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Introduction to this Website

First of all, if you are an unbeliever, click here (HTML) (PDF); if you are a new believer, then click here (HTML) (PDF).

Also, if you are an unbeliever, see this warning [HTML] [PDF]; it is a different sort of warning than you might expect.

Search this Website  (at one time this worked; but now it does not; I don't know what code to place here)

My most recent studies.

Now, about the Website:

When it comes to having a relationship with God, there is one way this is achieved, and that is by placing faith alone in Christ alone; this is the only way of salvation. Our lives may or may not bear this salvation out (see the Doctrinal Statement for more information on this). Some believers, after believing in Jesus Christ, spend the rest of their Christian lives out of fellowship after they commit their first post-salvation sin. Now, they may be religious or they may seem hell-bent, but one's life after salvation is separate from salvation. One's Christian life is related to being saved, but it is a separate matter in many respects.

This is a website dedicated primarily to the word-by-word and verse by verse study of the word of God. Included in these first pages are links to such studies of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1Samuel, 2Samuel, 1Kings, 1Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon; Luke, Acts, Romans, Colossians, and Hebrews. These books are examined, some of them, in great detail; and for some of them, this process of study is just beginning.

For most of these books, there is also an index/links page available as an HTML document or as a PDF document. For instance, for Genesis, this document is Genesislinks.htm or Genesislinks.pdf (same document, different formal). The index/links document related to Exodus is Exodus_links.htm or Exodus_links.pdf. Most of the master documents (with links to each chapter) are in the Exodus format (with the underscore). The original document is done in WordPerfect rather than Word, and without going into excessive detail about this choice, let me list two primary reasons: WordPerfect is cheaper (older versions go for a song in ebay) and WP allows me to have more than one keyboard. I have a keyboard for English, for Greek, and for Hebrew. Word cannot do this. I highly recommend that you choose WordPerfect over Word; but you do as you like.

In many cases, there are more than one set of documents (which can be accessed via the index/links document for each book). For instance, there are four sets of documents for the book of Genesis.

1. I am currently writing a single document commentary on Genesis which will be about 300 pages and completed by summer's end 2024. I write a verse-by-verse light study of each chapter, and this brief summary (5-15 pages) are combined to make this commentary. This is the single document Genesis (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). For each chapter, there are one or more titles, one or more paragraphs of summary, and the main body is filled with the 5-15 page chapter summaries.
2. I wrote a verse-by-verse study of Genesis many years ago, and that is still available. The Old single document Genesis (452 pages) is found here: (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
3. I recently sent out a weekly lesson on Genesis by email. I would bundle up each set of 100 lessons and post them online. See the Basic Lessons on Genesis. (Genesis Lessons 1–100 HTML) (Genesis Lessons 1–100 PDF) (Genesis Lessons 1–100 WPD). That is one set of lessons, but with links to the other lessons. Including the introductory lessons, I believe that there are 5 or 6 documents online and they can be all be found here. Basic Exegesis.
4. The chapter studies are the most detailed. Every word of every verse is given, along with its meaning and etymology. Then three original translations are developed and commentary is added. At the end of every chapter is a summary. Everything above is included in the chapter studies. For Genesis, these documents can be accessed through the index/links documents (Genesislinks.htm) or (Genesislinks.pdf) (same document, different formal). Or, for some of you, going to the Index of all of these files is the easiest way to access them. That would be (Genesis).

I am rewriting this first page, and I got to this point. I will continue sometime in the future.

Now, let’s just assume for a moment that you actually believe in the same tenets of Christianity that I do; still, this site may not be for you. 99% of believers (if not 99.99%) need to be under the teaching of a pastor teacher, and I am not a pastor teacher. I once thought that was my gift, and I have since changed my mind. For those of you who are believers and in a church where doctrine is taught exegetically and categorically, with emphasis upon the original languages and the historical context of the Scriptures, this site will have limited value to you. You will get most of your growth from your pastor-teacher. This site, for you, will give you some reference material. If you need a quick and dirty explanation for this or that Old Testament passage, you might very well find it on this website. However, I have only exegeted the first 10 books of the Bible, along with a few dozen psalms, and, quite frankly, I am only pleased with the outcome of Genesis and 1 and 2Samuel and I am working on the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy, Judges, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes to bring that up to snuff.

