Bible Commentaries

Exodus 29:8-9 — and his sons." The investiture of the sons of Aaron to be priests unto God consisted of only three things, contrasting with the nine steps pertaining to that of the High Priest. These were: (1) putting on the coats; (2) girding with the girdles; and (3) adorning with the head-tires. "They do not seem to have been anointed, as Aaron was, by having oil poured upon their heads, but only by having some of it sprinkled upon their garments (Exodus 29:21; Leviticus 8:30)."George Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 295.

2 Chronicles 22:10-12 — of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. And he was with them in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned in the land." Our comments on the narration in these three verses are found in the parallel account in 2 Kings 11:1-3.

2 Chronicles 8:11 — house he had built for her; and he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of Jehovah hath come." Solomon had married the daughter of Pharaoh quite early in his reign (1 Kings 3:1), and the action mentioned here evidently took place at an early time in Solomon's reign when he still retained some sensitivity to the implications of the Word of God. "This daughter of Pharaoh was the daughter of Hor-Psibkhannu, the last Pharaoh

Isaiah 26 overview — dead in Isaiah 26:19. The chapter may be divided thus: (1) a contrast between two cities (Isaiah 26:1-6); (2) a song, which is a complicated melding of lament, trust, confession, praise of God, and comment regarding the wicked (Isaiah 26:7-19); and (3) the last two verses which carry practical admonition and an assurance that God will indeed punish the wicked (Isaiah 26:20-21).

Jeremiah 1 overview — THE PART OF JEREMIAH IDENTIFIED WITH THE SCROLLC. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 23. We have followed Keil in all of these major divisions of the prophecy. JEREMIAH 1:1-20:1-18R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 47. This author differed from Keil by including chapter 1; but such variations are of

Amos 5 overview — Also, the postulators exhibit no agreement regarding any of their alleged "solutions." The entire chapter is a continuation of Amos' prophecy against Israel, elaborating and expanding the condemnation and overthrow of Israel already announced in Amos 3.

Matthew 28:19-20 — nonsense; and therefore in this statement Christ lays claim to status as a member of the Godhead. Ten times in the Greek New Testament, Christ is actually called God (see John 1:1; John 20:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9:5; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:8; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 1:8; also Colossians 2:9 and John 14:9). This says nothing of the countless passages in which he laid claim to attributes of deity, as for example when he said, "Before Abraham was, I am!" Christ is God

Deuteronomy 9:22-24 — rebellious against Jehovah from the day that I knew you." Right here, Moses reached the climax of Israel's rebellions. "They did not believe God!… This was the cardinal sin in the old dispensation as well as in the new. See John 16:9; Hebrews 3:1 to Hebrews 4:10."R. K. Harrison, op. cit., p. 217. (For extensive comments on the incidents connected with all of these places, see the parallel accounts in previous books of the Pentateuch.)

Luke 11:52 — Woe unto you lawyers! for ye took away the key of knowledge; ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. This is Woe 3. "The key of knowledge …" taken away by the false interpretations of the lawyers was "the true knowledge of the Messiah, which is the key of both the present and the future kingdom of heaven; the kingdom of grace and of glory."John

John 10:17 — shepherd's involuntary death while fighting against a robber. The shepherd might indeed die, but not willingly. (2) Christ's death actually saves the sheep eternally, whereas the death of a shepherd would only hasten the death and destruction of the sheep. (3) Christ will lay down his life, but with a purpose of taking it up again, something no earthly shepherd could do.

John 16:3 — truth derives primarily from ignorance; but it is not an excusable ignorance. (The world's ignorance) is rather a part of their sin, but a part which accounts for the rest. That when light came into the world, they loved darkness rather than light (John 3:19), was in a high degree sinful. Alvah Hovey, op. cit., p. 311. Lipscomb said of this: It is but another way of saying that there is an eternal and uncompromising enmity on the part of those who know not God and his Son Jesus Christ against those who

John 17:24 — where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. Where I am … Prophetically, Jesus was already at home with the Father when this prayer was uttered. See under John 14:1-3 where the same thought prevails. "Before the foundation of the world …" See under John 17:5 and John 1:1-11. The eternal existence of Christ, his deity, incarnation, and visit to humanity as "the Dayspring from on high" (Luke

John 6:11 — the Lord's command, they would have forfeited the blessing. Note that Christ was not the waiter on that occasion, but the provider. All spiritual benefit of all ages comes, like that bounty came, from Christ the provider THROUGH HIS APOSTLES (2 Peter 3:2).

Acts 10:30 — between Caesarea and Joppa was two days, the distance each way being thirty or thirty-five miles. Both going and coming, they would "probably have stopped the night at Apollonia, which was half way, on the coast road." A. C. Harvey, op. cit., p. 334. The ninth hour of prayer … was 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. See under Acts 10:10. A man … in white apparel … In the writings of Luke, the "white apparel" is often mentioned in describing the appearance of an angel.

Acts 13:32-33 — to some third-century Psalters combining Psalms 1, 2, making both together the first Psalm. G. H. C. MacGreggor, op. cit., p. 180. Thou art my Son … God's recognition of Jesus as his Son was emphatic upon the occasion of his baptism (Matthew 3:17 and parallels); but Jesus had been the only begotten Son from the time of his conception; and again, by the resurrection, God declared him to be the Son of God WITH POWER (Romans 1:4).

Galatians 3:20 — meaning of it is unknown; and as proof of that, it must be pointed out that Huxtable said there are literally hundreds of interpretations; E. Huxtable, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), Vol. 20, p. 138. McGarvey said, "This verse has been interpreted in more than three hundred ways; J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 268. and Ridderbos declared that "There are four

1 Thessalonians 1:2 — the apostle had for humanity. You all … is the simple plural "you" and need not necessarily be understood in the technical sense of "absolutely everyone." True, Paul mentioned "each one of you" in 2 Thessalonians 1:3; but even there the meaning is hyperbolic. We … This is usually construed as the editorial "we," meaning "I," but there are instances in his writings where this pronoun is used to include all of the apostles with himself.

Hebrews 1:9 — him because of his successful encounter and resulting triumph over sin, death, and the devil. In one sense, Christ was anointed at his baptism; but this appears rather as a reference to that overflowing of joy of Jesus, mentioned again in Hebrews 12:3.

Hebrews 12:28-29 — resemblance in this exhortation with that of Peter who said, Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day God? (2 Peter 3:11-12). This appeal to the holiness of God and his burning wrath toward all evil issues in the declarations that "Our God is a consuming fire." People cannot fully understand what God is like, and any understanding of his nature should always

1 Peter 3:14 — fear, neither be troubled; Even if ye should suffer … What does this mean? "It means the horrors of capital punishment." A. J. Mason, op. cit., p. 417. The undeniable meaning of "Christ also suffered for sins once" (1 Peter 3:18) confirms this understanding of "suffer" here. Fear not their fear … Christians must not fear the things that men generally fear. The terror that men can bring to those having their own value-judgments is indeed awesome; but the