Bible Commentaries

Exodus 13:17-22 — scholars have been able to identify without dispute is Kadesh Barnea. The wilderness referred to in this verse would have been the wilderness of Shur located to the east of the Nile delta. There was only one cloudy pillar (Exodus 13:21; cf. Exodus 14:24). Sailhamer believed there was one pillar of cloud and another pillar of fire, but this is a rare view. [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 269.] "Like the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), the pillar was the visible symbol of God’s presence

Job 2:11-13 — C. Job’s Comforters 2:11-13 Actually, four men came to visit Job, though the writer did not mention Elihu’s presence until chapter 32. Eliphaz seems to have been the eldest for several reasons. His name occurs first (Job 2:11; Job 42:9), he spoke before the others, his speeches are longer and more mature, and God spoke to him as the representative of the others (Job 42:7). Eliphaz is an Edomite name (Genesis 36:4). He was probably either from Teman in Edom (cf. Jeremiah 49:7; Obadiah

Job 9:1-12 — greatness of God 9:1-12 Job began his response to Bildad by acknowledging that much of what his friends had said was true (Job 9:2). Many of Job’s speeches began with sarcasm or irony. He then turned to a question that Eliphaz had raised earlier (Job 4:17) that seems to have stuck in Job’s mind. How could he, a righteous man, much less the ungodly, stand righteous before God, as Eliphaz had urged him to do (Job 5:8), since God was tormenting him. God appeared to Job to be acting arbitrarily

Psalms 23:6 — already being there. Evidently, David was not in the sanctuary when he composed this psalm, but looked forward to returning to it again and often. "It is . . . unlikely that Psalms 23 refers to an afterlife in God’s presence, though Psalms 23:4; Psalms 23:6 in particular have sometimes been so understood. Psalms 23:4 refers to the divine shepherd guiding his lamb (the psalmist) through a dangerous dark valley (a symbol for the danger posed by his enemies, cf. Psalms 23:5). In Psalms 23:6 the

Isaiah 6:10 — The effect of Isaiah’s preaching would not be that the people would repent, but that they would harden their hearts against his messages (cf. Matthew 13:14-15; Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:10; John 12:39-41; Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:8). The Apostle John quoted this verse (and Isaiah 53:1) in reference to the Jews’ inability in Jesus’ day to believe on Him (John 12:40). John then added, "These

Ezekiel 38:1-2 — The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chronicles 5:4; Revelation 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Genesis 10:2; Revelation 20:8). The identity of this ruler has been the subject of much study and speculation. The possibilities include a Reubenite

Amos 3 overview — messages in which he explained more fully why God would judge the Northern Kingdom. Appeals for repentance and explanations of how to avoid judgment appear within these messages. The first three begin with the word, "Hear" (Amos 3:1; Amos 4:1; Amos 5:1; cf. Proverbs 8:32), and the last two begin "Alas" (Amos 5:18) and "Woe" (Amos 6:1), both translations of the Hebrew word hoy. The first message was explanation, the second accusation, and the third lamentation. [Note:

Numbers 5:11-31 — flour, but in this instance the man presented barley flour. Barley cost only half as much as wheat (2 Kings 7:1; 2 Kings 7:16; 2 Kings 7:18). It was the food of the poor and the cattle in the ancient Near East (Judges 7:13; 1 Kings 5:8 [sic Numbers 4:28]; 2 Kings 4:42; Ezekiel 4:12). It may have represented, ". . . the questionable repute in which the woman stood, or the ambiguous, suspicious character of her conduct." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 3:31.] The meal offering was, of course,

Malachi 3:10 — the amount or percentage that we should give back to God of what He has given to us. Rather it teaches that we should give regularly, sacrificially, as the Lord has prospered us, and joyfully (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8-9; Philippians 4). In harmony with the principle of grace that marks the present dispensation, the Lord leaves the amount we give back to Him unspecified and up to us. Christians who sit under a steady diet of preaching that majors on God’s grace often give far

Matthew 27:35 — shapes: an X, a T, or, as in Jesus’ case, the traditional T with the upright extending above the crossbeam (Matthew 27:37). Sometimes the victim was only a few inches off the ground, but Jesus appears to have been a few feet higher (Matthew 27:48; John 19:29). Normally the Romans crucified their victims naked. The executioners took the criminal’s clothes for themselves. In Jesus’ case they cast lots for his robe fulfilling Psalms 22:18 (cf. John 19:23-24). This happened in the late

