Bible Commentaries

Genesis 33:3-7 — themselves; and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves." "Bowed … seven times" The manner of this was, "not in immediate succession, but bowing and advancing, until he came near his brother."Thomas Whitelaw, op. cit., p. 399. Willis summarizes the steps that each brother took in the reconciliation: JACOB: (1) he bowed before him seven times (Genesis 33:3); (2) he called himself Esau's servant twice (Genesis 33:5; Genesis 33:14); (3) referred to Esau as his "lord" four

Exodus 20:12 — is bound upon mankind by apostolic authority. Paul said, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise), that thou mayest live long on the earth" (Ephesians 6:1-3). Disobedience of people regarding this has been widespread in all ages. Even in the times of Christ, the keepers of the temple had concocted a device for enabling wealthy Hebrews to avoid giving the care and support to their parents which the Law of

Job 5:8-16 — "But not upon the conditions which Eliphaz here imagined."New Century Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 54. "He setteth up on high those that are low" Barnes pointed out that the Virgin Mary very beautifully expressed much the same thought in Luke 1:52-53.Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition),Job, Vol. 1, p. 160. "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness" Also, it appears that Eliphaz' remarks here prompted the apostle Paul to write

Isaiah 11:1-5 — ultimate fates of Assyria and Judah appears in the prophecy which gave Lebanon as a metaphor for Assyria (a reference to their cedars). As many have noted, "Cedars when felled throw out no fresh suckers."J. R. Dummelow, J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 423. The reference here to the coming Messiah as being from the stock of Jesse should not compromise the truth that the Messiah is the Second David. Christ is called the "Root of David" also in Rev. 5;5; 22:16. "There is a resumption here of the theme of

Isaiah 45:20-25 — Lord," "in Christ," "in him," "in the Beloved," and equivalent expressions, which are found "one hundred-sixty nine times in Paul's New Testament writings."John Mackay, President, Princeton University, God's Order (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953). There is a widespread misunderstanding of what is meant by Isaiah 45:23. Wardle thought that the meaning is, "Every man shall swear allegiance to God";Peake's Commentary Series, p. 464. However, the New Testament usage of this passage shows more clearly

Ezekiel 31:10-14 — them that go down to the pit." ASSYRIA'S FALL WAS A WARNING AGAINST HUMAN PRIDE "Thus said the Lord Jehovah" Note the past tense. This is a reference to the prophecy of the doom of Assyria, as fully recounted in Nahum. (See my commentary on this, Vol. 3, pp. 3-58.) Ezekiel 31:10-14 set forth the fall of Assyria in its true status, that is, as a past event, already known to the whole world of that period. A mighty one of the nations (Nebuchadnezzar) has gone up against it; and we see the great trunk

Amos 2 overview — The prophecies against eight nations reach their climax in this chapter where the judgments are pronounced against Moab (Amos 2:1-3), against Judah (Amos 2:4-5), and against Israel (Amos 1:6-15), in which the principal thrust of Amos' great prophecy reaches its primary object. It will appear in this chapter that Amos' words were directed against the gross social sins of that era,

Matthew 2:1 — giving the date of Jesus' birth, a point on which there is much difference of opinion among scholars and commentators. H. Leo Boles makes the date 4 B.C. Dummelow makes it not later than 6 B.C. Encyclopedias usually date the reign of Herod the Great as 37 B.C. to 4 B.C. Now, if it could be ascertained with accuracy that Herod died the year our Lord was born, then the date would lie approximately 4 B.C. However, some scholars like Dummelow, understand Matthew 2:16 as a reference to a period of waiting

John 1:41 — had been earnestly expecting and waiting for the Messiah and that they had been searching to find him, their attitude of expectancy having resulted from John the Baptist's preaching, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Thus, the prior attitude of those first disciples accounts for their rapid progress. They first addressed the Lord as "Rabbi"; and, after only a day with him, they affirmed that he was the Messiah. Note that John again interpreted the

Acts 3:20-21 — And that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus, whom the heavens must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been of old. Whereas in Acts 2:38 Peter had promised that remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit would follow their obeying the gospel, there is here assigned another consequence, namely, that (God) may send the Christ, etc. Christ had already come and completed the work

Romans 2 overview — agree with Lenski who imagined that the subject of these verses (Romans 2:1-16) is "the self-convicted moralist," R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1963), p. 128. because a careful reading of this passage shows that the people under consideration were not "moral" in any sense. There can be no reasonable doubt that the typical unbelieving Jew was the focus of Paul's attention in this place.

