Bible Commentaries

Exodus 15:3 — "Jehovah is a man of war: Jehovah is his name." This verse concludes the first stanza of the hymn which may be divided thus: (1) God's Identity (Exodus 15:1-3); (2) God's Mighty Act in the Red Sea (Exodus 15:4-16 a); and (3) A Prophecy of what God will do Later (Exodus 15:16 b-18). For Israel, this great song was somewhat like that which the "Star Spangled Banner" is to Americans. The sabbath upon which the

Proverbs 19:4 — "Wealth addeth many friends; But the poor is separated from his friend." Our comment on Proverbs 14:20 is applicable here. We also refer to Vol. 3 of our New Testament Series (Luke), pp. 316-317, where deceitful wealth is discussed. It surrounds one with the type of `friends' the prodigal son found in the `far country,' but separates him from true friends.

Proverbs 21:23 — "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." "Caution in speech has already been mentioned in Prov. 21:13:3 and Prov. 21:18:21 (See the comments there). The troubles referred to here are probably social and legal difficulties into which imprudent talk would bring one, especially where there were gossips and professional informers."Ibid., p. 408.

Proverbs 27:12-13 — "A prudent man seeth evil and hideth himself; But the simple pass on and suffer for it. Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for a foreign woman." Proverbs 27:12 is the equivalent of Proverbs 22:3, and Proverbs 27:13 is the same as Proverbs 20:16. See comments there.

Isaiah 29 overview — There are five paragraphs in this chapter: (1) Jerusalem is warned of the siege by Sennacherib (Isaiah 29:1-4). (2) A divine promise of relief (Isaiah 29:5-8). (3) Prophecy of the hardening, or blinding, of Israel (Isaiah 29:9-12). (4) Israel's warnings repeated (Isaiah 29:13-16). (5) Israel's promises renewed (Isaiah 29:17-24).

Isaiah 4:1-6 — shining of a flame of fire by night; for over all the glory shall be spread a covering. And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." Isaiah 4:1 is joined to Isaiah 3 in most versions of the Bible, because it is further prophecy of the ruin of the chosen people. What is meant is that at the time of fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, men shall be so scarce, having been slain in war, that seven women desiring to have

Joel 3:10 — verse was in Isaiah, and that Joel was merely giving a "parody of what that prophet wrote";R. A. Cole, op. cit., p. 724. and such an idea fits in nicely with opinions of a late post-exilic date; but the student should see again the comments under Joel 2:32, above, for a discussion of the true origin of prophetic statements. There is absolutely no evidence whatever that either Isaiah or Joel quoted the other in these passages; as a matter of fact, if either of them had done so, he would have said so.

Amos 3:1 — to be their tower of strength always, no matter what they did. It was surely a difficult task which Amos discharged in "getting through" to the people with that attitude. It was this difficulty which led him to authentication of his message in Amos 3:3-8. This is also probably the reason why, in these chapters, "The prophet shows in greater detail the depth to which Israel had fallen and the inevitability of God's righteous judgment upon them as a result."J. Keir Howard, The New Layman's Bible Commentary

Matthew 1 overview — DIVISION 1 THE ANCESTRY AND BIRTH OF CHRIST,THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD Matthew 1:1-17 This genealogy is quite unlike that in Luke 3. Labored efforts to reconcile the two generally lead to suppositions concerning Levirate marriages in which the issue had two fathers (the legal and the actual), and also to various renditions of the same name, and other devices pressed into service

Matthew 10:34 — little book. "Take it and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be as sweet as honey" (Revelation 10:9). The sword of Christ is: (1) a sword of separation, (2) the word of God (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12), (3) the sword of civil authority (Romans 13:1-8), (4) the sword of judgment (Genesis 3:24), (5) the sword of correction (Revelation 2:16), and (6) the sword of victory (Revelation 19:13). Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, was acquainted with that sword.

Matthew 12:15 — And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from thence: and many followed him; and he healed them all. Knowing of the evil plot to kill him, Christ withdrew, as Mark added, to the Sea of Galilee (Mark 3:7). This was in keeping with Jesus' own rule (See under Matthew 10:23). Significantly, he healed them all. There were no failures.

Matthew 9:14 — Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? At this point, the disciples of John were already beginning to be jealous of the rising popularity of Christ (John 4:1-3). The use of the participle "were fasting" in Mark 2:18, show that this feast in the home of Matthew probably took place on a Monday or Thursday, when the Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist were observing their customary feasts. The

Mark 13:5-6 — there are nevertheless overtones in this extending to eternity. Many shall come in my name … Matthew quoted Christ as saying that these impostors shall claim to be the Christ. Bickersteth said, "Such (false christs) were Theudas (Acts 5:36) and Simon Magus (Acts 8:10)."E. Bickersteth, op. cit., p. 197. The latter, according to Jerome, claimed to be Almighty God in the flesh, clearly an example of a false Christ. The apostles were admonished not to be led astray by such claims;

Mark 14:9 — of the synoptics regarding it must be accounted for by supposing that it was deliberately concealed for a long while afterward, perhaps during the lifetime of Lazarus and his sisters. John, writing long afterward, supplied the name of Mary (John 12:3). (3) This has the effect of all three synoptics corroborating the gospel of John regarding the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, their silence regarding the name of Mary having no other reasonable explanation except upon the premise that such

Mark 9:21 — And he asked his father, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? And he saith, From a child. We cannot know by what power Satan was able to dominate and possess the life of a child; but it may be that God permitted this in order that "the works of God might be manifest in him" (John 9:3).

John 10:4 — When he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. This has no reference to Jesus' putting his followers in and out of the church! The whole service of caring for the sheep stands for the salvation and security of them that follow the Good Shepherd. See under John 10:3.

John 9:34 — sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. The rage of the Pharisees is understandable. A publicly known beggar had defeated them with a syllogism which they could not answer and which was strongly believed by some of their own number (John 3:2). Far from defeating the blind man, they had only aroused him to a vigorous and skillful advocacy of his growing faith in Christ. He no longer said, "Whether he is a sinner, I know not," but now hurled the challenge in their faces, "If

Philippians 3 overview — In this chapter, Paul sounded again "the prevalent note of the epistle, `rejoice in the Lord,' added a few supplementary counsels and acknowledged the contribution sent through Epaphroditus." J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 975. However, beginning in Philippians 3:4, there is a typical Pauline diversion.

1 Thessalonians 3:7 — for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith: For this cause … The cause was the state of the Thessalonians in the three particulars just cited in 1 Thessalonians 3:6. Through your faith … This is likewise objective, meaning faith as demonstrated and proved by their actions, in another word, "fidelity."

1 Samuel 3:10-14 — restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated by sacrifice or offering forever." This is the full equivalent of the prophecy recorded in 1 Samuel 2:27 ff. As D. F. Payne stated it, "1 Samuel 3:10-14 rehearses, but in different words, the prophecy received by Eli in 1 Samuel 2:27-36."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 288. This passage reveals an appearance of the Lord to Samuel in an objective sense. This was NOT a dream, because, "Samuel