Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 18:1-3 — rivers divide. All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye." Here is an excellent analysis of what is described in these verses: "About 725 B.C. Piankhi, the Ethiopian king of Egypt sent ambassadors to the king of Judah, Hezekiah; we can be certain that their purpose was to involve Judah in a coalition against the Assyrians. Isaiah warned Hezekiah against any such folly by providing God's

Isaiah 33:13-16 — preferred a foreign alliance with Egypt were led to wonder if God would also destroy them! "Ye that are afar off" "This indicates that the destruction of the Assyrians would be such a signal event that it would be known to distant nations."Ibid. Isaiah 33:15 reveals six elements of righteousness, namely, (1) righteous conduct; (2) upright and honorable speech; (3) hatred of oppression; (4) refusal to take bribes; (5) rejection of all thoughts of murder; and (6) refusal to look upon shameful and evil things. Isaiah

Isaiah 38:1 — illness; and, consequently, there are diverse opinions as to when this event occurred. Kelley pointed out that it "is very difficult"Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), p. 294. to fix the date, but thought it might be around 705 B.C. Hailey gave the date as "701 B.C."Homer Hailey, p. 217. Rawlinson noted that, "The illness of Hezekiah is fixed by Isaiah 38:5 here and 2 Kings 20:6 to the fourteenth year of his reign, or B.C. 714."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 10b, p. 36. Adam

Isaiah 9:13-17 — hand is stretched out still." This is a kind of refrain, a tragic one, that is repeated over and over as the details of the ruin of Ephraim are recounted. It occurs again in Isaiah 9:12; Isaiah 9:17; Isaiah 9:21, and Isaiah 10:4, and also in Isaiah 5:25. There are four stanzas, each ending in this refrain; and They prophecy the Assyrian invasion, the bravado, disdain, and arrogance of Ephraim, the turning of their allies against them, and the total ruin of the nation because of their repeated rebellions

Jeremiah 31:15-20 — emphasizes the necessity of repentance as a key element in the New Covenant to be announced a moment later. As Jesus expressed it twice in three lines, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish!" (Luke 13:3; Luke 13:5). As far as the Northern Israel was concerned, there is no Biblical evidence whatever that any such wave of repentance as that suggested here ever happened.

Jeremiah 34:12-16 — every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had let go free at their pleasure, to return; and ye brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids." "Proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor" (Jeremiah 34:15). The words here are particularly those used in Leviticus, stressing the existence of all the other books of the Pentateuch in addition to Deuteronomy. It would be impossible to overestimate the extent of Judah's crime in the event here recorded: (1)

Ezekiel 6:1-3 — watercourses and to the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places." "The mountains were mentioned here because they were especially the places where Israel practiced idolatry (Leviticus 26:30-33; Isaiah 65:7; and Jeremiah 3:6)."Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 40. The same is true of the watercourses and valleys. "The ravines and valleys were the scenes of Baal-worship (Jeremiah 2:23) and of child-sacrifice (Isaiah 57:5)."J. R. Dummelow's

Daniel 6:19-23 — seven are: (1) in the general sense, as here; (2) to watch over little children (Matthew 18:10); (3) to bear away the souls of the righteous in death (Luke 16:22); (4) to execute the punitive judgments of God upon the incorrigibly wicked (Acts 12:23); (5) to aid providentially in bringing sinners to hear the gospel of Christ (Acts 8:3); (6) to excercise influence over human rulers and princes as in the case of Persia (Daniel 10:20); and (7) to hold open forever the "Word of God" until the dispensation

Hosea 1:3 — daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bare him a son." "Gomer" This is one of a number of names in the Bible that were given to both men and women. Gomer was the firstborn son of Japheth and the head of many families (Genesis 10:2-3; 1 Chronicles 1:5-6; and Ezekiel 38:6). The name Crimea, familiar in English history, is derived from Gomer whose descendants conquered and settled Cappadocia by the time of the seventh century.Herbert Lockyer, All the Men of the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan

Jonah 4:9 — Where art thou? (Genesis 3:9).Where is thy brother, Abel? (Genesis 4:9).What doest thou here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:13).Betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss? (Luke 22:48).Lovest thou me more than these? (John 21:24).Wilt thou be made whole? (John 5:6).Saul, Saul, Why persecutest thou me? (Acts 22:7). Before leaving this verse, it should be noted that a different word in the Hebrew is used for God, than is used in other verses of this chapter. In fact, the following pattern is evident: Jonah 4:4

