Synonyms: renounce, relinquish, dispense with, forswear, disclaim, disown, disavow, discard, wash one's hands of, give up, stop, cease, drop, forgo, desist from, have done with, abjure, abstain from, discontinue, break off, refrain from, set/lay aside, desert, leave, leave high and dry, turn one's back on, cast aside, break (up) with, vacate, quit, evacuate, withdraw from, surrender, cede, yield, indulge in, give way to, give oneself up to, yield to, lose oneself to/in, uninhibitedness, recklessness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition, unruliness, wildness, impulsiveness, impetuosity, immoderation, wantonness
Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on
Showing 2451 to 2475 of 5000 results
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
The Philistine Campaign: 27:1 David’s lack of trust in Saul’s profession of sorrow and promise to cease harming David is made explicit. David assumes that Saul will try again and may eventually succeed in destroying him; he may envisage this destruction coming not through any military prowess on Saul’s part but by David or his men being unable to resist another temptation to act against Saul. The destruction would then come not through death but through the kind of guilt that would destroy David’s reign as ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Victory and Defeat: 30:1–5 Although a small group could have traveled more quickly, it took David’s army of about six hundred men three days to travel the fifty or so miles back to Ziklag. They almost certainly would have been away for at least a week, leaving plenty of time for the Amalekites to take advantage of their absence. David’s previous activities against groups including the Amalekites (27:8) must have been noted, but his policy of destruction meant that there was no evidence against him. This ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Despite the fact that modern Bibles present 2 Samuel as a separate book, there is no clear break from what goes before. First and Second Samuel must be seen as a unit (see pp. 1, 2 of the introduction). 1:1–3 These verses clarify the timing of events. The opening phrase after the death of Saul is an editorial comment showing that a new section is beginning. Allowing for traveling time, the death of Saul in the north must, ironically, have taken place about the same time as David in the south was completing ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Plans for Civil War: 16:15–19 Absalom duly arrived in Jerusalem. Hushai presented himself to Absalom and perhaps with a deliberate ambiguity proclaimed Long live the king! Absalom showed initial surprise that Hushai should support him rather than David; he had not dared to hope that someone as close to David as Hushai could be on his side. However, Hushai argued that the choice of the Lord and the people overrides personal loyalties and that David was Absalom’s father and to serve the son was a ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
How Can a Mortal Be Righteous before God?: Job’s response to Bildad’s speech moves the discussion in a new direction. Up to this point in the book Job has largely been addressing the extremity of his suffering and raising the agonizing question as to how a righteous person can be allowed to suffer so horrendously. Now, however, in response to Bildad’s suggestion that the resolution of Job’s suffering lies in his willingness to “look to God and plead with the Almighty” (8:5), Job begins to consider the ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
The Inexplicable Prosperity of the Wicked In chapter 21, Job responds to Zophar’s accusations by thoroughly deconstructing the foundation on which they rest. Zophar has claimed that the wicked perish both in an ultimate sense and in their relentless quest for that which does not satisfy—the gnawing greed that consumes the wicked from the inside out. Job assesses Zophar’s claims as so much “nonsense” and “falsehood” (v. 34) when held up to the mirror of real life as Job both knows and describes it. Far from ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
No Gain for God The “third dialogue cycle” begins again with Eliphaz and his response to Job. He begins with a series of rhetorical questions that recall the tactics of his earlier two speeches (4:1–5:27; 15:1–35). In those utterances Eliphaz sought to undermine Job’s claims of innocence by arguing that no human can be declared innocent before God (4:7–9, 17–19; 15:14–16). Since even the angels—who stand above humans in Eliphaz’s understanding of creation order—are charged “with error” by God (4:18–19; 15: ...
Understanding Series
Gerald H. Wilson
Sarcastic Introduction Job’s response to Bildad’s third speech is extended (six chapters long)—even for the usually loquacious Job! Many commentators divide up the chapters attributed to Job to supply an extension to Bildad’s brief speech, as well as to wholly reconstruct a missing third speech for Zophar. Such reconstruction, however, can only proceed on a presumptive assumption of what each speaker would have said—and is thus controlled ultimately by the reconstructor’s theory rather than challenged and ...
