Bible Commentaries

Exodus 18:24-27 — later in Deuteronomy 1:12-18, where it appears that Moses also added a refinement of his own. He charged the people with the responsibility of picking out their judges, much in the same way as the apostles instructed the people to choose The Seven (Acts 6:3 f). The last verse of the chapter tells of the departure of Jethro. A moment's reflection will emphasize what an important and significant visit he had made: (1) He restored Moses' family to him, after their having been separated about one year; (2)

Exodus 7:1-2 — witnessed!"Robert Jamieson, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Reprint 1982), p. 293. Thus, Moses here had the answer to the weakness regarding his speech which he had brought up the second time in Exodus 6:12. "Aaron shall be thy prophet" The use of the word "prophet" here is significant in that it defines a prophet "as one who spoke not his own thoughts, but what he received of God."Ibid. "The prophet was the middleman between God and the people, i.e.,

1 Kings 8:27-30 — thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive." "Heaven of heavens cannot contain thee" "These words are actually a reminiscence of Deuteronomy 10:14, and are found elsewhere only five times including the parallel in 2 Chronicles 6:18."The Interpreter's Bible, op. cit., p. 78. "My name shall be there" In these words, as they are compared with 1 Kings 8:27, Solomon makes it clear that, "It is not God Himself in his fullness who will dwell in the Temple, but only his name."The Layman's

Ezra 4:1-5 — love at all for Israel appears in their continued opposition. "Since the days of Esarhaddon" "Isaiah had prophesied in 734 B.C. that Northern Israel would cease to be a distinct people within sixty-five years (Isaiah 7:8); and this was fulfilled by 669 B.C., during the reign of Esarhaddon (680-668 B.C.)."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 426. The following verses (Ezra 4:6-23) are, in fact, an unusually long parenthesis which describes the continual opposition of the people of the land to the

Esther 7:8-10 — was pacified" Very well, so far, so good! But the danger was far from being averted. That evil decree sent forth in the authority of the "Law of the Medes and Persians that altereth not," was still out there, in every province of the Empire (Daniel 6:9). The great danger of a wholesale slaughter of the Jews still persisted.

Psalms 103:6-13 — "The whole nation was once in bondage; and the thought here is retrospective to the days of Moses."H. C. Leupold, p. 717. "Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness" Here are given two of the "Thirteen Attributes of God" as revealed in Exodus 34:6-7; Joel 2:13. Jonah named five of these in his prayer (Jonah 4:2). "Thou hast not dealt with us after our sins, etc." "Just take a look at what the holy and righteous God did to the fallen angels, the antediluvian world, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the

Psalms 107:10-16 — Euphrates river. When the Medo-Persians took Babylon, the river was diverted out of its normal channel; and the soldiers of the enemy marched unharmed under the bronze gates. Psalms 107:13 and Psalms 107:15 repeat the refrains discussed under Psalms 107:6 and Psalms 107:8. The utility of this double refrain, it appears to us, is that it emphasizes the unity of what is discussed here. It is not a discussion of several kinds of God's deliverances, but of the One Great Deliverance of Israel from Babylon. "He

Psalms 145:8-14 — radio and TV programs are loaded with prime-time preachers proclaiming that the kingdom has NOT yet been established! "Jehovah is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, etc" Other Old Testament passages setting forth the attributes of God are Exodus 34:6-7 and Jonah 4:2. "All thy works shall give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah" Reginald Heber, in his immortal hymn, "Holy, Holy, Holy," honors this line in the last verse. "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name,In earth

Psalms 30:8-10 — "Accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead" (Hebrews 11:19); and many of the Old Testament saints suffered all kinds of hardships, even torture, "that they might obtain a better resurrection" (Hebrews 11:35). David himself gave us Psalms 16:10; and there is no doubt at all that Psalms 23:6 speaks of eternal life. Furthermore, Job gave us that soul-cheering line immortalized in Handel's Messiah, "I know that my Redeemer liveth…. and that after death, I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26)." We

Psalms 34:7-10 — possible for men to know whether or not his word is true. The person who receives it, obeys it, and trusts its promises will shortly come to know, "Whom he has believed," having "tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come" (Hebrews 6:5), and as Peter said, "Ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2:3). "For there is no want for them that fear him" (Psalms 34:9). See under Psalms 34:10, below, where this thought is repeated. "The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger"

