Chapter XLVIII (continued, part 8)
24 ; Isaiah lU. 17 ;' Lamentations 2. 3). the house ofJoseph —the kingdom of Israel, of which the tribe of Epliraim, Josepli's son, was the cliief tribe (cf. Ezekiel 37. 16). none to quench It In Beth-el ie., none in Beth-el to quench
all the coasts from Jordan eastward, Gilead and Bashan, Gad, Reuben, and Mauasseh (2 Kings 10. 32, 33). [Henderson.] Rather, "the remnant of Israel that shall have been left after the wicked have been destroyed." [Maurer.] 16. Therefore— resumed from v. 13. God foresees they will not obey the exhortation (v. 14, 15); but will per.severe in the unrighteousness stigmatized (v.~. 10,
It; none of the Beth-el idols on which Israel so depended, able to remove the Divine judgments. 7. turn Judgment to wormwood i. e., pervert it to most bitter wrong. As justice is sweet, so injustice is bitterness to the injured. Wo7-)nwood is froma i/eftreiyroot, to execrate, on account of
12). the Lord (JehovAH), the God of hosts, the Lord—an accumulation of titles, of which His lordship over all things is the climax, to mark that from His judgmeni there is no appeal, streets . . . highways—the broad open sj)aces and the 7iarroiv streets common in the East, call the husbandman to mourning—the citizens sliall
Its noxious and bitter qualities, leaveoff righteousness In . . . earUi Maurer translates, "cast righteousness «o the ground," as In Isaiah 28. 2; Daniel 8. 12. S. the seven
slAi-s lit., the heap or cluster of teven larger stars and Others smaller (Job 9.9; 38.31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos' mind. He names tlie stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged i, Orion as the precursor of tlie tempests which are
call the inexperier^ced hitsbandvien to act the part usualiv performed by professional m Jiirners, as there will not ht enough of the latter for the universal mourning which prevails, such as arc skilful of lamentation— profe».
licre l lu ealened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring.
Odd Rejectcih Hypocritical Serviee. AMOS VI. Denunciation of Zion and Samaria.
[Bes-gei-]; the Sun fJABLONSKi] ; Saturn, the same as "Chiun." [Maurer.] The LXX. «m;wta/e " Chiun" into Remphan, as Stephen quotes it (Acts 7. 42, 43). Tlie sam» god had often different names. Molech is the Ammonite name; Chiun, the Arabic and Persian name, written al.so
Blonal mourners hired to lead off the lamentations for the deceased; alluded to in Ecclesiastes 12.5; generally females (Jeremiah 9. 17-19). 17. in all vineyards . . . walling—where u.sunlly songs of Joy were heard, pass through thee—taking vengeance (Exodus 12. 12,23; Nahum I. 12). "Pass oi'cr" and "pass by," on the contrary, are used of God's forgiving (Exodus 12. 2.3; Micah 7. 18; of.
Chevan. In an Arabic lexicon Chiun means austere; so astrologers represented Saturn as a planet baleful in liis influence. Hence the Phoenicians offered human sacrifices to him, cliildren especially; so Idolatrous Israel also. Kimmon was the Syrian name (2 Kings 5. 18) ; pronounced as Remvan, or " Remphan," just as Chiun was also Chevan, Molech had the form of a king ; Chevan, or Chiun, of a star. [Grotius.] Remphan was the Egyptian name for Saturn: hence the LXX. translator of Amos gave tlie Egyptian name for the Hebrew, being an Egyptian. [HoDius II. Bibl. 4. 115.] The same as the IVile, of which the Egyptians made the star Saturn the representative. [HARENBERGf.] Bengel Considers Remphan or Rephan akin to Teraphim and Remphis, the name of a king of Egypt. The Hebrew:^ became infected with Sabeanism, the oldest form of idolatry, the worship of tlie Saba or starry hosts in their stay in the Arabian desert, wliere Job notices its prevalence (Job 31. 26); in opposition, in v. 27, Jehovah declares Himself " the God of host.'s." the star of your god—R. Lsaac Caro says all the astrologers represented Saturn as the star of Israel. Probably tliere was a figure of a star on the head of the image of the idol, to represent the planet Saturn ; hence " images" correspond to "star" in the parallel clause. A star in hieroglyphics represents God (Numbers 24. 17). Images are eitlier a Hebraism for image, or refer to the many images made to represent Chiun. 37. Ijeyond Damascus—in Acts 7, 43 it