Understanding Series
Craig C. Broyles
Like Psalm 1, but unlike almost every other psalm of Book I (Pss. 1–41), this one has no superscription. Psalm 1 opens with a blessing and Psalm 2 closes with a blessing, which may indicate that this pair is meant to be read together as an introduction to the final collection of the Psalter. If so, they appear to establish twin guides for reading it: we are to meditate on this “torah” (“instruction”) of the Psalms collection and so discover the enduring “blessing” of “the righteous,” and we are to take ...
Understanding Series
Robert H. Mounce
Parables of Jesus: In chapter 13 we come for the first time to Jesus’ favorite method of teaching, the parable. The seven parables recorded in this chapter form Jesus’ third discourse as arranged by Matthew, There are in the first three Gospels about sixty separate parables. In the LXX the Greek parabolē almost always translates the Hebrew māšāl, which denotes a wide variety of picturesque forms of expression, including the proverb, metaphor, allegory, illustrative story, fable, riddle, simile, and parable ...
Understanding Series
Robert H. Mounce
16:21–23 From that time on marks a new stage in Jesus’ revelation of himself to his disciples. They had acknowledged his messiahship, but now they must be prepared to follow a Messiah who would go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the orthodox religious establishment. There he would be put to death, but after three days he would rise again. In verse 21 we have the first definite prediction of the passion (cf. 17:22–23 and 20:18–19 for the two other predictions in Matthew). When Jesus says that he ...
Understanding Series
William Nelson
The Gold Image and the Blazing Furnace: There are a couple of loose links between chapter 2 and chapter 3. First, when the astrologers (Chaldeans) accuse the three friends, they refer to them as “some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon” (3:12), alluding to their promotion in chapter 2 (2:49). Secondly, the term “image” generally connects chapter 2 to chapter 3. First, Nebuchadnezzar sees an image (2:31; NIV “statue”); then he erects one (3:1). It is unlikely, as some have ...
Understanding Series
William Nelson
The Four Beastly Kingdoms and God’s Kingdom: Daniel 7 is centrally located in the book; it is also of central importance. It functions as a transitional unit, providing a hinge that connects the two halves of the work. Chapter 7 is tied to what precedes by its language: it is part of the Aramaic section, which runs from Daniel 2:4b through 7:28. It is also part of the chiastic structure of chapters 2–7 (see “Stage Three” under “Language Problem and Literary Development” in the Introduction), which have ...
Understanding Series
Larry W. Hurtado
10:46–52 If we omit the story of the cursing of the fig tree (11:12–14, 20–25), which is not really a miracle story like the others in Mark, this incident in 10:46–52 is the last miracle story in Mark’s account. This makes it something of a climactic miracle story and therefore worth careful attention. It also forms the conclusion to the long section (8:27–10:52) in which Jesus teaches about his coming sufferings and about the path of discipleship, and Mark uses it as an important vehicle for telling us ...
Understanding Series
Robert W. Wall
16:1 Scholars have long pointed out the similarities between the first six trumpet judgments (Rev. 8:6–9:21) and the first six bowl judgments (16:1–14; cf. Beasley-Murray, Revelation, pp. 238–39); and we have called attention to the “hailstorm” that links the seventh trumpet to the seventh bowl. In one sense, John’s vision of bowl-plagues repeats and emphasizes the previous point: divine judgment intends to bring the nations to repent and to confess God as sovereign creator and ruling Lord. Their refusal ...
Understanding Series
Robert W. Wall
17:1–2 Within the framework of Revelation, the vision of Babylon’s prostitute and her punishment functions as part of an extended footnote (17:1–19:10) that describes the contents of “the cup filled with the wine of the fury” of God’s wrath (16:19b). Its complexity and even confusion have led some to question John’s sources (cf. Beasley-Murray, Revelation, pp. 249–50). However, this betrays a failure to read the story as a wonderfully crafted “mystery,” in agreement with the clue provided by the angelic ...
Understanding Series
W.H. Bellinger, Jr.
