Bible Commentaries

1 Chronicles 15:16-6 — 4. The joy produced by God’s presence 15:16-16:6 David provided for a full orchestra and choir to sing God’s praises at his new worship center. He originated musical guilds and services. [Note: See W. F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religion

2 Chronicles 16:1-14 — 3. Asa’s failure ch. 16 Three parts also mark this record of the later period of Asa’s reign: his war with Baasha (2 Chronicles 16:1-6), Hanani’s sermon (2 Chronicles 16:7-10), and the conclusion of his reign (2 Chronicles 16:11-14). Asa’s heart was right in that he consistently loved God. Nevertheless, like David, his obedience lapsed. He trusted in a foreign alliance and later in physicians more than in Yahweh. This resulted in defeat and death. "Asa, then, has done

2 Chronicles 35:20-27 — where Josiah died: the Plain of Megiddo (i.e., Armageddon, lit. the mountain of Megiddo). [Note: See H. G. M. Williamson, "The Death of Josiah and the Continuing Development of the Deuteronomic History," Vetus Testamentum 32:2 (April 1982):242-48.] "He [Josiah] was a shepherd whose flock never really accepted or understood him, though his concern was for its own welfare . . ." [Note: Wilcock, p. 270.] Josiah’s death is another example of immediate retribution for sin, of

Job 3:20-26 — 3. The wish that he could die then 3:20-26 Much of Job’s suffering was intellectual. He asked, "Why?" frequently in this soliloquy (Job 3:11-12; Job 3:20; Job 3:23) and in the dialogue that follows (Job 7:20-21; Job 9:29; Job 13:24; Job 21:4; Job 24:1). "My groaning comes at the sight of my food" (Job 3:24) may mean that food was not appealing to him. Probably he also meant that his groaning was as regular and frequent as his meals. The parallel idea at the end of Job

Job 5:1-16 — Eliphaz’s counsel to Job 5:1-16 Job’s friend did not deny that the wicked fool (cf. Psalms 14:1) prospers temporarily (Job 5:3), but he believed that before a person dies, God will punish him for his sins. Jesus disagreed (Luke 13:4). The well-known comparison in Job 5:7 is true to an extent, but Eliphaz was again wrong in connecting this truth

Isaiah 23:18 — then; they still engaged in commerce for selfish ends. Thus this verse looks beyond the history of ancient Tyre to a time yet future when God will transform hearts and cause Gentiles worldwide to come and worship Him (cf. Isaiah 60:5-9; Revelation 21:24-26). In the future Tyre will have a new status, a new spirit, and a new allegiance (cf. Psalms 87:4). She will join the Ethiopians, Egyptians, Assyrians (Isaiah 18:7; Isaiah 19:18-25), and many other Gentiles in uniting to fulfill God’s glorification

Jeremiah 31:33 — 163:651 (July-September 2006):312-21, who concluded that this refers not to the Mosaic Law but to a law yet to be given to Israel by Christ. Ibid., "The New Covenant Law and the Law of Christ," Bibliotheca Sacra 163:652 (October-December 2006):438-52, equated this new law with the Law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2).] David equated having the law written on his heart with desiring to do God’s will (Psalms 40:8) "It will become part of the nature of God’s people;

Ezekiel 28:19 — Those who knew him would feel appalled at his end. He would be a source of terror to observers, a horrible warning of the consequences of pride, and he would be no more. "What Adam and Eve were tempted to try to get was equality with God (Genesis 3:4 [sic 5]). That is exactly what Tyre’s king wanted, too. Whatever he personally may have thought of himself, the passage makes it clear that his actions were those of a person seeking such wealth and power as to be his own god." [Note: Stuart,

Daniel 11:1 — parenthetical statement begun in Daniel 10:21. Without observing this, we might conclude that another reference to a king introduces a different incident from the one already introduced in Daniel 10:1 (cf. Daniel 1:1; Daniel 2:1; Daniel 3:1; Daniel 4:1; Daniel 5:1; Daniel 6:1; Daniel 7:1; Daniel 8:1; Daniel 9:1). The angel concluded his encouragement of Daniel, by adding that he had been responsible for encouraging and protecting Darius the Mede during the beginning of his reign over Babylon. Another,

Daniel 12:4 — The end of the vision 12:4 In conclusion, the angel instructed Daniel to close the record of this revelation. In the ancient Near East, people wrote official documents and then, after making a copy for reference, deposited the original in a safe place. The phrase "conceal