The primary reason for this website is really as a comprehensive approach to help some pastors and some seminary students out in a limited number of books (so far, Genesis, 1Samuel and portions of Judges, 2Samuel, 1Chronicles, and the Psalms). The work done on the other books will be handy for reference material, albeit, incomplete. Whereas, these are good commentaries on the Pentateuch and the first couple books of historical narrative, I don’t see them as my best work by any means. At this point in time, Genesis, 1and 2Samuel and a few of the psalms and a few chapters of 1Chronicles represent my best work, and a pastor or a student can look at these for a thorough, one-stop, exegetical study of these books. Also, I have begun a study of the book of Genesis, designed, for the most part, to provide bite-sized portions of this book in each lesson, with an attempt to present the material accurately without a complete Hebrew exegesis. There is introductory material (HTML) (PDF), along with the first 100 lessons (HTML) (PDF). All of the study that you might need to do in the Hebrew and in most categories related to this book has been done for you. My exegesis of 1Samuel is about 4000 pages, so you may rest assured that almost every question that has ever come to your mind about this book has been answered or, at least, proposed, within these 4000 pages. The "Links" page for each book (available in HTML, PDF or WP) will tell you exactly how much work has been done in each chapter.

My hope is this: there are many pastors who are barely able to put out 3 or 4 doctrinal lessons a week. I am hoping that, after using some of the documents for background research that they might have enough trust in the work that I have done to use these chapters as their research to teach entire books and possibly even teach an additional class each week. Many of us have come out of Berachah Church when R. B. Thieme, Jr. was teaching as many as 9 classes a week. I realize that most pastors are just unable to keep up with a schedule like this (Bob claimed to teach 8-12 hours a day!). There is simply too much research and studying to be done for even the most dedicated pastor-teacher to teach more than 3 or 4 lessons a week. The intent here is to have already done the majority of that research.

Apart from these exegetical studies, I have posted two notable studies: the first one is on the Doctrine of Tongues. I have probably the most thorough examination of this spiritual gift, and I have included an historical perspective of the charismatic movement, which I think is most telling. Furthermore, I also provide within this study the correct explanation for 1Cor. 13:1, which explanation I do not believe has ever been properly taught before (however, I have been in communication with two pastors who have or will be teaching this in the near future, so it will be explained and it will get out there). You must bear in mind that almost every tongues-speaking church hangs its hat on this one verse; and, without this verse to back them up, there are no tongues of angels spoken of anywhere else in Scripture. The sad misinterpretation of this verse is the very foundation for the tongues movement. You take this away, and there is no foundation for tongues being equivalent to speaking gibberish in church.

The second notable study in this book is an examination of the various English translations of Scripture. I must admit that I entered this study with a particular viewpoint and attitude, which changed after studying the huge variety of translations which are available to the English speaking world. You may find the discussions of the individual books to sometimes be tedious (I need to fix that); however, near the end of this study, I have a great many principles summarized and put into an easy to follow table. If you are trying to determine which is going to be your primary Bible or whether you should add one or two Bibles to your collection, it is here that you will probably find your answer. I am critical of some of these translations from time to time, but I have found many of them to have some great selling points as well (including the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, which Bibles did not light my fire at first glance).

Apart from this, I do have a number of doctrines included throughout, usually designed to be taught within the context or this or that passage, but which doctrines will also provide you a thorough and well-researched perspective on the topic or topics covered. Although I tend to go overboard when it comes to detail, many of these doctrines are also summarized or reduced in size to cover the most succinct points.

As an aside, I love having the privilege, time and ability to do this. I am, however, less enthusiastic about proofreading. So, there will be typographical errors and some other errors throughout. These are unintentional; but God did not give me the gift of proofreading. : )

Obviously, you should not represent any of this work as your own, and if you quote from it, you should indicate the source. Much of my work quotes other sources, and references will be found throughout. Even if there is a thought or a point of view which did not occur to me, I will usually cite the person whose work suggested this point of view to me.

