Bible Commentaries

Psalms 106:13-33 — less serious acts of rebellion to greater ones, evidently for the emotional effect this would produce in the reader. Psalms 106:13-15 describe the rebellion at Kibroth-hattaavah when the Israelites demanded meat and God sent them quails (Numbers 11:4-34; cf. Lot, and the Prodigal Son). Psalms 106:16-18 recall the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram against Moses (Numbers 16). Psalms 106:19-23 refer to the golden calf incident at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 32). "Their glory" (Psalms 106:20) refers to

Psalms 110:4 — Yahweh has made an affirmation in the most definite way possible and will not change His mind (cf. 2 Samuel 7:13; Psalms 89:3; Psalms 89:28-29; Psalms 89:34-35; Psalms 132:11). [Note: On the subject of God changing His mind, see Thomas L. Constable, "What Prayer Will and Will Not Change," in Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost, pp. 99-113; and Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Does God ’Change

Isaiah 19:24-25 — would prevail in that great day. Through Israel all the nations of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3), but blessed equally with Israel. God applied some of His favorite terms for Israel to Egypt and Assyria: "My people" (cf. Isaiah 10:24; Isaiah 43:6-7; Exodus 5:1; Jeremiah 11:4; Hosea 1:10; Hosea 2:23), and "the work of My hands" (cf. Isaiah 60:12; Isaiah 64:8; Psalms 119:73; Psalms 138:8). He reserved "My inheritance" for Israel (cf. Deuteronomy 32:9). [Note: For

Isaiah 49:8 — In response to the Servant’s feelings of frustration (Isaiah 49:4), the Lord promised that at the appointed hour of salvation, He would support and enable His Servant (cf. Psalms 22:19-21). Watts interpreted this servant too as Darius. [Note: Watts, Isaiah 34-66, p. 188.] He would make the Servant a covenant of

Isaiah 5:8-10 — mansion he is often too old to enjoy it, his family has grown up and moved out, and his spouse may die soon because she is usually old too. God would judge the farmers by decreasing the productivity of their crops (Isaiah 5:10; cf. Deuteronomy 28:20-24; Psalms 106:15; Haggai 1:5-6). The land-hungry would become hungry. No matter how many acres a person may own, God still controls the weather. Agricultural productivity was one of God’s promised blessings under the Old Covenant (Deuteronomy 28:11-12;

Isaiah 5:8-25 — (cf. Amos 5:18; Amos 6:1; Revelation 8:13; Revelation 9:12). "The word ’woe’ itself, appearing six times in the passage, does not just denounce our sins, it laments our sins. The same word is translated ’Ah!’ in Isaiah 1:4 and ’Alas!’ in 1 Kings 13:30. Remember that ’woe’ is the opposite of the word ’blessed’ (cf. Luke 6:20-26)." [Note: Ortlund, p. 66.] "He [Isaiah] holds up six clusters of wild grapes, as it were, to illustrate

Isaiah 53:12 — would exalt the Servant (cf. Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 5:12). He would give Him a reward with the many great ones whom He justified, and would divide this booty with the many who would become strong by virtue of His work for them (cf. Ephesians 4:8; Ephesians 6:10-17). Another interpretation sees Yahweh giving the Servant the many great ones (believers) as booty, specifically as a token of redemption completed. He would also give the Servant the strong ones (unbelievers) as spoil, which the

Jeremiah 1:10 — oracles of judgment and messages of comfort and encouragement. The verbs in this verse anticipate the whole message of this book, as one might expect in an introduction. [Note: See Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, p. 243-44.] Four of them are destructive, and only two are constructive, reflecting the predominantly negative emphasis of Jeremiah’s ministry. The Lord compared Jeremiah’s work to that of two types of workers: a farmer and an architect. "This

Jeremiah 31:15 — south. Ramah was a town about five miles north of Jerusalem that stood in Benjamin’s tribal territory near the border between Israel and Judah. The exiles stopped at Ramah, and undoubtedly wept there, on their way to exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 40:1). Rachel’s tomb was near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16; Genesis 35:19), south of Jerusalem. "Rachel’s life story sets her apart from the other Israelite ancestors. She alone had only a grave and never a home in the promised land (Jeremiah

Jeremiah 44:29-30 — historian Herodotus, Hophra became the target of a coup d’état and Amasis, one of his generals, took his place. Hophra was later assassinated when Amasis handed him over to Egyptians who strangled him. [Note: Herodotus, History, 2:161-63; 4:159.] Josephus, however, wrote that Nebuchadnezzar slew him and reigned in his place. [Note: Josephus, 10:9:7.] Possibly, Nebuchadnezzar was the influential power behind Amasis’ revolt and was, therefore, ultimately responsible for Hophra’s

