Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The birth of Benjamin, death of Rachel, and sin of Reuben 35:16-29
  Jacob was not disobedient to God in leaving Bethel. God's instructions to go to Bethel and "live there"(v. 1) were evidently directions to dwell there while he fulfilled his vow. God did not command permanent residence there....
• The bronze snake 21:4-9
  The Israelites next traveled to the southeast around the southern border of Edom. They took "the way of the Red Sea"(v. 4), a road to the town of Elath that stood at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqabah.182This route took t...
• Date and Writer
  Moses evidently wrote this book on the plains of Moab shortly before his death, which occurred about 1406 B.C.The Mosaic authorship of this book is quite easy to establish. The book claims to be the words of Moses (1:5, 9; 5:...
• Scope
  The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
• Outline
  I. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-11A. Solomon's succession to David's throne 1:1-2:121. David's declining health 1:1-42. Adonijah's attempt to seize the throne 1:5-533. David's charge to Solomon 2:1-94. David's death 2:10-12B. ...
• Outline
  (Continued from notes on 1 Kings)3. Ahaziah's evil reign in Israel -1 Kings 22:51-2 Kings 1:184. Jehoram's evil reign in Israel 2:1-8:155. Jehoram's evil reign in Judah 8:16-246. Ahaziah's evil reign in Judah 8:25-9:29C. The ...
• 1. Hezekiah's goodness 18:1-12
  Hezekiah began reigning as his father Ahaz's vice-regent in 729 B.C. and ruled as such for 14 years. In 715 B.C. he began his sole rule over Judah that lasted until 697 B.C. (18 years). He then reigned with his son Manasseh w...
• 2. Sennacherib's challenge to Hezekiah 18:13-37
  Samaria's conqueror, Shalmaneser V, died in 722 B.C. shortly after his conquest. His successor, Sargon II (722-705 B.C.), carried out the deportation of the Israelites. The king who followed him was Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.,...
• 2. Josiah's reforms 22:3-23:27
  Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. "An Interpretation of the Babylonian Exile: A Study of 2 Kings 20, Isaiah 38-39."Scottish Journal of Theology27:3:(August 1974):329-52.Albright, William F. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pel...
• 1. The cleansing and rededication of the temple ch. 29
  Ahaz had closed the temple and had set up other centers of worship throughout the land (28:24-25). Hezekiah reopened the temple and cleansed it in preparation for reusing it (vv. 3, 5). Whereas the writer of Kings described H...
• 4. The invasion by Sennacherib 32:1-23
  In a few details this account differs from the one in 2 Kings 18-20 and Isaiah 36-37. It was after Hezekiah's acts of faithfulness that God tested his trust (v. 1). Many of Judah's other good kings had followed God faithfully...
• Opposition during Artaxerxes' reign 4:7-23
  Artaxerxes was the successor of Ahasuerus (Xerxes) who ruled the Persian Empire from 464 to 424 B.C.73Clearly the incident reported in these verses took place long after the temple was complete. It really involved the attempt...
• Ezra's background 7:1-10
  "These things"(v. 1) refers to the events of the first return that the writer described in chapters 1-6.Ezra's genealogy (vv. 1-5) shows that he was a man of importance whom his fellow Jews would have respected. He was a desc...
• A. The Renewal of the Mosaic Covenant chs. 8-10
  "The reading of Scripture (Neh 8) and the act of prayer (Neh 9) followed by community commitment (Neh 10) is a model for worshiping communities."62This was another instance in Israel's history of a covenant renewal accompanyi...
• Date and Writers
  The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them.1However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers.2This is the only really reliable information we have as ...
• The woe against destroyers of God's people ch. 33
  There is general correspondence between this sixth "woe"and the third one (29:15-24), but this one deals more with application and the third one more with principles. It is the most eschatological of the "woes,"though it cont...
• C. The tests of Israel's trust chs. 36-39
  Chapters 36-39 conclude the section of the book dealing with the issue of trust by giving historical proof that Yahweh will protect those who trust in Him. In these chapters, King Hezekiah represents the people of Judah.344Th...
