Bible Commentaries

Genesis 29:1-12 — "More than any other book in the OT, Genesis emphasizes the east (see Genesis 3:24; Genesis 4:16; Genesis 10:30; Genesis 11:2; Genesis 13:11; Genesis 25:6 [and Genesis 29:1]) as a direction of some significance." [Note: Hamilton, The Book . . . Chapters 18-50, p. 252.] Jacob had travelled about 450 miles from Beersheba to Haran

Esther 3:1-6 — read in chapter 3 took place four years after Esther became queen (cf. Esther 2:16; Esther 3:7). Agag was the name of an area in Media that had become part of the Persian Empire. [Note: Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, p. 421.] However, Agag was also the name of the Amalekite king whom Saul failed to execute (1 Samuel 15:8; cf. Numbers 24:7). By mentioning both Kish, Saul’s father, and Agag, the Amalekite king, the writer may have been indicating that both men were

Daniel 9:20-23 — 4. God’s response to Daniel’s prayer 9:20-23 God began responding to Daniel’s prayer as soon as he began praying (cf. Daniel 9:19; Luke 11:10-13). Clearly, the prayer recorded in the preceding verses is only a summary of what the prophet prayed, since he prayed long and hard (Daniel 9:21).

Matthew 4:14-16 — Immanuel’s coming. Matthew’s quotation of this passage was a free one. Its point was that light had dawned in a dark part of Palestine. By New Testament times the old tribal divisions had little actual relevance. [Note: France, The Gospel . . ., p. 141.] When Isaiah prophesied, Galilee was under the oppressive threat of the Assyrians. He predicted that Messiah would liberate the people living there. When Matthew wrote, Galilee was under Roman oppression. The darkness was also symbolic of the absence

Luke 8:11-15 — The meaning of the parable 8:11-15 (Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:13-20) Jesus now gave His disciples information that enabled them to understand the deeper teaching of the parable. The proclaimed Word of God does not in itself yield a uniform response of faith. Human response to it is all-important.

Romans 3:27-31 — B. The defense of justification by faith alone 3:27-31 Having shown what justification is, Paul went on to reaffirm that it is available only by faith. He proceeded to expound the great theological thesis of Romans 3:21-26. Romans 3:27-31 state this theme, and chapter 4 elucidates and elaborates it.

1 Corinthians 4:6-13 — Taking pride in the wrong things 4:6-13 "With rhetoric full of sarcasm and irony he [Paul] goes for the jugular. His own apostleship, which he portrays in bold relief, contrasting his own ’shame’ with their perceived ’high station,’ is alone consonant with a theology of the cross." [Note: Fee, The First . . ., p. 156.]

1 Corinthians 8:1 — animals in sacrifice. However the butchers did not usually identify it as meat that someone had offered to an idol. Traditional interpreters believe that this is the meat in view in the discussion. [Note: E.g., Barrett, pp. 188-89; and Wiersbe, 1:594.] As mentioned above, I think eating in an idol temple has better support. In dealing with this issue Paul began as he customarily did in this epistle by identifying common ground of belief with his readers (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:2; 1 Corinthians 7:1).

Ephesians 1:5 — beforehand (the meaning of proorisas, translated "predestined"). Predestination looks more at the "how" than at the "who" of election. Election emphasizes the people and predestination the means (cf. Ephesians 1:11; Acts 4:25-28; Romans 8:29-30). God predetermined the final destiny of the elect, namely, that we would be His full-fledged sons (cf. Romans 8:15; Romans 8:23; Galatians 4:4-7). Jesus Christ was the agent who made that adoption possible by His death. Sons adopted

Ephesians 6:14 — This verse begins the eighth long sentence in this epistle, and it runs through Ephesians 6:20 (cf. Ephesians 1:3-23; Ephesians 2:1-7; Ephesians 3:1-19; Ephesians 4:1-7; Ephesians 4:11-16). The main verbs in this sentence are "stand" (Ephesians 6:14) and "take" (Ephesians 6:17). They are imperatives denoting urgency (cf. Ephesians 6:11; Ephesians 6:13). Four participles follow in Ephesians 6:14-16

