Bible Commentaries

Genesis 12:20 — curiosities of the O.T. is the appearance of two other very similar stories, although different, from the one related here. One of the others likewise involved Abraham in Gerar (Genesis 20), and the other is related about Isaac in Gerar (Genesis 26:7-11). Of course, we reject the critical thesis that this event really could never have happened three times. They resolve the problem, of course, by supposing the confusion of different sources, or "different traditions" that the narrator combined into

Exodus 4:10 — in addressing the steward of Joseph's house (Genesis 43:20). Judah used it when pleading with Joseph to spare Benjamin (Genesis 44:18). Aaron used it when pleading for Miriam (Numbers 12:11). And Joshua thus addressed God when speaking of Ai (Joshua 7:8).

Exodus 6:4 — will. "They were punishments inflicted upon a proud and cruel nation by a Judge!"Ibid The glimpse of Calvary that appears here was mentioned by Unger: Exodus as a book of redemption presents a type of all redemption. It is wholly from God (Exodus 3:7-8). It is through a Person (Exodus 2:2). It is by blood (Exodus 12:13; Exodus 12:23; Exodus 12:27). It is by power (Exodus 6:6).Merrill F. Unger, op. cit., p. 110.

2 Chronicles 4:7-10 — one side, and five on the other. The table of the showbread was changed into ten tables with five on the north side and five on the south (2 Chronicles 4:19). He made the candlesticks of gold according to the ordinance concerning them (2 Chronicles 4:7). This should not mislead us. God had indeed required the candlesticks to be of gold; and, in that alone did Solomon heed the divine ordinance. That this is true is proved by the fact that when the second temple was constructed, the golden candlestick

Nehemiah 11:1-2 — the temple was located therein. "The rest of the people cast lots" "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33). "In the course of Jewish history, they east lots in the selection of persons (Joshua 7:16-18), for the distribution of lands (Numbers 26:25-26), and for determining the order in which persons should execute an office (1 Chronicles 24:5)";Ibid. and, in the previous chapter of Nehemiah, it is written that they cast lots to decide who would

Nehemiah 11:22-24 — matters concerning the people." Artaxerxes was indeed a friend of Israel; and here we find that he had allotted a regular payment for the Levites and singers. He had already exempted them from all tolls, tribute, custom and taxes of every kind (Ezra 7:24); and his cooperation with both Ezra and Nehemiah in all of the things done for the Chosen People is the sine qua non of everything in both of these Biblical books. "Now he had even gone further and assigned an allotment from the royal revenue for

Nehemiah 7:5 — with that in the Book of Ezra. "This list is approximately the same as that of the exiles who returned under Zerubbabel; and it must have been found by Nehemiah in the archives in Jerusalem."Arthur S. Peake's Commentary, p. 333. "Except for Nehemiah 7:70-72, this register is identical with that in Ezra 2:1-70."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 441. Nothing is of less interest to current readers than these genealogical registers in the O.T.; but the importance of them is great indeed. The great

Esther 9:26-28 — casting lots to decide the day when the Jews would be destroyed. "The Jews took the Persian word Pur, and gave it a Hebrew plural Purim, either because the Persian method of casting involved several lots, or because Haman cast Pur several times (Esther 3:7)."Ibid.

Job 7:17-21 — And take away mine iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; And thou shalt seek me diligently, but I shall not be." "Once again the angry questions pour out. Why, why, why?"The Bible Speaks Today (Downer's Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1976), p. 73. "What is man… that thou shouldest set thy mind against him" "Job here demands to know why God concerns himself to interfere with so insignificant a being as man."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 297. "The language of Job 7:17 is too

Psalms 10:15-16 — the creed of God's people ever since the call and redemption of Israel (Exodus 15:18). Yes, God's absolute and eternal kingship will in time be realized, even in all the universality and endless duration of it, as foretold in Zechariah 14:9; Daniel 7:14; and Revelation 11:15.F. Delitzsch, op. cit., p. 184.

