Bible Commentaries

Genesis 25:27 — temple at Mecca, but also a weak and silly man, who was checkmated and removed from his post by Cosa, an ancestor of Mohammed, who bought from him the keys of the temple, and with it the presidency, for a single bottle of wine!"Marcus Dods, op. cit., p. 261. The N.T. tells us that Esau was a "profane person and a fornicator," which, of course, only fills in the picture of the man controlled and dominated by his appetites. There can be no doubt that the Bible, both O.T. and N.T., places the greater blame

Exodus 3:13-15 — name repeated twice in this passage; and when the Son of God referred to this passage, he quoted it verbatim: Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB (Matthew 22:32). In the light of the Saviour's emphasis upon this place, it is absolutely imperative that we reject a lot of the nonsense that has been written about the great TETRAGRAMMATON! Since the great memorial name forever is in Exodus 3:15, what should

Exodus 31:12-17 — pertinent information being supplied in each new mention of it; and the same thing is true here. Two facts of the utmost importance are here revealed for the first time: (1) that the sabbath day was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel; and (2) that the profanation of it was a capital offense to be punished by the execution of all violators! This was exactly the proper place for Moses to have included this information, because the established worship of God in the services of the tabernacle

Exodus 8:20-25 — goest before Pharaoh,' the Lord told Moses, `Stand erect before him and do not bow to him in greeting, for thou art not to show him even the slightest sign of respect.'"Or HaHayyim, Wellsprings of Torah, Vol. 1 (New York: The Judaica Press, 1969), p. 123. A second development (2) appears to have been in response to the statement of the magicians, "This is the finger of God (a god)." Very well, God would make it clear that it was not a god at all who did such wonders, but that it was Jehovah, the God

Psalms 147:12-20 — DIVISION III Briggs' summary: Jerusalem is summoned to laud Yahweh, who hath restored her prosperity (Psalms 147:12-14), whose word governs snow and frost and hail (Psalms 147:15-17). His word at the same time directs winds and waters, and gives to Israel a Law, thereby distinguishing them from other nations (Psalms 147:18-20).International Critical Commentary, op.

Psalms 47:5-9 — Abraham; For the shields of the earth belong unto God: He is greatly exalted." "God is gone up with a shout" This positively does not mean that, "An earthly king `goes up' to the high place where his palace is located."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IV, p. 246. This is merely a deduction based upon the nonsense of a `cultic' interpretation. What earthly king was ever entitled to be called, "God?" Then, there is the view that God had, in a sense, "come down" to rescue his people; and after he had done so,

Psalms 81:6-16 — which guided Israel in the day-time in the wilderness. "I proved thee at the waters of Meribah" There were two instances in which God provided water for Israel at Meribah; and these are discussed fully in our Vol. II of the Pentateuch (Exodus), pp. 230-233, and in Vol. III, (Lev.-Num.), pp. 442-445. "O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken" There seems to be an emotional factor in such pleading words as these; and they remind us of the words of the Christ: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would

Isaiah 47:1-4 — forever the existence of a throne in Babylon. How could any alleged Second Isaiah have known anything like this? Yet, "It is a fact that after the capture of Babylon by Cyrus she was never more the capital of a kingdom."Pulpit Commentary, Vol. II, p. 203. Furthermore, this prevailed forever, even in the face of Alexander the Great's announced intention of making Babylon his capital. He died before he could achieve that, and the Seleucidae retained the capital at Shushan (Susa); and Babylon gradually

Isaiah 53:7-9 — mob violence and the humiliation of Jesus; but in the American Standard Version it is Jesus who is taken away. We believe that both renditions are correct, because both are true. When Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza (Acts 8:29 ff), the portion of Isaiah which the eunuch was reading and which formed the basis of Philip's preaching Jesus unto him evidently came from the LXX. "As a lamb that is led to the slaughter" This is an agricultural simile based on the truth that a goat

Isaiah 59:15-21 — hopeless, condition of mankind; and the statement in Isaiah 59:16 that he "wondered that there was no intercessor" falls short of expressing the fullness of God's concern. The word should be rendered, "He was appalled."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 621. The utter hopelessness of mankind had reached such a state that it even appalled God. "He put on righteousness as a breastplate" God does not need, nor does He resort to physical armor. He would need such things like He needs a hole in His head! People

