Abarim Publications Bible Commentary

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The first twelve chapters of the Bible are intensely complex. For a discussion of Genesis 1 to 12, please refer to our articles on Scripture Theory.

The opening statement of the Bible: Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," is probably the most famous line ever written. But besides famous, it is also perhaps the most profound statement ever made.

Genesis 2:7 is one of the pivotal moments in Scriptures. Firstly because it reports the making of our most remote ancestor, the creature generally known as Adam (means Earthling). But secondarily because this event was repeated almost identically when God created the Church in Acts 2.

Genesis 4:17 casually remarks that Cain had relations with his wife, but who was she? Some commentators have suggested that she must have been his unmentioned sister, but that renders the story of the first family miserably incomplete. In our search for the meaning of 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 we have uncovered principles that may also explain the origin of Mrs. Cain.

Exodus 20:3 is a peculiar verse, because it hinges on the peculiar word Elohim; the common word for God, god or mighty one(s).

Smack in the middle of a chapter pertaining to the glorious sanctification of the Assembly of God we find tips on how to build an outdoor latrine. When we take a closer look these 'tips' appear to be highly similar to a passage in Paul's letter to the Romans, in which he sums up no less than the mystery of the death and resurrection of people in Christ.

Here at Abarim Publications we rarely get nervous, but the pi-challenge presented in 1 Kings 7 is formidable, and required more volume of coffee per volume of Twila Paris than any other challenge we were tempted to meet so far.

When Elisha walked by Bethel, a group of boys from that town called him baldhead. When the prophet cursed them, two female bears appeared from the forest and tore forty-two children to pieces. This horrible story seems so senseless and so void of understanding of and forgiveness for the foolishness of a child. But a closer look at the story reveals trouble quite a bit more serious than juvenile irreverence.

(This little article on 2 Kings 2:24 is appended to our investigation of hair in the Bible, which we launched in an attempt to understand 1 Corinthians 11:14-15.)

Some do it right (Green, Young, Schlachter) but the most popular translations have it flat wrong. What does it mean to be 'a little lower than God'? Entire theologies have been derived from the notion that man is a little lower than God, but the essence of the statement fails the essence of Scriptures, namely that man has fallen and is fully separated from God, and through Jesus Christ man is forgiven, and returns to God.

Everybody knows about the panting deer of the opening line of Psalm 42, and many experience the sentiment that gave rise to this image. But few realize the exquisite and valiant choice of words the sons of Korah display, especially in the seventh verse.

Ten words. That's all it takes to exclaim the greatest event that ever occurred. Perhaps it's even greater than creation itself. John 3:16 reports the merger of Creator and creation into something that may have been the very reason for everything to have come into being.

The concepts of sin and law are not difficult at all; just a bit anti-intuitive. And since Paul is notorious for explaining things in the impervious manners of his time, the Abarim Publications Editorial Team joyfully volunteers to list the essentials in the impervious manners of ours.

When Paul makes his statement about the hair of men and woman, he doesn't refer to fashion or law but to nature. He says that nature teaches that men should have short hair and women long. Have a look at the implications of this incredible statement.

All proof is welcome, but not if it's no proof. To declare that the Bible is the Word of God, most often 2 Timothy 3:16 is cited. There it seems to state that all Scripture is God-breathed. A closer look, however, reveals something perhaps quite a bit greater:

Not a book in the Bible has captured the imagination of the general public as much as the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ. Angels pouring fire and ten-headed dragons romp about and a fierce, if not bizarre, array of visions are presented at light speed. It's a little odd, therefore, that no translation in existence has colored the fourth horse the way John saw it: green. Green horses, after all, do not exist.

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