Intercession

How Nave’s arranged it

• OF MAN WITH MAN1 Samuel 2:25
• INSTANCES OF
• Reuben for JosephGenesis 37:21Genesis 37:22
• Judah for JosephGenesis 37:26Genesis 37:27
• Pharaoh's chief baker for Joseph with 40:14Genesis 41:9–13
• Jonathan for David1 Samuel 19:1–7
• Abigail for Nabal1 Samuel 25:23–35
• Joab for Absalom2 Samuel 14:1–24
• Bath-sheba
• For Solomon1 Kings 1:15–31
• For Adonijah1 Kings 2:13–25
• Ebed-melech for JeremiahJeremiah 38:7–13

The passages, in Bible order (254)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Genesis 18:23–32

   Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

   ›Commentary on Genesis 18:23–322 voices

   “Whenever we draw near to God, it becomes us reverently to acknowledge the vast distance that there is between us and Him. He is the Lord of glory, we are worms of the earth.

   “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? - A form of speech similar to that in Gen 18:17, an invariable principle of justice, that the righteous shall not be punished for the crimes of the impious. And this Abraham lays down as the foundation of his supplications. Who can pray with any hope of success who cannot assign a reason to God and his conscience for the petitions he offers? The great sacrifice offered by Christ is an infinite reason why a penitent sinner should expect to find the mercy for which he pleads.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 18:23–32→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Genesis 18:26

   So the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 18:262 voices

   “And in this manner, through a series of questions and answers, even if he finds ten righteous people in the city, he promises impunity to the entire people on account of the righteousness of a few. Where do we learn how great a wall is for our country, a virtuous man, how we should not envy holy men, nor disrespect them lightly. For their faith saves us, their justice defends us from destruction. Even Sodom, if it had ten righteous men, could have not perished.

   “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city,.... Sodom is particularly mentioned because Lot dwelt there, and being the metropolis, and the city of greatest note, as Jarchi observes, it is put for the rest; and the sense is, if fifty righteous persons could be found in all the five cities, mercy should be shown them: then will I spare all the place for their sakes; not Sodom only, but the whole country, of which Sodom was the chief; the Lord takes up and agrees to the number Abraham pitched upon, and grants the request he makes.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 18:26→

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Genesis 18:29

   Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Genesis 18:30

   Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 18:301 voice

   “But he with whom we have to do is God and not man, and he is pleased when he is wrestled with. But why then did Abraham leave off asking when he had prevailed so far as to get the place spared if there were but ten righteous in it?

   Everything gathered on Genesis 18:30→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Genesis 18:32

   Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 18:322 voices

   “(Verse 32) And he said, 'Is it, Lord, if I speak?' Which is written in Greek, μήτι, Κύριε, ἐὰν λαλήσω. Secondly, Abraham spoke to the Lord, which does not seem to clearly indicate what he is saying. Therefore, in Hebrew it is written more explicitly: 'Please do not be angry, Lord, if I have spoken.' For since he seemed to be questioning, he qualifies what he seeks by beginning with a plea.

   “Peradventure ten shall be found there - Knowing that in the family of his nephew the true religion was professed and practiced, he could not suppose there could be less than ten righteous persons in the city, he did not think it necessary to urge his supplication farther; he therefore left off his entreaties, and the Lord departed from him. It is highly worthy of observation, that while he continued to pray the presence of God was continued; and when Abraham ended, “the glory of the Lord was lifted up,” as the Targum expresses it.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 18:32→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Genesis 19:22

   Hurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.” That is why the town was called Zoar.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 19:222 voices

   “(1.) Zoar was spared, to gratify him. Though his intercession for it was not, as Abraham's for Sodom, from a principle of generous charity, but merely from self-interest, yet God granted him his request, to show how much the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails. (2.) Sodom's ruin was suspended till he was safe: I cannot do any thing till thou shalt have come thither.

   “I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither - The very presence of good men in a place helps to keep off judgments. See what care God takes for the preservation of his people!

   Everything gathered on Genesis 19:22→

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Genesis 20:7

   Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

   ›Commentary on Genesis 20:72 voices

   “He is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee - The word prophet, which we have from the Greek προφητες, and which is compounded of προ, before, and φημι, I speak, means, in its general acceptation, one who speaks of things before they happen, i.e., one who foretells future events. But that this was not the original notion of the word, its use in this place sufficiently proves. Abraham certainly was not a prophet in the present general acceptation of the term, and for the Hebrew נביא nabi, we must seek some other meaning.

