Bible Commentaries

Esther 3:7-11 — information 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 41:1-11 — Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine." "Will he make supplications unto thee" There was an ancient tale that crocodiles shed tears over the creatures they devoured,Britannica World Language Dictionary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1959), Vol. 1, p. 307. from which came the modern expression "crocodile tears," i.e., insincere, or hypocritical tears. There seems to be a sarcastic reference to that here. "Will he make supplications unto thee"? might very well mean, "Will the crocodile

Psalms 115:14-18 — time. "The dead praise not Jehovah" A statement like this is usually the signal for writers to relate how the Hebrews had no hope of a future life; but such a view is untenable. THe Jews did believe in the after-life, as affirmed in Ps. 16:9-11; 17:15; 49:15; 73:23,34 and in Isaiah 26:19, and in many other direct statements and allusions in the Old Testament. See our comments on all those references. "Too often this verse is made the substance of a supposed Old Testament view of death, bringing it

Psalms 69:30-33 — 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 of such a notion, namely, Amos 5:21-24; Jeremiah 7:21-23; Psalms 40:6; Psalms 50:8-14; Psalms 51:16-17, are absolutely devoid of any such teaching. See our comments upon all of these passages en loco. What was always disapproved in those passages was animal sacrifice offered without

Psalms 72:5-8 — other except the Blessed Messiah. "They shall fear… while the earth endureth… so long as the moon… throughout all generations" Such a time-span as this is a reference to immortality. "Clearly, his immortality is implied in Psalms 72:5."W. E. Addis, p. 385. "He will come 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

Proverbs 4:1-9 — that Solomon here professes to be delivering to his own son. Therefore, we can find no agreement with Tate's remark that, "The authority mentioned here is the discipline of the teacher."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), Vol. 5, p. 22. No! The true authority of these words is that of God Himself as revealed to Moses in the Pentateuch. "My father… he taught me" "These words underline the great Old Testament principle that truth and history are maintained through the

Ecclesiastes 11:7-9 — spirit that enjoys the present time, with a chastened regard to the future."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 278. Solomon was in the right key here. The Christ himself said, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven" (Matthew 5:11). Furthermore, that admonition came as the proper response even to bitter persecution. Nothing enhances and glorifies life on earth any more than an invariably cheerful disposition, not only for him that is fortunate enough to possess it, but also

Ecclesiastes 12:14 — world to come) - "All this shall await the time when faith will give place to sight and every hidden thing will be revealed; so we may say of these last words of Ecclesiastes, that they foreshadow the resurrection."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 578. "Solomon's conclusion is that true religion is the only way to true happiness."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament, op. cit., p. 113. Man may chase the rainbows in any direction that he chooses, but apart from the love and service of God, only the

Isaiah 17:1-6 — Hosea. "The cities of Aroer are forsaken" This could be synonymous with "Transjordan," "there being two cities of that name east of the Jordan, one on the north bank of the Arnon overlooking its deep gorge, and (2) the one before `Rabbah' (Joshua 13:25, KJV)."K. A. Kitchen, New Bible Dictionary, p. 85. A third city of the same name was "in the Negeb (Negeb: southland) 12 miles south-east of Beersheba."Ibid., p. 86. Of course, what is meant by a reference like this is that all of the cities and villages

Isaiah 52:11-12 — which they could hope to deny this. The additional material here is the fact that "flee" did not mean to leave in haste, as in the first exodus, but merely to "get out of the place as soon as possible." The exhortation here was addressed to the Jews of 537 B.C., who were challenged to leave the prosperity they enjoyed, and the property they had acquired, and to choose instead a life of pioneering hardship in a return to Jerusalem, over a trackless desert, and confronted with all kinds of dangers. Unfavorable

Jeremiah 22:1-9 — the hewing down of the choice cedars. The destroyed city will become a monument to God's wrath against the transgressors of his covenant."C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 335. Jeremiah 22:8 reflects the promise recorded by Moses in Deut. 29:33ff. Along with the king's palace, the whole city will be destroyed. "Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah" The covenant in view here is the one commonly called the Old Covenant,

