Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 15:9-15 — himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels." "His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom" "The Jews called any female ancestor mother and any male ancestor father."Ibid. This woman was actually the grandmother of Asa (1 Kings 15:2). She was the favorite wife of Rehoboam, and, as may be inferred from the statement here, she held the important post of queen-mother, a very distinctive office in Jewish government. "Abishalom" This name is the same as Absalom, but as Absalom apparently

2 Kings 11:4-8 — shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that cometh within the ranks, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he goeth out, and when he cometh in." "Jehoiada" This man is designated as the High Priest in 2 Kings 12:10, but, in this chapter, he is called merely the priest. From this, certain radical scholars have postulated an impossible proposition, namely, that, "The high-priestly office was probably post-exilic."Anthony L. Ash, p. 308. Ridiculous! The

2 Kings 15:1-7 — was his birth name and that Uzziah was his coronation name."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 465. The year of his death is mentioned in Isaiah 6 as the time of a special vision that was seen by Isaiah. "The fifty-two years of this reign included 24 years as co-regent and 28 years as sole ruler."Ibid. See our introduction for an explanation of the chronological difficulties and discrepancies here. For those who wish to date the reign of Uzziah, LaSor gave it as circa 790-740 B.C.The New Bible

2 Kings 21:16-18 — mentioned here, and "It indicates some culminating horror, something not mentioned before; and these conditions are answered by supposing that the reference is to a bloody persecution of the righteous in Jerusalem."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 424. Josephus mentioned that persecution. "Setting out from a contempt of God, he barbarously slew all the righteous men that were among the Hebrews; nor would he spare the prophets, for every day he slew some of them, until Jerusalem was overflown with

2 Chronicles 3 overview — inaccurate. "Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God" - KJV. This rendition is undoubtedly the best one; and it has the utility of clearing up what would otherwise be an impossible contradiction later in 2 Chronicles 3:14. Also the ASV honored this translation of the passage by including it in the marginal reference. What is the significance of this? 2 Chronicles 3:14 below mentions Solomon's making the veil of the temple; but we have already noted that

Psalms 140:9-11 — which the Old Testament saints lived was that which is called the lex talionis, which means, "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." As Miller said, "It means, `Let like for like' be administered."C. M. Miller, co-author with Anthony L. Ash, p. 432. The Jewish conception of the ideal fulfillment of this law was: (1) that of the hanging of Haman on the gallows he had built for Mordecai; or (2) the retribution in kind executed upon Adonibezek whose thumbs were cut off and who was compelled to grovel

Psalms 79 overview — "The Funeral Anthem of a Nation."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. III, p. 177. Charles M. Miller's analysis of this psalm points out that it exhibits several elements found in other psalms: (1) Psalms 79:5; Psalms 79:7; Psalms 79:10 a are lamentation; (2) Psalms 79:6; Psalms 79:10 b,12 are imprecations; (3) Psalms 79:8-9 are pleas for forgiveness; (4) Psalms 79:11 pleads for deliverance; and (5) Psalms 79:13 carries a pledge of praise and thanksgiving following deliverance.C. M. Miller, co-author with

Isaiah 24:4-6 — have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are found guilty: therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." Isaiah 24:5 here explains the reason why such terrible things are in store for the earth and its inhabitants. The inhabitants themselves are declared "guilty." They have: (1) transgressed God's laws, and (2) they are specifically guilty of breaking the everlasting

Isaiah 45:20-25 — Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." The Old Israel is hardly in this passage at all, for it is addressed "unto them that escaped of the nations," i.e., to all of the redeemed of the whole earth, as indicated in Isaiah 45:22. Note also that the last two verses here have the expressions "Only in Jehovah," and "In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be blessed," these being the exact parallels of the great Pauline conception of salvation "in the Lord," "in Christ," "in

Jeremiah 21 overview — II. JUDGMENTS AGAINST ISRAEL AND MESSIANIC PROPHECIES (Jeremiah 21-29) A. COMMENTS ABOUT THE KINGS OF ISRAEL (Jeremiah 21-24) ZEDEKIAH IN THE SECOND SIEGE OF JERUSALEM The major difference to be found in this second major division of Jeremiah is the fact of so many of the episodes recorded being specifically connected