• An ultimatum 36:1-20
  36:1 The fourteenth year of Hezekiah was 701 B.C.350On an Assyrian record, Sennacherib claimed to have taken 46 cities of Judah during this campaign (cf. 2 Chron. 32:1).351"He went from the north along the coast defeating (am...
• The Babylonian embassy ch. 39
  39:1 The phrase "At that time"(cf. 38:1) anticipates a specially significant event and ties it to what preceded in chapter 38. As this verse explains, the events that follow happened after Hezekiah had recovered from his illn...
• Jeremiah's Temple Sermon 7:1-15
  This message demonstrates a structure that is quite typical of many others in the Book of Jeremiah (cf. 11:1-17; 17:19-27; 34:8-22). First there is an explanation of Yahweh's will (word, law; vv. 1-7), then a description of I...
• IV. Conclusion ch. 52
  This chapter has many similarities to 2 Kings 24:18-25:30 with the exception of 25:22-26, the story of Gedaliah's assassination (cf. chs. 40-41). This chapter forms a fitting conclusion to the book since it records the fulfil...
• 4. Judgment on Philistia 25:15-17
  25:15-16 The Philistines to Judah's west had also scorned the Israelites and had sought to destroy them (cf. Judg. 13-16; 1 Sam. 4; 13; 31; 2 Sam. 5; 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chron. 21:16-17; 28:18). Therefore the Lord would stretch o...
• Historical Background
  Hosea began ministering near the end of an era of great material prosperity and military success for both Israel and Judah (cf. 2 Kings 14:25-28; 2 Chron. 26:2, 6-15). In the first half of the eighth-century B.C. Assyrian inf...
• Making altars, palaces, and fortified cities 8:11-14
  8:11 In rebellion against Yahweh's covenant the Israelites had also built many altars. They built them to offer many sin offerings, but since God had not authorized these altars they became places for sinning rather than plac...
• 1. Micah's personal response 1:8-9
  1:8 In view of this coming judgment, Micah said he felt compelled to lament and wail. He would express his sorrow by going barefoot and naked, a common way of expressing it in his culture (cf. 2 Sam. 15:30; Isa. 20:2; 22:12; ...
• 2. Micah's call for the people's response 1:10-16
  The prophet used several clever wordplays in this poem to describe the desolation that God would bring on Judah. He selected towns and villages near his own hometown in Judah's Shephelah whose names were similar to the coming...
• 6. The purification of Zion 5:10-15
  5:10-11 In that future eschatological day the Lord also promised to remove the vain sources of security that had always tempted the Israelites represented by horses, chariots, cities, and fortifications (cf. Deut. 17:16).5:12...
• A. The anger and goodness of Yahweh 1:2-8
  "The opening verses of Nahum form a prologue dominated by the revelation of God's eternal power and divine nature in creation (cf. Rom 1:20). As in Romans 1:18-32, this revelation is characterized preeminently by God's justic...
• 1. The consumption of Nineveh 1:9-11
  1:9 Yahweh will frustrate and destroy all attempts to thwart His will. Even though they may appear to succeed at first, they will not endure. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had besieged Jerusalem once (1 Kings 18), but the...
• 2. The second description of Nineveh's fall 2:8-13
  The second description of Nineveh's fall is more philosophical than the first one and ends with a statement by Yahweh that gives the reason for its fall (v. 13).2:8 Nineveh had been as placid as the waters around the city for...
• Title and Writer
  The name of the writer is the title of this book."Malachi"means "my messenger."We know nothing of the prophet's parentage, ancestral or tribal roots, geographical origin, or other vocation. All we know is that he received and...
• 1. The interview with the Samaritan woman 4:1-26
  There are several connections between this section and the preceding ones that provide continuity. One is the continuation of water as a symbol (cf. 2:6; 3:5; 4:10-15). Another is the continuation of conversation in which Jes...