Bible Commentaries

Genesis 21:8-10 — handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." "The child grew, and was weaned" "This occurred in his second or third year, as is usual among Orientals."J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 29. The apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees has an account of a mother pleading with her son and saying, "My son, have pity upon me, that bore thee nine months in my womb, and gave thee suck three years, and nourished thee, and brought thee up unto this age"

Exodus 26:31-37 — symbolism incumbent upon this veil than may be found in nearly anything else in the O.T. WHAT THE VEIL TYPIFIED 1.    The colors: blue, purple, and scarlet appear three times in this chapter: (1) in the inner covering of linen; (2) in this veil; and (3) in the screen at the entrance. That they carry a weight of symbolism is certain. Unger pointed out that: "Blue signifies Christ's heavenly origin. Purple suggests his royal lineage as David's Son. Scarlet indicates his sacrificial

Nehemiah 12 overview — COMPLETED WALL OF JERUSALEM (Note: in this chapter, we shall use the text of the RSV, which has returned to the order of verses in the KJV). This chapter exhibits two separate parts: (1) certain lists of priests, High Priests and Levites (Nehemiah 12:1-16); and (2) the elaborate ceremonies of the dedication. Cook classified the lists thus: (1) the chief priestly and Levitical families who returned with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:1-9); (2) the first six of the post-exilic High Priests from Jesuha to

Psalms 22 overview — sounds like a cry of anguish from David, but though written a thousand years before Jesus, it is so vivid a description of the crucifixion of Jesus that one would think of the writer as being personally present at the Cross. Jesus' dying words (Psalms 22:1), the sneers of his enemies (Psalms 22:7-8), the piercing of his hands and feet (Psalms 22:16), and the casting of lots for his garments (Psalms 22:18) are some of the events here described. None of these statements are applicable to David, or to

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 — behavior. This declares that acceptable worship in God's sight is not merely an outward observance of religious duties, but also includes a pattern of life honoring God's commandments. "The sacrifice of fools" "Be not rash with thy mouth" (Ecclesiastes 5:2). These verses reflect Solomon's views as stated in Proverbs. "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah (Proverbs 15:8)." "He that refraineth his lips doeth wisely" (Proverbs 10:19). Not only is the worship of wicked men an abomination

Isaiah 59:1-8 — Isaiah 59:1-2 here give the Lord's answer to the complaining Jews; and the next six verses (Isaiah 59:3-8) give Jehovah's indictment of the hardened nation, then nearing the time of their destruction under the judgment of God. "Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened,

Luke 13:23 — (NARROW) GATE I.    Behold here is a door which it is most desirable that man should enter. A.    Because it is the gate of man's spiritual home, 1.    Our citizenship is there (Philippians 3:20). 2.    Our treasure is there (Matthew 6:20). 3.    The hope of every man is there (Hebrews 6:19). 4.    Our Lord is there (John 14:1-3). 5.    Our names are written there

John 3:29 — inspiration, found this metaphor most appropriate. The image of the bride and the bridegroom is found often in the prophetic books of the Old Testament, where it was invariably used to describe the relationship between God and his people Israel (Hosea 2:19; Ezekiel 16; Malachi 2:11, etc.). Thus, it should be concluded that John the Baptist received the metaphor from the Old Testament. It was his before it became the apostle's. Thus, the author of John did not impute his own words here, but gave an

Acts 11:29-30 — that had been gathered at that church overflowed the great edifice and was temporarily stored on the parking lot until a whole fleet of trucks was employed for its distribution. The pseudocon "discovered" in these verses is this: Galatians 2:1 speaks of Paul's second visit to Jerusalem as taking place fourteen years after his first, whereas this visit could not be above four or five years after. A. C. Hervey, op. cit., p. 360. The visit in Galatians 2:1, however, was by "revelation,"

Acts 24:14 — God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets. The way which they call a sect … The "way" as a designation of Christianity occurs frequently in Acts. See under Acts 9:2; Acts 16:17; Acts 16:25; Acts 18:26; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 20:4; Acts 24:14; Acts 24:2. Implicit in such a name is the trueness and rightness of it. There are many ways of sin, but only one way of eternal life. Sect … "Tertullus applied

