1 Kings 4:21

4:21 (5:1) ¹  Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River ²  to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. ³ 

1 Kings 4:24

4:24 His royal court was so large because ⁴  he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah ⁵  to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. ⁶ 

Numbers 34:5

34:5 There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea. ⁷ 

Numbers 34:8

34:8 from Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath, ⁸  and the direction of the border will be to Zedad.

Joshua 13:5

13:5 the territory of Byblos ⁹  and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath. ¹⁰ 

Jude 1:3

Condemnation of the False Teachers

1:3 Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you ¹¹  about our common salvation, I now feel compelled ¹²  instead to write to encourage ¹³  you to contend earnestly ¹⁴  for the faith ¹⁵  that was once for all ¹⁶  entrusted to the saints. ¹⁷ 

Jude 1:2

1:2 May mercy, peace, and love be lavished on you! ¹⁸ 

Jude 1:25

1:25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.

Amos 6:14

6:14 “Look! I am about to bring ¹⁹  a nation against you, family ²⁰  of Israel.”

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking.

“They will oppress ²¹  you all the way from Lebo-Hamath ²²  to the Stream of the Arabah.” ²³ 

[4:21]  ¹ sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.

[4:21]  ² tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.

[4:21]  ³ tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”

[4:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.

[4:24]  ⁵ sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.

[4:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”

[34:5]  ⁷ sn That is, the Mediterranean.

[34:8]  ⁸ tn Or “to the entrance to Hamath.”

[13:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the land of the Gebalites.”

[13:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.” Most modern translations take the phrase “Lebo Hamath” to be a proper name, but often provide a note with the alternative, where “Hamath” is the proper name and לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) is taken to mean “entrance to.”

[1:3]  ¹¹ tn Grk “while being quite diligent to write to you,” or “while making all haste to write to you.” Two issues are at stake: (1) whether σπουδή (spoudh) here means diligence, eagerness, or haste; (2) whether ποιούμενος γράφειν (poioumeno" grafein) is to be taken conatively (“I was about to write”) or progressively (“I was writing”). Without knowing more of the background, it is difficult to tell which option is to be preferred.

[1:3]  ¹² tn Grk “I had the necessity.” The term ἀνάγκη (anankh, “necessity”) often connotes urgency or distress. In this context, Jude is indicating that the more comprehensive treatment about the faith shared between himself and his readers was not nearly as urgent as the letter he found it now necessary to write.

[1:3]  ¹³ tn Grk “encouraging.” Παρακαλῶν (parakalwn) is most likely a telic participle. In keeping with other participles of purpose, it is present tense and occurs after the main verb.

[1:3]  ¹⁴ tn the verb ἐπαγωνίζομαι (epagwnizomai) is an intensive form of ἀγωνίζομαι (agwnizomai). As such, the notion of struggling, fighting, contending, etc. is heightened.

[1:3]  ¹⁵ tn Τῇ πίστει (th pistei) here is taken as a dative of advantage (“on behalf of the faith”). Though rare (see BDAG 820 s.v. 3), it is not unexampled and must have this meaning here.

[1:3]  ¹⁶ sn The adverb once for all (ἅπαξ, Japax) seems to indicate that the doctrinal convictions of the early church had been substantially codified. That is to say, Jude could appeal to written documents of the Christian faith in his arguments with the false teachers. Most likely, these documents were the letters of Paul and perhaps one or more gospels. First and Second Peter may also have been among the documents Jude has in mind (see also the note on the phrase entrusted to the saints in this verse).

[1:3]  ¹⁷ sn I now feel compelled instead…saints. Apparently news of some crisis has reached Jude, prompting him to write a different letter than what he had originally planned. A plausible scenario (assuming authenticity of 2 Peter or at least that there are authentic Petrine snippets in it) is that after Peter’s death, Jude intended to write to the same Gentile readers that Peter had written to (essentially, Paul’s churches). Jude starts by affirming that the gospel the Gentiles had received from Paul was the same as the one the Jewish Christians had received from the other apostles (our common salvation). But in the midst of writing this letter, Jude felt that the present crisis deserved another, shorter piece. The crisis, as the letter reveals, is that the false teachers whom Peter prophesied have now infiltrated the church. The letter of Jude is thus an ad hoc letter, intended to confirm the truth of Peter’s letter and encourage the saints to ground their faith in the written documents of the nascent church, rather than listen to the twisted gospel of the false teachers. In large measure, the letter of Jude illustrates the necessity of clinging to the authority of scripture as opposed to those who claim to be prophets.

[1:2]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.”

[6:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “raise up” (KJV, NASB); NIV “stir up.”

[6:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[6:14]  ²¹ sn Once again there is irony in the divine judgment. The oppressive nation itself will suffer oppression. The verb “oppress” (לָחַץ, lakhats) in this verse is not the same as that used in 4:1 (עָשַׁק, ’ashaq).

[6:14]  ²² tn Or “from the entrance to Hamath.” The Hebrew term לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) can either be translated or considered a part of the place name.

[6:14]  ²³ sn Lebo-Hamath refers to the northern border of Israel, the Stream of the Arabah to its southern border. See 2 Kgs 14:25. Through this invader the Lord would reverse the victories and territorial expansion Israel experienced during the reign of Jeroboam II.