Bible Commentaries

Genesis 18:3-11 — Abraham’s hospitality reflects oriental custom as practiced in his day and, in some respects, even today in the Middle East. He was behaving more wisely than he realized since he did not yet know that his guests were divine visitors (Genesis 18:8). "Where is Sarah?" (Genesis 18:9) recalls God’s earlier questions about Adam (Genesis 3:9) and Abel (Genesis 4:9).

Psalms 144:5-8 — The psalmist described God’s intervention-in the present battle David faced-in terms of nature. In the past, God had used rain, thunder, lightning, and hail to give His people victory (Joshua 10; Judges 4-5; et al.). David seems to have been appealing for a similar deliverance. He viewed the enemy army as an overwhelming flood from which he requested deliverance.

Psalms 147:10-11 — God does not take pleasure in the symbols of strength that impress humans. He sees and delights in what demonstrates true spiritual strength, namely, trust in Himself. This makes Him praiseworthy. "It is an awesome thought that we can bring pleasure to the heart of the heavenly Father (Psalms 35:27; Psalms 37:23; Psalms 149:4)." [Note: Ibid., p. 380.]

Psalms 25:8-22 — 2. Repetition of the request 25:8-22 The same petitions for guidance and pardon recur, but this time the basis of David’s request is the character of God. Psalms 25:8-10 develop the psalmist’s prayer for instruction and guidance in Psalms 25:4-5, and Psalms 25:11 develops his prayer for forgiveness in Psalms 25:6-7.

Psalms 5:8 — Essentially what David asked for was guidance in the righteous path God trod; he did not want to walk in the way of the wicked (Psalms 5:4-6; cf. Psalms 1). He wanted to clearly see the righteous way to live so he would not wander from it. Departure from it was a possibility because of the influence of the wicked.

Proverbs 25:1 — A. Introduction of the Later Solomonic Collection 25:1 A group of scholars who served during King Hezekiah’s reign (715-686 B.C.) added more of Solomon’s 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32) to the former collection (Proverbs 1:1 to Proverbs 22:16). These men lived about 250 years after Solomon. Solomon ruled from 971-931 B.C. This verse introduces chapters 25-29.

Ecclesiastes 8:2-4 — The wise man behaves appropriately in the presence of his king. He keeps his oath of allegiance that he has made before God (Ecclesiastes 8:2). He does not resign from his service (Ecclesiastes 8:3 a) or join in a revolt against the king (Ecclesiastes 8:3 b). Furthermore, he does not dispute the king’s authority and sovereignty (Ecclesiastes 8:4).

Jeremiah 2 overview — II. PROPHECIES ABOUT JUDAH CHS. 2-45 The first series of prophetic announcements, reflections, and incidents that comprise this part of the book deals with Jeremiah’s ministry to his own people. Though Jeremiah ministered to the surviving Southern Kingdom of Judah (after the fall

Daniel 7:13 — the title "son of man" implies. However, He comes with clouds of heaven, which elsewhere in Scripture describes how God has come to earth (cf. Exodus 13:21-22; Exodus 19:9; Exodus 19:16; 1 Kings 8:10-11; Psalms 18:10; Isaiah 19:1; Jeremiah 4:13; Ezekiel 10:4; et al.). Thus, this One like a son of man appears to be a God-man (cf. Philippians 2:6-7). [Note: See the commentaries for refutations of the views that this "son of man" was an angel, or the Israelites, or just a normal

Numbers 15:22-29 — The third law dealt with the sin offering. Here sins of omission are in view whereas the law in Leviticus 4:13-21 dealt more with sins of commission. In both cases the sin offering covered sins committed unintentionally. This law also covered some deliberate sins if the sinner offered public confession, full restitution, and a sin offering (Leviticus 6:1-7).

Numbers 27:1-23 — 2. Provisions and commands to observe in preparation for entering the land chs. 27-30 "Just as the censuses of chs. 1, 3, and 4 led to a flurry of preparations for departure from Sinai, so the second censuses in ch. 26 lead to preparations for departure from the plains of Moab and entry into the land of Canaan." [Note: Ashley, p. 547.]

