THE NEW/OLD COMMANDMENT - 1 JOHN 2:7

Verse 7: Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.

Starting with 2:7 and continuing through 5:3, John begins to outline the major theme of his epistle: love. At the outset, John clarifies to his readers that he is not writing a new commandment as if he has some newly “advanced revelation.”1 Instead it is an old commandment “which you have had from the beginning.” Kenneth Wuest correctly asserts that “the beginning here is the beginning of the Christian experience of the readers.”2 So what ‘old’ commandment is he referring to, that they have had from the beginning?

John states that it is “the word which you have heard.” The term ‘word’ needs amplification. In this context it means “an account which one gives by word of mouth.”3 This is referring to a specific point Our Lord made just prior to His death to His disciples during the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-16).

 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34; cf. John 15:12)

Notice that Our Lord stated that it is a ‘new’ commandment even though earlier during His earthly ministry He had restated the command from the Old Testament: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19b; 22:39). Jesus regarded this as ‘new’ because He was emphasizing reciprocal love for all fellow believers.

Therefore, this commandment regarding love is “the word” that they have heard and were so taught from the beginning of their Christian life when they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior.

What is This Thing Called Love?

Thanks to the secular humanism of the 21^st Century, the concept of love has been distorted to mean anything other than what God intended for mankind to enjoy. Note these dictionary citations:

1.  A strong feeling of affection and concern toward another person, as that arising from kinship or close friendship.

2.  A strong feeling of affection and concern for another person accompanied by sexual attraction.

3.  A feeling of devotion or adoration toward God or a god.4

What each have in common is the word ‘feeling.’ What modern man believes today is that love is an emotion and without the emotions and feelings there is no real love. Romantic love (between a man and a woman) is redefined as sexual attraction and further degraded to mutual love between two consenting adults, regardless of their gender. Additionally, having only one English word to describe the human emotion of love makes familial love, affection for friends or appreciation of art and music difficult to explain.

However, the New Testament Greek contains 2 words for love: agapao (ἀγαπάω) and phileo (φιλέω). Agapao is defined by Dr. Zodhiates as “to esteem, love, indicating a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in something or someone...to regard with favor, goodwill, benevolence.”5 And that it differs from phileo “indicating feelings, warm affection, the kind of love expressed by a kiss.”6

Dr. Zodhiates goes on to explain that agapao is the word used in the New Testament to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35) and never phileo. For this reason:

We are thus commanded to love (agapao) our enemies, to do what is necessary to turn them to Christ, but never to befriend them (phileo) by adopting their interests and becoming friends on their level.7

We are commanded to love our neighbors, love our enemies and love one another. Chester McCalley emphasizes that “True love is the mental attitude that demands that we do what is best for another no matter what the cost to us.”8 This is an apparent impossibility for it would require that we enter into a personal relationship with everyone. Plus, not everyone in our periphery may even be personally likeable because of behavioral differences. However, the following provides a Biblical solution to this challenge.

Impersonal Love For All Mankind

The first thing to consider is that agapao love is not based upon emotions or feelings, but instead it is a mental attitude that regards everyone with goodwill, kindness and compassion. Our love should be selfless, never because it makes us feel good. We should never wish evil upon our enemies, being mindful that each human being bears the image of the Creator. So how are we to fulfill this “royal law” as described by James (James 2:8)?

Since it is virtually impossible to personally love everyone, Colonel R.B. Thieme, Jr. developed a principle that enables believers to demonstrate impersonal love for all mankind:

Unlike personal love, which emphasizes the attractiveness of the object of love, impersonal love emphasizes the capacity and integrity of the one who loves. Whereas personal love is an intense and subjective attitude toward a few, impersonal love is a relaxed and objective mental attitude toward everyone—friend or enemy, worthy or unworthy, pleasant or obnoxious. Impersonal love solves problems in personal relationships. The believer with impersonal love is able to accept all people as they are, without demands for reciprocation, without reaction or retaliation, without incurring mental attitude sins. Whether encountering love and admiration or hatred and reproach, this unconditional attitude is stable and enduring. (Colossians 3:12–14; 1 Peter 3:8–9) 9

It is instructive for us to note the passages Thieme cites:

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. (Colossians 3:12–14)

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)

The Challenge

Can we say that we have this type of love for all mankind? Do we love fellow believers by encouraging them to advance in their spiritual lives? Are we faithfully demonstrating impersonal love to our neighbors and enemies that would encourage them to believe in Jesus Christ?

Agapao is the kind of love that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded us to exhibit and which John is about to develop and expand upon in this epistle.

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[1] Van Ryn, August (1948). The Epistles of John, New York, NY: Loizeaux Brothers, p. 57.

