Bible Commentaries

Genesis 49:22-24 — Joseph in his relationship with his brothers. Triumph for Joseph is clearly foretold. Of very great interest in these verses is the reference to "The Mighty One of Jacob." This is the first of five names for God which Jacob used here and in Genesis 49:25, below. They are: The Mighty One of Jacob. (Psalms 132:2; Psalms 132:5; Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 60:16). The Shepherd. (Psalms 23; Ezekiel 34:11-16; Psalms 80:1). The Stone of Israel. (Deuteronomy 32:4; Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18; Deuteronomy

1 Kings 2:1-4 — he) a man on the throne of Israel." (See my remarks above regarding David's quotation from the Law of Moses.) The latter part of this charge regarded the conditional promise of God regarding David's earthly dynasty. There were two things prophesied in 2 Samuel 7 : (1) the promise of Messiah who would reign on David's throne forever, and (2) the continuity of David's earthly dynasty. The promise of the Messiah was unconditional, but the promise of the continuity of David's posterity upon the throne

1 Kings 9:10-14 — which thou hast given me? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king six-score talents of gold." "Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee" Some commentators think they have found a contradiction in 2 Chronicles 8:2 where it is related that Hiram (Huram) gave Solomon these twenty cities; but that is no contradiction. Hiram announced the worthlessness of the cities and returned them to the giver, as we should have expected after what is written here. "He

2 Kings 13:10-13 — of Elisha. The sacred verdict on the life of Joash king of Israel was simple enough. "He did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah." It is interesting that Josephus flatly declared that, "Joash was a good man,"Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 289. an opinion that Josephus might have formed from the kindness Joash showed to Elisha in his terminal illness (2 Kings 13:14 ff). We do not believe that Josephus' opinion was correct; but if it should be allowed, then Joash is the only one of the kings

1 Chronicles 23:1-6 — praise therewith. And David divided them into courses according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari." "Now David was old… and made Solomon his son king over Israel" The truth here makes it impossible to receive Nathan's prophecy in 2 Samuel 7 as a primary reference to Solomon. The Great One mentioned there was prophesied to be born after David slept with his fathers. This verse clearly indicates that Solomon enjoyed a co-regency for an unspecified time with David his father. "Levites

2 Chronicles 3:1-7 — delay to the fourth year may have been due to the problems of collecting materials, or it may represent a four-year co-regency of Solomon with his father David."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 495. (See the chapter heading for a discussion of 2 Chronicles 3:3.) "And the porch… the height a hundred and twenty (cubits)" "This height which so much exceeds the height of the main building (1 Kings 6:2) should probably be corrected by the reading of the Arabic version and by the Alexandrian

Ezra 6:8-10 — unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons." "And pray for the life of the king, and of his sons" "Jeremiah's admonition for the Jews to seek the peace of Babylon during their residence there in the captivity (Jeremiah 29:7), was interpreted as a requirement that they should pray for their civil rulers, which the Jews do even until this day. In view of the kindness to them of the Persian kings, they would not have neglected to do this."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 7a,

Job 28 overview — is to show that we must acquiesce in the inscrutable dispensations of Divine Providence, without being able fully to understand them."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition). Job, Vol. 2, p. 59. "The chapter also teaches that wisdom is completely beyond the reach of men, unless the quest for it is carried on in the setting of the fear of the Lord."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 436, The chapter divisions regard: (1) "Man's phenomenal

Psalms 22:1-2 — It is also believed by many that God Himself did indeed, for a little while, withdraw his presence from Christ in order to make it possible for Christ to die. There is much in the sacred Scriptures to commend this view. Christ is spoken of in Hebrews 2:9 as the One, who by the grace of God did indeed, "Taste of death for every man." Isaiah tells us that, "God laid upon him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). Paul mentioned that God Himself "Set forth the Christ to be a propitiation" (Romans

Psalms 71:21-24 — all the day long; For they are put to shame, for they are confounded, that seek my hurt." These verses, like all the others in the psalm, are loaded with the words and expressions frequently used by David. The "harp" and the "psaltery" of Psalms 71:22 are in Psalms 33:2; and the words "shame" and "confounded" used together in Psalms 71:24 regarding David's enemies are found in exactly the same context in Psalms 35:4; Psalms 40:14; Psalms 70:2. "Increase thou my greatness" These words are far more