Matthew 5 overview — the broken cisterns of Rabbinism." [Note: Edersheim, 1:525, 526.] However there is still much debate about its interpretation. A brief review of the basic interpretations of this discourse follows. [Note: See Toussaint, Behold the . . ., pp. 86-94; John A. Martin, "Dispensational Approaches to the Sermon on the Mount," in Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost, pp. 35-48; and W. S. Kissinger, The Sermon on the Mount: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography.] Especially in former

Luke 7 overview — compassion for people ch. 7 This section of Luke’s Gospel records Jesus revealing Himself further to the people. Luke presented Him as the fulfillment of prophecies about God’s gracious intervention into life (e.g., Isaiah 61:1-2 a; cf. Luke 4:18). Jesus met many needs of people, both physical and spiritual. Luke pictured Jesus showing compassion on a Gentile, a widow, and a sinful woman. The multitudes generally regarded these gracious acts as evidences of a divine visitation. However the

John 2:7-8 — it to the headwaiter. A few writers noted that the verb "draw" (Gr. antleo, John 2:8) usually describes drawing water from a well. [Note: E.g., B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John: The Greek Text with Introduction and Notes, 1:84; and Carson, p. 174.] This led some of them to envisage a different scenario. Perhaps the servants filled the pots from a well and then continued drawing water out of the well that they served to the headwaiter. This explanation seems unnatural to me. Many

John 3:15 — resurrection that fits him or her for the kingdom. However, John presented that life as something that people can experience in measure before the kingdom begins. The eternal life that people receive at new birth is the life of the eternal Word (John 1:4). It comes to them by believing in the person and saving work of Jesus. "The life Christians possess is not in any sense independent of Christ. It is a life that is ’hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3). . . .

Acts 19:21 — sensed that having laid a firm foundation in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea region he needed to press on to Gentile areas yet unreached (cf. Romans 15:23). Though he had some short-range goals, he ultimately wanted to go to Rome (Romans 1:15; cf. Luke 4:43; Luke 9:22; Luke 9:51). In Romans 15:24 he wrote that he intended to go on from there to Spain, the westernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. Luke made no reference to Spain. It was evidently his purpose to end his record of the church’s expansion

1 John 1:9 — text. "’He who confesses and condemns his sins,’ says Augustine, ’already acts with God. God condemns thy sins: if thou also dost condemn them, thou art linked on to God.’" [Note: A. Ross, The Epistles of James and John, p. 146.] If we confess our sins, God will then forgive the sins we confess and will, in addition, cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Consequently we do not need to worry that He has failed to forgive us for sins of which we are unaware! Sin incurs a debt

1 John 2:16 — John summarized the appeal of the world system as three-fold. Here is a picture of the infernal trinity, the three faces of the world, three sources of worldly temptation (cf. Genesis 3; Matthew 4). Lusts are cravings or desires, and in the context they are evil because they are not in harmony with God’s will. The lust of the flesh is the desire to do something apart from the will of God. It includes every sinful activity that appeals to

Revelation 12:1 — John saw a "sign," something that signified or represented something else (cf. Revelation 12:3; Revelation 13:13-14; Revelation 15:1; Revelation 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used the Greek word semeion ("sign") to describe something miraculous that points to some deeper spiritual significance connected with an event or object (cf. John 2:11; John 2:18, et

Revelation 16:19 — A result of this unprecedented earthquake is the splitting of the great city into three parts. The "great city" could refer to Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8). Some believe it refers to Rome. [Note: Mounce, p. 304.] Still others identify it with Babylon on the Euphrates (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:18; Revelation 18:10; Revelation 18:21), to which this verse refers explicitly later. [Note: Ladd, p. 218.] Probably Jerusalem is in view. [Note: Moffatt, 5:449;

Revelation 21:19-20 — The apostle further explained the foundation stones of the city (Revelation 21:14). The foundation of a building is usually completely functional and not decorative, but these stones, which were at least partially visible above grade, were adorned with gems. [Note: Alford, 4:742.] Another view is that jewels did not cover the foundation