those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and turn aside the way of the afflicted;
a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
Fathers and sons have sex with the same girls — possibly as part of the pagan fertility rites. Honour and respect has broken down in a chaos of greed and abuse.
The third crime is that father and son were having sexual intercourse with the same girl, either a temple prostitute or a servant taken as a concubine (Ex. 21:7-9; Lev. 18:8, 15). By such promiscuity the men were showing their disregard for the Lord of the covenant and were profaning (i.e., treating as common) His holy name. God’s “name” (see comments on Ex. 3:13-15) spoke of His character and His unique commitment to Israel. To flaunt His commandments openly was to mock His character and to disdain His special place in their lives.
Denying justice (2:7a). The wealthy were so indifferent to the poor that they walked all over their rights, as disinterested as if they were walking along a road. Where no one cares about the needy the legal system itself will become corrupt and the poor will be denied access however just their cause.
A modern example is a N.Y. court’s decision that a minister is not allowed to speak for the unborn even from his pulpit. Not only is there no legal interest in the rights of unborn children, but basic constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and the separation of church and state are callously set aside. Each society must ask: Who speaks for the helpless? And each must answer for its indifference and unconcern.
Using the same girl (2:7b). The phrase likely refers to slave girls, who by tradition might be given as a secondary wife to a son of the household. But to simply use such a person as a sexual plaything for the men of the household violated the letter and spirit of O.T. Law concerning slaves, and showed the utter moral corruption of the land (cf. Ex. 21:7–11).
The third crime is their profanation of the name of God by shameless immorality (v. 7b); and the fourth, desecration of the sanctuary by drinking carousals (v. 8). A man and his father, i.e., both son and father, go to the girl, i.e., to the prostitute. The meaning is, to one and the same girl; but ’achath is omitted, to preclude all possible misunderstanding, as though going to different prostitutes was allowed. This sin was tantamount to incest, which, according to the law, was to be punished with death (cf. Lev. 18:7, 15, and 20:11). Temple girls (qedēshōth ) are not to be thought of here. The profanation of the name of God by such conduct as this does not indicate prostitution in the temple itself, such as was required by the licentious worship of Baal and Asherah (Ewald, Maurer, etc.), but consisted in a daring contempt of the commandments of God, as the original passage (Lev. 22:32) from which Amos took the words clearly shows (cf. Jer. 34:16). By lema’an, in order that (not “so that”), the profanation of the holy name of God is represented as intentional, to bring out the daring character of the sin, and to show that it did not arise from weakness or ignorance, but was practised with studious contempt of the holy God. Begâdīm chăbhulīm, pawned clothes, i.e., upper garments, consisting of a large square piece of cloth, which was wrapt all around, and served the poor for a counterpane as well. If a poor man was obliged to pawn his upper garment, it was to be returned to him before night came on (Ex. 22:25), and a garment so pawned was not to be slept upon (Deut. 24:12, 13). But godless usurers kept such pledges, and used them as cloths upon which they stretched their limbs at feasts (yattū, hiphil, to stretch out, sc. the body or its limbs); and this they did by every altar, at sacrificial meals, without standing in awe of God. It is very evident that Amos is speaking of sacrificial feasting, from the reference in the second clause of the verse to the drinking of wine in the house of God. עֲנוּשִׁים, punished in money, i.e., fined. Wine of the punished is wine purchased by the produce of the fines. Here again the emphasis rests upon the fact, that such drinking carousals were held in the house of God. ’Elōhēhem, not their gods (idols), but their God; for Amos had in his mind the sacred places at Bethel and Dan, in which the Israelites worshipped Jehovah as their God under the symbol of an ox (calf). The expression col-mizbēăch (every altar) is not at variance with this; for even if col pointed to a plurality of altars, these altars were still bāmōth, dedicated to Jehovah. If the prophet had also meant to condemn actual idolatry, i.e., the worship of heathen deities, he would have expressed this more clearly; to say nothing of the fact, that in the time of Jeroboam II there was no heathenish idolatry in the kingdom of the ten tribes, or, at any rate, it was not publicly maintained.
pant after … dust of … earth on … head of … poor—that is, eagerly thirst for this object, by their oppression to prostrate the poor so as to cast the dust on their heads in mourning on the earth (compare 2Sa 1:2; Job 2:12; Ez 27:30).
turn aside … way of … meek—pervert their cause (Am 5:12; Job 24:4 [Grotius]; Is 10:2).
a man and his father—a crime “not so much as named among the Gentiles” (1Co 5:1). When God’s people sin in the face of light, they often fall lower than even those who know not God.
go in unto the same maid—from Am 2:8 it seems likely “the damsel” meant is one of the prostitutes attached to the idol Astarte’s temple: prostitution being part of her filthy worship.
to profane my … name—Israel in such abominations, as it were, designedly seeks to insult God.
go in to the same girl. In the context of oppressing the helpless, the reference was probably to a slave girl
(cf. Exod 21:7–11; Lev 18:7–8; 19:20–22; 20:17–21; 22:32)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Amos 2:6
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
Israel’s sins are her social injustice and her pagan immorality. Innocent people are cheated of justice when their judges take bribes:
They sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals (2:6).
Fathers and sons have sex with the same girls — possibly as part of the pagan fertility rites. Honour and respect has broken down in a chaos of greed and abuse.
Amos reviews Israel’s history, telling it from God’s point of view. God rescued his people from Egypt, gave them victory over their enemies and taught them what was holy. But Israel has behaved shamefully in return — commanding God’s prophets to be quiet, and getting the Nazirites (holy ones) drunk. Now God is going to crush his people with inescapable judgment. The strongest, the fastest and the bravest will all alike be overrun.
True religion
The challenge of Amos is that our worship of God should come from our hearts and affect both our personal lives and our social structures. Beautiful music and perfect offerings are nothing without the desire to treat all people fairly and the resolve to live moral and generous lives.
If we don’t offer our hearts to God when we worship him, and if we aren’t determined to change our ways, then our prayers are a pretence and our lives are a lie. Amos teaches that this angers God and provokes his judgment.
2:6. The first charge against the Israelites is that they callously sold into slavery the poor who could not pay their debts (cf. 2 Kings 4:1-7). Honest people (the righteous) who could be trusted to repay eventually, were sold for the silver they owed. The desperately poor (the needy) were enslaved because they could not pay back the insignificant sum they owed for a pair of sandals (cf. Amos 8:6). These sandals might refer to the custom of giving one’s sandals as a kind of mortgage deed or title to confirm the legal transfer of land (cf. Ruth 4:7). The meaning would then be that the poor were being sold for either money or land. Such hardheartedness against Israel’s own people, not against a foreign nation, was rebellion against God’s covenant which called for generosity and openhandedness toward the poor (Deut. 15:7-11).
After this introduction, the prophet’s address turns to Israel of the ten tribes, and in precisely the same form as in the case of the nations already mentioned, announces the judgment as irrevocable. At the same time, he gives a fuller description of the sins of Israel, condemning first of all the prevailing crimes of injustice and oppression, of shameless immorality and daring contempt of God (vv. 6–8);
Israel—the ten tribes, the main subject of Amos’ prophecies.
sold the righteous—Israel’s judges for a bribe are induced to condemn in judgment him who has a righteous cause; in violation of De 16:19.
the poor for a pair of shoes—literally, “sandals” of wood, secured on the foot by leather straps; less valuable than shoes. Compare the same phrase, for “the most paltry bribe,” Am 8:6; Ez 13:19; Joe 3:3. They were not driven by poverty to such a sin; beginning with suffering themselves to be tempted by a large bribe, they at last are so reckless of all shame as to prostitute justice for the merest trifle. Amos convicts them of injustice, incestuous unchastity, and oppression first, as these were so notorious that they could not deny them, before he proceeds to reprove their contempt of God, which they would have denied on the ground that they worshipped God in the form of the calves.
Greed, so all-consuming that for insignificant debts they would sell another into slavery (cp. Matt. 18:23–35), was accompanied by uncontained sexual passion. Care for the poor is a prominent OT theme (e.g., Prov. 14:31; 17:5) and sexual purity is mandated repeatedly. Violations of both are an affront to God’s holy name.
One cannot be right with God if he is wrong with men. When divine compassion finds no reflection in human compassion, then the altar is visited in vain.
"For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
Israel’s sins are her social injustice and her pagan immorality. Innocent people are cheated of justice when their judges take bribes:
They sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals (2:6).
Fathers and sons have sex with the same girls — possibly as part of the pagan fertility rites. Honour and respect has broken down in a chaos of greed and abuse.
Amos reviews Israel’s history, telling it from God’s point of view. God rescued his people from Egypt, gave them victory over their enemies and taught them what was holy. But Israel has behaved shamefully in return — commanding God’s prophets to be quiet, and getting the Nazirites (holy ones) drunk. Now God is going to crush his people with inescapable judgment. The strongest, the fastest and the bravest will all alike be overrun.
True religion
The challenge of Amos is that our worship of God should come from our hearts and affect both our personal lives and our social structures. Beautiful music and perfect offerings are nothing without the desire to treat all people fairly and the resolve to live moral and generous lives.
If we don’t offer our hearts to God when we worship him, and if we aren’t determined to change our ways, then our prayers are a pretence and our lives are a lie. Amos teaches that this angers God and provokes his judgment.
2:6. The first charge against the Israelites is that they callously sold into slavery the poor who could not pay their debts (cf. 2 Kings 4:1-7). Honest people (the righteous) who could be trusted to repay eventually, were sold for the silver they owed. The desperately poor (the needy) were enslaved because they could not pay back the insignificant sum they owed for a pair of sandals (cf. Amos 8:6). These sandals might refer to the custom of giving one’s sandals as a kind of mortgage deed or title to confirm the legal transfer of land (cf. Ruth 4:7). The meaning would then be that the poor were being sold for either money or land. Such hardheartedness against Israel’s own people, not against a foreign nation, was rebellion against God’s covenant which called for generosity and openhandedness toward the poor (Deut. 15:7-11).
After this introduction, the prophet’s address turns to Israel of the ten tribes, and in precisely the same form as in the case of the nations already mentioned, announces the judgment as irrevocable. At the same time, he gives a fuller description of the sins of Israel, condemning first of all the prevailing crimes of injustice and oppression, of shameless immorality and daring contempt of God (vv. 6–8);
Israel—the ten tribes, the main subject of Amos’ prophecies.
sold the righteous—Israel’s judges for a bribe are induced to condemn in judgment him who has a righteous cause; in violation of De 16:19.
the poor for a pair of shoes—literally, “sandals” of wood, secured on the foot by leather straps; less valuable than shoes. Compare the same phrase, for “the most paltry bribe,” Am 8:6; Ez 13:19; Joe 3:3. They were not driven by poverty to such a sin; beginning with suffering themselves to be tempted by a large bribe, they at last are so reckless of all shame as to prostitute justice for the merest trifle. Amos convicts them of injustice, incestuous unchastity, and oppression first, as these were so notorious that they could not deny them, before he proceeds to reprove their contempt of God, which they would have denied on the ground that they worshipped God in the form of the calves.
Greed, so all-consuming that for insignificant debts they would sell another into slavery (cp. Matt. 18:23–35), was accompanied by uncontained sexual passion. Care for the poor is a prominent OT theme (e.g., Prov. 14:31; 17:5) and sexual purity is mandated repeatedly. Violations of both are an affront to God’s holy name.
One cannot be right with God if he is wrong with men. When divine compassion finds no reflection in human compassion, then the altar is visited in vain.
Amos 2:5
So I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem."
fire upon Judah. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled this judgment, ca. 605–586 b.c. (cf. 2 Kin. 24,25).
The threatened judgment on Judah was “fire” of the sort with which Tyre and Edom were threatened (1:10, 12). Destruction in warfare does not seem to be too harsh a judgment for the atrocities committed by Tyre and Edom. But what about Judah’s judgment? Were Judah’s sins comparable to the atrocities of these nations? God’s assignment of identical judgment would seem to answer in the affirmative. Furthermore, being “God’s people” does not create immunity to the judgment of God but in fact increases accountability. Their guilt placed them alongside those foreign nations who perpetrated atrocities on fellow human beings.
