Bible Commentaries

Jeremiah 40:6 — Ramah and proceeded to Mizpah, two miles to the northwest of Jerusalem, where he stayed with Gedaliah and some of the Judahites who were settling there. Mizpah became the center for Nebuchadnezzar’s provincial government in Judah (cf. Jeremiah 40:8). Jerusalem was uninhabitable (cf. Lamentations 2:13; Lamentations 4:1), and Mizpah had been a political and religious center over the centuries (cf. Judges 20:1-3; 1 Samuel 7:5-14; 1 Samuel 10:17). Some scholars place the site of this Mizpah (lit.

Jeremiah 48:8 — "the plateau" refers to the tableland from Aroer northward to Heshbon (cf. Joshua 13:15-17). Most of Moab stood on this fertile plateau. "For defense, Moab had towering cliffs, and for wealth, her enormous flocks of sheep [cf. 2 Kings 3:4]; riches that were self-renewing. But the shelter of these things had bred more complacency than character." [Note: Kidner, p. 142.]

Ezekiel 28:11-19 — 4. A funeral dirge for the king of Tyre 28:11-19 "This is one of the more difficult passages in the Book of Ezekiel-if not in the whole Bible! The reason for the difficulty lies mainly in the lack of sufficient data to reach precise conclusions.

Ezekiel 3:7 — Nevertheless the Israelites would not listen to Ezekiel since they refused to listen to the Lord who sent him (cf. Numbers 14:1-12; 1 Samuel 8:4-7). All of them were very stubborn and obstinate. The Lord had similarly told Isaiah and Jeremiah not to expect dramatic positive response to their ministries (Isaiah 6:8-13; Jeremiah 1:11-19). "There is none so deaf as the person

Ezekiel 33:25-26 — Ezekiel was to address the refugees who had brought the message of Jerusalem’s fall and the other Israelites in the name of their sovereign Lord. Since the Jews did not keep the Mosaic Law (cf. Exodus 20:4-5; Exodus 20:13-14; Leviticus 17:10-14; Leviticus 19:26), did they have a right to possess the land? God had promised the land to Abraham’s descendants, but He had also told them that they could only occupy their land if they obeyed the Law that

Ezekiel 39:17-18 — The Lord also instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the birds and beasts to come and feast on the flesh of the invaders who had died (cf. Ezekiel 39:4; Isaiah 34:6; Jeremiah 46:10; Zephaniah 1:7-8; Revelation 19:17-21). It would be like eating a great sacrifice for them, but those offered as sacrifices to the Lord would be great people of the earth rather than fat rams, lambs, goats, and bulls. Bashan,

Daniel 2:19 — The writer narrated these events to help us understand that God revealed the mystery as a response to the prayers of the four men (cf. James 4:2). The answer came at night, but in a vision, rather than in a dream. In a vision, the person receiving the revelation was awake, whereas in a dream, he or she was asleep. Both methods were common vehicles of divine revelation at this time (Numbers

Hosea 11:5 — 8:13; Hosea 9:3; Hosea 9:6), but here it becomes clear that He was only using Egypt as a metaphor for a place of captivity. Assyria would be the geographical location of Israel’s exile. Thus "Egypt" is an atbash for Assyria (cf. Hosea 4:15).

Amos 8:7 — For the third time in this book Amos said that Yahweh took an oath (cf. Amos 4:2; Amos 6:8). This time He swore by the pride of Jacob. This may be a reference to Samaria (cf. Amos 6:8) or to Israel’s arrogant attitude. [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 400.] Some interpreters take it as a reference to God Himself (cf.

