Bible Commentaries

Genesis 2:5-6 — in terms that stress God’s gracious preparation of the world for him. They are a flashback to conditions before Genesis 1:26. Moses chose terms that contrast with conditions that existed after the Fall. [Note: Sailhamer, "Genesis," p. 40.] "Shrubs" were evidently not edible whereas "plants" were. Thus Moses distinguished two types of land: arable and non-arable. [Note: Wenham, p. 58.] The absence of "rain" and the presence of the "mist" have

Exodus 22:1-4 — 21.] The Torah modified this law by annulling the death penalty and substituting the penalty of being sold into slavery, in the first case. In the second case, it annulled the death penalty and protected the life of the victim. Exodus 22:1; Exodus 22:4 of chapter 22 go together and deal with theft generally. The reason for the fivefold and fourfold penalties appears to be that the thief was taking the means of another person’s livelihood. [Note: Kaiser, "Exodus," p. 436.] Exodus 22:2-3,

Ezra 2:1-2 — The leaders 2:1-2a The "province" referred to was probably Judah, [Note: Kidner, p. 37.] rather than Babylonia, [Note: F. Charles Fensham, "Medina in Ezra and Nehemiah," Vetus Testamentum 25:4 (October 1975):795-97.] in view of the context. Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin and the nephew of Sheshbazzar, the leader of this return (1 Chronicles 3:17-19). Zerubbabel assumed leadership later in Judah. Evidently Sheshbazzar was the

Ezra 8:15-20 — 220 temple servants joined the immigrants. One writer estimated the total number of men who returned with Ezra as about 1,700-plus women and children. [Note: Laney, p. 126.] Another calculated the total number of men, women, and children as between 4,000 and 5,000. [Note: Martin, p. 667.] Chronology of Ezra 7-10YearMonthEvent4581Ezra led 1,700 men out of Babylon (Ezra 7:1; Ezra 7:8).Ezra’s party left the Ahava waterway.2345Ezra’s party arrived in Jerusalem.Shecaniah proposed a solution

Nehemiah 1:1-3 — concerning Jerusalem 1:1-3 The month Chislev (Nehemiah 1:1) corresponds to our late November and early December. [Note: For the Hebrew calendar, see the appendix to my notes on Ezra.] The year in view was the twentieth year of Artaxerxes’ reign (i.e., 445-444 B.C.). Susa (or Shushan, in Hebrew) was a winter capital of Artaxerxes (cf. Esther 1:2). The main Persian capital at this time was Persepolis. Hanani (Nehemiah 1:2) seems to have been Nehemiah’s blood brother (cf. Nehemiah 7:2). The escape

Job 1:6-10 — touched his possessions, including his children (Job 1:6-22), and the second his person (Job 2:1-10). God permitted Satan to afflict Job to demonstrate and to purify Job’s motives for worshipping God and for living a godly life (cf. James 1:2-4). The writer takes us behind the scenes in this pericope (Job 1:6 to Job 2:10) so we can know why Job’s calamities befell him, the very question that Job and his friends debated hereafter. In each test, we first see Satan accusing Job in heaven,

Job 17:3-5 — bond, but they had turned against him. Job lay the ultimate responsibility for his friends’ blindness and rejection at God’s feet because God had withheld understanding from them. Consequently he believed God would not lift them up (Job 17:4). Job may have believed part of his friends’ motive in not helping him was that they could obtain a portion of his property when he died (Job 17:5). However, since Job 17:5 is a proverb, he may have only been reminding his friends of the serious

Psalms 1:6 — The instrument of the judgment that will determine the ultimate fate of these two basic kinds of people is God’s knowledge (cf. Matthew 7:23). He knows (has intimate, loving concern about) what they have done (cf. Exodus 2:25; Exodus 19:4; Romans 8:29-30). The "way" refers to the whole course of life including what motivates it, what it produces, and where it ends. "Knows" (lit.) or "watches over" (NIV) is the antithesis of "perish" (cf. Psalms

Psalms 24:9-10 — To underline the glory of Yahweh as the great King, David repeated the exhortation and the explanation contained in Psalms 24:7-8 respectively. These verses restate, in synonymous parallelism, the same thought, and all four verses serve as a victory shout. "Long live the King!" "Long live the King!" God’s people should honor and glorify the Lord because

Psalms 74:18-23 — 4. An appeal to the covenant 74:18-23 The writer also appealed for action because of God’s reputation ("Thy name," Psalms 74:18). He compared Israel to a harmless dove and the enemy to a raging wild beast (Psalms 74:19). God had promised

