Bible Commentaries

Genesis 2:8-15 — Havilah seems to have been in southwestern Arabia (cf. Genesis 25:18). The Gihon may be the preflood Nile since Cush in the Old Testament usually describes modern Ethiopia (cf. Genesis 10:6-8; Numbers 12:1; 2 Samuel 18:19-33; 2 Kings 19:9; 2 Chronicles 14:9-15; Isaiah 37:9; Jeremiah 13:23; Jeremiah 38-39). [Note: See J. Daniel Hays, "The Cushites: A Black Nation in Ancient History," Bibliotheca Sacra 153:611 (July-September 1996):270-80; and idem, "The Cushites: A Black Nation in the Bible,"

Genesis 35:1-8 — Shechem. His negligence evidently was due in part to the continuing presence of the idols that Rachel and probably others had brought from Haran. Perhaps their allegiance to these gods restrained Jacob’s total commitment to Yahweh (cf. 1 Kings 11:3-4). God appeared to Jacob (the fourth time) and commanded him to fulfill his vow (Genesis 35:1). This revelation encouraged Jacob to stop procrastinating. This is the first and only time God commanded a patriarch to build an altar. The command constituted

1 Kings 18:41-46 — The end of the drought 18:41-46 Evidently thunder accompanied the falling of the fire (lightning?) from heaven (1 Kings 18:41). [Note: John Ruthven, "A Note on Elijah’s ’Fire from Yahweh,’" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 12:2 (1969):111-15.]

Leviticus 10:1-7 — Nadab and Abihu’s exact offense in the text. However the "strange fire" seems most likely to have been an incense offering that somehow violated God’s will. It may have involved assuming the role of the high priest (cf. Hebrews 5:4) or offering incense at a time or in a way contrary to God’s prescription. [Note: See Rooker, p. 157, for other theories.] The incident took place on the eighth day of the priests’ inauguration (ch. 9; cf. Leviticus 10:12; Leviticus 10:16).

Isaiah 13:2-16 — hilltop and calling warriors to assemble pictures God doing this (Isaiah 13:2-3; cf. Revelation 9:16). Many warriors from many kingdoms far away would respond to the Lord’s command, and gather together to do battle as His instruments (Isaiah 13:4-5; cf. Daniel 11:40-45; Revelation 14:14-20; Revelation 16:12-16; Revelation 19:17-19). The day of the Lord, the day in which He will actively intervene in history, would be close by (Heb. qarob). The Hebrew word describes the total preparedness of

Lamentations overview — Jeremiah with written lamentations. Some scholars believed that the Septuagint and Vulgate translators erroneously deduced from this verse in Chronicles that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. [Note: E.g., E. J. Young, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 342; and R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 1069.] Moderate scholars, both conservative and liberal, who reject the Septuagint tradition, divide fairly equally over the question of Jeremiah’s authorship of the book. Those who

Numbers 20:1-13 — end of 37 years the Israelites returned to the wilderness of Zin and Kadesh. Kadesh included a large area of desert located on the edge of the wilderness of Zin. God had previously judged the older generation of Israelites for not believing Him (ch. 14). Now He judged Moses for the same thing. Miriam and Aaron also died in the wilderness for their sins. The leaders fell before the same temptation as the people. "Failure to enjoy God’s promises was the result of unbelief. At this point in

Matthew 19:4-6 — Jesus’ opponents based their thinking on divorce on Deuteronomy 24:1-4, where Moses permitted divorce. Jesus went back to Genesis 1, 2 as expressing God’s original intention for marriage: no divorce. He argued that the original principle takes precedence over the exception to the principle. Jesus’ citation

Matthew 24:34 — Jesus first stressed the importance of what He would say. What did He mean by "this generation?" Many interpreters have concluded that Jesus meant the generation of disciples to whom He spoke (cf. Matthew 11:16; Matthew 12:39; Matthew 12:41-42; Matthew 12:45; Matthew 16:4; Matthew 17:17; Matthew 23:36). Some within this group of interpreters have concluded that because these signs did not occur before that generation of disciples died Jesus made a mistake. [Note: E.g., M’Neile,

Matthew 4:18-20 — its longest and broadest points. It supported a thriving fishing industry in Jesus’ day with nine towns on its western shore plus others elsewhere. Simon and Andrew had moved from their hometown of Bethsaida (lit. "Fishtown," John 1:44) to Capernaum (Mark 1:21; Mark 1:29). Simon’s nickname was Peter ("Rocky"). "Simon" was one of the most common names in first-century Palestine. [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 146.] The net (Gr. amphibleston, used only

