Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - 1 Kings 4:1-34
The Bunch of Hyssop 1 Kings 4:33 These words imply that the hyssop must have been a weak and insignificant plant. And it must have been weak and insignificant because of its contrast with the cedar. And yet it played a by no means trivial part in the Old Testament Church. It was with 'a bunch of hyssop' the Passover blood was sprinkled 'on the two side-posts and on the lintels of the houses'. I. Faith in Christ is a confession of helplessness. There was no particular virtue in the hyssop. It... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - 1 Kings 4:12
(12) The fifth division must have been large and important, including much of the great plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, the garden and battle-field of Northern Palestine, and extending to the Jordan valley. Taanach, Megiddo, and Beth-shean are all named as Canaanitish cities not taken by Manasseh, but made tributary (Joshua 17:11; Judges 1:27). Taanach and Megiddo are referred to in the song of Deborah (Judges 5:19). Megiddo is the place of the death of Ahaziah (2 Kings 9:27) and the fall of... read more