Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 21:11-16 — to Jezreel, but to the whole nation. What about Naboth's heirs? Jezebel's knowledge of the Books of Moses enabled her to take care of that also. The pretence of that false trial was modeled after the example of Joshua and the stoning of Achan (Joshua 7), and it will be remembered that not only Achan, but his wife and all of his sons and daughters were also stoned with him. Yes Jezebel took care of everything. They stoned all of Naboth's sons (2 Kings 9:26) at the same time as the stoning of Naboth

1 Kings 21:27-29 — bring the evil upon his house." "And went softly" "This may well be translated, `He went about depressed.'"The International Critical Commentary, p. 333. However, Josephus' stated that it means, "He went barefoot."Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 270. The passage in Jeremiah 18:7-10 is pertinent to this change in the life of Ahab; and it explains some changes in the plans for the punishment of Ahab; but the punishment was not removed, it was merely delayed. In this connection Canon Cook pointed

1 Chronicles 1:51-54 — 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 21:2 f)."International Critical Commentary, Chronicles, p. 17. See the parallel scriptures for my comments. "Peleg… in

2 Chronicles 11:13-17 — who were deposed could still have kept their lands, but they relinquished them in order to live in Judah where they could carry on their calling. They were accompanied by laymen who shared their disillusionment."Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 378. Moses told us what this worship of the he-goats was like, when he forbade it to Israel. "They shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices unto the goats, after which they play the harlot" (Leviticus 17:7). There can be little doubt that the golden calves

2 Chronicles 21:11-15 — "document"The Anchor Bible, op. cit., p. 121. (as the word is translated by Myers) was written during Elijah's lifetime. Furthermore, the Chronicler gives five other examples of prophets predicting disaster to kings before the event (2 Chr. 12:5; 16:7; 19:2; 24:20; and 26:16).Ibid., p. 122. In this light, we find no difficulty whatever in what is written here.

Ezra 7:13-17 — law of Moses. "Whose habitation is in Jerusalem" Rawlinson construed this remark as merely a reference to the temple in Jerusalem, stating that, "Artaxerxes did not believe that the God of Israel was merely a local deity."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 7c, p. 110. His reference to the God of Israel as the God of heaven in Ezra 7:21 indicates that this is true. "And all the silver and gold that thou shalt find… in all the province of Babylon" This refers to all of the freewill-offerings which

Nehemiah 10:28-31 — its requirement of forgiving all debts (Nehemiah 10:31). "Restriction against marriage with pagans." Ezra had dealt with this problem (Ezra 9-10); but the problem persisted, and there was constant need to address it. "Keeping the sabbaths." "Jeremiah 17:21-22, and Amos 8:5 indicate clearly that trading on the sabbath day was prohibited."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 409. "The sabbatical year a time of release of debts." Deuteronomy 15 required that all debts (among Israelites) be canceled,

Nehemiah 11:19-21 — THE PORTERS AND GATEKEEPERS NUMBERED 172 "Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren, that kept watch at the gates were a hundred seventy and two. And the residue of Israel, of the priests, the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance. But the Nethinim

Job 28:23-28 — Commentary, p. 480. "No amount of intelligence, or cleverness, or information, or knowledge, or of worldly or scientific wisdom will be of any avail for any man unless he starts with this beginning, `The Fear of the Lord,' (Psalms 91:10; Proverbs 1:7), building upon that as his foundation."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 460. That foundation of true wisdom Job most certainly possessed, as the concluding chapter of this remarkable book fully reveals. We conclude this chapter with the observation

Psalms 128:3-4 — from this, it also becomes a metaphor of the Church, "The Israel of God." Kidner also noted that just as a vine remains in one place, so the faithful wife "stays at home." "This is in sharp contrast with what is said of the promiscuous wife in Proverbs 7:11, `She is loud and wayward, her feet do not stay at home.'"Derek Kidner, Vol. II, p. 443. In the New Testament, this quality is mentioned in Titus 2:5. "Like olive plants around thy table" "As the husband looks on his sons gathered around his table,

