Bible Commentaries

Genesis 11:10-32 — The following ancestors of the Messiah are given: SHEM, ARPACHSHAD, SHELAH, EBER, PELEG, REU, SERUG, NAHOR, TERAH, and ABRAM (ABRAHAM). A check with the genealogy given by Luke (Luke 3:34-36) conforms exactly to this with the exception that Cainan is introduced between Shelah and Arpachshad, suggesting that the whole list may be abbreviated. Genesis 11:27 provides the additional information that Terah had two other sons besides Abraham,

Genesis 22 overview — "attribute this chapter to `E' with scarcely a dissenting voice."E. A. Speiser, The Anchor Bible, Genesis (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1964), p. 166. However, he admitted that [~'Elohiym] is the name for God in Genesis 22:1; Genesis 22:3; Genesis 22:8-9, and Genesis 22:12, and that "[~Yahweh]" is used in Genesis 22:11; Genesis 22:15, and Genesis 22:16, and twice in Genesis 22:14! Does a fact like that force them to abandon their theory? Oh no! They say, "Somebody (maybe from the `P'

Genesis 35 overview — patriarchal preeminence inherited from Isaac as head of the Chosen People. Alan Richardson called the chapter "a series of fragments to complete the story of Jacob."Alan Richardson, Twentieth Century Bible Commentary (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1932), p. 121. There are indeed, "several brief paragraphs, in a sense disconnected, but together providing a useful transitional section in Genesis."David F. Payne, The New Layman's Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), p.

Genesis 36:1-8 — Howard-Severance Company, 1915), p. 1202. Note that, as in every other use of this word, it is a reference to what FOLLOWS, not to what PRECEDES. We shall not dwell upon the difference in the names of Esau's wives from the names given in Genesis 26:34, and in Genesis 28:9. It is not certainly known why they do not agree. Many proposed "solutions" have included allegations that: it is due to the Arabian custom of replacing original names with surnames marking some memorable event;C. F. Keil, op.

Genesis 38:8-10 — received, since his brother Er was the firstborn and would have received the double portion. (2)    It should be particularly noted that the word "seed" is used with two different meanings here. It is used for offspring in Genesis 38:9 a, and a physical emission in Genesis 38:9 b. A similar diversity is seen in God's promise to give Abraham innumerable "seed," (offspring) and that in his "seed" (singular) all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Although our version uses

Genesis 44:32-34 — in the palace of Joseph. Martin Luther said, "I would give very much to be able to pray to our Lord God as well as Judah prayed to Joseph here."C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 364. It will be noted that in our quotation above, we broke this long paragraph recording Judah's plea into four paragraphs instead of only one as in the ASV. Skinner entitled these successive paragraphs thus: (1)    The recital of

Exodus 9:1-7 — cattle, "Derived from the Latin `mori' (to die). There seems to be no basis upon which one can identify the pestilence, whether anthrax, as some claim, or another disease."Roy L. Honeycutt, Jr., Broadman Commentary, Vol 1 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1973), p. 341. If it is objected that there is nothing really miraculous about a fatal epidemic of some cattle disease, the answer lies in the fact that: (1) the onset of this epidemic was pinpointed in advance by Moses; (2) the cattle of the Israelites

Psalms 144 overview — THANKSGIVING FOR ISRAEL'S HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS MORNING This glorious hymn of thanksgiving came upon the realization of David and all Israel that "the morning" he had so earnestly prayed for in the preceding psalm (Psalms 143:8) had indeed dawned. A united, happy Israel were enjoying great prosperity and peace following the defeat and death of Absalom. Upon the horizon of Israel's future, there still appeared the external threat of foreign enemies; and the psalmist includes

Isaiah 13 overview — DIVISION II (Isaiah 13-23) This division contains Isaiah's prophecies against the nations, some twelve in all, the first one being contained in Isaiah 13 and all of Isaiah 14 (except the last five verses). THE PROPHECY AGAINST BABYLON Here is contained one of the most glorious

