Bible Commentaries

Genesis 33:3-7 — (6) declared that seeing Esau's face was like seeing the face of God (Genesis 33:10). ESAU: (1) came with a company to welcome Jacob; (2) ran to meet him; (3) embraced him; (4) fell on his neck; (5) kissed him; (6) invited Jacob to keep the present; (7) offered to accompany him; (8) offered to leave a guard to protect him; (9) addressed him as "my brother" (Genesis 33:9); and (10) graciously accepted the present, which in the customs of the day amounted to a pact of friendship.John T. Willis, Genesis

1 Kings 20 overview — people, and as unqualifiedly stupid as one could possibly imagine. It is disgusting to find some writers who speak flatteringly of Ahab's mercy and kindness to a beaten foe. "He is courageous, merciful and resourceful."The Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, p. 65. "It is folly to praise the lenient policy of Ahab, and to condemn the harsh policy of the prophets. God was concerned with protecting His people Israel. Benhadad had already caused enough destruction and death in Israel. In making a covenant

Ecclesiastes 9 overview — book to have been written by Solomon following his repentance and restoration from the idolatry into which he had fallen through the influence of the heathen women he had married."Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (London: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), Vol. 3, p. 799. We find it impossible to believe that "all is vanity," a declaration that occurs dozens of times in the book. Nor can it be true that men and animals have the same fate. Who can believe that, "Eat, drink, and be joyful," is, in any

Amos 2 overview — people long before the times of Amos. Frequent references to the Pentateuch are found in this chapter. Morgan classified the judgments here as being against (1) injustice; (2) avarice; (3) oppression; (4) immorality; (5) profanity; (6) blasphemy; and (7) sacrilege.G. Campbell Morgan, The Minor Prophets (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), p. 50. These violations are specifically related to the portion of the Mosaic law which is applicable in each case. Amos' prophecy should be

Numbers 10 overview — commit fornication, as some of them committed… Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents… Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured, and perished by the destroyer." - 1 Corinthians 10:7-10. It is evident that Paul had the Book of Numbers specifically in view when he penned these lines. Therefore, knowing the purpose of these writings, we shall not vex ourselves and our readers with the repetition of endless opinions about where this

John 9:5 — 8:12. I.    This metaphor reveals Jesus as God. Only of one identified with deity could it be said of him that he is the light of the world. The Old Testament made it clear that only God is light: "Jehovah is my light and my salvation" (Psalms 27:1); and an apostle identified God as "the Father of lights" (James 1:17). Therefore, when Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," he forever lifted himself above the category of mere mortality. Only a lunatic, or the world's true

Acts 24:27 — Nazarenes." E.    Downright falsehood. In no way had Paul profaned the temple. II.    Regarding the defense of innocence: A.    Courtesy (Acts 24:10). B.    Straightforwardness (Acts 24:11-17). C.    Fearless denial (Acts 24:12-13; Acts 24:18). D.    Righteous challenge (Acts 24:19-20). III.    Regarding the two years of Paul's imprisonment. Paul spent two whole years in the old

Romans 10:11 — more complex than taking him at his word. The "confession with the mouth" is not a different something added to faith; it is its issue, its manifestation. H. C. G. Moule, The Epistle to the Romans (London: Pickering and Inglis, Ltd.), p. 273. But, of course, "confession with the mouth" is something different from faith and is extravagantly more than enough to prevent its being dismissed, as Moule dismissed it, as a "disquieting surmise." Disquieting surmise indeed!

Romans 2:21-24 — of adultery was supported by all the Old Testament prophets, especially Jeremiah, who wrote, (They) assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor's wife (Jeremiah 5:7-8). Jeremiah even went so far as to say that the Israelites had committed adultery "under every green tree" (Jeremiah 2:20). The charge of robbing temples is more difficult to understand because, grammatically, it does not seem to fit in.

Romans 3:31 — shall say to his brother Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire (Matthew 5:21-22). (5)    Faith cannot void political law. Paul's teaching in Romans 13:1:7, and Peter's in 1 Peter 2:13-17 dogmatically affirm the duty of Christians to obey civil law. (6)    Faith cannot void the law of faith, mentioned by Paul in Romans 3:27. See under that verse for full definition of the law of faith.

