Bible Commentaries

Genesis 15:15 — 15.And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Hitherto the Lord had respect to the posterity of Abram as well as to himself, that the consolation might be common to all; but now he turns his address to Abram alone, because he had need of peculiar confirmation.

Genesis 2:21 — 21.And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall, etc. Although to profane persons this method of forming woman may seem ridiculous, and some of these may say that Moses is dealing in fables, yet to us the wonderful providence of God here shines forth;

Genesis 32:1 — 1.And Jacob went on his way. After Jacob has escaped from the hands of his father-in-law, that is, from present death, he meets with his brother, whose cruelty was as much, or still more, to be dreaded; for by the threats of this brother he had been driven

Genesis 4:12 — 12.When thou tillest the ground. This verse is the exposition of the former; for it expresses more clearly what is meant by being cursed from the earth, namely, that the earth defrauds its cultivators of the fruit of their toil. Should any one object

Genesis 49:3 — before the eyes of his son Reuben his former honor, because it was for his profit to be made thoroughly conscious whence he had fallen. So Paul says, that he set before the Corinthians the sins by which they were defiled, in order to make them ashamed. (1 Corinthians 6:5.) For whereas we are disposed to flatter ourselves in our vices, scarcely any one of us is brought back to a sane mind, after he has fallen, unless he is touched with a sense of his vileness. Moreover, nothing is better adapted to wound

Genesis 50:15 — 15.And when, Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead. Moses here relates, that the sons of Jacob, after the death of their father, were apprehensive lest Joseph should take vengeance for the injury they had done him. And whence this fear,

Genesis 6:1 — 1.And it came to pass, when men began to multiply. Moses, having enumerated in order, ten patriarchs, with whom the worship of God remained pure, now relates, that their families also were corrupted. But this narration must be traced to an earlier period

Exodus 16:4 — heaven,” with the Prophet, (Psalms 78:24,) who honors it with this magnificent title, and extols God’s bounty towards His people, as if they had been admitted to the tables of angels. For St. Paul calls the manna “spiritual meat,” (1 Corinthians 10:3,) in another sense, viz., because it was a type of the flesh of Christ, which feeds our minds unto the hope of eternal life. The Prophet, however, makes no allusion to that mystery, but alleges in this circumstance an accusation against

Exodus 18:13 — 13.And it came to pass. A memorable circumstance, and one well worth knowing, is here introduced. In that form of government over which God presided, and which He honored with extraordinary manifestations of His glory, there was something deserving of

Exodus 21:1 — 1.Now these are the judgments. Both passages contain the same appointment, viz., that as to the Hebrews slavery must end at the seventh year; for God would have the children of Abraham, although obliged to sell themselves, to differ from heathen and ordinary

Exodus 23:8 — affection, and thus ruin the fortunes which they ought to protect: for, since their tribunal is as it were sacred asylum, to which those who are unjustly oppressed may fly, nothing can be more unseemly than that they should there fall amongst robbers. (129) Judges are appointed to repress all wrongs and offenses; if therefore they show favor to the wicked, they are harborers of thieves; than which there is no more deadly pest. And besides, since their authority excludes every other remedy, they are

Exodus 7:22 — into all created things, so that one species may generate another. We may rather take our stand on the teaching of Paul, that God sends strong delusion to ensnare the unbelievers with lies, because they refuse to embrace the truth, (2 Thessalonians 2:11;) and I have already shewn from another passage of Moses, that, by the just judgment of God, false prophets perform signs and wonders. Moses, however, seems to hint that it was only an illusion, where he adds, “the magicians did so with their

Leviticus 18:5 — cultivate chastity in respect to marriage, and not to fall into the incestuous pollutions of the Gentiles, yet, as it is a remarkable one, and contains general instruction, from whence Paul derives his definition of the righteousness of the Law, (Romans 10:5,) it seems to me to come in very appropriately here, inasmuch as it sanctions and confirms the Law by the promise of reward. The hope of eternal life is, therefore, given to all who keep the Law; for those who expound the passage as referring to

Leviticus 4:1 — falls, wherein the infirmity of the flesh so stifles the reason and the judgment as to blind the sinner. It is of such that Paul speaks when he bids us "restore in the spirit of meekness those who are overtaken in a fault,” (Galatians 6:1;) for he does not mean those who are deceived by their good intentions (as they call it,) or rather by their foolish opinion, so as to be unconscious of their sin; but those who fall through the infirmity of their flesh, and whom Satan catches unawares

Leviticus 5:1 — 1.And if a soul sin. The three kinds of offense, to which Moses refers in the beginning of the chapter, seem to differ much from each other; for the first, when a person concealed a matter which he knew, could not arise from error, yet I include this

Numbers 12:9 — the offence. The foolish woman, puffed up with pride, had coveted more than was lawful; and her ignominy was the just reward of her arrogance, according to the declaration of Christ, “Every one that exalteth himself shall be abased.” (Luke 18:14.) Let us understand, then, that in proportion as the proud are led away by their ambition to long for unlawful honors, they bring upon themselves nothing but disgrace; and although they may gloriously triumph for a season, still, it cannot be but

Numbers 5:15 — 15.Then shall the man bring his wife to the priest. This offering is different from the rest, which have been heretofore mentioned, because it is a kind of adjuration, whereby the woman exposes herself to be accursed. Pure meal without frankincense or

Acts 1:4 — И, собрав, их. Ученики и прежде исполняли апостольское служение, но лишь малое время, и лишь в том смысле, что призывали иудеев внимать Своему Учителю. К тому же, прежняя заповедь учить, данная им Христом, еще жившим на земле, (Matthew 10:7), была словно прелюдией к будущему апостольству, для которого они тогда еще не созрели. Итак, ординарное служение не было поручено им до воскресения Христова. Они, как я сказал, подобно глашатаям, только побуждали свой народ слушать Христа. Но после

Acts 14:23 — лишиться обычного служения, и перед Богом христиане лишь те, кто всю жизнь готов оставаться учеником. Пресвитерами же, думаю, здесь названы те, кому поручено учительское служение. Из Павла явствует, что в Церкви также имелись надзиратели за нравами (1 Timothy 5:17). Из слов же Луки о том, что пресвитеры поставлялись в каждой церкви, можно вывести разницу между ними и апостолами. Ведь у апостолов никогда не имелось постоянного местонахождения. Время от времени они переходили из одной области в другую

Acts 4:1 — никаких угроз, опасностей и страхов, и не отходили от исповедания веры, которую требует от нас Господь. Сюда же относится и утешение: не следует бояться, что Господь не даст благополучный исход делу, если мы добросовестно будем исполнять свое служение.1) Когда они говорили. Отсюда явствует, сколь усердно бдели нечестивые. Они тот час же возникли, дабы заткнуть рот слугам Христовым. Нет сомнения: они сбежались туда словно для тушения пожара. Лука указывает на это, говоря о присутствии стражей храма,