1 Corinthians 9:24 — Analogies are: (1) to win; a man must contend legally, being properly enrolled in the contest, suggesting that a Christian must contend along with others in the church, and not as some kind of free-lance operator; (2) discipline is required (Hebrews 12:1); (3) some win; others do not win; (4) a host of spectators views the contest (Hebrews 12:1); (5) patience is necessary; (6) the winner receives the prize. The contrasts are: (1) only one may win an earthly race; all may win the heavenly; (2) the earthly

2 Corinthians 7:10 — whereas of baptism alone is it declared that it is "into Christ." Further comment on the subject of repentance will be found in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 17,18, in my Commentary on Luke, pp. 287-290, and in my Commentary on Romans, pp. 367-370, etc. Several important teachings with regard to repentance appear in this verse: (1) Christians who commit sin are commanded to repent, the same being an invariable duty of all people, aliens and Christians alike. In the case of sin, repentance

Ephesians 3:10 — the teachings people have allegedly found in this verse: John Locke: The governments and powers in the heavenly places are the Jewish religious leaders. MacKnight: They are the different orders of the angels in heaven. James Macknight, op. cit., p. 303. Calvin, Hodge, Grosheide and Lenski thought this refers to the good angels in heaven. William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 158. A. T. Robertson understood the reference as to "evil powers or fallen angels, exclusively. Ibid. Such variety of opinions

Philippians 1:3-5 — together (Philippians 2:2). The joy of suffering for Christ (Philippians 2:17). The joy of news of a loved one (Philippians 2:28). The joy of Christian hospitality (Philippians 2:29). The joy of the man who has been baptized into Christ (Philippians 3:1; Philippians 4:1). The joy of the man who has won one soul for the Lord (Philippians 4:1). The joy inherent in every gift (Philippians 4:10), this being not in regard merely to its value but to the fact of another's caring. William Barclay, op. cit.,

Philippians 3:5-6 — was one of the noble Pharisees, the same being one who sincerely and honestly tried to measure up to all of the strict and scrupulous teachings of this demanding group. For discussion of other types of Pharisees, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 3:7. The Sadducees were materialists, politically minded unbelievers, who denied many teachings of the Scriptures. The Pharisees were far better than they, but the Sadducees held most of the high offices. As touching zeal, persecuting the church …

Joshua 8 overview — nation an effective lesson, i.e., that, if they obeyed God, He would bless them, and that, if they did not obey Him, they would suffer. Every student of this chapter is at once confronted with what is alleged to be a contradiction between the number of 30,000 chosen for the ambush in Joshua 8:3, and the number 5,000 mentioned allegedly for the same ambush in Joshua 8:12. We have read several explanations of this: (1) Keil and other very dependable scholars affirm that a scribal error is responsible,

Colossians 3:3-4 — For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Ye died … your life is hid … See Barclay's comment on this under Colossians 3:1. Also see comment by Bruce. When Christ … shall be manifested … Each of the significant clauses in this verse is actually related to the thought of the Christian's life being "hid with Christ." True it is hidden now, but at

Hebrews 7:27 — be observed that the writer says "once a year" (Hebrews 9:7), "year by year" (Hebrews 10:1); and that he knows Leviticus 16:2 ("not at all times"), and Leviticus 16:29, and also has "once a year" (Leviticus 16:34). R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 244. It should be noted that this is a comparison between Christ who "daily" intercedes with us, coupled with the hypothetical implication that "if" he had been sinful, he would therefore have had

Judges 16:1-3 — Mediterranean coast."Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Old Testament, Judges, p. 259. " We agree with Hervey that this episode "came many years after Samson's victory at Lehi, near the latter part of Samson's twenty-year judgeship."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 3-C, p. 166. This appears to be evident from the mention of that 20-year interval in the last verse of Judges 15, that being the purpose of its mention there, and not the indication of "separate sources," as some vainly suppose. As Keil said regarding