Would like to hear some suggestions

[Emanuel Cardona]

I am looking for a reliable resource that summarizes in a short paragraph each chapter of the entire Bible.  Any suggestions?

[Daniel Francis]

Two possible resources pop to mind for Accordance. Though neither resource is likely as concise as you want both are very good and may offer you what you need. I would be more likely to recommend Eerdmans but Halley is widely respected and good too... One thing you likely have access to already in accordance is TSK. Since each chapter starts off with an outline, not exactly a paragraph but certainly brief enough.

 

CHAPTER 5

 

1 Christ’s sermon on the mount;

3 Who are blessed;

13 the salt of the earth;

14 the light of the world;

17 He came to fulfil the law;

21 What it is to kill;

27 to commit adultery;

33 to swear;

38 He exhorts to suffer wrong,

43 to love our enemies;

48 and to labour after perfection.

 

Timothy S. Morton, Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Enhanced and Expanded, Accordance electronic ed. (www.bibleanalyzer.com, 2010), n.p. 

 

_______________________________________________

 

Eerdmans Companion to the Bible, The

 

5:1–16 The Beatitudes and the Cost of Discipleship Cf. Luke 6:20–23; 14:34–35.

Like an ancient rabbi, Jesus teaches his followers from a seated position. He opens his mouth to speak the life-giving “word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (cf. 4:4). With nine “Beatitudes” (from Latin beatus, “happy, blissful, blessed”) Jesus congratulates the discouraged, mournful, meek, persecuted, and others deemed weak by worldly standards but righteous by God. “Blessed be” does not mean that such people should be happy with their current circumstances; rather, the declaration promises them heavenly reward (v. 12).

Nevertheless, the goal of moral goodness lies not in the receipt of personal reward but in public witness that directs others to the worship of God (cf. 6:1). Jesus instructs his followers that, unlike the pure salt used to season food today, the salty mix of minerals used to fertilize the fields of 1st-century Palestine could lose its taste and effectiveness.

5:17–48 Intensifying the Law Cf. Luke 6:27–36; 12:57–59; 16:18.

Jesus corrects any misconception that his emphasis on attitude of heart negates the requirements expressed in the Old Testament “Law” (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and “Prophets” (“Former Prophets,” Joshua–2 Kings; “Latter Prophets,” Isaiah–Malachi, excluding Daniel). On the contrary, the demands of Jesus’ teaching fulfill the Law—not by expanding its outward rituals, nor by protecting it from transgression with a “fence” of auxiliary rules, but by requiring a holistically righteous approach to life, from which the keeping of God’s law flows naturally. This concept does not originate with Jesus, for it permeates the Old Testament prophetical books (e.g., see Jeremiah 31, esp. vv. 31–33; contrast Amos 8). Average Jews of Jesus’ day admired the Pharisees for their meticulous observance of the Mosaic law aided by the “scribes,” who interpreted it. The charge to outdo them in righteousness surely seemed an impossible task (v. 20), but not for the righteous of heart, a characterization that did not fit the micromanaging religious leaders (cf. 12:34–35).

 

The traditional location for the Mount of Beatitudes on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and Gennesaret. (Richard Cleave, Pictorial Archive)

Yet Jesus’ looking beyond the letter of the Law actually intensifies its requirements! Murder earns judicial condemnation, but now judgmentalism warrants damnation. Having sex with someone else’s spouse breaks the Law, but now lustful looking counts as an adulterous act. The Law requires punishment to suit an offense (see Exod. 21:23ff.), but now the victim must forgo recompense and volunteer for further mistreatment. The Law mandates neighborly love between Hebrew compatriots (Lev. 19:18), but now the Jews must also love their foreign enemies and even pray for their persecutors. Thus Jesus defines the fulfillment of the Law not as adherence to a set of rules but as conduct that demonstrates a state of being—Godlike moral perfection, which he demands of his followers (v. 48).

Jesus acknowledges that Mosaic law permits a man to divorce his wife (vv. 31–32). The “certificate of dismissal” protects the divorcée from the false charge of deserting her husband, but she still needs a means of support, almost always provided by a male in that patriarchal society. Jesus teaches that remarriage by or to a divorcée spells adultery, and he considers the divorcing husband responsible for her economically necessitated transgression.

