Bible Commentaries

Exodus 13:3-10 — the narrative. Rawlinson affirmed that this was to "avoid unnecessary repetition."George Rawlinson, op. cit, p. 299. PHYLACTERIES The entire first sixteen verses of this chapter were divided by the Jews, with Exodus 13:1-10 as a unit and Exodus 13:11-16 as another, the same being two of the four O.T. texts from which phylacteries were made. The other two were Deuteronomy 6:19 and Deuteronomy 11:13-21. Many have described how these passages were written upon pieces of parchment and made into compact

Exodus 31:1-5 — Judah, who is mentioned in Exodus 17:10; Exodus 24:14, and was called to be the master-builder, to superintend the whole of the building and carry out the artistic work; consequently, he is not only invariably mentioned first (Exodus 35:30; Exodus 36:1-2), but in the accounts of the execution of the separate portions, he is mentioned alone (Exodus 32:1; Exodus 38:22)."C. F. Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. 1, Exodus II (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 217. A second

2 Kings 4:1-7 — fault whatever with the Jewish tradition that this widow's deceased husband was none other than the godly Obadiah, despite the knee-jerk response of most modern commentators that, "No dependence can be placed on it."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit. p. 63. Josephus accepted the tradition and even stated that the debt which the woman's husband had acquired was contracted for the purpose of feeding the faithful prophets of Jehovah whom he had hidden in caves from the murderous wrath of Jezebel.Flavius

Isaiah 65:17-25 — but embracing all of the time between the two advents of Jesus Christ. Taking this chapter as a whole, the situation, first to last, must be identified with the current era of "the last times," as indicated by the apostle Peter on Pentecost (Acts 2:16); because it is the era in which the Gentiles are called to accept the gospel (cf. Romans 10:20), and it is the era when God's people are no longer Israelites but are called by "another name" (Isaiah 65:15). Therefore, we accept the designation of Douglas

Daniel 6:10-15 — Daniel must have thought at that juncture of affairs that they had everything under control. They overlooked the will of God, which is a universal characteristic of all wicked men. WINDOWS OPEN TOWARD JERUSALEM "Windows open toward Jerusalem" (Daniel 6:10). "This habit of praying toward a particular point has been maintained till this day by the Mohammedans who pray in the direction of Mecca."J. E. H. Thomson, op. cit., p. 189. This writer feels a certain appreciation of this text, which was the basis

Haggai 2:6-7 — once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but the heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain (Hebrews 12:26-27)." Thus, the inspired New Testament confirms our understanding of this passage in Haggai as a reference to eternal judgment and the cosmic disturbances that shall mark the onset of that event. F. F. Bruce also received this interpretation of it: "When,

Zechariah 11:14 — elaborated this in detail. The Pharisees boasted about being Abraham's sons; but Jesus said, "Ye are the sons of the devil?' "If ye were Abraham's sons, ye would believe in me." Also Paul noted that Christians are "the seed of Abraham" (Galatians 3:26 f). "The brotherhood between Judah and Israel" What brotherhood? If this is a reference to the northern and southern kingdoms of the old states of the Jews, neither of them was in existence; and the northern kingdom had already disappeared forever from

Zechariah 11:6 — discourses to his friends."Flavius Josephus, op. cit., p. 841. Every once in awhile, one finds in a critical commentary an expression of profound truth, much in the manner of Caiaphas' divine prophecy in John 11:50-52. This is one: "This verse (Zechariah 11:6) is treated as a gloss by some of the later critics, but that is because they have misunderstood the context!"Hinckley G. Mitchell, op. cit., p. 304. Amen! We might go a step further and behold here also the reason for the vast majority of the excisions,

Zechariah 12:3 — Old Testament prophets, Zechariah included among the events of "the last days" everything from Pentecost to the Judgment. These are all included in this chapter under the title, "in that day," an expression repeated in Zechariah 12:3-4; Zechariah 12:6; Zechariah 12:8-9; Zechariah 12:11. "All the peoples" means, "All the peoples of the earth… This indicates that the struggle spoken of is no mere local conflict, but the great battle of the world against the Church, which shall rage in the Messianic

Malachi 2:17 — ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?" Malachi concluded the argument and commandment against divorce in Malachi 2:16, and in this he takes up a new subject. It is the old problem of the prosperity of the wicked. Where is the justice of God? when the wicked prosper and the righteous are having a hard time of it ? "Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words" God is displeased