Psalms 135:6-7 — mentioned a certain scientist who calculated that from every square mile of the ocean's surface, every twelve hours, the process which we call evaporation, "Lifts 6,914 tons of water from the surface of the sea."Charles Haddon Spurgeon, op. cit., p. 267. At least 135,000,000 square miles of the planet earth are oceans, to say nothing of about one third of a million square miles of lakes.Encyclopedia Britannica World Atlas, 1961, pp. 287, 288. Multiplying this times approximately 7,000 tons of water

Psalms 141:5-7 — THE MYSTERIOUS PASSAGE Psalms 141:5-7 are the difficult verses mentioned at the head of this chapter; and we submit the following renditions of these in various versions as the most practical way of discerning what might be meant. "Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness; And

Psalms 50:22-23 — glorifieth me. And to him that ordereth his way aright Will I show the salvation of God." The two words that dominate this psalm are here placed above the two divisions of humanity who will be before God in the Final Judgment. "My 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;

Isaiah 26:7-10 — the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah." Note that Isaiah 26:7-8 are speaking of the same thing, and therefore they are included in the same paragraph here. "It is especially significant in this paragraph that righteousness is learned only when God's judgments are abroad in the earth (Isaiah 26:9 b). When favor

Isaiah 47:8-11 — upon the black arts of sorcery and enchantments; (3) her having given herself wholly to lustful, sinful pleasures; (4) her trusting in her wickedness; (5) her over-confident sense of security; (6) her reliance upon her own wisdom and knowledge; and (7) most importantly of all the attitude that is mentioned twice, in Isaiah 47:8; Isaiah 47:10, her self-deification visible in her thoughts that, "I am, and there is none else besides me!" What is glaringly plain in such an attitude is that there is no

Isaiah 64:8 — not presume to plead any merit on Israel's part, but appealed only to God's gracious covenant promises. Douglas has pointed out the following correspondences between this chapter and the early chapters of the prophecy. "Isaiah 64:4 is like Isaiah 8:17; Isaiah 30:18. Isaiah 64:6 is like Isaiah 30:22; Isaiah 28:1; Isaiah 27:8. Isaiah 64:7 is like Isaiah 27:5; Isaiah 8:17; Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 19:25; etc."George C. M. Douglas, p. 405. We have called attention here, once again, to the inimitable work

Jeremiah 18:13-14 — shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?" "The willfulness of Israel in forsaking Jehovah their God was without parallel in the ancient world, as Jeremiah had already mentioned in Jeremiah 2:9-13; Jeremiah 5:20-25, and in Jeremiah 8:7. The horror is heightened by calling her a virgin. She had indeed been a virgin hedged about by the Lord to protect her sanctity."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Chicago: Moody Press), p. 492. There are no known examples of where ancient peoples ever

Jeremiah 32:1-5 — does not seem to indicate any such thing. Zedekiah's fate was much worse than that which usually befell defeated ancient kings. They slaughtered his sons before his eyes, and then put his eyes out, and carried him to Babylon where he died (1 Kings 25:2-7). Harrison noted that this incident and others recorded here through Jeremiah 44 all happened during the kingship of Zedekiah.R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p. 140.

Judges 5:1-31 — in the oldest Biblical books. "The historical significance of this chapter consists in its integrity as an incontestable Hebraic document of the twelfth century B.C., composed shortly after the events narrated."Beacon Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 407. George F. Moore also cited Deborah as the undeniable author of the poem, which is, "distinctly confirmed by Judges 5:7."International Critical Commentary, Judges, p. 134. There are many other very significant features of this chapter which we shall

1 Samuel 14:36-42 — have asked the forgiveness of all the people; but instead, he decided to pursue the matter to its bloody end. "Urim… Thummim" "The Urim and Thummim are specifically mentioned only eight times in the O.T.: Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 14:41 (LXX); 28:6; Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65.John T. Willis, p. 147. However, in many other situations described as "casting lots," or "inquiring of the Lord," they were doubtless used by the High Priest who wore the