Bible Commentaries

Genesis 2:24 — quoted by Christ and designated the "Word of God" in Matthew 19:5-6. The prophetic power of Adam is inherent in such a declaration in the given circumstances. Christ used this verse as a condemnation of divorce, as did also the prophet Malachi (Malachi 2:15), as teaching the indissoluble nature of marriage and the condemnation of polygamy. Here again there is an indication of great antiquity that must be ascribed to the Book of Genesis. There is an understanding of this verse, as pointed out by Skinner,

Exodus 24:11 — widespread conviction among the ancients that anyone who beheld God's face would die at once. We believe Clements, and others, were wrong who placed this theophany "at the top of Mount Sinai."Ronald E. Clements, Exodus (Cambridge: University Press, 1972), p. 162. It has already been explained in this chapter (Exodus 24:1-2) that "Only Moses went to the summit." We may believe that this theophany occurred but a little way further up the mountain from the whole camp of Israel.

2 Chronicles 11:5-12 — cities. And he fortified the strongholds, and put captains in them, and stores of victuals, and oil and wine. And in every city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong. And Judah and Benjamin belonged to him." These verses and through 2 Chronicles 11:17, below, are parallel to 1 Kings 12:25-33, where one will find most of our comments. These preparations which Rehoboam made against possible invasion of the greatly weakened southern Israel were a prophecy of the beleaguered nation's

Job 38:31-33 — Bear with her train? Knowest thou the ordinances of the heavens? Canst thou establish the dominion thereof in the earth?" Four of the great constellations that adorn the heavens are mentioned here: (1) The Pleiades, always prominent in the Spring; (2) Orion which dominates the wintry skies; (3) Ursa Major (The Bear, or Great Dipper) prominent in the northern skies; and (4) the Mazaroth, "The meaning is obscure, but it is possibly the twelve Zodiacal signs, or those that dominate the southern skies."M.

Psalms 119:9-16 — STROPHE 2HE OBSERVES IT WITH HEART, LIP, AND WAY, AND REJOICES IN ITBeth "Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: Oh let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have

Psalms 83:6-8 — Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre: Assyria also is joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. (Selah)" The peoples mentioned here are: (1) the Edomites; (2) the Ishmaelites; (3) the Moabites; (4) the Hagarenes; (5) Gebal; (6) Ammon; (7) Amalek; (8) Philistines; (9) Tyre; and (10) Assyria. All of these are well known, except Gebal and the Hagarenes. Gebal was "An ancient Phoenician city situated on a bluff

Proverbs 19:2 — good thing, for a man in a hurry makes a slip."Ibid. In both of these verses, it is evident that the Anchor Bible has changed the meaning in order to give a better antithesis. The RSV, more faithful to the text, accepts the second clause of Proverbs 19:2, reading, "He who makes haste with his feet misses the way,"The Revised Standard Version of the Bible. but retains the second clause of Proverbs 19:1 as we have it in the ASV. Many of the recent translations take unjustified liberties with the MT; and

Leviticus 19:2-3 — RELIGIOUS DUTIES (Leviticus 19:2 b-10) "Ye shall be holy, for I Jehovah your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father; and ye shall keep my sabbaths: I am Jehovah your God." a.    Be holy. b.    Honor parents and sabbaths. The

Leviticus 26:21-22 — destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your ways shall become desolate." Meyrick and others have noticed that there are five degrees of increasingly severe punishments to be inflicted upon rebellious violators of the covenant: one (Leviticus 26:14-17), two (Leviticus 26:18-20), three (Leviticus 26:21-22), four (Leviticus 26:23-26), and five (Leviticus 26:27-33).F. Meyrick, op. cit., pp. 412, 413. These two verses are the third degree, speaking of ravages by wild beasts. "Settlers in Samaria

Leviticus 26:46 — that this concludes the narrative of all the Sinaitic laws which God gave through Moses. The next chapter appears to have the nature of an appendix. "This verse supplies a suitable conclusion for the main content of Leviticus. What we have in Leviticus 27 is by way of a short appendix on sacred gifts."Ronald E. Clements, op. cit., p. 70. Only God could have been the author of the amazing teaching of Leviticus, and this is the precise and reiterated declaration throughout the whole Pentateuch that God

Isaiah 57:9-10 — yet saidest thou not It is in vain: thou didst find a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not faint." "Thou wentest to the king" "The word here rendered `king' is capable of being rendered `Molech,'The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 620. the savage old god of the Ammonites; and the passage indicates that many Jews had made him their "king" instead of Jehovah. These verses stress two things: (1) the debasing of the people even unto Sheol by their shameless worship of pagan gods, and

Jeremiah 4 overview — THE IMPENDING DESTRUCTION OF JUDAH The chapter begins with a conclusion of the prophet's address to the Northern Israel (Jeremiah 4:1-2); then there is a call for Judah's repentance and return to duty as the very last hope of her averting destruction (Jeremiah 4:3-4); next, the Babylonian invasion is prophesied (Jeremiah 4:5-9); there follows the most difficult verse in the chapter

Hosea 1:7 — Sennacherib came up against Jerusalem and king Hezekiah in the sixth year of that monarch's reign, only to be destroyed in a single night by a miraculous deliverance brought about by the sudden death of 185,000 of Sennacherib's troops, as recounted in 2 Kings 18-19.

Amos 2:9 — "Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. In this through Amos 2:12, Amos turned his attention to the great redemptive acts of God's love for Israel wherein he had delivered them from bondage, dispossessed the nations of Canaan, and done many other marvelous works upon their behalf. The remarkable nation of the Amorites

Habakkuk 1 overview — This chapter begins with the salutation (Habakkuk 1:1), and a plaintive summary of Judah's wickedness (Habakkuk 1:2-3). Then comes the bold and courageous prophecy of the destruction of Judah by the Chaldeans (Habakkuk 1:4-11). But Habakkuk had a problem with regard to the inherent justice of God who would use the wicked Babylonians against a people who, wicked as

1 Peter 1 overview — Following the greeting and salutation (1 Peter 1:1-2), there is a doxology, extolling the mercies of God who had given Christians a marvelous birth, a glorious inheritance, and the salvation of their souls, a salvation which even the prophets of old, and actually the angels, had sought to understand more

Judges 16:10-12 — (2) BINDING HIM WITH NEW ROPES "And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If they only bind me with new ropes wherewith no work hath been

Revelation 2:23 — bed of suffering was an appropriate reward for the bed of fornication; and their judgment was to be as notorious as their scandal had been. I will kill her children with death … Regarding the diverse punishment of the fornicators in Revelation 2:22 (suffering), as compared with death for "her children" here, Beasley-Murray thought that, "The former were sufficiently influenced by Jezebel to compromise their Christian loyalty, but the latter wholly embraced her doctrine."

Revelation 21:14 — twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Twelve foundations … "This is an obvious allusion to the theology of the church, which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20)." George Eldon Ladd, op. cit., p. 281. On them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb … "The apostles are mentioned here in their collective and official, not in their individual, character." Charles H. Roberson, op.

2 Samuel 4:12 — cit., p. 1068. A number of able scholars have pointed out the danger of a society's permitting murder to go unpunished. "When murderers are allowed to live without punishment, the moral fabric of a nation is endangered."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 190. "Nations of the world would do well to learn this lesson regarding the punishment of murderers."The Teachers' Bible Commentary, p. 181.