Bible Commentaries

Job 42:1-6 — abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes." "I know that thou canst do all things… etc." "Job acknowledges that God can achieve all that he plans, and that He plans, knowing that he can do all things."International Critical Commentary, Job, p. 371. Van Selms elaborated this somewhat, writing, "I sense, from the examples you have cited, the behemoth and the leviathan, that you are able to realize all your plans for your creation, however far these may go beyond human conception. You have reasons

Psalms 19:4-6 — disclosing the part of the earth in each case where the eclipse would have been visible. Such order and design cannot possibly be imagined apart from the thundering truth that "There had to be a designer." And just who could that be except Almighty God? (3)    The heavens declare God's glory by their utility in demonstrating the uniqueness of the earth as the residence of mankind, a truth of the most amazing dimensions. A few years ago, Dr. A. Crescy Morrison wrote a little book called,

Proverbs 7:6-23 — 28. He was hanging around a place of danger at a time when the pure in heart would have been seeking the security of their home. "And he went the way to her house" "Like meets like; the seduction is complete,"Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 563. "In the twilight, in the evening… in the middle of the night… in darkness" The mention of these different times suggests that the young man continued to walk up and down in front of the woman's house. "Also, there is a symbolical meaning

Leviticus 16:1-5 — There was also another distinction: "When the high priest went into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to wear a simple linen garment without seams, a garment of the type Jesus wore when he went to the Cross as our sacrifice (John 19:23-24)."Michael Esses, Jesus in Exodus (Plainfield, New Jersey: Logos International, 1977), p. 195. Another analogy appears in the requirement that two he-goats were to constitute the single sin-offering for the people. No single animal could have typified

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 — "No one must think of the earth as something permanent."Ecclesiastes, by J. A. Loader (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986), p. 20. That is the same foolish error of today's frenzied "Environmentalists." Hebrews 12:26-27 and 2 Peter 3:8-10 stress the ultimate `removal' of the earth itself. It is primarily this earth-centered concern of Solomon which the Book of Ecclesiastes is designed to correct. "The sun… the wind… the rivers" The argument here is somewhat humorous.

Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 — was meant here. Franz Delitzsch noted, during the 19th century, that, "Most interpreters regard this as an exhortation to charity";C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), Vol. 6b, p. 391 and this writer is absolutely certain that the passage could not possibly mean anything else. Nothing could be any more stupid than the New English Bible rendition: "Send your grain across the seas, and in time you will get a return; divide your merchandise

Daniel 4:19-26 — would be removed from his ordinary abode, and become a miserable and neglected outcast."Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 258. The nature of the king's strange malady is readily identified by a number of writers as "lycanthropy,"J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 535. a strange form of insanity in which the victim imagines that he is a beast and adopts a form of behavior appropriate to such a delusion. A dissenting view was quoted by Thomson from a famed British medical doctor, David Yellowlees, of the University

Deuteronomy 14:22-29 — It was merely a charitable usage of the tithe already required. "The tithe of the first and second years was to be eaten before the Lord at the central sanctuary; the tithe of the third year was for the poor and needy."W. L. Alexander, op. cit., p. 238. Kline's comment on the purpose of these tithing regulations is as follows: "The purpose of this section on tithing is not so much to give a comprehensive statement of the laws on tithing, as it is to guard the tithing procedure from being prostituted

Deuteronomy 18:15-19 — clear away some of the rubbish that one encounters in the commentaries: T. Witton Davies: "There is no primary reference here to the Messiah, though the words naturally suggest to Christian readers the Great Prophet."T. Witton Davies, op. cit., p. 239. The approach here is simply that of Satan to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die." Criticism often resorts to this device. When a truth is so glaring as to be self-evident to all, the knee-jerk response is, "Well, it doesn't mean that!" Also, note the snide

Deuteronomy 8:1-5 — all the misfortunes and hardships of life. They are not merely adversities; they are opportunities; and, "They are all examples of God's providence."G. Ernest Wright, The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. II, Deuteronomy (New York: Abingdon Press, 1954), p. 385. Harrison was impressed with the choice of the events related in Deuteronomy, especially some of those in this chapter, saying, "The way in which these incidents are described, and their correspondence with those events most likely to impress Moses