ch. 7. 8). IS. Woe unto you who do not scruple to say In Irony, "We desire that the day of the Lord would come," 1 <"., " Woe to you who treat it as If it were a mere dream of the prophets" (Isaiah 5. 19; Jeremiah 17. 15; Ezekiell2. 22). to what end is it for yoxi 1—Amos taking their ironical words in earnest: for God often takes the blasphemer at his own word, in righteous retribution making the
scoffer's Jest a terrible reality against himself. Ye have but little reason to desire the day of the Lord; for it will be to you calamity, and not Joy. 19. As if a man did flee ... a lion, and a bear met him—trying to escape one calamity, he falls into another. This perhaps implies that in v. IS their ironical desire for the day of the Lord W!is as if it would be an escape from existing calamities. The coming of the day of the Lord would be good news to us, if true; for we have served God (i.e., the golden calves). So do hypocrites flatter themselves as to death and Judgment, as if these would be a relief from existing
Ills of life. Tlie lion may from generosity spare the pros-
trate, but the benr spares none (cf. Job 20. 24; Isaiah 24. 18). leaned . . . on the wall—on the side wall of the house, to support himself from falling. Snakes often hide them-
sels'es in fissures in a wall. Those not reformed hy God's judgments will be pursued by them: if they escape one, another is ready to seize them. 31. I hate, 1 despise—the two verbs joined without a conjunction express God's strong abhorrence, yoitr feast-days—2/o?ir« ,• not mine; I do not acknowledge them : unlike those in Judah, yours are of numan, not Divine institution. I will not smell—t. e., I will talce no dctinht in the sacrifices offered (Genesis 8. 21
is "beyond Babylon," which includes beyond Damascus. In Amos' time, Damascus was the object of Israel's fear because of the Syrian wars. Babylon was not yet named as the place of their captivity. Stephen supplies this name. Tlieir place of exile was in fact, as he states, " beyond Babylon," in Halah and Habor by the river Go/.an, and in the cities of tlie Medes (2 Kings 17. 6 ; cf. here cli. 1.
Leviticus 2(i. SI). In your solemn assemblies lit., days
of ri'strairU. Istiiah 1. 10-15 is parallel. Isaiah is fuller; Amos, more condensed. Amos condemns Israel not only
5 ; 4. 3 ; 6. 14). The road to Assyria lay through " Damascus." It is tlierefore specified, that not merely shall tliey be carried captives to Damascus, as they had been by Syrian kings (2 Kings 10. 32, 'i.'i • 13. 7), but, beyond that, to a region whence a return wa.s not so possible as from Damascufi. They were led captive by Satan into idolatry, therefore God caused them to go captive among idolaters. Cf. 2 Kings 15. 29; 16. 9; Isaiah 8. 4, whence it appears Tiglathpileser attacked Israel and Damascus at the .same time at Ahaz's request (Amos 3. 11).
oil the ground of their thinking to satisfy God by sacrifices witliout obedience, the charge brought by Isaiah against the Jews, but also because even their external ritual was a mere corruption, and unsanctioned by God. 83. meat offerings— flour, <fec. Unbloody offerings, peace offerings—offerings for obtaining from God peace and prosperity. Hebrew, thank offerings. 33. Take away ftorn me—lit., " Take away, from upon me ;" the idea being that of a burden pressing upon tlie bearer. So Isaiah 1. 14, "They are a trouble unto me (lit., a burden upon me): lam weary to bear them." the noise of tliy songs—the hymns and instrumental music on sacred occasions are to me notliing but a disagreeable nowe. I will not hear—Isaiah substitutes "prayers" (Isaiah 1. 15) for the "songs " and "melody" here; but, like Amos, closes with "I will not hear." 31. Judgment — justice, run Aown—lit., roll, i. e., flow abundantly (Isaiah 48. 18). Without the desire to fulfil righteousness in the offerer, the sacrifice is hateful to God (1 Samuel 15. 22; P.salm 66. 18; Hosea 6. 6; Micah 6. 8). 35, 36. Have ye offered, itc — Yes: ye have. "But (all the time with strange inconsistency) ye have borne (aloft in solemn pomp) the tabernacle (£. e., the portable shrine, or model tabernacle: small enough not to be detected by Moses; cf. Acts 19. 24) of your Molech" (that idol is "your" god; I am not, though ye go through the form of presenting offerings to me). The question, " Have ye," Is not a denial (for they did offer in the wilderness to Jehovah sacrifices of the cattle which they took with them in their nomad life there. Exodus