The judgment against Judah is stated in language which had already been employed against the nations. God would send the fire of his wrath against Judah. It would consume the palaces of Jerusalem. These words were literally as well as figuratively fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 b.c. (2:5)
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans is here briefly foretold (Jer. 17:27; Hos. 8:14; 2 Kings 25:9, 10).
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem."
fire upon Judah. The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar fulfilled this judgment, ca. 605–586 b.c. (cf. 2 Kin. 24,25).
The threatened judgment on Judah was “fire” of the sort with which Tyre and Edom were threatened (1:10, 12). Destruction in warfare does not seem to be too harsh a judgment for the atrocities committed by Tyre and Edom. But what about Judah’s judgment? Were Judah’s sins comparable to the atrocities of these nations? God’s assignment of identical judgment would seem to answer in the affirmative. Furthermore, being “God’s people” does not create immunity to the judgment of God but in fact increases accountability. Their guilt placed them alongside those foreign nations who perpetrated atrocities on fellow human beings.
The judgment against Judah is stated in language which had already been employed against the nations. God would send the fire of his wrath against Judah. It would consume the palaces of Jerusalem. These words were literally as well as figuratively fulfilled by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 b.c. (2:5)
The destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans is here briefly foretold (Jer. 17:27; Hos. 8:14; 2 Kings 25:9, 10).
Amos 2:4
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the LORD,
and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
Judah’s sins are not those of brutality or bloodshed. Her guilt lies in her rejection of God’s law and her preference for worshipping pagan gods. For this she will be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc, and led captive to Babylon.
The Gentile nations had rebelled against the “everlasting covenant” God made with them at the time of Noah (Gen. 9:5-17). But Judah’s sins (peša‘) were against the Mosaic Covenant. They had rejected the Law of the Lord. They had not observed the decrees, or stipulations, of His unique agreement with them. Instead of holding to His objective truth, they let themselves be led astray by the same false gods which had deceived many of their ancestors. The word for false god is kāzāḇ, “a lie or something deceptive.” The idols were deceptive for they were unable to help the people. In Deuteronomy God constantly warned the Israelites not to follow false gods (Deut. 6:14; 7:16; 8:19; 11:16, 28; etc.).
Judah’s sins (2:4–5). Judah’s sins are identified in a general way only: the people of the South have rejected God’s laws and followed false gods. Amos will be much more specific in naming the sins of the Israelites. How eager we are to learn the details of others’ faults and failures! But the only sins whose specifics we need to know are our own.
Judah.—V. 4. “Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I shall not reverse it, because they have despised the law of Jehovah, and have not kept His ordinances, and their lies led them astray, after which their fathers walked, V. 5. I send fire into Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.” With the announcement that the storm of the wrath of God will also burst upon Judah, Amos prepares the way for passing on to Israel, the principal object of his prophecies. In the case of Judah, he condemns its contempt of the law of its God, and also its idolatry. Tōrâh is the sum and substance of all the instructions and all the commandments which Jehovah had given to His people as the rule of life. Chuqqīm are the separate precepts contained in the thōrâh, including not only the ceremonial commands, but the moral commandments also; for the two clauses are not only parallel, but synonymous. כִּזְבֵיהֶם, their lies, are their idols, as we may see from the relative clause, since “walking after” (hâlakh ‘achărē ) is the standing expression for idolatry. Amos calls the idols lies, not only as res quae fallunt (Ges.), but as fabrications and nonentities (’ĕlīlīm and hăbhâlīm ), having no reality in themselves, and therefore quite unable to perform what was expected of them. The “fathers” who walked after these lies were their forefathers generally, since the nation of Israel practised idolatry even in the desert (cf. Amos 5:26), and was more or less addicted to it ever afterwards, with the sole exception of the times of Joshua, Samuel, David, and part of the reign of Solomon, so that even the most godly kings of Judah were unable to eradicate the worship upon the high places. The punishment threatened in consequence, namely, that Jerusalem should be reduced to ashes, was carried out by Nebuchadnezzar.
From foreign kingdoms he passes to Judah and Israel, lest it should be said, he was strenuous in denouncing sins abroad, but connived at those of his own nation. Judah’s guilt differs from that of all the others, in that it was directly against God, not merely against man. Also because Judah’s sin was wilful and wittingly against light and knowledge.
law—the Mosaic code in general.
commandments—or statutes, the ceremonies and civil laws.
their lies—their lying idols (Ps 40:4; Je 16:19), from which they drew false hopes. The order is to be observed. The Jews first cast off the divine law, then fall into lying errors; God thus visiting them with a righteous retribution (Ro 1:25, 26, 28; Ro 1:25, 26, 28, 2Th 2:11, 12). The pretext of a good intention is hereby refuted: the “lies” that mislead them are “their (own) lies” [Calvin].
after … which their fathers … walked—We are not to follow the fathers in error, but must follow the word of God alone. It was an aggravation of the Jews’ sin that it was not confined to preceding generations; the sins of the sons rivalled those of their fathers (Mt 23:32; Ac 7:51) [Calvin].
Judah also is a near neighbour to Israel, and therefore, now that justice is riding the circuit, that shall not be passed by; that nation has made itself like the heathen and mingled with them, and therefore the indictment here runs against them in the same form in which it had run against all the rest: For these transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; their sins are as many as the sins of other nations, and we find them huddled up with them in the same character, Jer. 9:26, "As for Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, jumble them together; they are all alike;’’ the sentence here also is the same (v. 5): "I will send a fire upon Judah, though it is the land where God is known, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, though it is the holy city, and God has formerly been known in its palaces for a refuge,’’ Ps. 48:3. But the sin here charged upon Judah is different from all the rest. The other nations were reckoned with for injuries done to men, but Judah is reckoned with for indignities done to God, v. 4. 1. They put contempt upon his statutes and persisted in disobedience to them: They have despised the law of the Lord, as if it were not worth taking notice of, nor had any thing in it valuable; and herein they despised the wisdom, justice, and goodness, as well as the authority and sovereignty, of the Lawmaker; this they did, in effect, when they kept not his commandments, made no conscience of them, took no care about them. 2. They put honour upon his rivals, their idols, here called their lies which caused them to err; for an image is a teacher of lies, Hab. 2:18. And those that are led away into the error of idolatry are by that led into a multitude of other errors, Uno dato absurdo mille sequuntur—One absurdity draws after it a thousand. God is an infinite eternal Spirit; but, when the truth of God is by idolatry changed into a lie, all his other truths are in danger of being so changed likewise; thus their idols caused them to err, and God justly gave them up to strong delusions; nor was it any excuse for their sin that they were lies after which their father walked, for they should rather have taken warning than taken pattern by those that perished with these lies in their right hand.
For Judah to reject the Lord’s instruction was comparable to the atrocities committed by foreign nations (cf. Ezek 5:6).
The warning roar of divine judgment has been hurled at six foreign nations. Syria, Philistia and Tyre belonged to Israel’s political environment. Edom, Ammon and Moab were Israel’s “cousins.” The “noose of judgment” 3 was tightening around the neck of the covenant people. Now the focus is on the people of God. They had misunderstood the doctrine of election to be a declaration of favoritism. Amos first addressed Judah (2:4–5) and then the northern kingdom of Israel (2:6–16).
Judah falls under condemnation for despising then dismissing divine truth. “They have rejected the law of Yahweh and did not keep his statutes.” The term “statutes” comes from a verb meaning to carve out or engrave. The term points to the imperishable and unchangeable nature of God’s truth. The “statutes” were the separate precepts contained in the Torah or Law. Whereas the Gentiles had sinned against natural law, Judah had sinned against written law. This oracle demonstrates Amos’ impartiality (2:4a).
Amos also charged Judah with falling into idolatry. “Their lies,” i.e., idols, had caused them “to err.” The idols made false claims and false promises and consequently are called “lies.” Yet the citizens embraced those idols as their fathers before them had done. Like their fathers, they “walked after” those idols, i.e., allowed those false religions to guide their daily lives. “The popular error of one generation becomes the axiom of the next. The children canonize the errors of their fathers.” 4 While Judah possessed God’s Law, they preferred the traditions of men (2:4b).
"For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have rejected the law of the LORD,
and have not kept his statutes,
but their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
Judah’s sins are not those of brutality or bloodshed. Her guilt lies in her rejection of God’s law and her preference for worshipping pagan gods. For this she will be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc, and led captive to Babylon.
The Gentile nations had rebelled against the “everlasting covenant” God made with them at the time of Noah (Gen. 9:5-17). But Judah’s sins (peša‘) were against the Mosaic Covenant. They had rejected the Law of the Lord. They had not observed the decrees, or stipulations, of His unique agreement with them. Instead of holding to His objective truth, they let themselves be led astray by the same false gods which had deceived many of their ancestors. The word for false god is kāzāḇ, “a lie or something deceptive.” The idols were deceptive for they were unable to help the people. In Deuteronomy God constantly warned the Israelites not to follow false gods (Deut. 6:14; 7:16; 8:19; 11:16, 28; etc.).
Judah’s sins (2:4–5). Judah’s sins are identified in a general way only: the people of the South have rejected God’s laws and followed false gods. Amos will be much more specific in naming the sins of the Israelites. How eager we are to learn the details of others’ faults and failures! But the only sins whose specifics we need to know are our own.
Judah.—V. 4. “Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I shall not reverse it, because they have despised the law of Jehovah, and have not kept His ordinances, and their lies led them astray, after which their fathers walked, V. 5. I send fire into Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.” With the announcement that the storm of the wrath of God will also burst upon Judah, Amos prepares the way for passing on to Israel, the principal object of his prophecies. In the case of Judah, he condemns its contempt of the law of its God, and also its idolatry. Tōrâh is the sum and substance of all the instructions and all the commandments which Jehovah had given to His people as the rule of life. Chuqqīm are the separate precepts contained in the thōrâh, including not only the ceremonial commands, but the moral commandments also; for the two clauses are not only parallel, but synonymous. כִּזְבֵיהֶם, their lies, are their idols, as we may see from the relative clause, since “walking after” (hâlakh ‘achărē ) is the standing expression for idolatry. Amos calls the idols lies, not only as res quae fallunt (Ges.), but as fabrications and nonentities (’ĕlīlīm and hăbhâlīm ), having no reality in themselves, and therefore quite unable to perform what was expected of them. The “fathers” who walked after these lies were their forefathers generally, since the nation of Israel practised idolatry even in the desert (cf. Amos 5:26), and was more or less addicted to it ever afterwards, with the sole exception of the times of Joshua, Samuel, David, and part of the reign of Solomon, so that even the most godly kings of Judah were unable to eradicate the worship upon the high places. The punishment threatened in consequence, namely, that Jerusalem should be reduced to ashes, was carried out by Nebuchadnezzar.
From foreign kingdoms he passes to Judah and Israel, lest it should be said, he was strenuous in denouncing sins abroad, but connived at those of his own nation. Judah’s guilt differs from that of all the others, in that it was directly against God, not merely against man. Also because Judah’s sin was wilful and wittingly against light and knowledge.
law—the Mosaic code in general.
commandments—or statutes, the ceremonies and civil laws.
their lies—their lying idols (Ps 40:4; Je 16:19), from which they drew false hopes. The order is to be observed. The Jews first cast off the divine law, then fall into lying errors; God thus visiting them with a righteous retribution (Ro 1:25, 26, 28; Ro 1:25, 26, 28, 2Th 2:11, 12). The pretext of a good intention is hereby refuted: the “lies” that mislead them are “their (own) lies” [Calvin].
after … which their fathers … walked—We are not to follow the fathers in error, but must follow the word of God alone. It was an aggravation of the Jews’ sin that it was not confined to preceding generations; the sins of the sons rivalled those of their fathers (Mt 23:32; Ac 7:51) [Calvin].
