Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 14:15-16 — us has even mentioned this, and yet it is one of the great O.T. prophecies regarding Israel, namely, that God would "give them up." The first chapter of Romans explains what it means when God "gives up" a people, or a person (Romans 1:24; Romans 1:26; Romans 1:28). It is the same as judicial hardening, blinding, darkening of the mind, or the sending of a strong delusion. Like all other prophecies of God, this one also was fulfilled. Isaiah stated that it had already happened (Isaiah 6:9-10), and

2 Kings 15:1-7 — Jotham his son reigned in his stead." "Azariah… reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem" This king was frequently referred to as Uzziah. "Azariah was the throne name, and Uzziah was an adopted name."International Critical Commentary, Kings, p. 446. Martin expressed an opposite view, supposing that, "Azariah was his birth name and that Uzziah was his coronation name."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 465. The year of his death is mentioned in Isaiah 6 as the time of a special vision that was

2 Kings 21:1-6 — the depths of depravity. "He built again the high places" This was the first step toward the gross idolatry promoted by Manasseh. "He made an Ashera, as did Ahab" Adam Clarke identified Ashera with the Roman goddess, "Venus."Adam Clarke, Vol. 2, p. 556. Although the word "Ashera" is sometimes translated "grove," there is no doubt that the reference here is to an image. "It was an emblem of Astarte."The Pulpit Commentary, op. cit., p. 421. "He built altars for all the host of heaven" We cannot understand

Psalms 78:40-55 — case of the judgment against Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12. The angels who thus did God's will were not "evil." They are called "angels of evil," because they brought evil upon Egypt. "In the tents of Ham" "This is a reference to Egypt (See Genesis 10:6)."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1987 reprint of the 1878 edition), op. cit., p. 304. "He brought them to the border of his sanctuary… to this mountain" This is a reference to Sinai, where the Law was given

Psalms 88:1-9 — reason of affliction." We have never read a passage describing the approach of death any more impressive than this one. "Sheol" (Psalms 88:3); "the pit" (Psalms 88:4); "among the dead" (Psalms 88:5); "the grave" (Psalms 88:5); "the lowest pit" (Psalms 88:6); "dark places" (Psalms 88:7); and "the deeps" (Psalms 88:7) are seven synonyms for the realm of the dead, or Hades; and the mind of the psalmist seems utterly overcome with the gloom of approaching death. "O God of my salvation" Surely this is an exclamation

Isaiah 2:12-22 — be destroyed (Isaiah 1:3). That the destruction to come upon the earth in the final judgment will have cosmic dimensions is everywhere apparent in God's Word. Revelation speaks of every island and every mountain being moved out of its place (Rev. 12:6:12-17). The author of Hebrews also indicated that the shaking of the earth (mentioned twice in this paragraph) would ultimately refer to its removal (Isa. 12:26,27). "Ships of Tarshish and all pleasant imagery" It is hard to be sure just what is indicated

Isaiah 24:17-20 — World" who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. These verses (Isaiah 24:17-20) also entail the account of cosmic disturbances that shall mark the final judgment. The great earthquake that shall move every mountain and every island out of its place (Revelation 6:14), resulting, as Isaiah reveals here, in the "fall of the earth," which shall "not rise again," thus supporting Peter's revelation that we shall indeed look for "A new heaven, and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13)." To us, it appears absolutely mandatory

Isaiah 26:16-19 — tribulations they suffered during their earth-life; and they find something for which to be thankful even in all that trouble. Rawlinson explained it thus: "They remember what brought them back to God from the alienation which they confessed (Isaiah 26:13). It was the affliction which they so long endured. Their present bliss is the result of their former woe, and recalls the thought of it."The Pulpit Commentary, p. 415. "We have brought forth wind" This simply means that all human efforts toward

Isaiah 58:13-14 — years. This recurrence of the "sabbath theme" in Isaiah is also absolutely Isaianic, being fully in accord with the plan of his prophecy, "here a little, there a little, line upon line, line upon line," etc. (Isaiah 28:10; Isaiah 28:13). See Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 56:4; Isaiah 56:6 for my comments there. "I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth" This has not happened to the Israelites in subsequent generations from this prophecy; and the answer lies totally in the two IF's in Isaiah

Jeremiah 14:1-6 — reservoirs have been used for storing water during the times of rain against anticipated shortages. The tragedy here was simply that the supply was exhausted. "They cover their heads" "This was a sign of mourning,"Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 669. indicating the same thing as the black clothing did in Jeremiah 14:1. "The plowmen are put to shame" Thompson rendered the word `plowmen' in this clause as `farmers';J. A. Thompson, The Bible and Archeology (Grand Rapid, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans

Jeremiah 15:1-4 — interceded for them, praying for their forgiveness; and there were several examples of this in the Old Testament. (Exodus 32:11-14; Exodus 32:30-34; Numbers 24:13-23; Deuteronomy 9:18-20; Deuteronomy 9:15-29; 1 Samuel 7:5-9; 1 Samuel 12:19-25; and Psalms 99:6-8). However, the sad message here is that even the intercession of such intercessors as Moses and Samuel would be of no avail whatever in the present extremity of Judah's total apostasy and rebellion. We find no agreement with Thompson who thought that

Jeremiah 27:19-22 — the prophecy came after the captivity. As Smith said, "They seized upon the word `nobles' which Jeremiah used here; and they claimed that it was a word that came into use after the captivity; but that is not true. Jeremiah used it again in Jeremiah 39:6; Isaiah used it Isaiah 34:12; and in 1 Kings 21:8, the word is used of the nobles of Samaria. In fact it was a word in very common usage both in Chaldee and Syriac."Scribner's Bible Commentary (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1898), p. 462. "Then

Ezekiel 13:17-19 — should not live, by your lying to my people that hearken unto lies." PROPHECIES AGAINST THE FALSE PROPHETESSES A number of prophetesses are mentioned in the Bible: Miriam in Exodus 15:20; Deborah, Judges 4:4; Huldah, 2 Kings 22:14; Noadiah, Nehemiah 6:14; Elizabeth, Luke 1:41-45, Anna, Luke 2:36-38, the four virgin daughters of Philip, Acts 21:9, and Jezebel, Revelation 21:20. Isaiah's wife is also called "a prophetess" (Isaiah 8:3); but in her case, the title is usually construed as meaning merely,

Ezekiel 7:1-4 — wealth misused for idolatry and luxury will become the spoil of the heathen; priests, prophets, king and nobles will be helpless to deliver; the Temple will be profaned, and the remnant shall be overwhelmed with SORROW."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p. 496. A feature of this prophecy is the repetition. The end has come (Ezekiel 7:2); the day has come (Ezekiel 7:10); the time has come (Ezekiel 7:7); and doom has come (Ezekiel 7:7; Ezekiel 7:12). This repetition was explained by Taylor. "It can be explained

Amos 6:13-14 — indicate that, "a thing of naught is actually a mistranslation for Lodebar, which has the same sound in Hebrew, and that horns is the same as the proper name Karnaim, which means horns in Hebrew."Good News Bible (New York: American Bible Society, 1976), p. 996. In this light, most recent translations render Amos 6:13, as follows: "You brag about capturing the town of Lodebar. You boast, We were strong enough to take Karnaim." "The verse is a sarcastic allusion to the conquests of Jeroboam II in Transjordan,

Micah 5:1 — the other instances of similar things that are cited. The problem lies in the word Judge (not capitalized in the ASV). "This particular title is unparalleled in the singular."James Luther Mays, Micah, A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976), p. 114. Christ alone is properly titled as the Judge of Israel; and we cannot resist the conviction that it refers to Christ here. The appearance of smiting of the judge in a context where the connection is not clear does not discourage this view;

Nahum 3:19 — cut off (Nahum 1:15). She is carried away (Nahum 2:7). She is empty, and void, and waste (Nahum 2:10). Where is the den of lions? (Nahum 2:11). The voice of thy messengers shall no more be heard (Nahum 2:13). I will set thee as a gazing-stock (Nahum 3:6). Nineveh is laid waste (Nahum 3:7). Thou shalt be hid (Nahum 3:11). Fire shall devour thee (Nahum 3:15). The sword shall cut thee off (Nahum 3:15). Their place is not known where they are (Nahum 3:17). There is no assuaging of thy hurt (Nahum 3:19). "So

2 Samuel 10:1-5 — during David's long flight from Saul, had treated David kindly as a means of opposing Saul. "The warfare that resulted from this episode is one of the few conquests of David concerning which we know the cause."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 306. "David's servants came into the land of the Ammonites" "The place to which they went is undoubtedly Rabbah, the capital of the Ammonites; which is the modern Amman on the north bank of the Jabbok River about twenty-three miles due east of Jericho."John

2 Samuel 19:41-43 — situation which is reminiscent of the quarrels initiated by the tribe of Joseph, first against Gideon, and later against Jephthah, the latter erupting in a bitter civil war that destroyed forty-two thousand of the tribe of Joseph (Judges 8:1-3; Judges 12:1-6). This tribal jealousy and bitterness marred what otherwise would have been a happy ending to the rebellion. "A great catastrophe like Absalom's rebellion could not end without leaving profound effects."The New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 419. Here

2 Samuel 24:2-9 — supported by the fact that Joab did not count all the people, but only, "the valiant men who drew the sword," (2 Samuel 24:9). "They began from Aroer, and from the city that is in the midst of the valley" "These same places are mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:36 as forming the southern boundary of the territory taken by Israel from Sihon."International Critical Commentary, Samuel, p. 389. Although Joab and his men went practically all over Israel, they did not fully obey David's orders. "He did not include