Bible Commentaries

Genesis 2:16-17 — the experience of miseries and hardships which are the prelude of dissolution (Calvin). The simple explanation is that God, having regard to the circumstances of the temptation, changed His purpose and modified the penalty.John Skinner, op. cit., p. 67. No such views may be considered accurate. "I, Jehovah, change not!" (Malachi 3:6). The true solution of the questions raised on this is that the penalty incurred by Adam will be fully, completely, and irrevocably executed upon him in the person of

Exodus 12:43-51 — death. Not a bone of it was broken. The lamb was offered from the foundation of the world (Abel's offering). God purposed to send Christ "before the world" was. It was in "eating" the Passover that people were rescued from death. It is in eating Christ (John 6:56) that all people are saved. The lamb was kept up four days before it was killed. Christ was in Jerusalem four days before the crucifixion. The lamb was a male in the prime of life without spot or blemish, in short, perfect. So exactly was Jesus Christ. Both

Exodus 18:1-4 — us that the technical term here translated "sent her away" does not mean that at all, but means "sent her to her father's home."Harry M. Orlinsky, Notes on the New Translation of the Torah (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1969), p. 173. The fact of Eliezer's name being a derivative of [~'Elohiym] has led some critics to allege that Moses knew nothing of Jehovah until after Exodus 6, but, as Fields said, "To assert this is to deny the historical accuracy of all the uses of

Exodus 28:36-39 — girdle, the work of the embroiderer." "And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold" "The word for plate here literally means petal of a flower, which seems to have been the figure (shape) of this burnished plate of gold."Robert Jamieson, op. cit., p. 396. "HOLY TO JEHOVAH" We agree with Fields that the King James Version of this expression is superior. "[~QODESH], the Hebrew word for "HOLY" is a noun; and despite the fact that it is sometimes used as an adjective, the use of it here without a noun closely

1 Kings 19:19-21 — said to Elijah, he wished to bid the family a formal farewell. "Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother" Some have compared this with the request of that would-be-disciples of Jesus who said, "Suffer me first to go and bury my father" (Luke 9:61-62), but there is no resemblance between the two events. Elisha merely wished to have a farewell banquet with his friends and family, but that disciple mentioned in Luke was proposing that he would follow Jesus at some indefinite future time when he

2 Kings 16:1-4 — high places, but Ahaz was the first king of Judah actually to engage in it himself. There was nothing innocent about that worship in the high places. One should compare the phrase "under every green tree," as used here with the use of it in Jeremiah 3:6, where that prophet wrote that Israel had played the harlot "under every green tree." Yes, "harlotry" was used as a metaphor for worship of pagan gods, but the religious prostitutes were a vital part of that worship, and the words are also literally

2 Kings 5:1-4 — having a house in Samaria, and yet he was last seen in Shunem."International Critical Commentary, op. cit., p. 374. So what! Elisha never lived in Shunem, but only stopped overnight there on his occasional passing through the place. Besides that, 2 Kings 6:32 indicates clearly that Elisha had a house in Samaria, a fact strongly supported by the offer of the prophet to speak to the king on behalf of the Shunammite woman. Elisha doubtless had access to the presence of the kings both of Israel and of Judah.

Esther 5:1-4 — what an IF that was!) Esther's request, when made known to the king, would actually be granted. "It shall be given thee, even to the half of my kingdom" Such a kingly oath was hyperbole, of course; nevertheless it was a mighty promise indeed. See Mark 6:23 where such an oath resulted in the murder of John the Immerser. "The Septuagint (LXX) has an addition to the scene described here. The king kissed his wife tenderly and restored her when she fainted through excitement."Arthur S. Peake's Commentary,

Job 6:14-23 — ready to faint should be showed kindness from his friend" This was the very thing his three friends had not shown Job. Job even went further and declared that such sympathy and kindness should be extended to a person, `if he had forsaken,' God (Job 6:14). Hesser described this anguished cry as: "One of the most pathetic lines in literature."R. B. Sweet Publishing Company, No. 216, p. 20. This verse carries with it the strong implication that, "Eliphaz had let Job down."The Bible Speaks Today (Downer's

Psalms 10:3-4 — reprobate village of Nazareth. (See my dissertation on this in Vol. 1 of my New Testament Series, pp. 209-211, where there is noted that atheism is essentially: (1) unworthiness; (2) egotism; (3) mental laziness; (4) illogical; (5) moral cowardice; (6) the opiate of the people; and (7) a form of self-pity.) (1)    Another kind of atheist is one who acknowledges that there must indeed be a God, but who supposes him to be merely some kind of impersonal law, or vital force behind

