Bible Commentaries

Genesis 6:3 — phenomenon witnessed again and again throughout the Bible. It is not so designated here, but that is undeniably what it is. This is equivalent in every way to Paul's statement regarding a later evil generation that, "God gave them up" (Romans 1:24; Romans 1:26; Romans 1:28). This is different from causing men to sin, but it always leads to the proliferation and intensity of sin. It means that God will, at last, allow men the right of choosing sin, if they must. We shall encounter this phenomenon again and

Genesis 7:2-3 — seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of the earth." Right here is where the critics start screaming contradiction! They assert that this is from a different source, and that another source to which they ascribe Genesis 6:20 mentions only "two of every sort." The very next verse (Genesis 6:21), however, stressed that "food of every sort" was also to be taken into the ark; and, if as seems likely (though disputed by some) that animal flesh had been a source of food long

Exodus 32 overview — The episode of The Golden Calf Apostasy of Israel is recorded in this chapter, some six paragraphs being devoted to the narrative: (1)    the making of the calf (Exodus 32:1-6); (2)    Moses' intercession on behalf of Israel (Exodus 32:7-14); (3)    the wrath of Moses (Exodus 32:15-20); (4)    Aaron's excuses (Exodus 32:21-24); (5)    the faithfulness

2 Kings 16:5-6 — Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome him. At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drove the Jews from Elath; and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there, unto this day." "2 Kings 16:5 here is practically identical with Isaiah 7:1."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 457. In fact, Isaiah probably is the author of a great many passages in Kings. From the account in Isaiah we learn the reason for this war against Judah.

Psalms 119:41-48 — STROPHE 6A PROMISE TO TRUST IN THE LAW AND A VOW TO SERVE ITWITH DELIGHT AND LOVE Waw "Let thy lovingkindness also come unto me, O Jehovah, Even thy salvation, according to thy word. So shall I have an answer for him that reproacheth me; For I trust in thy word.

Psalms 29:1-2 — in holy array." "O ye sons of the mighty" (Psalms 29:1). The problem associated with this passage regards, "Who are these sons of the mighty?" Addis and most critical scholars render this place, "`Sons of God,' meaning superhuman beings as in Genesis 6:1." The trouble with that is that Genesis 6:1 is not a reference either to superhuman beings or to angels of God but to ordinary humans who loved and served God. See our full discussion of this question in Vol. 1 of our Pentateuch Series, Genesis, pp.

Psalms 62:5-8 — and my salvation: He is my high tower; I shall not be moved. With God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times, ye people; Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us." Psalms 62:5-6 here are almost a verbatim repeat of Psalms 62:1-2, with three variations. (1) Whereas, in Psalms 62:1 the psalmist's soul is said to rest in God; here it is commanded to do so. (2) The strong assurance of Psalms 62:2 seems to be slightly downgraded

Proverbs 17:18 — "A man void of understanding striketh hands, And becometh surety in the presence of his neighbor." See comment on Proverbs 6:1 ff. Proverbs gives very stern and persistent warnings against becoming another man's guarantee or surety.

Proverbs 27:4 — "Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy?" The thought here is that, of all hostility, jealousy is the worst. Proverbs 6:34 emphasizes the same truth. See our comment there.

Matthew 28:7-8 — I have told you. And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word. The angel in this passage summoned the disciples to a prearranged meeting place with Christ in Galilee, upon a mountain (Matthew 26:32). Robertson identified the appearance there with the one mentioned by Paul (1 Corinthians 15:6) in which Christ was seen by more than five hundred brethren at one time.A. T. Robertson, A Harmony of the Gospels (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1922),

Matthew 3:3 — ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. The passage here quoted is Isaiah 40:3, but Isaiah is not the only prophet who prophesied of the mission of the great herald of the gospel age. Another equally significant prophecy is Malachi 4:5-6 in which the office and work of the herald are explicitly foretold. It is from Christ himself that one learns this passage's application to John. Jesus had identified himself as the Messiah to his disciples, but the disciples had been troubled by the

Matthew 5:9 — Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). How proper it is, therefore, that the citizens of his kingdom shall be peacemakers. Indeed, persons without this attitude need not apply. There are several ways in which God's children can serve as peacemakers: (1) Through spiritual instruction, they

Mark 11:24-26 — whensoever ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any one; that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. This important passage sheds light upon the manner of Jesus' teaching the Twelve. A comparison with Matthew 6:15, where portions of this are conspicuous in the Sermon on the Mount, and with Matthew 18:35, where almost the same words were used to conclude the parable of the unmerciful servant, shows that Jesus repeated over and over many basic truths, introducing

Luke 1:76 — inspiration of the Holy Spirit could have prompted the father of this child of such long hopes and prayers to have deferred any mention of him until near the end of the prophecy. One is reminded of the cows that went lowing away from their calves (1 Samuel 6:7-12). Most High … See under Luke 1:32. Go before the face of the Lord … These words are an elaboration of the prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6. The imagery is that of a herald going before a king to prepare the way for a royal visitor. Here

Luke 6:5 — hair-splitting interpretations! (2)    He showed that "on the sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless," and that "one greater than the temple" was among them (Matthew 12:5-6). Jesus, the true and greater temple, of which the old temple was merely a type, was being served by his disciples; and, even if their actions were illegal (although they were not) they would have been sanctified by the holy purpose of serving the greater

Acts 11:18 — pretended to derive their authority." E. H. Plumptre, op. cit., p. 73. Those who maintained the necessity for observing the older Covenant did so through misguided zeal ¿or the Law; but some did so from national pride and bigotry (Galatians 6:13). Cambridge Bible, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), in loco. The problem was no doubt compounded by the large number of Pharisees who had accepted Christianity (Acts 6:7); and it would not finally

2 Corinthians 7 overview — The first verse of this chapter concludes the paragraph which began at 2 Corinthians 6:14. 2 Corinthians 7:2-4 are a concluding thought connected with Paul's appeal in 2 Corinthians 6:11-13. Paul's stern warning to the Corinthians to come out from among the pagans and "be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1) came right

James 1:8 — … a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways. Two things of very great importance are evidenced by this short verse. In the first place, as Dummelow suggested, "It refers to the teaching of Christ in Matthew 6:24"; J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 1034. thus being in perfect consonance with practically everything else in the book of James. Secondly, "doubleminded" is a word evidently coined by the author of this epistle, because it is found in

Revelation 3 overview — This chapter continues the letters to the seven churches, having the last three: to Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6), to Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13), and to Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22).

1 Samuel 15:17-23 — were in charge instead of yourself?. Ridiculous. You are the one whom God anointed King." H. P. Smith agreed "That this verse seems to be a rebuke of Saul's self-confessed subservience to the people."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 136. "The Lord anointed you king over Israel" This was Samuel's unanswerable argument against Saul's claim that, "the people" were to blame for saving the cattle. There was no possibility whatever that the people would have spared the cattle without the