Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• H. The oracle against Elam 49:34-39
  Elam was the land of the Elamites who lived in Mesopotamia somewhat east of the Babylonians (in modern southwest Iran). We know little about the history of the Elamites, and their inclusion in a collection of judgments agains...
• 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...
• Style
  One stylistic characteristic is Ezekiel's autobiographical perspective. Almost all of his oracles (except 1:2-3; 24:24) appear in the first person giving the impression that they are memoirs of a true prophet of Yahweh. Howev...
• The expanse 1:22-28
  1:22 Ezekiel also saw something like a clear expanse (Heb. raqia', firmament, Gen. 1:6; Ps. 19:1; 150:1; Dan. 12:3) of ice (Heb. qerah, crystal) over the heads of these four living creatures. Rather than being empty space thi...
• 1. The recipients of Ezekiel's ministry 2:1-5
  2:1 Yahweh instructed Ezekiel to stand on his feet because the Lord wanted to speak with him."Not paralysis before him is desired by God, but reasonable service. . . . It is man erect, man in his manhood, with whom God will h...
• The enemy of restored Israel 38:1-9
  38:1-2 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chron. 5:4; Rev. 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Gen. 10:2; Rev. 20:8).The identity o...
• Writer
  There is little doubt among conservative scholars that Daniel himself wrote this book under the Holy Spirit's guidance. Probably he did so late in his life, which could have been about 530 B.C. or a few years later. Several P...
• 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...
• Genre
  Daniel is a book of prophecy."Among the great prophetic books of Scripture, none provides a more comprehensive and chronological prophetic view of the broad movement of history than the book of Daniel. Of the three prophetic ...
• 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...
• 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 ...
• 7. The interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream 2:36-45
  2:36 Daniel carefully distinguished the dream (vv. 31-35) from its interpretation (vv. 36-45) for the sake of clarity. His reference to "we"telling the interpretation is probably an editorial plural. This form of speech allow...
• F. Daniel's vision of future world history ch. 7
  "As interpreted by conservative expositors, the vision of Daniel [in chapter 7] provides the most comprehensive and detailed prophecy of future events to be found anywhere in the Old Testament."235"The vision's setting in the...
• 1. The four beasts 7:1-8
  7:1 We have already read of two dreams that Nebuchadnezzar had (2:1; 4:5). Now God gave one to Daniel. It too was a vision from God that came to Daniel as he slept."In referring to the experience as a dream' (sing.) Daniel wa...
• 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...
• A. Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat ch. 8
  Chapter 7 recorded the general history of "the times of the Gentiles,"from the time Nebuchadnezzar took the Jews into captivity until the Son of Man's return to the earth. Chapter 8 reveals more detail about the second (Persi...
• 2. The ram 8:2-4
  8:2 Evidently Daniel was in Babylon when he had this vision, but what he saw, including himself, was in Susa (Shushan, AV; cf. Ezek. 8:3; 40:1).293Daniel probably knew where he was in his vision because he had visited Susa. I...
• 3. The goat 8:5-8
  8:5 The text also identifies the male goat--goats are relatives of sheep--in this vision as representing Greece (v. 21). History has confirmed the identification. Alexander the Great is clearly the conspicuous horn. Normally ...
• 4. The little horn on the goat 8:9-14
  8:9 Daniel next saw a rather small horn (king, v. 23) grow out of one of the four horns (kingdoms, v. 22) that had replaced the single horn (the first king, v. 21) on the goat (Greece, v. 21). This horn is quite clearly diffe...
• 5. The interpretation of this vision 8:15-26
  8:15-16 As in the previous vision (7:16), Daniel needed help understanding what he had seen. He saw someone who looked like a man standing before him. Evidently this was an angel. Daniel also heard a voice that he could under...
• 6. The result of this vision 8:27
  As we sometimes feel exhausted after a night's sleep in which we have been very active in a dream, so Daniel felt worn out by what he had seen in his vision. This experience so drained him of energy that he was sick for sever...
• B. Daniel's vision of the 70 sevens ch. 9
  This chapter records a third vision that Daniel received (cf. chs. 7, 8). The vision itself occupies only a small part of this chapter (vv. 24-27), but the verses that precede it prepare for it and connect with it."In many re...
• 1. Jeremiah's prophecy of Jerusalem's restoration and Daniel's response 9:1-3
  9:1 What Daniel did and saw in this chapter dates from 538 B.C., the first year of Darius the Mede's (Cyrus') rule as king over the former Neo-Babylonian Empire (cf. Ezra 1:1).347This means that Belshazzar's feast (ch. 5) occ...
• 4. God's response to Daniel's prayer 9:20-23
  God began responding to Daniel's prayer as soon as he began praying (cf. v. 19; Luke 11:10-13). Clearly the prayer recorded in the preceding verses was only a summary of what the prophet prayed since he prayed long and hard (...
• 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 vision of the man by the Tigris river 10:4-9
  10:4 Daniel had gone to the Tigris (Hiddekel, AV) River perhaps to pray for the exiles who had returned, and he had probably gone there with other godly Jews. Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread fell on the fourteenth ...
