Bible Commentaries

Exodus 6:14 — out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron." First it should be noted that this is a selective and abbreviated genealogy. It is evident that, "There are not enough years in the life spans of these men to stretch over the 430 years of Egyptian bondage."Wilbur Fields, op. cit, p. 149. The Amram of Exodus 6:18, and the Amram of Exodus 6:20 (Moses' father) cannot be the same persons. "An indefinitely long list of generations has been omitted here."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p.

Job 38:31-33 — ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?" Four of the great constellations that adorn the heavens are mentioned here: (1) The Pleiades, always prominent in the Spring; (2) Orion which dominates the wintry skies; (3) Ursa Major (The Bear, or Great Dipper) prominent in the northern skies; and (4) the Mazaroth, "The meaning is obscure, but it is possibly the twelve Zodiacal signs, or those that dominate the southern skies."M. T. Fermer in The New Bible Dictionary,

Psalms 106:28-31 — judgment; And so the plague was stayed. And that was reckoned unto him for righteousness, Unto all generations forevermore." The tragic record of this wholesale rebellion against God is given in Numbers 25, concerning which reference is made to Vol. 3 of my Pentateuchal commentaries, pp. 489-496. "They ate the sacrifices for the dead" "This statement is interpreted best as a reference to the idol itself as the dead thing."H. C. Leupold, p. 749.

Psalms 116:3-4 — HOW PRECARIOUS HIS SITUATION WAS "The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of Jehovah: O Jehovah, I beseech thee, deliver my soul." Leupold noted that "Psalms 116:3 here is based upon Psalms 18:4."H. C. Leupold, p. 805. This verse describes his illness (or whatever the crisis was) in figurative language. "In the Old Testament, death is represented as a hunter with a cord and a net. In any lingering sickness, the

Psalms 28:1 — be not thou deaf unto me" (Psalms 28:1). The use of the term `Rock' as a name for God, "Occurs thirty-three times in the Old Testament and is expressive of the support and strength which the Lord supplies for those who seek him."George DeHoff, Vol. 3, p. 120. "Them that go down into the pit" (Psalms 28:1). The word `pit' here, "Is frequently a metaphor for death and is often the equivalent of `Sheol.' "Anthony L. Ash, p. 109. The appearance of this kind of terminology here indicates that David indeed

Psalms 83:6-8 — Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. (Selah)" The peoples mentioned here are: (1) the Edomites; (2) the Ishmaelites; (3) the Moabites; (4) the Hagarenes; (5) Gebal; (6) Ammon; (7) Amalek; (8) Philistines; (9) Tyre; and (10) Assyria. All of these are well known, except Gebal and the Hagarenes. Gebal was "An ancient Phoenician city situated on a bluff overlooking the Mediterranean

Leviticus 19:31 — thing prophesied in the N.T. - "men shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables." What happens when people consult such characters? They are "defiled." Even a king of Israel (Saul) consulted the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28:3-7), and it may be supposed that there were wholesale violations of God's law throughout the nation. Even with the enlightenment of our own times the superstition of people with reference to such things enables thousands to make their living catering

Leviticus 26:46 — these revelations and instructions to Moses, who in turn, acting upon the commandment of God, wrote them in a book (the Pentateuch, of course), and delivered it to the Jewish people, whom God designated as "custodians" of the O.T. Scriptures (Romans 3:2).

Ezekiel 7:1 — MORE ON THE DOOM OF ISRAEL Some have called this chapter a dirge; but, "There are four oracles in it: (1) Ezekiel 7:2-4, (2) Ezekiel 7:5-9, (3) Ezekiel 7:10-11, and (4) Ezekiel 7:12-13, followed by an exposition of their common theme (Ezekiel 7:14-27)."G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 669. The date of this section of the prophecy as given in 1:1 would leave about

Hosea 2:19-20 — in faithfulness; and thou shalt know Jehovah." The triple betrothal here signals a marriage, not a remarriage to the apostate whore, but to a people of God who will exhibit the five Christian virtues of this passage: (1) righteousness; (2) justice; (3) loving-kindness; (4) mercies; and (5) faithfulness. As Hailey flatly declared: "The betrothal here indicates a new marriage based on the New Covenant."Ibid. Note the emphasis upon one of the great words of the passage in Jeremiah 31:31-35, "Thou shalt

