Bible Commentaries

Genesis 1:5 — God named things as well as creating them. Having a name equals having existence, in biblical thought, and the act of giving a name meant the exercise of a sovereign right (cf. Genesis 41:45; 2 Kings 24:17; Daniel 1:7). In this chapter naming or blessing follows some act of creation seven times. The Hebrews regarded the number seven as connoting a complete, divine act, as will become clear later. The terms day, night, evening, and morning

Genesis 12:1 — covenant program with Abram. It was not until after the death of his father (Genesis 11:32) that Abram began to realize anything of the promise God had given to him, for only after his father’s death did God take him into the land (Genesis 12:4) and there reaffirm the original promise to him (Genesis 12:7). "It is important, therefore, to observe the relationship of obedience to this covenant program. Whether or not God would institute a covenant program with Abram depended on Abram’s

Genesis 25:12-18 — 25:12-18 "The last four toledot sections of the Book of Genesis follow a definite pattern: the lines in each generation that are not chosen lines are traced before the narrative returns to the chosen line." [Note: Ross, Creation and . . ., p. 429.] This section records God’s faithfulness to His promises to make Ishmael a great nation and to give him many descendants (Genesis 16:10; Genesis 21:18). This is another of the 10 family histories that Genesis records (see the outline in the

Genesis 25:27-28 — portrayed as ’a simple man,’ one ’remaining in his tents,’ that is, a man of stable life in contrast to the rootless life of the nomad." [Note: Donald B. Sharp, "In Defense of Rebecca," Biblical Theology Bulletin 10:4 (October 1980):165.] "The two characters are utter opposites, as the two nations will eventually be." [Note: Kidner, p. 152.] The Hebrew word tam, translated "plain," probably means civilized and domesticated, a homebody. [Note:

Exodus 16:31-36 — (Exodus 16:31). Some interpreters believe it was the sap-like secretion of the tamarisk tree or the secretion of certain insects common in the desert. [Note: E.g., F. S. Bodenheimer, "The Manna of Sinai," Biblical Archaeologist 10:1 (February 1947):2-6.] In the latter case the miracle would have been the timing with which God provided it and the abundance of it. Normally this sap only flows in the summer months. If this is the explanation, it was a miracle similar to the plagues, not totally

1 Kings 3:16-28 — [Note: Wiseman, pp. 85-86, wrote a short note on the wisdom that is in view here.] The writer did not specify when during Solomon’s reign this event took place, but probably it occurred shortly after God appeared to the king at Gibeon (1 Kings 3:4-15). "The chronology of the reign of Solomon does not pose nearly the difficulty as does that of David. With the exception of the narrative passages, which appear as usual to be inserted topically, the order found in both 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles

Deuteronomy 22:1-8 — Preventing accidental death 22:1-8 Love for one’s neighbor comes through in several concrete situations in Deuteronomy 22:1-4. Failure to get involved and help a neighbor in need is also wrong under the New Covenant (James 2:15-16; 1 John 3:17). Men appeared in women’s clothing and vice versa (Deuteronomy 22:5) in some of the worship rituals of Astarte. [Note: Ibid.,

Acts 14:27-28 — complete the first missionary journey. Commentators estimate it took them between the better part of one year and almost two years. They travelled a minimum of 500 miles by sea and 700 by land. Beitzel estimated that Paul covered a total of about 1,400 miles on this journey. [Note: Beitzel, p. 177.] Luke was careful to record again the priority of God’s initiative in this evangelistic mission (cf. Acts 1:1-2). Paul and Barnabas had accomplished a wonderful work (Acts 14:26), but they were

Joshua 23:1-13 — for them and giving them victory over their enemies, as He had promised, if they kept His covenant with them. Joshua urged the people to remain loyal and promised that God would then drive out the Canaanites that still remained in the land (Joshua 23:4-7; Joshua 23:12-13). "Joshua passed on to Israel the secret of success and prosperity that the Lord had given him at the beginning of the Conquest [Joshua 1:6-7; Joshua 1:9; Joshua 1:18]. God’s promise [concerning occupation of the land]

Joshua 6:22-25 — and to kill their inhabitants, including the cattle (Leviticus 27:29). The only objects they were to spare were metal, gold, silver, and vessels of brass and iron. These they were to place in the treasury of the tabernacle (Joshua 6:19; Numbers 31:54). The Israelites completely destroyed only three Canaanite cities west of the Jordan along with their populations: Jericho, Ai, and Hazor (lit. enclosure). They captured many others and slew some of their inhabitants. [Note: Merrill, Kingdom of . .

