Bible Commentaries

Exodus 3:13-15 — God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." This student has long been familiar with the preposterous claims relative to the great TETRAGRAMMATON supposed to have been given in Exodus 3:14, but we find no evidence whatever of any such thing. Whatever happened here, God simply did not honor Moses' request for God's personal name. The middle verse here, (Exodus 3:14), which the translators of the Septuagint (LXX) misunderstood as the

Isaiah 20:5 — Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory." Even in Nahum's account of the fall of Egypt in the siege of No-amon, the alliance with Ethiopia was mentioned as one of the bulwarks upon which the doomed nation relied in vain for victory (Nahum 3:9). One of the significant things not previously noted in this chapter is God's reference to Isaiah as "my servant" in Isaiah 20:3. "Isaiah shares this honorable title with a select few of God's saints: (1) Abraham (Genesis 26:24); (2) Moses (Numbers

Obadiah 1:11 — reference to a past event of Jerusalem's capture by foreigners, and at which time the Edomites stood with the invaders. Our interpretation identifies that occasion with the sack of Jerusalem by the Philistines and the Arabians. (See 2 Chronicles 21:17; Joel 3:3; and Nahum 3:10.) Note that nothing is said here of the destruction of the temple or of the carrying away of captives, events associated with the ruin of the city by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The capture in view here took place before the times

Nahum 3 overview — The reason for the destruction of Nineveh lay in their unmitigated wickedness. "This imperial city had brought such a fate upon itself by its sin and crimes (Nahum 3:1-7), and will no more be able to avert it than was the Egyptian No-Amon (Nahum 3:8-13)."C. F. Keil, Commentary on Old Testament, Vol. 10, Nahum (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), p. 9. A terrible end will come to the city despite all

Habakkuk 3:13 — Bethlehem, "thine anointed" almost certainly being a reference to that same Christ. "Thou woundest the head" Who is the head "out of the house of the wicked," if not Satan? Here is a prophetic renewal of the great promise of the Protoevangelium (Genesis 3:15) that the head of the evil one would be bruised. "Even unto the neck" Jamieson thought this carries the image of a flood reaching to the neck (Isaiah 8:8);Robert Jamieson, op. cit., p. 832. Kerr, however, thought the text should read "rock." "The

Zephaniah 3 overview — This chapter contains the glorious climax of Zephaniah's great prophecy in the last paragraph (Zephaniah 3:9-20). The first paragraph details the reason for the judgment of Jerusalem (Zephaniah 3:1-7), with Zephaniah 3:8 forming a bridge between two sections and relating both to the eternal judgment at the last day, the judgment of Jerusalem being a token

Mark 1:6-8 — Baptist, an account which is shorter than Matthew's, omitting such important details as John's proclamation of the kingdom of heaven being near at hand and the insistence of the Pharisees that fleshly descent from Abraham was all they needed (Matt, 3:1-12). John's prophecy of the rejection of national Israel was also omitted. The clothing and diet of John were cited as fulfilling the typical characteristics of Elijah. There is no need to understand "locusts and wild honey" otherwise than

Romans 3:9-10 — under sin; and as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. Are we better then they … is a reference to any supposed Jewish superiority over the Gentiles. Paul had already identified himself, for the purpose of those arguments (Romans 3:7), with the Jews; and that identification is continued here in the words, answer is taken from the Old Testament, from which Paul quotes the sense, but not always the exact words, of a number of passages, the first being Psalms 14:1 f and Psalms 53:1

1 Corinthians 4:16 — I beseech you therefore, be ye imitators of me. Paul never meant this in any absolute sense but in the sense of "Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). See also Ephesians 5:1, Philippians 3:17, 2 Thessalonians 3:9 and 1 Thessalonians 1:6.

2 Corinthians 3:5 — Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account any thing as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God. See under 2 Corinthians 3:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:3. Although claiming the Corinthians as his epistle, he wished to make it clear that the true author is God, and that to him all of the glory belongs, hence the repetition of this thought here. Back in 2 Corinthians 2:16, Paul's

Galatians 3:24 — So the Law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. This verse should be read with careful attention to Galatians 3:23, where Paul mentioned "the faith that should afterward be revealed." As Howard said, "The coming of faith (Galatians 3:23) here relates to the objective and historical coming of Christ on his redemptive mission and not to the repeated

Galatians 3:7 — Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. The grand argument is that Abraham was justified upon the exhibition of an obedient faith; and persons today who manifest an obedient faith through their acceptance of the gospel message and obedience to it are true children of Abraham "in Christ." See under Galatians 3:16; Galatians 3:27.

Ephesians 3 overview — This whole chapter is a prayer, but between the first and second words of it, Paul made a characteristic digression in which he gave further teaching on the mystery of redemption (Ephesians 3:1-13), concluding this part of the letter with what has been called "the boldest prayer ever prayed" (Ephesians 3:14-21).

1 Timothy 3 overview — This great chapter conveys the apostolic instructions relative to the appointment of elders and deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13), concluding with a marvelous Christological passage regarding the mystery of redemption (1 Timothy 3:14-16).

James 3:3 — either in grammar or spelling, becomes more sacred in their eyes than the Received Text in believers of verbal inspiration. E. G. Punchard, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. VIII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 369. It is high time that this kind of monkey business on the part of translators was rejected out of hand. Gerhard Maier also decried the critical bias in preferring the more difficult reading thus: The more difficult reading ("lectio Difficilior"),

1 Peter 3:17 — certainty of Christian suffering; for suffering is a basic component of life on earth. "If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him" (Romans 8:17). However, there is a more specific suffering in view here. "Suffer," as in 1 Peter 3:14; 1 Peter 3:18, here means "suffering death." As Mason saw it: "Peter was thinking of the legal process of 1 Peter 3:15-16, coming to a verdict of guilty. He was himself daily expecting such a death." A. J. Mason, op. cit., p.

2 Peter 3:1 — This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them, I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; (2 Peter 3:1) Beloved … This word is somewhat of a keynote in this chapter, occurring here, and in 2 Peter 3:2; 2 Peter 3:14-15; 2 Peter 3:17. It contrasts with the vehement pronouncements against the false teachers and mockers. The second epistle that

2 Peter 3:12 — way, can speed up God's plans." David F. Payne, op. cit., p. 605. Such an understanding does not commend itself to all commentators; but there is no good reason for rejecting it. Peter implied the same thing. No! He said the same thing in Acts 3:19-21. For an elaboration of this, see in my Commentary on Acts, pp. 75,76. J. W. McGarvey said: A certain amount of work in the saving of men was to be accomplished before his coming. This is indicated by the qualifying remark, "whom the heavens

Revelation 13:9 — If any man hath an ear, let him hear. The contemporary equivalent of this is, Now hear this! It occurs in each of the seven letters (Revelation 2:7; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 3:6; Revelation 3:13; Revelation 3:22) and recalls the familiar expression of Jesus, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 11:15; Mark 4:9). It alerts the reader to the importance of what follows. Robert H. Mounce, op. cit., p. 256. Morris

Revelation 20:12 — 14:17). D.    But there is no such thing as forgiveness in nature. The book of nature does not reveal Christ. II.    The Book of Remembrance. A.    "A book of remembrance was written before him" (Malachi 3:16). B.    "Note it in a book that it may be for the time to come" (Isaiah 30:8-9). C.    "The Lord will bring to light the hidden things" (1 Corinthians 4:5). D.    "Nothing