I originally wrote these notes as I taught the Bible to my graduate students at Dallas Theological Seminary. I had the privilege of teaching through all 66 books of the Bible many times during my 45-year teaching career there. As time passed I required my students to read these notes as supplemental reading in addition to their reading the biblical text. The notes were considerably shorter then. I also made them available for people in my church who expressed an interest in them. Then it was suggested that I post them on the internet for more general use.
As these notes are now accessible to a wider audience, I have tried to make them more easily understood by the average Christian, not just seminary students and graduates. The following comments are designed to help the reader understand better some things that are commonly used in academic circles but may be unfamiliar to the average reader.
Each set of notes has several parts. The Introduction sections contain information about each Bible book. The subjects discussed include its title, writer, the time and place of composition (date), original destination and/or audience, the period of time covered in the book (scope), its purpose(s), major theme(s), theological emphases, other emphases, distinctive features, genre (type of literature), literary forms, plan, structure, style, organization, importance, character, distinctive characteristics and/or subject matter, textual history, relation to other Bible books, value and/or relevance, historicity, canonicity, interpretation, use of quotations, unity, historical background, position in the Bible, its original languages, authenticity, and the occasion that prompted its writing. Not all these subjects are discussed in each set of notes. Only those that are deemed pertinent. Additionally, discussions of the minor prophets and the synoptic problem introduce the notes on Hosea and Matthew respectively. Each introduction section concludes with one or two outlines of the book and a summary of the message of that book.
The Exposition section contains an explanation of the biblical text with various views as to its interpretation as needed. Applications are sometimes made and personal illustrations are included from time to time. Also included are helpful comments by other students of the biblical passages.
The notes on the Old Testament historical books (Genesis through Esther) plus Job have a Conclusion section that summarizes each of those books.
There are also Maps and Appendices in some of the notes. Charts, lists, tables, and diagrams are also included where relevant.
Footnotes throughout the notes identify the sources of quotations and contain other information that the reader may find helpful. References to sources after the first reference to that source are abbreviated with just the author’s name(s) and/or the author’s name(s) plus the first two words (normally) of the source when more than one source by an author has been cited previously.
The Bibliography at the end of the notes contains full information about the sources that I have referred to in the notes. These sources have been included so the reader may look them up if he or she has a desire to do so.
Some common abbreviations that are used in the notes (excluding those of the books of the Bible, the Apocrypha, English translations and versions, states, and countries) are the following:
| A.D. | The year of our Lord (after Christ) |
| Aram. | Aramaic (language) |
| b. | born |
| B.C. | Before Christ |
| BCE | Before the Common Era (= B.C.) |
| c. or ca. | about |
| CE | Common Era (= A.D.) |
| cf. | compare |
| ch., chs. | chapter, chapters |
| d. | died |
| e.g. | for example |
| ed. | editor, edited by, or edition |
| et al. | and others |
| etc. | and the rest |
| f., ff. | following page or pages |
| Gk. | Greek (language) |
| Heb. | Hebrew (language) |
| i.e. | that is |
| ibid. | in the same place |
| idem. | by the same writer |
| Lat. | Latin (language) |
| lit. | literally |
| LXX | Septuagint |
| ms., mss. | manuscript, manuscripts |
| MT | Masoretic Text (the commonly used version of the Hebrew Bible: the Tanakh, the Old Testament) |
| n., nn. | notation, notations |
| N.c. | no city |
| n.d. | no date |
| N.p. | no publisher |
| op. cit. | in the work cited |
| p., pp. | page, pages |
| par. | paragraph |
| pl. | plural |
| q.v. | which see |
| sic. | used in brackets after a copied or quoted word or words that appear odd or erroneous to show that the word or words are quoted exactly as it stands or they stand in the original |
| sing. | singular |
| s.v. | under the heading |
| tr. | translated |
| v., vv. | verse, verses |
| vis. | namely |
| vs. | versus |
| … | words omitted |
| § | section |
| (text) | parentheses that enclose words added by the original writer |
| [text] | brackets that enclose words added by someone other than the original writer, usually written by me |
I recommend that you carefully read the verse or verses of Scripture before reading what I have written about them. What God has said in His Word is far more important than anything that anyone can say about it.
Thomas L. Constable, A.B., Th.M., Th.D.
December 31, 2024