Discovery Box| (0.25) | (Amo 1:13) | 4 sn The Ammonites ripped open Gilead’s pregnant women in conjunction with a military invasion designed to expand their territory. Such atrocities, although repugnant, were not uncommon in ancient Near Eastern warfare. |
| (0.25) | (Dan 11:10) | 1 sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 b.c.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 b.c.). |
| (0.25) | (Dan 6:1) | 2 tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius. |
| (0.25) | (Dan 5:1) | 2 sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets. |
| (0.25) | (Dan 4:22) | 1 sn Much of modern scholarship views this chapter as a distortion of traditions that were originally associated with Nabonidus rather than with Nebuchadnezzar. A Qumran text, the Prayer of Nabonidus, is often cited for parallels to these events. |
| (0.25) | (Dan 2:23) | 1 tn Various explanations have been offered for the plurals we and us. They could be editorial plurals, or refer to Daniel and his three friends who were also praying about the matter. |
| (0.25) | (Eze 23:16) | 2 sn The Chaldeans were prominent tribal groups of Babylonia. The imagery is reminiscent of events in the reigns of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:12-15) and Jehoiakim (2 Kgs 23:34-24:1). |
| (0.25) | (Eze 18:6) | 1 tn Heb “on the mountains he does not eat.” The mountains are often mentioned as the place where idolatrous sacrifices were eaten (Ezek 20:28; 22:9; 34:6). |
| (0.25) | (Lam 5:12) | 1 tn Heb “elders were shown no respect.” The phrase “shown no respect” is an example of tapeinosis, a figurative expression of understatement: to show no respect to elders = to terribly mistreat elders. |
| (0.25) | (Lam 1:15) | 4 tn The verb is elided and understood from the preceding colon. Naming “my Lord” as the subject of the verb late, as it were, emphasizes the irony of the action taken by a person in this position. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 51:40) | 1 sn This statement is highly ironic in light of the fact that the Babylonians were compared to lions and lion cubs (v. 38). Here they are like lambs, rams, and male goats that are to be led off to be slaughtered. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 51:32) | 1 sn Babylon was a city covering over a thousand acres that was surrounded by two walls, the inner one 21 feet (6.3 m) thick and the outer one 11 feet (3.3 m) thick. To provide the city further security, other walls were built to its south and east, and irrigation ditches and canals to it north and east were flooded to prevent direct access. The “fords” were crossings for the Euphrates River, which ran right through the city, and for the ditches and canals. The “reed marshes” were low-lying areas around the city where reeds grew. Burning them would deprive any fugitives of places to hide and flush out any who had already escaped. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 50:2) | 5 tn The verbs here are all in the tense that views the actions as though they were already done (the Hebrew prophetic perfect). The verbs in the next verse are a mixture of prophetic perfects and imperfects that announce future actions. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 49:8) | 2 sn Dedan. The Dedanites were an Arabian tribe who lived to the southeast of Edom. They are warned here to disassociate themselves from Edom because Edom is about to suffer disaster. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 46:14) | 1 sn For the location of the cities of Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes see the note on Jer 44:1. These were all cities in Lower or northern Egypt that would have been the first affected by an invasion. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 41:5) | 2 tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 34:21) | 1 sn This refers to the relief offered by the withdrawal of the Babylonian troops to fight against the Egyptians, who were coming to Zedekiah’s aid (cf. 37:5, 7, 11). |
| (0.25) | (Jer 34:5) | 1 tn Heb “And like the burning [of incense] for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so will they burn [incense] for you.” The sentence has been reversed for easier style and the technical use of the terms interpreted. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 33:11) | 6 sn This refers to the reunification of Israel and Judah to the state that they were before the division after Solomon. Cf. Jer 3:18; 30:3; 31:27; see the study note on 30:3. |
| (0.25) | (Jer 26:10) | 1 sn These officials of Judah were officials from the royal court. They may have included some of the officials mentioned in Jer 36:12-25. They would have been concerned about any possible “illegal” proceedings going on in the temple. |
