Bible Commentaries

Genesis 14:18 — hand. And he gave him a tenth of all." Neil gave the only secret of understanding this place when he declared that: "We must be guided by the N.T. writers and by our Lord himself."William Neil, Harper's Bible Commentary (New York: Harper and Row, 1975), p. 43. The N.T., of course, has a magnificent discussion of this event in Hebrews, where it is mentioned in Hebrews 5:5-6; Hebrews 5:10; Hebrews 6:20, and repeatedly throughout Hebrews 7. The only other reference to Melchizedek in the Bible is in

Psalms 105:26-36 — every herb in the land, And did eat up the fruit of the ground. He smote also all the first-born in their land, The chief of all their strength." First there is mentioned here the commission of Moses and Aaron for the purposes of the Exodus (Exodus 2-7). Next, we find the account of the plagues which God visited upon Egypt as the time drew near for His deliverance of Israel from bondage. There were ten of these visitations, but only eight are mentioned in this psalm. "The sequence followed in the

Psalms 95:6-7 — mixed metaphors are very common in scripture. Moreover, in this arrangement, the metaphor of the Lord himself as "The Good Shepherd" automatically comes to mind. "Today, oh that ye would hear his voice" These words form the opening line in Hebrews 3:7, where this passage is used as the background of what is written there, Psalms 95:11, being quoted directly. "The passage in Hebrews 3:7 to Hebrews 4:13, expounding this psalm, forbids us to confine its thrust to Israel. "The `Today' of which it speaks

Proverbs 11:5 — "The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way; But the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness." "Righteousness traces out blameless paths; but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing."LXX. The New Testament echoes this truth in the words, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7).

Proverbs 23:9 — Word 9 . "Speak not in the hearing of a fool; For he will despise the wisdom of thy words." The sacred words of the Christ are a perfect comment on this: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast your pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6).

Proverbs 9:7-12 — understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, And the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself,' And if thou scoffest, thou alone shall bear it." Some of the scholars object to the inclusion of Proverbs 9:7-12 at this point in the chapter; but there is no agreement on where they should be placed if removed from where we find them. "It may be that these verses are intended to emphasize in an indirect manner the role of Wisdom as a teacher."Broadman Bible

Leviticus 7:19-21 — one shall touch any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean beast, or any unclean abomination, and eat of flesh of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which pertain to Jehovah, that soul shall be cut off from his people." Both in Leviticus 7:20 and Leviticus 7:21, the reference "shall be cut off from his people" is intriguing, and there are few certainties as to the exact meaning. It has been seen as ostracism from the community, or capital punishment, or some other penalty, but Bamberger

Song of Solomon 7:10-13 — are very powerful reasons for seeing these verses as a rejection of the king by the Shulamite. Chief of those reasons is the dramatic word HIS that stands at the head of this paragraph. "I am my beloved's, and HIS desire is toward me" (Song of Solomon 7:10). This contrasts with the sixteen personal pronouns in the second person which dominate the king's flattering appeal. They are the equivalent of you, you, you, you - sixteen times! Yet the very first words of the Shulamite were addressed to the king

Song of Solomon 8:4 — THE FAMILIAR REFRAIN "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awaken my love, Until he please." This is repeated in Song of Solomon 2:7 and Song of Solomon 3:5. See comment under those verses. It is not clear why this refrain is repeated just here.

Isaiah 53 overview — magnificent profusion of names and titles bestowed upon the Son of God by the inspired writers of the Bible. A mere glance at these cannot fail to impress any thoughtful student. NAMES AND TITLES: Isaiah prophetically referred to Jesus as Immanuel (Isaiah 7:13); Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6); God's Servant (Isaiah 52:13). Moses referred to him as The Seed of Woman (Genesis 3:15); The Seed (singular) of Abraham (Genesis 28:14, and Galatians 3:16); Shiloh

Jeremiah 12 overview — JEREMIAH'S COMPLAINT There are three divisions in this chapter: (Jeremiah 12:1-6) which register's Jeremiah's complaint, (Jeremiah 12:7-13) which recounts God's judgment upon Judah and her enemies, and (Jeremiah 12:14-17) that promises the return of Israel from captivity and the conversion of Gentiles, both of which events are conditional.

Numbers 7:1-3 — brought their oblation before Jehovah, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox: and they presented them before the tabernacle." The notion that all that Moses is said to have done in Numbers 7:1 took place on a single day is an error. "Day" here does not mean to imply that all of that procedure was a one-day affair. (See the chapter introduction.) That the exact time of the events of this chapter was a few days later, even than the numbering

Numbers 7:18-88 — he-lambs.NAHSHONJUDAH""NATHANELISSACHAR""ELIABZEBULUN""ELIZURREUBEN""SHELUMIELSIMEON""ELIASAPHGAD""ELISHAMAEPHRAIM""GAMALIELMANASSEH""ABIDANBENJAMIN""AHIEZERDAN""PAGIELASHER""AHIRANAPHTALITOTALS:12 silver platters (130 shekels each) filled with flour12 silver bowls, (70 shekels each)12 gold spoons (10 shekels each), full of incense12 bulls, 24 oxen, 72 rams, 72 goats, 72 he-lambs(A total of 252 animals)VALUE: 2,400 shekels of silver; 120 shekels of gold. These totals and values are enumerated in Numbers 7:84-88.

Malachi 2:6 — "The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned away many from iniquity." This verse, along with Malachi 2:5; Malachi 2:7-8, is given to show Levi's obligation under the covenant of life and peace. What God did here was to cite the provisions of the covenant law that Levi once kept, but that his successors were violating. Clarke has given a summary of these thus: 1.    He

Matthew 16:5-6 — exorcised were, in truth, cast out by the power of the devil; (4) that he was a violator of sacred traditions; (5) that he profaned the sabbath; (6) that the Scriptures "proved" the Messiah could not come from Galilee, but from Bethlehem (John 7:41); (7) that none of the rulers of the people believed on him (John 7:48); (8) that they KNEW him to be a sinner (John 9:24); (9) that he was a glutton and a winebibber; (10) that he was a Samaritan; (11) that he was a friend of publicans and sinners;

1 Corinthians 7:25 — sons as well as daughters were also included by the term "virgins" as used here. Virgins … Wesley said this means "of either sex." John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), in loco. Barclay's objection that "It is hard to see why Paul used the word VIRGIN if he meant DAUGHTER" William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954), p. 74. is refuted by the fact that Paul did

1 Peter 4 overview — The visible divisions in this chapter are: (1) the security of the faithful in judgment (1 Peter 4:1-6); (2) the destruction of Jerusalem prophesied (1 Peter 4:7-11); (3) special instructions to the Christians as the approaching terror develops (1 Peter 4:12-19).

2 Peter 2:6 — depravity of our own era. What were those sins? The sin of Sodom was unnatural lusts (Genesis 19:5), and pride with fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness, especially among the women, and hard-heartedness towards the poor (Ezekiel 16:46, and Judges 1:7). James Macknight, op. cit., p. 546. It is quite significant that the two destructions in view in this and the preceding verses were (1) by water in the first instance, and (2) by fire in the second, a sequence which we have already observed was pointed

2 Peter 3 overview — There is here a continuation of the discussion of the great apostasy to occur in the "last days" (2 Peter 3:1-7), revelations concerning the "day of the Lord," with refutation of the mockers (2 Peter 3:8-13), and exhortations to stedfastness, and the doxology (2 Peter 3:14-18).

2 John 1:5 — And now I beseech three, lady, not as though I wrote to thee a new commandment, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. The full sentiments of this verse were commented on in 1 John 2:7-8.