As I studied these books with a ferocious thoroughness, I was surprised to unearth an occasional truth or interpretation here and there which I believe has not been presented before. Don’t misunderstand me—you are not going to find any weird doctrines and points of view which contradict orthodox theology in this site—but now and again, you are going to come across a passage, it will be explained to you, and a light will go on in your head. “Well, damn,” you’ll say to yourself, “that makes sense now!” Several examples stand out in my mind: (1) why the gospel is less perspicuous in the Old Testament than in the New? (2) The correct exegesis of 1Cor. 13:1. (3) Why did God bring Samuel back from the dead to speak to Saul? There was nothing that Samuel said to Saul that could not have been known in another way (in fact, I don't think that Samuel told Saul much of anything). (4) Why did Jesus turn water into wine for his first public miracle? Isn't that sort of a parlor trick? Why did Jesus heal someone for his first public miracle? (5) Did OT writers and prophets really understand in full what they were writing? These are not earth-shattering truths which will shake your doctrinal foundation; however, they will help you to put things into perspective, and your theological ideology is going to have fewer holes as a result. As you come across these things, you'll either remark to yourself, or I never looked at it that way before or now that passage makes sense!

One final note: my profession, for most of my life, was a teacher, and principally of geometry. What I primarily tried to get across to my students is the logical progression of thought in that mathematical science. I try to bring that same logical progression of thought into these works that you will find within. And, once and awhile I succeed at this.

The Purpose of this Website

It might be important for you to understand my motivation in creating this web page. First of all, I don’t want any money and I provide no means in this web site for you to send me money. I am not looking for a pastorate; as that is not my spiritual gift. I don’t need any sort of following nor am I looking for any sort of following. Believe me, the last thing I want to do have a handful of people look to me for guidance; and no way do I want to lead anyone else’s life for them. My only intent is to provide information on the Word of God, acting almost more like an editor than an author in most cases, although I do occasionally offer an unique insight or perspective now and again (at least, I have found no one else offering the same information). My only intent is to be as accurate and as thorough as possible.

Beginning with the books of Judges and Samuel and including some of the psalms, I am hoping to provide the most thorough approach to that book—that is, even for a pastor preparing a lesson, I am hoping that the material found on any chapter, verse or book is going to be sufficient for a complete understanding of same. If anything, I repeat certain points too much and, if anything, I have too much information on the passages which I cover. My exegesis of 1Samuel is about 4000 typewritten pages. If there is more than one strongly held position of the meaning of this passage or that, then I stop and explore that issue thoroughly. If I can take a stand, I do. If the passage is sufficiently difficult, and the position to take for me is difficult, then I will tell you so. I’m not afraid to say, “Hey, I’m guessing here.” Or, “These are the three predominant viewpoints, and here are the pros and cons—you choose.”

My intent here is to making easier research and then teaching of the passages which I have covered. If you’re a pastor, and you decide to use the material here to help you put together an exegetical study of the book of Judges or the books of Samuel, I think that, after a few hours study, you will see that referring to your other commentaries will be fruitless; that other commentators simply do not have the depth to really devote a thorough examination of the books I have covered.

That being said, I do offer particular points of view. Even though, at one time, I did examine various cults and movements as possible sources of understanding, I now shun all cults and cultic behaviors (and I recommend that you do the same). There are a few insights which I offer which were not taught before (to the best of my knowledge), but these insights do not conflict with orthodoxy, nor do they involve new mechanics or any sort of radical redevelopment of the faith as it has come down to us. In these very few areas, I know there is a reason for it, not necessarily associated immediately with the Church Age, but with the Age that is to come.

Let me offer you an example: the book of Esther. This is a unique book of Scripture, as there is no direct mention of God and I believe all of the attempts to insert God’s name into this book are deviations from the truth. Every explanation which I have heard in the past concerning this unique aspect is either patently false or simply does not ring entirely true. Furthermore, some key elements of the book of Esther are ignored:

1.    Very few Christians know anything about the book of Esther. Yes, of course, very few Christians know anything about anything; but this ignorance is even more pronounced with respect to the book of Esther.

2.    On the other hand, the book of Esther is one of the few books of the Old Testament which many Jews, even semi-religious ones, are well-acquainted with. Most Jews know enough, when the book of Esther is read, to hiss when the name of Haman is read. Most Christians upon hearing this reaction for the first time would be perplexed.