Judah also is a near neighbour to Israel, and therefore, now that justice is riding the circuit, that shall not be passed by; that nation has made itself like the heathen and mingled with them, and therefore the indictment here runs against them in the same form in which it had run against all the rest: For these transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; their sins are as many as the sins of other nations, and we find them huddled up with them in the same character, Jer. 9:26, "As for Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, jumble them together; they are all alike;’’ the sentence here also is the same (v. 5): "I will send a fire upon Judah, though it is the land where God is known, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, though it is the holy city, and God has formerly been known in its palaces for a refuge,’’ Ps. 48:3. But the sin here charged upon Judah is different from all the rest. The other nations were reckoned with for injuries done to men, but Judah is reckoned with for indignities done to God, v. 4. 1. They put contempt upon his statutes and persisted in disobedience to them: They have despised the law of the Lord, as if it were not worth taking notice of, nor had any thing in it valuable; and herein they despised the wisdom, justice, and goodness, as well as the authority and sovereignty, of the Lawmaker; this they did, in effect, when they kept not his commandments, made no conscience of them, took no care about them. 2. They put honour upon his rivals, their idols, here called their lies which caused them to err; for an image is a teacher of lies, Hab. 2:18. And those that are led away into the error of idolatry are by that led into a multitude of other errors, Uno dato absurdo mille sequuntur—One absurdity draws after it a thousand. God is an infinite eternal Spirit; but, when the truth of God is by idolatry changed into a lie, all his other truths are in danger of being so changed likewise; thus their idols caused them to err, and God justly gave them up to strong delusions; nor was it any excuse for their sin that they were lies after which their father walked, for they should rather have taken warning than taken pattern by those that perished with these lies in their right hand.
For Judah to reject the Lord’s instruction was comparable to the atrocities committed by foreign nations (cf. Ezek 5:6).
The warning roar of divine judgment has been hurled at six foreign nations. Syria, Philistia and Tyre belonged to Israel’s political environment. Edom, Ammon and Moab were Israel’s “cousins.” The “noose of judgment” 3 was tightening around the neck of the covenant people. Now the focus is on the people of God. They had misunderstood the doctrine of election to be a declaration of favoritism. Amos first addressed Judah (2:4–5) and then the northern kingdom of Israel (2:6–16).
Judah falls under condemnation for despising then dismissing divine truth. “They have rejected the law of Yahweh and did not keep his statutes.” The term “statutes” comes from a verb meaning to carve out or engrave. The term points to the imperishable and unchangeable nature of God’s truth. The “statutes” were the separate precepts contained in the Torah or Law. Whereas the Gentiles had sinned against natural law, Judah had sinned against written law. This oracle demonstrates Amos’ impartiality (2:4a).
Amos also charged Judah with falling into idolatry. “Their lies,” i.e., idols, had caused them “to err.” The idols made false claims and false promises and consequently are called “lies.” Yet the citizens embraced those idols as their fathers before them had done. Like their fathers, they “walked after” those idols, i.e., allowed those false religions to guide their daily lives. “The popular error of one generation becomes the axiom of the next. The children canonize the errors of their fathers.” 4 While Judah possessed God’s Law, they preferred the traditions of men (2:4b).
Amos 2:3
I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill all its princes with him,"
says the LORD.
3. the judge—the chief magistrate, the supreme source of justice. “King” not being used, it seems likely a change of government had before this time substituted for kings, supreme judges.
I will cut off the ruler (Hebrew: judge) from its midst, and I will slay all its princes (Hebrew: leaders) with him (rsv)/ I will kill the ruler of Moab and all the leaders of the land. The tev, with its prose restructuring, has combined I will cut off (rsv) and I will slay (rsv), which will need to be done in many other languages as well. In most translations also, the word “judge” should not be translated literally, since in most cultures the work of judging and of ruling is quite different. Ruler is the meaning here.* Where no general term like ruler is possible, some other more specific term may have to be used, but there is no clear indication as to the precise status of this ruler. From early times Moab had been a monarchy (Num 23.7; Judges 3.12ff; 2 Kgs 3.4ff; Jer 27.3; Mesha inscription 1.23), and the function of the ruler was certainly similar to that of a king or chief (mft: “monarch”; Smith-Goodspeed: “chieftain”).
All the leaders of the land will, of course, sometimes be better translated “all its leaders.”
Says the Lord. (rsv) See 1.5.
He shall know there is a judge that is higher than he. The king, the chief judge, and all the inferior judges and princes, shall be cut off together. If the people sometimes suffer for the sin of their princes, yet the princes themselves shall not escape, Jer. 48:47. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
The judge; shophet, probably here a synonym for “king” (comp. Micah 5:1). It implies the chief magistrate, like the Carthaginian sufes, which is the same word. There is no ground for deducing, as Hitzig and Ewald do, from the use of this form that Moab had no king at this time. The country was conquered by the Chaldeans, and thenceforward sank into insignificance (Jer. 48; Ezek. 25:8–11).
and will kill all its princes with him,"
says the LORD.
3. the judge—the chief magistrate, the supreme source of justice. “King” not being used, it seems likely a change of government had before this time substituted for kings, supreme judges.
I will cut off the ruler (Hebrew: judge) from its midst, and I will slay all its princes (Hebrew: leaders) with him (rsv)/ I will kill the ruler of Moab and all the leaders of the land. The tev, with its prose restructuring, has combined I will cut off (rsv) and I will slay (rsv), which will need to be done in many other languages as well. In most translations also, the word “judge” should not be translated literally, since in most cultures the work of judging and of ruling is quite different. Ruler is the meaning here.* Where no general term like ruler is possible, some other more specific term may have to be used, but there is no clear indication as to the precise status of this ruler. From early times Moab had been a monarchy (Num 23.7; Judges 3.12ff; 2 Kgs 3.4ff; Jer 27.3; Mesha inscription 1.23), and the function of the ruler was certainly similar to that of a king or chief (mft: “monarch”; Smith-Goodspeed: “chieftain”).
All the leaders of the land will, of course, sometimes be better translated “all its leaders.”
Says the Lord. (rsv) See 1.5.
He shall know there is a judge that is higher than he. The king, the chief judge, and all the inferior judges and princes, shall be cut off together. If the people sometimes suffer for the sin of their princes, yet the princes themselves shall not escape, Jer. 48:47. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
The judge; shophet, probably here a synonym for “king” (comp. Micah 5:1). It implies the chief magistrate, like the Carthaginian sufes, which is the same word. There is no ground for deducing, as Hitzig and Ewald do, from the use of this form that Moab had no king at this time. The country was conquered by the Chaldeans, and thenceforward sank into insignificance (Jer. 48; Ezek. 25:8–11).
Amos 2:2
So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
2:2-3. Though this was not a crime against Israel, it was nevertheless a sin of rebellion (peša‘; see comments on 1:3) against the sovereign Lord of the universe, an assault against His own image in people. For such contempt and defilement, God would militarily annihilate Moab. A fire would consume . . . Kerioth, perhaps an alternate name for the capital Ar (cf. Num. 21:28; Isa. 15:1). In the tumult of battle, with war cries (cf. Amos 1:14) and the blast of the trumpet signaling her doom, Moab would go down—the people, ruler, and all . . . officials (cf. 1:15). Moab, like Ammon, fell to the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III.
2. Kirioth—the chief city of Moab, called also Kir-Moab (Is 15:1). The form is plural here, as including both the acropolis and town itself (see Je 48:24, 41, Margin).
die with tumult—that is, amid the tumult of battle (Ho 10:14).
(4) I will send fire … fortresses of Kerioth. See 1.10, 14. In one ancient translation Kerioth was not taken as a proper name but as meaning “towns”* (compare neb: “fire that shall consume the palaces in their towns”). There is historical evidence for the existence of a town Kerioth,* however, and it would be better to translate as such: “the fortresses of the town of Kerioth.”
And Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet (rsv)/ The people of Moab will die in the noise of battle while soldiers are shouting and trumpets are sounding. The tev has made much of the meaning clear. Moab (rsv) has been translated as The people of Moab. Uproar is in fact the noise of battle. The shouting involves people, so soldiers are shouting. The sound of the trumpet (rsv) is translated trumpets are sounding. In some languages someone will have to do the blowing so “soldiers are shouting and blowing trumpets.” All three events happen at the same time, and tev expresses this relationship with while. The meaning of the shouting and trumpet blowing should not be misleading. As would be true in many cultures, the shouting probably had a magical function and was intended to chase evil spirits.*
Moab’s doom for this transgression is, (1.) A judgment of death. Those that deal cruelly shall be cruelly dealt with (v. 2): Moab shall die; the Moabites shall be cut off with the sword of war, which kills with tumult, with shouting, and with sound of trumpet, circumstances that make it so much the more terrible, as the lion’s roaring aggravates his tearing. Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, Isa. 9:5. (2.) It is a judgment upon their judge, who had passed the sentence upon the bones of the king of Edom that they should be burnt to lime: I will cut him off, says God
The fire of God’s judgment would be directed against Moab. Their capital Kerioth would be consumed. Their land would be overrun by armies which would come “with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” The “judge,” i.e., ruler, of Moab would be cut off along with all the members of the royal family (2:2–3).
Amos’ God was God of all the earth. Surrounding Gentile nations are all condemned by a “Thus says Yahweh.” He had seen the monstrous atrocities of the Arameans of Damascus. He took note of the slave trade of Gaza and Tyre. He knew of the commitments made between nations which had been broken. He even observed the sins of the heart—hatred, ambition, vengeance.
Kirioth; cities, and so taken as an appellative by the Septuagint translators, τῶν πόλεων αὐτῆς : but it is doubtless a proper name of one of the chief Moabite towns (Jer. 48:24, 41). Keil, after Burckhardt, identifies it with the decayed town of Kereyat, or Korriat; others, with Ar, or Kir, the old capital (Isa. 15:1). The plural termination of the word, like Athenæ, Thebæ, etc., may denote a double city—upper and lower, or old and new. Moab shall die. The nation is personified. With tumult; caused by war (comp. Jer. 48:45, and the prophecy of Balaam, Numb. 24:17). Septuagint, ἐν ἀδυναμία, “in weakness.” With shouting. Omitted by the Vulgate (see on ch. 1:14). Trumpet (ch. 3:6; Jer. 4:19). Trochon cites Virgil, ‘Æneid,’ ii. 313, “Exoritur clamorque virum clangorque tubarum,” “Rises the shout of men and trumpets’ blare.”
and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
2:2-3. Though this was not a crime against Israel, it was nevertheless a sin of rebellion (peša‘; see comments on 1:3) against the sovereign Lord of the universe, an assault against His own image in people. For such contempt and defilement, God would militarily annihilate Moab. A fire would consume . . . Kerioth, perhaps an alternate name for the capital Ar (cf. Num. 21:28; Isa. 15:1). In the tumult of battle, with war cries (cf. Amos 1:14) and the blast of the trumpet signaling her doom, Moab would go down—the people, ruler, and all . . . officials (cf. 1:15). Moab, like Ammon, fell to the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III.
2. Kirioth—the chief city of Moab, called also Kir-Moab (Is 15:1). The form is plural here, as including both the acropolis and town itself (see Je 48:24, 41, Margin).
die with tumult—that is, amid the tumult of battle (Ho 10:14).
(4) I will send fire … fortresses of Kerioth. See 1.10, 14. In one ancient translation Kerioth was not taken as a proper name but as meaning “towns”* (compare neb: “fire that shall consume the palaces in their towns”). There is historical evidence for the existence of a town Kerioth,* however, and it would be better to translate as such: “the fortresses of the town of Kerioth.”
And Moab shall die amid uproar, amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet (rsv)/ The people of Moab will die in the noise of battle while soldiers are shouting and trumpets are sounding. The tev has made much of the meaning clear. Moab (rsv) has been translated as The people of Moab. Uproar is in fact the noise of battle. The shouting involves people, so soldiers are shouting. The sound of the trumpet (rsv) is translated trumpets are sounding. In some languages someone will have to do the blowing so “soldiers are shouting and blowing trumpets.” All three events happen at the same time, and tev expresses this relationship with while. The meaning of the shouting and trumpet blowing should not be misleading. As would be true in many cultures, the shouting probably had a magical function and was intended to chase evil spirits.*
Moab’s doom for this transgression is, (1.) A judgment of death. Those that deal cruelly shall be cruelly dealt with (v. 2): Moab shall die; the Moabites shall be cut off with the sword of war, which kills with tumult, with shouting, and with sound of trumpet, circumstances that make it so much the more terrible, as the lion’s roaring aggravates his tearing. Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, Isa. 9:5. (2.) It is a judgment upon their judge, who had passed the sentence upon the bones of the king of Edom that they should be burnt to lime: I will cut him off, says God
The fire of God’s judgment would be directed against Moab. Their capital Kerioth would be consumed. Their land would be overrun by armies which would come “with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” The “judge,” i.e., ruler, of Moab would be cut off along with all the members of the royal family (2:2–3).
