And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp.

Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight.

And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.

And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:

And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.

Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.

Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.

22:5 come again. Note Abraham’s great faith. At a time when no one had ever come back from the dead, Abraham so strongly believed that God would keep His word concerning Isaac that he believed God would raise him from the dead after he had obeyed God in slaying him (Hebrews 11:17-19).

14:18 Melchizedek. The identity of Melchizedek is controversial, especially in view of the statements made concerning him in Psalm 110:4, and in Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1-21). “The Lord” is called by David “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” The writer of Hebrews said Melchizedek was “without father, without mother, without descent (i.e., ‘genealogy’), having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3). The usual interpretation of these words is that he was made into a type of Christ since, as a “King of Righteousness” (meaning of Melchizedek) and “King of Peace” (meaning of Salem), he appears and leaves the record, suddenly, with no mention of either ancestry or death. This, however, is obviously a strained and naturalistic exegesis of exalted and supernaturalistic language. It seems better to take the words literally, in which case they could only be applicable to Christ Himself, appearing here to Abram in a theophany. This would also solve the problem of how such a godly king and priest as Melchizedek could be ruling a city in such an ungodly land as Canaan and, why, if he did, Abram would have had no other contact with him. The fact that he was “made like unto the Son of God” accords with one of Christ’s pre-incarnate appearances; at His human birth, he became the incarnate Son of God forever. Melchizedek was also said to be a man (Hebrews 7:4), but the same is true in the case of other theophanies, one of which was likewise manifested to Abram and Lot (Genesis 18:2,22; 19:1-24). That Melchizedek’s Salem could never have been Jerusalem is evident especially from Ezekiel 16:2–4 (see note on Ezekiel 16:4).

18:1 the LORD appeared. This remarkable theophany is highly instructive. The Lord Jesus in pre-incarnate form and two of His angels all appeared in the form of three men, even eating with Abraham. The writer of Hebrews refers to this event when he says that “some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). Later the two angels move on to communicate with Lot in Sodom (Genesis 18:22) while the Lord remained to talk further with Abraham. Thus both the angels and God Himself can, when necessary, assume fully human bodies. Similarly, in His resurrection body, Christ “did eat before them” (Luke 24:43) and He said that, in the resurrection, all believers will be “as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). Our immortal bodies will be fully physical bodies, but, like the angels, not subject to the gravitational and electro-magnetic forces which govern our present bodies.

23:19 Sarah his wife. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is given (Genesis 23:1). Isaac was thirty-seven when she died. As Abraham is called the father of all believers, so Sarah is considered mother of all believing women (I Peter 3:5,6), and she died in faith (Hebrews 11:13).

24:7 his angel. Angels perform many services on behalf of God’s people (Hebrews 1:14). This passage indicates one such service is guiding the steps of the believer and preparing the way before him in answer to prayer.

24:67 he loved her. Although the New Testament does not specifically say that Isaac and Rebekah constitute a “type” of Christ and His Church, the numerous parallels are more than coincidental, and do follow naturally from the clear identification of Isaac himself as a type of Christ (note Galatians 3:16; Hebrews 11:17-19). In the symbolic parallel, the servant dispatched by Abraham to seek a bride for his son becomes the Holy Spirit, sent by the Heavenly Father to find and bring the heavenly Bride, the Church, to His Son (John 14:26; 16:13,14; Acts 15:14). After she accepts the invitation, the Spirit, like Abraham’s servant, guides the Bride through the wilderness to join the Bridegroom when he comes out to meet her at the end of the journey. There are numerous detailed parallels one can discern as the passage is studied in depth.

25:27 cunning hunter. The only hunters mentioned in the Bible are Nimrod (Genesis 10:9) and Esau, and both were rebels against the will and revelation of God. Although God permits the eating of meat, the hunting of animals for sport is questionable at best. God cares even when a sparrow dies (Matthew 10:29). The family did not need game for meat, since Isaac had great flocks and herds; neither did they need protection from wild animals, as Esau had to be a “cunning” hunter to find any to slay. He was simply a carnal, profane, licentious playboy (Hebrews 12:16).

32:1 angels of God. This is Jacob’s second encounter with angels; the first, twenty years earlier, was as he left the promised land. He encounters them again as he returns. In both cases, whether facing the external dangers of the material world (typified by Laban) or the internal dangers of the religious world (typified by Esau), Jacob could rely on the help of God’s invisible army of ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14); the same is true for faithful men of God today.

47:9 days of their pilgrimage. Jacob considered his life on earth to be merely a “pilgrimage,” like that of his fathers. Though not much is said about it, they evidently recognized their eternal home would be with God. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13).

47:10 Jacob blessed Pharaoh. It is significant that “Jacob blessed Pharaoh,” not the other way around. Even though Pharaoh was probably the greatest king on earth at the time, “without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better” (Hebrews 7:7), and in God’s sight, Jacob was the greatest man of his generation.