Bible Commentaries

Nehemiah 4:1-6 — thing." "Will they sacrifice"? was a way of asking, "Do they expect their God to do this for them'? "Will they revive the stones… seeing they are burned"? "The effect of fire is to crack and weaken stone";The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 406. and this insult was merely a charge that the Jews did not have the material to rebuild the walls. Insults hurt, even if they are untrue. This one was only true in a very limited frame of reference. The stones from the vast majority of the ruined walls

Psalms 40:6-8 — within my heart." "Sacrifice… offering… burnt-offering… sin-offering" As Yates noted, "These are the four basic sacrifices"Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 510. of the Law of Moses. Their giving God `no delight' (Psalms 40:6), and being `not required' (Psalms 40:6) make it absolutely certain that we have here a reference to the New Covenant; because under the Old Covenant, the sacrifices mentioned here were absolutely required. Many of the commentators have softened what

Psalms 80:1-7 — are two prayers here (Psalms 80:1-3 and Psalms 80:4-7), but there are similarities. God is petitioned for salvation in both; He is requested to "Turn us again" in both (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7); and the reference to the Aaronic blessings of Numbers 6:25, "Cause thy face to shine," is in both (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7). The problem in these verses is the mention of Ephraim and Manasseh and Benjamin with no specific reference to any other of the tribes of Israel. Some have made this the basis of supposing

John 5:1 — afterward, he might quite accurately have so described it. The most convincing argument to this writer is by Trench: If this feast of the Jews was a Passover, then St. John will make mention of four Passovers, namely, this one, and in John 2:13; John 6:4, and the last. Thus, we shall arrive at the three and one half years, the half of a "week of years" for the length of Christ's ministry, which many, not altogether unreasonably, have thought they found designated beforehand for it in the

Acts 1:13 — tradition to the effect that it was the place where the Last Supper was held, and that it was in the home of Mary, sister of Barnabas and mother of John Mark. The list of the Twelve is given four times in the New Testament, in Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6, and here. This list is like the others in that Peter, Philip, and James are recorded first in three groups of four each, of course, the name of Judas being deleted here. The mention of the apostles by name stresses that the Twelve (Luke would immediately

Acts 21:4 — the prevailing winds at that time of the year, Howson concluded that "The voyage might easily have been accomplished in forty-eight hours." J. S. Howson, Life and Epistles of St. Paul (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1966), p. 562. We tarried there seven days … Plumptre and others have observed that the purpose here of the seven days' stay was to enable the missionaries to observe the Lord's supper with the Christians of Tyre. The seven days' stay, as at Troas

Acts 24:11 — calculation of them is one of the most readable. It is as follows: 1. Reception by James and the elders; first day of purification. 2-4. Second, third, and fourth days of purification. 5. Fifth day of purification; riot; Paul's speech on the steps of Antonio. 6. Meeting of the council (Paul's dream that night). 7. Plot to slay Paul is arranged. 8. He starts to Caesarea before midnight, reaches Antipatris before dawn: Ananias learns of Paul's departure: first of the five days (Acts 24:1). 9. Paul is handed

Acts 4:15-16 — is related here overlook two things, (1) the Holy Spirit's guidance of the inspired evangelist, and (2) the fact that many of the Pharisees obeyed the gospel and had long been faithful Christians at the time of Luke's probable interview of them (Acts 6:1; Acts 15:5, etc.). We may be certain that what is here related occurred exactly as it is written. Therefore, it is not necessary, as did Bruce, to suggest that "The decision by the Sanhedrin in the absence of Peter and John would be readily inferred

Acts 8:6 — Omri as a new capital of the ten northern tribes of Israel on a hill 300 feet high seven miles northwest of Shechem, commanding the trade routes through the Esdraelon plain. New Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1962), p. 1130. This impressive butte afforded strong protection against assault, having steep sides and a permanent water supply within the fortifications. This city figured prominently in certain dramatic incidents in the Old Testament. It was here that

Romans 11:4 — concerned merely with showing that God had not rejected "all of his people"; for God in fact had rejected none of his true people. Paul was showing that throughout Israel's history, "they are not all Israel who are of Israel" (Romans 9:6), that being the key to making any sense at all out of what is stated here in Romans. Significantly, the separation between the two Israels, the true and the fleshly, was not the result of some whimsical "eternal decree" of God, choosing some

