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,

1:9. The sin of Tyre, Phoenicia’s leading city, was even more callous than Gaza’s. Not only did she sell whole communities of captives to Edom (cf. v. 6), but she did so in violation of a treaty of brotherhood, a protective covenant between two partners. If Israel was the injured partner, the reference is probably to the pact between Solomon and Hiram (1 Kings 5) or perhaps to the later relations established through the marriage of Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 16:29-31).


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.

  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.

  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.

  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.

Ezekiel 26-28

Joel 3:4-8

Amos 1:9-10

Zechariah 9:2-4