Bible Commentaries

Genesis 37 overview — Toledoth X (Genesis 37:2) Here, in Genesis 37:2, begins the tenth and final division of Genesis, the same being the [~toledowth] of Jacob, following logically upon that of Esau just concluded. The narrative in this section is concerned chiefly with the story of Joseph; and,

Genesis 5:1-2 — The whole complicated theory of the document sources of Genesis is cumbersome, unprovable, and unreasonable. (See the Introduction to Genesis.) The great problems connected with the chapter are: (1) the longevity of the antediluvian patriarchs, and (2) the chronology of the passage which gives us 1,656 yearsJohn Skinner, International Critical Commentary, Genesis (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1910), p. 127. as the elapsed time between the Creation and the Great Deluge. Regarding the first of these,

1 Kings 8:1-11 — exilic date for Kings. "The cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark" "These were not the Mosaic cherubim which were firmly affixed to the lid of the ark of the covenant (Exodus 37:7)."Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 218. Furthermore, the wing-spread of these cherubim was twenty cubits, whereas the Mosaic cherubim were miniatures atop the lid that covered the ark of the covenant. "The staves were so long that they were seen from the holy place" In their attempts to

Psalms 23:1-4 — soul: He guideth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." "The Lord is my shepherd" (Psalms 23:1). The word "lord" is far preferable in every way to the synthetic word "Jehovah." It is indeed God Himself who here appears as the Shepherd of Israel; and in the New Testament, when Jesus Christ said, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:14), the words

Lamentations 2:1-10 — Commentary, Vol. 9d, p. 17. "It referred to all the strongholds, especially the fortresses."Ibid. We especially liked Hiller's blunt rendition, "God lopped off the horns of Israel."The Anchor Bible Commentary (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1972), Vol. 7a, p. 104. Or, as we might paraphrase it: "God dehorned His sinful people." "He hath burned up Jacob like a flaming fire" The conception that God's anger is like a terrible fire is not merely an Old Testament metaphor. "To the wicked God, at

Matthew 27:51 — and Julian! But no! The enemies of Jesus were silenced. They could not say that never before had they heard of it. The simple statement of the evangelists proves itself. It is the true story of the veil's destruction.William R. Nicholson, op. cit., p. 24. The meaning of the veil and its tearing is extensive: (1) Its three colors, blue, purple, and scarlet (Exo. 26:81) symbolize the nature of Christ, blue standing for his heavenly nature, the scarlet for his earthly nature, and the co-mingled blue

Deuteronomy 2:16-25 — Emim and the Rephaim were evil. In the case of the Philistines, we have three successive examples of God's replacing peoples because of their wickedness: (1)    The Avvim once lived along the Palestine coast. They became wicked. (2)    They were driven out by the Caphtorim who were the Philistines of later tunes, and who also became wicked. (3)    The Philistines were also driven out by Israel in the time of David king of Israel. Also, Sihon

Luke 18:31-34 — this writer, in a lifetime of reading, has found nothing whatever in the insinuations of those who abuse the sacred New Testament, in their assumption that it was written by fallible MEN, that justifies any relaxing of this confidence. In Matthew 1:22; Matthew 2:5; Matthew 2:17, etc., throughout the Gospel, there are many texts in which this same concept of God's writing "through the prophets" is emphatically stated. For a list of things Jesus prophesied of himself, see under Luke 9:22;

Acts 2:1 — And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. PENTECOST Pentecost … This was one of the three principal feasts of the Jews (2 Chronicles 8:12-13), the others being Passover and Tabernacles. This feast was known by several names: "Firstfruits," "Harvest Festival," "Feast of Weeks" (Leviticus 23:15 f), and "Pentecost," as here. The last

Acts 4:27 — of Daniel … Jesus clearly saw his Messianic ministry from Jordan to Golgotha, as a fulfilling of the prophecies of the Servant of the Lord. Archibald M. Hunter, Introducing New Testament Theology (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1957), p. 23. Thus, it is no surprise that in the very beginning of the gospel proclamation by the apostles strong emphasis upon the role of Jesus' sufferings should appear. We find Peter four times in the early chapters of Acts (Acts 3:13; Acts 3:26; Acts 4:27;

