Bible Commentaries

Esther 2:1-4 — 1. The plan to replace Vashti 2:1-4 "Nearly four years have passed since Vashti was deposed. During that time, Ahasuerus directed his ill-fated Greek campaign and came home in humiliation instead of honor." [Note: Ibid., p. 711.] Ahasuerus had second thoughts about having deposed

Psalms 70:4-5 — 2. A prayer for God’s glory 70:4-5 As a result of God’s deliverance, other righteous people would glorify God and rejoice in Him. The psalm ends as it began: with a request for fast relief. David was stressing how desperately he needed God’s assistance by beginning and

Isaiah 62:6 — The Lord revealed that He had appointed watchmen, whose job it was to remind Him of His promises to Israel, so that He would not forget them (cf. Isaiah 36:3; 2 Samuel 8:16; 1 Kings 4:3; Luke 2:36-38). Obviously the Lord does not forget His promises, but this assurance, in the language of the common practice of the day, underscored the fact that He would not forget. The watchmen in view may be angels and or human intercessors (cf. Ezekiel 33; Daniel 4:13; Luke 11:5-10; Luke 18:1-8).

Ezekiel 34:13-14 — He would lead them out from among the peoples where they had gone and bring them back to their own land (cf. Ezekiel 34:4-6). He would nourish them on the mountains, beside the streams, and in the best (inhabited) places of the land (cf. Psalms 23:1; John 4; John 6:31-35). They would enjoy good pasture and would experience rest in good grazing ground, the richest pasture

Ezekiel 40:28-31 — Ezekiel discovered that the south inner gate complex was the same as the outer gate complexes. All the vestibules of the three gate complexes totaled 25 cubits (41 feet 8 inches) across and each of them was five cubits deep (rather than eight, 8 feet 4 inches rather than 13 feet 4 inches, Ezekiel 40:9). Also there were windows or niches on all four sides and eight steps leading up to it from the outer court (cf.

Ezekiel 42:1-2 — Ezekiel’s guide next took him out the north inner gate into the outer court and showed him another building. It stood between the "separate area," the 20-cubit (33 feet 4 inches) space that bordered the temple proper, and "the building toward the north," evidently the complex of rooms in the outer court that stood against the north wall of the temple complex. The length of this building, east to west, was 100

Hosea 10:5 — When God destroyed Israel’s altars (Hosea 10:2), specifically the golden calf at Beth-aven (i.e., Bethel, cf. Hosea 10:8; Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8), the Israelites who lived in Samaria, Israel’s capital, would fear. Beth-aven may stand not merely for Bethel but also for the whole official, semi-pagan religious set-up in Israel. [Note: Ellison, p. 128.] The people would mourn,

Jonah 2:2 — Jonah, as many others, called to the Lord out of a distressing situation asking for help, and the Lord responded to his cry with deliverance (cf. Psalms 3:4; Psalms 120:1). The second part of the verse is a parallel restatement of the first part. The prophet compared the fish’s stomach to a burial chamber from which he could not escape. "Depth" is literally the "belly" of Sheol,

Nahum 3:1-7 — explains further the "why" for Nineveh’s fall whereas the first two descriptions in the previous chapter gave more of the actual events, the "what" of it. There is much similarity between the descriptions of the siege in Nahum 2:3-4 and Nahum 3:2-3, however. This section has been called a woe oracle because it pronounces doom on Nineveh in typical woe oracle fashion (cf. Isaiah 5:18-19; Amos 5:18-20; Amos 6:1-7; Micah 2:1-4). [Note: See Patterson, pp. 81-82.]

Zephaniah 2:1-3 — 4. A call to repentance 2:1-3 This section of the book (Zephaniah 1:4 to Zephaniah 2:3) concludes with an appeal to the Judeans to repent and so avoid the punishment destined to come on them if they did not repent. "The prophet meant in that terrible

Mark 5:38 — (cf. Jeremiah 9:17; Amos 5:16). [Note: Cf. H. Van der Loos, The Miracles of Jesus, p. 568.] The Mishnah specified that even the poorest husband had to hire at least two flute players and one female to wail when his wife died. [Note: Mishnah Ketuboth 4:4.] Evidently the little girl’s death was so expected that mourners were ready the moment she died.

