Bible Commentaries

Genesis 12:2-3 — become ’a great nation,’ comparable presumably to the seventy nations listed in Genesis 10. His name will also be ’great,’ whereas the men of Babel who tried to make themselves ’a name’ were frustrated (Genesis 11:4-9)." [Note: Wenham, Genesis 1-15, p. 282.] Three nuances of blessing include prosperity (Genesis 13:2; Genesis 13:5; Genesis 14:22-23; Genesis 24:35; Genesis 26:12-13; Genesis 30:43; Genesis 32:3-21), potency or fertility (Genesis 1:28; Genesis

Isaiah 7:14 — the rest of this passage will show (through Isaiah 8:10), it seems most likely that Isaiah’s son Maher-shalal-hash-baz fulfilled the Immanuel prophecy initially. [Note: See Richard Niessen, "The Virginity of the ’almah in Isaiah 7:14," Bibliotheca Sacra 137:546 (April-June 1980):133-50.] In Hebrew society, an unmarried woman of marriageable age would be a virgin. Thus ’alma had overtones of virginity about it and, in fact, sometimes described a virgin (cf. Genesis 24:43).

Ezekiel 34:23-24 — The Lord promised to set over His sheep one shepherd, His servant David, who would personally feed them (cf. John 10:9; John 14:6; Acts 4:12). Yahweh would be their God, and His servant David would be prince (Heb. nasi’, namely, king) among them. This the Lord assuredly promised (cf. Ezekiel 37:22-26). As mentioned before, Ezekiel customarily used nasi’ in place

Joel 2:1-2 — 1. The nearness of the army 2:1-2 The prophet ordered a trumpet (Heb. shophar, ram’s horn) to be blown in Zion (Jerusalem), specifically on the temple mount, to sound an alarm (cf. Jeremiah 4:5-6; Ezekiel 33:2-6). Sometimes "Zion" refers to Jerusalem in the eschaton, but other times it is simply a poetic synonym for Jerusalem. Joel used it in the latter sense here. This shophar was the ancient equivalent of an air raid siren. The

Nahum 1:8 — key off the Neo-Assyrian treaty curses, which were unusually brutal in the ancient Near East. [Note: Gordon H. Johnston, "Nahum’s Rhetorical Allusions to Neo-Assyrian Treaty Curses," Bibliotheca Sacra 158:632 (October-December 2001):415-36.] Nahum probably described an unrestrained army invasion (cf. Isaiah 8:7-8; Jeremiah 47:2; Daniel 9:26; Daniel 11:40). However, when her enemies overthrew Nineveh, its rivers overflowed and washed away part of Nineveh’s walls. [Note: The

Zechariah 7:2-3 — that a Jew living in Babylon named Bethel-Sharezar (lit. house of God-protect the king), whose title was Regem-melech (lit. king’s friend) indicating his royal authority (from Darius), came with his men to pose the question. [Note: Baldwin, pp. 142-43.] A slightly different translation yields the view that Bethel-Sharezar sent Regem-melech and his men. Whoever these men were, they wanted to know if they should continue to weep and abstain from food (i.e., to fast), which had become traditional

Matthew 3:4-6 — In his dress and in his food, as well as in his habitat and in his message, John associated himself with the poor and the prophets, particularly Elijah (cf. 2 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 13:4; Malachi 4:5). "In view of the considerable Jewish interest in the eschatological role of Elijah (see on Matthew 11:14 and Matthew 17:10-11) it is likely that John’s clothing was deliberately adopted to promote this image." [Note: France,

Mark 16:17-18 — Jesus’ name (Mark 6:7; Mark 6:12-13). They would continue to have these abilities (cf. Acts 5:16; Acts 8:7; Acts 16:18; Acts 19:12; Acts 28:8). This is the only reference to the disciples speaking in tongues (i.e., languages) in the Gospels (cf. Acts 2:4; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Corinthians 12:28; 1 Corinthians 12:30; 1 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Corinthians 14:2; 1 Corinthians 14:18-19). There is no textual basis for distinguishing the unlearned languages spoken in Acts from the gibberish

Luke 2:1-3 — "Those days" refer to the time of John’s birth (Luke 1:57-79). Augustus was Caesar from 44 B.C. to A.D. 14. [Note: Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, p. 12.] The purpose of a Roman census was to provide statistical data so the government could levy taxes. [Note: Ibid., p. 13.] "All the inhabited earth"

John 2:20-22 — John 2:20 provides an important chronological marker in the life of Jesus. It enables us to date His visit to the temple here as happening in A.D. 30. [Note: See Hoehner, pp. 38-43.] Work on Herod’s Temple had been proceeding for 46 years. It was not completed until A.D. 63. Jesus’ critics assumed that He was speaking of Herod’s temple, but John interpreted His true meaning for his readers. Even Jesus’