Jeremiah 44:1-7 — wickedness. "Migdol... Tahpanhes... Memphis... Pathros" "The first three are in Lower Egypt, near Cairo; Pathros signifies Upper Egypt, all the way to Aswan."The New Bible Commentary Revised (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1970), p. 652. "No man dwelleth therein" Jeremiah had prophesied that this desolation would overtake Jerusalem (Jeremiah 24:8-10); and that fact should have conditioned some of the people, at least, to believe the prophet; but it did not. "They hearkened not, nor

Ezekiel 10:15-19 — those appearances meant simply that God's glorious presence was forsaking the old racial Israel, and forever afterward concentrating upon the "righteous remnant," at that time identified with the captives in Babylon. Only when we come to Ezekiel 10:15, here, does Ezekiel identify the "living creatures" of Ezekiel 1:5 ff as "cherubim."John T. Bunn in the Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1871), p. 104. It is not surely known exactly why this was not made known earlier. See article

Ezekiel 30:10-12 — Egyptian gods would be destroyed or carried away in the Babylonian quest for victory and wealth. All of Egypt's allies would fall to the sword: Ethiopia and Lydia in western Anatolia (modern Turkey), Arabia in the east, Lydia in the west (Ezekiel 30:5-7), Put and Lud in the west; and even those `people of the covenant land,' the Jews who fled to Egypt following the murder of Gedaliah would suffer the ravages of the Babylonian invasion. The judgment of God would be comprehensive; it would be awful;

Daniel 5:17-24 — "Daniel's speech to the king here was insulting, and if he had made such a speech he surely would have been punished."Footnote is not available We reject such a view, and also the same author's contention that the majority of this passage in Daniel 5:17-24 is an interpolation, basing that notion on the absence of most of this from the Septuagint. It is possible, however, that this abbreviated account may have lost some of its color by the omission of the formalities and stereotyped salutations that

Amos 4:13 — which describes the might of Jehovah serves to assure the hearers that he will also be able to carry out what he threatens. It is therefore a complete misunderstanding that many commentators have wanted to explain this doxology and the two in Amos 4:5:8f and Amos 4:9:5f as secondary because they do not fit the style of the context.Erling Hammershaimb, op. cit., p. 74. The beautiful doxology with which this chapter closes has another valid utility: "Some have claimed that Israel did not have a developed

Malachi 3:2 — would hide in the caves and rocks of the mountains for terror, giving as the reason, "For the great day of their wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:17). In this connection, one should read again the startling prophecy of Amos 5:18-20. The notion that Malachi here refined and reduced the severity of Amos' prophecy is wrong. The passages are supplementary, not contradictory. "Refiner's fire" The smelter must be applied to all men and all the institutions of men; only the pure

Luke 1:5 — sums of money. He was a descendent of Esau and fully as profane as his progenitor. Technically, he reigned from 40 B.C. to the year of his death in 4 B.C.; but his actual control of the country dates from 37 B.C.Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 11, p. 510. The event narrated here occurred in either 7 B.C. or 5 B.C., depending upon the exact date assigned to the birth of our Lord. Dummelow favored 6 B.C.,J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 627. and Boles 4 B.C.H. Leo Boles, Commentary on Matthew (Nashville:

Luke 9:1-6 — dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the villages, preaching the Gospel, and healing everywhere. SENDING FORTH OF THE TWELVE Both Matthew and Mark record this preaching mission of the Twelve (Matthew 10:5 ff; Mark 6:7 ff); and despite the fact of Luke's narrative partially following Mark's order, it actually is unlike both the others, indicating the independence of the sacred authors. There is more than a mere possibility that Jesus sent forth the Twelve

Joshua 12:9-24 — see no reason for this. "The Septuagint says, `twenty-nine kings,' and then sets down only twenty-eight, omitting the kings of Bethel, Lasharon, and Madon."Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Joshua (New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), p. 58. It would be impossible to find a more interesting list of names in ancient Palestine than the one here. "Jericho" This was the place of Israel's entry into Canaan. The name of the place probably signifies some ancient moon god, and its history reaches