   “(2.) Being a prophet, he shall pray for thee; this is a prophet's reward, and a good reward it is. It is intimated that there was great efficacy in the prayers of a prophet, and that good men should be ready to help those with their prayers that stand in need of them, and should make, at least, this return for the kindnesses that are done them.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 20:7→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Genesis 20:17

   Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—

   ›Commentary on Genesis 20:171 voice

   But it does not seem to me superfluous that mention is made not only of Abim-elech's wife but also of his handmaids, especially in that place that says, "God healed them, and they bore children. For he had closed [their wombs] that they might not bear."

   Everything gathered on Genesis 20:17→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Genesis 20:18

   for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

   ›Commentary on Genesis 20:181 voice

   “For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs - Probably by means of some disease with which he had smitten them, hence it is said they were healed at Abraham’s intercession; and this seems necessarily to imply that they had been afflicted by some disease that rendered it impossible for them to have children till it was removed. And possibly this disease, as Dr. Dodd conjectures, had afflicted Abimelech, and by this he was withheld, Gen 20:6, from defiling Abraham’s bed.

   Everything gathered on Genesis 20:18→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Genesis 24:12

    “O LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

    ›Commentary on Genesis 24:122 voices

    “(2.) He pleads God's covenant with his master Abraham: O God of my master Abraham, show kindness to him. Note, As the children of good parents, so the servants of good masters, have peculiar encouragement in the prayers they offer to God for prosperity and success.

    “But when he has the desired success, he worships God, not the angel. Whatever benefit we have by the ministration of angels, all the glory must be given to the Lord of the angels, Rev. xxii.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 24:12→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Genesis 26:4

    I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

    ›Commentary on Genesis 26:41 voice

    “Observe, too, how the same promises are made to Isaac and to Jacob. For thus He speaks to Isaac: "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." And to Jacob: "And in thee and in thy seed shall all families of the earth be blessed." He says that neither to Esau nor to Reuben, nor to any other; only to those of whom the Christ should arise, according to the dispensation, through the Virgin Mary. But if you would consider the blessing of Judah, you would perceive what I say.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 26:4→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Genesis 26:5

    because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

    ›Commentary on Genesis 26:52 voices

    “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice,.... In all things, and particularly in offering up his son at his command: and kept my charge; whatever was given him in charge to observe; this, as Aben Ezra thinks, is the general, of which the particulars follow: my commandments, my statutes, and my laws; whether moral, ceremonial, or civil and judicial; all and everyone which God enjoined him, he was careful to observe.

    “Abraham obeyed my voice - מימרי meimeri, my Word. See Gen 15:1. My charge - משמרתי mishmarti, from שמר shamar, he kept, observed, etc., the ordinances or appointments of God. These were always of two kinds: 1. Such as tended to promote moral improvement, the increase of piety, the improvement of the age, etc. And 2. Such as were typical of the promised seed, and the salvation which was to come by him.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 26:5→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Genesis 26:24

    and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

    ›Commentary on Genesis 26:241 voice

    “The Lord appeared unto him - He needed especial encouragement when insulted and outraged by the Philistines; for having returned to the place where his noble father had lately died, the remembrance of his wrongs, and the remembrance of his loss, could not fail to afflict his mind; and God immediately appears to comfort and support him in his trials, by a renewal of all his promises.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 26:24→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Genesis 37:21

    When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.

    ›Commentary on Genesis 37:212 voices

    Indeed, Reuben and Judah observed the holy bonds of brotherhood and desired to free Joseph from their hands. Judah receives the preference by his father's blessing, and rightly so, when it is said to him, "The sons of your father shall bow down to you. A lion's whelp is Judah, and he is the expectation of nations."

    “Reuben heard it - Though Reuben appears to have been a transgressor of no ordinary magnitude, if we take Gen 35:22 according to the letter, yet his bosom was not the habitation of cruelly. He determined, if possible, to save his brother from death, and deliver him safely to his father, with whose fondness for him he was sufficiently acquainted.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 37:21→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Genesis 37:22

    “Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Genesis 37:26

    Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

    ›Commentary on Genesis 37:262 voices

    “What profit is it if we slay our brother? - It will be less guilt and more gain to sell him. And as Joseph was sold by the contrivance of Judah for twenty pieces of silver, so was our Lord Jesus for thirty, and by one of the same name too, Judas.

    “What profit is it if we slay our brother?--The sight of these travelling merchants gave a sudden turn to the views of the conspirators; for having no wish to commit a greater degree of crime than was necessary for the accomplishment of their end, they readily approved of Judah's suggestion to dispose of their obnoxious brother as a slave.

    Everything gathered on Genesis 37:26→

    Verse page →Original language →