Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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 ...
• Elisha's preparation of God's instrument of judgment on Israel 8:7-15
  Hazael was the governor of Damascus.50The Gentile King of Aram had more interest in inquiring of Yahweh than Jehoram's predecessor did (v. 8; cf. 1:2). It was customary in the Near East to make a great show of giving gifts. I...
• F. Jehoiakim's Evil Reign 23:36-24:7
  Jehoiakim reigned as a puppet king for 11 years (609-598 B.C.). He was a weak ruler who did not stand up for Judah's interests against her hostile enemies.In 605 B.C. Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of his fathe...
• G. Jehoiachin's Evil Reign 24:8-17
  Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin, whose other names were Jeconiah and Coniah, succeeded him on the throne but only reigned for three months (598-597 B.C.). When Nebuchadnezzar's troops were besieging Jerusalem the Babylonian king p...
• Appendix
  Numbers in Chronicles That Disagree With Their Old Testament Parallels89HigherSameLowerParallel PassageEvaluation of ChroniclesA.1 Chron. 11:11300 slain by Jashobeam, not 8002 Sam. 23:8Scribal errorB.1 Chron. 18:4Hadadezer's ...
• 1. The edict of Cyrus and its consequences ch. 1
  God had warned his people Israel that disobedience to the Mosaic Covenant might result in exile from the Promised Land if that disobedience was wide-spread and prolonged (cf. Lev. 26:14, 33; Deut. 28:36, 48, 63). This is real...
• 2. Esther's selection 2:5-11
  Evidently it was Kish, Mordecai's great-grandfather, who went into captivity with Jehoiachin (vv. 5-6).38This means Mordecai and Esther were probably descendants of the leading citizens of Jerusalem who went into exile in 597...
• 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...
• Historical Background
  The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21-25 and 2 Chronicles 33-36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.King Manas...
• A lament about Yahweh's ravaged inheritance 12:7-13
  Most scholars believe this lament dates from the time when Jehoiakim revolted against Babylon after three years of submission (about 602 B.C.; cf. 2 Kings 24:1-2).225"The second part of God's reply is remarkable, saying in ef...
• The linen waistband 13:1-11
  This is the first of several symbolic acts that Jeremiah performed to communicate divine messages (cf. 16:1-4; 18:1-12; 19:1-2, 10-11; 27:1-28:17; 32:1-15; 43:8-13; 51:59-64). Other prophets did the same thing (cf. Isa. 20:2-...
• A lament over the king and the queen mother 13:18-19
  13:18 Jeremiah was to tell the king and the queen mother of Judah to humble themselves because the Lord had removed their authority or would remove it soon. Pride was a besetting sin of royalty. The individuals in view are pr...
• A lament during a national defeat 14:17-15:4
  The national defeat pictured in this lament was a serious one. It may have been the first Babylonian invasion of Judah in 597 B.C., which resulted in severe destruction and exile for some Judeans.14:17 Jeremiah was to tell th...
• A lament concerning Jerusalem's terrible fate 15:5-9
  Invasion and war had already overtaken Jerusalem when Jeremiah wrote this lament, but more destruction was to come (v. 9).15:5 The Lord said that no one would have pity on Jerusalem when she had experienced His judgment (cf. ...
• A prophecy about King Jehoiakim 22:13-19
  "Jehoiakim was condemned by Jeremiah more severely than any other king. He seems to have been a typical Oriental despot who rejected Josiah's reforms."30722:13-14 Jeremiah called down woe on the person who advanced his own in...
• Prophecies about King Jehoiachin (Coniah) 22:24-30
  This section contains two prophecies about this king (vv. 24-27 and 28-30) The historical setting is the three-month reign of eighteen year-old Jehoiachin in 598-597 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 24:8-17). Coniah was a shortened form of ...
• The two baskets of figs ch. 24
  24:1 This prophetic message came to Jeremiah after Nebuchadnezzar had taken King Jehoiachin (Coniah, Jeconiah, cf. 22:24) and many of the other royal counselors, craftsmen, and smiths (or artisans) captive to Babylon in 597 B...
• 1. Conflict with the people ch. 26
  This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
• The announcement of Zedekiah's fate 34:1-7
  "The Book of Consolation has ended, and 34:1 confronts its readers with the full force of the invading imperial army. The destruction of Jerusalem and the remainder of Judah seems inevitable (v 3) because the LORD has made Ne...
