Bible Commentaries

Genesis 1:2 — apt description of the other planets as they are observed to continue in our solar system to the present time. Mars, Venus, Mercury, etc. are still waste and void. It is not necessary to postulate billions of years between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 in order to help God find the time to do all that He did for our earth. It is true, of course, that no revelation has been given with reference to the time-lag between these verses; but men's imagining that billions or trillions of years elapsed here

Genesis 13:10 — Zoar." "Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld" Willis pointed out that the apostasy of Lot began right here and that it consisted of the following steps: (1)    He looked upon the attraction of the fertile pasture lands toward Sodom; (2)    He chose it as his home (Genesis 13:11) and moved his home into the close vicinity of it (Genesis 13:13); (3)    He "dwelt in Sodom" (Genesis 14:12); and (4)    He acknowledged the men

Genesis 20:2-3 — she is a man's wife." This was not merely the second offense of Abraham after this manner, but it was just another outcropping of what had been a regular procedure by him and Sarah throughout the many years of their wanderings, as indicated by Genesis 20:13. The inference may easily be made that this device, wicked and sinful thought that it was, had been employed frequently, and that most of the times, they had found it to be effective. Certain special circumstances resulted in the utmost embarrassment

Genesis 24:28-32 — and told her mother's house" This expression regarding "her mother's house" was normally used only when the father was dead, and that Bethuel was indeed dead is probably the case here. Scholars are divided over it, because Bethuel spoke up (Genesis 24:50), and said, "The thing proceedeth from Jehovah." Several ingenious explanations have been proposed: (1)    The critics, of course, solve the question by throwing Genesis 24:50 out of the text.Arthur S. Peake, A Commentary on

Genesis 25:1-4 — examples: (1)    The Bible SEEMS TO SAY that John the Baptist denied that he was "that prophet which was to come," as foretold by Malachi, but this is not the case at all. What he denied was that he was "Elijah the Tishbite," a far different thing. (2)    The Bible also SEEMS TO SAY that Christ promised to "come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels" within the lifetime of some of them who heard him (Mark 8:38; Mark 9:1), but the passage says no such thing. The mistaken

Genesis 42:8-11 — supposition that the case of his brothers had been brought before Joseph personally by subordinates in the bureaucracy and that they had originated the charge of spying. If so, this would account for two things: (1) Joseph's handling the case in person, and (2) the firm, even harsh manner in which he dealt with it. Anything on Joseph's part that could have been interpreted by lesser officials as disloyalty to Pharaoh would have been pounced upon and used by them against Joseph, for it may not be supposed

Genesis 6:13 — observed that the fundamental premise underlying much of man's speculation about the past is founded upon the dictum that, "All things continue as they were from the creation of the world." We know that this is untrue, as attested by the apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:4); but the scientific community themselves are also beginning to understand the falsity of the dictum. Francis Schaeffer mentions in detail the example of prehistoric mammals of great size having been uncovered in the frozen wastes of Siberia,

Genesis 9:1-3 — the sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every living thing that moveth shall be food for you; as the green herb have I given you all." Here is the repetition of exactly the same commission that was given to Adam and Eve in the beginning (Genesis 1:28-29, and Genesis 2:16-17). It is a recognition in Noah of a second progenitor for the human race. Noah was no better than Adam, as would quickly appear, but God took some precautions against the unrestrained violence that preceded the Flood. The use

Exodus 18:24-27 — Jethro was not a task to be undertaken hastily. Moses' statement in this chapter to the effect that he did what Jethro suggested is included here with the narrative, where it belongs, but the actual appointment of the judges came later in Deuteronomy 1:12-18, where it appears that Moses also added a refinement of his own. He charged the people with the responsibility of picking out their judges, much in the same way as the apostles instructed the people to choose The Seven (Acts 6:3 f). The last verse

Psalms 44 overview — `By whom'? and `Upon what occasion'? a particular psalm might have been written. The dates for this psalm which have been seriously proposed by able scholars are as follows. (1) "The times of the Maccabees was the date preferred by Calvin and others. (2) The reign of Jehoiachin was advocated by Tholuck. (3) Canon Cook argued for the times of David. (4) The reigns of Jehoram or Joshua are chosen by some."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 241. Ash included the "reign of Hezekiah"Anthony L. Ash, Jeremiah