Acts 7:44-47 — palace contrasted with the tent-shrine that housed the ark of the covenant, the prophet Nathan made it clear to David that God did not want any temple built by him, but promised that a "son of David would arise and build a house for God" (2 Samuel 7). Stephen's short reference to the temple of Solomon shows dramatically that the very temple itself was only a substitute for the greater temple of Christ himself, typical of the latter to be sure, and like the monarchy itself, allowed indeed

1 Corinthians 3:16 — expressed any desire to have such a house (temple), stating emphatically that after David's death, David's son would build God a house, that his kingdom would be established for ever in the person of that "seed" (which was Christ, of course). See 2 Samuel 7:1-13. Concerning the Greater Son of David, who is Christ, it was prophesied that he would build a house (temple) for God's name and that his throne would be established for ever. From the remarkable teachings in this passage from Samuel it

2 Corinthians 8:13-14 — that giving should be done as a recognition of the uncertainties and vicissitudes of life. The fact that certain people NOW are not in need is no guarantee that their lack of need will be permanent. Another thought in this was pointed out by Tasker: In 2 Corinthians 8:13, Paul points out the absurdity of almsgiving if giving to others means plunging the donors into "distress." Charity must not be used for the encouragement either of laziness or luxury. R. V. G. Tasker, op. cit., p. 117. That

Ephesians 1:7 — Testament passage which tells sinful people what it is, because it is clear enough that many are spurning the manner of being united with God "in Christ" through faith, repentance and submission to God's ordinance of baptism (1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27). Redemption through his blood … The New Testament presents the blood of Jesus Christ as the purchase price of the church, the grounds of redemption and the great atonement (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Peter

Ephesians 2:8-9 — time? Thus, the "watchword" is a contradiction on its face; and, besides that, the so-called "Scriptures" grace only and faith only, are bastard Scriptures, being nowhere mentioned in the word of God, with the lone exception of James 2:24, where that sacred writer says "we are not justified by faith alone." But what does the text say? By grace have ye been saved through faith … Some of the critical scholars declare the past perfect tense here to be un-Pauline; Francis

Ephesians 4:2 — and holy God. It is the fountain from which are derived all of the Christian virtues. Conceit on the part of a child of God is a denial of the faith. There is also a very proper and necessary self-esteem which enters into Christian character (Romans 12:3). Meekness … Martin chose "gentleness" as a synonym for this word; Alfred Martin, Wycliffe Commentary, Ephesians (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 739. "It is closely connected with the spirit of submissiveness." Francis

Joshua 20:1-6 — which have persisted into modern times. This writer was present when the notorious Newton-Carlton feud of Paul's Valley, Oklahoma culminated in the murder of a Deputy Sheriff in front of the J. C. Penny store just across from the Post Office there in 1926. Some thirty murders had at that time occurred in that feud. Fortunately, the feud ended at that time. The mention of "stand before the congregation" in Joshua 20:6, is a reference to the judgment exercised by the congregation of the city of refuge.

1 Timothy 6:15 — definite groups of Scriptures which set forth the kingship of Christ. A.    There are those that speak of him as the king of the Jews: Wise men came from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:1-2). On the cross, "They set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Matthew 27:37). The soldiers who mocked him taunted him by saying, "If thou art the King of the Jews, save thyself" (Luke

2 Peter 1:9 — who sacrifice the hope of eternal life for immediate convenience or pleasure. There are many Biblical examples of persons afflicted with spiritual myopia. (1) Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom, solely because the immediate prospect seemed favorable. (2) The rich man neglected Lazarus begging at his gate, rather than accepting whatever inconvenience of the moment that might have been incurred in his relief. (3) Demas was dazzled by the near-at-hand attractiveness of the present age and forsook Paul

1 Samuel 3:2-9 — suggest that Samuel was sleeping in the Holy of Holies, which was definitely not true. The opinions of scholars such as W. H. Bennett who thought that Samuel slept in the Holy of Holies in order to protect the ark of the covenantArthur S. Peake, p. 276. and G. B. Caird who wrote that, "Samuel slept in the chamber where the ark was kept,"The Interpreter's Bible, op. cit., p. 893. should be rejected, because only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and not even he could enter it except