Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 16:15-20 — Snaith tells us that Zimri "assassinated Elah while he was feasting"!Interpreter's Bible Vol. 3, p. 141. Also, Matheney spoke of extra-Biblical sources which give "a more just estimate of Omri's activities,"The Broadman Bible Commentary, op. cit., p. 206 bemoaning the fact, as he called it, that, "It is a testimony of the religious bias of the historian that such a short section (on Omri) is given to such a talented king"!Ibid. It is the viewpoint of this writer that the Biblical record is truthful

Ecclesiastes 12:14 — positive statement of the Biblical doctrine of the Eternal Judgment is to be found nowhere else in the Old Testament. The fact of God's eventual judgment of the whole world is a cardinal principle of Christianity, one of the fundamentals (Hebrews 6:2). This announcement of it at the end of Solomon's book makes it a climax. It could very well have been that his conviction of this certainty was the very thing that finally brought him to his senses. Delitzsch agreed with this. "This certainty of the

Jeremiah 48:29-32 — proud indeed he is. Proud, presumptuous, overbearing, insolent. I know his insolence, says the Lord; His boasting is false, false are his deeds."J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972) p. 711. "Kirheres" "The literal meaning of this word is `city of potsherds.' It is the same as Kirhareseth (2 Kings 3:25; Isaiah 16:7). Today, it is probably El-Kerak, 17 miles south of the river Arnon, and eleven miles east of the Dead Sea." "Sibmah…

Ezekiel 39:25-29 — "These verses also form a fitting conclusion to the whole prophecy of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1-39) down to this point."Footnote is not available "I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel" This promise had already been conveyed to Israel in Ezek. 6:27 and in Ezekiel 37:14, also in Joel 2:28 and Zechariah 12:10; and, "The citation of Joel's words by Peter on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17) prove that he regarded the remarkable effusion of the Holy Spirit upon that day as a fulfillment of the promise

Daniel 8:5-8 — heaven." THE PROPHECY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT This is so clear a prophecy that there is no wonder that Alexander the Great recognized himself in it when it was shown to him. Again we have the clear consonance of this vision with the earlier ones in Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. The Greek kingdom of Alexander was represented in the first as belly and thighs of brass, and in the second by a leopard with four wings. The four wings, of course, stand for swiftness; and here that characteristic is inherent in the fact

Mark 9:2 — after six days … Luke placed this event as "eight days" afterward; but, as Barclay said, "There is no discrepancy here. They both mean what we would express by saying, `About a week afterward.'"William Barclay, op. cit.. p. 215: In counting up a week, Sunday to Sunday, one gets eight days if he counts the Sundays and six days if he counts between the Sundays. Both styles of time reckoning were in vogue in those days. Outside of particular times noted in Mark's account of

Luke 16:13 — who always insist that a parable has only one point, it should be observed that Jesus made no less than four, basing them all upon this parable. Barclay summarized these thus: (1) children of this world are wiser than children of light (Luke 16:8); (2) material possessions should be used to cement … eternal friendships (Luke 16:9); (3) a man's way of fulfilling a small task is proof of his fitness for a larger one (Luke 16:10-11); and (4) no slave can serve two masters.William Barclay, op.

Luke 21:29-31 — is indicated? Is it an increase of righteousness, or wickedness? The man who cannot answer has simply not looked. Jesus said, "Behold!" The kingdom of God … as used here is apparently a reference to the "eternal kingdom" (2 Peter 1:11), which is the state of believers after the Judgment.

John 13:5 — the task was usually performed by servants, and none of those disciples jockeying for position as "head man" in the kingdom would touch so menial a task, the Lord did it! In this act he truly took upon him the form of a servant (Philippians 2:1-9).

John 2:5 — His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. This verse shows several things: (1) Mary did not understand Jesus' words either as a rebuke or as a refusal to meet the need pointed out by her; (2) she evidently anticipated that Jesus' command might appear unreasonable to the servants; and (3) under normal circumstances, servants might hesitate to carry out the orders of a guest. Thus, her remarks to the servants were needed and timely. That

Acts 16:5 — written about this time (50 A.D.), is full of it. How strange it is that the Judaizers have never disappeared. Even now, nearly two millenniums afterward, the Judaizers are still in business: (1) attempting to bind sabbath-observance on Christians, (2) dragging instruments of music into the worship (even though David himself was condemned for that), (3) devising daily "sacrifices," such as that of the Mass, (4) ordaining a "priesthood" separate from the "laity," (5)

Acts 2:34-35 — heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. This quotation from Psalms 110:1 indicated: (1) that the Son of David would also be the Lord of David (Matthew 22:43 ff), and (2) that the Son of David would sit on the right hand of God, an idiomatic promise of the ascension into heaven. Peter did not have to prove that David himself had not ascended to heaven, for his grave was still in Jerusalem. In post-apostolic

Acts 22:4-5 — priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. The way … See under Acts 9:2. The high priest … It is not known if Paul meant the current high priest Ananias the son of Nedebaeus, who was an unqualified son of the devil, "whose rapacity and greed became a byword," F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 449. who had been

Romans 10:20 — And Isaiah is very bold, and he saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I became manifest unto them that asked not of me. The passage Paul here quoted from Isaiah 65:2 reads thus in the Old Testament. I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found by them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. Since God is the author of the words Paul quoted, the expression

1 Corinthians 6:5 — themselves when appointing brethren for such a purpose demanded that the ones appointed should be men "full of the Spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6:3). Thus, here is another strong reason for accepting the thesis that Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 6:2-4 were spoken in irony.

Galatians 5:14 — For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The "law" in view here is the "law of Christ," mentioned again in Galatians 6:2. True, this was a commandment of the Law of Moses (Leviticus 19:18), but that is not the frame of reference applicable here. Christ himself had made the "first and great commandment" to be the "love of God, and love of one's neighbor"

Ephesians 5:14 — words with exactly the same formula, "Thus saith the Lord," "God saith," etc. As Hendriksen said, "There is no sound reason here to interpret this in any other way than in Ephesians 4:8." William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 234. See under Ephesians 4:8 for another example of the same phenomenon. Despite the obvious, however, the translators and commentators have done a number of strange things with this verse: (1) They have accused Paul of misquoting Scripture; (2) they

Philippians 3:3 — the circumcision … Christians, not those fleshly descendants of Abraham, are the true Israel of God. This is a theme which Paul developed extensively in Romans; and for a further discussion of this subject see my Commentary on Romans, Romans 2:25 ff and Romans 9:7 ff. MacKnight's paraphrase of this is: The Judaizers, being destitute of the qualities signified by circumcision, have no title to the name and should be shunned. But we are the true circumcision, who worship God in Spirit and in

2 Timothy 4:18 — Company, 1970), p. 1183. Paul was here claiming the blessed promise of the Lord to the apostles that "They shall cause you to be put to death, and ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. And not a hair of your head shall perish" (Luke 21:16-18). Paul knew that his body would be beheaded, and yet he triumphantly declared, "The Lord will deliver me." His heavenly kingdom … See more on the kingdom under 2 Timothy 4:1. Note too, "that the Father's kingdom is also

James 2:7 — Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? The obvious reference here is to the name of Jesus Christ, in the name of whom all Christians were baptized (Acts 2:38), and upon whom the name was formally declared as in the baptismal formula given in Matthew 28:18-20. Some have marveled that James did not spell out the name of Christ in this passage; but as Oesterley said, "This was due to the Jewish heritage