Psalms 26:1-8 — innocence in a given situation, and as contrasted with the wickedness of his enemies. The absolute certainty of David's confidence regarding his innocence in this situation is emphasized by such words as "Judge me," "Prove me" and "Try me." Psalms 26:3-5 give five masons why the psalmist believes God will vindicate him against all charges of wrong doing: (1) "Thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes" He does this continually, never allowing it out of his sight. (2) "I have walked in thy truth" He

Leviticus 24:10-12 — commanded that "Believers should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (whether men or women). "It is wrong for a believer to marry an unbeliever. God says that. I would never have known it was wrong unless God had said it (2 Corinthians 6:14)."J. Vernon McGee, op. cit., p. 435. "(He) blasphemed the Name" The Hebrew word for "blasphemed" has a double meaning, and from this, one of the great tragedies of history developed. It can mean simply, pronounced;Harry M. Orlinsky, op. cit., p.

Leviticus 24:5-9 — referred to in the O.T., not only as the "shewbread," but also as "bread of the Presence," from being laid up before Jehovah (Leviticus 24:8), "bread of the pile" (or "bread of the arrangement") because of the placement of it in two rows (Leviticus 24:6), and as the "continual bread," as lying continually before God (Numbers 4:7).J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 98. This showbread was a constant, daily reminder for Israel and a ceremonial confession

Deuteronomy 11:18-25 — Jehovah thy God shall lay the fear of thee and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you." (For a more detailed discussion of the [~tsitsith], the [~tephillin], and the [~mezuzah], see under Deuteronomy 6:7-8, above.) The attachment which the Jews have ever had for these items is attested by the fact that, "Even today, one may see on the houses of orthodox Jews a [~mezuzah] on the outside door-post."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament,

Deuteronomy 34:9-12 — upon by some as proof that "ages have passed since Moses' death." This is not true. As Keil said, "This remark concerning Moses does not presuppose that a long series of prophets had already risen up since the times of Moses."C. F. Keil, op. cit., p. 516. This remark would have been just as appropriate six months after Joshua's succession to the leadership of Israel as it would have been a thousand years later! The remark is eternally true. Throughout these long studies of the Pentateuch, we have found

Joshua 3:2-3 — of retreat on their part. There would be armies with chariots and fighting unto the death. "Here a whole nation took the step to hazard their lives in total commitment to the Lord!John Rea, Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Joshua (Chicago: Moody Press, 1962), p. 209. It was a tough generation indeed that followed Joshua into Canaan. They were accustomed to hardship. They were a lean, hardened, and determined group of people, disciplined to face and overcome any hardship. What a contrast with their status

Joshua 6:22-27 — acted prophecy, as was that fall itself, which sets forth the overthrow of all that resists the kingdom of which Christ is the head; and particularly the day of judgment, in which the overthrow will be finally accomplished."F. C. Cook, op. cit., p. 365. "She dwelt… unto this day" (Joshua 6:25). The fact that Rahab was still living in Israel at the time this narrative was written is amazing proof regarding the date of Joshua. We like the way Adam Clarke noted it: "This is one proof that the

Judges 16:18-22 — fetters… put him to work in the prison-house, grinding corn" (wheat) We are not told the exact nature of the work assignment for Samson. There was in use at that time a mill usually powered by a donkey, as indicated in the marginal reading of Matthew 18:6 (ASV), and it is reasonable to suppose that, due to his great strength, Samson was utilized to turn the mill instead of an animal. In any event, that type of labor, when done by human beings, was allocated to the lowest class of slaves. Thus, the shame

Revelation 19 overview — of them reaching its terminus at the judgment. This chapter, therefore, is not "the beginning of the millennial age." <footnote James William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 650. The only connection that it has with the millennium is that it prophesies of events throughout the whole current dispensation, which is the 1,000 years, the 42 months, or the 1,260 days, each of these expressions meaning the same thing. Thus,

1 Samuel 31:8-13 — these things with the body and the armor of Goliath. "1 Chronicles 10:10 says that the Philistines fastened Saul's head to the temple of Dagon; but this was probably the one in Ashdod (1 Samuel 5:1-5), because Samson wrecked the one at Gaza (Judges 16:27; Judges 16:30)."Ibid. "They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth" "This was doubtless the famous temple of Venus in Askelon mentioned by Herodotus as the most ancient of all her temples, hence, the special mention of Askelon (2 Samuel 1:20)."Albert