Daniel 2:1 — always without interruption. The events related in this chapter happened in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. According to several reliable scholars, Nebuchadnezzar officially became king on September 7, 605 B.C. On the first of Nisan, 604 B.C., the following spring, the first official year of his reign began. The intervening months constituted his accession year and were credited to his father’s reign. The first year of his reign then ended on the first of Nisan the following year,

Daniel 2:4 — and government throughout the empire. "Aramaic was called Chaldean until the latter half of the nineteenth century." [Note: Young, p. 59.] This reference to Aramaic introduces the section of the book that Daniel wrote in Aramaic (Daniel 2:4 to Daniel 7:28), apparently because it concerns matters of worldwide concern. Critics of the Book of Daniel have alleged that Aramaic was not in use when Daniel is supposed to have lived, but there is evidence of its use in the sixth century B.C. [Note:

Daniel 7:14 — second coming of Christ must be the initiation of the fifth kingdom and the final destruction of the fourth kingdom. If this is so, then the prophetic picture that Daniel saw did not include the present age in which we live (cf. Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-19). This conclusion has seemed reasonable to some amillenarians as well as to premillenarians. [Note: See Leupold, pp. 313-14.]

Daniel 8:23-25 — "Prince of princes." Many students of these verses have noticed striking similarities between Antiochus Epiphanes as described here and another political leader predicted to appear in the future (cf. Daniel 7:8; Daniel 7:11; Daniel 7:21-22; Daniel 7:24-26; Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:36-45; Daniel 12:11; Matthew 24:5; Matthew 24:23-24; Matthew 24:26; Mark 13:6; Mark 13:21-22; Luke 21:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; 1 John 2:18; 1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7; Revelation 13:1-10; Revelation 19:20; Revelation

Joel 1:4 — Several waves of locusts had consumed all the agricultural produce of the land. What one wave of these voracious insects had left uneaten, other subsequent waves had destroyed. The devastation of the land had been complete (cf. Amos 4:9). God had threatened locust plagues as punishment if His people proved unfaithful to Him (Deuteronomy 28:38; Deuteronomy 28:42). Four different words for "locusts" appear in this verse (and in Joel 2:25), but a total of nine occur in the

Amos 5:26 — During the wilderness wanderings the Israelites had also carried shrines of their king. This may refer to unauthorized shrines honoring Yahweh or, more probably, shrines honoring other deities (cf. Acts 7:42-43). "Sikkuth, your king," probably refers to Sakkut, the Assyrian war god also known as Adar. "Kiyyun, your images," probably refers to the Assyrian astral deity also known as Kaiwan or Saturn. Amos evidently ridiculed these gods

Jonah 3:6 — of the empire. Similarly King Ahab of Israel was the "king of Samaria" (1 Kings 21:1), King Ahaziah of Israel was the "king of Samaria" (2 Kings 1:3), and King Ben-hadad of Aram was the "king of Damascus" (2 Chronicles 24:23). However the writer described this man as the king of Nineveh. The explanation may be that the focus of Jonah’s prophecy was specifically Nineveh (Jonah 3:4), not the whole Assyrian Empire. His name, though of interest to us, was unnecessary

Haggai 2:7 — At the same time, Almighty Yahweh would shake all the nations; His return will upset the political and governmental structures of the world (cf. Zechariah 14:1-4). The nations would bring their wealth to the Israelites, like the Egyptians gave their treasures to the departing Hebrews at the Exodus (cf. Exodus 3:21-22; Exodus 11:2-3; Exodus 12:35-36). Some English translations have "the desire of all

Zechariah 4:6 — Zechariah was to pass on to Zerubbabel, the descendant of David who became the leader of the first group of returnees from exile. [Note: See David L. Petersen, "Zerubbabel and Jerusalem Temple Reconstruction," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 36:3 (1974):366-72.] He was to tell him, "not by might [Heb. hayil] nor by power [Heb. koah] but by the Spirit [Heb. ruah] of Yahweh of hosts." "This principle is an elliptical sentence: ’Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says

Zechariah 9:10 — "The entire age of the church fits between Zechariah 9:9-10, just as it does between Isaiah 9:6-7 and after the comma in Isaiah 61:2." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 467.] This verse gives a second reason for rejoicing: the establishment of the King’s kingdom. The Gospel writers believed Jesus was the coming King, but they said He fulfilled only Zechariah 9:9, not Zechariah 9:10, during His past earthly ministry