3.    The Jews are scattered among the nations today, and are relatively successful; just like the Jews in the book of Esther.

4.    The Jews give no thought to God in the book of Esther, even though God’s presence and actions cry out to us from this book. It is as though the Jews of the book of Esther, the Jews who find themselves in a foreign nation, no longer recognize the God Who continues to preserve them and continues to reveal His love for them in all of His actions.

5.    These Jews in the book of Esther are just like the Jews of today—even the religious Jews. They do not recognize the God Who bought them; they do not recognize the true God Who formed them. They are separated from this God even though this God continues to love and preserve them.

6.    At some point in time, the book of Esther will be read at the Feast of Purim, and some Jew, under the influence of God the Holy Spirit, will say, “We are the Jews in this book—we do not know the God Who continues to love us and continues to preserve us. We have refused to see the True God of Israel in our lives. We have faced the attacks of man and of Satan again and again in our past, and God has preserved us as a people; and yet, we do not know this God; we do not acknowledge this God. We have refused to recognize that the God of Israel is Jesus Christ, Who offered Himself to us, and Whom we keep rejecting, just as the Scriptures record our rejections of God many times in the past. The Jews in the book of Esther fast and they go through various ceremonies, but they do not seem to know God—they are just like us today!” God preserved and protect them, but they did not realize that it was God; God preserves and protects us today, but we do not know who He is either.

7.    From here, one could read the many Old Testament passages of the Jews going after other gods, or of the numerous warnings from God that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world, or of the many prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. And at this point, the person of Jesus Christ will be revealed to many who are listening to that teaching.

8.    For these Jews, at some point in the future, the book of Esther and how it relates to them today is going to click; they will understand it. They know it and they have read it many times, but, at some point in time, the message of the book of Esther is going to make direct contact with their souls and they will understand. "For I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn." (Zech. 12:10).

You see, since my interests tend to focus on the Old Testament, I believe that much of what is found in these web pages will be taught at the appropriate time in the future. Much of this information, although applicable and important to believers in the Church Age, is going to be more pertinent to the Jews in the Age to come.

I should mention that, even though I was spiritually raised in Berachah Church (and still attend there), I am not beholden to them nor is this site sponsored by them in any way, shape or form. Although I certainly agree with them in all major points of doctrine, there will be an occasional interpretation here or there, and a minor doctrine, where we may not see eye to eye on. I am not related in any way to any church or organization that I link to, to any theologian that I quote, or to any seminary or denomination. The only restrictions that I am under is my own conscience and the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit. I attempt at 100% accuracy, and would be overjoyed if I attain 98–99% accuracy. The key is this: there is no earthly reward or tie which has any effect upon what I teach in this web site. However, I will readily admit to greatly enjoying this study.

Now, for the most part, there will be few laymen who are interested in this site. I believe that oral teaching is the primary means by which those who are not in the clergy learn their doctrine, and I have provided plenty of links to sites where this information can be obtained orally. In this day and age of computers, there is no excuse for anyone not to make use of the vast resources of the internet. If you have a true interest in the Word of God, God will lead you to accurate teaching. As a very young believer, you would not believe all the material that I read, searching for the truth, including a great deal of cultic literature. However, God led me in a very short time to the careful and consistent teaching of Bob Thieme, Jr. (I refer to his teaching from the 1960's into the mid-1970's).

I hope, in these many pages, to provide a shortcut for some overworked pastor or two. You may not have the time, but you have the desire to teach more often than you are teaching. These studies gather a great deal of information and make this available to you with very little digging. The only thing that I ask is to give credit where credit is due. You will note, all quotations found in here are all referenced. I do not pretend to be some theological genius; just someone who can reasonably edit accurate points of view expressed throughout the past several centuries. And, now and again, I have a fresh or interesting approach to a passage, or an insight, which I have not seen presented before.

What you will also find here is most of the variant readings, some of which I have included even when they seem to make little or no difference in interpretation of the text (1Sam. 26:23 for example).

I also offer many of the alternate explanations; however, I am not as thorough in this respect, as I tend to ignore many of the understandings which appear to be devotional, but are seemingly devoid of any real content. Most of the time, I will take a stand on the understanding of a verse, yet often offer arguments for and against my opinion and opposing opinions.