Romans 4:3 — (1) God called Abram to leave Ur of the Chaldees (Genesis 12:1-3); Abram believed and obeyed, not even knowing whither he went (Hebrews 11:8). (2) When Abram reached Shechem in the land of Canaan, he built an altar and worshipped God (Genesis 12-6, 7). (3) Abraham built an altar unto Jehovah and called upon God's name on a mountain between Bethel and Ai (Genesis 12:8). (4) After his journey to Egypt, he returned to that same altar and worshipped God (Genesis 13:3-4). (5) In the encounter with Melchizedek,

2 Corinthians 4:4 — of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11). Blinded the minds … This refers to "hardening" as it is called in other places in the New Testament (Romans 1:21; Romans 11:7; Romans 11:25, etc.). An extensive study of this phenomenon was undertaken in the Commentary on Romans, and reference is here made to pp. 39-51, 392-419. Blinding, darkening and hardening all refer to the same thing. The condition that results is sinful,

Joshua 11 overview — the lake, the chariots and horses had no time to be deployed and no room to act effectively; and then, in all probability, the host of the coalition fell into hopeless confusion."F. C. Cook, Barnes' Notes, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House), p. 378. God's command for Joshua to hock the horses may also be classed as providential aid. This rendered the horses and chariots useless either for offensive purposes, or for retreat and flight in case of defeat. Thousands of the coalition troops were accustomed

Joshua 8 overview — mentioned the possibility that the 30,000 included the 5,000 later detached for the ambush, but mentioned earlier in Joshua 8:3, as the principal feature of the attack.Marten H. Woudstra, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981), p. 137. Holmes, and nearly all critical assailants against the Bible declare unequivocally, "That two accounts have been combined is obvious."Samuel Holmes, op. cit., p. 252. Of course, in this explanation, the great hoax of all allegedly higher criticism,

Colossians 1:3-4 — Macknight said, "It was Paul's custom when absent from the churches which he had planted to make inquiry as to their state." James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary, Vol. III (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 479. Thus it is very possible that Paul here referred to their continuing in the faith and not to their being converted. Colossae was a Phrygian city; and the New Testament emphatically declares that Paul "went throughout Phrygia" (Acts 16:6). Your

1 Timothy 2:1-2 — general meaning of this is "all kinds of prayers"; and, as Lenski put it, "Here are four words for prayers." R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles … to Timothy (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1937), p. 538. And, as Spence said: Many attempts, some of them not very happy ones, have been made by grammarians and commentators to distinguish between these terms, each of which denotes prayer. H. D. M. Spence, op. cit., p. 184. The supplications are

Hebrews 7:9-10 — this is exactly what the writer does when he says that Levi was still in the loins of Abraham when Abraham paid the tenth to Melchizedek; he uses the proper expression. R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 220. For notes on "loins" see under Hebrews 7:5. The burden of the argument in this place is simply that the priesthood of Melchizedek (and therefore of Christ) is greater than the Levitical priesthood; and the proof offered is that the whole Hebrew nation, including of course the Levites, in the

2 Peter 2:1 — the outstanding teachings in the Petrine writings is the correspondence between the Old and the New Israel, an analogy that he had surely learned from the Lord himself. Jesus himself had flatly predicted the same thing Peter prophesied here (Matthew 7:15-23). A number of Old Testament references to the false prophets of the Old Israel were cited by Barclay, thus: William Barclay, The Letters of James and Peter (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1976), p. 314. The false prophets said, Peace, Peace,

Revelation 11:15 — ever. This does not signal the approaching end of the world; that event has already occurred. Only then, or after then, shall it be true that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of the Lord and of his Christ. As we were told in Revelation 10:7, "In the days of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished (not shall be finished) the mystery of God. When the seventh angel sounds, it is already finished. On the cross, Jesus bowed his head and said, "It is finished,"

Revelation 15 overview — SECTION IV (Revelation 15—16) This, the shortest chapter in Revelation, together with Revelation 16, for which it is merely the introduction, again takes us through the whole cycle of time to the eternal judgment (Revelation 16:17-21). Several times already the final judgment has been prophesied (Revelation 6:12-17; Revelation 11:15-19; Revelation 14:14-20). Many have pointed out the remarkable resemblances between the seals, trumpets, and bowls. All are judgments of God; the