Amos’ God was God of all the earth. Surrounding Gentile nations are all condemned by a “Thus says Yahweh.” He had seen the monstrous atrocities of the Arameans of Damascus. He took note of the slave trade of Gaza and Tyre. He knew of the commitments made between nations which had been broken. He even observed the sins of the heart—hatred, ambition, vengeance.
Kirioth; cities, and so taken as an appellative by the Septuagint translators, τῶν πόλεων αὐτῆς : but it is doubtless a proper name of one of the chief Moabite towns (Jer. 48:24, 41). Keil, after Burckhardt, identifies it with the decayed town of Kereyat, or Korriat; others, with Ar, or Kir, the old capital (Isa. 15:1). The plural termination of the word, like Athenæ, Thebæ, etc., may denote a double city—upper and lower, or old and new. Moab shall die. The nation is personified. With tumult; caused by war (comp. Jer. 48:45, and the prophecy of Balaam, Numb. 24:17). Septuagint, ἐν ἀδυναμία, “in weakness.” With shouting. Omitted by the Vulgate (see on ch. 1:14). Trumpet (ch. 3:6; Jer. 4:19). Trochon cites Virgil, ‘Æneid,’ ii. 313, “Exoritur clamorque virum clangorque tubarum,” “Rises the shout of men and trumpets’ blare.”
Amos 2:1
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
Up to this point, the people of Israel are delighted with Amos’ message. God is to judge and punish all their enemies. But now comes the shock. Amos declares God’s judgment on his own people, Judah and Israel. Judah’s sins are not those of brutality or bloodshed. Her guilt lies in her rejection of God’s law and her preference for worshipping pagan gods. For this she will be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc, and led captive to Babylon.
In ancient times much importance was placed on a dead man’s body being peacefully placed in the family burial site, so that he could be “gathered to his fathers” and find rest in the grave. To rob, disturb, or desecrate a grave was an offense of the highest order. Many surviving tomb inscriptions utter violent curses against anyone who would commit such an outrage (G.A. Cooke, A Textbook of North-Semitic Inscriptions. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1903, pp. 26-7, 30-2; Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, p. 327). Moab, in a war against Edom (perhaps the incident referred to in 2 Kings 3:26-27), drove their opponents back to their own territory, opened the royal graves, and burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king. This sacrilege was so thorough that bone ashes became as fine and white as powdered chalk.
2:1 Moab. Descendants of Lot and his elder daughter (Gen. 19:37). burned the bones. This event, where vengeance didn’t stop at death, is not recorded elsewhere in Scripture.
"For three transgressions of Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
Up to this point, the people of Israel are delighted with Amos’ message. God is to judge and punish all their enemies. But now comes the shock. Amos declares God’s judgment on his own people, Judah and Israel. Judah’s sins are not those of brutality or bloodshed. Her guilt lies in her rejection of God’s law and her preference for worshipping pagan gods. For this she will be conquered by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 bc, and led captive to Babylon.
In ancient times much importance was placed on a dead man’s body being peacefully placed in the family burial site, so that he could be “gathered to his fathers” and find rest in the grave. To rob, disturb, or desecrate a grave was an offense of the highest order. Many surviving tomb inscriptions utter violent curses against anyone who would commit such an outrage (G.A. Cooke, A Textbook of North-Semitic Inscriptions. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1903, pp. 26-7, 30-2; Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, p. 327). Moab, in a war against Edom (perhaps the incident referred to in 2 Kings 3:26-27), drove their opponents back to their own territory, opened the royal graves, and burned, as if to lime, the bones of Edom’s king. This sacrilege was so thorough that bone ashes became as fine and white as powdered chalk.
2:1 Moab. Descendants of Lot and his elder daughter (Gen. 19:37). burned the bones. This event, where vengeance didn’t stop at death, is not recorded elsewhere in Scripture.
Amos 1:15
and their king shall go into exile,
he and his princes together,"
And the enemy would take both king and officials (cf. Amos 2:3) into exile (cf. 1:5). This judgment was fulfilled through the Assyrian conquest under Tiglath-Pileser III in 734 b.c.
A close reading of Ann 23 indicates that Tiglath-pileser III won the
battle in the field but was unable to capture the headquarters of the
rebellion — Damascus (
21
). He destroyed the environs of Damascus
and captured several cities in Southern Syria/Northern Transjordan. A
slab in Nimrud has a relief depicting the conquest of Ashtaroth before
Gezer. This indicates that Tiglath-pileser III was operating in
Transjordan before attacking Israel. Thus, after having won the field
battle with the Arameans, Tiglath-pileser III turned southwards into
northern Transjordan and captured Gilead and the territory down to
Abel-Shittim (Summ. 9:r.3-4) (
22
). Since the Samsi episode in Ann 23
follows the plundering of the environs of Damascus, it can be
concluded that Tiglath-pileser III while operating in Transjordan
confronted the army of the Arabian queen Samsi (Ann 23:18’; Summ.
13:3’-7’) (
23
). Consequently, the second phase of the campaigns was
first directed against Damascus, then against Transjordan, and ended
with the defeat of Arabian queen Samsi.
he and his princes together,"
And the enemy would take both king and officials (cf. Amos 2:3) into exile (cf. 1:5). This judgment was fulfilled through the Assyrian conquest under Tiglath-Pileser III in 734 b.c.
A close reading of Ann 23 indicates that Tiglath-pileser III won the
battle in the field but was unable to capture the headquarters of the
rebellion — Damascus (
21
). He destroyed the environs of Damascus
and captured several cities in Southern Syria/Northern Transjordan. A
slab in Nimrud has a relief depicting the conquest of Ashtaroth before
Gezer. This indicates that Tiglath-pileser III was operating in
Transjordan before attacking Israel. Thus, after having won the field
battle with the Arameans, Tiglath-pileser III turned southwards into
northern Transjordan and captured Gilead and the territory down to
Abel-Shittim (Summ. 9:r.3-4) (
22
). Since the Samsi episode in Ann 23
follows the plundering of the environs of Damascus, it can be
concluded that Tiglath-pileser III while operating in Transjordan
confronted the army of the Arabian queen Samsi (Ann 23:18’; Summ.
13:3’-7’) (
23
). Consequently, the second phase of the campaigns was
first directed against Damascus, then against Transjordan, and ended
with the defeat of Arabian queen Samsi.
Amos 1:14
So I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,
and it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
Because of this heartlessness God would set fire to the walls (cf. vv. 7, 10) of Rabbah, Ammon’s capital city. Amid the engulfing flames the inhabitants would hear the war cries (cf. 2:2) of the attackers as they fell on their victims. Violent winds, symbolizing God’s own awesome power (cf. Ps. 83:15; Jer. 23:19; 30:23), would lash at the city. And the enemy would take both king and officials (cf. Amos 2:3) into exile (cf. 1:5). This judgment was fulfilled through the Assyrian conquest under Tiglath-Pileser III in 734 b.c.
As a punishment for this, their capital was to be burned, and the king, with the princes, to wander into exile, and consequently their kingdom was to be destroyed. Rabbâh, i.e., the great one, is the abbreviated name of the capital; Rabbah of the children of Ammon, which has been preserved in the ruins of Aurân (see at Deut. 3:11). The threat is sharpened by the clause בִּתְרוּעָה וגו׳, at the war-cry on the field of battle, i.e., an actual fact, when the enemy shall take the city by storm. בְּסַעַר וגו׳ is a figurative expression applied to the storming of a city carried by assault, like בְּסוּפָה in Num. 21:14. The reading מַלְכָּם, “their (the Ammonites’) king,” is confirmed by the LXX and the Chaldee, and required by וְשָׂרָיו (cf. Amos 2:3), whereas Μαλχόμ, Melchom, which is found in Aq., Symm., Jerome, and the Syriac, rests upon a false interpretation.
The fire of war would be unleashed against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. The forces of nature would assist the armies in dashing the place to pieces. The royal family of Ammon would be taken into captivity. Nothing moves God to punish so much as wanton cruelty to the helpless (1:14–15).2
Rabbah, “the Great,” or Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of Ammon, was situated on the southern arm of the Jabbok, and was a place of remarkable strength (see Deut. 3:11; 2 Sam. 11:1; 12:26, etc.; 1 Chron. 20:1–3). “For picturesqueness of situation, I know of no ruins to compare with Ammon. The most striking feature is the citadel, which formerly contained not merely the garrison, but an upper town, and covered an extensive area. The lofty plateau on which it was situated is triangular in shape; two sides are formed by the valleys which diverge from the apex, where they are divided by a low neck, and thence separating fall into the valley of the Jabbok, which forms the base of the triangle, and contained the lower town. Climbing up the citadel, we can trace the remains of the moat, and, crossing it, find ourselves in a maze of ruins. The massive walls—the lower parts of which still remain, and which, rising from the precipitous sides of the cliff, rendered any attempt at scaling impossible—were evidently Ammonite. As I leant over them and looked sheer down about three hundred feet into one wâdy, and four hundred feet into the other, I did not wonder at its having occurred to King David that the leader of a forlorn hope against these ramparts would meet with certain death, and consequently assigning the position to Uriah. … Joab afterwards took the lower city, which he called ‘the city of waters,’ indicating very probably that the Jabbok was dammed into a lake near the lower city, to which the conformation of the valley would lend itself” (Oliphant, ‘Land of Gilead,’ p. 259, etc.). There is a sketch of the citadel-hill in the ‘Dictionary of the Bible,’ ii. 985. The city was taken by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 27:3, 6; 49:2, 3), either at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, or in the course of his Egyptian campaign (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ x. 9. 7). The expression, I will kindle a fire (not “send,” as elsewhere), possibly implies, as Pusey suggests, a conflagration from within. The shouting is the battle-cry of the opposing host, which adds to the horror of the scene (Job 39:25). With a tempest. The idea is that the walls should fall before the invaders, as if they were tents swept away in a whirl-wind.
and it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
Because of this heartlessness God would set fire to the walls (cf. vv. 7, 10) of Rabbah, Ammon’s capital city. Amid the engulfing flames the inhabitants would hear the war cries (cf. 2:2) of the attackers as they fell on their victims. Violent winds, symbolizing God’s own awesome power (cf. Ps. 83:15; Jer. 23:19; 30:23), would lash at the city. And the enemy would take both king and officials (cf. Amos 2:3) into exile (cf. 1:5). This judgment was fulfilled through the Assyrian conquest under Tiglath-Pileser III in 734 b.c.
As a punishment for this, their capital was to be burned, and the king, with the princes, to wander into exile, and consequently their kingdom was to be destroyed. Rabbâh, i.e., the great one, is the abbreviated name of the capital; Rabbah of the children of Ammon, which has been preserved in the ruins of Aurân (see at Deut. 3:11). The threat is sharpened by the clause בִּתְרוּעָה וגו׳, at the war-cry on the field of battle, i.e., an actual fact, when the enemy shall take the city by storm. בְּסַעַר וגו׳ is a figurative expression applied to the storming of a city carried by assault, like בְּסוּפָה in Num. 21:14. The reading מַלְכָּם, “their (the Ammonites’) king,” is confirmed by the LXX and the Chaldee, and required by וְשָׂרָיו (cf. Amos 2:3), whereas Μαλχόμ, Melchom, which is found in Aq., Symm., Jerome, and the Syriac, rests upon a false interpretation.