Ver. 1-14. Denunciation of both the Sister Nations (ESPECIALLY their NOBLES) FOR WANTON SECURITY—ZiON, AS WELL AS Samaria : Threat op the Exile: Ruin of their Palaces and Slaughter of ths People : their Pervkrse Injustice. 1. named chief of the nations— i.e., you nobles, so eminent in influence, that your names are celebrated among the chief ijation.s. [LUDOVICUS DE DiEU.] Hebrew, " Men designated by name among the first-fruits of the nations," i.e., men of note in Israel, the people chosen by God as first of the nations (Exodus 19. 5; cf. Numbers 24. 20). [Piscator.J to wliom
. . . Israel came— i. e., the princes to whom the Israelites used to repair for the decision of controversies, recognizing their authority. [Maurer.] I prefer to refer "which" to the antecedent "Zion" and "Samaria;"' these were esteemed "chief" strongholds among the heathen nations "to whom . . . Israel came" when it entered Canaan; v. 2 accords with this. 3. Calneli—on the east bank of the Tigris. Once powerful, but recently sulijugated by Assyria (Isaiah 10. 9; aliout B. c. 794). Hamath— subjugated by .leroboam II. (2 Kings 14. 25). Also hy Assyria subsequently (2 Kings 18. 34). Cf. v. 14, below. Oath— subjugated by Uzziah (2 Cluonicles 2B. 6). 4. be they better—no. T'.ieir so recent subjugation renders it needless for me to tell you they are not. And yet they once were
24. 4 ; Numbers 7. and 9. I, <fcc.), but a strong affirmation
(cf. 1 Samuel 2. 27,28; Jeremiah 31. 20; Ezekiel 20. 4). The sin of Israel in Amos' time is the very sin of their forelathers, mocking God with worship, whilst at tlie same time worsliipping idols (cf. Ezekiel 20. .39). It was clandestine in Mo.scs' time, else he would have put it down; he was aware generally of their unfaithfulness, though not luiowing the particulars (Deuteronomy 31. 21,27). Slolech .. Chiun — Molech means king: answering to Mars
still they could not defend themselves against the enemy
The Desolation 0/ Israel. AMOS VII. The Judgment of the Grauhoppers.
tongue . . . we may not . . . mention . . . the LordAfter receiving the reply, that none is left besides the one addressed, when the man outside fancies tiie man still surviving inside to be on tlie point, as was custoiniirj', of expressing devout gratitude to God who spared liim, the man outside interrupts him, "Hold thy tongue! for there
How vain, then, your secure confidence In the strength of Mounts Zlon and Samaria! He takes cities respectively
east, north, south, and west of Israel (cf. Nahum 3. 8). 3. Ye persuade yourselves that " the evil day" foretold by the prophets is "far off," though they declare It near (Ezekiel 12. 22, 27). Ye in your imagination put it far off, and tiierefore bring nesLTviolerU oppression, suffering it to
is not now cause for mentioning with praise (Joshua 23. 7) the name of Jehovah ;" for thou also must die; as all the ten are to die to the last man (v. 9;>cf. ch. 8.3). Formerly ye boasted in the name of Jehovah, as if ye were His peculiar people; now ye shall be silent and shudder at 11 is name, as hostile to you, and as one from whom ye wish to be hidden (Revelation 6. 16). [Calvin.] 11. commandeth, and he will smite—His word of command, when once given, cannot but be fulfilled (Isaiah 55. U). His mere word
tit enthroned, as it were, among you (Psalm 94. 20). The notion of judgment being far off has always been an incentive to the sinner's recklessness of living (Eccleslastes
8. 12, 13; Matthew 24. 48). Yet that very recklessness brings near the evil day which he puts far off. " Ye bring on fever by your intemperance, and yet would put it far
