Bible Commentaries

Genesis 2:5-6 — yet sprung up; for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth: and there was not a man to till the ground; but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground." "The making of the heaven and the earth in Genesis 2:4 b, above is not described, but assumed,"John Skinner, International Critical Commentary, Genesis (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1910), p. 51. indicating that these verses refer, "not to origins of the heavens and the earth, but the sequel thereof."Meredith

2 Kings 5:5-7 — rather late in the career of Elisha, because Gehazi's leprosy would have terminated that servant's association with the prophet. We cannot agree with the suggestion of Montgomery that, "The afflicted Gehazi was still a member of society in a later story (2 Kings 8:4 ff)."Ibid. We have already determined that the stories of this section of 2 Kings are not recorded in any chronological sequence. On this account, we cannot plead any ignorance on the part of Joram regarding the great miracles wrought by Elisha.

2 Kings 9:11-13 — Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king." "Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee" Madness was widely associated with prophecy in the O.T., as in Jer. 20:26 and Hosea 9:7 "The common worldly man in every age tends to view the religious enthusiast in this way, combined with emotions compounded with sincere respect tinctured, if ever so lightly, with aversion and contempt."The Layman's Bible Commentary,

1 Chronicles 1:51-54 — Jetheth, chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom." "All of these genealogies are given in Genesis, as follows: (1 Chronicles 1:1-4) are in Genesis 5:3-22, and Genesis 10:1; (1 Chronicles 1:5-23) are in Genesis 10:2-4; Genesis 10:6-8; Genesis 10:13-18 a,22-29; (1 Chronicles 1:24-27) are in Genesis 11:10-26 (cf. 17:5); (1 Chronicles 1:28-34) are in Genesis 25:12-16 a, 1-4,19-26 (cf. Genesis 16:15; Genesis

2 Chronicles 9:17-21 — three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks." In addition to all of the wealth brought to Solomon by his commercial ventures, "the governors of the country" (the provincial authorities in Israel, 2 Chronicles 8:14) were also subject to oppressive taxation, to such an extent that the northern tribes demanded an easement of the burden when Solomon's son succeeded him. And what did Solomon do with all that wealth? He blew all of it in ostentatious

Nehemiah 10:28-31 — day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt." In this paragraph, four provisions of the covenant are given: (1) A strict promise to abide by all the divine commandments as revealed in the Law of Moses (Nehemiah 10:29); (2) the prohibition against mixed marriages with the pagans (Nehemiah 10:30); (3) strict observance of the sabbath day (Nehemiah 10:31); and (4) the honoring of the seventh year and its requirement of forgiving all debts (Nehemiah 10:31). "Restriction

Job 32 overview — the Book of Job at this spot; and, of course, many modern scholars explain Elihu's speech variously as, "the work of another author,"Selms, p. 119. "a later addition,"Arthur S. Peake, A Commentary on the Bible (London: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 361. and as, "speeches (of Elihu) that violently disturb the original structure of the book."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 582. This writer is unwilling to accept such interpretations of the speeches of Elihu (Job 32-37) for the following

Psalms 37 overview — memory verses. Hymns have been written on some of the statements here, notably, the one, "John Wesley translated from the German, `Commit Thou All Thy Griefs,' or (in some hymnals) `Put Thou Thy Trust in God.'"The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 624. Also Felix Mendelssohn's "O Rest in the Lord" (in the Oratorio `Elijah') is based upon this chapter. There is no sufficient grounds for setting aside the assignment of the psalm to David in the superscription; and, if indeed, he wrote it, it seems

Psalms 39 overview — THE BREVITY AND VANITY OF LIFE The superscription entitles this psalm, 'The Vanity of Life,' but the brevity of life is also a feature. It is labeled 'A Psalm of David,' 'for the Chief Musician, for Jeduthun.' "Jeduthun, in this and in Psalms 62 and Psalms 72, was one of David's three Music leaders, the other two being Asaph and Heman (1 Chronicles 16:37-42). He was also the King's Seer (2 Chronicles 35:15)."Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 240. William