Psalms 88:1-18 — soul,’ when the troubled person must be and must stay in the darkness of abandonment, utterly alone." [Note: Brueggemann, p. 78.] Heman was a wise man who was a singer in David’s service and a contemporary of Asaph and Ethan (1 Kings 4:31; 1 Chronicles 15:19; 1 Chronicles 16:41-42; 1 Chronicles 25:1; 1 Chronicles 25:6). The sons of Korah arranged and or sang this psalm. "The emotions and suffering expressed by the psalmist are close in spirit to those of Psalms 22. In the tradition

Leviticus 18:1-30 — begins with a warning concerning the vile practices of the Egyptians and Canaanites as well as an exhortation to obey God (Leviticus 18:1-5). It concludes by alluding to consequences that would overtake the Israelites if they disobeyed Him (Leviticus 18:24-30). "There is a strong polemical thrust in these laws. Seven times it is repeated that the Israelites are not to behave like the nations who inhabited Canaan before them (Leviticus 18:3 [2x], 24, 26, 27, 29, 30). Six times the phrase ’I

Leviticus 26:1-2 — to the final conditions of the covenant 26:1-2 Two fundamental commandments, one negative and one positive, introduce this section of blessings (Leviticus 26:1-2). "In terms reminiscent of the inauguration of the covenant at Sinai (Exodus 21:1-4), Yahweh speaks of His uniqueness and exclusivity (Leviticus 26:1), a fact that demanded unquestioning loyalty (Leviticus 26:2)." [Note: Merrill, p. 59.] "The repetition of the term covenant in this chapter shows that the author intends it

Ecclesiastes 3:16-3 — has, of course, enabled us to see what will occur after we die by giving us additional revelation after Solomon’s time. The alternative response to the one Solomon advocated is despair, which reflecting on unjust oppression causes (Ecclesiastes 4:1-3).

Song of Solomon 6:4-10 — Solomon’s first words to his beloved were praises. Song of Solomon 6:4 c probably means Solomon felt weak-kneed as a result of gazing on his wife’s beauty, as he would have felt facing a mighty opposing army. Her eyes unnerved him, too (Song of Solomon 6:5 a). By using some of the same flattering comparisons he had

Isaiah 3:6-7 — Motyer, p. 60.] People should not try to compel a person who is unqualified to run for office. Note the stages in Israel’s degradation that Isaiah 3:1-7 trace. Good leaders disappear (Isaiah 3:1-3), and immature, capricious leaders (Isaiah 3:4) who begin to oppress the populace (Isaiah 3:5) take their place. Society becomes divided as age gaps open up and respect for the respectable breaks down (Isaiah 3:5). Unqualified people get pressed into leadership, and a spirit of despair dominates

Isaiah 4:1 — places and leading them, as Eve led Adam (Genesis 3), illustrates a desperate situation. "Here is the final end of our desire to avoid dependence. We will become dependent in the most degrading and disadvantageous ways." [Note: Oswalt, p. 143.] All this will happen on "that day" (Isaiah 3:7; Isaiah 3:18; Isaiah 4:1), namely, when God judges His people for trusting in other human beings-and themselves-rather than Him. Many of the judgments prophesied in this section took place

Numbers 11:4-35 — God’s provision of manna and His Spirit 11:4-35 The "rabble" or "worthless foreigners" (CEV, Numbers 11:4) were the non-Israelites who had come out of Egypt with God’s people (Exodus 12:38). It did not take them long to become discontented with conditions in the desert

Judges 7:19-22 — Gideon’s initial victory 7:19-22 Gideon commenced his "attack" at the beginning of the middle watch, which was evidently midnight. [Note: Bush, p. 104; Keil and Delitzsch, p. 347. Lindsey, p. 394, wrote that it was 10:00 p.m.] Many of the Midianites would have been sound asleep and upon awakening would have felt confused by the sights and sounds of their enemies. The movements of their own men milling

2 Samuel 21:7-9 — a scribal error (cf. 1 Samuel 18:19; 2 Samuel 6:23). [Note: Driver, p. 352.] David could justly slay Saul’s descendants if they had had a part in the execution of the Gibeonites. This seems to have been the case (2 Samuel 21:1; cf. Ezekiel 18:4; Ezekiel 18:20). The execution took place in Gibeah, Saul’s former home and capital, which was on a hill ("mountain," 2 Samuel 21:9) of Benjamin. The barley harvest began in late March or early April when the feast of Passover took place.