Bible Commentaries

Genesis 18:1-2 — the tent door in the heat of the day: and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth." Genesis 18:1 is the key to Genesis 18:2. The "three men" were not men at all, but the Lord Himself accompanied by two angels. Nevertheless, they had every appearance of being men and even ate dinner with Abraham, even as our Saviour himself ate with his disciples after his resurrection from

Genesis 45:9-11 — with Pharaoh in the matter of the settlement of his father's house in Egypt, thus anticipating the proving of his brothers. Goshen was a district of "some 900 square miles,"Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), p. 622. about the size of the average county in west Texas, like Callahan or Taylor, each comprising an area 30 miles by 30 miles in size. Willis has information regarding the area: "Goshen is that region of northeastern Egypt between Port Said and Suez known

Exodus 16:16-20 — Moses was wroth with them." The injunction here was addressed to the problem of greed and hoarding, and the wonder that each had exactly enough whether he gathered much or little was used by the apostle Paul as an incentive to Christian giving (See 2 Corinthians 8:14). He also added that Christian liberality is commanded and that such is God's way of "proving Christians" (2 Corinthians 9:13). "An omer a head" Although not a matter of world-shaking importance, it is amazing that scholars describe

2 Kings 16:5-6 — king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there, unto this day." "2 Kings 16:5 here is practically identical with Isaiah 7:1."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 457. In fact, Isaiah probably is the author of a great many passages in Kings. From the account in Isaiah we learn the reason for this war against

2 Chronicles 21:11-15 — he could not have written the letter mentioned here; but this criticism is groundless for two reasons: (1) Elijah might indeed still have been living, a rather attractive argument for this having been cited by Myers.The Anchor Bible, Chronicles, p. 121. That Elijah did indeed write this `document' and that it was sent during Elijah's lifetime was flatly declared by Josephus.Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 284. William Whiston, who translated the works of Josephus, however, insisted that Elijah

2 Chronicles 24:8-14 — Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of Jehovah, even vessels wherewith to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt-offerings in the house of Jehovah continually all the days of Jehoiada." 2 Chronicles 24:5-14 is parallel with 2 Kings 12:5-16; and most of our comments on these paragraphs will be found in our Commentary on Second Kings. We wish to stress, however, the repeated references to the teachings of Moses, thus sustaining the unimpeachable

Psalms 144:1-4 — thousands of them; and the people were then content to settle down and enjoy the prosperity of David's kingship. The whole paragraph here (Psalms 144:1-4) was paraphrased by Delitzsch: "Praise be to Jahve who teaches me to fight and conquer (Psalms 144:1-2), me, the feeble mortal who am strong only `in Him' (Psalms 144:3-4)."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-C, p. 379. Baigent also has a beautiful word on this paragraph: "Such martial skills and exploits as he (David) achieved are gratefully traced back to God, their

Psalms 29 overview — Maclaren. We have adopted the title here that was used by Delitzsch.F. Delitzsch, Old Testament, Vol. V, p. 366. There is no good reason for rejecting the ancient inscription which labels this as "A Psalm of David." This psalm has: (1) a prelude (Psalms 29:1-2); (2) a description of the mighty thunderstorm (Psalms 29:3-9); and (3) a postlude (Psalms 29:10-11). Anyone who has ever been in a really violent thunderstorm can truly appreciate this reference to nature in a violent mood. A number of dependable

Leviticus 18 overview — There are four divisions in this chapter: (1)    a warning for Israel not to fall into the customs of the Egyptians and the Canaanites (Leviticus 18:1-5); (2)    marriages between persons of close kinship forbidden (Leviticus 18:6-18); (3)    the prohibition of sexual deviations like those of the Canaanites (Leviticus 18:19-23); (4)    and God's

Leviticus 2:4-10 — holy of the offerings of Jehovah made by fire." Whereas the first paragraph described the food-offering as a batch of fine flour, this paragraph describes the offering as having been cooked by one of three different methods: (a) in the oven (Leviticus 2:4), (b) by the baking-pan (Leviticus 2:5), or in a frying-pan (Leviticus 2:7). Interesting as all these different methods of cooking most assuredly were, especially if we could know exactly how each was done, we shall simply pass over them here with

