Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The first day 1:3-5
  1:3 The world came into being by God's word (cf. Ps. 33:9; Heb. 11:3). Each of the six creative days began with God speaking.55Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was the Creator (John 1:3). The theme of God's word (spoken, writte...
• The creation of man 2:4-17
  2:4 Having related the creation of the universe as we know it, God next inspired Moses to explain for his readers what became of it.129Sin entered it and devastated it."The destiny of the human creation is to live in God's wo...
• II. PATRIARCHAL NARRATIVES 11:27--50:26
  One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
• 2. Abram in Egypt 12:10-20
  The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
• 5. The Abrahamic Covenant ch. 15
  Abram asked God to strengthen his faith. In response Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised. God graciously ob...
• Scope
  Exodus embraces about 431 years of history, from the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt (ca. 1876 B.C.) to the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (ca. 1445 B.C.). However 1:1-7 is a review of Jacob's ...
• Outline
  I. The liberation of Israel 1:1-15:21A. God's preparation of Israel and Moses chs. 1-41. The growth of Jacob's family 1:1-72. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt 1:8-223. Moses' birth and education 2:1-104. Moses' flight from Eg...
• 2. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt 1:8-22
  This pericope serves a double purpose. It introduces the rigorous conditions under which the Egyptians forced the Israelites to live, and it sets the stage for the birth of Moses.1:8-14 The new king (v. 8) was perhaps Ahmose ...
• 6. Moses' call 3:1-4:18
  3:1-12 Horeb is another name for Sinai (v. 1). It probably indicates a range of mountains rather than a particular mountain peak. The writer called it "the mountain of God"because it was the place where God later gave the Mos...
• 7. Moses' return to Egypt 4:19-31
  4:19-23 Moses did not return immediately to Egypt when he arrived back in Midian following his encounter with God at Horeb (v. 19). God spoke to him again in Midian and sent him back to Egypt assuring His servant that everyon...
• 1. Pharaoh's response to Moses and Aaron's initial request 5:1-6:1
  5:1-9 At Moses and Aaron's first audience with Pharaoh they simply presented God's command (v. 1). They did not perform miracles but asked for permission to leave Egypt.The Israelites could have worshipped the gods of Egypt i...
• 3. The attestation of Moses and Aaron's divine mission 7:8-13
  Pharaoh requested that Moses and Aaron perform a miracle to prove their divine authority since they claimed that God had sent them (vv. 9-10)."What we refer to as the ten plagues' were actually judgments designed to authentic...
• 4. The first three plagues 7:14-8:19
  Psalm 78:43 places the scene of the plagues in northern Egypt near Zoan.The plagues were penal; God sent them to punish Pharaoh for his refusal to obey God and to move him to obey Yahweh. They involved natural occurrences rat...
• 6. The seventh, eighth, and ninth plagues 9:13-10:29
  Moses announced the purpose of the following plagues to Pharaoh "in the morning"(cf. 7:15; 8:20). This purpose was twofold: that Pharaoh personally might know God's power (v. 14) and that the whole world might know it (v. 16;...
• 7. The proclamation of the tenth plague ch. 11
  ". . . the slaying of the first-born is both the culmination of the plague narrative and the beginning of the passover tradition. Chapter 11 as a literary unit, therefore, points both backward and forward."187Evidently Moses ...
• 2. The death of the first-born and the release of Israel 12:29-36
  The angel struck the Egyptians at midnight, the symbolic hour of judgment (v. 29; cf. Matt. 25:5-6), when they were asleep ". . . to startle the king and his subjects out of their sleep of sin."216Pharaoh had originally met M...
• 3. The erection and consecration of the tabernacle ch. 40
  The Israelites erected the tabernacle on the first day of the first month, almost exactly one year after the Israelites left Egypt (vv. 2, 17). This was about nine months after Israel had arrived at Mt. Sinai (cf. 19:1).First...
• Bibliography
  Adams, Dwayne H. "The Building Program that Works (Exodus 25:4--36:7 [31:1-11])."Exegesis and Exposition1:1 (Fall 1986):82-92.Aharoni, Yohanan. "Kadesh-Barnea and Mount Sinai."In God's Wilderness: Discoveries in Sinai, pp. 11...
• 6. Victory over the Amorite alliance at Gibeon 10:1-27
  Israel's continuing success led her enemies to exert increasing opposition against the people of God. This chapter records the Canaanites' first aggressive action against the Israelites.10:1-5 The Jebusites lived in and aroun...
• 2. Oppression under the Ammonites 10:8-18
  The Israelites felt the main influence of the Ammonites on the east side of the Jordan River that bordered Ammon (v. 8). However the Ammonites also attacked the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim west of the Jordan (v. 9)...
