Bible Commentaries

Exodus 24:7-8 — part that they would indeed obey the word of God followed the reading of the Book of the Covenant in their hearing by Moses himself. "This was Israel's third promise to obey. See Exodus 19:8; Exodus 24:3; and Exodus 23:22.Wilbur Fields, op. cit., p. 536. "And Moses took the blood… and sprinkled it on the people" Note that none was sprinkled on the pillars. This double blood-sprinkling was the establishment of the covenant, the covenant being specifically mentioned in connection with the ceremony

1 Kings 5:7-12 — this alliance with an addition to his harem, for Sidonian women are listed among those foreign women whom he is said to have loved; and it is said that his heart was turned away after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians (1 Kings 11:1; 1 Kings 11:4-5)."Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 172. CONSCRIPTING SUFFICIENT LABORERS TO BUILD THE TEMPLE Enthusiasts who manifest such appreciation for the Temple of the Jews should remember that it was built with slave-labor.

2 Kings 14:17-22 — conspiracy against Amaziah. There is no evidence whatever that the conspiracy was either led or encouraged by the children of the murderers of Amaziah's father whom Amaziah had spared on the basis of God's commandment mentioned in 2 Kings 14:6. 2 Chronicles 25:27 reveals that the element of Judah that was faithful to the worship of Jehovah was the center of that conspiracy. We read that, "From the time that Amaziah departed from the Lord, they formed a conspiracy against him." Thus, it was Amaziah's apostasy

2 Kings 17:24-26 — five places mentioned here from which captives were placed in the cities of Samaria were: (1) Babylon, which Tiglath-pileser had conquered; (2) Cuthah, "a city of Babylonia, the seat of the god Nergel;"T. C. Mitchell in The New Bible Dictionary, p. 285. (3) Avva, "the same as Ivah (2 Kings 18:34), whose citizens worshipped the idols Nibhaz and Tartak (2 Kings 17:31); (4) Hamath, identified by J. G. G. Norman as "an important city on the Orontes river,"J. G. G. Norman in The New Bible Dictionary, p.

1 Chronicles 28:20-21 — his love of God and his enthusiasm for building the temple shine in every word of these wonderful sentences. How tragic it is that his son Solomon failed so wretchedly to honor the admonition of this wonderful father. SPECIAL NOTE ON 1 Chronicles 28:5 "He (God) hath chosen Solomon… to sit upon the throne of the KINGDOM OF JEHOVAH over Israel" There is not a more preposterous statement in all the Bible than this one. David truly believed, as did all Israel, that the earthly kingdom that God

2 Chronicles 1:7-13 — place that was at Gibeon, from before the tent of meeting, unto Jerusalem; and he reigned over Israel." "That night God appeared unto Solomon" First, we should dispose of the critical suggestion that this is a contradiction of the statement in 1 Kings 3:5 that, "Jehovah appeared unto Solomon that night in a dream." Curtis (Madsen) commented that, "The dream has disappeared, and the revelation is a more direct one."International Critical Commentary, Chronicles, p. 317. Such a comment is totally in error.

Esther 6 overview — would execute his most hated enemy, enjoy a banquet along with the king himself in the apartment of the queen of Persia, supposing, as his advisers had suggested, that he would hang Mordecai and then "go merrily with the king unto the banquet" (Esther 5:14). However, during the previous night, God had been at work to frustrate the purpose of this evil genius of the devil, whose purpose was to destroy the Israel of God from the face of the earth. Before the sun went down, Haman would be hanged on his

Esther 8:3-6 — about the "Law of the Medes and Persians that altereth not," prevented the king from taking such action. Note the tact of Esther here. "She was careful not to put any blame on the king for Haman's wicked letters."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 455. "Many have accused Esther and her race of cruelty because of their slaughter of their enemies, but without justification. She implored for the bloody edict of Haman to be reversed (Esther 8:5); and if she had been heard, no blood at all would have

Job 13:1-12 — paragraph. Literature has no more severe a castigation of irresponsible language than this which Job here heaped upon his friends. He called them physicians of no value (Job 13:4), stated that their silence had more wisdom in it than their words (Job 13:5), indicated that they were speaking unrighteously and deceitfully for God (Job 13:7), noted that God would certainly reprove them (Job 13:10), flatly declared that their proverbs were proverbs of ashes, and that their defenses were defenses of clay