Psalms 50:22-23 — people" (Psalms 50:7) and "The Wicked" (Psalms 50:16) are used here in the reverse order of their appearance in the psalm. These two verses have the advantage of further clarifying the question of who will participate in the Final Judgment. Psalms 50:22 speaks of the lost; and Psalms 50:23 speaks of the saved. THE DOCTRINE OF THE JUDGMENT One of the six fundamental doctrines of the Christian religions is that of the `eternal judgment' (Hebrews 6:2); and it is a mark of the apostasy of our current

Psalms 51:10-13 — shall be converted unto thee." "Create in me a clean heart" Here is the Old Testament anticipation of the New Testament doctrine of the New Birth. "If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away; all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). This means: `O God, do more than forgive me, more than purify me, more than cleanse me; create in me a clean new heart that I may truly serve thee.' "Cast me not away from thy presence" It seems that David here may have remembered

Psalms 58:3-5 — earliest activities having given evidence of it. "The most inventive affection and the most untiring patience cannot change the minds of such wicked men. Nothing remains, therefore, for David, except to pray for their removal."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-B, p. 182. Leupold pointed out that there is a close connection between Psalms 58:2 and Psalms 58:3. In Psalms 58:2, he addressed them as men open to reason; but in Psalms 58:3, having recognized their stubborn perversity in evil, he refrains from further reasoning

Song of Solomon 3:1-5 — hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awaken my love, Until he please." The question regarding this paragraph is whether or not it relates an actual event, or the Shulamite's dream of searching for her lover. "This passage and Song of Solomon 5:2-7 are usually interpreted as dream sequences."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), Vol. 5, p. 138. "The maiden relates a bad dream she had experienced."James Waddey, p. 107. "She is probably relating a dream."The Pulpit Commentary,

Isaiah 19:11-15 — listening to the advice of fools! The proof of the foolishness of the government advisers is seen (1) in their ignorance of Jehovah and of his will, and their utter inability to see the disaster that lies at the end of their foolish plans (Isaiah 19:12), and also (2) in their blindness to the fact that their counsels have ended in disaster (Isaiah 19:13). "`Palm branch and rush' and `head or tail' are expressions used figuratively for `all classes of society.'"The Pulpit Commentary, p. 305. Zoan and

Isaiah 39:1-2 — and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not." The proper understanding of what happened here must be derived from what is recorded in 2 Chronicles 32:25-26. After his illness, "Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefits done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for

Isaiah 66:15-17 — angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction, from the face of the Lord and form the glory of his might" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). The heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:7 ff). The Adamic race is on a collision course with disaster,

Ezekiel 33:21-22 — Friedrich Keil, Keil-Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 70. Keil also defended the later date against the allegation of some scholars that Ezekiel himself contradicted himself by declaring in Ezekiel 26:1-2 that he received intelligence of the fall of the city in the eleventh year, not in the twelfth. Keil wrote: "Such an interpretation is founded upon a misinterpretation of the passage quoted. It is not stated in Ezekiel 26:1-2 that Ezekiel received

Joshua 2:17-21 — thou utter this our business, then we shall be guiltless of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. And she said, according to your words so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window." Joshua 2:21 indicates that the previous conversation back through Joshua 2:16 came before the woman sent them away. Anyone with even an elementary understanding of ancient writings should have no trouble understanding what is written here. "There is no reason

1 John 4 overview — chapter, but additional truth appears with regard to testing the spirits (1 John 4:1-6), and there is more extended teaching on love. God is love, love as a test, love of one another, love of God, God's love of us, etc. are all stressed (1 John 4:7-21). One of the features of this whole epistle is the presentation of a number of tests regarding the genuineness of Christian life. These have been organized by some and classified as the tests of: (1) obedience; (2) love; and (3) faith.<1> However,

1 Samuel 3 overview — what some have called the "reworking" of the prophecy regarding Eli's priesthood in the preceding chapter. Regarding the unity of this chapter, H. P. Smith declared that, "The chapter seems to be a unit,"International Critical Commentary, Samuel, p. 25. admitting that objections to its unity are "not well founded."Ibid. The other objection regarding the alleged "two accounts" of the prophecy regarding Eli is also of no significance. G. B. Caird admitted that if 1 Samuel 3:12 refers to 1 Samuel 2:27-36