• A. The deaths of Naomi's husband and sons 1:1-5
  God had promised the Israelites that if they departed from Him He would discipline them by sending famine on the Promised Land (Deut. 28:17, 23, 38-40, 42).16The famine on Israel at this time indicates God's judgment for unfa...
• 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...
• B. Pagan Fertility Foiled by God ch. 5
  The primary purpose of this chapter, I believe, is to demonstrate the superiority of Yahweh over Dagon, the fertility god of the Philistines.655:1-5 Having captured the ark the Philistines brought it from Ebenezer to their ma...
• 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.,...
• 6. Hezekiah's illness and recovery 20:1-11
  "In those days"(v. 1) refers to the year Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem (701 B.C.) since Hezekiah died 15 years later in 686 B.C. His response to his illness was proper. He sought help from Yahweh primarily (v. 2). God had ...
• 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...
• 2. The record of God's faithfulness to Israel 105:7-41
  105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
• The oracle against Egypt chs. 19-20
  This oracle clarifies that God's purposes for Egypt, another nation the Judeans wanted to trust for help during this time of Assyrian expansion, would involve judgment followed by blessing. The passage consists of three palis...
• The nations drawn to Israel 60:1-9
  Light would dawn on Israel, and as a result the Gentiles would seek her out.60:1 God had called Israel to be a light to the nations (43:10), but presently she was darkness (56:9-57:13; 59:1-15a). The Lord had promised that He...
• Worship or destruction 66:15-24
  This pericope concludes the sections on the culmination of Israel's future (65:17-66:24), Israel's future transformation (chs. 56-66), Israel's hope (chs. 40-66), and the whole book, Yahweh's salvation. As 56:1-8, it clarifie...
• 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...
• 6. A funeral dirge for Egypt 32:1-16
  32:1 This is the first of two messages that Ezekiel received from the Lord concerning Egypt in 585 B.C. Less than two months had passed since the exiles had learned of Jerusalem's fall, which had occurred several months earli...
• 6. Future invasion of the Promised Land chs. 38-39
  This is the sixth and last message that Ezekiel received from the Lord the night before the refugees reached the exiles with the message that Jerusalem had fallen (cf. 33:21-22). It too deals with God's plans for Israel in th...
• 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...
• D. The significance of the plague 1:15-20
  "This section moves much closer to the form of the descriptive lament found in the lamenting psalms than did the descriptions earlier in the chapter."141:15 The locust plague had destroyed (Heb. shadad) the fields and fruits ...
• 1. The nearness of the army 2:1-2
  The prophet ordered a trumpet (Heb. shophar, ram's horn) to be blown in Zion (Jerusalem), specifically on the temple mount, to sound an alarm (cf. Jer. 4:5-6; Ezek. 33:2-6).18This shophar was the ancient equivalent of an air ...
• 2. The destructive power of the army 2:3-5
  2:3 This huge army advanced like a forest fire consuming everything in its path (cf. 1:19). Before the devastation conditions were idyllic, but after it there was nothing but a scorched earth wilderness. Nothing escaped the a...
• The death of Jesus 27:45-50 (cf. Mark 15:33-37; Luke 23:44-46; John 19:28-30)
  27:45 That "land"(Gr. ge) was abnormally dark from noon until 3:00 p.m. Matthew's use of geprobably indicates Israel. Darkness in Scripture often represents judgment and or tragedy (cf. Exod. 10:21-22; Amos 8:9-10). Matthew's...
• Jesus' appearance to the Eleven 16:14-18 (cf. Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-23)
  Mark said that Jesus appeared to the Eleven on this occasion. However, John qualified that statement by explaining that Thomas was absent (John 20:24). Mark was speaking of the Eleven as a group.16:14 This event evidently hap...
• 3. The dreadful alternative 6:4-8
  The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently.Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those who...
• The fourth trumpet 8:12
  This time the trumpet blast announced judgment on a third of the heavenly bodies. Darkness is a common symbol of judgment in the Old Testament, and the day of the Lord was to be a time of darkness (Amos 5:18; cf. Isa. 13:10; ...
• The impact of the locusts 9:1-6
  9:1 Again John saw a "star"(cf. 6:13; 8:10), but this time the "star"was an intelligent being. If "fallen"(Gr. peptokota) has theological connotations, the "star"may refer to Satan (vv. 2, 11; cf. 1:20; Job. 38:7; Luke 10:18)...
• The survivors' response 9:20-21
  9:20 These three severe judgments (fire, smoke, and brimstone, vv. 17-18) will not move the remaining unbelievers as a whole to repent (cf. Exod. 7:13, 23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 35; 10:20; 11:10)."In all cases in the apocaly...
• 7. The fifth bowl 16:10-11
  16:10 The darkening of the (first) beast's throne appears to be literal; light will diminish (cf. Exod. 10:21-23; Isa. 60:2; Joel 2:1-2, 31; Mark 13:24). Another possibility is that this may be a figurative darkening in which...