Psalms 68 overview — Psalter."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 491. "This is one of the grandest of the Psalms."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 355. "This rushing cataract of a psalm is one of the most boisterous and exhilarating in the Psalter."Derek Kidner, Vol. 1, p. 238. "This psalm is one of triumphant praise and jubilation, the crown and gem of the Second Book."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-B, p. 42. "The Psalm is worthy of David, `the sweet singer of Israel.' The language, the impressive descriptions, the fresh

Ezekiel 20 overview — Ezekiel 20-23FINAL PROPHECIES BEFORE THE FALL OF JERUSALEMREHEARSAL OF THE SINS OF ISRAEL It is impossible to include in this work any complete study of all that comes to view in this chapter. The Holy Bible itself is devoted in a large measure to the record

Numbers 32:6-15 — can hardly be any doubt that Moses' first and immediate response to this was correct. This response, of course, was a rehearsal of events following Kadesh-Barnea and the sending out of the spies which resulted as follows: (1) it discouraged Israel; (2) Jehovah's anger was kindled against Israel; (3) God forbade any of that generation except Caleb and Joshua to enter Canaan; and (4) the Lord punished the whole nation by some forty years of aimless wanderings in the wilderness. Now, forty years later,

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 — test could only be applied to prophecies of the immediate future."Ibid. Unger gave the following as a means of distinguishing between true and false prophets: (1)    The false prophet leads into some form or variation of idolatry. (2)    He speaks his own words (not God's words), and in the name of other gods. (3)    His promises are fake or only half-true. The prophecies of true prophets are true.Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary on the

Deuteronomy 2:32-37 — series of commentaries.) By their excessive wickedness the race of Sihon had forfeited their right of existence, and it would have been no act of mercy whatever for people to have been spared to live in that environment. "Utterly destroyed" (Deuteronomy 2:34) has the meaning of "put under the ban."Ibid., p. 33. This is the literal meaning of the Hebrew phrase here. There were three degrees of this "war ban," as it came to be called: (a)    This was the most severe. Every man, woman,

Deuteronomy 30 overview — double prophecy in this chapter: (1)    that of the rejection of Israel, the desolation of their land, and the scattering of Israel all over the world, but this would not signal the end of God's dispensations (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). (2)    The N.T. kingdom of Christ with its marvelous spiritual blessings would in time appear, and the truly penitent of all men, Jews and Gentiles alike, would be welcomed into the new institution (Deuteronomy 30:11-20). A careful

Deuteronomy 32:28-36 — THE WAY IT WAS WITH ISRAEL (Deuteronomy 32:28-36) "For they are a nation void of counsel, And there is no understanding in them. Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end! How should one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight,

John 20 overview — when he himself first believed, and recounted in the most amazing detail exactly the evidences he had seen and which first overwhelmed his soul with the certainty that Jesus was risen from the dead. That dawn of belief in his heart is recorded in John 20:1-10. He next appealed to the testimony of Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18), out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils; and the allegation that any falsarius would ever have ascribed such a choice of witness to him whom the Lord made the guardian of his

Judges 18:7-10 — land is large; for our God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth" "The five men… came to Laish" "Laish, mentioned in Joshua 19:47 as Leshem, is the same as the modern Tell el Qadi, some 26 air-miles due east of Tyre."Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 454. "One of the largest fountains in the world, called El Leddan, which, according to Josephus, is the source of the lesser Jordan, is at Laish."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 3-C, p. 185.

Revelation 10:9 — belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey. Give me the little book … See under preceding verse. "Take it, and eat it up …" It is futile to search for John's "source" either in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 2:9 to Ezekiel 3:4) or anywhere else except in this vision "which God gave him" (Revelation 1:1). Nothing truly like this vision is found anywhere but here. The meaning inherent in taking a book and eating it up is simply that of mastering its