Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The basic principles of worship in Israel 20:22-26
  God did not just condemn forms of worship that were inappropriate, but He instructed the Israelites positively how they were to worship Him.This pericope serves as an introduction to 42 judgments in 21:1-23:12. A similar sect...
• Fire from the Lord 9:22-24
  After offering these sacrifices, Aaron blessed the people (v. 22). He "stepped down"perhaps from a platform near the altar of burnt offerings on which he may have been standing to address the people. Probably Moses took Aaron...
• Outline
  I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:51. Initial successes and failures ch. 12. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5B. Israel's c...
• I. THE REASONS FOR ISRAEL'S APOSTASY 1:1--3:6
  The first major section in the book (1:1-3:6) explains very clearly why the period of the judges was a dark chapter in Israel's history. God revealed the reasons for Israel's apostasy and consequent national problems in terms...
• II. THE RECORD OF ISRAEL'S APOSTASY 3:7--16:31
  Israel's JudgesJudgeScriptureIsrael's OppressorsLength in YearsNation(s)King(s)OppressionJudgeshipPeaceOthniel3:7-11MesopotamiaCushan-rishathaim8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)Ehud3:12-30Moab (with Ammon & Amal...
• A. The first apostasy 3:7-11
  The first of six periods of oppression by Israel's enemies began while Othniel, Caleb's younger brother, was still alive and strong (cf. Josh. 15:17; Judg. 1:13). The writer identified each of these periods with the phrase "t...
• D. The fourth apostasy 6:1-10:5
  The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center."Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between th...
• 2. Israel's departure from Yahweh 8:33-35
  After Gideon's death the Israelites again wandered from the Lord (cf. 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1). They even made a covenant with Baal in disobedience to God's law. "Baal-berith"(v. 33) means "Baal of the covenant."Ironica...
• 1. Renewed oppression 10:6-7
  The Israelites' return to apostasy brought discipline from two different directions at the same time. In the east the Ammonites oppressed Israel while in the west God raised up the Philistines."The acuter pressure at this sta...
• Jephthah's negotiations with the king of Ammon 11:12-28
  Jephthah did not rush into battle but wisely tried to settle the Ammonites' grievance with Israel peacefully. His approach reveals his humility as well as his wisdom. Most men would have wanted to demonstrate their prowess in...
• F. The sixth apostasy chs. 13-16
  "From chapters 13 to 18, the author concentrates on the tribe of Dan, which had been one of the largest and most prominent tribes during the wilderness march (Num 2:25-31). In the period of the judges, however, Dan seemed hel...
• The Philistine oppression 13:1
  The translation "again did"in verse 1 implies that the Philistine oppression followed the Ammonite oppression chronologically. However the Hebrew idiom these words translate does not necessarily mean that. It can also mean, a...
• The announcement of Samson's birth 13:2-7
  The Angel of the Lord again appeared (cf. 6:11). This time He announced to a barren Danite woman that she would bear a son (cf. Gen. 16:11; Luke 1:26-38). Samson's birth by a barren woman indicated God's supernatural provisio...
• The revelations of the Angel 13:8-23
  God sent His Angel to revisit Manoah and his wife because they voiced questions in prayer about how they should rear Samson (v. 8), his way of life (v. 12), and his vocation (v. 12). Their desire to bring their son up accordi...
• 2. Samson's intended marriage to the Timnite ch. 14
  Chapter 13 describes Samson's potential: his godly heritage, supernatural birth, calling in life, and divine enablement. The Israelites enjoyed each of these privileges, as does every Christian. Chapter 14 reveals Samson's pr...
• Samson's decision to marry a Philistine 14:1-4
  Timnah was only about four miles southwest of Zorah. The word "woman"in verse 2 is in the emphatic position in the Hebrew text. Samson described her to his parents as the ideal woman from his viewpoint. Dating was unknown in ...
• Samson's triumph in death 16:22-31
  A spark of hope flickered in the darkness of Samson's prison cell. His hair continued to grow (v. 22). In grace God permitted Samson's hair to return symbolizing the possibility of his renewed commitment to Yahweh. However, G...
• III. THE RESULTS OF ISRAEL'S APOSTASY chs. 17--21
  The following two extended incidents (ch. 17-21) differ from the records of the judges just completed (chs. 3-16). They are not accounts of the activities of any of Israel's judges. They are the record of events that took pla...
• A. The idolatry of Micah and the Danites chs. 17-18
  God undoubtedly included the story of Micah and the Danites in the sacred record because it relates the establishment of image worship in Israel. This was a new and catastrophic departure from Yahweh for the Israelites. Image...
• The establishment of idolatry at Dan 18:27-31
  The Danites' defeat of the inhabitants of Laish appears cruel and unjustified (cf. 9:45-49). The town that seemed so desirable to the spies was really vulnerable and isolated. Its advantages proved to be weaknesses. Since God...
• Conclusion
  The Book of Joshua recorded Israel's victory over her enemies through trust in and obedience to God. The Book of Judges shows the defeat of the nation by its enemies from without and within due to refusal to trust and obey Go...
• Bibliography
  Aharoni, Yohanan. Land of the Bible. Phildelphia: Westminster Press, 1962.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell. The...
• The problem 1:1-2
  Samuel's parents lived near Ramathaim-zopphim (lit. two heights, elsewhere called Ramah, e.g., v. 19, lit. height) in Ephraim in central Canaan.14Samuel's father, Elkanah, was an Ephraimite by residence. He was really a Levit...
• 1. The battle of Aphek 4:1b-11
  The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13-16).52There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel...
• The sign of Immanuel 7:10-17
  Isaiah next tried to move Ahaz to faith (vv. 10-12), then denounced the king for his failure to trust Yahweh (vv. 13-15), and finally forecast a calamity worse than the division of Israel's united kingdom (vv. 16-17).7:10 Evi...
• The faithful king to come 9:2-7
  In contrast to Ahaz, who refused to listen to and obey God, the Lord would raise up a faithful king who would be born and reign in the future (the Millennium). This pericope climaxes the present section (7:1-9:7) dealing with...
• The sign of the departing deportee 12:1-7
  12:1-2 The Lord came to Ezekiel with another message.190He told His servant that the people among whom he lived, the house of Israel, were rebellious against Him (cf. 2:3-8). Their blindness to the things that they saw and th...
• 4. Judgment on Philistia 25:15-17
  25:15-16 The Philistines to Judah's west had also scorned the Israelites and had sought to destroy them (cf. Judg. 13-16; 1 Sam. 4; 13; 31; 2 Sam. 5; 2 Kings 18:8; 2 Chron. 21:16-17; 28:18). Therefore the Lord would stretch o...
• 1. The vision proper 1:7-15
  1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...
• 3. The prophecies about Nazareth 2:19-23 (cf. Luke 2:39)
  Matthew concluded his selective account of the events in Jesus' childhood that demonstrated His messiahship and illustrated various reactions to Him with Jesus' return to Israel.2:19-20 God's sovereign initiative is again the...
• 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 ...