Bible Commentaries

Leviticus 16 overview — may be found in the Bible, including that of Josiah. THE DAY OF ATONEMENT Summary of Procedures: (1)    The High Priest came to the Holy Place with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering (Leviticus 16:3). (2)    He bathed himself all over (Leviticus 16:4). (3)    He put on, after divesting himself of his High Priestly regalia, the pure white linen garments, even less ornate than that of the ordinary priests.

Isaiah 34:1-7 — with brimstone. (2)    It will be the day when Christ separates the sheep from the goats, consigning the lost to "hell prepared for the devil and his angels" and welcoming the redeemed into the "joy of their Lord" (Matthew 25). (3)    In Isaiah 34, it is the day in which God will slaughter all of the rebellious nations on earth. (4)    It will be the day when the greatest earthquake ever known shall occur, the sun will become black, the

Ezekiel 16:8-14 — for thy beauty; and it was perfect, through my majesty which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord Jehovah." THE FOUNDLING MARRIED TO HER BENEFACTOR "I spread my skirt over thee" This was a symbol of marriage. A Biblical example of this is found in Ruth 3:8. What is typified here is the marriage of God to Israel, a metaphorical representation of the Sinaitic covenant and the choice of the nation as "God's Chosen People." "Then I washed thee with water" Commentators have struggled with this; but the explanation

Ezekiel 30:13-19 — execute judgments upon Egypt; and they shall know that I am Jehovah." THE CITIES TO BE DESTROYED "Memphis" "This was the principal city of Lower Egypt, built on the left bank of the Nile 10 miles south of Cairo."International Critical Commentary, p. 333. "This city was also called `Noph.'"F. F. Bruce in the New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 887. "I will destroy the idols, and I will cause the images to cease" "The `idols' here were great men and princes, as indicated in NEB."Ibid. Since the Pharaohs

Ezekiel 38:10-16 — commanded. Thus, the three reasons why God announced in this prophecy that he would bring upon them Gog and Magog are: (1) they have forsaken God's Word which alone was their defense; (2) they are doing nothing for God, but merely resting in ease and luxury, and (3) they have grown wealthy and complacent. Anyone who is familiar with the religious picture in America today can hardly miss seeing this. "That dwell in the middle of the earth" The literal Hebrew here has "the navel of the earth." The ancients thought

Daniel 10:18-21 — that we know very little of this subject, due to the absence of specific teaching on it in the Word of God. Here, "Michael is presented as the guardian angel of the Jews."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 541. The idea of guardian angels for the different nations is hinted at in earlier portions of the Old Testament."Herbert L. Willett, Daniel (New York: Abingdon Press, 1929), p. 757. Cited in this connection were the following passages: "A time

Numbers 4:1-16 — being the oldest of the sons of Levi, he takes precedence here because both Moses and Aaron were of this branch of the family, and to them went the honor of moving the "most holy" things (Numbers 4:4). "To do the work in the tent of meeting" (Numbers 4:3). The Hebrew phrase from which this rendition comes "signifies military service, and is used here with special reference to the service of the Levites as the sacred militia ("militia sacra") of Jehovah."C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol.

Zechariah 4:2 — two olive trees. "A candlestick all of gold" Although this candlestick varies in some particulars from that in the ancient tabernacle, it must nevertheless be identified with it; because. "The same word, [~menorath], is used in both cases (Exodus 25:31; Exodus 37:17, etc.)."W. J. Deane, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 14, Zechariah (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 39. There is also mention of the golden candlestick of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 7:49), which was looted

Matthew 11:2-3 — or not. The uncertainty probably arose from the following circumstances: (1) John had been cast into prison, and Christ had made no move to free him; (2) John was suffering cruel and unjust persecution and probably foresaw his approaching martyrdom; (3) Jesus' identity as the Messiah was not being proclaimed at that time with the dogmatic certainty which John doubtless expected; (4) the reasons for Christ's reticence about his Messiahship could not have been clear to John. In fact, people would be

Matthew 11:28 — The common burden of sin, sickness, death, doubt, disillusionment, and sorrow is an invariable heritage of every man coming into the world. Reasons why men should come to Christ are: (1) for the rest he will give, (2) for the rest they will find, and (3) because Christ is meek and lowly in heart, thus fully qualified to provide sympathy, love, understanding, and whatever else may be required to alleviate human distress and to provide eternal life. The means of accomplishing all this is the "yoke"

Matthew 13:47-50 — tares is stressed the puzzling containment within the church herself of both good and bad elements. This ought not, however, to appear overly strange to students of the word of God, because: (1) there was a Ham in the ark; (2) a Judas among the Twelve; (3) a man of sin in the temple of God; (4) a mystery Babylon within the historical perimeter of the church; (5) Esau contended with Jacob in the very womb of Rebekah; and, as in her case, the church may often cry, "Why am I thus?" (Genesis 25:22).