In New Testament times, traveling Romans (especially soldiers) routinely conscripted Jews as pedestrian porters, and this practice lies behind Jesus’ instruction to “go the extra mile” (v. 41).

 

 Gordon D. Fee and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., eds., The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011), 528–529.

 

_______________________________________________

 

Halley's Bible Handbook

 

Since it contains the very heart of Jesus’ teaching, we may think of the Sermon on the Mount as being to the New Testament what the Ten Commandments are to the Old Testament. Every Christian ought to read and be familiar with the Sermon on the Mount and strive earnestly to live according to its teachings. (For a comparison with Luke’s record, see on Luke 6:20–49.)

 

Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly the location of many of Jesus’ activities in the neighboring countryside, by the 4th century Christian tradition had localized the site of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), the feeding of the 5000 (14:13–21), and the appearance of the resurrected Lord to His disciples (John 21) near the place of seven springs—Heptapegon (Tagbha). This area, which is approximately 1.8 miles west of Capernaum, may have been the site of these events, and ancient and modern churches have been built in the area to commemorate them, although the geography of the Gospels seems to place the feeding of the 5000 somewhere to the north or northeast of the Sea of galilee—near Bethsaida.

 

 

In these verses, Jesus reveals a model for how Christians are to live their lives and in so doing receive spiritual prosperity, filling their lives with joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation. This is all despite how the world interprets a Christian’s outward conditions. Because of this worldly view, the Beatitudes are all too often misunderstood to suggest that Christ is advocating that Christians should live in unfortunate and depressed situations if they are to be blessed in heaven. On the contrary! Jesus goes on to say in the following verses that Christians are to be the salt of the earth and directs them to let their light shine before all men. In other words, Jesus is teaching that if we live as servants with humble and right hearts, we will be richly blessed here on earth as well as in heaven. Jesus wants to bless Christians so that unbelievers are drawn to them, and consequently the unbeliever can be led to salvation in Christ.

 

 

 

Mount of Beatitudes. The traditional site of the Sermon on the Mount, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

 

Matthew 5:17–48 Jesus and the Law

Jesus came, not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. There is no contradiction here between Jesus’ teaching and the teaching of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, all of which say that we are saved by faith in Christ rather than by works of the Law.

Murder (vv. 21–26). The law against murder was one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:7; 16:18). Jesus forbids the nurturing of anger, which is equivalent to the act of murder.

Swearing (Matthew 5:33–37). Jesus here refers to judicial oaths and vows. The Law of Moses made it clear that a vow should not be broken and that an oath should be taken only in God’s name (“Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name,” Deuteronomy 6:13). But over the centuries a whole system of distinctions had developed in which a vow or oath was binding only to the degree to which it was related to God’s name. Swearing by heaven and earth was not binding, nor was swearing by Jerusalem—but swearing toward Jerusalem was binding.

Revenge (Matthew 5:38–42). The eye-for-an-eye legislation was part of the civil law, administered by judges (Exodus 21:22–25; Leviticus 24:20). Jesus is not legislating here for courts of justice. Civil government is ordained of God (Romans 13:1–7), to save human society from its criminal elements. Jesus here teaches principles by which individuals should deal with other individuals. (see on Luke 6:27–38.)

Hatred of enemies (Matthew 5:43–48) was not taught in the Old Testament. It may have been implied in some Old Testament dealings with Israel’s enemies, but the Old Testament also teaches compassion toward enemies: “Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice” (Proverbs 24:17) and “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink” (Proverbs 25:21). Jesus deepens the requirement of compassion to the deeper requirement of love. (see on Luke 6:27–38.) Jesus also suggests that praying for one’s enemies is one of the ways in which we can express godly love (Matthew 5:44).

 

Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook, Deluxe, Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), n.p.

__________________________________________

-Dan

Edited May 9, 2016 by Dan Francis

[Emanuel Cardona]

Thank you!