Lamps and Levites: Emphasis on the tabernacle continues in this narrative flashback section (7:1–10:10). The community prepares to depart in a kind of promise and fulfillment motif. The concluding note of chapter 7 on the Most Holy Place leads to a comment on the lamps in the sanctuary. 8:1–4 Further revelation comes through Moses to Aaron concerning the lamps and lampstand. These verses refer to the instructions in Exodus 25:31–40 and 37:17–24. The seven lamps are to be set up so they will light the area ...
Understanding Series
W.H. Bellinger, Jr.
The Departure 10:11–13 Here we leave the narrative flashback begun in Numbers 7 as we come to the present and the long-anticipated departure from Sinai. The departure actually begins on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, when the cloud lifted over the tabernacle. The book of Numbers began on the first day of this month. The people have been at Sinai for nearly a year (Exod. 19:1) and have now made meticulous preparation and precautions for the journey. The repetitious and detailed ...
2469. The Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:8-55
Understanding Series
W. H. Bellinger, Jr.
The Sabbath and Jubilee: This chapter turns to the Sabbath principle as it applies to a variety of issues in ancient society like land, property, and slaves. The theological perspective operates out of a creation context, with ancient Israelites functioning as stewards of property and wealth, rather than as owners. God the creator holds that role. The chapter argues that viewing possessions as divine gifts to a community provides a better starting point than promoting the individual right to succeed. The ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Saul's Demonstrates His Leadership: 11:1–11 The first opportunity for Saul to exercise his new calling and confirm his role as military leader was provided by the Ammonites, a tribal group who lived on the eastern side of the Jordan and who were involved in skirmishes with Israel over many years, particularly in the eastern section. These Ammonites were so confident of their ability to defeat the citizens of Jabesh Gilead that they placed unacceptable and cruel conditions even on a negotiated surrender. ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
Saul's Demonstrates His Leadership: 11:1–11 The first opportunity for Saul to exercise his new calling and confirm his role as military leader was provided by the Ammonites, a tribal group who lived on the eastern side of the Jordan and who were involved in skirmishes with Israel over many years, particularly in the eastern section. These Ammonites were so confident of their ability to defeat the citizens of Jabesh Gilead that they placed unacceptable and cruel conditions even on a negotiated surrender. ...
2472. Saul's Family
1 Samuel 14:49-52
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
A Foolish Curse: Although there is nothing contradictory between this section and the preceding verses, it does not follow smoothly. It may be that the writers gathered a range of stories concerning Saul and Jonathan to illustrate their contrasting characters and behavior, and then verses 47–52 may correct any imbalance in the earlier stories. The rest of chapter 14 to verse 46 describes two only partially interrelated accounts, a reflection on the sort of demands God makes and how God’s actions should be ...
2473. David at Gath
1 Samuel 21:10-15
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
David’s Flight – The Priests at Nob: 21:1–9 Having accepted that Saul’s enmity was fixed and that exile was the only option, David sought initial supplies from the priest at Nob. Ahimelech’s wariness on David’s arrival may have reflected an awareness of Saul’s antipathy toward David and a fear of getting involved in a power dispute. However, it is equally possible that Ahimelech’s expression of ignorance in 22:14–15 was the truth and his fear was that David would bring Philistine troops in his wake. David’ ...
Understanding Series
Mary J. Evans
David’s Flight – The Priests at Nob: 21:1–9 Having accepted that Saul’s enmity was fixed and that exile was the only option, David sought initial supplies from the priest at Nob. Ahimelech’s wariness on David’s arrival may have reflected an awareness of Saul’s antipathy toward David and a fear of getting involved in a power dispute. However, it is equally possible that Ahimelech’s expression of ignorance in 22:14–15 was the truth and his fear was that David would bring Philistine troops in his wake. David’ ...
2475. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
John 14:15-31, John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14
Understanding Series
J. Ramsey Michaels
The single theme of the first block of teaching material is developed in dialogue form, with a series of questions and answers (13:36–14:24) ending with a postscript in the form of a monologue (14:25–31). Each question is occasioned by a previous statement of Jesus, so that each interchange has three parts: Jesus’ initial statement, the question that it occasions, and Jesus’ answer to the question. In all, four disciples take their turn as inquirers: Peter, Thomas, Philip, and Judas (not “the son of Simon ...
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