some of the thoughts we have paraphrased here in our own efforts to assess the meaning of this psalm for Christians today. (1)    This psalm reveals the truth that Christians may sometimes be subjected

Proverbs 1:10-19 — thereof." "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not" "There are two Hebrew words for `sinners,' `peccantes', i.e., `sinners' as a generic designation of the human race, in the sense that, `All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God' (Romans 3:23), and `peccatores', i.e., those who sin knowingly, habitually, willfully and maliciously, who are given over entirely to iniquity, and who persuade others to follow their wicked example."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 7. It is this second word

Isaiah 12:1-6 — 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 Commentary Series, p. 444. However, by 1937, such assertions had lost their appeal to most scholars. Dummelow, for example, wrote, "Some scholars doubt its Isaianic authorship and date it after the return from the exile."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 424. What a difference! In 1924 the radical

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

Jeremiah 13:3-5 — is that the Euphrates river was almost four hundred miles from Anathoth; and the two journeys to that river by Jeremiah would have required his traveling a distance of some sixteen hundred miles. We have no problem at all with this, because Jeremiah 13:5 flatly declares that, Jeremiah went and hid it as Jehovah had commanded him. Where is there any problem? Rationalistic critics, however, believe that such an extended amount of traveling, while not impossible, was certainly not very practical in those

Jeremiah 18:21-23 — Jeremiah prayed merely that those evil men would reap the reward of their own deeds, "delivering them judicially to the consequences of the course they had deliberately chosen for themselves";Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 494. (3) also, "These imprecations were not leveled against the whole nation, but only against Jeremiah's enemies."Ibid. Such persons as these here, who were the object of Jeremiah's prayer for their destruction, were like those of whom our Lord said, "These

Jeremiah 30:18-22 — 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 to the Arabic `tell.' Notice how many place-names have this word: Tel Aviv (Ezekiel 3:15), Tel el-Amarna (in Egypt), Tel Assar (2 Kings 19:12), Tel Melah and Tel Harsha (Ezra 2:59)."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 564. For ages, in the East, it was customary to build cities upon the ruins (the tels) of cities

Jeremiah 51:59-64 — of Baruch; and his being called the chamberlain indicates that he had charge of such things as accommodations and travel arrangements when Zedekiah made that trip to Babylon in the fourth year of his tenure as vassal king under Nebuchadnezzar, "in 593 B.C."H. Wheeler Robinson, Jeremiah in Peake's Bible Commentary, p. 495. "Jeremiah gave Seraiah a scroll upon which was written a prophecy against Babylon."Ibid. This comment is incorrect, because the scroll had not "a prophecy" against Babylon, but,

Ezekiel 14:7-9 — answer, not through the words of any true prophet, but by the summary execution of terrible penalties upon the idolater. "I will set my face against that man" Here is spelled out the penalty: (1) spiritual death, (2) being cut off from God's people, and (3) the experiencing of some terrible earthly calamity, of the type that would get public attention and make the victim an astonishment and a proverb. Two examples of this in the New Testament are the sudden death of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5-11)