Acts 6:12-14 — would destroy it, that is, the temple of his body, the same having no reference at all to the secular temple of the Jews. Moreover, at that same moment, Jesus promised that he would "raise it up" (the temple of his body) in three days (John 2:19-22). Jesus indeed prophesied the destruction of the temple, promising not that he himself would destroy it, but affirming that "The king (God) would send his armies (those of the Romans) and destroy those murderers and burn their city"

Romans 13:11 — and from this, the commentators have jumped to the conclusion that all the Christians of that era believed the end of the ages was upon them. Christ so mingled his prophecies of his final coming and of the coming destruction upon Jerusalem (Matthew 24) that it was nearly impossible to avoid thinking that the two events would occur simultaneously, instead of being separated by many centuries. "The day" in the sense of Christ's coming in judgment upon Jerusalem was indeed "at hand,"

Joshua 5:13-15 — him, coupled with the acceptance of that worship, proves the Divine nature of this Visitant. If this Holy One had been any created being, he would have forbidden Joshua to worship him, as did the angel for the apostle John (Revelation 19:10; Revelation 22:9). There are a number of these remarkable appearances in the O.T. Dummelow identified the Person here with "The Angel of Jehovah (Exodus 3:2)," adding that, "The Angel of Jehovah is not a created angel but Jehovah Himself in the act of self-manifestation."J.

1 Thessalonians 4:15 — Twelve; and that here is a statement Paul included in his writings, but which was not included in any of the writings of the other apostles which have come down to us. There were countless sayings of Jesus that were not preserved for posterity (John 21:25). In any event, the statement Paul here gave is absolutely authentic. That we that are alive … Paul used the editorial "we," not meaning at all that he personally intended to survive to the Second Advent; but, as in Lightfoot's

2 Timothy 2:8 — Luke's gospel being in reality written by Paul, appears on the whole substantially correct." Jerome, as quoted by H. D. M. Spence, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970), p. 226. That Paul in this expression always referred to the Gospel of Luke could also just as easily be true, regardless of the obviously incorrect notion that Paul wrote it. Even if Luke is the author, which we do not for a moment doubt, it was nevertheless

Hebrews 2:5-7 — glory and honor, And didst set him over the works of thy hands. Although the great theme continues to be the superiority of Christ, at this point the problem of Christ's sufferings begins to come into view. As Lenski expressed it, "With Hebrews 2:5 humiliation begins, the humiliation of Christ's sufferings." R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the Epistle of James (Minneapolis, Minn., Augsburg Publishing House, 1958), p. 71. Even the humiliation of Christ,

Judges 21:1-7 — willingness to spare their own brothers who had been devoted to destruction, not by God's command, but by their own rash and irresponsible oath. Men are commonly more zealous to support their own authority than that of God."Matthew Henry's Commentary, Vol. 2, p 250. The tribe of Benjamin had been almost exterminated, only 600 escapees to the rock of Rimmon remaining. There was the further fact of those two stupid and ridiculous oaths which they had sworn at Mizpah (Judges 20). In the details added here

Jude 1:6 — even hinted at in this verse. For the moment, we shall leave it at that, but a fuller discussion will be given under Judges 1:14. Angels that kept not their own principality … These were the angels of Satan mentioned by the Saviour in Matthew 25:41. There is nothing in this verse that might not be inferred from what Jesus said there, especially by a person who had been reared in the same home with Jesus! That those angels of the devil had indeed rebelled is clear from the fact of their belonging

1 Samuel 11:1-4 — up to you." When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people; and all the people wept aloud." "Nahash the Ammonite" Lockyer identified two Biblical characters of this name: (1) the evil marauder here and (2) "The father of Shobi (2 Samuel 10:2; 1 Chronicles 19:1-2) who is spoken of as a friend of David at a later time."All the Men of the Bible, p. 25, The same scholar gave the meaning of Nahash as "serpent," or "oracle." Payne wrote that, "The narrator

2 Samuel 6:1-5 — David and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals." "Again" This word is presumably a reference to a previous gathering of David's men (2 Samuel 5:6). The parallel account explains that David had consulted all of the leaders of Israel before the journey to Baale-judah. "David… went… with all the people… from… Baale-Judah" From 1 Chronicles 13:6 we learn that