Job 19:13-22 — of my teeth. Have pity on me, have pity upon me, O ye, my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me. Why do ye persecute me as God, And are not satisfied with my flesh?" "He hath put my brethren far from me" "Yes, Job had actual brothers (Job 6:15) who forsook him and dealt deceitfully with him in the days of his adversity. But in the days when his prosperity returned they ate bread with him (Job 42:11)."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 321. In this particular we find another likeness of the

Job 21:17-22 — Almighty. For what careth he for his house after him, When the number of his months is cut off?. Shall any teach God knowledge, Seeing he judgeth those that are high?" "How oft is the lamp of the wicked put out" "Job here replied to what Bildad said (Job 18:5). He did not deny that it ever happened, but replied that it was so rare as to be insignificant."New Century Bible Commentary, p. 149. "You say the wicked are as stubble… as chaff" "You say that God deals with men exactly according to their character;

Leviticus 1:10-13 — in this chapter three times - Leviticus 1:9; Leviticus 1:13; Leviticus 1:17. This figure also appears in the N.T. as well. "Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell" (Ephesians 5:2). In appealing to a metaphor found so often in the O.T., Paul likewise taught the typical significance of all these things as being foreshadowings of the great spiritual realities destined to appear in the fullness of time in the spiritual kingdom

Leviticus 20:10-16 — kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." The various penalties assigned to these various offenses are as follows: They shall be put to death (Leviticus 20:10; Leviticus 20:12-13; Leviticus 20:15). They shall be stoned with stones (Leviticus 20:2; Leviticus 20:27, and Leviticus 24:14). They shall be burned with fire (Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9). They shall be cut off (Leviticus 20:5; Leviticus 20:17-18). They shall bear their iniquity (Leviticus

Leviticus 26:23-26 — Revelation under the symbols of the seals, the trumpets, and the vials of the wrath of God (Revelation 6-16). Also implicit here is that fact that God monitors and disciplines the conduct of Adam's rebellious race. A similar thing is also visible in Ezekiel 5:12. These verses speak of punishment in the fourth degree, and famine and starvation are features of it. "When I break your staff of bread" Comment in the footnote on this in the Tyndale Bible states, "This means `to break the strength thereof, and

Leviticus 26:27-33 — disobedience, and in it were included the ultimates of: (1)    military defeat, (2)    cannibalism, (3)    loss of their land, (4)    their scattering among the nations, (5)    the killing of many, (6)    the desolation of their cities, (7)    the utter abhorrence of God Himself, and (8)    even the destruction of their sanctuaries (the temple

Leviticus 3:1-5 — Graham), p. 82. Clements did not see this and commented that, "Nothing is said directly in this chapter about the atoning value of the peace-offering,"Ronald E. Clements, Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, Leviticus (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), p. 15. and, while true enough, the commandment that the peace-offering should be laid upon the burning burnt-offering (Leviticus 3:5) effectively tied the two together. As Dummelow said, "There would always be some portion of the daily burnt sacrifice smoldering

Numbers 14:5-10 — Barnes' Notes, Numbers (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983. Reprint of the John Murray publication in London, 1879), p. 212. has departed. "This is a very expressive metaphor for shelter and protection in the sultry east (Compare Psalms 91:1; Psalms 121:5; Isaiah 30:2; Isaiah 32:2; Isaiah 49:2; and Isaiah 51:16)."William Jones, The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary, Numbers (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), p. 243.

John 21 overview — This chapter has been called a supplement, William Hendriksen. Exposition of the Gospel according to John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. 1961), II, p. 475. an appendix, W. F. Howard, The Interpreters' Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1952), p. 802. an epilogue, B. F. Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), p. 299. or a postscript,

1 Samuel 18:6-9 — slaying of the Philistine" The ASV margin here notes that the plural "Philistines" is an alternate rendition, and we believe that to be correct. "The allusion here is not to the combat with Goliath but to one of the expeditions mentioned in 1 Samuel 18:5. The women would not have described the slaughter of one champion as the slaying of ten thousand, nor would there have been any contrast between David's act and the military enterprises of Saul."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 4b, p. 340. Keil also agreed

2 Samuel 21:18-22 — Commentary, Revised, pp. 318, 319. Bearing in mind the admitted corruption evident in this chapter, the Christian should have no difficulty with the problem. There are a number of ways to resolve the matter: (1) The parallel account in 1 Chronicles 20:5 states that, "Elhanan… slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath." (2) Elhanan and David were names of the same individual, just as Solomon was also named Jedidiah (2 Samuel 12:24 d). (3) "It is also possible that Goliath was a name worn by more than