Bible Commentaries

Genesis 25:27 — temple at Mecca, but also a weak and silly man, who was checkmated and removed from his post by Cosa, an ancestor of Mohammed, who bought from him the keys of the temple, and with it the presidency, for a single bottle of wine!"Marcus Dods, op. cit., p. 261. The N.T. tells us that Esau was a "profane person and a fornicator," which, of course, only fills in the picture of the man controlled and dominated by his appetites. There can be no doubt that the Bible, both O.T. and N.T., places the greater blame

Ecclesiastes 7:15-18 — untimely deaths. Also an evil man like Manasseh enjoyed one of the longest reigns in Israel's history. Rankin wrote that, "Experience does not support the view that God rewards the righteous and punishes the wicked."The Interpreter's Bible, op. cit., p. 66. However, he overlooked the fact that this very passage confirms the general law, while citing exceptions to it. Exceptions to any valid principle do not negate it. The friends of Job who held the false view that there were no exceptions to the general

Isaiah 32:1-8 — prominent feature of this paragraph. Jewish commentators usually take the position that it is Hezekiah who is here spoken of; and some Christian scholars have accepted this. Barnes stated flatly that, "This king is Hezekiah."Albert Barnes' Commentary, p. 469. He defended this position by pointing out the superiority of Hezekiah's rule over that of the evil Manasseh who succeeded him, and also such scripture references as the following: "He removed the high places and broke the images and cut down the grove.

Ezekiel 3:16-21 — THE WATCHMAN'S RESPONSIBILITY (Ezekiel 3:16-21) "And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the

Ezekiel 30:1-5 — on that Day of Jehovah. We have already written many comments relating to the Day of Jehovah, especially in Joel, Amos, and Zephaniah, etc. These will be found in the appropriate volumes of our commentaries under the following references: Isaiah 13:6-9; Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1; Joel 2:11; Joel 3:14; Amos 5:18-20; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7; Zephaniah 1:14; Zechariah 14:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 25:31-46, and many other references. Many

Hosea 6:1-3 — survivors of the nation's death is not one that will serve to heal the nation as a whole and let it live. It is one that will effect an entirely new life with Yahweh, on different terms."James M. Ward, A Theological Commentary, (New York: Harper and Row, 1966), p. 113. The advantage of this interpretation of the place is that it sees the passage as a prophecy of the ultimate fulfillment of God's will long after the old Israel has fallen short and has been rejected. The veiled prophecy of the resurrection

Jonah 2:1 — situation explains the double application of some of the expressions in the prayer. Critics like to complain that the passage (Jonah 2) "is not a prayer but a thanksgiving for deliverance."Paul T. Butler, Minor Prophets, (Joplin, Missouri: College Press, 1968), p. 235. However, in the words of Young who refuted such statements, "Is not thanksgiving of the very essence of prayer?"Edward J. Young, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 280. "Such critical censure is pointless, displaying ignorance of the fact

Zechariah 7:2-3 — to worship, and that God's will would be made known from that city. "Sharezer and Regemmelech" "Sharezer is regarded as a Babylonian name, meaning `protect the king.'"Merrill F. Unger, Zechariah (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1963), p. 121. "Regemmelech means `king's friend'";Ibid. and the significance of these names points to the period of the Babylonian captivity, and shows how the old Jewish custom of naming their children with names that honored God had given place to names

Zechariah 9 overview — Hailey that, "It seems wise to build one's interpretation of these chapters around the passages that are quoted by Jesus and the New Testament writers."Homer Hailey, Commentary on the Minor Prophets (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), p. 366. In passing, we should be conscious of the fact that scholars generally place these chapters (Zechariah 9-14) at a later period in the prophet's life; and the destructive critics have employed every device possible in their efforts to deny the unity

Matthew 27:50 — very few minutes. Nicholson observed that "It was not such a darkness as sometimes precedes an earthquake, like that of Naples in 79, when Vesuvius became a volcano."William R. Nicholson, The Calvary Miracles (Chicago: Moody Press, 1928), p. 6. The reason for this darkness was "the sun's light failing" (Luke 23:45). The sun itself is but a vast nuclear fire, a sustained and continuing reaction, in which the sun's mass is being reduced at a rate of "four million tons per second.Herbert

