Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Scope
  The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
• Purpose
  Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
• Outline
  The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
• D. What became of Noah 6:9-9:29
  The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
• F. What became of Shem 11:10-26
  "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
• 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...
• A. What became of Terah 11:27-25:11
  A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
• The divine promises 12:1-9
  "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
• 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...
• 3. Abram's separation from Lot ch. 13
  This chapter records how Abram, though threatened with major conflict with Lot because of their herdsmen's strife, magnanimously gave his nephew his choice of what land he wanted. Lot took an area that was very fertile, thoug...
• 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...
• 16. The purchase of Sarah's tomb ch. 23
  Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
• C. What became of Isaac 25:19-35:29
  A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
• 1. God's choice of Joseph 37:2-11
  Joseph faithfully served his father even bringing back a bad report of his brothers' behavior to him for which Jacob expressed his love by giving Joseph preferential treatment. However his brothers envied and hated him. God c...
• 3. Judah and Tamar ch. 38
  This chapter seems at first out of place since it interrupts the story of Joseph, but remember that this is the toledotof Jacob. This is the story of what happened to his whole family, not just Joseph. The central problem wit...
• 5. The prisoners' dreams and Joseph's interpretations ch. 40
  When Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker had disturbing dreams in prison, Joseph foretold the cupbearer's restoration and the baker's execution, but Joseph remained in prison because the cupbearer forgot him.The cupbearer and baker...
• 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...
• 8. Joseph's brothers' second journey into Egypt ch. 43
  Chapters 43-45 are a unit describing what happened when Joseph's brothers returned to Egypt. Like chapter 42, which it echoes, it consists of seven scenes arranged palistrophically with the central scene being the arrest of J...
• Jacob's adoption of Joseph's sons 48:1-7
  The events recorded in the last three chapters of Genesis deal with the last days of Jacob and Joseph. In these last chapters there are many other references to earlier episodes in the book."This constant harking back to earl...
• 14. Jacob's blessing of his sons 49:1-28
  Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
• Bibliography
  Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
• 9. The builders of the tabernacle 31:1-11
  Chapter 31 summarizes what God required for His people to approach Him. God appointed the men who would be responsible for interpreting Moses' instructions about the tabernacle and constructing it. He filled them with His Spi...
• E. Moses' death and burial: narrative epilogue ch. 34
  "A testament is of force only after the death of the testator [cf. Heb. 9:16-17]. So the Deuteronomic Covenant in it testamentary aspect . . . would not become operative until after the death of Moses. Only then would Joshua ...
• 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...
• 3. David's acceptance by all Israel 5:1-12
  In 1004 B.C. David became king of all Israel and Judah.50This was his third anointing (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4). The people acknowledged David's previous military leadership of all Israel as well as God's choice of him t...
• 3. The king's permission 3:10-15
  The imprint of an official's signet ring (v. 10) was the equivalent of his signature in ancient times (cf. Gen. 41:42; Esth. 8:2, 8, 10). Ahasuerus gave permission to Haman to confiscate the Jews' wealth and to put them to de...
• The first banquet 5:1-8
  Here we have another remarkable example of how God controls the hearts of kings (v. 2; Prov. 21:1; cf. Gen. 39-41; Ezra 1:1-4; Neh. 2; Dan. 2; 3; 4; 5; Acts 2:23). "To half of the kingdom"(v. 3) is hyperbole and means, "I wil...
• Haman's recommendation 6:4-10
  "Here the early bird is gotten by the worm."85Haman's pride preceded his fall (v. 6; cf. Prov. 16:18). He wanted to appear as much like the king himself as possible in the honors he recommended for the person he thought would...
• 1. The rewarding of Esther and Mordecai 8:1-2
  Haman's "house"(v. 1) was his estate. Esther received this probably to compensate her for her suffering. The king gave Mordecai Haman's place as second in authority (cf. Joseph, Gen. 41:42; Daniel, Dan. 5:7, 29; 6:3; and Nehe...
• Elihu's reasons for speaking 32:6-22
  Elihu began by voicing his respect for Job's three friends (vv. 6-10). They were older than he, and for this reason he said he had refrained from speaking until now. However he had become convinced that advancing age does not...
• 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 mission of the Anointed One 61:1-3
  These two chapters begin with an introduction of the Servant (Messiah) and His mission. That the Servant of the Servant Songs is the same person as the Anointed One (Messiah) of chapter 11 is clear from what Isaiah wrote abou...
• Prophecies about false prophets 23:9-40
  Having given a true prophecy about the future, Jeremiah proceeded to announce God's judgment on the false prophets who were misleading His people with false prophecies (cf. v. 1). This section consists of six different messag...
• The great ship Tyre 27:1-11
  27:1-3 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to write a lamentation over Tyre, though presently it was renowned for its seafaring and commercial leadership in the world. Tyre's neighboring kings sang the first dirge over Tyre's demise ...
• The elimination of claimants to the land ch. 35
  What follows in this chapter is another oracle against a foreign nation (cf. chs. 25-32). What is it doing here? Evidently the writer included this oracle here because it promises to desolate an enemy of Israel that wanted to...
• 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...
• 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...
• C. The genealogy of Jesus 3:23-38 (cf. Matt. 1:1-17)
  Why did Luke place his genealogy of Jesus at this point in his Gospel? Probably he did so because this was the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. Matthew recorded Jesus' genealogy to show that He had a legitimate right by b...
• The younger son 15:11-24
  15:11-12 The man in the story had two sons, a younger and an older one (v. 25). Therefore the younger son's inheritance would normally have been one-third of his father's estate since the older son would have received a doubl...
• God's faithfulness to His people 7:9-16
  Stephen next proceeded to show what God had done with Joseph and his family. He selected this segment of the patriarchal narrative primarily for two reasons. First, it shows how God miraculously preserved His people in faithf...
• 5. Promise 2:17
  The "hidden manna"seems to be a reference to the manna that sustained the lives of the Israelites in the wilderness that lay "hidden"in the holy of holies. The Christians in Pergamum did not need the food of pagan festivals s...
• The first angelic announcement of judgment 18:1-3
  18:1 John next saw another scene on earth (Gr. Meta tauta eidon, "After these things I saw,"cf. 4:1). Another angel of the same kind as in 17:1 (i.e., one who descends from heaven to fulfill a special mission; cf. 10:1; 20:1)...
• 1. The praise of God in heaven 19:1-10
  This pericope has strong ties to what precedes (16:17-18:24). It is the concluding revelation concerning the fall of Babylon, the latter-day Egypt and Tyre, and Antichrist, the ultimate Pharaoh of the Exodus and King of Tyre....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Joseph, The Prime Minister
  Genesis 41:38-48At seventeen years of age Joseph was sold for a slave; at thirty he was prime minister of Egypt (Gen. 37:2; 41:46). How long his prison life lasted is uncertain; but it was long enough for the promises contain...