Bible Commentaries

Genesis 26:1-6 — another. The major migration of the Philistines into Canaan took place in the twelveth century B.C. However, there were some Philistines already in Canaan at this time, as is clear from this reference and others in Genesis (cf. Genesis 21:32; Genesis 21:34). God’s will for Isaac to remain in the land was definite, and He communicated it clearly to the patriarch. Perhaps God wanted Isaac to stay in the land so he would learn that God would "be with you and bless you" (Genesis 26:3). God

Genesis 35:16-22 — his twelfth son mollified Jacob’s sorrow over Rachel’s death. He named his son Benjamin meaning "Son of my good fortune." [Note: See James Muilenberg, "The Birth of Benjamin," Journal of Biblical Literature 75 (1956):194-201.] Oni in Hebrew can mean either "trouble" or "wealth." This is the only son that Jacob named, which suggests his renewed leadership of the family, at least over Rachel’s sons. Benjamin was born on land that later became

Exodus 10:1-20 — quantity of papyrus reeds and seaweeds that some scholars have claimed grew on its banks and floated on its waters. However these reeds do not grow in salt water. [Note: See Bernard F. Batto, "Red Sea or Reed Sea?" Biblical Archaeology Review 10:4 (July-August 1984):57-63, and my note on 14:2.]

Exodus 12:29-36 — cf. Matthew 25:5-6), when they were asleep ". . . to startle the king and his subjects out of their sleep of sin." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 2:23.] Pharaoh had originally met Moses’ demands with contemptuous insult (Exodus 5:4). Then he tried a series of compromises (Exodus 8:25; Exodus 8:28; Exodus 10:8-11; Exodus 10:24). All of these maneuvers were unacceptable to God. There is evidence from Egyptology that the man who succeeded Amenhotep II, the pharaoh of the plagues,

Exodus 14:26-31 — This miraculous deliverance produced fear (reverential trust) in Yahweh among the Israelites (Exodus 14:31). Their confidence in Moses as well as in God revived (cf. Exodus 14:10-12). ". . . whenever confidence in Moses increases, as here and at Sinai, it is because of an action of Yahweh." [Note: Durham, p. 197.] "In view of the importance

Exodus 18:24-27 — disputes of the Israelites, and this kept Moses free to resolve the major problems. Jethro returned to his native land (Exodus 18:27), but he visited Moses and his daughter and grandchildren again (cf. Numbers 10:29), perhaps often during the following 40 years. "In times of great crises God always provided men to lead the way to deliverance. Moses is an eloquent example of this very fact. The hand of God providentially prepared this man for this very moment. He was cognizant of Egyptian manners

Exodus 6:2-9 — characteristic name of God was to be ’the LORD,’ the meaning of which was first revealed to Moses himself (Exodus 3:13-15). Exodus 6:3 is not saying that the patriarchs were totally ignorant of the name Yahweh." [Note: Youngblood, p. 41.] The occurrences of "El Shaddai" in Genesis are in Genesis 17:1; Genesis 28:3; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 43:14; Genesis 48:3; and partially in Genesis 49:3. The name occurs 30 times in Job. Shaddai may come from the Hebrew sd ("breast")

1 Kings 21:17-29 — terminated Jeroboam and Baasha’s houses (1 Kings 21:22). As for Jezebel, wild dogs, which normally lived off the garbage in cities, would eat her (1 Kings 21:23). Furthermore, all of Ahab’s descendants would experience ignoble deaths (1 Kings 21:24; cf. 1 Kings 14:11; 1 Kings 16:4). The writer’s assessment of Ahab was that he was the worst ruler in Israel yet (1 Kings 21:25; cf. 1 Kings 16:30). He was as bad as the Canaanites whom God drove out because of their wickedness (1 Kings 21:26;

Ezra 7:11-26 — in the Hebrew Bible. The king appointed Ezra as the person responsible to him for the affairs conducted in the Jewish community in Judah. He held a position in the Persian court equivalent to Secretary of State for Jewish Affairs. [Note: Whitcomb, p. 430; Bright, p. 370.] This decree encouraged any Jews in exile to return to their land (Ezra 7:12-13). "The Persians had respect for the laws of other nations as long as they did not conflict with their own. "We know from the Elephantine papyri

Nehemiah 8:1-8 — followed, and the people departed for a fellowship meal. [Note: Williamson, Ezra, Nehemiah, pp. 281-82.] The "first day of the seventh month" (Nehemiah 8:2) was the day on which the Israelites were to observe the Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24). The priests blew trumpets to assemble the people, to announce God’s working among them, and to signal preparation for the Day of Atonement, which followed on the tenth of the month (Leviticus 23:27). This time the people gathered at an appropriate