Joshua 8:24-29 — Joshua carefully obeyed the Lord’s directions given here and previously in the Law. He killed all the inhabitants of the town, utterly destroyed Ai, and killed the king whom he also hanged on a tree until sunset (Numbers 25:4; Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Too, he erected a memorial pile of stones at the former gate of the city (cf. Joshua 7:26). This section, in contrast to the previous one, shows that God gives victory when His people acknowledge their dependence on Him by trusting

Joshua 9:6-15 — God had not forbidden the Israelites from making peace treaties with non-Canaanite peoples (Deuteronomy 20:11), but He had expressly commanded them not to make treaties with the native Canaanite tribes (Exodus 23:32; Exodus 34:12; Numbers 33:55; Deuteronomy 7:2). The Gibeonites deceived the Israelites with their diffident spirit (Joshua 9:8), as well as with their food and clothing (Joshua 9:12-13). They pretended to fear Yahweh, too, the highest motive for allying with Israel

2 Thessalonians 1:10 — the "saints" are Old Testament believers and "all who have believed" are church age believers. [Note: Bruce A. Baker, "The Two Peoples of God in 2 Thessalonians 1:10," Journal of Dispensational Theology 13 (April 2009):5-40.] Jesus Christ’s second coming will be a day of great glory and vindication for Him. "The idea is that the glory of that day will far surpass anything of which we can have any idea before we behold it, and when we do behold it we shall be

1 Timothy 1:20 — Paul cited two examples of casualties of this type with which Timothy was apparently familiar: Hymenaeus (cf. 2 Timothy 2:17) and Alexander (cf. 2 Timothy 4:14). Paul had turned them over to God’s discipline because of their determination to continue living in a manner contrary to the will of God. This discipline would come on them through the agency of Satan so they would repent and stop blaspheming

1 Timothy 2:1-2 — hoped would be the practice of those to whom he directed his prayer-exhortation. It is the essential and primary phase of their varied ministries." [Note: D. Edmond Hiebert, "The Significance of Christian Intercession," Bibliotheca Sacra 149:593 (January-March 1992):16.] ". . . providing a peaceful and orderly society was the state’s domain, so prayer for it was calculated to ensure that the best possible conditions for spreading the gospel were obtained." [Note: Towner,

Hebrews 12:5-8 — Proverbs 3:11-12. Another value of divine discipline is that it prepares us to reign with Christ (cf. Hebrews 2:10). God’s discipline assures us that we are His sons. All believers are "partakers" (cf. Hebrews 1:9; Hebrews 3:1; Hebrews 3:14; Hebrews 6:4) of discipline. The "illegitimate children" in view seem to be genuine children of God but not approved sons. (See Romans 8:14-17 for the contrast between children and sons.) "A father would spend much care and patience on

Judges 6:1-5 — parallel to those in Judges 3:7 to Judges 5:31, thus harmonizing the events in Judges with 1 Kings 6:1. [Note: Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "The Chronology of the Book of Judges," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52:2 (June 2009):247-55.] "Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between these narratives so that the entire book reflects a carefully worked symmetrical pattern. Furthermore this

Revelation 22:5 — The final point John stressed was the great glory of God that will illuminate the whole new earth (Revelation 21:23-25; cf. Zechariah 14:6-7; Zechariah 14:9). Previously he mentioned this to show how glorious the city will be, but now he did so to emphasize what delight this will result in for the city-dwellers (cf. Numbers 6:22-27). He added that His bond-servants will reign with Him

1 Samuel 6:1-9 — Him (1 Samuel 6:3). Guilt offerings were common in ancient Near Eastern religions. "Ancient religious protocol mandated that the worshiper not approach his god(s) empty-handed (cf. Exodus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:16)." [Note: Youngblood, p. 604.] Evidently the reason the Philistines fashioned images of mice (1 Samuel 6:4) was that there was some connection between rodents and the swellings the Philistines suffered. [Note: John B. Geyer, "Mice and Rites in 1 Samuel V-VI," Vetus Testamentum

1 Samuel 9:15-25 — after the victory of Mizpeh [sic], the Philistines no longer totally controlled Israel and . . . did not again make a full-scale invasion." [Note: G. Coleman Luck, "The First Meeting of Saul and Samuel," Bibliotheca Sacra 124:495 (July-September 1967):259.] God referred to Saul as a "prince" (Heb. negid, 1 Samuel 9:16), a king-designate. Notwithstanding, Yahweh was Israel’s true "king." Also, in 1 Samuel 9:17, the Hebrew word translated "rule"