Obadiah 1:5-6 — Thieves robbed houses and grape harvesters stripped vineyards, yet both left a little behind that they did not carry off. However, Yahweh’s destruction of Edom would be so complete that nothing at all would remain of her (cf. Jeremiah 49:9-10). There would be no remnant of Edom left (in contrast to the remnant that Yahweh promised elsewhere to leave in Israel). The form of this assurance sounds like mourning in the presence of death. Concealed treasures of all kinds, human as well

Jonah 4:10-11 — E. God’s compassion for those under His judgment 4:10-11 The story now reaches its climax. God revealed to Jonah how out of harmony with His own heart the prophet, though obedient, was. He contrasted Jonah’s attitude with His own. "In these last verses the great missionary lesson of the book

Micah 6:3 — had caused them to be so weary of Him that they ceased to obey Him. His rhetorical questions were unanswerable; He had not given them reason to become dissatisfied with Him (cf. 1 Samuel 17:29; 1 Samuel 20:1; 1 Samuel 26:18; 1 Samuel 29:8; Isaiah 5:4). His questions convey a sense of pathos; rather than simply criticizing them, He asked how He had failed them. They had complained against Him often, but He had given them no occasion to do so.

Micah 7:2 — The prophet, using hyperbole, said he could find no faithful godly (Heb. hasid, from hesed; cf. Hosea 4:1-2) or morally and ethically upright people (evidently rulers, cf. Micah 7:3) in the land. Obviously there were some righteous, including Isaiah, but by overstating his case he made his point: there were very few. All of them seemed to wait for the

Micah 7:7 — In contrast to the Israelites of his day, the prophet determined to watch expectantly and wait patiently for the Lord to act as He had promised (cf. 1 Samuel 4:13; Titus 2:13). He would bring salvation to His people ultimately (cf. Isaiah 59:20). This commitment gave Him confidence that the Lord would hear his prayers. The reason Micah did not succumb to utter pessimism in view of the terrible conditions in

Zechariah 1:16 — promised to return to them and show them compassion. The sovereign Lord promised that the temple would be rebuilt there, and the city again would become a viable entity. The Jews finished the temple in 515 B.C., but the city walls were not complete until 444 B.C. (Nehemiah 7:4; Nehemiah 11:1). Measuring the city pictures its expanded restoration (cf. Jeremiah 31:38-40), the measuring line being a construction tool. [Note: See Baruch Halpern, "The Ritual Background of Zechariah’s Temple Song,"

Zechariah 11:1 — same reason. [Note: Baron, pp. 378-79.] The "second temple" refers to the temple that Ezra rebuilt and that Herod the Great refurbished, which stood until A.D. 70. The cedar tree also became a symbol of the royal house of Judah (Ezekiel 17:3-4; Ezekiel 17:12-13).

Zechariah 8:10 — began to rebuild in earnest, there was severe unemployment, so there were no wages for many of the people (cf. Haggai 1:6). Even the animals were not earning their keep. There was also no peace because the enemies of the Jews oppressed them (cf. Ezra 4:1-5; Haggai 1:6-11; Haggai 2:15-19). The Lord Himself was ultimately responsible for the antagonism that existed then. "This verse presents a contrast of the present, when they had begun to obey the Word of God, with the past, when they did not."

Zechariah 8:9 — The Lord also told the people to gain strength from the words of the prophets who had encouraged them to complete the rebuilding of the temple ever since they began the project (cf. Joshua 1:7; 2 Samuel 2:7; 2 Samuel 16:21; Haggai 2:4). These prophets were Haggai, Zechariah, and perhaps others (Ezra 5:1-2). Probably the resumption of construction in 520 B.C. (Haggai 2:18) is in view rather than the restoration of the foundation in 536 B.C. (Ezra 3:8). Between these dates the people

Matthew 19:7 — Jesus had not yet answered the Pharisees’ question about how one should take the Mosaic Law on this subject, so they asked Him this question. Granting Jesus’ view of marriage, why did Moses allow divorce? In the Deuteronomy 24:1-4 passage to which the Pharisees referred, God showed more concern about prohibiting the remarriage of the divorced woman and her first husband than the reason for granting the divorce. However the Pharisees took the passage as a command (Gr. entellomai)

Matthew 23:11-12 — In concluding these warnings Jesus returned to the subject of humility that He had stressed with His disciples earlier (cf. Matthew 18:4; Matthew 20:20-28). Jesus taught His disciples to be servants of others, not lords over them. "Leadership positions should never be a goal in and of themselves, but should always be viewed as opportunities to serve others." [Note: Barbieri,