[2] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 13.118.

[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.10.

[4] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition, https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=love [Retrieved 22 May 2024]              

[5] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers G25.

[6] Zodhiates, G25.

[7] Zodhiates, G25.

[8] McCalley, Chester. http://wordoftruthkc.org/sites/default/files/file/I%20Corinthians%20Commentary.pdf, p. 96. [Retrieved August 14, 2024]

[9] Thieme, R.B., Jr. (2022). Thieme’s Bible Doctrine Dictionary, Houston, TX: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, p. 136.

© 2024 David M. Rossi
 

THE LOVE OF GOD PERFECTED - 1 JOHN 2:5-6

Verses 5-6: But whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (ESV)

“But” sets up a contrast between “whoever keeps His word” and the liar who “does not keep His commandments” of verse 4. What is the meaning of John’s subtle distinction which he alludes to concerning ‘keep His commandment’ and ‘keep His word’?

In the previous verse it was noted that by keeping His commandments believers are to obey them, not to merely examine or scrutinize them, but to follow the instructions given. Whereas, to keep His word is much broader in scope, entailing the acquisition and assimilation of all of the information which God has provided the believer in order to navigate this unique spiritual life He has given to us. The Apostle Paul further explains this:

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

God’s Word is our instruction manual, complete with examples, comprising all that we need to walk righteously in the Light and to please our God. Pleasing God should be an ambition for our lives, as it is often encouraged by Paul: 2 Corinthians 5:9; Ephesians 5:10; Colossians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1 and also in Hebrews 13:21 and 1 John 3:22. Our right response is not simply to read His word, but to absorb it into our souls and to apply its directives in our daily lives. By this we will fulfill the purpose for which He called us, as the Apostle Peter proclaimed: “so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

R.C.H. Lenski reminds us of the importance of God’s Word:

Without this Word there is no connection with God despite all claims to the contrary. Only one divine means reaches down from God to us sinners, cleanses us, and puts us in fellowship with God; there is no other means.1

Truth and Consequences

By a casual reading one might assume that if the truth is not in him who does not keep His commandments then the one who keeps His word would have the truth in him. Although that certainly is true, instead John advances his line of reasoning that “in him truly the love of God is perfected.” Concerning this phrase love of God, Dr. Wallace deduces that it “suggests that such love is the source for a reciprocated love.”2 The idea being that “the love that comes from God and that produces our love for God”3 reaches a state of completion (perfected) because of our keeping and absorbing His Word.

And the truth is that we have an internal witness “that we are in Him.” Not by some subjective feeling or emotion, but by an objective knowledge, by spiritual discernment (1 Corinthians 2:10-15). We are able to implement spiritual discernment because “He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). So then, by the Spirit we compare the truth standards of God’s Word with our manner of life to determine if His truth is in us and that we “are in the faith.” This is what the Apostle Paul intended when he commanded that we test and examine ourselves:

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Actions Speak Louder than Words

It should be noted that John switches from the emphasis in chapter 1 on fellowship to now advising believers to abide in Him. He maintains that those who claim to abide in Him ought to make certain that their actions speak louder than their words.

The meaning of the Greek word for ‘ought’ is “to owe, whether of a debt or any obligation”4—hence to be bound in duty. Therefore, in this context we recognize that progressively and persistently5 we have an obligation, that we are bound in duty “to walk in the same way in which He walked.” The phrase ‘in the same way in which’ is simply one word in the original Greek, kathṓs, meaning just as6 or in the same manner. John implies that there should be an equivalence or uniformity in our manner of life with that of Our Lord’s.

John refers to this manner of life as our ‘walk’, which he previously discussed in chapter 1:6-7. The word ‘walk’ means “to live or pass one’s life,”7 referring to a person’s manner of living. What we need to learn is exactly how our walk ought to be the same as Our Lord’s. Since the context of this passage is concerned with the obedience of the believer we should examine the example of obedience demonstrated by Our Lord regarding the completion of His momentous work while on earth.

He knew that He “must do work the works” (John 9:4) for which the Father had sent Him; this He did even knowing that He “must suffer many things” (Luke 9:22); He was obedient even to His “death on the cross” (Philippians 2:8); which He emphasized prior to His death the future certainty8 of “having accomplished the work” (John 17:4); at which time He proclaimed “It is finished!” (John 19:30); consequently, by His obedience “many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

Can we say that we possess the same pattern of obedience as His in our walk? We need to follow the advice of the Apostle Paul: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). For Paul warns of the disgrace of those who fail to live by the same standard:

Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ. (Philippians 3:17–18)

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[1] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.410.

