Bible Commentaries

Genesis 11:3-4 — The motivation for building a city was to make the builders a name (cf. Psalms 14:1). Later God would "make a name" for Abram (Genesis 12:2-3). The object of this endeavor was to establish a center by which they might maintain their unity. "A defensive wall is the hallmark of a city (see Genesis 4:17). Cities in the

Genesis 21:1-7 — God’s provision and Abraham and Sarah’s response 21:1-7 The emphasis in this brief section is on the faithfulness and power of God in keeping His promise and providing an heir miraculously through Sarah (Genesis 17:16; Genesis 18:14). Note the threefold repetition of "as He had said," "as He had promised," and "of which God had spoken" (Genesis 21:1-2). The tension of anticipation finally subsides, but only temporarily. God "visited" Sarah

Genesis 24:1-9 — The thigh may be a euphemism for the genitals (Genesis 24:2). [Note: Ibid., p. 254; cf. Waltke, Genesis, p. 327.] The ancients considered the "thigh" to be the source of posterity and the seat of power (cf. Genesis 47:29). "By putting his hand under Abraham’s thigh, the servant was touching

Genesis 6:13-16 — Notice again that the earth and nature suffer because of human sin (cf. Genesis 3:17-19; Genesis 4:12; Romans 8:20-21). Noah received detailed instructions that he was to follow in building the ark. Later Moses received detailed instructions that he was to follow in building the tabernacle. Both men followed their respective instructions and received

Genesis 8:1-5 — extended mercy to him or her by delivering that person from death (here; cf. Genesis 19:29) or from barrenness (Genesis 30:22). [Note: Hamilton, p. 299.] God’s rescue of Noah foreshadows His deliverance of Israel in the Exodus (cf. Genesis 8:13-14 and Exodus 2:24; Exodus 14:21). [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 127; idem, "Genesis," p. 89.] "’Ararat,’ known as ancient Urartu in Assyrian records, was an extensive territory and bordered the northern Mesopotamian

Exodus 20:3 — into two. Modern Judaism makes Exodus 20:2 the first commandment and Exodus 20:3-6 the second. The earliest division, which can be traced back at least as far as Josephus, in the first century A.D., takes Exodus 20:3 as the first command and Exodus 20:4-6 as the second. This division was supported unanimously by the early church, and is held today by the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant churches." [Note: Johnson, p. 69.] Some scholars have argued that the first commandment comprises Exodus

1 Kings 15:33-7 — 7. Baasha’s evil reign in Israel 15:33-16:7 Baasha’s 24-year reign (909-886 B.C.), which was the third longest of any king of the Northern Kingdom, fell within that of Asa’s rule over Judah (911-870 B.C.). The Israelite king who rule the longest was Jeroboam II (41 years) and the second longest was

2 Kings 13:1-9 — 4. Jehoahaz’s evil reign in Israel 13:1-9 Jehoahaz reigned over the Northern Kingdom from 814 to 798 B.C. Because Israel continued to disregard the Mosaic Covenant, God allowed the Arameans to dominate her. Hazael ruled Aram from 841 to 801 B.C.,

2 Chronicles 20:1-30 — retribution is very strong here. God gave victory because Jehoshaphat and Judah trusted and obeyed Him (2 Chronicles 20:17). Jehoshaphat’s prayer (2 Chronicles 20:6-12) was very similar to Solomon’s at the temple dedication (cf. 2 Chronicles 6:12-42). Jehoshaphat based his petition for deliverance on God’s promises (2 Chronicles 20:5-9). 2 Chronicles 20:12 is another classic expression of trust in the Lord (cf. 1 Samuel 17:47). "There is no excuse for Christian hopelessness. The Christian’s

2 Chronicles 29:1-36 — 1. The cleansing and rededication of the temple ch. 29 Ahaz had closed the temple and had set up other centers of worship throughout the land (2 Chronicles 28:24-25). Hezekiah reopened the temple and cleansed it in preparation for reusing it (2 Chronicles 29:3; 2 Chronicles 29:5). Whereas the writer of Kings described Hezekiah’s religious reforms in only one verse (2 Kings 18:4), the Chronicler devoted