Matthew 18:15 — first and second admonitions? That the first and second admonitions do actually apply to "public" sins as well as private ones, appears from Paul's words to Titus, "A factious man, after a first and second admonition, refuse" (Titus 3:10). A factious man is a leader or promoter of a faction, an offense which, by its very nature, has to be PUBLIC! Yet Paul's instructions to Titus prove that our Lord's method, including the first and second admonitions, was honored even in cases like

Matthew 27:52 — great miracle of discrimination. Incredulous scholars have sought in vain for evidence of an interpolation here, but none exists. Plummer said, "There is no textual evidence that the passage is an interpolation."Alfred Plummer, op. cit., p. 403. Accepting the amazing fact recorded here by Matthew, one naturally turns to a consideration of its meaning: (1) It means that God knows the location of every grave where his redeemed ones are at rest. Matthew's use of "sleep" for "death"

Luke 16:9 — world is unrighteous, however acquired; and by this the wealth itself, not the possessor, is meant. 1.    Wealth deceives the owner into believing that it is his. 2.    It strongly tempts him to trust in riches. 3.    "In making a man depend on them for happiness, riches rob him of salvation and the glory of God."Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: Carlton and Porter, 1829), Vol. V, p. 462. 4.    It

John 6:20-21 — them, It is I; be not afraid. They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat; and straightway the boat was at the land whither they were going. John abbreviated this wonder by omitting Peter's walking on the water to go to Jesus (Matthew 14:28-31), and also Mark's record that the apostles' "heart was hardened" (Mark 6:52), a remark that proves the conflict between Christ and the apostles over the events on shore. Matthew gave the happy ending of the brief estrangement in his account

John 9:7 — has been held as a type of sin. This does not mean that a blind man is a sinner but that the terrible handicap is a forceful illustration of sinful condition. Jesus said, "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Luke 6:39). See also 2 Peter 1:9 and Revelation 3:18. Thus, blindness is a Scriptural type of sin; and the detail of this sixth sign's deployment upon the sacred page compels the conclusion that this blind man's healing must be construed as typical of the far

Romans 1:4 — was hidden was manifest after the resurrection. From that hour, he is the Son of God in a new sense: he is the Son of God in power." William M. Greathouse, Commentary on Romans (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1968), p. 31. According to the spirit of holiness … By capitalizing "Spirit of holiness," the RSV identifies the Spirit mentioned here as the Holy Spirit; and, although Paul nowhere else uses this designation of the Holy Spirit, there seems to

Hebrews 7:1-3 — righteousness," thus the very name becomes a title of the Lord Jesus Christ. (2) "King of Salem" means "King of peace," and thus the title of Melchizedek is another appropriate title of our Lord (Isaiah 9:6 ff; Psalms 72:7). (3) Melchizedek was both king and priest, a double dignity not enjoyed by any illustrious Hebrew, not even Moses, and startlingly typical of Jesus Christ who is both king and high priest. (4) Melchizedek received tithes of Abraham, even as Christ receives

Hebrews 9:2 — doubt that it stands for all the word of the Lord in the whole Bible; and, as such, it is a fantastically accurate and instructive type of it. Its seven branches stand for the seven divisions of the Bible: (1) the Law of Moses; (2) and the Prophets; (3) and the Psalms (Luke 24:44) in the Old Testament; and the other four divisions; (4) the Gospels; (5) the Book of Acts; (6) the Epistles; and (7) Revelation, in the New Testament, the latter four divisions being implicit by the inherent nature of the

Revelation 13:18 — get the wrong answer. Bruce's comment on this shenanigan was: The three rules for making any name yield the desired 666 are: (1) if the proper name itself will not yield it, add a title; (2) if the sum cannot be found in Greek, try Latin, or Hebrew; (3) if that does not work, misspell it! F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 653. Dummelow's explanation is sound Scripturally, whether or not it is "correct": The number of Jesus in Greek in 888, and the meaning is that the beast falls so far short of