[2] Wallace, D. B. (1996). Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics - Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Zondervan Publishing House and Galaxie Software, p. 121.

[3] Wallace, p.121.

[4] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.75.

[5] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 182.

[6] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 391.

[7] Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G4043.

[8] Wallace, p. 564.

© 2024 David M. Rossi 

KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS - 1 JOHN 2:3-4

Verses 3-4: By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

The opening phrase ‘by this’ refers to John’s statement: “if we keep His commandments.” He is not referring specifically to the Ten Commandments, but divine directives, “the precepts given to Christians, Christian doctrines and duties.”1 The word ‘if’ again is the determining factor of whether or not we decide to keep His commandments. If we decide to, there will be a positive outcome; if we choose not to keep His commandments, we lose out of the special benefits of our relationship with God.

Next, John says that by keeping His commandments we realize that special benefit—“that we have come to know Him.” The grammar of the Greek is very precise in emphasizing our present status of having arrived at an intimate knowledge of Him. The fact of having come to know Him is described as completed with further development of a continued and ever-growing knowledge.2 Dr. Merrill Tenney illustrates the significance of knowing God.

For the complete fulfillment of our being, we must know God. This, said Jesus, constitutes eternal life.3 Not only is it endless, since the knowledge of God would require an eternity to develop fully, but qualitatively it must exist in an eternal dimension.4

Kenneth Wuest asserts that this is an experiential knowledge “in contrast with and opposed to a mere theoretical knowledge of His Person.”5 And Dr. L.S. Chafer explains the means by which the believer is able to know God:

Fallen man is incapable, apart from divine illumination, of comprehending the sovereign Creator…the saved receive such knowledge of God as they experience, only through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.6

 But what does it mean to keep His commandments? The word ‘keep’ means to observe, fulfill, pay attention to.7 And the right response of the believer to His commandments is to observe them, not to merely examine or scrutinize them, but to obey them and to follow the instructions given.

His Commandments

What are His commandments? Kenneth Wuest explains that “The precepts (commandments) are those given by our Lord either personally while on earth or through His apostles in the New Testament Books.”8 This means that they are numerous and must be discovered through a careful and thorough study of Scripture.

Note a few example commands from various writers of Scripture:

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19; cf. Matthew 28:19–20; Luke 5:27)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34; cf. Romans 12:9–10)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:6–8)

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time (1 Peter 5:5–6)

Now Who is the Liar?

In verse 4, John maintains that the one who claims that they have come to know God and consistently fails to keep His commandments is unequivocally a liar. A liar is someone who knowingly fabricates falsehoods, tells stories or purposely misrepresents facts. Which puts them in the same company with the devil (John 8:44) and the Cretans (Titus 1:12), friends in low places.

And not only is liar their absolute status, but they are utterly devoid of the truth. In the Greek grammar, the presence of the article is used to emphasize the identity9 of the noun it modifies. So, what is the truth? The answer was provided by Jesus Christ:

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

This quote by Our Lord contains two points of Biblical doctrine. The first is that God’s Word, Scripture, is truth. It is absolute truth because it originates from the God of the universe. And the second is that it has a specific purpose for believers: to sanctify them. The word ‘sanctify’ means “to set apart for God and His holy purposes.”10 And that is what His truth is designed to do with believers—to set them apart from their former manner of life (Ephesians 4:22) to become imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1-2) and that their practice of the truth will be evidenced by all (1 John 1:6).

Otherwise, as Dr. Walvoord proclaims of the liar, that "In such a person the truth is not a dynamic, controlling influence. He is seriously out of touch with spiritual reality."11

Are we consistently keeping His commandments? Do we demonstrate a practice of His truth? We must prove ourselves daily that we are faithful believers—that we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

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[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G1785.

[2] Braune, Karl (1867). In Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, New York, NY: Charles Scribner, 9.49.

[3] John 17:3 - “This is eternal life, that they may know You.”

[4] Tenney, Merrill (1979). John, In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Gaebelein, Frank E., Gen. Ed.), Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 9.162.

[5] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English Reader. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 13.113.

[6] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 1.179.

[7] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1979). In A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 815.

[8] Wuest, 13.113.

[9] Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 140.

[10] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 1714 note.

[11] Walvoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 2.888.

© 2024 David M. Rossi
 

"THAT YOU MAY NOT SIN" - 1 JOHN 2:1-2

Verses 1-2: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

John addresses his readers in a loving manner: “my little children”—reminiscent of how Our Lord referred to His disciples in John 13:33. This is one of 3 Greek words for ‘children’ that John uses in his epistles; the others will be noted as we continue through the epistle. This one refers to the recipients of this epistle and to all believers in general1 who are his dearly loved spiritual children with whom he desires that they advance and mature in their spiritual lives.