Matthew 4:3-4 — God’s Son. It was to suggest that as the Son of God Jesus surely had the power and right to satisfy His own needs independent of His Father. Satan urged Jesus to use His Sonship in a way that was inconsistent with His mission (cf. Matthew 26:53-54; Matthew 27:40). God had intended Israel’s hunger in the wilderness to teach her that hearing and obeying God’s Word is the most important thing in life (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). Israel demanded bread in the wilderness but died. Jesus forewent

Matthew 4:5-7 — The setting for the second temptation was Jerusalem, perhaps in a vision that Satan gave Jesus. Matthew referred to Jerusalem with a favorite Jewish term, "the holy city" (cf. Nehemiah 11:1; Isaiah 48:2; Daniel 9:24; Matthew 4:5; Matthew 27:53). This suggests that the temptation would have national rather than solely individual implications. Satan took Him to a high point of the temple complex (Gr. hieron), not necessarily the topmost peak of the

Deuteronomy 4:41-49 — III. HISTORICAL INTERLUDE: PREPARATION FOR THE COVENANT TEXT 4:41-49 Having completed his address that reminded the Israelites to look backward and remember God’s faithfulness so they would remain faithful in the future, Moses next turned to a reminder of what God’s will for His chosen people involved. He prefaced this second speech with instruction concerning cities of refuge in the land.

John 14:3 — The commentators noted that Jesus spoke of several returns for His own in this Gospel. Sometimes Jesus meant His return to the disciples following His resurrection and before His ascension (John 14:18-20; John 21:1). Other times He meant His coming to them through the Holy Spirit after His ascension and before His bodily return (John 14:23). [Note: R. H. Gundry, "’In my Father’s House are many Monai’ (John 14 2)," Zeitschrift

Acts 18:2-3 — Pontus was the Roman province in Asia Minor that lay east of Bithynia on the Black Sea coast (in modern northern Turkey). Priscilla had another name, Prisca (Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19), the latter being more formal. Luke normally used the colloquial, diminutive form of names (e.g., Silas, Sopatros, Priscilla, Apollos), but Paul preferred their formal names in his writings (e.g., Silvanus, Sosipatros, Prisca, Epaphroditus). Nevertheless

Romans 10:4 — end of the Mosaic Law in both respects. He spoke of the Law as having a function to fulfill in history after which Jesus Christ terminated it (Romans 7:6; Galatians 3:19; Galatians 3:23; cf. Mark 7:18-19; Luke 16:16; John 1:17; Acts 10:10-15; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 8:8; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18; Galatians 4:9-11; Galatians 5:1; Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 7:12; Hebrews 9:10). Furthermore he described the purpose of the Law as bringing people to Christ (Romans 7:7-13; Galatians 3:24; cf. Matthew 5:17). "In

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 — glory."Believers’ CrownsTitleReasonReferenceAn Imperishable CrownFor leading a disciplined life1 Corinthians 9:25A Crown of RejoicingFor evangelism and discipleship1 Thessalonians 2:19A Crown of RighteousnessFor loving the Lord’s appearing2 Timothy 4:8A Crown of LifeFor enduring trialsJames 1:12;Revelation 2:10A Crown of GloryFor shepherding God’s flock faithfully1 Peter 5:4 "The glory of any teacher lies in his scholars and students; and should the day come when they have left him far

Judges 16:1-31 — 4. Samson’s final fatal victory ch. 16 To this point in his history Samson had demonstrated some faith in God, even though "the exploits of Samson read like the actions of an uncontrollable juvenile delinquent." [Note: Cundall and Morris, p. 155.] However, his unwillingness to remain dedicated to God resulted eventually in his loss of strength, his enslavement, and his death.

Judges 3:7-31 — own account." [Note: John Gray, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, p. 189.] Israel’s JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael’s OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthnielJudges 3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)EhudJudges 3:12-30Moab(with Ammon & Amalek)Eglon1880ShamgarJudges 3:31PhilistiaDeborahChs. 4-5CanaanJabin20(ca. 1250-1230 B.C.)40(ca. 1230-1190 B.C.)GideonChs. 6-8Midian(with Amalek & Arabia)Zebah & Zalmunna740(ca. 1180-1140