Bible Commentaries

Genesis 9:28 — immediately following victory. (2)    Satan assaults the soul with the most vigorous efforts both at the beginning of life (or a career), and at the end of it. Either way, if one falls, the shadow lengthens to lie over the whole life. (3)    Idle gossip is exceedingly sinful and dangerous. (4)    Countless generations may suffer as the result of a single individual's wickedness. Cain and Canaan both appear in these early chapters as examples of

2 Kings 19:5-7 — the first thing Isaiah did was to cut the blasphemers from Sennacherib down to size, saying in effect, "Those boys have said nothing of any importance." "Four things the Lord said here: (1) God would put a spirit into him; (2) he would hear a rumor; (3) he would return to his own land; and (4) in that land he would fall by the sword."George C. M. Douglas, p. 287. All of this came to pass exactly as the Lord had said.

Nehemiah 3:1-2 — wall, in variable lengths and proportions; and, as they are listed here, they appear in a succession to the left, that is, counterclockwise, beginning here at the sheep gate and finally ending at this same sheep gate."Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, 476.

Job 8:16-19 — "denied" (Job 8:18), adding sarcastically and ironically, "This is the joy" of the way Job was going! We are grateful to Samuel Terrien for his word that, "Behold, this is the joy of his way, should be interpreted ironically."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 3, p. 974. All of the Commentators have mentioned the difficulty of the text in these verses, some of it "making little sense";The Anchor Bible (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1982), op. cit., p. 65. but we have commented on the words as

Psalms 130:3-4 — devout, God-fearing souls certainly found the equivalent of it in God's remission of the penalties deserved in anticipation of the Atonement in the times of the Incarnation. Paul referred to this as, "The passing over of the sins done aforetime." (Romans 3:25). "That thou mayest be feared" The thought here is that, "The only hope is in God's forgiveness, which in turn quickens the feeling of awe"Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Old Testament, p. 544. in the sinner seeking forgiveness, without which his eternal

Psalms 140:4-5 — reflecting the same thoughts and terminology that we find here are Psalms 16:2; Psalms 10:2; and Psalms 25:19. The devices of the wicked enemies trying to destroy David appear in this strophe under three metaphors: (1) the trap; (2) the cords; and (3) the net. "The trap was a snare as in KJV; the cords refer to a kind of noose hidden in the ground so as to catch the leg; and the net was used to catch birds or sea creatures."C. M. Miller, co-author with Anthony L. Ash, p.431. The archaic word "gin"

Proverbs 7:24-27 — is the way to Sheol, Going down to the chambers of death." "The defense advised here is threefold. (1) Guard your mind. One is in danger as soon as his mind wanders in her direction. (2) Keep away. Avoid all contact, literally, as well as mentally. (3) Look past her, farther down the road, to the countless slain, to the chambers of death."Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, op. cit., p. 76. "Her slain are a mighty host" "We think of Samson, and David, and Solomon, mighty men indeed, who were victims

Isaiah 19:23 — Assyrians." What is envisioned here is the uniting of once hostile peoples in the service of God through Jesus Christ in the age of Messiah. This vision of a highway, in Isaiah's prophecy is a reference to "the way of truth." See also Isaiah 11:16; Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 40:3; Isaiah 62:10. Thus, "the highway" appears as a favorite metaphor in Isaiah; and it should also be noted that it appears repeatedly through all sections of the prophecy, witnessing for the unity and integrity of Isaiah. Dummelow pointed

Isaiah 3:24-26 — depicted the captive Judea as a forlorn woman sitting upon the ground and with the legend Judaea Capta.The Pulpit Commentary, p. 54. The contrast between girdle and rope is especially tragic. When Assyria led the northern kingdom into captivity, some 30,000 were herded in long lines to Nineveh with ropes joining the captives by being passed through their ears. These are indeed tragic words for God's apostate people. The significance of Isaiah 3:26 is that it unconsciously shifts from "the women of

Isaiah 31:2 — Hezekiah's evil human counselors!"Ibid. "And not call back his words" Such a statement may seem to contradict such passages as that in Jonah where it is stated that "God repented of the evil that he said he would do unto them and did it not" (Jonah 3:10). Clarkson's comment on this was correct when he declared that, "There is always a reservation understood, whether stated or not, with regard to every Divine promise and every Divine threat."W. Clarkson, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 10a, p. 516. This

