Bible Commentaries

Genesis 31:1-3 — kindred; and I will be with thee." The three-fold reason for Jacob's forthcoming departure is here outlined: (1)    Jacob had heard the ominous and hostile words of Laban's sons, a development rising out of Jacob's prosperity; and (2)    the fact that trouble was brewing was confirmed by the attitude of Laban, which toward Jacob had changed to hostility from friendliness; and (3)    Jehovah commanded him to leave. All this together signaled

Exodus 21:18-19 — his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed." The "rights" protected here were two: (1) the right to be free of the charge of murder unless the man died; and (2) the right of the injured in such a fight to be compensated for time lost and physician's bills due to injuries resulting from the fight. Thus, we have a piece of Divine legislation that recognizes the rights of victims of crime, a legal principle that

2 Kings 12:19-21 — all the people. That disapproval, of course, would have resulted in Joash's having sought what he considered to be a safer place in the fortress of Millo. What is said here of the conspiracy that led to his murder confirms the more detailed report in 2 Chronicles.

2 Kings 6:32-33 — that the king himself would appear shortly after the arrival of the messenger. The king, of course, was ready to execute Elisha, but Elisha's bold word, "THUS SAITH JEHOVAH," frustrated the king's evil intention. This narrative will be concluded in 2 Kings 7.

2 Chronicles 19:1-3 — the serious, even sinful, mistakes, one of which was that marriage with the daughter of Ahab which he arranged for his heir and successor to the throne. Also, note that nothing is said here about the removal of the high places, despite the fact that 2 Chronicles 17:6 states that he took away the high places, indicating that the citizens had, in the meanwhile, rebuilt them. This was done many times in the history of Judah.

2 Chronicles 2:1-2 — Vol. 6b, p. 17. The Chronicler omitted many details that are found in Kings, simply because those details were already widely known. "Knowledge of the temple (and many other things) from Kings and other sources is taken for granted."The Anchor Bible, 2 Chronicles, p. 11. Therefore, we reject as worthless the speculations of scholars regarding alleged "reasons" why this or that was abbreviated or left out altogether. The 153,600 men mentioned here were slaves, composed of, "Descendants of those Canaanites

Psalms 10 overview — title of this psalm the one used by Kidner.Derek Kidner, Psalms (London: InterVarsity Press, 1973), p. 71. The psalm falls naturally into two divisions (1) Psalms 10:1-11 in which the character and conduct of the wicked are graphically presented, and (2) Psalms 10:12-18 a fervent prayer for God to arise from his seeming indifference and "break the arm" of the wicked. There is no superscription for this psalm, and that is cited as a support for the theory that it should be joined with Psalms 9. We discussed

Psalms 129 overview — overtones of confidence and trust."Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, Old Testament, p. 543. Looking back over Israel's long past, the psalmist here, "Condenses hundreds of years of their history into four verses."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 532. As regards the organization of the psalm, Leupold divided it into two paragraphs: (1) "A confident affirmation that the enemy has not prevailed (Psalms 129:1-4); and (2) a conclusion drawn from past deliverances, namely, that Zion's enemies shall perish

Psalms 80 overview — have taken from Leupold, and the other is our own, based upon the fact of the "rather full development of the figure of Israel as a vine of God's planting."H. C. Leupold, p. 579. There are two divisions in the psalm: (1) a prayer (Psalms 80:1-7); and (2) the metaphor of the vine. The occasion of the psalm is difficult, if not impossible, to determine. Barnes summarized various views as follows: "This psalm strongly resembles Psalms 74 and Psalms 79, and is generally supposed to refer to the same period,

Jeremiah 9 overview — pleasures of sin for a season, rather than to live by the true standards of God's Word. Halley's thumbnail summary of this chapter is as good as any we have seen. "Jeremiah, a man of sorrows, in the midst of a people abandoned to everything vile (Jeremiah 9:2-9), weeping day and night at the thought of impending retribution, moved about among them, begging, pleading, persuading, threatening, entreating, imploring that they turn from their wickedness. But in vain."

Amos 6 overview — This chapter continues the further elaboration of the prophetic doom pronounced upon Israel at the conclusion of Amos 2. First, he uttered the second woe over the careless and indulgent leaders of the nation, sunk in their revellings and indifference (Amos 6:1-6). For them, he pronounced their destruction and the overthrow of their nation (Amos 6:7-11), emphasizing that

Numbers 28:26-31 — (they shall be unto you without blemish), and their drink offerings." This great feast day was honored by God in the sending of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the Church of Christ on earth. (See the extensive comments on the Pentecost in Acts 2 in this series.) Through the ages several names have attached to this festival: First-fruits, Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, Whitsunday, etc. (See under Leviticus 23:9-23.)

Zechariah 1 overview — impressive calls to righteousness in the whole Bible (Zechariah 1:1-6), and the first two of eight remarkable visions: (1) that of the horsemen in the myrtle grove (Zechariah 1:7-11), with the divine interpretation of the vision (Zechariah 1:11-17), and (2) the vision of the four horns and the four smiths, including its divine interpretation (Zechariah 1:18-21). Despite the purpose of Zechariah's prophecy being that of conveying comfort, consolation, and encouragement to the frustrated and depressed remnant

Acts 6 overview — new faith (Acts 6:1), that Stephen's rise to prominence was a result of his appointment as one of the seven chosen to administer the distribution of food to the needy, an appointment brought about by complaints of neglecting the Grecian widows (Acts 6:2-7), and that his popularity, ability in debate, and fearless proclamation of the truth resulted in a Pharisaical plot against him, leading to his arrest (Acts 6:8-15). Many things of very great significance come to view in this little chapter: there

Joshua 21:34-40 — rest of the families of the Levites, and their lot was twelve cities." It is specifically pointed out that each of these four divisions of the cities of the Levites received either one or two of the cities of refuge: (1) The priests received Hebron; (2) the rest of the Kohathites received Shechem; (3) The Gershonites received Golan and Kedesh; (4) The Merarites received Bezer and Ramoth-Gilead.

Judges 18 overview — which came so near to swallowing them completely. The date of the events recorded in this chapter, "In all probability took place SHORTLY AFTER the death of Joshua, as we may infer from Judges 18:30."C. F. Keil in the Keil-Delitzsch Commentaries, Vol. 2-A, p. 434.

Ruth 4:6 — the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it." "I cannot redeem it." "These words mean, simply, `I cannot afford it.'"Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., p. 245. There are two reasons that entered into this refusal: (1) The increased financial burden inherent in rearing another family, and (2) the stigma that popular prejudice fastened upon marriage to a foreigner, especially a Moabitess. Cassel, as quoted

1 Samuel 9:22-24 — portion of meat reserved for Saul was the shoulder, which was usually the priests portion of the sacrifice, and the meaning of this might be either one of two things: (1) Samuel, to whom the shoulder properly belonged, gave it to Saul as a compliment; or (2) there was a symbolical meaning that Saul would have some kind of superiority over the priests of Israel in the future. It seems to this writer that the first of these is the more probable.

1 Samuel 9:3-4 — donkeys, Saul's futile search for them, and his "accidental" arrival at the city where Samuel was - who can believe that any of these occurrences was "by chance"? "Shalishah… and Shaalim" "These names are unknown";The Interpreter's Bible, Vol 2, p. 924. and it is impossible to trace exactly the course of Saul's journey hunting for the lost animals.

2 Samuel 18:24-27 — with good tidings.'" "This passage is superb literature, intensely dramatic, and so unmistakably the account of an eye-witness that some have concluded from this that Ahimaaz himself might have been the author of this account as well as the author of 2 Samuel 9-20 also."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 310.