Matthew 11:14 — And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come. Basing their confident expectation of the return of Elijah before the advent of the Messiah upon Malachi 4:5-6, the Jews of Christ's day expected a literal return of the natural Elijah and had even tried to shake the faith of the apostles in Jesus' Messiahship because, in their view, Elijah had not yet come. Elijah did actually return and met with Christ on

Matthew 16:19 — Peter, not restricted to him, but applicable to all disciples like him," asked, But if you suppose that upon one Peter only the whole church is built by God, what would you say about John the son of thunder or each one of the apostles?Ibid., p. 456. "Bind" and "loose" refer to the power of deciding what was lawful or unlawful to be done in the church or what was orthodox or unorthodox to be believed. That power was (and is) exercised by all the apostles, and the New Testament

Matthew 26:57 — before the Jewish tribunals: 1.    Before Annas 2.    Before Caiaphas 3.    Before the Sanhedrin 4.    Before Pontius Pilate 5.    Before Herod Antipas 6.    Before Pilate again THE FIRST TRIAL Matthew omitted the first trial and arraignment before Annas, the ancient head of the high priestly conclave who was doubtless the prime mover of the cabal against Jesus. Annas lived into his

Matthew 27:32 — are not given in the New Testament, and much of the tradition surrounding them is unhistorical. Veronica's veil, for example, is not mentioned; and to place any credence in such stories is to "go beyond" the word of the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:6). The expression "via dolorosa," however, is a true description of the tragic journey of our Lord to Golgotha. Yet even in that situation, Christ appears to have been thinking of the overwhelming sorrow that should come upon the daughters

Deuteronomy 15:1-6 — rule over thee." The plain meaning of this is that all debts shall be cancelled and forgiven in the Sabbatical Year, i.e., all debts to fellow Israelites. However, this is one of the laws of God that the Jews "made void by their tradition" (Matthew 15:6). It is regrettable that a scholar like Keil would have fallen into the devious "reasoning" by which the Jews nullified this commandment, assuming that, Philo and the Talmudists were correct in the affirmation that, "This simply meant lengthening the

Luke 6:10-11 — Curing the demoniac in the synagogue of Capernaum (Mark 1:21); (2) healing Simon's wife's mother (Mark 1:29); (3) healing of the man at Bethesda (John 5:9); (4) curing the man with the withered hand; (5) giving sight to the man born blind (John 9:14); (6) curing the woman with a spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:14); and (7) healing the man with dropsy (Luke 14:1).Richard Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1953), p. 337. Before leaving this, we note

John 1:29 — the word that Christ ransoms people from sin. In this world's terrible night of darkness and despair, how grandly do the words go marching in the gloom: ransomed, redeemed, propitiated, bought with a price, saved by the blood of Christ (1 Timothy 2:6; 1 John 4:10; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 1:18-19; and 1 Corinthians 6:20). C.    Christ removes sin far away. He takes away the guilt, the penalty and the practice of sin. He is the sin-bearer for all humanity. God "laid

Romans 7:20 — go for naught, as long as sin dwells in human hearts. This verse, far from being a statement of the way it is with Christians, is the way it is with everyone on earth EXCEPT Christians. In the unregenerated man, sin reigns in his mortal body (Romans 6:12); and, until that sin is washed away and the man stands justified in Christ Jesus, this verse is the divine sentence against his life. Sure, the unregenerated has certain nobilities pertaining to all men created in the image of God, effaced and eroded

Hebrews 11:31 — Sodom and Gomorrah, and Tyre, Babylon, and Nineveh, to name only a few. In all of such examples there was the same pattern of excessive sin, reprobacy, judgment, and destruction; nor was Israel itself exempt from the same righteous judgment. Matthew 22:6-7 reveals that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was a judgment of God upon that people for their rejection of Christ. (See further discussion of this in Commentary on Matthew.) James Burton Coffman, Commentary on Matthew (Abilene, Texas, ACU

2 Samuel 19:16-23 — his men worked manfully ferrying the king's family across.'"The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 311. "I have come this day, the first of all the house of Joseph, to come down to meet my lord the king" The house of Joseph is here used as in Amos 5:6 for the Ten Northern Tribes. The hatred and jealousy between Judah and the northern Israel existed long before the formal division of the Chosen People in the times following the death of Solomon into the separate kingdoms of Judah and Israel. In fact,