Bible Commentaries

Genesis 18:22-33 — "Intercession or Irritation?" Third Way 29 (February 1983):18-19.] This conclusion assumes that Abraham’s primary purpose was to get God to demonstrate mercy and to spare the cities for the sake of their few righteous inhabitants (Genesis 18:24). While this idea was obviously in Abraham’s mind, his primary purpose seems rather to have been to secure justice (i.e., deliverance) for the righteous minority in their wicked cities (Genesis 18:23-24). Secondarily, he wanted God to spare the

Genesis 37:29-36 — where Joseph was taken. Potiphar, as Pharaoh’s bodyguard captain, would have been in charge of the king’s executioners who carried out the capital sentences ordered by Pharaoh. "Potiphar" is a shortened form of Potiphera (Genesis 41:45) meaning "he whom Ra [the sun-god] has given." The meaning of the Hebrew word saris, translated in Genesis 37:36 "officer" or "official," changed in meaning in the first millennium B.C. to "eunuch." [Note:

Genesis 38:12-30 — Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1992 ed., s.v. "Prostitution (OT)," by E. A. Goodfriend.] By wearing a veil Tamar hid her identity from Judah but also presented herself as a betrothed (to Shelah) woman, since engaged women wore veils (cf. Genesis 24:65; Genesis 29:21-25). However the fact that she sought to obtain seed by Judah shows her legitimate desire for children at least. It probably also reveals her desire to enter into the Abrahamic promises by bearing children for Judah and his sons. Jacob’s

Exodus 19:16-25 — mountain (Exodus 3:2-5). Fire is a symbol of His holiness that enlightens, purges, and refines. The smoke and quaking that accompanied the fire further impressed this awesome revelation on the people. The priests referred to (Exodus 19:22; Exodus 19:24) were evidently young men (first-born?) that offered sacrifices before God appointed the Aaronic priests to this service (cf. Exodus 24:5). Comparative ancient Near Eastern studies have revealed that the covenant form and terminology that God used to

1 Kings 18:17-40 — The vindication of Yahweh 18:17-40 Ahab had a problem of perception similar to Obadiah’s (1 Kings 18:17; cf. 1 Kings 18:7). The real source of Israel’s troubles was Ahab and Omri’s disregard of the Mosaic Covenant and their preference for idolatry (Deuteronomy 6:5). "This

Leviticus 10 overview — 3. The sanctification of the priesthood ch. 10 One of the remarkable features of chapters 8 and 9 is the obedience of Moses and Aaron to God’s commands (cf. Leviticus 8:4; Leviticus 8:9; Leviticus 8:13; Leviticus 8:17; Leviticus 8:21; Leviticus 8:29; Leviticus 8:36; Leviticus 9:5; Leviticus 9:7; Leviticus 9:10; Leviticus 9:21). In chapter 10 there is a notable absence of these references. The careful reader notices at

Leviticus 11:1-47 — be eaten. The notion of uncleanness and cleanness is specifically applied in this chapter to the question of holiness. Violating any of the regulations relating to clean and unclean animals rendered one unclean (i.e., profane or common, Leviticus 11:44-45), and thus unable to enter into community worship (Leviticus 12:4). The purpose of the chapter is to tie the concept of holiness to God’s own example of holiness (Leviticus 11:45)." [Note: Sailhamer, p. 332.] Uncleanness was not all

Daniel 6 overview — critical attacks because of the problem of the identity of Darius. The chapter shares motifs with Psalms 2 and recalls Daniel 3. The structure of the chapter is basically chiastic, centering on God’s deliverance of Daniel. [Note: Goldingay, p. 124.] A    Introduction: Daniel’s success Daniel 6:1-3 B    Darius signs an injunction and Daniel takes his stand Daniel 6:4-10 C    Daniel’s colleagues plan his death Daniel 6:11-15 D    Darius

Numbers 14:20-38 — God’s punishment of the people 14:20-38 The fact that God granted the people pardon in response to Moses’ intercession is another indication of His grace (Numbers 14:20-21). The failure of the Israelites would not frustrate God’s purpose to manifest His glory throughout

