Bible Commentaries

Genesis 15:1 — N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1964), p. 115. There were two elements in the divine promise to Abram: (1)    the creation of the first Israel, including the promise of settling them in Canaan and making of them a mighty nation, and (2)    the bringing in, through them, of the Messiah, by means of whom redemption and salvation would be made available to all who live on earth. These are not the results of "two traditions," handed down through several sources, as

Genesis 25:27 — temple at Mecca, but also a weak and silly man, who was checkmated and removed from his post by Cosa, an ancestor of Mohammed, who bought from him the keys of the temple, and with it the presidency, for a single bottle of wine!"Marcus Dods, op. cit., p. 261. The N.T. tells us that Esau was a "profane person and a fornicator," which, of course, only fills in the picture of the man controlled and dominated by his appetites. There can be no doubt that the Bible, both O.T. and N.T., places the greater blame

Genesis 3:1 — temptation. There is simply no way to know what the serpent was like before the curse. Of course, the whole person of the serpent that appears in this tragic scene also includes a certain identity with Satan himself, as indicated by Paul's reference in 2 Corinthians 11:3, the indication there being that the same serpent who seduced Eve is, in this dispensation, engaged in seducing the Church of Jesus Christ. Also, Satan is called, "The great Dragon, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan,

Exodus 3:13-15 — name repeated twice in this passage; and when the Son of God referred to this passage, he quoted it verbatim: Have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB (Matthew 22:32). In the light of the Saviour's emphasis upon this place, it is absolutely imperative that we reject a lot of the nonsense that has been written about the great TETRAGRAMMATON! Since the great memorial name forever is in Exodus 3:15, what should

Exodus 31:12-17 — pertinent information being supplied in each new mention of it; and the same thing is true here. Two facts of the utmost importance are here revealed for the first time: (1) that the sabbath day was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel; and (2) that the profanation of it was a capital offense to be punished by the execution of all violators! This was exactly the proper place for Moses to have included this information, because the established worship of God in the services of the tabernacle

Exodus 8:20-25 — goest before Pharaoh,' the Lord told Moses, `Stand erect before him and do not bow to him in greeting, for thou art not to show him even the slightest sign of respect.'"Or HaHayyim, Wellsprings of Torah, Vol. 1 (New York: The Judaica Press, 1969), p. 123. A second development (2) appears to have been in response to the statement of the magicians, "This is the finger of God (a god)." Very well, God would make it clear that it was not a god at all who did such wonders, but that it was Jehovah, the God

Ezekiel 38 overview — is difficult to us because we know not the king nor people intended by it: but I am satisfied they were well known in the times when the prophet wrote."Adam Clarke, Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), Vol. 5, p. 527. Our embarrassment comes from the certainty we feel with regard to their identification; but we claim no originality whatever in the knowledge. The Lord has told us exactly who Gog and Magog actually are. After the thousand years reign of Christ has

Matthew 27:50 — attention to the "seven utterances." The time of the Master's death was three o'clock in the afternoon on the day of preparation for the Passover, making it occur on the afternoon, before sunset, when the actual Passover legally began. Matthew 27:51-53 relate to the Six Wonders of Calvary which received considerable attention in Matthew's gospel and which are of such surpassing interest that a special study of them is here included. THE PHENOMENA ATTENDING THE CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION There

Deuteronomy 23:1-8 — enter into the assembly of Jehovah." Concerning the laws in this chapter, Watts declared, that, "They have been reworked in the preachy style of the editor."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 263. This of course is incorrect. There is no "editor" of Deuteronomy. It is amusing to this student that critical scholars pretend to know everything, except the names of any of those editors and redactors they are always talking about! The "preachy"

Deuteronomy 28:49-57 — credibility whatever. For example, Watts claimed, without any proof or evidence whatever, that, "This chapter has been expanded in later versions of the book."John D. W. Watts, Beacon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1970), p. 276. But as Craigie pointed out, "This imbalance finds several parallels in other Near Eastern texts (patterned after the suzerainty treaties) containing blessings and curses." "For example, in the Code of Hammurabi, the imbalance runs 20 to 1; and in