Isaiah 55:4-5 — which the Gentiles (in the future) should repair to the Messiah, that they might enjoy the blessings of his reign."Footnote is not available Despite the fact of there being, in a sense, many covenants that God made with men, the mention here (Isaiah 55:3) of a "covenant of peace" to appear in the future applies to only one covenant. "There is no more than one gracious covenant, whose substance is this: the Servant (Christ) himself is given to us as the covenant (Isaiah 49:8; Isaiah 53:6)."George C.

Jeremiah 9:21-22 — harvestman; and none shall gather them." This is a continuation of the prophetic elegy, the saddest element of it being the wanton destruction of the children. This was the usual thing to be expected in the ancient conquest of a city as indicated in Nahum 3:10; Luke 19:44, etc. There also seems to be an echo here of Eve's acceptance of Satan's lie that, "Ye shall not surely die!" Death comes inexorably upon old men, young men, all men, little children, cities, cultures, generations and races of men. Men

Ezekiel 16:39-43 — upon thy head, saith the Lord Jehovah: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness with all thine abominations." "They shall strip thee of thy clothes" Biblical examples of the degradation of a harlot by exhibiting her naked are found in Hosea 2:12, Nahum 3:5, and in Jeremiah 13:22; Jeremiah 13:26.

Hosea 10:15 — interest is the phrase "at daybreak," which might be a doubtful rendition. The scholars have injected several meanings into the phrase as follows: (1)    In the morning of his work. (2)    In the morning dawn. (3)    As suddenly as comes the dawn after a night of slumber. (4)    In the storm.W. R. Harper, op. cit., p. 359. None of the above meanings that could be adopted would change the impact of the verse in any manner.

Hosea 4:3 — mourn. The inclusion of the lower creation in this mourning (the animals, birds, and fishes) merely emphasizes the extent and universality of the suffering; but there may also be a reference to the primeval curse of the ground "for Adam's sake" (Genesis 3:17-21), with a strong intimation that it will be continued and perhaps intensified by the kind of behavior that marks the response of Israel to the love of God. God's curse upon the earth because of human sin would also inevitably involve the lower

Hosea 9:4 — observances of any kind will be impossible for Israel in Assyria to which they shall go in exile and slavery. The religious concerns of despised and hated slaves will find no consideration whatever of the heartless captors. See Myers' comment under Hosea 9:3, above. "Bread of mourners" This is an ominous expression. The bread of mourners was the bread eaten during funeral celebrations, during which times all who entered the house of the dead were considered to be unclean. All Israel is thus designated a

Numbers 30:3-5 — soul shall stand. But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, none of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and Jehovah will forgive her, because her father disallowed her." "In her youth" (Numbers 30:3). This appears as a qualifier to indicate the period when a father's jurisdiction prevailed. It is unclear if this applied to those daughters still in their father's house but who were no longer young. Note also that a father could "disallow" a daughter's

Micah 3:8 — full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin." The parallelism in the last two phrases, where Israel and Jacob are used synonymously, is similar to that in Micah 3:1. Micah dared to make in this verse a declaration that is unsurpassed, even in the Bible, for sheer confidence and boldness. The validity of his words for millenniums has vindicated what he said. "The particular form of the declaration is without parallel

Micah 6:2 — the shocking news that the one to stand trial is Yahweh's people, Israel, the Southern Kingdom by its covenant name."Leslie C. Allen, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Micah (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976), p. 365. The charge, of course, is breach of contract, under the terms of which God had long ago forewarned his people that their covenant would be abrogated and the intended blessings denied. "His people" These words are most significant, the equivalent

Zechariah 2:1 — "men" (Genesis 18:2). However, we must reject the identification which would make him the angel of the Covenant, a being who was always more specifically designated. There are quite a number of these "measuring line" scenes in the Bible. See Ezekiel 40:3; Revelation 11:1; Revelation 21:15-16. Dummelow and other scholars make the "man" here to be the same as "the young man" in Zechariah 2:4;J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York City: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 602. but there is