Jeremiah 25 overview — longer be averted or postponed; the time of judgment was at hand! The chapter falls into three divisions: (1) The judgment of Judah and the eventual doom of Babylon (Jeremiah 25:1-14), (2) the cup of God's wrath upon the nations (Jeremiah 25:15-29), and (3) the judgment of the whole world (Jeremiah 25:30-38). In the first division, we have the sensational prophecy that the captivity of Israel would last seventy years. This amazing prophecy foretold the exact duration of the Babylonian exile; and, "There

Deuteronomy 34 overview — should refuse to hear the word of MOSES. That some will not believe is due not to: (1) their intelligence, nor (2) their learning, but as the Son of God said so long ago, "Men have loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil." (John 3:19). Therefore, people who will not believe the Pentateuch are without excuse! When the critical tide against the Bible was running at its flood in the first one third of this century, D. R. Scott boasted that, "The fact that Moses is no longer accepted

Galatians 3 overview — of his dealings with mankind will help to understand this chapter. From the days of Cain and Abel, one of whom was cursed and the other blessed, for the simple reason that the deeds of one were righteous and the deeds of the other were evil (1 John 3:12), and throughout the history of the patriarchs, and continuing down through the Jewish monarchy, where of various kings it is said that some "did that which was right and good in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 14:2), and of others,

Ephesians 4:4-5 — Willard H. Taylor, Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 9 (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1965), p. 205. It is often asked why no reference was made here to the other great sacrament of the gospel (the Lord's Supper). Francis Foulkes, op. cit., p. 113. Foulkes pointed out the explanation by Westcott, which is doubtless correct. He said, "The apostle is speaking of the initial conditions of the Christian life, whereas the Holy Communion belongs to the support and development of the Christian

Ephesians 5:25-26 — understood in two different ways, some holding that it means baptism in response to "the preaching of the gospel," Francis Foulkes, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1963), p. 158. and others supposing that it refers to the confession "with the mouth" by converts prior to and at the time of their being baptized. This prompted Goodspeed's translation thus: Just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for

Colossians 2:16 — 222. While there evidently were traces of incipient gnosticism, it was the Judaizers who were refuted in these verses. As Dummelow said, "The Jewish character of the false teachers comes very plainly into view here." J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 983. Meat … drink … feast day … new moon … sabbath day … All of these refer to Jewish observances; as Macknight said, "Some of these were enjoined in the Law, and others by private authority." James Macknight,

Hebrews 11:10 — the City Foursquare are indeed profound, and that what they symbolize is a million times more wonderful than any strictly literal meaning could ever be. The scriptures plainly say that "It is not yet made manifest what we shall be" (1 John 3:2), and there is far more than a hint that man's imagination itself is incapable of projecting any adequate concept of such a thing as heaven. Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And which entered not into the heart of man, Whatosever things

Hebrews 4:15 — to seduce through them, and thus have personal experience of man's temptation. St. John says of one "born of God" that he "doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). What is thus said of one "born of God" may be said much more, and without any qualification, of the Son of God, without denying that he too experienced the power of temptation, though altogether proof against it. J. Barmby, op. cit., p.

2 Peter 1:1 — a forger had been writing in Peter's name, he would have begun almost certainly by copying Peter's name from the first epistle," William G. Moorehead, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company, 1915), p. 2356. where it reads simply, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ." Why did Peter use this double name? Barnett thought it was due to "Peter's resumption in his old age of the name familiar to his youth"<footnote Albert E. Barnett,

Revelation 11:1 — that: The reed must then symbolize the word or Gospel in its function of determining who is in the church and who is outside of its bounds. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John's Revelation (Minneapolis. Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943), p. 327. When one speaks of the Canon of the New Testament, he is speaking of this "reed like unto a rod." The very word "Canon means rule, or standard," Vergilius Ferm, An Encyclopedia of Religion (New York: Philosophical Library,

Revelation 3:14 — the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1900), p. 72. We are reluctant to accept this, be cause the town was actually named by its founder Antiochus II (261-246 B.C.) after his wife Laodice. E. J. Banks, ISBE, p. 1836. It was situated in the same general vicinity of the other six cities addressed in this series, on the great Roman road to Syrian Antioch. It was never much of a fortress, due to the vulnerability of the water supply, "which came principally by