Psalms 89:1-4 — a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant: Thy seed will I establish forever, And build up thy throne to all generations." The first two verses here are the pledge of the psalmist to sing the praises of God forever; and Psalms 89:2-4 are a summary of 2 Samuel 7, the key passage of the Scriptures in which God through the prophet Nathan made the glorying promises presented here. The entire psalm is related to God's promise of an everlasting kingdom, through the posterity of David. Apparently,

Proverbs 2:12-15 — youth."Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (London: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), op. cit., p. 706. Such men are totally destructive, rebellious and critical; and they are bankrupt of any worthwhile purpose. "To walk in the ways of darkness" (Proverbs 2:13). Christians are specifically warned against the ways of darkness. Much of the world's evil is perpetrated in darkness, due to men's instinctive desire to hide their evil deeds. "The word darkness carries with it two ideas (1) ignorance, and (2)

Leviticus 7:11-14 — himself was privileged to eat the meat offered and to share it with his friends. "The peace-offering was the only one that laymen were allowed to eat."Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), p. 123. From this, it has been supposed that upon occasions of peace-offerings many of the Israelites had a rare opportunity to eat meat. The peace-offerings were discussed in Leviticus 3; the additional instruction here regards the particular type of peace-offering

Isaiah 5:1-2 — and it brought forth wild grapes." "My well beloved" In the light of what follows in Isaiah 5:7, we know that Isaiah's "well beloved" here is no other than the "Lord of Hosts." As for the winepress, the tower, etc., these are fully discussed in Vol. 2 of my New Testament series, pp. 221-222. The message is that every possible improvement and advantage of the wonderful vineyard were provided by the God who planted it. "The choicest vine" These were the great Jewish patriarchs, especially, Abraham,

Ezekiel 2 overview — defections from the northern group, had become in fact "the united Israel." At this point in time, Israel was no longer a mighty nation but a discouraged remnant of captives in Babylon. Despite this, the whole "house of Israel" is in this chapter (Ezekiel 2:3) called a rebellious nation, "the last term, here, being the very word used in the Old Testament for the Gentiles."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 23. This shows the total alienation of the nation from God. We may therefore take

Numbers 5:1-4 — the camp; as Jehovah spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel." When compared with the rules in Leviticus, it is evident that supplementary information is here supplied. (1)    The rule applies to females, as well as males. (2)    The reason for the exclusion is given in Numbers 5:3, that being the identity of their camp as the place where God Himself dwelt in their midst. (3)    There also appears the extension of including "all,"

Numbers 6:1-4 — any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk." The Nazirites were a special class of people "raised up by God himself' (Amos 2:11-12) to further and deepen the spiritual life of the people. They were even classed with the prophets by Amos. Unger noted that the sanctity of Israel as being "the people of God," attained "its highest expression in the Nazirite vow."Merrill F. Unger,

Revelation 20:1 — down out of heaven … This angel is not Christ; one nameless angel is all that Christ needed to dispatch Satan finally and irrevocably. Having the key of the abyss … "In all the places where abyss is used (Revelation 9:1; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 11:7; Revelation 17:8, including Luke 8:31), the word signifies the present abode of Satan and his angels, not the place of their final punishment." A. Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan:

Revelation 22:12 — Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to each man according as his work is. Behold, I come quickly For discussion of this, see under Revelation 22:7. And my reward is with me, to render to each man … The coming of Christ in the New Testament is invariably associated with the final judgment of the good and bad alike, the good to receive eternal life, and the wicked to receive the second

1 Samuel 22:3-5 — Samuel may have commanded him to attach to the company of David. In fact, the whole prophetic community of Israel automatically became allies of David following the tragic slaughter of the priests by Saul. "He became the king's seer after David was king (2 Samuel 24:11); he rebuked David for the sin of numbering Israel; and after David's death, he wrote a history of that monarch's reign (1 Chronicles 29:29). He also seems to have been concerned with arranging the temple services (2 Chronicles 29:25)."J.