Ezekiel 20:36-38 — who rebelled against God (Ezekiel 20:38)." [Note: Cooper, pp. 206-7.] The Lord would also bring His people under obligation to keep the terms of a covenant. This is evidently a reference to the New Covenant (cf. Ezekiel 36:25-38; Jeremiah 31:31-34). He would weed out the rebels and transgressors from among them and bring them out of the countries where they lived but would not bring them into the Promised Land (cf. Numbers 16; Deuteronomy 11:6). This probably refers to the Jews who will die during

Ezekiel 37:14 — in their land (cf. Ezekiel 37:9-10; Ezekiel 37:15-28; Ezekiel 36:22-32). This would teach them that He is God. Notice that what God promised was both a spiritual and a physical restoration of the Israelites, and the end time is in view (cf. Matthew 24:30-31). So this is not a vision of the physical resurrection of all Israelites sometime in the future, nor is it a vision of the spiritual salvation of Jews and Gentiles in the future. [Note: See Cooper, pp. 319-22; Feinberg, p. 214; and Daniel I. Block,

Daniel 7:2 — person in the first six chapters, but in the last six he used the first person. He may have made this change to make his visions more impressive and persuasive to the reader. Daniel saw "the Great Sea," probably the Mediterranean (cf. Numbers 34:6-7; Joshua 1:4; Joshua 9:1; Ezekiel 47:10; et al.), stirred up by the four winds (or spirits) of heaven (Daniel 7:2; cf. Jeremiah 23:19; Jeremiah 49:36; Zechariah 6:1-6; Revelation 7:1-3; et al.). The "sea" in Scripture and in ancient Near

Daniel 8:19 — Tregelles, Remarks on the Prophetic Visions in the Book of Daniel, pp. 82-83.] or both? Most premillennial interpreters believe that it refers to both in some sense, either as a double fulfillment [Note: Louis T. Talbot, The Prophecies of Daniel, p. 143; William Kelly, Lectures on the Book of Daniel, p. 132; Nathaniel West, Daniel’s Great Prophecy, p. 103; Seiss, p. 221; Pentecost, pp. 1359; idem, Prophecy for Today, pp. 82-83; idem, Things to Come, pp. 332-34; The New Scofield . . .,

Amos 1:1 — notes.] "In this [ancient Near Eastern] culture an earthquake would not have been viewed as a mere natural occurrence, but as an omen of judgment. Amos had warned that the Lord would shake the earth (see Amos 8:8; Amos 9:1; Amos 9:5, as well as Amos 4:12-13). When the earthquake occurred just two years after he delivered his message, it signaled that the Lord was ready to make the words of Amos a reality." [Note: Robert B. Chisholm Jr., Handbook on the Prophets, p. 378.] This introductory verse

Micah 4:1 — Reference to "the last days" often points to the eschatological future in the Prophets, and it does here (e.g., Deuteronomy 4:30; Ezekiel 38:16; Daniel 2:28; Daniel 10:14; Hosea 3:5). This phrase usually refers to the Tribulation and or the Millennium. Some New Testament writers said that Christians live in the last days, namely, the days preceding Messiah’s return to

Nahum 1:2 — Nahum drew a picture of Yahweh as a God who is jealous for His chosen people (cf. Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:24; Deuteronomy 5:9). That is, He greatly desires their welfare (cf. Deuteronomy 6:15). He is also an avenging God who takes vengeance on all who violate His standards of righteousness (what is right), though not with human vindictiveness.

Nahum 2:6 — tributaries, the Khosr and the Tebiltu, passed through the city. Virtually all of Nineveh’s 15 gates also contained passages for the waters from one of these tributaries or its canals. They were called "gates of the river." [Note: Armerding, p. 476.] Sennacherib had built a double dam and reservoir system to the north of the city to control the amount of water that entered it and to prevent flooding. [Note: Maier, p. 253.] Nahum may have seen the invader opening these dam gates and flooding

Zechariah 11:17 — especially since the time that the nation has rejected the Christ." [Note: Leupold, p. 219.] However the ultimate fulfillment must be the Antichrist who will make a covenant with Israel but then break it and proceed to persecute the Jews (Ezekiel 34:2-4; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:36-39; John 5:43; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation 13:1-8). Perhaps the whole collective leadership of Israel from Zechariah’s time forward culminating in Antichrist is in view. [Note: Merrill, p. 303.] "The

Matthew 20:28 — context." [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 763.] Other passages seem to favor the interpretation that by His death Jesus made all people savable. However only the elect experience salvation and enter the kingdom (e.g., John 3:16; Ephesians 1:4-7). Only one would die, but many would profit from His death. This is one of the great Christological and soteriological verses in the Bible. It is also the first time that Jesus explained the reason He would die to His disciples. "The implication