Deuteronomy 8:1-5 — in order to teach them to rely upon the Lord. Such things as hunger and thirst were used to challenge the people and to discipline them and to train them to look to God for the solution of all their problems. This is exactly the teaching of Hebrews 12:5-11. (The student interested in the subject of "The Lord's Chastening" will find additional material under those verses in our N.T. series of commentaries, Vol. 10.) The purpose of this chastening was beneficent toward man, "That men, humbled so as

Luke 19:8 — here. As Bliss said, "(This view) has in its favor the present tense of the verbs — `I give, I restore.'"George R. Bliss, An American Commentary on the New Testament (Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: The Judson Press, n.d.), Vol. II, Luke, p. 278. Since the Lord Jesus himself made a momentous argument for the immortality of the soul to turn on the tense of a single verb (Matthew 22:32 f), they must be rash indeed who set aside the present tense in this passage in favor of future tense. Nevertheless,

Luke 21:24 — proper understanding of "the times of the Gentiles" must take into account the following: (1)    The fact that nineteen hundred years were clearly a part of the period indicated, that much time having already elapsed. (2)    The fact that these words "are to be understood as the antithesis of the season of Jerusalem" (Luke 19:44).George R. Bliss, op. cit., p. 304. The Times of the Gentiles will be comparable to the times during which Jerusalem

Romans 11:1 — am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. Did God cast off his people … This question regards the true Israel, not the nation, which certainly had been cast off, there being then "no distinction" (Romans 9:12) in the sight of God between either Jews or Gentiles. Paul guarded against confusing the people here mentioned with external Israel by saying immediately that it was "the people whom he foreknew" (Romans 11:2) who were not cast off. Many make

Ephesians 3:1 — tell us far more about critics than they do of the authorship of Ephesians, thus: (1) Such comment shows that the critics approve of such deceptions, enabling them to speak in glowing terms of the true fidelity and devotion of such alleged deceivers. (2) It shows that their conception of morality is compatible with such fraud. It could be done (indeed was done, they say) "legitimately"! (3) It raises the question of how much "legitimate fraud" the critics themselves have perpetrated

Joshua 16:5-10 — even before that enlargement, "had the rich district north and south of Shechem… and the whole fertile plain of the Esdraelon."Hugh I. Blair, The New Bible Commentary, Revised, Joshua (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1970), p. 248. Also, we learn from Joshua 17:14 that their unwillingness to clear out the Canaanites caused their complaint. "Joshua, in effect, told them that if they were the great people they claimed to be, they could extend their territory by clearance and

Joshua 20:7-9 — Bible Encyclopedia (Chicago: The Howard Severance Company, 1915), p. 1790. that being the original meaning of the word, which later also came to mean "a sanctuary,"F. N. Peloubet, Peloubet's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: The John C. Winston Company, 1925), p. 342. or "sacred place."Merrill F. Unger, Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1957), p. 626. It was precisely this word that came to mean the sacred female prostitutes of paganism, the [~qedeshah] and their male counterparts, the [~qedesh];

James 5:6 — Ye have condemned, ye have killed the righteous one; he doth not resist you. The righteous one … is an expression used of Christ in a number of New Testament references (Acts 3:14; Acts 7:52; Acts 22:14), and this is clearly the meaning of it here. That James did not specify Christ by name is no problem, because New Testament writers generally were most reluctant to mention by name their own family; and James adhered to this rule, making

Revelation 1:9 — so by circumstances, proclaimed himself the chief of sinners and the least of saints. Partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience … "These are a present experience and possession" G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 1282. of John and his readers. As Lenski put it: "We (Christians) are the kingdom, in it, partakers of it, lifted to royalty in it!" R. C. H. Lenski, op. cit., p. 55. All theories that deny the present existence of the kingdom of Christ are contrary

Revelation 12:5 — passage can mean nothing else except the birth of Christ; and the compression of Jesus' whole biography into such a short space is perfectly in harmony with what the author did by presenting the entire Old Testament history in a single verse (Revelation 12:4). To suppose that the birth is not included here would make the passage mean that the woman brought forth his death and resurrection; because the emphatic statements of her pregnancy and her being delivered clearly makes her the achiever of whatever