Nahum 3:19 — destruction of Nineveh appears repeatedly through the prophecy. Note the following: I will make thy grave, for thou art vile (Nahum 1:14). The wicked one shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off (Nahum 1:15). She is carried away (Nahum 2:7). She is empty, and void, and waste (Nahum 2:10). Where is the den of lions? (Nahum 2:11). The voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard (Nahum 2:13). I will set thee as a gazing-stock (Nahum 3:6). Nineveh is laid waste (Nahum 3:7). Thou shalt

John 14:3 — reference is not to Christ's return from the grave, but to his return from heaven, the second coming of the Lord, which is a part of the Christian faith. C. E. W. Dorris, A Commentary on the Gospel by John (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Co., 1939), p. 200. THE SECOND ADVENT Not only here but in Acts 1:11; Acts 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 4:13-17, etc., the doctrine of the second coming of Christ is emphatically taught, the same being one of the foundational teachings of Christianity. I.    What

Acts 7:41-43 — sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of the god Rephan, The figures which ye made to worship them: And I will carry you away beyond Babylon. This quotation is from Amos 5:25 ff and was introduced here as a further comment by Stephen upon the apostasy of Israel; and although the outright rejection of God and the widespread idolatry during the period of the monarchy came much later, Stephen's application of Amos' prophecy

2 Corinthians 11:3 — justified. The great analogy between Eve as the wife of Adam I and the church as the wife of Adam II is in bold relief here. The seduction of Eve was therefore viewed by Paul as a prophecy of the seduction of the church. Paul dealt with this at length in 2 Thessalonians 2. Just as Satan through subtlety deceived Eve, Paul feared that the false apostles, doing the work of Satan, would deceive the church. Several things of great importance appear in these lines: (1) The account of the temptation and fall

Colossians 2:11 — "old age" rite of circumcision. Circumcision here is the death of Christ (clearly a metaphorical reference — JBC), by which he wrought severance from the old age, cleansing from sin, and reconciliation to God. E. Earle Ellis, op. cit., p. 792. If circumcision should be made a type of baptism, then only men could be baptized; it would have to take place on the eighth day of their lives; there could be no prior conditions such as faith, repentance or confession; and it could be received only

2 Timothy 4:1 — attendant warnings should contain this powerful reminder of the eternal judgment to be faced by all men. Who shall judge the living and the dead … The living are those who shall remain and still be upon the earth at the time of the Second Advent (2 Thess. 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:51); the dead, of course, are the myriads who sleep in death until the coming of the Lord. And by his appearing and his kingdom … These are not added here as witnesses along with God and of Christ of Paul's solemn

Revelation 12:4 — Press, 1967), p. 569. This ancient understanding of it is attractive to this writer. It is true that we do not have much revealed on this subject; but all that is revealed fits the interpretation perfectly. We know that Satan has some angels (Matthew 25:41), and that these are almost certainly the same as the angels of 2 Peter 2:4. No less a scholar than Bruce agrees that, "The reference is probably to the angels who were involved in Satan's fall." F. F. Bruce, A New Testament Commentary

1 Samuel 26:6-12 — Samuel. Esau had Hittite wives, whose names are not given. Those people were one of the seven great nations displaced by Israel in their occupation of Canaan. "Abishai" along with Joab and Asahel were children of Zeruiah, who according to 1 Chronicles 2:16 was a sister of David. David, being the youngest in the family of Jesse probably had a number of cousins his own age or older. "Abishai saved David's life in one of the Philistine wars (2 Samuel 21:17), was implicated in the murder of Abner (2 Samuel

1 Samuel 3:1 — "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." "The boy Samuel" "The term `boy' as used here is applied to an infant (1 Samuel 4:21) or to a man forty years old (2 Chronicles 13:7)."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 384. Samuel was probably about twelve years of age at the time of this episode, as was stated by Josephus.Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 169. That was traditionally

1 Samuel 30:1-6 — God." "David and his men came to Ziklag" Young stated that, "From the probable site of Aphek to the probable site of Ziklag is about seventy miles, so David and his men must have returned by forced marches."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, Samuel, p. 292. Regarding the distance between those two places, scholars do not agree. Willis gave it as 80 miles; Cook estimated it at "about fifty"; and Philbeck's "guess" was "nearly 60." Whatever the distance, it is clear enough that David and his men had covered