John 3:3 — Jesus’ abrupt dogmatic statement cut to the heart of the matter. He affirmed strongly that one cannot see the kingdom of God without a second birth from above (Gr. anothen, cf. John 3:31). Anothen means both "again" (John 3:4; cf. Galatians 4:9) and "from above" (John 3:31; John 19:11; John 19:23). "Although Nicodemus understood it to mean ’again,’ leading him to conclude that Jesus was speaking of a second physical birth, Jesus’ reply in

Acts 3:9-10 — itself than in the function of these scenes in the larger narrative. In both cases the healing becomes the occasion for a fundamental claim about Jesus’ saving power, emphasizing its importance and general scope (’on earth,’ Luke 5:24; ’under heaven,’ Acts 4:12). In both cases the healing leads to proclamation of a saving power that goes beyond physical healing. In both cases the claim is made in the face of new opposition and is directly related to the mission announced

1 Corinthians 1:17 — various segments of the Corinthian church was evidently their individual oratorical styles. Later Paul pointed out that the Corinthian Christians were viewing things through carnal eyes, namely, seeing things as unsaved people do (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). Paul did not emphasize or place confidence in the method of his preaching but the message of the Cross. He did not want to draw attention away from the gospel message to his style of delivering that message. "Paul represents himself as a preacher,

2 Corinthians 8:3-5 — dependence on God, who as the Heavenly Father, knows His children’s needs even before they ask Him and will not fail to supply those needs from the boundless storehouse of His grace (2 Corinthians 12:9; Matthew 6:8; Matthew 6:25 ff.; Philippians 4:19)." [Note: Ibid., pp. 290-91.] Second, they gave on their own initiative, before receiving any suggestion or pressure from others that they should give (2 Corinthians 8:3-4). They wanted to extend "gracious fellowship" (Gr. koinonia)

Ephesians 2:22 — The Holy Spirit indwells the church universal. He, of course, also indwells ever believer individually (John 14:17; Romans 5:5; Romans 8:9; Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Galatians 3:2; Galatians 4:6; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 4:13). Paul compared the individual believer to a temple of God elsewhere (1 Corinthians 6:19). He also referred to the local Christian congregation

Colossians 2:18-19 — to have been mainly Gnostic and pagan. Paul’s readers were in danger of becoming diverted as they ran the Christian race and not staying on the track. Thus they could lose the prize that God will give those who run the race well (cf. 2 Timothy 4:7-8). "Self-abasement" is the practice of denying oneself with the idea that this will gain merit with God. Specifically fasting is in view. The false teachers also advocated the worship of angels probably with the idea that they were the

1 Peter 3:9 — Like Jesus and Paul, Peter urged his readers not to take revenge. We should return positive good deeds for evil ones (1 Peter 2:23; cf. Matthew 5:9; Romans 12:9-18; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:15). "As Christians we can live on one of three levels. We can return evil for good, which is the satanic level. We can return good for good and evil for evil, which is the human level. Or, we can return good for evil, which

Judges 19:1-15 — another Levite in Judges 19:1 who was paying no attention to God’s directions concerning where the Levites should live (cf. Judges 17:7). Since monogamy was God’s standard for marriage the Levite should not have married a concubine (Genesis 2:24). This was doubly wrong in the case of a Levite because the Levites were to remain as holy as possible in view of their special ministry in Israel. It appears that the Levite and his concubine had a disagreement that resulted in the woman leaving him

Revelation 21:3 — tabernacle, evidently the entire New Jerusalem, was now among men. Finally the relationship between God and humankind that God has always desired people to enjoy will be a reality (cf. Revelation 7:15; Genesis 3:8; Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7; Exodus 29:45; Leviticus 26:11-12; Numbers 15:41; Deuteronomy 29:13; 2 Samuel 7:24; Jeremiah 7:23; Jeremiah 11:4; Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 31:1; Jeremiah 31:33; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 11:20; Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 37:23; Ezekiel 37:27;

2 Samuel 13:1-22 — Hebron but by Ahinoam ("my brother is delight"; 2 Samuel 3:2). Both sons may have been in their late teens or early twenties at this time. Tamar ("palm tree," cf. Song of Solomon 7:7-8) was evidently born in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 3:4-9), so she would have been younger than both of these brothers. The event described in this chapter probably occurred about 987 B.C. [Note: Merrill, Kingdom of . . ., p. 245.] The story that unfolds is a tale of frustrated teenage lust. Evidently Amnon