Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 14. The sacrifice of Isaac 22:1-19
  In obedience to God's command Abraham took his promised heir to Moriah to sacrifice him to the Lord. Because Abraham was willing to slay his uniquely begotten son God restrained him from killing Isaac and promised to bless hi...
• 6. Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's interpretations ch. 41
  Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's two dreams faithfully. This led to God elevating Joseph in the government and demonstrating His sovereign control over economic life in Egypt as He prepared to preserve Israel through the coming f...
• 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...
• 2. Jehoiakim 36:5-8
  Not only did the Babylonians take Jehoiakim captive to Babylon, but they also took some of the glory of the temple and of the God it represented with him."Taking temple objects was common in times such as this, as it represen...
• 2. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-11
  Nehemiah's reaction to this bad news was admirable. He made it a subject of serious prolonged prayer (vv. 4, 11; 2:1). Daniel had been another high-ranking Jewish official in the Persian government, and he too was a man of pr...
• 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...
• Conclusion
  The personal relationship that Esther and Mordecai had with Yahweh is a very interesting subject of study. The answer to this puzzle explains why God's name does not appear in the book and what God's purpose was in preserving...
• 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...
• Jeremiah's warning against making a coalition to resist Nebuchadnezzar ch. 27
  This chapter contains three parts: Jeremiah's warning to the foreign messengers (vv. 1-11), his appeal to King Zedekiah (vv. 12-15), and his appeal to the priests and people of Jerusalem (vv. 16-22).27:1 Jeremiah received a m...
• Jeremiah's rescue from the cistern 38:7-13
  38:7-8 A courtier in the palace, Ebed-melech (lit. "servant of the king"), heard about Jeremiah's plight. He happened to be an Ethiopian or Cushite (from modern-day southern Egypt, northeastern Sudan, and northern Ethiopia).4...
• 5. The need of personal righteousness for deliverance 14:12-23
  This prophecy continues the emphasis on judgment from the previous one and stresses the irrevocability of Jerusalem's destruction (cf. Jer. 7:16; 15:1-4).14:12-14 The Lord spoke to Ezekiel again. He revealed that Jerusalem's ...
• 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...
• Scope
  Daniel, the main character from whom this book gets its name, was probably only a teenager when he arrived in Babylon in 605 B.C. The Hebrew words used to describe him, the internal evidence of chapter 1, and the length of hi...
• Theology
  Theologically the book stresses the sovereignty of God."The absolute sovereignty and transcendence of God above all angels and men literally permeates the book."11"The theme running through the whole book is that the fortunes...
• Message22
  The Book of Daniel contains many unique and significant emphases. I would like to point out some of these first before we organize them into an explanation of what God has given us this book to reveal.Theologically Daniel str...
• Outline
  I. The character of Daniel ch. 1A. Historical background 1:1-2B. Nebuchadnezzar's training program for promising youths 1:3-7C. Daniel's resolve to please Yahweh 1:8-13D. The success of the test 1:14-16E. God's blessing of Da...
• I. The character of Daniel Ch. 1
  Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the whole book. It relates early events in the lives of Daniel and his three Hebrew contemporaries, but the emphasis is on Daniel's decisions. These choices formed the basis for his chara...
• A. Historical background 1:1-2
  1:1 The book opens with a synopsis of the first Jewish deportation in 605 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 21:35; 2 Chron 28:2-3).25Daniel and his three friends were part of the nobles and royal families taken from Jerusalem as captives the...
• B. Nebuchadnezzar's training program for promising youths 1:3-7
  1:3-5 Nebuchadnezzar's enlightened policy was to employ the best minds in his kingdom in government service regardless of their national or ethnic origin. We do not know how many other Jews and Gentiles were the classmates of...
• C. Daniel's resolve to please Yahweh 1:8-13
  1:8 Evidently Daniel took the initiative with this decision, and his three friends followed his lead. His decision was not to remain morally pure but to remain ceremonially pure. Ceremonial purity was something that concerned...
• E. God's blessing of Daniel and his friends 1:17-21
  1:17 In addition to favor with their overseers, God gave Daniel and his three friends the ability to master the subjects they studied and wisdom in these matters (cf. James 1:5). They may have thought that Nebuchadnezzar had ...
