1 Chronicles–Job (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised Edition, Volume 4 | REBC)

Top Highlights

“Those who are the boldest for God have the greatest need to be in prayer.” (Page 471)

“‘The joy’ (ḥedwâ, only here and in 1 Ch 16:27; of the Aram. in Ezr 6:16), that is, our joy in the Lord as we eat and labor before him, will sustain us (Dt 12:7, 12, 18; 14:26; 16:11, 14). ‘Strength’ (māʿôz; GK 5057) means ‘stronghold, fortress’ (cf. Pss 27:1; 37:39; Jer 16:19). On this basis, G. C. I. Wong (‘A Note on ‘Joy’ in Nehemiah VIII 10,’ VT 45 [1995]: 384) has argued for ‘the joy of the Lord’ as a subjective genitive, that is, the Lord’s joy in us, as that meaning makes more sense. He suggests, ‘In other words, it is Yahweh’s joy over his people that is the basis for the hope that they will be saved or protected from his anger.’” (Page 518)

“While David’s motivation for ordering this census is unspecified, the repeated connection to troops and elements of warfare implies a military-oriented census, which in turn implies a level of trust on the part of David in his troops rather than a complete trust in God. The Chronicler frequently highlights examples of complete trust in God (e.g., 2 Ch 14:11; 20:12; 25:7–10) as well as breaches of complete trust in God (e.g., 2 Ch 16:7–8; 28:16).” (Page 125)

“All told, while the translation ‘Satan’ is certainly plausible, the translation ‘adversary’ seems preferable” (Pages 125–126)

“The name ‘Nehemiah’ means ‘the comfort of Yahweh’ or ‘Yahweh has comforted’;” (Page 465)