Now, I am not really interested in getting into theological arguments with anyone else because the standard approach is to make a point, and then name a few passages which support this point. You can prove almost anything using this approach, particularly if context and relevant passages are ignored.

I am not really in the business of answering questions, although I may answer a few. My experience in the past is, most people with questions have not really taken the time to learn God’s Word in the first place. Others tend to focus on the most irrelevant minutiae. I may answer an occasional question or two; but that is not my focus.

This is not a website which is a jumping off point to point to your website. I have a list of links and I will consider links offered by others. However, I have noticed that some people are only concerned with spreading legalism and lies over the internet, offering that 3 or 4 or 5 steps to salvation (there is only one step, by the way).

Finally, it was not until 1Sam. 13 when I set up a more user-friendly approach to the exegetical study of God’s Word (which I have begun to backtrack and insert in previous books—at present, Judges and 1Samuel). What I find, for instance, in the teaching of Keil and Delitzsch is that they tend to be rather dense. That is, it requires 30 minutes to unravel a few sentences or two, even though the information they provide is generally accurate and helpful. Even with the teachings of R. B. Thieme, Jr., there is the intermixture of the original languages with the exegesis. Now, exegesis is dependent upon the correct translation, which is dependent upon the original languages. However, some people do not want to wade through the Greek or the Hebrew in order to understand a passage. Therefore, I have designed these pages so that one can easily skip over the Hebrew, but yet be able to refer back to it when he questions this translation or that. This was actually in response to someone who criticized my constant references to the Hebrew, which was previously mixed in with the explanation of each verse. I could see how it would be easy to miss some of the important points here or there, because of skimming over the sections with the Hebrew. Therefore, I separated the Hebrew (and Greek) into tables (1) so that each and every Hebrew word and its morphology could be easily found and examined; (2) and so that the Hebrew could be ignored when the reader chooses to ignore it.

My earliest studies, such as the book of Genesis, are so woefully superficial that even I am embarrassed. However, I will include those on the internet until the day that I update them. If I had time and the energy, I would update everything from Genesis to the first part of 1Samuel. However, my primary constriction is that, I can only study for so many hours (2–4 a day) before running out of gas.

As it stands now, what you will find in my studies of Genesis and Exodus are good supplementary studies; in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, most of what you need to know about those books can be found in my exegesis; and in Judges, Ruth and 1Samuel (as well as a portion of 1Chronicles and some of the Psalms), you can glean almost everything you need to know from what I present here. The biggest drawback in my approach to most of these books, is that the Hebrew exegesis is mixed in with the analysis of the verse, and some may find that disconcerting or unwieldy (I am beginning to deal with that problem). In 1Samuel and in many of the Psalms, the Hebrew exegesis is set up in such a way so that you can easily bypass it or use it, whichever you prefer.

I hope that you are blessed and edified by the studies which I offer herein. Or, I hope, in the alternative, that you explore the links which I have provided and find solid teaching on the other end of that mouse click. There are some outstanding pastor-teachers out there available through the internet, whose teachings can be downloaded or ordered; and I on my links page, I have provided you the websites of those pastors. For about 95–99% of the believers out there, your best approach is to get under the vocal teaching of a pastor; that is God’s intent and God’s plan for you. If you are living in a city where there are no good, doctrinal churches, then the alternative is to download or order the studies of a good, ICE pastor (one who teaches isagogics, categories and exegesis) and study those lessons regularly and faithfully.

Now, I do need some help: Just in case you have read down this far. I am coming across on the average one minor mistake per verse so I do need a proofreader. The typical mistakes are, indicating that there is a definite article, when there is not one; or leaving off the 3^rd person masculine singular suffix, or representing a perfect tense and an imperfect tense. Quite franky, I just get bored with proofreading, so I rarely do it. I need someone who has a small understanding of Hebrew, possesses Owen's Analytical Guide to the Old Testament, who will simply go through the Hebrew, word by word, and make certain that I have the correct words and the correct morphology. It is thankless and almost mindless work, as you would simply compare the Strong's numbers to those given in the KJV+ (in, for instance, e-sword) to what I have; and compare the morphology found in Owen to what I list. I would prefer to be accurate in these areas, and have made every attempt to be; however, now and again I am not.

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