Bible Commentaries

Genesis 33:18 — 18. Shalem—that is, "peace"; and the meaning may be that Jacob came into Canaan, arriving safe and sound at the city Shechem—a tribute to Him who had promised such a return (compare Genesis 28:15). But most writers take Shalem as a proper name—a city of Shechem, and the site is marked by one of the little villages about two miles to the northeast. A little farther in the valley below Shechem "he bought a parcel of a field,"

Genesis 7:21 — 21. all flesh died . . . fowl . . . cattle, and . . . creeping thing—It has been a uniform principle in the divine procedure, when judgments were abroad on the earth, to include every thing connected with the sinful objects of His wrath (Genesis 19:25; Exodus 9:6). Besides, now that the human race was reduced to one single family, it was necessary that the beasts should be proportionally diminished, otherwise by their numbers they would have acquired the ascendancy and overmastered

1 Chronicles 1:36 — 36. sons of Eliphaz—the tribe Adites, in the center country of the Saracens, so called from his mother, Adah (Genesis 36:10). Teman—gave rise to the land of Teman, near the head of the Red Sea. Omar—the tribe Beni-Amma, settled at the northern point of Djebel Shera (Mount Seir). Zephi—the tribe Dzaf. Gatam—Katam, inhabited by

Job 17:5 — 5. The Hebrew for "flattery" is "smoothness"; then it came to mean a prey divided by lot, because a smooth stone was used in casting the lots (Deuteronomy 18:8), "a portion" (Genesis 14:24). Therefore translate, "He that delivers up his friend as a prey (which the conduct of my friends implies that they would do), even the eyes," c. [NOYES] (Job 11:20). Job says this as to the sinner's children, retorting upon their reproach

Job 18:13 — from Lamentations 4:10- : is nominative to "devour." strength—rather, "members" (literally, the "branches" of a tree). the first-born of death—a personification full of poetical horror. The first-born son held the chief place (Genesis 49:3); so here the chiefest (most deadly) disease that death has ever engendered (Isaiah 14:30; "first-born of the poor"—the poorest). The Arabs call fever, "daughter of death."

Job 33:4 — 4. The Spirit of God hath made me—as He did thee: latter clause of :- (Genesis 2:7). Therefore thou needest not fear me, as thou wouldest God (Job 33:7; Job 9:34). On the other hand, "the breath of the Almighty hath inspired me" (as Job 32:8); not as English Version, "given me life"; therefore "I am according to thy

Psalms 123:2 — (1) to His directing hand, to appoint them their work; (2) to His supplying hand ( :-), to give them their portion in due season; (3) to His protecting hand, to right them when wronged; (4) to His correcting hand (Isaiah 9:13; 1 Peter 5:6; compare Genesis 16:6); (5) to His rewarding hand.

Leviticus 12:2 — 2. If a woman, c.—The mother of a boy was ceremonially unclean for a week, at the end of which the child was circumcised (Genesis 17:12 Romans 4:11-13); the mother of a girl for two weeks (Leviticus 12:5) —a stigma on the sex (1 Timothy 2:14; 1 Timothy 2:15) for sin, which was removed by Christ; everyone who came near her during that time contracted a similar

Isaiah 10:7 — only thinking of his own schemes, while God is overruling them to His purposes. think—intend. Sinners' plans are no less culpable, though they by them unconsciously fulfil God's designs (Psalms 76:10; Micah 4:12). So Joseph's brethren (Genesis 50:20; Proverbs 16:4). The sinner's motive, not the result (which depends on God), will be the test in judgment. heart to destroy . . . not a few—Sennacherib's ambition was not confined to Judea. His plan was also to conquer Egypt

Isaiah 36:16 — of your lands till my return from Egypt, when I will lead you away to a land fruitful as your own. Rab-shakeh tries to soften, in the eyes of the Jews, the well-known Assyrian policy of weakening the vanquished by deporting them to other lands (Genesis 47:21; 2 Kings 17:6).