The fire of war would be unleashed against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. The forces of nature would assist the armies in dashing the place to pieces. The royal family of Ammon would be taken into captivity. Nothing moves God to punish so much as wanton cruelty to the helpless (1:14–15).2
Rabbah, “the Great,” or Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of Ammon, was situated on the southern arm of the Jabbok, and was a place of remarkable strength (see Deut. 3:11; 2 Sam. 11:1; 12:26, etc.; 1 Chron. 20:1–3). “For picturesqueness of situation, I know of no ruins to compare with Ammon. The most striking feature is the citadel, which formerly contained not merely the garrison, but an upper town, and covered an extensive area. The lofty plateau on which it was situated is triangular in shape; two sides are formed by the valleys which diverge from the apex, where they are divided by a low neck, and thence separating fall into the valley of the Jabbok, which forms the base of the triangle, and contained the lower town. Climbing up the citadel, we can trace the remains of the moat, and, crossing it, find ourselves in a maze of ruins. The massive walls—the lower parts of which still remain, and which, rising from the precipitous sides of the cliff, rendered any attempt at scaling impossible—were evidently Ammonite. As I leant over them and looked sheer down about three hundred feet into one wâdy, and four hundred feet into the other, I did not wonder at its having occurred to King David that the leader of a forlorn hope against these ramparts would meet with certain death, and consequently assigning the position to Uriah. … Joab afterwards took the lower city, which he called ‘the city of waters,’ indicating very probably that the Jabbok was dammed into a lake near the lower city, to which the conformation of the valley would lend itself” (Oliphant, ‘Land of Gilead,’ p. 259, etc.). There is a sketch of the citadel-hill in the ‘Dictionary of the Bible,’ ii. 985. The city was taken by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 27:3, 6; 49:2, 3), either at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, or in the course of his Egyptian campaign (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ x. 9. 7). The expression, I will kindle a fire (not “send,” as elsewhere), possibly implies, as Pusey suggests, a conflagration from within. The shouting is the battle-cry of the opposing host, which adds to the horror of the scene (Job 39:25). With a tempest. The idea is that the walls should fall before the invaders, as if they were tents swept away in a whirl-wind.
Amos 1:13
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of the Ammonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
Amman has been utterly barbaric in its treatment of pregnant women. God will avenge them with fire and storm.
The terrible cruelty of Ammon was that he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead (cf. “Gilead” in v. 3). This atrocity, sometimes a feature of ancient warfare (cf. 2 Kings 8:12; 15:16; Hosea 13:16), was designed to terrorize and decimate an enemy. The Ammonites executed this crime against defenseless women and unborn children, not for self-preservation, but simply in order to extend their borders.
As a punishment for this, their capital was to be burned, and the king, with the princes, to wander into exile, and consequently their kingdom was to be destroyed. Rabbâh, i.e., the great one, is the abbreviated name of the capital; Rabbah of the children of Ammon, which has been preserved in the ruins of Aurân (see at Deut. 3:11). The threat is sharpened by the clause בִּתְרוּעָה וגו׳, at the war-cry on the field of battle, i.e., an actual fact, when the enemy shall take the city by storm. בְּסַעַר וגו׳ is a figurative expression applied to the storming of a city carried by assault, like בְּסוּפָה in Num. 21:14. The reading מַלְכָּם, “their (the Ammonites’) king,” is confirmed by the LXX and the Chaldee, and required by וְשָׂרָיו (cf. Amos 2:3), whereas Μαλχόμ, Melchom, which is found in Aq., Symm., Jerome, and the Syriac, rests upon a false interpretation.
The Ammonites under Nahash attacked Jabesh-gilead and refused to accept the offer of the latter to save them, unless the Jabesh-gileadites would put out all their right eyes (1Sa 11:1, &c.). Saul rescued Jabesh-gilead. The Ammonites joined the Chaldeans in their invasion of Judea for the sake of plunder.
ripped up … women with-child—as Hazael of Syria also did (2Ki 8:12; compare Ho 13:16). Ammon’s object in this cruel act was to leave Israel without “heir,” so as to seize on Israel’s inheritance (Je 49:1).
Ammon was connected with Israel as being sprung from Lot, and together with Moab, which had the same origin, retained the stamp of its incestuous birth in habits, character, and worship (Gen. 19:30, etc.). Their hostility to Israel was first shown in their participation with Moab in the affair of Balaam (Deut. 23:4). Other instances are seen in their treatment of Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. 11:1–3) and of David’s messengers, and in hiring the Syrians to make war on David (2 Sam. 10:1–6).
"For three transgressions of the Ammonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
Amman has been utterly barbaric in its treatment of pregnant women. God will avenge them with fire and storm.
The terrible cruelty of Ammon was that he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead (cf. “Gilead” in v. 3). This atrocity, sometimes a feature of ancient warfare (cf. 2 Kings 8:12; 15:16; Hosea 13:16), was designed to terrorize and decimate an enemy. The Ammonites executed this crime against defenseless women and unborn children, not for self-preservation, but simply in order to extend their borders.
As a punishment for this, their capital was to be burned, and the king, with the princes, to wander into exile, and consequently their kingdom was to be destroyed. Rabbâh, i.e., the great one, is the abbreviated name of the capital; Rabbah of the children of Ammon, which has been preserved in the ruins of Aurân (see at Deut. 3:11). The threat is sharpened by the clause בִּתְרוּעָה וגו׳, at the war-cry on the field of battle, i.e., an actual fact, when the enemy shall take the city by storm. בְּסַעַר וגו׳ is a figurative expression applied to the storming of a city carried by assault, like בְּסוּפָה in Num. 21:14. The reading מַלְכָּם, “their (the Ammonites’) king,” is confirmed by the LXX and the Chaldee, and required by וְשָׂרָיו (cf. Amos 2:3), whereas Μαλχόμ, Melchom, which is found in Aq., Symm., Jerome, and the Syriac, rests upon a false interpretation.
The Ammonites under Nahash attacked Jabesh-gilead and refused to accept the offer of the latter to save them, unless the Jabesh-gileadites would put out all their right eyes (1Sa 11:1, &c.). Saul rescued Jabesh-gilead. The Ammonites joined the Chaldeans in their invasion of Judea for the sake of plunder.
ripped up … women with-child—as Hazael of Syria also did (2Ki 8:12; compare Ho 13:16). Ammon’s object in this cruel act was to leave Israel without “heir,” so as to seize on Israel’s inheritance (Je 49:1).
Ammon was connected with Israel as being sprung from Lot, and together with Moab, which had the same origin, retained the stamp of its incestuous birth in habits, character, and worship (Gen. 19:30, etc.). Their hostility to Israel was first shown in their participation with Moab in the affair of Balaam (Deut. 23:4). Other instances are seen in their treatment of Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. 11:1–3) and of David’s messengers, and in hiring the Syrians to make war on David (2 Sam. 10:1–6).
Amos 1:12
So I will send a fire upon Teman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.
Bozrah (sheepfold) was the capital city of Edom, home of Esau.
According to Isaiah 63:1-6, the Lord will come from Edom (modern-day Jordan) and Bozrah on the day of vengeance and the year of redemption (cf. Revelation 19:13).
According to one Christian interpretation of Micah 2:12-13, Bozrah, (or a place the Bible cryptically refers to as Bozrah), will also be the scene of a magnificent "break-out" of God's covenant people. According to this interpretation the deliverance will come at an Edomite controlled place of exile and incarceration in the End times. This epic event referred to in Micah 2:12-13 has been referred to by Dr G Finley as "the Bozrah deliverance". Bozrah is in the Hebrew, but most translators render it as "fold" - sheep in the fold. This "break-out" could be tied to Zechariah 14:1-5, when Yahweh fights against the nations, stands on the Mount of Olives (north of Israel), and splits the Mount in two as a valley, so that the remnant of Israel trapped in Jerusalem can escape those who would kill them. If so, Micah 2:12-13 would not relate to the locale of Bozrah.
‘Teman’ is Edom by another name, and Bozrah its capital.
Teman—a city of Edom, called from a grandson of Esau (Ge 36:11, 15; Ge 36:11, 15, Ob 1:8, 9); situated five miles from Petra; south of the present Wady Musa. Its people were famed for wisdom (Je 49:7).
Bozrah—a city of Edom (Is 63:1). Selah or Petra is not mentioned, as it had been overthrown by Amaziah (2Ki 14:7).
God’s threatened judgment on Edom would be “fire,” or warfare, affecting the whole country. At least the two place names, Teman in the south and Bozrah in the north, apparently refer to districts. By reference to these extreme regions, the implication is that the judgment would encompass the entire land. One of the terrifying features of God’s judgment (especially when warfare is the instrument) is that the innocent often suffer alongside the guilty.
and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.
Bozrah (sheepfold) was the capital city of Edom, home of Esau.
According to Isaiah 63:1-6, the Lord will come from Edom (modern-day Jordan) and Bozrah on the day of vengeance and the year of redemption (cf. Revelation 19:13).
According to one Christian interpretation of Micah 2:12-13, Bozrah, (or a place the Bible cryptically refers to as Bozrah), will also be the scene of a magnificent "break-out" of God's covenant people. According to this interpretation the deliverance will come at an Edomite controlled place of exile and incarceration in the End times. This epic event referred to in Micah 2:12-13 has been referred to by Dr G Finley as "the Bozrah deliverance". Bozrah is in the Hebrew, but most translators render it as "fold" - sheep in the fold. This "break-out" could be tied to Zechariah 14:1-5, when Yahweh fights against the nations, stands on the Mount of Olives (north of Israel), and splits the Mount in two as a valley, so that the remnant of Israel trapped in Jerusalem can escape those who would kill them. If so, Micah 2:12-13 would not relate to the locale of Bozrah.
‘Teman’ is Edom by another name, and Bozrah its capital.
Teman—a city of Edom, called from a grandson of Esau (Ge 36:11, 15; Ge 36:11, 15, Ob 1:8, 9); situated five miles from Petra; south of the present Wady Musa. Its people were famed for wisdom (Je 49:7).
Bozrah—a city of Edom (Is 63:1). Selah or Petra is not mentioned, as it had been overthrown by Amaziah (2Ki 14:7).
God’s threatened judgment on Edom would be “fire,” or warfare, affecting the whole country. At least the two place names, Teman in the south and Bozrah in the north, apparently refer to districts. By reference to these extreme regions, the implication is that the judgment would encompass the entire land. One of the terrifying features of God’s judgment (especially when warfare is the instrument) is that the innocent often suffer alongside the guilty.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Amos 1:11 (See Obadiah 10)
This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Edom ( Teman and Bozrah),
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued (hunted down) his brother with a sword
even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued (hunted down) his brother with a sword
and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,
Amos 1:10
I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses.
1:10. Tyre’s punishment is similar to that described in verse 7. Alexander the Great overran the city of Tyre in 332 b.c. after besieging it for seven months. Six thousand people were slain outright, 2,000 were crucified, and 30,000 were sold as slaves. Tyre had sold Israelites to Edom as captives; later many Tyrians became captives.
fire—(Compare Am 1:4, 7; Is 23:1–18; Ez 26:1–28:26). Many parts of Tyre were burnt by fiery missiles of the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. Alexander of Macedon subsequently overthrew it.
that will consume her fortresses.
1:10. Tyre’s punishment is similar to that described in verse 7. Alexander the Great overran the city of Tyre in 332 b.c. after besieging it for seven months. Six thousand people were slain outright, 2,000 were crucified, and 30,000 were sold as slaves. Tyre had sold Israelites to Edom as captives; later many Tyrians became captives.
fire—(Compare Am 1:4, 7; Is 23:1–18; Ez 26:1–28:26). Many parts of Tyre were burnt by fiery missiles of the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. Alexander of Macedon subsequently overthrew it.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Amos 1:9
This is what the LORD says:
“For three sins of Tyre,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
Tyre was the strongest of the Phoenician cities in the mid-eighth century b.c. Its wealth and influence derived from its strategic position as the hub of a vast trading empire (Ezek 26–28). One of Tyre’s commercial activities was slave trading.38 This activity links the oracle against Tyre with the preceding oracle against Gaza. The indictment against Tyre is a similar, though shortened, version of the indictment against Gaza. They “sold whole communities of captives to Edom.” Unlike the oracle against Gaza, this oracle elaborates on the act’s treacherous nature.
The phrase translated “disregarding a treaty of brotherhood” is literally “and they did not remember a covenant [bĕrît] of brothers.” “Did not remember” does not mean they forgot in some kind of mental lapse. To remember a covenant meant to fulfill its obligations, and not to remember it meant to break the covenant (cf. Gen 9:16; Ps 105:8; Jer 14:21).39 What kind of covenant and between what partners are questions left unanswered. “A covenant of brothers” is a unique expression in the Bible. Treaties between states were common in the time of Amos. Solomon of Israel entered a covenant with Hiram of Tyre (1 Kgs 5:12). With Ahab’s marriage to the Sidonian Jezebel, Israel must have entered into a treaty with the Phoenicians (1 Kgs 16:31). Such covenants made the partners “brothers” (1 Kgs 9:13), a term describing a close tie characterized by loyalty and love. Breach of covenant (probably between Israel and Tyre) made the sinful act of selling slaves (probably Israelite) to Edom far worse.40
Broken treaties have marred the pages of history from ancient to modern times. God has a low tolerance level for those who break treaties, who take away human freedom and dignity, and whose motive is material profit. Such people should brace themselves for the destructive judgment of God.