Deuteronomy 28:49-57 — credibility whatever. For example, Watts claimed, without any proof or evidence whatever, that, "This chapter has been expanded in later versions of the book."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 276. But as Craigie pointed out, "This imbalance finds several parallels in other Near Eastern texts (patterned after the suzerainty treaties) containing blessings and curses." "For example, in the Code of Hammurabi, the imbalance runs 20 to 1; and in the

Luke 11:2-4 — which he taught it";Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 319. but the more accurate exegesis is that "Christ did not design that we should be tied up to these very words, for then there would have been no variation"Matthew Henry, op. cit., p. 692. from the account given in Matthew. Father … Harrison commented that: (Here) Jesus uses a child's word for Father, which appears also in Romans 8:15. It is used by modern Hebrews within the family circle, and implies familiarity based on love.Everett

Luke 19:29 — tied, and both were taken for Jesus' use. An unbroken colt would have been unusable by the disciples without the mother also. See parallels in Mark (Mark 11:1-11) and Matthew (Matthew 21:1-17). Believers in the omniscience of Jesus (see under Luke 19:6) do not need to suppose that Jesus had "apparently made previous arrangements regarding the colt,"Anthony Lee Ash, op. cit., p. 98. because such a supposition must also account for other evidences of omniscience. If Jesus pre-arranged this,

Acts 16:11-12 — speak of themselves, it may be supposed that he founded the Troas church, but this is not certain. Straight course to Samothrace … This journey in a single day was possible because of a favoring wind; because, "on a later occasion (Acts 20:6), a voyage from Philippi to Troas took five days." E. H. Plumptre, op. cit., p. 104, Neapolis … means "Newtown"; and they continued there from Samothrace, as Neapolis afforded a more favorable route to Philippi. Philippi …

Acts 18:1 — thus lying between the Saronic and Corinthian gulfs, ideally located for trade and commerce. The outstanding physical characteristic of the city is the Acro-Corinthus, a fantastic vertical mountain rising just south of the isthmus to a height of 1,886 feet. Encyclopedia Britannica (Chicago: William Benton, Publisher, 1961), Vol. 6, p. 441. There was a flat area on top, occupied in antiquity by a heathen temple with "one thousand religious prostitutes" Everett F. Harrison, Wycliffe Commentary

Acts 7:41-43 — p. 220. Moloch … This old god of the Ammonites "was worshipped at Mari about 1800 B.C.. and was associated with the sacrifice of children in the fire." The New Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1962), p. 836. Solomon built a high place for this god on a hill east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7); Ahaz burned his children (2 Chronicles 28:3), and Manasseh did the same (2 Kings 21:6); and Samaria was judged for this sin (2 Kings 17:17). Rephan …

Joshua 20:7-9 — of the word, which later also came to mean "a sanctuary,"F. N. Peloubet, Peloubet's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: The John C. Winston Company, 1925), p. 342. or "sacred place."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1957), p. 626. It was precisely this word that came to mean the sacred female prostitutes of paganism, the [~qedeshah] and their male counterparts, the [~qedesh]; only, in their cases, the word is spelled with a "q." Of course, that constituted the illegal and

Judges 9:1-6 — ears of the conspirators. SHECHEM This place figured prominently in the early history of Israel. (1)    When Abraham came from Haran, it was at the oak of Moreh in the vicinity of Shechem that he erected his first altar (Genesis 12:6 f). (2)    It was probably by this oak that Jacob, upon his return from Paddan-aram, compelled his family to bury their false gods (Genesis 35:4). (3)    Jacob here bought a parcel of ground east of the city from

2 Peter 3:7 — have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. This sequence of destruction, first by water, then by fire, was indicated by Jesus himself in Luke 17:25 ff, and reiterated by Peter in 2 Peter 2:5-6. No blue-print of what will occur is given, merely the bare fact of ultimate destruction by fire. People may choose to disbelieve this if they will! Noah's generation did not believe God either; but those who are the elect will receive these words by

Revelation 19:10 — said to have prevailed in some quarters in the primitive church. Moffatt, for example, quoted Clement of Alexandria as saying that, "angel worship had for some time fascinated the Asiatic churches here and there." James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 465. The impact of what is taught by this, however, far exceeds the bearing it has in forbidding angel worship. And I fell down before his feet to worship him … In this instance, John actually was so carried away by the marvelous visions that he