Ezekiel 3:16-21 — THE WATCHMAN'S RESPONSIBILITY (Ezekiel 3:16-21) "And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the

Ezekiel 5:5-12 — Mosaic Law. In fact, the references to the Book of Moses are so frequent from this chapter on to the very end of Ezekiel that some of the radical critics (S. R. Driver, for example) have advanced the theory that Ezekiel was the author of Ezekiel 17-26, sometimes called the Holiness Code, in Leviticus.John T. Bunn in the Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1871), p. 347. However, there are so many impossibilities involved in the acceptance of such a false theory that true scholars

Deuteronomy 23:1-8 — enter into the assembly of Jehovah." Concerning the laws in this chapter, Watts declared, that, "They have been reworked in the preachy style of the editor."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 263. This of course is incorrect. There is no "editor" of Deuteronomy. It is amusing to this student that critical scholars pretend to know everything, except the names of any of those editors and redactors they are always talking about! The "preachy"

Deuteronomy 28:49-57 — credibility whatever. For example, Watts claimed, without any proof or evidence whatever, that, "This chapter has been expanded in later versions of the book."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 276. But as Craigie pointed out, "This imbalance finds several parallels in other Near Eastern texts (patterned after the suzerainty treaties) containing blessings and curses." "For example, in the Code of Hammurabi, the imbalance runs 20 to 1; and in

Deuteronomy 8:1-5 — in order to teach them to rely upon the Lord. Such things as hunger and thirst were used to challenge the people and to discipline them and to train them to look to God for the solution of all their problems. This is exactly the teaching of Hebrews 12:5-11. (The student interested in the subject of "The Lord's Chastening" will find additional material under those verses in our N.T. series of commentaries, Vol. 10.) The purpose of this chastening was beneficent toward man, "That men, humbled so as

Joshua 16:5-10 — even before that enlargement, "had the rich district north and south of Shechem… and the whole fertile plain of the Esdraelon."Hugh I. Blair, The New Bible Commentary, Revised, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 248. Also, we learn from Joshua 17:14 that their unwillingness to clear out the Canaanites caused their complaint. "Joshua, in effect, told them that if they were the great people they claimed to be, they could extend their territory by clearance and

Joshua 20:7-9 — Bible Encyclopedia (Chicago: The Howard Severance Company, 1915), p. 1790. that being the original meaning of the word, which later also came to mean "a sanctuary,"F. N. Peloubet, Peloubet's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: The John C. Winston Company, 1925), p. 342. or "sacred place."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1957), p. 626. It was precisely this word that came to mean the sacred female prostitutes of paganism, the [~qedeshah] and their male counterparts, the [~qedesh];

Joshua 24:19-28 — the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage categorically denies that there was to be any forgiveness of sins under the Mosaic Law. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah made forgiveness of sins to be the unique element of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Joshua 24:20 is a reference to the curses and blessings that characterized the ancient suzerainty-covenant treaties. Thus, we continue to find in almost every verse evidence that this renewal ceremony strictly followed the ancient pattern. "He (God) will turn

Judges 18:27-31 — others who might have been able to help them in such a disaster. "There was no deliverer." "It was in the valley… by Beth-rehob" This place was the northern limit of the penetration of Canaan by the twelve spies sent out by Moses (Numbers 13:21). "And they called the name of the city Dan" They built their city on the ruins of the destroyed Laish. Note that Dan is referred to here as "their father," meaning their "ancestor." The proverbial expression, "From Dan to Beersheba," carried the meaning

1 Samuel 12:6-15 — king and while living under the guidance of their true heavenly king (God), all of the great victories of God's people had been achieved. He called attention to the quadruple pattern so characteristic of the Book of Judges: (1) the apostasy of Israel; (2) their consequent oppression; (3) their crying to God for deliverance; and (4) God's sending a deliverer in the person of various judges. Samuel followed no chronological sequence in the things mentioned, but he did conclude the citations by a reference