These verses refer back to this verse:
Matthew 11:20-22
Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
Luke 10:13-14
New International Version (NIV)
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.
Isaiah 23:1-9
New International Version (NIV)
Isaiah 23
A Prophecy Against Tyre
A prophecy against Tyre: Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For Tyre is destroyed
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
For Tyre is destroyed
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
Be silent, you people of the island
and you merchants of Sidon,
whom the seafarers have enriched.
On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;
the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre,
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
and you merchants of Sidon,
whom the seafarers have enriched.
On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;
the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre,
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.
Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, you people of the island.
Is this your city of revelry,
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are renowned in the earth?
The LORD Almighty planned it,
to bring down her pride in all her splendor
and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
wail, you people of the island.
Is this your city of revelry,
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are renowned in the earth?
The LORD Almighty planned it,
to bring down her pride in all her splendor
and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
| Ezekiel 26-28 |
| Joel 3:4-8 |
| Amos 1:9-10 |
| Zechariah 9:2-4 |
Amos 8
I will destroy the king of Ashdod
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines are dead,”
says the Sovereign LORD.
Ashdod, (“the Waster,” hod. Esdud, or Shdood (called Azotus in Acts 8:40))—Gath alone is not mentioned of the five chief Philistine cities. It had already been subdued by David; and it, as well as Ashdod, was taken by Uzziah (2Ch 26:6). Gath perhaps had lost its position as one of the five primary cities before Amos uttered this prophecy, whence arose his omission of it. So Zep 2:4, 5. Compare Je 47:4; Ez 25:16. Subsequently to the subjugation of the Philistines by Uzziah, and then by Hezekiah, they were reduced by Psammetichus of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, the Persians, Alexander, and lastly the Asmoneans.
The position is one of the fairest along this part of the Mediterranean coast; and when the interior of the amphitheatre was adorned with splendid temples and palaces, ascending, rank above rank, from the shore to the summit, the appearance from the sea must have been very imposing. Now the whole area is planted over with orchards of the various kinds of fruit which flourish in this region” (Thomson, ‘The Land and the Book,’ Southern Palestine, p. 171). In spite of its bad harbour, it carried on a lucrative foreign commerce, which was the chief cause of its power and importance (Ewald, ‘Hist. of Israel,’ i. 247, Eng. transl.). It was about fifty Roman miles from Jerusalem. In mediæval times there were two cities of the name, one on the coast (Jer. 47:7), the same as Herod’s Ascalon, and one inland. In its palmiest days the former could never have had a real harbour (‘Survey Memoirs,’ iii. pp. 245, 246). Ekron, hod. Akir, was twelve miles north-east of Ashdod, and some nine from the coast. Ashdod was taken by Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:6), by the tartan, or commander-in-chief, of Sargon (Isa. 20:1), and by Psammetichus King of Egypt (b.c. 635), when it sustained a siege of twenty-nine years. (Herod., ii. 157).
(5) I will remove the rulers of the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. See verse 5. It should be shown that Ashdod and Ashkelon are cities. It should also be clear in context that they and Ekron along with Gaza are cities of the Philistines.
I will turn my hand against Ekron; (rsv)/ I will punish the city of Ekron. (See also Smith-Goodspeed, nab, neb). “Hand” here means “power.”* If similar picture language can be used in the translation, it should be. If not, then some other kind of picture language expressing the idea of “power and punishment” should be used if possible. If no picture language is suitable, the translation will have to be direct as it is in the tev. Compare mft: “I strike my blows at Ekron.” Ekron may also have to be qualified as the city of Ekron.
The remnant of the Philistines (rsv)/ all the Philistines who are left. The remnant of the Philistines (rsv) does not mean those who have not been mentioned in the preceding verses, but those who might have escaped the punishment. The tev restructuring is helpful.
(6) Says the Lord God. (rsv) Unlike verse 5, the Hebrew text here has an additional word, “God.” However, whatever the reason for this difference,* the use of exactly the same form as in verse 5 is perfectly correct in the translation.
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines are dead,”
says the Sovereign LORD.
Ashdod, (“the Waster,” hod. Esdud, or Shdood (called Azotus in Acts 8:40))—Gath alone is not mentioned of the five chief Philistine cities. It had already been subdued by David; and it, as well as Ashdod, was taken by Uzziah (2Ch 26:6). Gath perhaps had lost its position as one of the five primary cities before Amos uttered this prophecy, whence arose his omission of it. So Zep 2:4, 5. Compare Je 47:4; Ez 25:16. Subsequently to the subjugation of the Philistines by Uzziah, and then by Hezekiah, they were reduced by Psammetichus of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, the Persians, Alexander, and lastly the Asmoneans.
(5) I will remove the rulers of the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. See verse 5. It should be shown that Ashdod and Ashkelon are cities. It should also be clear in context that they and Ekron along with Gaza are cities of the Philistines.
I will turn my hand against Ekron; (rsv)/ I will punish the city of Ekron. (See also Smith-Goodspeed, nab, neb). “Hand” here means “power.”* If similar picture language can be used in the translation, it should be. If not, then some other kind of picture language expressing the idea of “power and punishment” should be used if possible. If no picture language is suitable, the translation will have to be direct as it is in the tev. Compare mft: “I strike my blows at Ekron.” Ekron may also have to be qualified as the city of Ekron.
The remnant of the Philistines (rsv)/ all the Philistines who are left. The remnant of the Philistines (rsv) does not mean those who have not been mentioned in the preceding verses, but those who might have escaped the punishment. The tev restructuring is helpful.
(6) Says the Lord God. (rsv) Unlike verse 5, the Hebrew text here has an additional word, “God.” However, whatever the reason for this difference,* the use of exactly the same form as in verse 5 is perfectly correct in the translation.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Amos 1:7
So I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
For this sin, the Philistine cities would be completely annihilated—buildings, king, and people. God would turn His hand against them till the last of the Philistines was dead. This judgment was partially fulfilled in the subjugation of the Philistines to the Assyrians later in the eighth century b.c., and more completely during the Maccabean period (168-134 b.c.). Sovereign Lord (’ăḏōnāy Yahweh) occurs 19 times in Amos, but only 5 other times in all the Minor Prophets (Obad. 1; Micah 1:2; Hab. 3:19; Zeph. 1:7; Zech. 9:14). That title stresses both His lordship and His covenant relationship with His people.
fire—that is, the flame of war (Nu 21:28; Is 26:11). Hezekiah fulfilled the prophecy, smiting the Philistines unto Gaza (2Ki 18:8). Foretold also by Is 14:29, 31. First-person verbs (cf. 1:5) describe the direct action of God against Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron (vv. 7–8). “Fire upon the walls of Gaza” suggests a military attack under the Lord’s direction. The “fortresses” of Gaza would succumb to the consuming (ʾākĕlâ, “devour,” “eat”) fire of God. The fire would gobble up Gaza’s defenses. Each guilty city is to have its own special punishment, though probably the calamity of each is common to all. Gaza was conquered by Sennacherib when he invaded Judæa in the time of Hezekiah, by Pharaoh-Necho (Jer. 47:1), and by Alexander the Great, who spent more than two months in its siege (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ xi. 8, 4; Arrian., ii. 27; see note on Zeph. 2:4).
and it shall devour her strongholds.
For this sin, the Philistine cities would be completely annihilated—buildings, king, and people. God would turn His hand against them till the last of the Philistines was dead. This judgment was partially fulfilled in the subjugation of the Philistines to the Assyrians later in the eighth century b.c., and more completely during the Maccabean period (168-134 b.c.). Sovereign Lord (’ăḏōnāy Yahweh) occurs 19 times in Amos, but only 5 other times in all the Minor Prophets (Obad. 1; Micah 1:2; Hab. 3:19; Zeph. 1:7; Zech. 9:14). That title stresses both His lordship and His covenant relationship with His people.
fire—that is, the flame of war (Nu 21:28; Is 26:11). Hezekiah fulfilled the prophecy, smiting the Philistines unto Gaza (2Ki 18:8). Foretold also by Is 14:29, 31. First-person verbs (cf. 1:5) describe the direct action of God against Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron (vv. 7–8). “Fire upon the walls of Gaza” suggests a military attack under the Lord’s direction. The “fortresses” of Gaza would succumb to the consuming (ʾākĕlâ, “devour,” “eat”) fire of God. The fire would gobble up Gaza’s defenses. Each guilty city is to have its own special punishment, though probably the calamity of each is common to all. Gaza was conquered by Sennacherib when he invaded Judæa in the time of Hezekiah, by Pharaoh-Necho (Jer. 47:1), and by Alexander the Great, who spent more than two months in its siege (Josephus, ‘Ant.,’ xi. 8, 4; Arrian., ii. 27; see note on Zeph. 2:4).
Amos 1:6
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
In verses 6-8 four of the five cities comprising the Philistine pentapolis are mentioned—Gaza (Guzzeh), Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron. The omission of the fifth, Gath, may be due to its ruined condition at the time of Amos because of the batterings of Hazael in 815 b.c. and Uzziah in 760 b.c. (cf. 2 Kings 12:17; 2 Chron. 26:6; Amos 6:2). The Philistines’ crime against humanity was that they captured whole communities in slave raids and sold them for commercial profit. Defenseless people were treated as mere objects and auctioned off in the slave markets of Edom, from which they were shipped to other parts of the world (cf. Joel 3:4-8).
"For three transgressions of Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
In verses 6-8 four of the five cities comprising the Philistine pentapolis are mentioned—Gaza (Guzzeh), Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron. The omission of the fifth, Gath, may be due to its ruined condition at the time of Amos because of the batterings of Hazael in 815 b.c. and Uzziah in 760 b.c. (cf. 2 Kings 12:17; 2 Chron. 26:6; Amos 6:2). The Philistines’ crime against humanity was that they captured whole communities in slave raids and sold them for commercial profit. Defenseless people were treated as mere objects and auctioned off in the slave markets of Edom, from which they were shipped to other parts of the world (cf. Joel 3:4-8).
Gaza, a Philistine city, is condemned for her pitiless slave trading. She will fall to Assyria in 734 bc. Other Philistine strongholds, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron are also sentenced. They will be defeated by successive Assyrian emperors. The southernmost of the five capitals of the five divisions of Philistia, and the key to Palestine on the south: hence put for the whole Philistine nation. Uzziah commenced the fulfilment of this prophecy (see 2Ch 26:6).
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Amos 1:5
I will break the gate-bar of Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,
and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;
and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,"
says the LORD.
5. bar of Damascus—that is, the bar of its gates (compare Je 51:30).
the inhabitant—singular for plural, “inhabitants.” Henderson, because of the parallel, “him that holdeth the scepter,” translates, “the ruler.” But the parallelism is that of one clause complementing the other, “the inhabitant” or subject here answering to “him that holdeth the scepter” or ruler there, both ruler and subject alike being cut off.
Aven—the same as Oon or Un, a delightful valley, four hours’ journey from Damascus, towards the desert. Proverbial in the East as a place of delight [Josephus Abassus]. It is here parallel to “Eden,” which also means “pleasantness”; situated at Lebanon. As Josephus Abassus is a doubtful authority, perhaps the reference may be rather to the valley between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, called El-Bekaa, where are the ruins of the Baal-bek temple of the sun; so the Septuagint renders it On, the same name as the city in Egypt bears, dedicated to the sun-worship (Ge 41:45; Heliopolis, “the city of the sun,” Ez 30:17, Margin). It is termed by Amos “the valley of Aven,” or “vanity,” from the worship of idols in it.
Kir—a region subject to Assyria (Is 22:6) in Iberia, the same as that called now in Armenian Kur, lying by the river Cyrus which empties itself into the Caspian Sea. Tiglath-pileser fulfilled this prophecy when Ahaz applied for help to him against Rezin king of Syria, and the Assyrian king took Damascus, slew Rezin, and carried away its people captive to Kir.
The bar was made of bronze or iron, fixed in the doorpost to block the gate from opening. It formed part of the defense of the city gate, and to break it meant that the gate was broken in (compare mft: “I shatter the defences of Damascus”).
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,
and him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;
and the people of Syria shall go into exile to Kir,"
says the LORD.