Leviticus 15:25-33 — The fourth case involves a woman who had continuing menstrual problems beyond her normal period. The ritual for purification was the same as for a man with an extended sexual malady (case one above, Leviticus 15:13-15; cf. Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43). Leviticus 15:31 explains the reason for these regulations. God gave them so the Israelites would not fall into serious sin because of ignorance of how they should behave when unclean. The rules about bodily discharges helped the Israelites appreciate

Numbers 26:1-65 — was given an inheritance in Israel. In this respect she is also like the daughters of Zelophehad in the next chapters of Numbers who also gained an inheritance among the men of Israel (Numbers 27:1-11)." [Note: Sailhamer, The Pentateuch . . ., p. 410.] A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the east chs. 26-32 The first section of this second part of the book records God’s gracious preparation of the younger generation for their entrance into their inheritance. 1. The second

Matthew 1:22-25 — The phrase plerothe to hrethen ("what was spoken . . . fulfilled" [NASB] or "to fulfill what . . . had said" [NIV]) occurs often in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 2:15; Matthew 2:17; Matthew 2:23; Matthew 4:14; Matthew 8:17; Matthew 12:17; Matthew 13:35; Matthew 21:4; Matthew 27:9; cf. Matthew 26:56). It indicates a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Matthew worded this verse very carefully. He distinguished the source of the prophecy, God, from the

Matthew 19:9 — Jesus introduced His position on this subject with words that stressed His authority: "I say to you" (cf. Matthew 5:18; Matthew 5:20; Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:28; Matthew 5:32; Matthew 5:34; Matthew 5:39; Matthew 5:44; Matthew 8:10; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 16:28). His was the true view because it came from Him who came to fulfill the law. Matthew recorded only Jesus’ words concerning a man who divorces his wife, probably because in

Joshua 5:13-15 — slings, arrows, and spears-which were like straws against the walls of Jericho." [Note: Campbell, "Joshua," p. 339.] As Joshua contemplated attacking Jericho, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and assured him of victory. [Note: Maps 54 (p. 43), 56 (p. 44), 58 (p. 45), and 62 (p. 47) in The Macmillan Bible Atlas illustrate the battles of Jericho and Ai, Gibeon, Southern Canaan, and Northern Canaan respectively.] "The Canaanite spectre [sic] had hatched in Noah’s tent (Genesis

Joshua 5:2-9 — an injunction as this?" [Note: Bush, p. 56.] The reproach of Egypt (Joshua 5:9) was the charge that originated with the Egyptians that Yahweh had led the Israelites out of Egypt only to destroy them in the wilderness (cf. Exodus 32:12; Numbers 14:13-16; Deuteronomy 9:28). Now that He had brought them into the land He had promised them, He had negated or "rolled away" this criticism. Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew word translated "rolling" (galal) and means "circle."

Judges 16:1-3 — the Gaza prostitute (Judges 16:1). This was unquestionably inappropriate behavior for a Nazirite whom God had called to deliver Israel from the very enemy he was romancing. Any reference to the leading of the Lord is notably absent here (cf. Judges 14:4). Samson’s weakness contrasts with his strength throughout this chapter. Here we see his moral and spiritual weakness. Why did God continue to use Samson since he was so morally impure? Part of the answer has to be that God had chosen to use

Judges 2:1-5 — to God. He promised to lead them in victory against their enemies. On this occasion the Angel promised that He would not drive out the remaining Canaanites because Israel had been disobedient to God, specifically to the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Exodus 24:3; Exodus 24:7; Joshua 24:18; Joshua 24:21; Joshua 24:24). Of the 59 references to "the Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament, 18 (30.5 percent) appear in Judges. He appeared on four separate occasions: in Judges 2:1-5; Judges 5:23; Judges

1 Samuel 11:6-11 — clearly is designed to connect the commencement of his reign with the historical event which accounts for his Jabesh-Gilead maternal roots." [Note: Eugene H. Merrill, "The Book of Ruth: Narration and Shared Themes," Bibliotheca Sacra 142:566 (April-June 1985):140, n. 13.] Saul linked himself with Samuel because Samuel was the recognized spiritual leader of the nation. The Israelites probably dreaded both Saul’s threatened reprisals for not responding to his summons and the Ammonite

1 Samuel 13:1-15 — two years over Israel." My ellipses indicate omissions (lacunas) in the Hebrew text. The first problem is Saul’s age when he began to reign. No other text of Scripture gives us his age at this time. The NASB translators have supplied "40" and the NIV and NET translators "30." The AV translators wrote, "Saul [was . . . years old]," leaving the number undefined. Saul reigned about 40 years (Acts 13:21). If he was about 40 years old when he began to