• The meeting with the Rechabites 35:1-11
  35:1 This oracle came to Jeremiah during King Jehoiakim's reign (609-598 B.C.) after the Babylonians had begun to invade Judah (v. 11). Second Kings 24:1-2 reads, "In his [Jehoiakim's] days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came...
• The historical situation 37:1-5
  37:1 Nebuchadnezzar, sovereign over Judah since Jehoiakim's unsuccessful rebellion against him in 598 B.C., set up Zedekiah, Jehoiakim's brother, as Judah's king in 597 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 24:17). Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin (C...
• C. The oracle against Moab ch. 48
  This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
• I. The oracle against Babylon chs. 50-51
  Jeremiah wrote almost as much about Babylon's future as he did about the futures of all the other nations in his other oracles combined. The length of this oracle reflects the great importance of Babylon in his ministry as we...
• A. An observer's sorrow over Jerusalem's condition 1:1-11
  Jeremiah first viewed Jerusalem's destruction as an outsider looking in. Verses 1-7 describe the extent of the desolation and verses 8-11 its cause.1:1 Jeremiah bewailed the abandoned city of Jerusalem that had once been so g...
• Historical Background
  Since Ezekiel began ministering in 593 B.C. when he was 30 years old, he would have been born about 623 B.C and would have grown up in Judah during King Josiah's reforms (622-609 B.C.). The date of Jeremiah's birth was about ...
• The depravity of Jerusalem 16:44-59
  16:44-47 Other people would quote the proverb, "Like mother, like daughter,"in regard to Jerusalem. She was like her Hittite "mother"who was also idolatrous and selfish. And she was like her older (larger) sister, Samaria, an...
• The interpretation of the riddle 17:11-21
  17:11-12 Ezekiel was now to tell his rebellious hearers what this story represented.250The first eagle stood for the king of Babylon (cf. Jer. 48:40; 49:22; Dan. 7:4). His invasion of Jerusalem (the specific identity of the L...
• 10. A lament for the kings of Israel ch. 19
  This prophecy shows that there were no more rulers left in Judah who could restore the nation to its former glory. Evidently the exiles hoped that some Davidic descendant would prove successful in overcoming the Babylonians a...
• Covenant unfaithfulness 22:1-16
  22:1-2 Another message came from the Lord instructing Ezekiel to remind the residents of the bloody city of Jerusalem about all their abominations (cf. 20:4). A list of specific sins was necessary for him to pronounce judgmen...
• Jerusalem's judgment for prostitution 23:22-35
  Four messages announce God's judgment on Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness (vv. 22-27, 28-31, 32-34, 35).23:22-24 Because of her behavior the Lord promised to turn Oholibah's soldier-lovers against her, even the Babylonians, C...
• 1. Judgment on Ammon 25:1-7
  Ezekiel previously recorded an oracle against Ammon (21:28-32). Its placement there was evidently due to the presence of "sword of the Lord"terminology in that oracle, which the other prophecies in that chapter also contain.2...
• 4. Pharaoh's broken arm 30:20-26
  30:20 Ezekiel received this oracle against Egypt in 587 B.C., less than four months after the Lord gave him the first oracle (29:1-16).30:21 Yahweh announced that He had broken Pharaoh's arm. It had not been set in a splint a...
• Background
  In 605 B.C. Prince Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian army of his father Nabopolassar against the allied forces of Assyria and Egypt. He defeated them at Carchemish near the top of the Fertile Crescent. This victory gave Babyl...
• 3. The queen's counsel 5:10-12
  5:10 Normally we would identify the queen as Belshazzar's wife. However, there are a number of reasons to prefer the view that she was really the queen mother or perhaps even the surviving wife of Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar's...
• Date
  Since we do not know who the writer was, other than that his name was Obadiah, it is very difficult to date this book and to determine where it came from."This shortest book in the Old Testament, consisting of only twenty-one...
• 2. The might of Zion 4:9-5:1
  One of the events that would occur before the realization of these great promises of blessing was Israel's exile, but the burden of this pericope is also future restoration.4:9 Micah, speaking for the Lord, addressed the Jews...
• Date
  References in the book help us date it approximately but make it impossible to be precise or dogmatic. The Lord told Habakkuk that He was raising up the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians), the fierce and impetuous people who were al...
• 2. The course of Judah's judgment 1:7-13
  1:7 In view of the inevitability of coming judgment for idolatry, it was appropriate for the Judeans to be quiet before sovereign Yahweh (cf. Hab. 2:20)."This is a call to the people of Judah to cease every manner of oppositi...