5. bar of Damascus—that is, the bar of its gates (compare Je 51:30).
the inhabitant—singular for plural, “inhabitants.” Henderson, because of the parallel, “him that holdeth the scepter,” translates, “the ruler.” But the parallelism is that of one clause complementing the other, “the inhabitant” or subject here answering to “him that holdeth the scepter” or ruler there, both ruler and subject alike being cut off.
Aven—the same as Oon or Un, a delightful valley, four hours’ journey from Damascus, towards the desert. Proverbial in the East as a place of delight [Josephus Abassus]. It is here parallel to “Eden,” which also means “pleasantness”; situated at Lebanon. As Josephus Abassus is a doubtful authority, perhaps the reference may be rather to the valley between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, called El-Bekaa, where are the ruins of the Baal-bek temple of the sun; so the Septuagint renders it On, the same name as the city in Egypt bears, dedicated to the sun-worship (Ge 41:45; Heliopolis, “the city of the sun,” Ez 30:17, Margin). It is termed by Amos “the valley of Aven,” or “vanity,” from the worship of idols in it.
Kir—a region subject to Assyria (Is 22:6) in Iberia, the same as that called now in Armenian Kur, lying by the river Cyrus which empties itself into the Caspian Sea. Tiglath-pileser fulfilled this prophecy when Ahaz applied for help to him against Rezin king of Syria, and the Assyrian king took Damascus, slew Rezin, and carried away its people captive to Kir.
The bar was made of bronze or iron, fixed in the doorpost to block the gate from opening. It formed part of the defense of the city gate, and to break it meant that the gate was broken in (compare mft: “I shatter the defences of Damascus”).
Amos 1:4
So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
The attack begins in each case with a fire that would eventually consume the walls and/or fortresses of the city and leave it a smoldering ruin.
In punishing Damascus God declared He would smash the bar of the city gate and break down the gate, stripping the city of its defenses. He would destroy the rebel king who reigned over the wicked and proud nations. Valley of Aven and Beth Eden may refer to other regions of Aram, Baalbek and Bit-Adini. More likely, they are derogatory references to the area and palace of Damascus, meaning “Valley of Wickedness” and “House of Pleasure.” The house (dynasty) of Hazael would be terminated, and the Arameans would be exiled (cf. 1:15) back to their place of origin, a Mesopotamian site called Kir. In essence, this punishment would be a complete reversal of Aram’s proud history. God, who had originally brought them out of Kir (9:7), would send them back, after obliterating all they had achieved. This judgment was carried out by the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 b.c. (cf. 2 Kings 16:7-9).
4. Hazael … Ben-hadad—A black marble obelisk found in the central palace of Nimroud, and now in the British Museum, is inscribed with the names of Hazael and Ben-hadad of Syria, as well as Jehu of Israel, mentioned as tributaries of “Shalmanubar,” king of Assyria. The kind of tribute from Jehu is mentioned: gold, pearls, precious oil, &c. [G. V. Smith]. The Ben-hadad here is the son of Hazael (2Ki 13:3), not the Ben-hadad supplanted and slain by Hazael (2Ki 8:7, 15). The phrase, “I will send a fire,” that is, the flame of war (Ps 78:63), occurs also in Am 1:7, 10, 12, 14, and Am 2:2, 5; Je 49:27; Ho 8:14.
and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.
In punishing Damascus God declared He would smash the bar of the city gate and break down the gate, stripping the city of its defenses. He would destroy the rebel king who reigned over the wicked and proud nations. Valley of Aven and Beth Eden may refer to other regions of Aram, Baalbek and Bit-Adini. More likely, they are derogatory references to the area and palace of Damascus, meaning “Valley of Wickedness” and “House of Pleasure.” The house (dynasty) of Hazael would be terminated, and the Arameans would be exiled (cf. 1:15) back to their place of origin, a Mesopotamian site called Kir. In essence, this punishment would be a complete reversal of Aram’s proud history. God, who had originally brought them out of Kir (9:7), would send them back, after obliterating all they had achieved. This judgment was carried out by the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 b.c. (cf. 2 Kings 16:7-9).
This passage of Amos, combined with ver. 14, is quoted by Jeremiah (49:27), where he is pronouncing the doom of Damascus.
Ben-Hadad. Apparently a throne name, meaning “son of (the god) Hadad.” Ben-Hadad II was a son of Syrian king Hazael (841–801 b.c.).
Amos 1:3
“For three sins . . . even for four” (1:3). This repeated refrain is found in wisdom literature (cf. Prov. 6:16) and other prophets (cf. Micah 5:5–6). It typically denotes an indefinite number. Here it underlines the existence of serious sins which God must and will judge.
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have threshed Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
Damascus, the capital of Syria, is criticized for her aggression and cruelty. God’s judgment will fall on her when she is conquered by Assyria in 732 bc.
Threshing (cutting and separating the grain from the husks) was done on a threshing floor by pulling a heavy sledge over the grain. The sledge was a pair of roughly shaped boards, bent upward at the front, studded with iron prongs or knives. The reference here could be quite literal, describing a method of torturing prisoners; it is also a figure for harsh and thorough conquest (cf. Isa. 41:15; Micah 4:13; Hab. 3:12). Aram’s armies had raked across Gilead, slicing and crushing it as though it were grain on a threshing floor. This Israelite territory east of Jordan had suffered greatly during constant battles with the Arameans, particularly during the time of Hazael (841-801 b.c.) and his son and successor Ben-Hadad III (Amos 1:4; cf. 2 Kings 8:7-12; 10:32-33; 13:3-7; note the reference to “threshing” in 2 Kings 13:7).
In Latin a man that is very happy is said to be terque quarterque beatus—three and four times happy;
The reference to threshing is probably to the war atrocities perpetrated by Hazael and his son Ben-hadad during the years of their ascendance over Israel (cf. 2 Kgs 8:12; 13:7).
Thus says the LORD:
"For three transgressions of Damascus,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they have threshed Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
Damascus, the capital of Syria, is criticized for her aggression and cruelty. God’s judgment will fall on her when she is conquered by Assyria in 732 bc.
Threshing (cutting and separating the grain from the husks) was done on a threshing floor by pulling a heavy sledge over the grain. The sledge was a pair of roughly shaped boards, bent upward at the front, studded with iron prongs or knives. The reference here could be quite literal, describing a method of torturing prisoners; it is also a figure for harsh and thorough conquest (cf. Isa. 41:15; Micah 4:13; Hab. 3:12). Aram’s armies had raked across Gilead, slicing and crushing it as though it were grain on a threshing floor. This Israelite territory east of Jordan had suffered greatly during constant battles with the Arameans, particularly during the time of Hazael (841-801 b.c.) and his son and successor Ben-Hadad III (Amos 1:4; cf. 2 Kings 8:7-12; 10:32-33; 13:3-7; note the reference to “threshing” in 2 Kings 13:7).
In Latin a man that is very happy is said to be terque quarterque beatus—three and four times happy;
The reference to threshing is probably to the war atrocities perpetrated by Hazael and his son Ben-hadad during the years of their ascendance over Israel (cf. 2 Kgs 8:12; 13:7).
Amos 1:2
And he said:
"The LORD roars from Zion (Describing the awesome noise of the Lords message)
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the top of Carmel withers."
What happens in the first half of this poem causes what happens in the second half. That is, the drying up, the withering, is the result of the Lord’s roaring and thundering.*
"The LORD roars from Zion (Describing the awesome noise of the Lords message)
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the top of Carmel withers."
What happens in the first half of this poem causes what happens in the second half. That is, the drying up, the withering, is the result of the Lord’s roaring and thundering.*
“And the top of Carmel withers. “(rsv)/ and the grass on Mount Carmel turns brown. It may be best to indicate that Carmel is a mountain, as in tev.* The mountain ridge of Carmel was one of the most fertile parts of Palestine, abundant in woods, flowers and vineyards. But those facts are unknown to many present-day readers, and so the point may have to be made clear. tev does this by mentioning grass. Any expression for rich vegetation would do. In keeping with the contrast as well as with the poetry of the text, this grass turns brown. Perhaps at this point tev is not an easy model for translators, since in many languages colors are not easily used to express events. It may, therefore, be necessary to make a statement such as “and the woods (trees) on Mount Carmel’s top wither.”
Amos’ theme is that Israel and the other nations were about to be violently judged for their sins. He pictured the Lord as a lion who had roared and begun His attack (cf. 3:4, 8; Jer. 25:30; Hosea 5:14; 11:10; 13:7). A lion’s terrifying roar paralyzes its victim with fear, making it helpless before the lion’s charge. Then the pounce, the tearing, and death are inevitable.
God’s roar would have a similar paralyzing and withering effect. As the reverberating sound advanced from Zion, that is, Jerusalem (cf. Amos 6:1; see comments on Zech. 8:3) against the nations, it would shrivel and scorch the earth. To the south, the pastures near Bethlehem would dry up as the terrifying roar passed through Judah and continued toward Gaza (Amos 1:6-8), Edom (vv. 11-12), and Moab (2:1-3). Northward, the fertile south and west slopes of Mount Carmel—some of Israel’s choicest farmland (Isa. 35:1-2; also note Isa. 33:9; Nahum 1:4)—would wither and die as the heat wave of God’s wrath moved on to engulf Damascus (Amos 1:3-5), Tyre (vv. 9-10), and Ammon (vv. 13-15). Everywhere the sound passed, moisture would evaporate, the land would turn brown, and drought would crack the earth. With pastures dried up, sheep would die and shepherds would suffer economic loss. And with crops withered farmers would face severe hardships.
The picture of drought suggests the reason for the Lord’s angry roar—the nations had violated their covenants with God. The treaty or covenant between a suzerain lord and a vassal people was common in Near Eastern societies. In exchange for the suzerain’s protection and provision, the vassal would pledge loyalty and obedience. The terms of the covenant, spelled out and mutually agreed on, were binding on both parties. Failure of the vassals to abide by the terms would cause the curses or punishments written in the treaty to descend on them. The curse of drought appears frequently as a punishment for covenant disobedience (cf. Deut. 28:20-24 in the Mosaic Covenant; for other ancient treaties; see James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969, pp. 539, 660).
Deuteronomy 28:15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.2 And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs jwith grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
36 “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. 38 You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. 41 You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
God’s roar would have a similar paralyzing and withering effect. As the reverberating sound advanced from Zion, that is, Jerusalem (cf. Amos 6:1; see comments on Zech. 8:3) against the nations, it would shrivel and scorch the earth. To the south, the pastures near Bethlehem would dry up as the terrifying roar passed through Judah and continued toward Gaza (Amos 1:6-8), Edom (vv. 11-12), and Moab (2:1-3). Northward, the fertile south and west slopes of Mount Carmel—some of Israel’s choicest farmland (Isa. 35:1-2; also note Isa. 33:9; Nahum 1:4)—would wither and die as the heat wave of God’s wrath moved on to engulf Damascus (Amos 1:3-5), Tyre (vv. 9-10), and Ammon (vv. 13-15). Everywhere the sound passed, moisture would evaporate, the land would turn brown, and drought would crack the earth. With pastures dried up, sheep would die and shepherds would suffer economic loss. And with crops withered farmers would face severe hardships.
- will roar—as a lion (Joe 3:16). Whereas Jehovah is there represented roaring in Israel’s behalf, here He roars against her (compare Ps 18:13; Je 25:30).
- from Zion … Jerusalem—the seat of the theocracy, from which ye have revolted; not from Dan and Beth-el, the seat of your idolatrous worship of the calves.
- habitations … mourn—poetical personification. Their inhabitants shall mourn, imparting a sadness to the very habitations.
- Carmel—the mountain promontory north of Israel, in Asher, abounding in rich pastures, olives, and vines. The name is the symbol of fertility. When Carmel itself “withers,” how utter the desolation! (So 7:5; Is 33:9; 35:2; Je 50:19; Na 1:4).
Deuteronomy 28:15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16 Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
20 “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And your dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.2 And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, but you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad by the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs jwith grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
36 “The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. 37 And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away. 38 You shall carry much seed into the field and shall gather in little, for the locust shall consume it. 39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall eat them. 40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives shall drop off. 41 You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours, for they shall go into captivity. 42 The cricket shall possess all your trees and the fruit of your ground. 43 The sojourner who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him. He shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
45 “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. 46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
Amos 1:1
Homer Harley, writing in his Commentary on the Minor Prophets (Baker), portrays the social conditions sketched by Amos:
Amos begins his prophecy with a description of God roaring like a lion about to attack. The Lord is fiercely angry with each of the nations that surround his people — as well as with Judah and Israel themselves (1:1–2:3).