Joel 2:14 — drink-offering unto Jehovah your God? "Who knoweth" This was exactly the response of the people of Nineveh to the preaching of Jonah. They said: "Who knoweth whether God will not turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" (Jonah 3:9). This very likely indicates knowledge on the part of the Ninevites of this very passage in Joel; because all of the ancient Gentile nations were fully aware of God's special dealings with Israel, of his bringing them up out of Egypt; and they had,

Amos 1:4 — palaces of Ben-Hadad. Hazael was the founder of the dynasty that included two or three kings named Ben-Hadad; so this is the equivalent of saying that the royal family would be destroyed. "Ben-Hadad was the title of the dynasty."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 3. These, and the other judgments to follow are truly terrible; and there are always people who cannot understand why God should deal out such awful judgments; but Morgan has a word of explanation, thus: "No new philosophy will excuse nations that trifle

Amos 8:6 — to their having defaulted upon some minor and trifling debt. "Sell the refuse of the wheat" This is a third device pointed out in this passage, used for swindling and defrauding the customer. They were: (1) false measurements; (2) false scales; and (3) delivery of inferior merchandise. The refuse of the wheat was hardly fit for animals, as it was derived from the sweepings of the threshing floors; but these unscrupulous rascals were delivering it to the poor instead of the good merchandise which

Nahum 1:11 — Nineveh: "Nineveh is addressed; and we need not refer the words entirely to Sennacherib and his impious threats, but may take them generally as expressing the arrogant impiety of the Assyrians and their attitude toward Jehovah."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 3. "That counselleth wickedness…." often rendered, "a wicked counsellor," is literally, "A counsellor of Belial."Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), p. 823. Belial was sometimes

Nahum 3:3 — glittering spear, and a multitude of slain, and a great heap of corpses, and there is no end of the bodies; they stumble upon their bodies." This is a continuation of the description of the attack, beginning at once after the utterance of doom in Nahum 3:1 - "Woe to the bloody city!" The numbers of the dead were so great as to impede the free movement of the attackers. "Such a ghastly scene overwhelms the imagination. Again and again, in brief staccato clauses, harsh-sounding, almost incoherent in their

Matthew 5:8 — been purified by faith (Acts 15:9) and obedience to the gospel (1 Peter 1:22). The "heart" in this passage is, of course, THE MIND. According to the Scriptures, it is "THE HEART" that imagines (Genesis 6:5), understands (Matthew 15:13), reasons (Mark 2:8), thinks (Luke 9:47), believes (Romans 10:9), and loves (1 Peter 1:22). These passages are more than enough to identify the Scriptural "heart" as the mind or seat of the intelligence. They shall see God … This is

Matthew 6:33 — But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. This is a divine appeal for men to put first things first. The kingdom of God should be placed first: (1) in importance, (2) in point of time, and (3) in emphasis. The righteousness men should seek is that of Christ, not their own. This means that God's commandments should be honored, rather than men's, and that his doctrine should be received and practiced instead of the commandments and traditions

Matthew 9:15 — bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then will they fast. This was an answer calculated to convince John's disciples, because John had already identified Jesus as the bridegroom, saying, "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom" (John 3:29). There is heavenly genius in this answer of Christ. The habit of the Pharisees of indulging every appetite, to the point of gluttony and drunkenness, at a wedding, makes this a center shot. Since Christ is the bridegroom, THIS IS A WEDDING (in a

Luke 12:29-31 — unnecessary."Charles L. Childers, op. cit., p. 524. Believers are not expected to be drones. "Honest toil and the fulfillment of one's temporal obligations are not only consistent with faith; they are prerequisite to faith (2 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 5:8)."Ibid.

Luke 5:9-10 — instant of their being called into a new and higher relationship with Jesus as apostles. Elements which aided their decision were (1) the consciousness of Jesus' miraculous power, (2) a vision of something greater, "thou shalt catch men," and (3) a consciousness of sin. Only Peter acknowledged sin here; but it may be that the others were equally guilty of the same attitude.