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 — physical and spiritual welfare of His people (cf. Mark 2:23-28). The Pharisees later made Sabbath observance stricter than what God had intended (cf. e.g., Mark 2:18 to Mark 3:6). God did not command Christians to observe the Sabbath (cf. Romans 10:4; Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 3:23-29; Galatians 4:10; Colossians 2:16-17). From the birth of the church on, Christians have observed the first day of the week, not the seventh, as a memorial of Jesus Christ’s resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians

John 15:2 — Jesus earlier taught about the mutual indwelling of believers and Himself (John 14:20). Therefore it seems clear that Jesus was speaking here of genuine believers such as the Eleven, not simply professing believers. [Note: Interpreters who argue for professing believers include J. Carl Laney, "Abiding is Believing: The Analogy

Hebrews 7:12 — Mosaic Covenant that this predicted change in the priesthood signaled a change in the whole Covenant. This verse is one of the clearest single statements in the New Testament indicating that God has terminated the Mosaic Law (Covenant; cf. Romans 10:4). Paul went on to say that Christians, therefore, are not under it (Romans 6:14-15; Galatians 3:24-25; Galatians 5:1; Galatians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 3:7-11). That is, it is not what God has given to regulate the lives of Christians. "If Christ is

1 Peter 2:18-25 — working under the authority of others. "The unusual fact, unnoticed by most Bible readers, is that he [Peter], along with Paul (1 Corinthians 7:21; Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-25; 1 Timothy 6:1-2; Titus 2:9-10) and later Christian writers (Did. 4:11; Barn. 19:7), addresses slaves at all, for Jewish and Stoic duty codes (which in many respects this code in 1 Peter, as well as those in Ephesians and Colossians, resembles) put no such moral demands on slaves, only on masters. "The reason for

1 Peter 3:1-2 — the spirit of deference that Peter had already advocated regarding our dealings with government authorities (1 Peter 2:13-17) and people in direct authority over us (1 Peter 2:18-25). Primarily he meant as Christ submitted to the Father (1 Peter 2:21-24). "The opening words ["in the same way"] are not intended to equate the submissiveness due from wives with that expected from slaves. Rather, as in [verse] 7, the Greek adverb (homoios) harks back to 1 Peter 2:13, implying that the patriarchal

Judges 16:4-21 — Samson and Delilah 16:4-21 The first three verses present Samson sowing "wild oats." Judges 16:4-21 picture him reaping a bitter harvest (cf. Galatians 6:7). Samson allowed a woman to seduce him again. She lived in the Sorek Valley between Samson’s home area

Judges 18:27-31 — The establishment of idolatry at Dan 18:27-31 The Danites’ defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. Judges 9:45-49), though Laish was a Canaanite village. The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God had adequate territory for the Danites in southern Canaan this whole expedition

1 John 2:18 — rule directly over human beings, first in the Millennium and then in the new heavens and the new earth. The revelation concerning the appearance of the world ruler who will exalt himself against God was familiar to John’s audience (Daniel 11:36-45; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5; et al.). However even as John wrote, many little antichrists, people who exalt themselves against God, had arisen. John saw this as evidence that the appearance of the Antichrist was not far away. Antichrists are those who oppose

3 John overview — expression of joy at news of the addressee’s welfare; the body of the letter, containing the promise of another epistle; and, at the close, greetings to and from mutual friends (cf. the papyri)." [Note: Stephen S. Smalley, 1, 2, 3 John, p. 342.] The author was evidently the Apostle John who identified himself as "the elder" here (3 John 1:1), as he did in 2 John. [Note: Donald A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, pp. 670-75.] The striking similarity

Revelation 4:8 — though not necessarily without stopping (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:8). [Note: See David Seal, "Shouting in the Apocalypse: The Influence of First-Century Acclamations on the Praise Utterances in Revelation 4:8 and 11," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 51:2 (June 2008):339-52.] "In Hebrew, the double repetition of a word adds emphasis, while the rare threefold repetition designates the superlative and calls attention to the infinite

Revelation 5:1 — that people seal wills seven times because they were very important documents. [Note: Ethelbert Stauffer, Christ and the Caesars, pp. 182-83.] The perfect number of seals may also hint at the absolute inviolability of the scroll. [Note: Mounce, p. 142.] In John’s day people used a seal to keep the contents of a document secret, unchangeable, and free from tampering until some authoritative person broke the seal. In this case after Jesus broke the first seal the scroll unrolled until the second