Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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...
• A. The Lineage of David chs. 1-3
  The writer evidently chose, under divine inspiration, to open his book with genealogies to help his readers appreciate their heritage and to tie themselves to Adam, Abraham, and David in particular. Adam was important as the ...
• Opposition during Cyrus' reign 4:1-5
  The Assyrian government encouraged its residents to move to Israel and to settle there after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 722 B.C. This was official government policy during the reigns of the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon ...
• Writer and Date
  The use of the first person identifies the author as Nehemiah, the governor of the Persian province of Judah (1:1-2:20; 13:4-31). His name means "Yahweh has comforted."The mention of Darius the Persian in 12:22 probably refer...
• Scope
  The years of history the book covers are 445-431 B.C. or perhaps a few years after that.In 445 B.C. (the twentieth year of Artaxerxes' reign, 1:1) Nehemiah learned of the conditions in Jerusalem that led him to request permis...
• Outline
  I. The fortification of Jerusalem chs. 1-7A. The return under Nehemiah chs. 1-21. The news concerning Jerusalem 1:1-32. The response of Nehemiah 1:4-113. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-84. The return to Jerusalem 2:9-20B. The re...
• I. THE FORTIFICATION OF JERUSALEM chs. 1--7
  "The first seven chapters of Nehemiah as well as 12:31-13:31 are written in the first person. This, as well as all or part of Neh 11 and the rest of Neh 12, constitutes what is called the Nehemiah Memoirs. As such it offers a...
• 1. The workers and their work ch. 3
  Eliashib (v. 1) was evidently the grandson of Jeshua (12:10; Ezra 3:2). Construction was an act of consecration because this was a project that God had ordained.Archaeologists are currently studying the exact location of the ...
• II. THE RESTORATION OF THE JEWS chs. 8--13
  One writer viewed chapters 8-13 (really 7:73-13:37) as the third part of the tripartite structure of Ezra-Nehemiah. Ezra 1:1-4 deals with "potentiality,"the decree to the community to build God's house. Ezra 1:5--Nehemiah 7:7...
• The signers of the document 10:1-27
  The names in verses 2-8 are those of the heads of 21 priestly families (cf. 12:12-21). Verses 9-13 record the names of 17 Levites. Then the writer gave the names of 44 heads of other leading families (vv. 14-27)....
• B. The Residents of the Land 11:1-12:26
  When the exiles returned to the Promised Land, living in Jerusalem was not an attractive prospect because the city lay in ruins. However with the rebuilding of the temple and the walls the capital became a more desirable plac...
• 3. The priests and Levites 12:1-26
  The priests and Levites were the most important people who returned from exile because they reestablished worship in the land. Verses 1-7 give the names of 22 leaders among them who had returned in 537 B.C. with Zerubbabel an...
• Conclusion
  The Book of Nehemiah records the fortification of Jerusalem and the restoration of the Jews, two essential steps that were necessary to reestablish God's people in His will and in their land.Nehemiah continued the good work t...
• 7. Daniel's rise and Belshazzar's fall 5:29-31
  5:29 Belshazzar kept his promise (v. 16) though Daniel's honors only lasted a few hours at most, typical of the honors of this world. The king's response is surprising. We might have expected him to execute Daniel for confron...
• A. Haggai's First challenge 1:1-6
  1:1 Yahweh sent a message to Zerubbabel and Joshua through the prophet Haggai, though it went to all the Israelites too (vv. 2, 4). Zerubbabel was the political governor (overseer) of the Persian province of Judah who had led...
• Title and Writer
  The title of this book comes from its traditional writer, as is true of all the prophetical books of the Old Testament. The name "Zechariah"(lit. Yahweh remembers) was a common one among the Israelites identifying as many as ...
• Date
  Zechariah's inspired preaching began in the eighth month of 520 B.C. (1:1). His eight night visions followed three months later in 520 B.C. (1:7), when he was a young man (2:4). He delivered the messages in chapters 7-8 in 51...
• Historical Background
  Zechariah began ministering among the Jews who had returned from captivity in Babylon (i.e., the restoration community) two months after Haggai began preaching (1:1; 7:1; cf. Neh. 12:10-16; Hag. 1:1). In a sense, Zechariah's ...
• I. Introduction 1:1-6
  That this pericope introduces the whole book seems clear since verse 7 introduces the eight night visions that follow it (1:7-6:8). Its content is also foundational to all that follows."It strikes the keynote of the entire bo...