Bible Commentaries

Leviticus 11 overview — "making all meats clean" (Mark 7:19). An apostle elaborated this in saying that, "Every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the Word of God and prayer" (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Another apostle saw the heavenly vision three times, a vision of: "A great sheet let down by four corners upon the earth: wherein were all manner of beasts and creeping things and birds of the heaven. And there came a voice to him, saying, Rise, Peter,

Song of Solomon 4:1-8 — Baker Book House, 1989 reprint of 1878 Edition), Song of Solomon, p. 128. Balchin agreed with this in the first seven verses, but wrote that, "The song of the shepherd lover may appear in Song of Solomon 4:8 ff."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 593. Bunn ascribed Song of Solomon 4:9-15, "To the shepherd who pleads his case to the maiden with renewed zeal."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), Vol. 5, p. 140. Redford saw the whole chapter as, "The conversation of the bridegroom

Zechariah 6:12 — Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah." "Behold the man" Strangely, these very words were used by the Gentile governor when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate (John 19:5). A little later, he added, "Behold your king!" "The man whose name is the Branch" We have already noted that this was a technical word fully understood among the Jews as referring to the promised Messiah; and such an action as this made it impossible

Malachi 1:7 — Jehovah" is the altar, a fact also inherent in the words of this first clause. "The table of Jehovah" suggests "The Lord's table" of the New Testament. "This expression is used only by Malachi in the Old Testament, though the idea is present in Psalms 23:5, and Ezekiel 44:16."Joyce G. Baldwin, op. cit., p. 225. Note than an offense committed against the Lord's table was an offense against God Himself. "Wherein have we polluted thee?" The touching of anything unclean made the one who touched unclean; and

Matthew 18:8 — out the right eye and cutting off the right hand."Ibid., p. 642. Tertullian said that these words were uttered "by way of similitude.Tertullian, On Idolatry in the Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Company, 1957), Vol. III, p. 64. Irenaeus wrote, "Those who led vicious lives and put other people astray, were condemned and cast out, so also, even now, the offending eye is plucked out, and the foot and the hand, lest the rest of the body perish in like

Matthew 25:16-19 — bondservant, under full obligation to seek and improve his lord's interest. Although no command was mentioned in the parable, his obligation was inherent in his status as a slave; and there can be no doubt that he was fully aware of it. Again, in Matthew 25:19, is another strong hint of the delay of the Lord's coming. See under Matthew 25:5. The word "reckoning" is written over against every thought, word, and deed indulged by the Lord's disciples. It should be noted that this parable is primarily

Matthew 26:47 — from the chief priests and elders of the people. THE BETRAYAL AND SEIZURE OF JESUS Prompted by Judas' treachery, a fundamental strategy-change occurred in the camp of Jesus' enemies. They at first thought to murder Jesus privately (see Matthew 26:1-5), but now they decided to move against him boldly with a public arrest and trial. The great company of the arresting party showed that at that time, for better or for worse, the religious hierarchy was irrevocably committed to the more open tactic.

Matthew 4:13 — resided there: Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew. Capernaum also rejected Christ and was denounced by him (Matthew 11:23). Which is by the sea … is the body of water usually called the Sea of Galilee, but also known as Lake Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), the Sea of Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11), Chinneroth (Joshua 11:2), and Tiberius (John 6:1). This remarkable body of water is actually an extension of the Jordan River, lying 700 feet below sea level, and extends some twelve miles in length and six

Deuteronomy 20:5-9 — has not yet taken his wife; and (4)    for all cowards. We may only laugh at the remark by Watts that, "The officers act like king's men."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 257. Such a remark is only an idle speculation founded on the false premise that this portion of Deuteronomy was written in the days of the Jewish monarchy. The remark is untrue on its face. Can anybody name a single king in all of human history who voluntarily

Mark 1:25-26 — and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. It was necessary that Jesus show his absolute power over the evil spirits, and as Bickersteth said, "also that he should show that he had nothing to do with them."E. Bickersteth, op. cit., p. 5. There were two excellent reasons why Christ forbade the testimony of evil spirits: (1) it was not the proper time that Christ should be made known as the Son of God, and (2) if it had been permitted, it would have been alleged as proof by the Pharisees

