Bible Commentaries

2 Kings 23:4-7 — thereof upon the graves of the common people. And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were in the house of Jehovah, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah." "And for all the host of heaven" This expression, used again in 2 Kings 23:5, is a reference to the constellations. "The word from which this comes is a Hebrew term used only here in the Bible, and, according to the rabbis, it means the signs of the zodiac and the planets."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 365. "The idolatrous

1 Chronicles 1:51-54 — chief 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;

Psalms 51:10-13 — 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 God's casting

Proverbs 30:11-14 — swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men." "In all of these sequences of three things, yea, four, it is the climactic fourth that is emphasized."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 581. This was a commonly accepted teaching device among the Jews. The first two chapters of Amos are an example of this method. Harris noted that Jesus also utilized the same device, as for example, in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount,Ibid. where

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 46:5-7 — unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble." Here we have exactly the same line of argument made in a number of previous chapters. This is a continuation of the brilliant words against idolatry found in Isa. 40:18-20; 44:9-20; 41:5-7; and 46:1,2. This repetition of such warnings indicates that God was very concerned lest the attractions of idolatry would seduce many of the chosen people. "Isaiah 46:5 is almost identical to Isaiah 40:18 and stresses the impossibility of representing

Isaiah 7:1-2 — against it. And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And his heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind." "Pekah the son of Remaliah" Both here and in Isaiah 7:4-5; Isaiah 7:9, below, this mention of Pekah's father suggests that he was thus designated "in contempt, Remaliah having been a man of no distinction (2 Kings 15:25)."G. Rawlinson, Pulpit Commentary, p. 126. "His heart trembled, and the heart of his people"

Ezekiel 6:1 — PROPHECY EXTENDED TO THE WHOLE LAND In Ezekiel 4 and Ezekiel 5, the prophet pantomimed and prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem, and "Now he takes a survey of the whole land."International Critical Commentary, p. 67.

Hosea 5:15 — face from them, instead of protecting and blessing them as previously. It is wrong to interpret this verse as if it taught that God was, in any sense, restricted to some particular location. The continuation of the metaphor in this verse (from Hosea 5:14) also nullifies the findings of those scholars who would like to disconnect it from Hosea 5, and put it in Hosea 6. It is exactly where it belongs. McKeating objected, saying, "Hos. 15 does not follow naturally on Hosea 5:14, but makes a good introduction

Zephaniah 1:4 — stretch out my hand upon Judah" The popular misunderstanding of the Judgment Day among the Jews regarded it as a day of personal triumph for themselves over their Gentile enemies, an error Amos had sought to correct a century prior to Zephaniah (Zeph. 5:18-20). It was therefore necessary for Zephaniah to warn Judah that they would not escape divine judgment while living in rebellion against the Lord. All the world is wicked; but, "The sin of God's people is worst of all, precisely because they are

Matthew 3:5-6 — Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan; And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. All Judaea … Matthew 3:5 is hyperbole in which there is an intentional exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. There are many figures of speech in the Holy Scriptures, and a proper understanding of them is necessary to a true understanding of God's word. There are other figures

Matthew 5:12 — your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. The apostles took to heart this admonition of the Saviour to rejoice in persecutions. James (James 1:2-4), Paul (1 Timothy 3:12; Colossians 1:24), and the Twelve (Acts 5:41) were happy in persecutions. In this passage, Christ firmly underscored the principle motive undergirding human submissiveness to God. There were, in fact, three of these: love, fear, and hope of reward. There is nothing dishonorable about any of

Deuteronomy 5:1-33 — view of the date and authorship of the O.T. is the type of arguments the critical scholars frequently make. Note the following: "Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day." Deuteronomy 5:3. Phillips exclaimed that, "This appears to contradict the earlier statement that the Horeb generation had died out (Deuteronomy 2:14)."Anthony Phillips, Deuteronomy (Cambridge: University Press, 1973), p. 44. Blair also noted this type of criticism

Luke 6:10-11 — shown his power to work a miracle; (2) because he had done so in contradiction of their rules; (3) because he had thus proved that he was from God, making them WRONG in their interpretations; (4) because Jesus had openly condemned THEIR views; and (5) because he had done these things in the sight of multitudes, — these were the reasons.Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1954), Vol. Luke-John, p. 44. Evidently, Jesus deliberately challenged

1 Corinthians 11:13 — "proper." S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., op. cit., p. 624. It should be noted again that "unveiled" here has no reference at all to what is commonly referred to as a "veil." The word is exactly the same as the one used in 1 Corinthians 11:5. W. E. Vine, op. cit., p. 175. A covering of some kind is meant; but the Greek text leaves totally out of sight anything that would enable this to be identified as some kind of artificial covering, or man-made garment. See under 1 Corinthians 11:5.

1 Corinthians 3:19 — For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness. As Shore observed: With the exception of the reference in James 5:11 to the "proverbial patience" of Job, this is the only allusion to Job, or to the book of Job in the New Testament. T. Teignmouth Shore, op. cit., p. 297. Paul's quotation is from Job 5:13, where Eliphaz the Temanite was speaking against

2 Corinthians 2:5 — But if any hath caused sorrow, he hath caused sorrow, not to me, but in part (that I press not too heavily) to you all. The traditional interpretation of this makes it a reference to the incestuous person of 1 Corinthians 5:1-8. McGarvey saw in 2 Corinthians 2:3-5 above a plain hint of the connection between the two passages, since, he said, "By referring to 1 Corinthians 4:21; 1 Corinthians 5:1, it will be seen that the threat of correction at his coming and the

2 Corinthians 3:17 — converted, receiving the Holy Spirit as an earnest of redemption, there is bestowed at the same time freedom: (1) from the law (Galatians 4:18); (2) from fear (Romans 8:13); (3) from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2); (4) from sin (Romans 6:18); and (5) from corruption (Romans 8:21). Filson's understanding of what Paul meant here is: Christ and the Spirit are one in nature and share in the guidance of the church … Here, in saying that the Lord is the Spirit, he means especially that as Spirit

1 Timothy 1:14 — of their "faith in Christ," whereas, due to the fact of their never having been baptized "into Christ," their so-called faith is "out of Christ," not "in Christ." "The words (abounded exceedingly) occur 158 times in the New Testament, 106 of these in the Pauline letters." A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 5. Hendriksen classified this as another instance of Paul's "super" words, such as are in Romans 5:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 7:4;

Hebrews 13:5 — money: (1) the discontent of people, their passionate and burning desire always for more and more, and (2) their lack of reliance upon the promises of God. And, concerning the promise of the Father, the author here quotes Deuteronomy 31:16; Joshua 1:5; and Psalms 118:6. "He will not leave thee nor forsake thee." The utter folly of making money, whether actually possessed or merely desired, the basis of any security in the present life is in the very nature of riches themselves which "make