Psalms 104:1-5 — poetic expressions of God's ubiquitousness and mobility are highly imaginative, but there is no ground whatever for criticizing them. "Who maketh winds his messengers and flames of fire his ministers" A marginal reading for "winds" is angels; Hebrews 1:7 sheds light on what is meant here. "And of the angels he saith, "Who maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire." "Who laid the foundations of the earth" It is not merely the creation of the earth but its stability and permanence which

Psalms 18:48-50 — "Gentiles." "To his anointed." "These words at their full value portray the Lord's Anointed, ultimately the Messiah."Derek Kidner, op. cit., p. 96. "This psalm is Messianic in that it reflects God's covenant with David and his descendants (2 Samuel 7:12-16)."Arnold B. Rhodes, The Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 9 (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1960), p. 46. It will be recalled that in that prophecy, God promised David that "of his seed" one would arise who would build God's house (The Holy Church),

Psalms 22:6-8 — "He is despised (as men despise a worm) and is not recognized by his contemporaries as a human being with rights."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 464. "They laugh me to scorn… shoot out the lip… shake (or wag) the head" (Psalms 22:7). The apostle Matthew recorded the fulfillment of this: "They that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads" (Matthew 27:39). "Let him (God) deliver him, seeing he delighteth in him" (Psalms 22:8). These were the very words of Christ's enemies while

Psalms 6:6-7 — eye that God respects as the broken heart."W. L. Watkinson, Homiletic Commentary, Psalms (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company), p. 22. Nevertheless, genuine sorrow for sin is a vital part of repentance. "Godly sorrow worketh repentance" (2 Corinthians 7:10); and one who has never shed a tear because of his sins might indeed wonder if he ever truly repented. In respect to the Penitential Psalms, it is recorded of Augustine that in his last sickness he ordered these Psalms to be inscribed in a visible

Psalms 7:17 — pagans of Palestine so designated one of their false deities, but "in the Bible" the term has no other application than the one evident here. It belongs to the true God and Creator of all things. Melchizedek was a priest of "God Most High" (Genesis 14:17-24); and in the few verses where he is introduced the expression "God Most High" is found four times; but the expression is not often found in the Old Testament. Significantly, Abraham himself used it and made it absolutely certain that the words refer

Psalms 93:1-2 — (4) by divine right; (5) by right of maintenance, "upholding all things by the word of his power"; (6) by right of purchase (This establishes God's right to rule over humanity in that he purchased, or redeemed us, through the blood of His Son); and (7) by right of his present position on the Eternal Throne (God is not a mere pretender; his rulership is a fait accompli). "Jehovah reigneth" (Psalms 93:1).

Leviticus 7:1-10 — and all that is dressed in the frying-pan, and on the baking-pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. And every meal-offering, mingled with oil, or dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as well as another." "One as well as another" (Leviticus 7:10) appears to have been the ancient way of saying, "share and share alike." There is hardly anything here different from the instructions listed in previous chapters concerning these different offerings, the focus here being on exactly what portions

Leviticus 7:37-38 — Jehovah commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto Jehovah, in the wilderness of Sinai." These two verses are the formal summary of the whole first sections of Leviticus (Leviticus 1-7), and it should be particularly noted that the time and the place of these instructions as well as the human author through whom they were given are dramatically stated. We cannot believe that any man has the authority to replace this sacred information

Luke 19 overview — the hope of all nations and the King of God's kingdom. Actually, the public declaration of his Messiahship began with the healing of the blind man, a sign which Jesus did as "the Son of David," as twice proclaimed by the beggar (Luke 19:18:37,38): (1) This first "announcement" (it was actually that) was founded on the fact that restoring sight to the blind was one of the prophetic signs of the Messianic age (Luke 19:4:18; Luke 7:21; Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5). (2) Jesus' calling

Romans 11 overview — had been almost indistinguishable, there being no sharp separation between them, but Paul showed in the beginning of this chapter that the separation had been made, with the true Israel continuing as Christianity, and the "rest" (Romans 11:7) hardened, the latter being the whole of external Judaism. Paul devoted most of the remaining verses to explaining the relationship between the two Israels by the use of several comparisons, and then dramatically stated the mystery in Romans 11:25.