Micah 4:13 — that secular, fleshly, worldly Israel will conquer all the nations of the world and ruthlessly destroy them. That Someone will do so is surely taught; but that One is Christ to whom the Father hath committed the judgment of this ungodly world (John 5:27). The metaphor of threshing the nations is a terrible one indeed. "The allusion is to the threshing machine studded underneath with iron spikes dragged over the threshing floor."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 35. Some of Israel's enemies had actually

Zephaniah 1:8 — of "king's sons" died without mercy during God's terrible judgment upon Judah. For example, Zedekiah who was carried away to Babylon saw his sons put to death before his eyes, and then he himself was blinded by the barbarous Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:1-7). "Such as are clothed with foreign apparel" It is hard to believe that God would have punished his people for any innocent preference of one kind of clothing or another; so what is meant here is that something most shameful and reprehensible was

Zechariah 11:8 — ministry of Christ, i.e., the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians. Lewis believed that, "No clue to the identity of these persons is available";Jack P. Lewis, The Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1966), p. 79. but Zechariah 11:5 seems definitely to be such a clue. See under that verse, above. It seems clear enough, as Keil affirmed, that, "The persons occurring in this vision are not individuals, but classes of men."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 363. Despite the fact of commentators

Zechariah 2:6 — Babylon as "the north." It was by the northern route that Chaldaean invaders came to Jerusalem. The reason for this exhortation was: "A great number of the exiles had remained in Babylon, having established themselves there according to Jeremiah 29:5, and grown rich. They are now called upon to flee from their adopted country."W. J. Deane, op. cit., p. 17. The reason for this plea was twofold: (1) They were in eminent danger of adopting the philosophy, life-style, and even the gods of Babylon. They

Matthew 16:2-3 — lawgiver from beneath his feet (Genesis 49:10). (4) Even a "sign from heaven" had already been given at the baptism of Christ when God spoke out of heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). (5) It had been revealed to Simeon that he should not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ; and it must be presumed that Simeon, by that time, was long since dead and buried. (6) All the world was expecting the coming of some Great One. (7) The Christ

Matthew 21:31 — harlots were conscious of sins, whereas the Pharisees were not, as shown by Luke's account of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9 ff), indicating that no sin is greater than being conscious of none. (2) The publicans and sinners heard him (Luke 15:1), but the Pharisaical class refused to hear. (3) They believed him (Matthew 21:32). (4) They repented. (5) They were baptized (Luke 3:12; Luke 7:29-30). If the Pharisees had been willing to do this, they too might have entered into the kingdom. In

Matthew 8:5 — Testament. A centurion was an officer in the Roman legions, having command of one hundred men, hence his title. Other centurions besides the honorable example before us include: (1) the one who said, "Truly, this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54), (2) the centurions who rescued Paul from the mob (Acts 21:32), (3) the centurion who bore Paul's message to the chiliarch (Acts 22:25), (4) Cornelius, the first Gentile convert (Acts 10:1), (5) Julius, who courteously treated Paul and saved his life

Matthew 9:18 — very short time. (2) The son of the widow of Nain had been dead longer and was being carried to the tomb. (3) Lazarus had been dead and buried for four days (Luke 7:12; John 11). Christ considered raising the dead a part of his ministry (Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22), and he delegated the power to the apostles (Matthew 10:8). Peter raised Dorcas from the dead, acting under this commission (Acts 9:40). Regarding Jairus' daughter, the quibble is raised that she might not have been dead but had merely swooned;

Mark 10:52 — Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And straightway he received his sight, and followed him in the way. Thy faith hath made thee whole … may also be translated, "Thy faith hath saved thee" (see the English Revised Version (1885) margin). From this, Turlington concluded that "the story is not only historical but a parable."Henry E. Turlington, op. cit., p. 354. Cranfield concluded that Bartimaeus became a disciple of Jesus and supposed that fact to underlie the fact

Luke 1:32 — He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David. The Son of the Most High … Strangely, this is the title given by the demoniac (Mark 5:7) to our Lord, suggesting that this is one of the titles given to the Son of God throughout the unseen world of angels and demons. Ash noted that "Most High" is used seven times in Luke (Luke 1:32; Luke 1:35; Luke 1:76; Luke 2:14; Luke 6:35;