Bible Commentaries

Genesis 7:13-16 — creatures into the ark; they went in unto him. This is clearly an act of God, having nothing whatever to do with Noah's independent activity. "And the three wives of his sons" This is restrictive regarding the number of people entering the ark. Genesis 7:7 revealed that his "sons' wives" entered, leaving out of sight how many wives his sons had. There were only three, one for each son. "Every creeping thing that creepeth" This is also more definite and extended information about which creatures were

1 Kings 7:1-8 — thirteen year's labor of that battalion of 150,000 slaves! Scholars do not agree as to the nature of this construction, whether it was all in one big complex compound, or if some of the buildings were separated. It is not known why one wife out of the 700 Solomon married should have been singled out to receive a special building, or if, perhaps, her house was merely a section of the harem. Keil pointed out that there are a number of special projects included here: "(1) The house of the forest of Lebanon

1 Chronicles 28:11 — treasuries thereof, and of the upper rooms thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat." David himself did not invent this pattern, but God gave it to him, having first given it to Moses; and David learned all about it from Exodus 25:10; Exodus 25:17-22; Exodus 31:7; Exodus 40:20; and in Numbers 7:89. The statement in the next verse that David had this pattern "by the Spirit" is a reference to the fact that God's Spirit revealed all of these things to Moses.

Psalms 7:10-11 — the wicked "every day," and presumably that is the indignation indicated here. The righteous are protected and blessed by the Lord who is a shield about them, protecting and preserving them from the ravages of the wicked. The last six verses (Psalms 7:12-17) return to a description of God's judgment upon evil men, who appear here as the enemies of the hated and slandered righteous man of Psalms 7:1-5.

Proverbs 18:4 — wellspring of wisdom is as a flowing brook." The two clauses contrast man's teachings (the words of a man's mouth) with the true wisdom. "Deep waters in the Old Testament are associated with the thought of darkness and mystery (Psalms 59:2; Ecclesiastes 7:24; Proverbs 20:3)."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 Edition), Proverbs, p. 52. On the other hand, the true wisdom (God's Words) are like the happy sparkling waters of a flowing brook. Christ

Leviticus 5 overview — 5:1); (2)    incurring uncleanness by touching an unclean object or an unclean person (Leviticus 5:2-3); (3)    making a rash vow (Leviticus 5:4). The required sin-offering is outlined (Leviticus 5:5-6). Leviticus 5:7-13 are a kind of appendix in which special provisions were given for the benefit of persons wishing to comply with the law but who, through poverty, were unable to bring the prescribed offerings. The trespass-offering is presented in Leviticus 5:14-19,

Leviticus 7:11-14 — worshiper himself was privileged to eat the meat offered and to share it with his friends. "The peace-offering was the only one that laymen were allowed to eat."Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), p. 123. From this, it has been supposed that upon occasions of peace-offerings many of the Israelites had a rare opportunity to eat meat. The peace-offerings were discussed in Leviticus 3; the additional instruction here regards the particular type

Isaiah 51 overview — Douglas divided this chapter and Isaiah 52 into seven divisions, as follows: the 1st call (Isaiah 51:1-3), 2nd call (Isaiah 51:4-6), 3rd call (Isaiah 51:7-8), 4th call (Isaiah 51:9-16), 5th call (Isaiah 51:17-23), 6th call (Isaiah 52:1-6), and 7th call (Isaiah 52:7-10).George C. M. Douglas, p. 360. This is an interesting arrangement, in spite of the fact that it is not always clear as to just who is doing

Jeremiah 26 overview — have been at some point in the reign of Jehoiachim. "Most of the present-day expositors date the chapter in 609-608 B.C."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 538. Another disputed interpretation relates this chapter to chapter 7, in which is recorded the prophecy of God's forthcoming destruction of Jerusalem; of course, the same prophecy, or another one much like it, is in Jeremiah 25 (immediately preceding). Some have supposed that the specific prophecy of the seventy years

Hosea 7:6 — action at the slightest provocation. A number of modern commentators find a direct reference here to a specific intrigue leading to the overthrow of one of the various murdered kings of that period; but this does not appear certain. See under Hosea 7:7, below.

Micah 7:7 — fit." Significantly, all of their tampering with the text and scissoring and pasting it into a hodgepodge of their own creation - all that never results in any improvement. In this light, we confidently reject the opinions which view these words (Micah 7:7) as a part of a Psalm later incorporated into the text by some "editor," or the notion that this promise of blessing "does not fit" the preceding paragraph. "The confidence of the remnant and their submission to the will of God are beautifully delineated

Matthew 21:13 — And he saith unto them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers. Christ here quoted Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. This was the second time that he cleansed the temple, John's record of the other occasion (John 2:13) standing as supplementary to this one mentioned by the synoptics. This type of activity by Christ was fully in harmony with what

Matthew 7:1 — Matthew 7 SERMON ON THE MOUNT (concluded) This portion of the Master's great sermon is composed of miscellaneous exhortations and is not easily conformable to any formal outline. Judge not that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1) The word "judge" in this

Luke 2:13-14 — and saying, Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased. A multitude of the heavenly host … A host of angels is represented in the Old Testament as forming the bodyguard of Deity (Psalms 103:21; Daniel 7:10). As Boles said, "This praise was a proclamation of the newborn King and a confirmation of the glorious tidings to the shepherds, and through them to all people."H. Leo Boles, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate

Luke 7:36 — And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he entered into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. This Pharisee was Simon (Luke 7:43); and he may not be identified as Simon the Leper (Matthew 26:6; Mark 14:3; John 12:1 f). The circumstances here do not fit the anointing in Bethany at all. Luke's record of another anointing perfectly fits into the pattern he followed throughout

Acts 7:1 — analysis of Stephen's speech seems to be that of Bruce, thus: Stephen's historical survey reviews the history of the nation from the call of Abraham to the building of Solomon's temple. It concentrates on three main topics: (i) the patriarchal period (Acts 7:2-16); (ii), Moses and the law (Acts 7:17-43); (iii) the tabernacle and the temple (Acts 7:44-50). The first of the three sections of this speech is an introduction to the central themes; the second deals with the charge of blasphemy against Moses,

2 Corinthians 7:13 — been comforted: and in our comfort we joyed the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit hath been refreshed by you all. Paul's words here signal a total victory in Corinth. As Filson said: "By you all" (in this 2 Corinthians 7:13), combined with "everything" (2 Corinthians 7:14), "all" (2 Corinthians 7:15) and "in all things" (2 Corinthians 7:16), indicates that the entire church responded to Titus' appeal and is now loyal to Paul. Floyd V. Filson,

Galatians 3:17 — Now this I say: a covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect. This was Paul's repetition for the sake of emphasis of the argument already delivered above. Four hundred and thirty years … For comment on the variation in this figure from that given by Stephen in Acts 7:6, see my Commentary on Acts 7:5-8. Paul used the figure also found in the LXX, and Stephen used a round number.

Ephesians 3:7 — Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. In Ephesians 3:2; Ephesians 3:7 and Ephesians 3:8, Paul stressed the grace, that is the divine favor, bestowed upon him by the Father through Christ. "The apostle of the Gentiles enlarged upon the greatness of his special mission. Thrice here he calls it a grace given to him."

1 Timothy 1:14 — 158 times in the New Testament, 106 of these in the Pauline letters." A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 5. Hendriksen classified this as another instance of Paul's "super" words, such as are in Romans 5:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 7:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:10; Philippians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 12:7, etc. "It is clear that this super vocabulary is characteristic of Paul." W. H. Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 75.