Jeremiah 49:8 — Idumea. Others refer it to the Arab custom of retiring into the depth of the desert when avoiding an offended foe (Jeremiah 49:30). Dedan — a tribe bordering on and made subject by Idumea; descended from Jokshan, son of Abraham and Keturah (Genesis 25:1-3). Esau — The naming of Edom‘s progenitor, reprobated by God, recalls the remembrance of the old curse on him for his profanity, both his sin and its punishment being perpetuated in his descendants (Hebrews 12:16, Hebrews

Jeremiah 6:15 — 15. ROSENMULLER translates, "They ought to have been ashamed, because . . . but," c. the Hebrew verb often expressing, not the action, but the duty to perform it (Genesis 20:9; Malachi 2:7). MAURER translates, "They shall be put to shame, for they commit abomination; nay (the prophet correcting himself), there is no shame in them" (Jeremiah 3:3; Jeremiah 8:12; Ezekiel 3:7; Zephaniah 3:5). them that fall—They shall

Hosea 6:8 — city — probably Ramoth-gilead, metropolis of the hilly region beyond Jordan, south of the Jabbok, known as “Gilead” (1 Kings 4:13; compare Genesis 31:21-25). work iniquity — (Hosea 12:11). polluted with blood — “marked with blood-traces” [Maurer]. Referring to Gilead‘s complicity in the regicidal conspiracy of Pekah against Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:25).

Hosea 9:4 — Jeremiah 16:7; Ezekiel 24:17). their bread for their soul — their offering for the expiation of their soul [Calvin], (Leviticus 17:11). Rather, “their bread for their sustenance (‹soul‘ being often used for the animal life, Genesis 14:21, Margin) shall not come into the Lord‘s house”; it shall only subserve their own uses, not My worship.

Joel 1:7 — that is, Jehovah‘s (Joel 1:6). As to the vine-abounding nature of ancient Palestine, see Numbers 13:23, Numbers 13:24. cast it away — down to the ground. branches  …  white — both from the bark being stripped off (Genesis 30:37), and from the branches drying up through the trunk, both bark and wood being eaten up below by the locusts.

Nahum 2:8 — But — rather, “Though” [G. V. Smith]. of old — rather, “from the days that she hath been”; from the earliest period of her existence. Alluding to Nineveh‘s antiquity (Genesis 10:11). “Though Nineveh has been of old defended by water surrounding her, yet her inhabitants shall flee away.” Grotius, less probably (compare Nahum 3:8-12), interprets, the “waters” of her numerous population (Isaiah

Zechariah 5:11 — house in  …  Shinar — Babylonia (Genesis 10:10), the capital of the God-opposed world kingdoms, and so representing in general the seat of irreligion. As the “building of houses” in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:5, Jeremiah 29:28) by the Jews themselves expressed their long exile

Matthew 23:36 — Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation — As it was only in the last generation of them that “the iniquity of the Amorites was full” (Genesis 15:16), and then the abominations of ages were at once completely and awfully avenged, so the iniquity of Israel was allowed to accumulate from age to age till in that generation it came to the full, and the whole collected vengeance of heaven

John 20:15 — him, and I will take him away — Wilt thou, dear fragile woman? But it is the language of sublime affection, that thinks itself fit for anything if once in possession of its Object. It is enough. Like Joseph, He can no longer restrain Himself (Genesis 45:1).

Galatians 3:6 — The answer to the question in Galatians 3:5 is here taken for granted, It was by the hearing of faith: following this up, he says, “Even as Abraham believed,” etc. (Genesis 15:4-6; Romans 4:3). God supplies unto you the Spirit as the result of faith, not works, just as Abraham obtained justification by faith, not by works (Galatians 3:6, Galatians 3:8, Galatians 3:16; Galatians 4:22, Galatians 4:26, Galatians 4:28).