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
God chooses “the weak things of the world to confound the mighty,” and makes a humble shepherd reprove the arrogance of Israel and her king arising from prosperity (compare 1Sa 17:40).
(2 Chronicles 26:16-23 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God." Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.2 Chr. 26:16–23 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.)
The luxury of the wealthy class in Israel is clearly indicated by the prophet as he speaks of their “couches” and “silken cushions” (3:12), of their “winter house” and “summer house,” and the “houses of ivory” (ivory inlay and ornamentation), and of “the houses of hewn-stone” (3:15; 5:11). The voluptuous women were spoken of as “kine [cows] of Bashan,” who insisted that their husbands provide ample wine and other luxuries for their feasts, even if the poor had to be crushed in order to provide them (4:1–3). Their feasts were characterized by revelry, songs, music, choice meats, and the best of wines to satiate their lusts, and by cushions and silken tapestries upon which to recline (6:1–7). These luxuries were enjoyed by the wealthy, whose eyes were closed to the afflictions and needs of the poor (6:6).
Amos begins his prophecy with a description of God roaring like a lion about to attack. The Lord is fiercely angry with each of the nations that surround his people — as well as with Judah and Israel themselves (1:1–2:3).
- Damascus, the capital of Syria, is criticized for her aggression and cruelty. God’s judgment will fall on her when she is conquered by Assyria in 732 bc.
- Gaza, a Philistine city, is condemned for her pitiless slave trading. She will fall to Assyria in 734 bc. Other Philistine strongholds, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron are also sentenced. They will be defeated by successive Assyrian emperors.
- The port of Tyre has also been involved in slave trading, breaking every law of humanity. She will become subject to Assyria, and eventually be captured in 573 bc.
- Edom, Judah’s neighbour to the south, is found guilty of remorseless and uncontrolled anger. ‘Teman’ is Edom by another name, and Bozrah its capital.
- Amman has been utterly barbaric in its treatment of pregnant women. God will avenge them with fire and storm.
- Finally, Moab has desecrated the body of the king of Edom. Even though this action is nothing to do with Israel or Judah, it affronts God. God’s moral standards apply to everyone, and he will destroy Moab’s ruler in return.
- All the nations, capitals and kings that Amos has mentioned are pagan. They don’t acknowledge the God of Israel or observe his law. But God still holds them responsible for their actions and decides their fates.
The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
God chooses “the weak things of the world to confound the mighty,” and makes a humble shepherd reprove the arrogance of Israel and her king arising from prosperity (compare 1Sa 17:40).
Proper credentials for God’s spokespersons have always been more than formal training, formal ordination, and an official title. These things do not qualify one to speak for God. Biblically speaking, only one who has a word (revelation) from God has proper credentials to speak for God
1:1 the earthquake. Mentioned by Zechariah (14:5), Josephus (Antiquities, IX:10:4) connects it with Uzziah’s sin of usurping the role of a priest (2 Chr. 26:16–23). An earthquake of severe magnitude occurred ca. 760 b.c.
(2 Chronicles 26:16-23 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the LORD who were men of valor, and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the LORD God." Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the LORD, by the altar of incense. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the LORD had struck him. And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the LORD. And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.2 Chr. 26:16–23 Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote. And Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the burial field that belonged to the kings, for they said, "He is a leper." And Jotham his son reigned in his place.)
Some conjecture that this earthquake was at the time of Isaiah’s vision, when the posts of the door were moved, Isa. 6:4. The tradition of the Jews is that it happened just at the time when Uzziah presumptuously invaded the priest’s office and went in to burn incense, 2 Chr. 26:16. Josephus mentions this earthquake, Antiq. 9.225, and says, "By it half of a mountain was removed and carried to a plain four furlongs off; and it spoiled the king’s gardens.’’ God by this prophet gave warning of it two years before, that God by it would shake down their houses, ch. 3:15.
Archaeologists have dated traces of an earthquake at Hazor to 765 to 760 b.c.13 This dating accords with the reference to Uzziah’s reign in the Zechariah passage.
With this introduction, Amos announces the theme of his prophecies. And if, instead of proceeding at once to describe still further the judgment that threatens the kingdom of Israel, he first of all enumerates the surrounding nations, including Judah, as objects of the manifestation of the wrath of God, this enumeration cannot have any other object than the one described in our survey of the contents of the book. The enumeration opens with the kingdoms of Aram, Philistia, and Tyre (Phoenicia), which were not related to Israel by any ties of kinship whatever.
Who was Amos (Bearer or Burden)
“I am not a prophet, nor yet a prophet’s pupil, but a herdman (bōqēd ) am I, and bōlēs shiqmīm, a gatherer of sycamores”
Possibly the first of the writing prophets, was a shepherd and farmer called to prophesy during the reigns of Uzziah (792–740 b.c.) in the southern kingdom and Jeroboam II (793–753) in the north. He was a contemporary of Jonah (2 Kin. 14:25), Hosea (Hos. 1:1), and Isaiah (Is. 1:1). Though this prophet appeared a little before Isaiah, yet he was not, as some have mistaken, that Amos who was the father of Isaiah (Isa. 1:1) These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, a town 10-12 miles directly south of Jerusalem and six miles from Bethlehem. Tekoa was a sandy region, more suited to pastoral than agricultural purposes. These sayings or messages resulted from what he saw (i.e., his visions; cf. comments at 7:12) concerning Israel. They were delivered to the Northern Kingdom two years before the earthquake, according to the teaching of Scripture, the earth quakes when the Lord comes to judgment upon the nations. The scene of his ministry was Beth-el, where the idol calves were set up (Am 7:10–13). It is about twenty-five years before the fall of Israel. We are visiting the city of Bethel, where King Jeroboam II has his private chapel and Amaziah is his priest. There his prophecies roused Amaziah, the idol priest, to accuse him of conspiracy and to try to drive him back to Judah.
Philo, Josephus, Melito’s catalogue, Jerome, Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho, 22, quoting the fifth and six chapters of Amos as “one of the twelve minor prophets”), and the sixtieth canon of the Laodicean council support the canonicity of the book of Amos.
Amos is a new kind of prophet in his day. He preaches the astounding message that God is about to destroy his own people. It may be because his words are so shocking that they are kept and written down. Amos is the first prophet to have his work recorded in a book. Amos preaches that God is the judge of all nations, including Israel. Amos addresses Israel’s two primary sins: 1) an absence of true worship, and 2) a lack of justice. In the midst of their ritualistic performance of worship, they were not pursuing the Lord with their hearts (4:4,5; 5:4–6) nor following His standard of justice with their neighbors (5:10–13; 6:12). This apostasy, evidenced by continual, willful rejection of the prophetic message of Amos, is promised divine judgment. Because of His covenant, however, the Lord will not abandon Israel altogether, but will bring future restoration to the righteous remnant (9:7–15). But the special relationship that exists between God and Israel doesn’t mean that Israel will be spared as a favourite. On the contrary, Israel will be judged first of all — and by the highest standards.
Politically, it was a time of prosperity under the long and secure reign of Jeroboam II who, following the example of his father Joash (2 Kin. 13:25), significantly “restored the territory of Israel” (2 Kin. 14:25). It was also a time of peace with both Judah (cf. 5:5) and her more distant neighbors; the ever-present menace of Assyria was subdued earlier that century because of Nineveh’s repentance at the preaching of Jonah (Jon. 3:10). Spiritually, however, it was a time of rampant corruption and moral decay (4:1; 5:10–13; 2 Kin. 14:24).
Beneath the glittering surface of society dark tragedies were hidden. The rich, in total disregard for God’s Law and for their fellow Jews, dispossessed farmers from their hereditary plots of land to build great personal estates. The poor were further oppressed by merchants who used unjust weights when buying and selling grain, and who mixed husks with the barley kernels. More and more people were forced to sell themselves and their children into slavery. Justice was for sale to the highest bidder. The wives of the rich demanded more and more luxuries. And no one gave a thought to the anguish of those who were defrauded to satisfy their desires.
The Book of Amos is a rich source for Christians today. In the words of this ancient prophet we catch a very special glimpse of God as One who cares intensely for the poor. We also sense His deep commitment to personal and social justice. The emphasis of the New Testament on personal relationship with God and individual salvation does nothing to lessen God’s deep concern for justice and holiness in society.
Israel’s Guilt; The Prophet’s Responsibility
Possibly the first of the writing prophets, was a shepherd and farmer called to prophesy during the reigns of Uzziah (792–740 b.c.) in the southern kingdom and Jeroboam II (793–753) in the north. He was a contemporary of Jonah (2 Kin. 14:25), Hosea (Hos. 1:1), and Isaiah (Is. 1:1). Though this prophet appeared a little before Isaiah, yet he was not, as some have mistaken, that Amos who was the father of Isaiah (Isa. 1:1) These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa, a town 10-12 miles directly south of Jerusalem and six miles from Bethlehem. Tekoa was a sandy region, more suited to pastoral than agricultural purposes. These sayings or messages resulted from what he saw (i.e., his visions; cf. comments at 7:12) concerning Israel. They were delivered to the Northern Kingdom two years before the earthquake, according to the teaching of Scripture, the earth quakes when the Lord comes to judgment upon the nations. The scene of his ministry was Beth-el, where the idol calves were set up (Am 7:10–13). It is about twenty-five years before the fall of Israel. We are visiting the city of Bethel, where King Jeroboam II has his private chapel and Amaziah is his priest. There his prophecies roused Amaziah, the idol priest, to accuse him of conspiracy and to try to drive him back to Judah.
Philo, Josephus, Melito’s catalogue, Jerome, Justin Martyr (Dialogue with Trypho, 22, quoting the fifth and six chapters of Amos as “one of the twelve minor prophets”), and the sixtieth canon of the Laodicean council support the canonicity of the book of Amos.
Amos is a new kind of prophet in his day. He preaches the astounding message that God is about to destroy his own people. It may be because his words are so shocking that they are kept and written down. Amos is the first prophet to have his work recorded in a book. Amos preaches that God is the judge of all nations, including Israel. Amos addresses Israel’s two primary sins: 1) an absence of true worship, and 2) a lack of justice. In the midst of their ritualistic performance of worship, they were not pursuing the Lord with their hearts (4:4,5; 5:4–6) nor following His standard of justice with their neighbors (5:10–13; 6:12). This apostasy, evidenced by continual, willful rejection of the prophetic message of Amos, is promised divine judgment. Because of His covenant, however, the Lord will not abandon Israel altogether, but will bring future restoration to the righteous remnant (9:7–15). But the special relationship that exists between God and Israel doesn’t mean that Israel will be spared as a favourite. On the contrary, Israel will be judged first of all — and by the highest standards.
Politically, it was a time of prosperity under the long and secure reign of Jeroboam II who, following the example of his father Joash (2 Kin. 13:25), significantly “restored the territory of Israel” (2 Kin. 14:25). It was also a time of peace with both Judah (cf. 5:5) and her more distant neighbors; the ever-present menace of Assyria was subdued earlier that century because of Nineveh’s repentance at the preaching of Jonah (Jon. 3:10). Spiritually, however, it was a time of rampant corruption and moral decay (4:1; 5:10–13; 2 Kin. 14:24).
Beneath the glittering surface of society dark tragedies were hidden. The rich, in total disregard for God’s Law and for their fellow Jews, dispossessed farmers from their hereditary plots of land to build great personal estates. The poor were further oppressed by merchants who used unjust weights when buying and selling grain, and who mixed husks with the barley kernels. More and more people were forced to sell themselves and their children into slavery. Justice was for sale to the highest bidder. The wives of the rich demanded more and more luxuries. And no one gave a thought to the anguish of those who were defrauded to satisfy their desires.
The Book of Amos is a rich source for Christians today. In the words of this ancient prophet we catch a very special glimpse of God as One who cares intensely for the poor. We also sense His deep commitment to personal and social justice. The emphasis of the New Testament on personal relationship with God and individual salvation does nothing to lessen God’s deep concern for justice and holiness in society.
Israel’s Guilt; The Prophet’s Responsibility
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