Bible Commentaries

Genesis 13:10 — his home (Genesis 13:11) and moved his home into the close vicinity of it (Genesis 13:13); (3)    He "dwelt in Sodom" (Genesis 14:12); and (4)    He acknowledged the men of Sodom as his "brothers" (Genesis 19:7) and offered them his daughters to be used sexually as they wished; (5)    He "sat in the gate of Sodom" (Genesis 19:1), indicating his acceptance of a post of responsibility there; and (6)    "Finally, he `lingered,'

Exodus 35 overview — changed to the declaratives, and the tenses from future to past. "The contents of these chapters (Exodus 35-40) simply reproduce with minor variations the contents of Exodus 25-31."William Neil, Harper's Bible Commentary, (New York: Harper and Row, 1975), p. 110. Much has been said about the extensive repetition that confronts us in these chapters, but, as Gordon accurately noted, "The repetition of lengthy passages without modification is characteristic of Near Eastern Literature in general."Robert

Exodus 7:1-2 — THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL (Exodus 7—14) "And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel

2 Kings 19:25-28 — unwillingness to preach to Nineveh. What a fool, therefore, was Sennacherib who imagined that all of his exploits were due simply to his personal power and ability. "I will put my hook in his nose" "This is a further detail of what God prophesied in 2 Kings 19:7, above."George C. M. Douglas, p. 289. This is a characteristic of the inspired writings which we have frequently noted. In every mention of a given event, prophecy, or instruction, some significant detail, not previously mentioned, is added. "One may

2 Chronicles 4:1-6 — `likenesses' of anything either in heaven or on earth, the sacred images of the cherubim commanded by Moses, having been one exception to this. "It… held three thousand baths" The bath was a Jewish measure, being the equivalent of about 4 and 7/8 gallons.The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 331. The very size of this laver was a testimonial to the type of `washing' to which the priests submitted. It was by immersion,Michael Esses, Jesus in Exodus, (Plainfield, New Jersey: Logos International,

Ezra 4:1-5 — available to defend the interests of Israel until the times of Darius I. "Let us build with you, for we seek your God, as ye do" The people who thus approached the Jews were the remnants of the Northern Israel which remained after the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C.; and when wild animals became a threatening problem after many of the people were carried away by Assyria, the Assyrian kings repeopled the land with non-Israelites. It is true that they worshipped Jehovah, after a fashion; but their worship

Psalms 79 overview — A LAMENT OVER THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM; AND A PRAYER FOR VENGEANCE George DeHoff called this psalm, "The Funeral Anthem of a Nation."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. III, p. 177. Charles M. Miller's analysis of this psalm points out that it exhibits several elements found in other psalms: (1) Psalms 79:5; Psalms 79:7; Psalms 79:10 a are lamentation; (2) Psalms 79:6; Psalms 79:10 b,12 are imprecations; (3) Psalms 79:8-9 are

Jeremiah 21 overview — captive nobility, including Daniel and others; at that same time Nebuchadnezzar placed Zedekiah, a king of his own choice, on the throne of Israel. The new king was an uncle of Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah was the name given him by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:17). Of course, he swore fealty and perpetual loyalty to Nebuchadnezzar. These events took place about the year 597 B.C. Jehoiachim's death was inglorious (2 Kings 24:6; Jeremiah 22:18-19). His son, Jehoiachin's three month reign ended when he surrendered

Jeremiah 33 overview — Jeremiah 3:16. Furthermore, the New Testament emphatically teaches that, "No king of the family of David shall reign, except the Messiah, and that the seat of his government is not an earthly, but a heavenly throne (Luke 1:23; Luke 1:33; Psalms 89:37 KJV)."W. Harvey Jellie, Jeremiah, in Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company), p. 556. Likewise, regarding any such literal priesthood as that of the Levites, the New Testament is equally emphatic. "The Levitical

Numbers 5:5-10 — children of Israel, which they present unto the priest, shall be his. And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his." As pointed out above: This regulation supplements the law contained in Leviticus 6:1-7, which, dealing with the restitution of property wrongfully appropriated, omits to explain how it is to be disposed of, if the owner has died without leaving any kinsman to whom restitution may be made.George Woosung Wade, Peake's Commentary on the