off." [Calvin.] 4. (See ch. 2. 8.) beds of Ivory— i.e., adorned, or Inlaid, with ivory (ch. 3. 15). stretch themBelves—in luxurious self-indulgence, lambs out of the flock—picked out as the choicest, for their owners' selfish gratification. 5. chant lit., mark distinct sounds and tones, viol—the lyre, or lute. Invent . . . Instruments . . . like David—they fancy they equal David In musical skill (1 Chronicles 23. 5; Nehemiah 12. 36). They defend their luxurious passion for music by his example : forgetting that he pursued this study when at peace and free from danger, and that for the praise of God; but they pursue for their own self-gratification, and that when God is angry and ruin Is imminent. 6. drink ... in bowls in the large vessels or basins in which wine was mixed; not satisfied with the smaller cups in which it was ordinarily drunk, after having been poured from the large mixer, chief ointments— i.e., the most costly: not for health or cleanliness, but wanton luxury, not grieved for the alBlction of Joseph lit., the trreach, i.e., the national wound or calamity (Psalm 60. 2; Ezekiel 34. 4) of the house of Joseph (ch. 5. 6); resembling In this the heartlessness of their forefathers, the sons of Jacob, towards Joseph, "eating bread" whilst their brother lay In the
is enough to «ni7e with destruction, great house . ..little house—He will spare none, great or small (ch. 3. 15). Jerome interprets the great house as Israel, and tfie small house as Judali: the former being i-educed to branches 01
ruiTis, lit., small drops; the latter, though injured with clejtt or renis, which threaten its fall, yet still permitted to stand. 13. In turning judgment (justice) into gall (poison), and righteousness into hemlock (or wormwood; bitter and noxious), ye act as perversely as if one were to make hor.ses to run upon d rook or to plough with oxen there. [Maubek.] Aa
horses and oxen are useless on a rock, so ye are incapable of fulfilling justice. [Grotius.] Ye impede the course of God's benefits, because ye are as it were a hard rock on which His favour cannot run. "Those that will not be tilled as fields, shall be abandoned as rocks." [Calvin.] 13. rejoice In a thing of naught i, e., in your vain and fleeting riches. Have we not taken to us horns—t. e., acquired power, so as to conquer our neighbours (2 Kihga
14. 25). Horns are the Hebrew symbol of power, being tlie Instrument of strength in many animals (Psalm 75. 10). 14. from the entering In of Hamath—the poiut of entrance for an Invading army (as Assyria) into Lsrael from the north ; specified here, as Hamath had been just before subjugated by Jeroboam II. (v. 2). Do not glory in your recently-acquired city, for It shall be the starting-point for the foe to afflict you. How sad the contrast to the feast of Solomon attended by a congregation from this same Hamath, the most northern boundary of Israel, to
pit, and then selling him to Ishmaelites. 7. Therefore
. . . shall they go captive with the flrst—As they were
first among the people in rank {v. 1), and anointed themselves "with the chief ointments" (v. 6), so shall they be among the foremost in going into captivity, banquet
lit., the merry-making shout of revellers; from an Arabic root, to cry out. In the Hebrew, " Marzeach," here, there is an allusion to " Mizraqu," bowls {v. 6). them that stretched themselves—on luxurious couches (v. 4). 8. the excellency of Jacob—(Psalm 47. 4.) The sanctuary which was the great glory of the covenant people [VatabLUS] (Ezekiel 24. 21). The priesthood, and kingdom, and dignity, conferred on them by God. These, saith God, are of no account in my eyes towards averting punishment. [Calvin.] hate his palaces—as being the store-houses of "robbery" (ch. 3. 10, 15). How sad a change from God's
the Nile, the river of Egypt, the most southern boundary
unto the river of the wilderness—t. e., to Kedron, which empties itself Into the north bay of the Dead Sea below Jericho (2 Chronicles 28. 15), the southern boundary of the ten tribes (2 Kings 14.25, "from the entering of Hamath. unto the sea of the plain "). [Mauber.] To the river Nile, which skirts the Arabian wilderness, and separates Egypt from Canaan. [Grotius.] If this verse Includes Judah, as well as Israel (cf. v. 1, Zion and Samaria), Qrotitjs' view
love of Zion's gates (Psalm 87. 2) and palaces (Psalm 48. 3,
is correct ; and it agrees with 1 Kings 8. 65.
13), owing to the people's sin! the city—collectively: both Zlon and Samaria (v. 1). all that Is therein—ft<., its fulness : the multitude of men and of riches in It (cf. Psalm
24. 1). 9. If as many as ten (Leviticus 28. 26 ; Zecharlah 8.