Ezra 6:13-15 — Tattenai’s compliance 6:13-15 Several factors resulted in the completion of the temple, which the writer brought together in Ezra 6:14. The reference to Artaxerxes (Ezra 6:14; cf. Ezra 4:7-23) does not mean that he had a part in completing the temple. As noted previously, he was the king who later supported the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. That action served to make the temple

Nehemiah 10:28-39 — "Law" (Heb. torah) refers to all God’s instructions, "commandments" are His rules, "ordinances" are His judicial pronouncements, and "statutes" are His permanent decrees (Nehemiah 10:29; cf. Deuteronomy 4:45). These Jews promised, specifically, not to intermarry with pagans (Nehemiah 10:30) and to keep the Sabbath day and the sabbatical year (Nehemiah 10:31). They further committed to support the temple service financially (Nehemiah 10:32-34), to give

Leviticus 23:23-25 — Jewish year number at Rosh Hashana by adding 3761 to the Christian year number. The ram’s horns (shophars) that the priests blew on this occasion were quite large and produced "a dull, far-reaching tone." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:444.] They called the congregation to turn attention freshly to God and to prepare for the other two festivals of the month and the 12 months ahead. They also signaled God’s working again on behalf of His people. A trumpet will sound calling Christians

Leviticus 26:3-13 — 2. The blessing for fidelity to the law 26:3-13 The benefits of faithful obedience to the law of God would be fruitful harvests (Leviticus 26:4-5; Leviticus 26:10), and security and peace (Leviticus 26:6), including victory in battle (Leviticus 26:7-8) and numerical growth as a nation (Leviticus 26:9; cf. Genesis 17:7). The obedient would also experience increasing enjoyment of God’s

Numbers 13:21-25 — Anakites (Numbers 13:22) were a tribe of very tall people who lived in Canaan (Numbers 13:33). Hebron was a large fortified town. Moses gave it special emphasis here because it was near Hebron that God had promised to give Abraham the land (Genesis 13:14-18). From there Abraham had set out to defeat a coalition of kings (Genesis 14:13). The only piece of real estate Abraham possessed in Canaan was in Hebron, and there he and the other patriarchs lay buried. The spies, of course, knew these historical

Deuteronomy 23:9-14 — Personal hygiene 23:9-14 Various practices, most of which we have discussed previously, rendered the Israelite encampment ceremonially unclean. The laws in these verses applied to Israel after she entered the land and, specifically, while her armies engaged in battle. The connection

Joshua 24:1 — 1. Preamble 24:1 Shechem was a strategic location for this important ceremony. Joshua called on the Israelites to renew formally their commitment to the Mosaic Covenant at the site that was very motivating to them to do so. "If you were to put Plymouth Rock and

Judges 2:11-23 — is chiastic, focusing on Israel’s pursuit and worship of other gods. Israel departed from Yahweh and served idols (Judges 2:11-13). The Lord then disciplined His people by allowing them to fall under the domination of their enemies (Judges 2:14-15). [Note: See Wood, ch. 5, "The Oppressing Nations."] God then raised up judges to deliver Israel (Judges 2:16). The people apostatized again (Judges 2:17). God raised up another judge in response to His people’s distress (Judges 2:18).

Judges 9:7-21 — the same mountain where six of Israel’s tribes had declared the blessings of abiding by the Law of Yahweh and denounced the Shechemites for their foolish and wicked actions. The contrast between the Israelites’ commitments in Joshua 8, 24 and this passage must be one reason the writer included Abimelech’s story in Judges. Jotham’s fable was a parable with a moral (cf. 2 Samuel 12:1-4; 2 Kings 14:9-10). It is generally recognized as the first parable in the Bible. The olive

1 Samuel 19:1-7 — not to kill David. He appealed to Saul logically and rationally. He reminded Saul that he was the king and that David was his servant, that he needed to be fair with David, and that it was in Saul’s best interest to let David live (1 Samuel 19:4). He also reminded Saul that David was the Lord’s instrument who had defeated Israel’s enemies and that Saul had rejoiced in his success. Moreover he appealed for justice since David’s death was unwarranted (1 Samuel 19:5). Jonathan’s