Luke 19:10 — many, especially among the lost sheep of Israel. He had saved those who would accept His gracious offer of salvation. This verse is the key verse in the third Gospel because it expresses concisely the ministry of Jesus as Luke presented it (cf. Luke 4:18-19; Luke 15:5; Luke 15:9; Luke 15:24). "This whole incident is the epitome of the messianic mission described in Luke 4." [Note: Liefeld, "Luke," p. 1008.]

Luke 21:28 — Second Coming is very near. Consequently they should prepare to meet the Lord. The approach of their redemption refers to the approach of the final stage of their redemption, namely, their entering the safety of the kingdom (cf. Psalms 111:9; Isaiah 63:4; Daniel 4:34). When Jesus returns, He will remove believers from the Tribulation by ending it. This verse contains encouragement for believers. Lifting up the head is symbolic of hope and rejoicing (cf. Judges 8:28; Job 10:15; Psalms 24:7; Psalms 83:3).

Luke 22:66 — The Sanhedrin, also known as the council of the elders, was Israel’s supreme court. It could only conduct cases involving potential capital punishment during daylight hours. [Note: Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:1.] This seems to be the reason for the time of this meeting. Evidently the Sanhedrin members wanted to send Jesus on to Pilate for trial as early as they could. The Sanhedrin normally met in a building not far to the west of the western wall of the

John 16:21 — Jesus compared how the disciples would feel to the feelings of a pregnant woman at her delivery. This was an Old Testament illustration of how God’s people would feel when Messiah appeared (cf. Isaiah 21:3-5; Isaiah 26:16-21; Isaiah 66:7-14; Jeremiah 13:21; Micah 4:9-10). Jesus again used the word "hour" (Gr. hora, John 2:4; et al.) to focus the critical time of both painful experiences: His death and the woman’s delivery. What issues from the painful experience is so wonderful,

Acts 2:1-4 — The descent of the Spirit 2:1-4 Luke introduced the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry with His baptism with the Spirit (Luke 3:21-22). He paralleled this with the beginning of Jesus’ heavenly ministry with the Spirit baptism of His disciples (Acts 2:1-4). The same Spirit

Galatians 3:6 — prove that God justified Abraham by faith, not because he kept the Law. Abraham believed the promise that God would bless him. Abraham could and did do nothing but believe God’s promise that He would do something supernatural for him (cf. Romans 4:3). One writer suggested that the best commentary on Galatians 3 is Romans 4. [Note: George, p. 219.] Abraham’s faith was his trust in God. ". . . Paul takes it for granted that Abraham’s being justified by faith proves that the Galatians

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 — incorporated it into their religious practices. "Pagan religion did not demand sexual purity of its devotees, the gods and goddesses being grossly immoral. Priestesses were in the temples for the service of the men who came." [Note: Robertson, 4:28.] "Long ago Demosthenes had written: ’We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day to day needs of the body; we keep wives for the begetting of children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes.’ So long

1 Peter 5:4 — stephanos, garland) of glory that does not fade probably refers to glory as a crown that will come to every faithful Christian when Christ returns. It is probably not a material but a metaphorical crown (as is the crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4:8, the crown of life in James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10, and the crown of joy in Philippians 4:1 and 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). [Note: Michaels, p. 287. See Joe L. Wall, Going for the Gold, pp. 125-71, for a practical discussion of these crowns.] The

1 Peter 5:5 — 2. The responsibility of the others 5:5 "Younger men" is literally "younger ones" and includes females as well as males. [Note: Davids, p. 184.] Nevertheless younger men were probably in Peter’s mind since the contrast is with older men in 1 Peter 5:1-4. "In the ancient world the division of society into older people and younger . . . was just as much taken for granted