Ver. 1-9. Chapters 7., 8., 9., contain Visions, tviTH theib Explanations. Ch. 7. consists of two parts : flrst (v. 1-9), Prophecies illustrated by three symbols: (1), A vision of grasshoppers or young locusts, which devour the grass, but are removed at Amos" entreaty ; (2), Fire drying up even the deep, and withering part of the land, but removed at Amos' entreaty ; (3), A plumb-line to mark the buildings for destruction. Secondly (v. 10-17), Narrativk OF Amaziah's Interruption of Amos in Consequenck OF the foregoing Prophecies, and Prediction or his Doom. 1. showed . . . me ) and, behold—the same formula prefaces the three visions in this chapter, and the fourth in ch. 8. 1. grasshoppers—rather, locusts in the caterpillar state, from a Hebrew root, to creep forth; In the autumn the eggs are deposited in the earth; in the spring the young come forth. [Maurer.] the latter growth—viz., of grass, which comes up after the mowing. They do not in the East mow their grass and make bay of it, but cut It off the ground as they require it. th« king's mowings—the first-fruits of the mown grass, tyrannically exacted by the king from the people. The
23) remain in a house (a rare case, and only in the scattered villages, as there will be scarcely a house in which the enemy will leave any), they shall all, to a man, die of the plague, a usual concomitant of war In the East (Jeremiah
24. 10; 44. 13; Ezekiel 6. 11). 10. a man's uncle—the nearest relatives had the duty of burying the dead (Genesis 25.
9; 35.29; Judges 16. 31). No nearer relative was left of this man than an uncle, and he that bnrneth him—the un-
cle, who Is also at the same time the one that burneth him (one of the " ten," v. 9). Burial was the usual Hebrew mode of disposing of their dead. But In cases of necessity, as when the men of Jabesh-gilead took the bodies of Saul and his three sons from the walls of Beth-shan and burned them to save them from being insulted by the Philistines, burning was practised. 80 in this case, to prevent contagion, the bones—t. e., the dead body (Genesis 50. 25). Perhaps here there is an allusion in the phrase to the emaciated condition of the body, which was little else but skin and bones, say unto him that Is by the sides of the house—t. e., to the only one left of the ten in the interior of
t/ie houie [Maurer] (cf. Note, Isaiah 11. 18). Hold thjr 676
literal locasta, as In Joel, are probably symbols ot huiaaa
AMOS VII,
Vision of the Fire and the Plumb4{ne.
Amaziah Complmntth of Amot,
FORETOLD. 10. prlcat of Beth-el—chief priest of the royal sanctuary to the calves at Beth-el. These being an engine of state policy to keep Israel separate from Judah, Amaziah construes Amos' words against them as treasoB, So in the case of Elijah and Jeremiah (1 Kings 18. 17; Jeremiah 37. 13, 14). So the antitype Jesus was charged (John
foes: thus the growth of grass after the king^s mowings will mean the political revival of Israel under Jeroboam II. (2 Kings 14. 25), after it had been mown down, as it were, by Hazael and Ben-hatlad of Syria (2 Kings 13. 3). [GKOTirs.] a. by wlioin sliall Jacob arise T—If thou, O God, dost not spare, how can Jamb maintain his ground, reduced as he is
19. 12); political expediency being made In all ages the pretext for dishonouring God and persecuting His ser vants (John 11. 48-50). So In the case of Paul (Acts 17. 6, 7
by repeated attaclts of the Assyrians, and ere long about
to be invaded by the Assyrian Pul (2 Kings 15. 19,20)? Cf. Isaiah .51. 19. The mention of "Jacob " as a plea that God should "remember for them His covenant" with their
24. 5). In the midst of . . . Israel—probably alluding to Amos' own words, " in the midst of . . . Israel" (v. 8), foretelling the state's overthrow to the very centre. Not secretly, or In a corner, but openly. In the very centre of thi
forefallier, the patriarch (Psalm 106. 4.5). he Is small—reduced in numbers and in strengtli. 3. repented for this —t. e., of fills. Tlie change was not in the mind of God (Numbers 2. 19 ; James 1. 17), but in the effect outwardly. God unchangeably does what is just; it Is Just that He ehuuld hear intercessory prayer (James 5. 16-18), as it would have been just for him to have let judgment take