1 Thessalonians 4:15 — Paul further stressed the truth of his teaching (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 a) by explaining that it was a revelation from the Lord, not just his opinion. Paul expected to be in the company of the living when Christ returned. He believed in an imminent Rapture, one preceding the Tribulation. Even some amillennialists acknowledge

2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 — II. COMMENDATION FOR PAST PROGRESS 1:3-12 Paul thanked God for the spiritual growth of his readers, encouraged them to persevere in their trials, and assured them of his prayers for them. He did so to motivate them to continue to endure hardship and thereby develop in their faith (cf. James 1:2-4).

Philemon 1:4-7 — II. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER FOR PHILEMON vv. 4-7 Paul commended Philemon for the fruit of the Spirit that Philemon permitted the Spirit to manifest in his life. He also prayed that it would continue to abound to encourage Philemon to respond to the request that follows in a manner consistent with God’s will.

Hebrews 4:13 — Our Lord will examine every Christian; not one can avoid His judgment seat. This prospect should motivate every Christian to remain faithful to God until we see Him. We should "fear" (anticipate seriously, Hebrews 4:1) as we prepare for it (cf. 1 John 2:28). Will God find us faithful when we see Him?

James 1:16-18 — 4. The goodness of God 1:16-18 James now defended God before those who doubted His goodness or reliability or who had given up hope in a time of testing and had concluded that this was their "fate." [Note: Martin, p. 39.] The theological term for a vindication of God’s character is "theodicy."

2 Peter 3:18 — exhortation (cf. 2 Peter 1:5-10). Rather than being swept away by error, his audience should keep on growing (present imperative in Greek) in God’s grace. They could do so by consciously depending on His resources (His power and promises, 2 Peter 1:3-4) and by growing in the knowledge (Gr. gnosei) of "our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (cf. 2 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 2:20; 2 Peter 3:2). They could do the latter by getting more intimately acquainted with Him day by day (2 Peter 1:5-8). "Christian

1 John 1:5 — This verse provides a basis for what follows in 1 John 1:6-10 and, in a sense, the whole rest of the letter. One commentator regarded this verse as the main burden of the epistle. [Note: Yarbrough, p. 46.] It gives the standard against which the three following Christian professions fall short. The "message" is the truth that Jesus Christ, the first "Him," revealed to the apostolic eyewitnesses. The figure of light that John used

3 John 1:4 —      We do not know if Gaius was John’s child physically, spiritually (his convert), or metaphorically. The last usage of this word is the most common one in the New Testament. In this case he could have been a disciple of John or simply a younger believer (cf. 2 John 1:4; 1 Timothy 1:2).

Revelation 19:10 — him (cf. Revelation 1:17; Acts 10:25). This was not proper, as the angel explained (cf. Revelation 22:9). Human beings should never worship angels (Colossians 2:18). The beast, who is not even an angel, will receive worship gladly (cf. Revelation 13:4; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 13:12; Revelation 13:15). How easy it is to fall into idolatry! The angel described himself as a fellow servant of God with John (cf. Hebrews 1:14). Angels, like humans, can only bear witness to the testimony borne by Jesus

1 Samuel 5:1-5 — have excavated Ashdod more extensively than any of the five major Philistine cities. Dagon was the principle deity of the Philistines. The popular teaching that the Philistines pictured him as being part man and part fish finds support in 1 Samuel 5:4. Dag in Hebrew means fishy part. Dagon (cf. Heb. dagan, grain) was a grain god whom the Philistines worshipped as the source of bountiful harvests (fertility). Worship of him began about 2500 B.C. in Mesopotamia, especially in the Middle-Euphrates region.