Bible Commentaries

Genesis 24:50-58 — again. (3)    She believed the messenger completely, an incredible act of faith. (4)    She made the decision, saying, "I will go." (5)    She followed the messenger to meet her bridegroom. (6)    She was already the bride-elect, but her actual union with Isaac would not occur until many days had passed, and that final "evening" arrived. (7)    Then, in the twilight, with her veil upon her, she went

2 Kings 9:30-37 — eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so they shall not say, This is Jezebel." REGARDING JEZEBEL Like the apostle John who looked upon the Great Whore of Revelation 17:6 (KJV), I wonder with great admiration at this evil woman, who in spite of her wickedness was a woman of great strength and achievement in the eyes of men (though, not in the eyes of the Lord). She was not only a king's daughter, she was the wife of

Esther 3:7-11 — on how this happened. "Haman's method for fixing the date for the destruction of the Jews has been revealed by excavations at Susa (Shushan) by M. Dieulafoy, who actually recovered one of those quadrangular prisms engraved with the Numbers 1, 2, 5, 6. The word `pur' is derived from the Persian puru, that is, `lot'; and it is now known that `they cast Pur' (Esther 3:7) means that they cast lots."Archeology and the Old Testament, p. 309. This fully explains why almost a year elapsed between Haman's

Job 31:9-15 — noted that Job's evaluation of the sin of adultery stressed the iniquity of it, "As a flagrant offense, not only subject to divine punishment, but also dealt with by magistrates and the criminal law."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 265. Our own beloved country has removed adultery from the list of felonies, and in so doing has invited and encouraged social and national decay. There cannot be any doubt that when the current increasing departure from the wisdom of the ages has run

Psalms 41:10-12 — period of the Persian Gulf War than were killed by waging the war. It is a shame and a reproach that our society has forgotten that God said, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God made he man" (Genesis 9:6). This is not "an option" that governments have in dealing with murderers; it is an order, a Divine and binding order; and the neglect of it by any society is absolutely suicidal. Certainly, as the king, the head of the government, and the judge and

Psalms 69:30-33 — which had incited so many of his fellows against him… He did not mean to abolish the temple; he just wanted to put first things first, subordinating traditional rites to the exercise of spiritual worship."The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. IV, p. 367. The imagination of Hans Christian Andersen was not any better than that! The fantasy indulged by many critics that the more perceptive prophets disapproved of animal sacrifices is totally incorrect. All of the passages that are cited as alleged proof

Psalms 72:5-8 — down like rain… like showers" Both the rain and the showers come down from the heavens; and Solomon certainly never did anything like that. "Not only will this Great One rule all nations, but his pre-existence seems to be assumed in Psalms 72:6."Ibid. "In his days the righteous shall flourish… abundance of peace" In a very limited and imperfect manner these words might be applied to the reign of Solomon. However his excessive taxation to support his hundreds of wives and concubines

Isaiah 17 overview — "Chapter 17 is made up of fragmentary oracles having little apparent relationship to one another!"Broadman Bible Commentary, p. 245. On the other hand there is an obvious vital connection in the four parts of this chapter. In the first part (Isaiah 17:1-6), Damascus is addressed as the principal theme; but Damascus has a partner, i.e., Ephraim, a rebellious portion of God's people; and, as is always the case when God's people unite with pagans and unbelievers, Ephraim is no longer God's in the full sense

Isaiah 66 overview — five verses here as, "A declaration by Jehovah that he requires no earthly habitation, and that he is displeased with the service of unspiritual worshippers, followed by a solemn antithesis between the fate of the persecutors and the persecuted (Isaiah 66:1-5)."T. K. Cheyne's Commentary, Vol. II, p. 122. The big thing in this chapter is not fleshly Israel at all, but the Church which is the New Israel. Payne understood this, writing, "Here we have a warning to Jews that, `not all who are descended from

Deuteronomy 6:10-15 — circumstances."F. C. Cook, op. cit., p. 284. It appears here that Moses was not encouraging swearing, but ruling that when an oath was required that it should not be in any other name than that of the Lord. "And destroy thee from the face of the earth" (Deuteronomy 6:15). This cannot be an idle word in this great book. It applies not merely to Israel alone but to the entirety of Adam's race. The continued rebellion of Adam (in the sense of all his posterity) will finally end in the great holocaust that shall usher