Romans 8:5 — and obedience to the gospel of Christ, and has received the Holy Spirit of promise, such a person is then endowed with a whole new set of values. He is born again! Thus the man walks "in newness of life," as Paul had already stated in Romans 6:4. This transformation from the old state to the new one is here identified as "minding the things of the Spirit"; but Paul also identified the same condition as that of permitting the mind of Christ to be in the believer (Philippians 2:5

Galatians 1:4 — observing forms and ceremonies of the Law of Moses. In the last clause of this verse, Paul noted that Christ's giving himself was according to the will of God. For seven centers of initiative in the crucifixion of Christ see my Commentary on Romans 3:25-26. The word "ransom" is used of this sacrifice of Christ in Matt. 28:28, Mark 10:45, and in 1 Timothy 2:6. As Sanday observed, "It was a sacrifice for sinners, wrought in their behalf for their benefit, a sacrifice wrought in their stead.

Galatians 2:20 — cit., p. 214. This forsaking of one's identity to be "Christ, in a sense, in Christ" was announced by Christ himself, who said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). Also he said, "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit … If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, etc." (John 15:4-6). Therefore, if a man is able to answer two questions affirmatively, there

Galatians 5:19-21 — drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you even as I did forewarn you, that they who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is another of Paul's lists of evil works, similar but longer than the one in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and also resembling those given in Romans 1:27-32 and 2 Timothy 3:1-8. Extensive comments on various items in this list have already been made in my commentary on Romans and my commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians in this series. There are fifteen

Ephesians 4:9 — remark like this: "That an ascent implies a descent … strange and unconvincing as the argument appears to the modern reader, it is pure midrash!" Francis W. Beare, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. X (New York: Abingdon Press, 1953), p. 688. Such a view is only blindness to the glory of one of the great New Testament texts. Paul did not argue that "an ascension implies a descent"; any child would know better than that, and Paul was no intellectual child. What then was his argument? Paul,

Colossians 1:23 — faith." In short, that means if they do not quit the church! "Faith" in this passage is not subjective, but objective, meaning "the Christian religion." Will and Ariel Durant, Rousseau and Revolution (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967), p. 3. Which was preached in all creation … The same thought is expressed in Colossians 1:6. See notes under that reference. "Creation," as used here, is suggestive of Mark 16:15 and Romans 8:22, which see with the comments. Paul

Hebrews 11:15 — volunteers! The inspired writer flatly declared that they could have gone back home if they had so desired; and this reminds one of the challenge addressed by our Lord to the apostles when he bluntly asked them, "Would ye also go away?" (John 6:67). Every Christian needs to keep this fact in focus at all times, that no one has conscripted him to serve the Lord, and that if one prefers the world and what it may offer to the eternal things of God, he is surely free to take it, along with the

Hebrews 5:10 — to make is quite obvious, namely, that Christ's high priesthood was no less of God than was that of Aaron, and over and beyond that, was in many remarkable particulars superior to it. THE THIRD EXHORTATION The balance of Hebrews 5 and all of Hebrews 6 are given to an extensive exhortation for the purpose of arousing the disciples from their lethargy and setting their feet firmly on the road to spiritual maturity. They had simply not developed as should have been expected; and, although sufficient

Judges 13:15-20 — of Jehovah. Back in Judges 13:11, when Manoah asked if "the man" was the same one who had earlier appeared to his wife, the answer was, "I AM." These very words were often used by Jesus Christ himself as his identification, as in John 8:58; Mark 14:62; John 18:5, etc. This strongly supports the belief that the Angel of Jehovah was none other than the pre-incarnate Son of God. "Wherefore askest thou after my name seeing it is, Wonderful!" "The noun form of this word is rendered `Wonderful' in Isaiah

1 Samuel 6:10-16 — Beth-shemesh offered sacrifices that day."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 388. This is no problem at all. The men of Beth-shemesh were Levites, that city having been designated as a city of the Levites ever since the days of Joshua (Joshua 21:16). And, if the passage means that citizens of Beth-shemesh, other than Levites, offered burnt offerings and sacrifices, then their doing so consisted merely in their bringing the animals and other offerings and delivering them to the Levites who actually