Psalms 90:7-11 — been made so brief, is to be explained, only upon the basis that God has arrayed before his own mind the reality of human depravity."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. III, p. 6. "We bring our years to an end as a sigh" The KJV reads this, "We spend our years as a tale that is told." The implication regards the transitoriness, the fleeting nature, and the brevity of human life. "Here today, and gone tomorrow; yes I know; that

Psalms 91:14-16 — natural to desire longevity; (2) long life is to be regarded as a blessing; and (3) the tendency of godly living is to lengthen life."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), Vol. II, p. 16. The apostle Paul connected the obedience of parents with long life (Ephesians 6:1-3); and there can be no doubt that, in a general sense at least, Christian living enhances the chances that one may live a long time upon the earth. Again, from Barnes,

Proverbs 2:16-19 — be that. "The strange woman here is any meretricious person who indulges in illicit sex."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 40. (This is the first of several warnings against adultery in the book of Proverbs; others are in Proverbs 5:3-23; Proverbs 6:20-35; Proverbs 7:1-27; Proverbs 9:13-18). The thing that amazes this writer is that the author of these instructions was himself the most fantastic violator of these warnings ever known. "Some Jewish commentators personify the strange woman here and

Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 — and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Barton gave only one subject to this whole chapter, calling it, "Man's Inhumanity, namely, (1) man's inhumanity to men (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3), (2) the inhumanity caused by rivalry and envy (Ecclesiastes 4:4-6), and (3) man's inhumanity to himself."International Critical Commentary, Vol. 18, p. 113. "No end of all his labor, neither is his eye satisfied with riches" This denounces avarice, especially that of the miser, who having neither partner nor heir,

1 Samuel 10:20-24 — been no motivation whatever for Saul's hiding himself in the baggage. That the Lord indeed was responsible for such an action as casting lots is affirmed in the Bible: The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord - Proverbs 16:33. (Note what is said in 1 Samuel 10:22.) "He has hidden himself among the baggage" An unbelieving comment on this is that of G. B. Caird, "There is no reason why Saul should have hidden himself among the baggage."The Interpreter's Bible, op. cit.,

1 Samuel 23:1-5 — fighting against Keilah" Nothing is said here about who told David this news, but it seems to have been the leaders of Keilah, hoping for assistance from David and his men. "David inquired of the Lord" We are not told how David did this, but 1 Samuel 23:6-14, below, explains that Abiathar had joined David's forces, bringing the ephod with him. "Arise, go down to Keilah" "The Judean hills, where David and his men were hiding, were at a higher elevation than Keilah."John T. Willis, p. 232.

1 Samuel 3:19-21 — Israel and their usage to indicate the whole country of Israel was equivalent to what an American might mean if he said, "from Lubec to San Francisco." "Dan is the modern Tel el-Qadi, located on the southern slope of Mount Hermon."John T. Willis, p. 61. See our comment on Judges 18:27-29 for the manner in which the tribe of Dan came to possess this place. "Beersheba is the modern Tel es-Saba, located about four miles east of the modern town of Beersheba."Ibid. Except for the extent of Israel's territory

1 Samuel 6:1-3 — great city on earth. The methods employed by diviners included: (1) shaking the arrows; (2) consulting the teraphim; and (3) looking at the liver (Ezekiel 21:21). For further comment on `shaking the arrows,' see our commentary on Ezekiel, pp. 215, 216. In this third method, the entrails of some animal were poured out, and the arrangements of different portions were supposed to provide some kind of information to the observers! Willis tells us that other methods included watching the movement of clouds,

2 Samuel 14:25-27 — head of hair provided the opportunity for Joab to kill him! As for the weight of that hair, scholars give different figures. Payne gave it as "Three and one half or four pounds";The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 309. Cook estimated it as, "About 6 pounds."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 101. He also suggested that the figure of two hundred shekels should probably be read as "twenty shekels." Caird gave the weight as "About three and one-half pounds";The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 2, p. 1120. and Josephus

2 Samuel 6:20-23 — text, and the Greek (LXX) identify them as the sons of Michal, as indicated in the footnote of the RSV. Josephus declares that, "She bare five children."Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, p. 212. Porter stated that the natural way of understanding 2 Samuel 6:23 is that, "Michal's barrenness was for the rest of her life due to her estrangement from David, and not that she was stricken by Jehovah with barrenness."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 409. H. P. Smith also supported that same understanding