Luke 1:35 — "overshadowing" of Mary: "Overshadow" recalls the cloud over the tabernacle during the wilderness wandering. The word is used in all the synoptic Gospels of the cloud that came at the transfiguration. The only other New Testament usage is in Acts 5:15. The term is always used of divine power. The concept is reminiscent of the Spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. Here the Spirit would be active in a new "creation" of God.Anthony Lee Ash, op. cit., p. 39. This whole paragraph

Luke 4:25-26 — having gone on a considerable time previously. The critical community who suggest that Luke erred in attributing these words to Jesus are themselves in error. James also affirmed that the drought lasted "three years and six months" (James 5:17). The big point of the passage, however, is that it was a Gentile widow, a Sidonian, to whom Elijah was sent, and not to any widow in Israel. The reason for this choice lay in the unbelief prevalent in the Israel of that period, and in the contrasting

Luke 6:8-9 — their thoughts … Why downgrade this by a comment that "This required no special knowledge on his part"?Ray Summers, op. cit., p. 71. The clear intention of Luke, in these words, was that of showing the omniscience of Jesus (John 2:25). To save a life, or destroy it … Jesus thus announced the principle that the withholding of good that may be done is equivalent to doing harm, and that refusing to save a life that could be saved is the same as destroying it. The Old Testament

Acts 2:14-16 — resemblances to 1st Peter (e.g. "foreknowledge," 1 Peter 1:2; "to call upon (God)," 1 Peter 1:17; "rejoicing," 1 Peter 1:6; 1 Peter 1:8; 1 Peter 4:13; "the right hand of God," 1 Peter 3:22; "exalt," 1 Peter 5:6; "the house" (Israel), 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Peter 4:17 etc. J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 821. These are not drunken … This malicious comment by the mockers deserved little attention,

Joshua 21 overview — subjugation of Canaan, shortly prior to the death of Joshua. The screams of the Bible's critical enemies declare this chapter to be "unhistorical,"Samuel Holmes, Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Joshua (London: T. C. and E. C. Jack, Ltd., 1924), p. 254. but we reject this out of hand as being merely the prejudice of unbelievers and totally irresponsible! Equally objectional is the efforts of critics to assign a seventh-century B.C. date to this list on the basis of, "The distinction between the priests

Joshua 5:10-12 — year." There are only three instances of Israel's observance of the Passover up to and including the example here.Merrill F. Unger, Commentary on the Old Testament, Joshua (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), p. 289. The other occasions are recorded in Exodus 12:1-15, in which is the account of their observance of it in Egypt; and the other took place on the first anniversary of the original Passover (Numbers 9:5). In this connection, Dummelow tells us that only three subsequent observances of the Passover are recorded

Colossians 3 overview — Findlay's outline of this section of the epistle is: a.    The Colossians urged to maintain a lofty spiritual life (Colossians 3:1-4). b.    They were to put off old vices (Colossians 3:5-8). c.    They were to put on new Christian virtues (Colossians 3:9-14). d.    The sovereignty of Christ was to rule them (Colossians 3:15-17). e.    Instructions regarding reciprocal relationships

Hebrews 2:5-7 — glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands. Although the great theme continues to be the superiority of Christ, at this point the problem of Christ's sufferings begins to come into view. As Lenski expressed it, "With Hebrews 2:5 humiliation begins, the humiliation of Christ's sufferings." R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Epistle of James (Minneapolis, Minn., Augsburg Publishing House, 1958), p. 71. Even the humiliation of Christ,

Revelation 20:15 — believe that it is written at the very beginning of that Christian life. Once inscribed in the book of life, one's name will remain there eternally, except in the case of his apostasy, in which event it will be "blotted out" (Revelation 3:5). "This verse is a solemn reiteration of what has been asserted twice before in Revelation 20:12-13." A. Plummer, op. cit., p. 475. John, having carried his readers through seven successive periods, each culminating in the final judgment,

Revelation 6 overview — book refers to a period following the Second Advent; (2) that every line of it has already been fulfilled; (3) that John was restricted to current events in his terminology; (4) that an "Antichrist" is anywhere mentioned in Revelation; or (5) that the various seals, trumpets, bowls, etc., have reference to "successive events" — these and many other common assumptions which mar the works of many are here rejected and avoided. The general assumptions underlying this interpretation