Leviticus 21 overview — All of Israel was expected to be holy unto the Lord, but this and the following chapter (Leviticus 22) are concerned with the special holiness that pertained to the priests of the sanctuary and especially to the high priest. Each of the three paragraphs of this chapter "closes with the formula `I am the Lord your (their) sanctifier.' The only other

Isaiah 18:6 — 17:14 that the predicted disaster regarding Sennacherib's invasion would last only a single night and that it would terminate his threat to Judah. Here it is additionally revealed (1) that a whole army shall be slaughtered "together," all at once, (2) that the dead would remain unburied, (3) that the bodies would provide food for ravenous birds throughout the summer, and (4) that there would be so many of them that the food supply would also be sufficient to take all of the wild beasts of the earth

Matthew 11:14 — Pharisees should have been able to see this for themselves, for these reasons: (1) The birth of John the Baptist was announced in the temple to Zacharias, one of the priests, in his regular course of duty, a fact which the Pharisees certainly knew. (2) This annunciation was made by an angel who quoted, almost verbatim, the remarkable words of Malachi's prophecy, applying them, even before he was born, to John the Baptist. (3) John's raiment of camel's hair and the leather thong was designed to identify

Matthew 26:29 — accomplish what the Lord's failed to accomplish? When I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Scholars have held this to mean that Christ will again partake of the Supper with his disciples only in the days of the "everlasting kingdom" (2 Peter 1:11), or that he will do so in a figure at the "marriage supper of the Lamb." It seems that both views overlook the fact that, in a sense, Christ always partakes of the Lord's Supper with his disciples, since "Where two or three

Luke 4:17-20 — kingdom in the appealing metaphor of these words read by Jesus. There are two ways of misunderstanding this prophecy: (1) by those who view Christianity as being merely a revolutionary movement intent on emptying jails and raising economic standards, and (2) by those who fail to accept the Christian fundamentals of aiding the poor and relieving the afflicted. Nevertheless, the great stress of the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, the "poor" including even the rich who know not the Lord, "captives"

Acts 12:6 — astounding allegory in this event. Just as Paul allegorized the history of Abraham and his two wives in Galatians, we shall allege an allegory here, but at the same time receiving the episode as history. The visit of the wisemen to the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:1) has been allegorized for ages, as more particularly noted in my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 2:1. The deliverance of Peter in this chapter was declared by Matthew Henry to "represent our redemption by Christ, which is not only the proclaiming

2 Corinthians 13:2 — E.R.V. was contrived as a conformity to the generally held opinions of scholars (until recent times) that there was no "second visit." The literal translation from the Greek makes it certain that there was a second visit. The RSV rendition of 2 Corinthians 13:2 is as follows: I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, and that if I come again I will not spare them. This significant rendition makes it absolutely

Revelation 17:1 — (Revelation 16:19). I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters … But was she not seated upon a beast? Yes, but both she and the beast rise from the teeming populations of the earth. Harlot … "In Isaiah 1:21, Jeremiah 2:20; Jeremiah 2:31, etc., these terms are used to describe God's apostate people, those once joined to him in covenant relationship, but who had broken their marriage vow of faithfulness." Ibid. "In the Old Testament, this imagery

Revelation 18:7 — heart … Making such a boast to others was bad enough; but, "In her self-glorification, presumptuousness, and boastfulness, she had said it in her heart, which is even worse than saying it to others." William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 208. I sit a queen … Even the coinage of the pagan city proclaimed her as "the eternal city." J. W. Roberts, op. cit., p. 150. Lenski noted that we should not pass lightly over "I sit." R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 520. Where

Revelation 8:2 — And I saw the seven angels that stand before God; and there was given unto them seven trumpets. (Revelation 8:2) SECTION II (Revelation 8:2—11:19) The pageantry here did not take place during the silence, but after it. "Revelation 2—6 are a preface to the vision of the trumpets." A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 230, 231. Seven angels that stand