Romans 13 overview — Christian practices which might have led them easily to despise the state. In all legal and civil disputes, Christians were encouraged to bypass the pagan courts of justice and settle, as far as possible, all such questions among themselves (1 Corinthians 6:1 ff). They did not participate in the public festivals and ceremonies given over to the deification of the emperor, and might, therefore, have been suspect as enemies of the government. Even beyond all this was the evil nature of the Roman government

Joshua 21:9-19 — descendants from Levi, were Levites, sometimes called Levitical priests); (2) the sons of Kohath (the Levites); (3) the sons of Gershon (Levites); and (4) the sons of Merari (Levites). There is another list of these Levitical cities in 1 Chronicles 6:54-81, with certain variations in it due to the double names borne by some cities, and to changes which, from time to time, might have been made. It will be observed here that Hebron had first been assigned to Caleb; but here it was given to the priests.

Joshua 23:4-8 — faithfulness of Israel. During the closing years of Joshua's life, he became increasingly aware, "of Israel's growing complacency and their tendency to compromise with the heathen."John Rea, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Joshua (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 228. Some of the heathen had already been put to taskwork, thus becoming vassals to Israel, and that was a source of wealth that added new power to the temptation to allow the "nations" a place among God's people. The powerful exhortations of

Joshua 5:1 — Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel." "Until we had passed oven" Along with, "that he would give us," in Joshua 5:6, these usages of the first person plural identify the author as an eye-witness and participant in the events here narrated. Plummer speaks of those who have "emended the text,"Alfred Plummer, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 2, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Wm.

Judges 5:3-4 — water" "Hear, O ye kings… princes" "These kings and princes were not those of Israel; Israel had no kings or princes; these are the kings and princes of the heathen nations."Keil-Delitzsch, Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 2-A, p. 309. "Psalms 68:7-9; Habakkuk 3:3-16, and this passage all relate to the same event and mutually explain each other. The subject is the march of Israel with the Lord at their head to take possession of Canaan."Albert Barnes, Notes on Bible Books, Judges, p. 426. "Jehovah,

Judges 8:29-32 — Judges); and (4) his undoubted wealth."Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Old Testament, Judges, p. 249. All of these things are a testimony of the wealth, power, and prestige of Gideon's family, despite Gideon's protest before the Angel of Jehovah in Judges 6:15. Gideon certainly required a lot of wealth in order to take care of such an immense family, "many wives and 70 sons," to say nothing of his relation to that concubine in Shechem who became the mother of Abimelech. The next chapter reveals that there

1 Samuel 14:1-5 — never approve of such a fool-hardy attempt. "Let us go over to the Philistine garrison" The author interrupted these words of Jonathan to describe the overall situation and scene of the event to be related. Jonathan's words are resumed in 1 Samuel 14:6. "Under the pomegranate tree" "The Hebrew word for pomegranate is Rimmon; but there is no doubt that the tree is meant and not the rock Rimmon (Judges 20:45; Judges 20:47)."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 4b, p. 243. This position of Saul and his men, just

2 Samuel 11:14-21 — servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'" "In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab" This act of treachery on David's part was exceedingly despicable in that he even sent the letter by the hand of Uriah whom he had ordered slain! This was effort no. 6 on David's part to avoid public knowledge of his own adultery. Yes, the dog-like loyalty of Joab to David is evident in the truth that Joab would not have hesitated to do anything, no matter how wicked, if he knew that David desired it done. "Some of

2 Samuel 18:1-5 — the commanders about Absalom." "One third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai… and one third under the command of Ittai" "It was common war strategy in ancient times to divide the army into three bodies (Judges 7:16; Judges 9:43; 1 Samuel 11:11; 1 Samuel 13:17; and 2 Kings 9:5-6)."John T. Willis, p. 382. In this particular case, however, there was another good reason. "Ittai had brought his clan of foreigners with him, and they would have been reluctant to fight

2 Samuel 18:6-8 — forest of Ephraim" "This place is not otherwise known to us."International Critical Commentary, Samuel, p. 357. Keil was certain that `the forest of Ephraim' was west of the Jordan river;C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 26, p. 437. Willis located it east of Jordan,John T. Willis, p. 383. and there are excellent arguments that may be advanced supporting either view. My own opinion favors an east of Jordan site, because Absalom had crossed the Jordan with all those men