• The subject of the revelation 10:10-14
  10:10-11 Evidently the "man"who touched Daniel and who proceeded to speak to him was the same one the prophet saw in the vision (vv. 5-6). The angel described Daniel as a man of high esteem (cf. 9:23; 10:19). We know that Dan...
• Daniel's continuing weakness 10:15-17
  10:15 Apparently the angel's explanation about the angelic conflict was something about which Daniel had known nothing. His only reaction to this information, on top of the vision that he had just seen, was to bow his head an...
• The angel's explanation of his activity 10:20-11:1
  10:20 The angel asked if Daniel knew why he had come to him. He apparently did this to focus the prophet's attention on the vision to follow anew since Daniel was quite weak.The angel informed Daniel that he needed to return ...
• Four future Persian kings 11:2
  This revelation begins at the same place as the vision of the ram and the goat in chapter 8. It begins with the second kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's image (ch. 2) and with the second of the four beasts (ch. 7), namely, Medo-Per...
• The rise and fall of Alexander the Great 11:3-4
  11:3 The mighty king who arose and did as he pleased proved to be Alexander the Great (cf. 2:32, 39b; 7:6; 8:5-8, 21). He was, of course, Greek. His invasion of the Persian Empire was in large part retaliation for Xerxes' att...
• The great persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes 11:21-35
  God gave more information about the following individual than He did about all the preceding ones combined. The reason is his devastating influence on the Jews. During his tenure as king Syria was in decline and Rome gained p...
• The coming ruler 11:36-39
  11:36 "Then"signals a leap in time to the distant future.The predicted king will have the power to do as he pleases; apparently he will not be subject to a higher human authority (cf. 7:23; Rev. 13:1-10; 17:12). He will exalt...
• The attack against the ruler 11:40-45
  11:40 Finally the very end time will arrive (cf. vv. 27, 35; 12:4, 9). Then this king will be the focus of attack by the king of the South (cf. vv. 42-43), a power south of Palestine, and the king of the North, a force to its...
• The end of the vision 12:4
  In conclusion the angel instructed Daniel to close the record of this revelation. In the ancient Near East, people wrote official documents and then, after making a copy for reference, deposited the original in a safe place. ...
• Bibliography
  Albright, William F. From Stone Age to Christianity. 2nd ed. New York: Doubleday Press, Anchor Books, 1957.Aalders, G. C. Daniel. Koorte Verklaring servies. The Netherlands: Kampen, 1965.Albrektson, Bertil. History and the Go...
• B. The four horns and the four smiths 1:18-21
  The second vision builds on the concept of comfort promised in the first vision (vv. 13, 17). Here we learn how God will execute His anger against the nations that excessively oppressed His people. The nations will meet with ...
• Jesus' deliverance of a demoniac in Gadara 8:28-34 (cf. Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39)
  The central theme of this incident is Jesus' authority over evil spirits.8:28 Gadara was the regional capital of the Decapolis area that lay southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Its population was strongly Gentile. This may accou...
• 4. The abomination of desolation 24:15-22 (cf. Mark 13:14-20)
  Having given a general description of conditions preceding His return and the end of the present age, Jesus next described one particular event that would be the greatest sign of all.24:15 "Therefore"or "So"(Gr. oun) ties thi...
• 2. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-23
  1:8-9 Zechariah was serving God faithfully by discharging some temple function as a member of his priestly division. There were so many priests then that the great privilege of offering incense on the golden incense altar in ...
• 1. The preface 1:1-3
  The Apostle John wrote these opening verses to introduce to his readers the main subject dealt with in this book and his purpose for writing it.1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ"is the subject of this book. "Revelation"mean...
• 3. The amplification of the commission 1:17-20
  John's response to this revelation was similar to Daniel's response to the vision God gave him (cf. Dan. 10:7-9). Jesus then proceeded to give John more information about what He wanted him to do.1:17 This revelation of Jesus...
• The worship of the Lamb 5:6-14
  5:6 As with our dreams, John's vision contained some unusual features. John saw the Messiah as a Lamb.229The Lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ at His first advent, meek and submissive to a sacrificial death as our substitute (...
• 1. The appearance of the mighty angel 10:1-4
  10:1 Whereas a few commentators have identified this strong angel as Jesus Christ,341the evidence for his being simply another (Gr. allon, another of the same kind) strong angel seems more convincing (cf. vv. 5-6). Other comm...
• The dragon's hostility toward the male child 12:1-6
  This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...
• A. The testimony of the angel 22:6-7
  22:6 The angel who had been revealing the new creation to John, one of the angels who had the seven bowls (21:9), continued to speak to him.782He assured John that the things prophesied to happen soon (4:1-22:5), which John h...
• B. The testimony of John 22:8-11
  22:8 John resumed addressing the reader, which he had not done since 1:1, 4, and 9. He affirmed the angel's words that the prophecy was genuine. He himself had heard and had seen the things that he had recorded (cf. Dan. 8:15...