He explains that the reason for having written “these things” (1:5-10) was: “that you may not sin.” Previously in chapter 1, verse 9, John outlined the simplicity of confession and forgiveness of our sins. This was not intended to be a license to indiscriminately sin with the attitude: “I’ll go ahead and sin because all I’ll need to do is confess and be ‘right’ with God.” This is indicative of a believer who has no intention of advancing in the Christian life—walking in the Light. It is tantamount to playing games with God which will not end well as John mentions in 1 John 5:16. This also disregards the command of Our Lord’s when He forgave sin: “Do not sin anymore” (John 5:14; cf. 8:11). So now John writes to correct this mentality stating a firm prohibition: “that you may not sin.”2

We must remember what Our Lord said about following Him: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30; cf. 1 John 5:3). Salvation is made ‘easy’ by simply “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31) and so is restoration into fellowship with the Father: confess your sins, with the admonition to ‘sin no more.’

John defines the results of how sin in the believer’s life severs their fellowship with God, causing them to lose their “celestial joy, confidence and peace”3 with the Father. They are now walking in darkness, reverting back to their former life of unbelief, as the Apostle Paul explains:

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way. (Ephesians 4:17–20)

This is what John desires that believers may avoid, for outside of the fellowship relationship with God, the believer grieves4 and quenches5 the Holy Spirit Who empowers them in their moment-by-moment “walk in the Light” (1:7), characterized by John as to “practice the truth” (1:6).

The Intercessory Ministry of Jesus Christ

But John wants us to know that we don’t need to continue to live outside of fellowship with God. For if we should fall into sin we have the ability to confess our sins and seek His faithful forgiveness and cleansing (1:9). And this is because we have an Advocate with the Father, His Son Jesus Christ. So, what is an Advocate? John is the only New Testament writer to use this particular Greek noun. The scholar W.E. Vine explains its historical Greek usage:

It was used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate; then, generally, one who pleads another’s cause, an intercessor, advocate.6

This same Greek word is translated ‘Helper’ 4 times in John 14-16, where the Lord Jesus prior to His death promised another Helper—the Holy Spirit, Who also is deity. Our Lord described the Holy Spirit’s special ministry, how “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you” (John 14:26b).

This verse distinguishes Jesus Christ as our “Advocate with the Father” with that of the Holy Spirit’s advocacy. John provides Our Lord’s credentials for being our Advocate when he states that He is literally “the righteous one.” Being our Advocate is Our Lord’s ever present intercessory ministry for all believers. The Apostle Paul stated this twice: “He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27b; cf. 8:34). And the writer of Hebrews declared:

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25; cf. Hebrews 9:24)

 Why would believers (saints) need an Advocate? Again it is John who reveals this in the book of Revelation. During the Tribulation period there will be a battle in heaven. Michael, the Archangel and his angels will wage war with Satan and his angels; casting out Satan and his angels down to earth (Revelation 12:8-9). The explanation of why Satan is currently in heaven is recorded in the next verse: 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10; cf. Zechariah 3:1)

Satan is presently today accusing us before God each time we sin, questioning our fidelity to the Father. But as our advocate, Jesus Christ resides silently at the right hand of the Father. For all that is needed to be our advocate is for His presence there as proof of the effectiveness of His finished work on the cross. This is the substance of 1 John 2:2: “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins”—‘propitiation’ means satisfaction.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He satisfied the righteous demands of the Father as the penalty payment for sins: “and not for our sins only, but also for those of the whole world.” And all that the Father needs to say to our accuser, Satan, is “Paid in full!” The same as what Our Lord spoke on the cross just before He died—one single Greek word translated into the English: “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Dr. Ryrie explained the significance of this word:

Receipts for taxes found in the papyri have written across them this single Greek word, which means “paid in full.” The price for our redemption from sin was paid in full by our Lord’s death.7

Question

Does the work accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, the price He paid as our substitute for the penalty of sin and His present day intercession on our behalf cause us to resolve that we “may not sin”? Examine ourselves! For this should be our objective, so that sin will not hinder us from walking in the Light and practicing His truth.

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[1] Vine, W. E. (1996). Collected Writings of W.E. Vine. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1 John 2:1.

[2] The Greek construction of a negative command. Dana, H.E. & Mantey, Julius R. (1957). A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, Toronto, Ontario: Macmillan Co., p. 171.

[3] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 2.342.

[4] Ephesians 4:30

[5] 1 Thessalonians 5:19

[6] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.111.

[7] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 1719 note.

© 2024 David M. Rossi