John 1:1-18 — theological prologue because this evangelist stressed Jesus’ connection with the eternal God. As with many introductions, this one contains several key terms that recur throughout the remainder of the book. These terms include life and light (John 1:4), darkness (John 1:5), witness (John 1:7), true (i.e., genuine or ultimate) and world (John 1:9), as well as Son, Father, glory, and truth (John 1:14). The Word (as a Christological title, John 1:1) and grace (John 1:14) are also important theological

Titus 1:6-9 — compare 1 Timothy 3:2). Then the remainder of the verses place ’blamelessness’ into a concrete framework, treating the domestic, personal and ecclesiastical aspects of the candidate’s life." [Note: Towner, 1-2 Timothy . . ., p. 224.]   2.    "Husband of one wife" (Gr. mias gunaikos aner; Titus 1:6; 1 Timothy 3:2) means he must presently be a moral husband at least. [Note: See my discussion of this qualification in the 1 Timothy notes. See also

Judges 20:12-19 — measure of how deeply rooted is the Canaanizing rot in a culture." [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 568.] The Benjamites were outstanding warriors in Israel. Ehud and Saul, as well as other champions, came from the tribe of Benjamin (cf. Genesis 49:27; 1 Chronicles 8:40; 1 Chronicles 12:2). The 700 left-handed soldiers (Judges 20:16) were evidently an elite force, all of whom were expert in the use of the sling. "Alone a left-handed person was considered handicapped [e.g., Ehud] and in a

2 John overview — John, p. 9.] The identity of the recipient or recipients of this epistle is in question. Some scholars have concluded that John wrote to a specific lady and her children (2Jn_1:1). [Note: E.g., Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2:534.] Of these interpreters some believe her name was Eklekta (from the Greek word eklekte meaning "chosen", 2Jn_1:1). This seems unlikely, however, because John also called this lady’s sister eklekte in verse 13. Others who believe he wrote

Revelation 18:6 — Revelation 17:16-17; Jeremiah 50:29). This is a call for God’s application of the lex talionis, the law of retaliation (cf. Matthew 7:2; Galatians 6:7-8). To pay back double is a way of saying to pay back fully (cf. Revelation 18:7; Exodus 22:4; Exodus 22:7; Exodus 22:9; Isaiah 40:2; Isaiah 61:7; Jeremiah 16:18; Jeremiah 17:18; Zechariah 9:12). [Note: Hailey, pp. 361-62; Hughes, p. 191; Meredith G. Kline, "Double Trouble," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32:2 (June

Revelation 22:16 — the main angel who revealed this material to John (cf. Revelation 22:6). The angel gave the whole revelation ("these things") to John, but it was ultimately for all the churches, not just the seven churches of Asia Minor (cf. Revelation 1:4; chs. 2-3). David founded old Jerusalem, but David’s greatest son will establish the New Jerusalem. However, Jesus was the ancestor of David as well as His descendant, the root as well as the offspring of David (cf. Isaiah 11:1). Consequently

Revelation 5:13 — Revelation 5:10; Philippians 2:8-11). There is much proleptic revelation in this book, as will become clear. God often gave John previews of things further ahead in the future than the future events that he was then considering. "In these two chapters [4 and 5], the sequence of hymns shows that the first two are addressed to God, the next two to the Lamb, and the last one to both. There is also a gradual enlargement in the size of the choirs. The internal movement also builds as the last hymn is sung

Revelation 6:6 — denarius would purchase eight to 16 times as much food as what he said it will purchase in the future. [Note: Cicero, In Verrem 3.81.] The poor would have little money left over for oil, for fuel and health needs, and for wine to drink (cf. Ezekiel 4:16-17). "Do not harm" means, "Do not tamper with," reflecting the strict control over prices that ungodly rulers under Antichrist’s leadership will have at this time. The causes of the famine were not extremely severe since

1 Samuel 27:1-7 — believe that he should not have done this, even though he must have felt almost forced to do it. First, there is the statement that David consulted with himself, but he had previously asked God for guidance in prayer (cf. 1 Samuel 23:2; 1 Samuel 23:4). Second, David said he believed he would die if he remained in Israel. Yet Samuel had anointed him as Israel’s next king (1 Samuel 16:13), Jonathan had said twice that David would be king (1 Samuel 18:4; 1 Samuel 23:17), as had Saul (1 Samuel

2 Samuel 1:17-27 — 1:17-27 Students of David’s lament over Saul and Jonathan’s deaths have called it the Song of the Bow (cf. 2 Samuel 1:22). Laments over the deaths of individuals are not uncommon in the Old Testament (cf. 1 Kings 13:30; Jeremiah 22:18; Jeremiah 34:5; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Ezekiel 32:2-15). The only other of David’s laments over an individual’s death recorded in Scripture were for Abner, Saul’s commander-in-chief (2 Samuel 3:33-34), and David’s son Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33).