• 1. The king's dream 2:1-3
  2:1 Daniel opened this new section of his book with another chronological reference (cf. 1:1, 21). This indicates that his interest in this book was in the progress of events and their relationship to one another. As the book...
• 2. The failure of the king's wise men 2:4-13
  2:4 The Chaldeans took the lead in replying to the king. They responded in the Aramaic language that was widely used in business and in government throughout the empire. This reference to Aramaic introduces the section of the...
• 3. Daniel's request for time 2:14-16
  2:14-15 When Daniel learned of his sentence, he responded with customary discretion and discernment (cf. 1:8, 12), not with objections (cf. vv. 10-11) or anger (cf. v. 12). Perhaps the king's decision in itself did not surpri...
• 8. The consequences of Daniel's interpretation 2:46-49
  2:46-47 Clearly Daniel had done what everyone considered humanly impossible. He had told the king the dream that Nebuchadnezzar alone knew, and had perhaps even forgotten, and he had given an interpretation of the dream that ...
• C. Nebuchadnezzar's pride and humbling ch. 4
  We have seen that in the first three chapters of Daniel King Nebuchadnezzar came to an increasing appreciation of the greatness of Yahweh. In this chapter he learned that Yahweh is sovereign over kings as well as kingdoms (cf...
• D. Belshazzar's feast ch. 5
  Belshazzar came to power some nine years after Nebuchadnezzar had died.165The events of this chapter therefore occurred about 66 years after those in chapter 1 and about 36 years after those in chapter 4.166Daniel would now h...
• 1. Belshazzar's dishonoring of Yahweh 5:1-4
  5:1 Older critical scholars have claimed that Belshazzar was never a king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.167However modern discoveries have shown that Belshazzar acted as king during his father's frequent and prolonged absences...
• 2. God's revelation to Belshazzar 5:5-9
  5:5 Like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar received an omen from God. In Nebuchadnezzar's case it was two dreams (chs. 1; 4). In Belshazzar's it was a hand writing on a wall. The night of revelry became a night of revelation.176"In ...
• 3. Daniel's faithfulness and Darius' predicament 6:10-15
  6:10 The new decree did not deter Daniel from continuing to pray for the welfare of the city where God had sent them into exile and for the Jews' return from exile. That this was the subject of his praying, among other things...
• 6. Darius' decree and praise of Yahweh 6:25-28
  6:25-27 This story ends as previous ones in the book did with the king praising and promoting Yahweh. This expression of praise, however, surpasses the others (cf. 3:28-29; 4:3, 34-35, 37). Not only did Darius personally prai...
• 4. The interpretation of the four beasts 7:15-18
  7:15-16 Even though Daniel understood all kinds of visions and dreams (1:17), much of what he had just seen baffled and alarmed him (cf. 7:28). He now saw himself participating in the events of his vision. He evidently addres...
• III. Israel in relation to the Gentiles: God's program for Israel chs. 8--12
  Two things signal the beginning of a new section in the book here. These two things are a return to the Hebrew language in the original text (cf. 1:1-2:3) and an emphasis on the nation Israel. Evidently Daniel wrote the remai...
• The background of the vision 10:1
  The third year of Cyrus' rule as king over Babylon was 536 B.C.381Cyrus had issued his decree allowing the Jews to return to their land and to rebuild their temple in 538 B.C. Some of them had departed that same year under Ze...
• Daniel's personal preparations 10:2-3
  The vision in chapter 9 came after Daniel had been praying and fasting (9:3). The vision that follows also came to him after he had been mourning, fasting, and undoubtedly praying for three weeks (cf. 1:11-13). Obviously thes...
• 1. The prophecy about Bethlehem 2:1-12
  2:1-2 When did the Magi visit Jesus in Bethlehem?74There are several factors that point to a time about a year after Jesus' birth. First, Matthew described Jesus as a "child"(Gr. paidion, v. 11), not an "infant"(Gr. brephos, ...
• 3. Exhortation 2:10a
  These persecuted Christians did not need to fear their adversaries or death since they would live forever with Jesus Christ. "Behold"signals an oracular declaration (cf. 2:22; 3:8, 9, 20).96The devil would incite their foes t...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Youthful Confessors
  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9....