[ukfraser]

Unfortunately, not in accordance (yet???? Ever hopeful), i find the oxford bible commentary edited by muddiman to be be a good resource.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Bible-Commentary-John-Barton/dp/0199277184/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462795084&sr=8-1&keywords=Oxford+bible+commentary

[Mark Allison]

BTW, creating your own chapter summaries is a great way to use User Notes as you read through the text. It's a common exercise for anyone taking an OT or NT survey class.

Edited May 9, 2016 by Mark Allison

[Emanuel Cardona]

Unfortunately, not in accordance (yet???? Ever hopeful), i find the oxford bible commentary edited by muddiman to be be a good resource.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Bible-Commentary-John-Barton/dp/0199277184/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462795084&sr=8-1&keywords=Oxford+bible+commentary

Thank you!

[Emanuel Cardona]

BTW, creating your own chapter summaries is a great way to use User Notes as you read through the text. It's a common exercise for anyone taking an OT or NT survey class.

Thank you!  The reason for my OP was because when teaching my children, I like to summarize a Bible chapter under study for context purposes and would like some help with that at times.

[Daniel Francis]

I had sent the following to E.C. as a private message last night but thought it might be pertinent to others too.

 

I had chosen a rather popular example... Knowing what you want  I went to a less frequented corner of the Bible.... as you can see from this example Halley's is very brief, indeed it;s next section is not much more verbose and covers 4 whole chapters.

 

13 Abijah Battles Jeroboam

Cf. 1 Kgs. 15:1–8.

While Kings paints Abijah in a totally negative light, Chronicles pictures him as waging a holy war with the just goal of reestablishing Davidic rule over a united Hebrew kingdom. Abijah blames Rehoboam’s failure to enforce the perpetual “covenant of salt” on the former king’s youth and timidity (but see 11:1–4). The ancients used the preservative to symbolize the eternal nature of a covenant in treaty ratification ceremonies.

Here Abijah defends Judah’s proper worship of God (contrast the kingdom’s lapse in his father’s reign, ch. 12), and he criticizes Jeroboam’s continued disobedience (vv. 8–9; cf. 1 Kgs. 12:25–33). The Davidic king portrays the northern tribes’ military resistance as a fight not against humans but against God, and he predicts their inevitable defeat (v. 12). Even Jeroboam’s larger army and superior military strategy cannot produce a victory over the army of the faithful, on whose side God fights (vv. 13–15). Though Abijah wins the battle decidedly, the kingdom remains split.

Jeroboam’s permanently weakened kingdom and divinely effected death contrast with the righteous Abijah’s growth in power and offspring.

 

 Gordon D. Fee and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., eds., The Eerdmans Companion to the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011), 273–274.

 

 

 

2 Chronicles 13 Abijah (Abijam), King of Judah (913–911 B.C.)

 

(Told also in 1 Kings 15:1–8.) Abijah reigned only three years. He was wicked like his father. But in his battle with Jeroboam, king of Israel, he relied on the Lord and won, recovering some of the cities of the northern kingdom.

 

Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook, Deluxe, Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), n.p.

 

-Dan

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Hi Emmanuel,

 

  If you search for "Bible Chapter Summaries" on the web you find lots of things like http://www.biblesummary.info/. I cannot vouch for the validity of the summaries such sites have but if you want alternatives to your own for comparison or suggestions, they might help.

 

thx

D

[Emanuel Cardona]

Thank you, Daniel! I did check that one out, but it seems to me that some summaries were missing just a little bit of info, in my opinion.

Edited May 9, 2016 by E. Cardona

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Unfortunately summaries and abridgements are like that. What to leave out, what to keep in.

It's probably why there are so many different ones.

 

Thx

D

[Emanuel Cardona]

Unfortunately summaries and abridgements are like that. What to leave out, what to keep in.

It's probably why there are so many different ones.

 

Thx

D

Very true.  I did purchase the Eerdmans one late last night and I did like what I saw.  I'll see how that one works for right now.  I want you to know that I really appreciate your help.

[R. Mansfield]

...I find the oxford bible commentary edited by muddiman to be be a good resource.

 

Good news—the Oxford Bible Commentary is now available for Accordance!

[ukfraser]

Good news—the Oxford Bible Commentary is now available for Accordance!

Great.

 

;o)

Edited March 27, 2019 by ukfraser