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).