Deuteronomy 32:28-36 — the meaning, due to the characteristic changes in person. "Their" in some passages refers to Israel, and in others to Israel's enemies. The question in Deuteronomy 32:30, as to how "one could chase a thousand" is actually the sequel to Deuteronomy 28:7; Deuteronomy 28:25, where the blessing in warfare becomes the exact description of the curse during Israel's apostasy. Earlier in Deuteronomy, Moses had promised that in warfare Israel would be mightily victorious. The question here is "how could such

Deuteronomy 7:17-23 — consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. But Jehovah thy God will deliver them up before thee, and will discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed." Concerning "the hornets" mentioned in Deuteronomy 7:20, we like the comment of Wright in the Interpreter's Bible, that the question of whether these were literally hornets or if this is a metaphor for some other type of opposition, "is not clear!"G. Ernest Wright, Interpreter's Bible, Deuteronomy (New

Joshua 3:11-13 — truly miraculous nature of this astounding event. That mighty rivers sometimes stop flowing for a day, or even flow upstream, cannot be denied. "The Jordan itself, in the year 1266, was left dry for ten hours as the result of a landslide; and in 1927, an earthquake near Adam (Adamah), stopped the Jordan's flow for twenty-one hours."Merrill F. Unger, op. cit., p. 287. Also, there is the amazing instance right here in America of the New Madrid (Missouri) Earthquake of 1811, 1812 (Three shocks in December,

2 Timothy 4:1 — warnings should contain this powerful reminder of the eternal judgment to be faced by all men. Who shall judge the living and the dead … The living are those who shall remain and still be upon the earth at the time of the Second Advent (2 Thess. 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:51); the dead, of course, are the myriads who sleep in death until the coming of the Lord. And by his appearing and his kingdom … These are not added here as witnesses along with God and of Christ of Paul's solemn charge, but

Hebrews 12:15 — author questioned, but their conduct. Root of bitterness is reference to an evil man, as Macknight said, "A root of bitterness is a person, utterly corrupted, and who by his errors and vices corrupts others." James Macknight, op. cit., p. 570. Likewise, Westcott said of a bitter root that it is "a pernicious man, not a pernicious opinion." Brooke Foss Westcott, op. cit., p. 407. The analogy between a man and a root, as required by this metaphor, is interesting. Christ himself

Hebrews 4:16 — trials of their probation; and he eagerly anticipates the entry of his beloved children into the joy of their Lord (Matthew 25:23), demanding only that they love him (John 14:15), and able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him (Hebrews 7:25). Westcott provided an excellent summary of the thought of this text, thus: The minds of the writer and readers are full of the imagery of the Levitical system, and of the ceremonial of the high-priestly atonement; and the form of the exhortation

Hebrews 9:27-28 — of the Majesty on High. The second time apart from sin is a reference to the second advent of Christ when he shall appear in flaming fire taking vengeance upon them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8). Yes, Christ shall be seen on earth again, not as a humble sufferer, but as the mighty judge before whom all people must give an account. The expression "them that wait for him" is a tender and beautiful suggestion of the necessity of mortal

James 3:17 — apostolic writings themselves, there being no other possible source of it. As Dummelow observed, "The wisdom described here is moral rather than intellectual." J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 1036. Pure … The word of God is not to be alloyed with human speculations, philosophy and opinions, the word itself taking precedence over everything else. Peaceable … The tendency of the true wisdom is not that of producing faction

1 Samuel 26:17-20 — the presence of God pertained especially to the land of Israel, and no Hebrew wanted to die away from it, but, "It is unnecessary to infer that David believed that God was operative only in the land of Israel. Such a view is ruled out by 1 Samuel 30:7-8."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 301. "Here David pleaded with Saul for some opportunity that would prevent his having to leave his own people and the land of Israel."The Teachers' Bible Commentary, p. 177. The failure of Saul to provide any

1 Samuel 3:1 — was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision." "The boy Samuel" "The term `boy' as used here is applied to an infant (1 Samuel 4:21) or to a man forty years old (2 Chronicles 13:7)."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 384. Samuel was probably about twelve years of age at the time of this episode, as was stated by Josephus.Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 169. That was traditionally among the Jews the age at which bar-mitsvah