Mark 15:42 — begged the dead body of Jesus from Pilate on "the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath" (Mark 15:42). (c) Likewise Luke stated that the burial took place on "the day of Preparation, and the sabbath drew on" (Luke 23:53). (d) The apostle John records that the trial of Jesus before Pilate took place "on the Preparation of the Passover: it was about the sixth hour" (John 19:14). This makes it absolutely certain that Christ was crucified on the 14th of Nisan. But,

Mark 6:17 — by the Samaritan Malthace, and a full brother of Herod Archelaus. He received as his share of his father's dominion the provinces of Galilee and Perea with the title of tetrarch, but he was popularly called "king." He reigned from 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. He founded Tiberias on the western shore of Galilee. This is the ruler that Jesus referred to as "that fox" (Luke 13:32); and it was to him that Pilate sent Jesus during the trials prior to the crucifixion. His first marriage was to

Romans 3:3-4 — condition in the renewal of the covenant (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Besides, on that occasion, God expressly threatened to expel the natural seed from Canaan, and scatter them among the heathens, if they became unbelieving and disobedient (Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 28:64). The rejection, therefore, and expulsion of the Jews from Canaan, for their unbelief, being a fulfilling of the threatenings of the covenant, established the faithfulness of God instead of destroying it. James Macknight, Apostolical

Joshua 16:5-10 — reason for the slight treatment of their inheritance. Notice that Ephraim's territory was expanded by the assignment of some of the cities that belonged to Manasseh. Cook stated that, "The reason for this can only be conjectured."F. C. Cook, op. cit., p. 393. With all that we learn of Ephraim from the prophecy of Hosea, we do not hesitate to assign as the reason for this enlargement the arrogance and ambition of Ephraim and that domination which he finally exercised over the whole ten northern tribes.

Joshua 24:19-28 — available through the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage categorically denies that there was to be any forgiveness of sins under the Mosaic Law. As a matter of fact, Jeremiah made forgiveness of sins to be the unique element of the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Joshua 24:20 is a reference to the curses and blessings that characterized the ancient suzerainty-covenant treaties. Thus, we continue to find in almost every verse evidence that this renewal ceremony strictly followed the ancient pattern. "He

Judges 8:22-28 — who were defeated by Gideon were also called, "Midianites," and here it is clear that they were also identifiable as "Ishmaelites." This passage refutes the critical enemies of Genesis who allege "multiple sources," "contradictions," etc., in Genesis 37:27-28, where the company of people to whom Joseph's brothers sold him are referred to in those verses both as "Ishmaelites," and as "Midianites." "They did cast therein (into the garment) the ear-rings of their spoil" "Gideon's soldiers had made quite

1 Samuel 1:1-8 — referred to here. "Elkanah … an Ephraimite" Elkanah was an Ephraimite only in the sense that he lived in the hill country of Ephraim. He was most certainly a Levite as positively indicated in the account of his ancestry given in 1 Chronicles 6:33. Furthermore, as Keil pointed out, the very name "Elkanah" identifies him as a Levite. "All of the Elkanahs mentioned in the O.T. (with a single exception) can be proved to have been Levites."C. F. Keil, Keil and Delitzsch's Old Testament Commentaries,

1 Samuel 17:1-11 — city daily newspaper. "That Goliath killed by Elhanan was Lahmi, the brother of the Goliath of Gath (1 Chronicles 20:4-8); four different giants are mentioned as being born to the giant of Gath (Deuteronomy 2:10-11; Deuteronomy 2:20-21, and Deuteronomy 3:11-13)."Albert Barnes, Samuel, p. 42. The importance of this explanation is seen in the fact that the false identification of the two "Goliath's" as the same person is, "One of the main arguments"The Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 2, p. 971. relied upon

1 Samuel 5:1-2 — of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon." "Ashdod" This was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines, "located thirty-three miles west of Jerusalem,"Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, Samuel, p. 279. "only 3 miles from the Mediterranean Sea, situated on an elevation overlooking the Philistine plain half way between Gaza and Joppa; its importance consisted in the fact of its commanding the high road from Palestine to Egypt."J. R. Dummelow's Commentary, p.

1 Samuel 6:4-9 — watch… if it goes up… but if not" The device of the Philistines in sending back the ark was clearly experimental; and they had no certain knowledge as to the way it would turn out. Therefore, we should understand the statement in 1 Samuel 6:3 that they. "would be healed" as a conditional, promise. "This indicates that they were still uncertain as to whether or not God was responsible for their plagues."John T. Willis, p. 80. The test proposed here was genuine. Normally, cows would not have