state, so as to upset the whole utterly, land ia not abl« to bear all his words—they are so many and so Intolerable. A sedition will be the result. The mention of hln being " priest of Beth-el" Implies that It was for his own priestly gain, not for the king or state, he was so been. 11. Jeroboam shall die, &c.—Amos had not said this: but that " the house of Jeroboam" should fall " with the sword" (t). 9). But Amaziah exaggerates the charge, to excite Jeroboam against him. The king, however, did not give, ear to Amaziah, probably from religious awe of the prophet of Jehovah. 13. Also—Besides informing the king against Amos, lest that course shovild fail, as it did, Amaziah urges the troublesome prophet himsell to go back to his own land Judah, pretending to advise him In friendliness, seer—said contemptuously in reference to Amos' visions which precede, there eat bread—you can earn a livelihood there, whereas remaining here you will be ruined. He judges of Amos by his own selfishness, as
Jts course at once on the guilty nation, but for the prayer of one or two righteous men in it (cf. Genesis 18. 23-33; 1 Samuel 15. 11; Jeremiah 42. 10). The repentance of the sinner, and God's regard to His own attributes of mercy and covenante<i love, also cause God outwardly to deal with him as if he repented (Jonah 3. 10), whereas the change In outward dealing Is in strictest harmony with God's own unohangeableness. It shall no#be—Israel's utter overthrow now. Pul was influenced by God to accept money anil withdraw from Israel. 4. called to contend — i. e., with Israel judicially (Job 9. 3; Isaiah 66. 16; Ezekrel 38. 22). He ordered to come at His call the infliction of punishment by fire on Israel, f. e., drought
(cf. ch. 4. 6-11). [Maurer.] Rather, war (Numbers 21. 28),
If regard to one's own safety and livelihood are the paramount considerations. So the false prophets (Ezekiel 18.
viz., Tiglath-pileser. [Grottos.] devoured the . . . deep — i. e., a great part of Israel, whom he carried away. Waters are the symljol for many people (Revelation 17. 15). •lid e»t up a part viz., all the land (cf. ch. 4. 7) of Israel east of Jordan (1 Chronicles 5. 26; Isaiah 9. 1). This was a worse judgment than the previous one: the locusts ate up the grass: the five not only affects the surface of the ground, but burns up the very roots and reaches even to the deep. 7. wall made by a pliimb-llne—rtz., perpendicular. 8. plnsiib-Hne in . . . midst of . . . Israel—no longer are the sj'mbols, as in the former two, stated generally; this one is expressly applied to Israel. God's long-suffering is worn out by Israel's perversity: so Amos ceases to intercede (cf. Genesis 18. 33). The plummet-line was used not only In building, but in destroying houses
19) were ready to say whatever pleased their hearers, however false, for " handfuls of barley and pieces of bread." 13. prophesy not again—(Ch. 2. 12.) at Beth-el—Amaziah wants to be let alone at least In his own residence, the king's chapel—Beth-el was preferred by the king to Dan, the other seat of the calf-worship, as being nearer Samaria, the capital, and as hallowed by Jacob of old (Genesis 28. 16, 19; 35. 6, 7). He argues by Implication against Amos' presumption, as a private man. In speaking against the worship sanctioned by the king, and that in the very place consecrated to It for the king's own devotions, king's conrt—i. e., residence : the seat of empire, where the king holds his court, and which thon oughtest to have reverenced. Samaria was the usual king's residence: but for the convenience of attending the calf-worship, a royal palace was at Beth-el also. 14. I was no prophat—in answer to Amaziah's insinuation
(2 Kings 21. 13 ; Isaiah 28. 17 ; 34. 11 ; Lamentations 2. 8). It denotes tliat God's judgments are measured out by the exactest rules of justice. Here it is placed in tTie midst of
Israel, i. e., the judgment is not to be confined to an outer part of Israel, as by Tiglath-pileser; it is to reach the very centre. This was fulfilled when Shalmaneser, after a three years' siege of Samaria, took it, and carried away Israel captive finally to Assyria (2 Kings 17. 3, 5, 6, 2:?). not . . . pass by . . . any more—not forgive them any more (cli. 8. 2; Proverbs 19. 11; Micah 7. 18). 9. high places—dedicated to idols, of Isaac—they boasted of
(v. 12), that he discharged the prophetical office to earn his "bread" (like Israel's mercenary prophets). So far from being rewarded, Jehovah's prophets had to expect Imprisonment and even deatti as the result of their prophesying in Samaria or Israel : whereas the prophets of Baal were maintained at the king's expense (cf. 1 Kings
18. 19). I was not, says Amos, of the order of prophets, or educated In their schools, and deriving a livelihood from exercising the public functions of a prophet. I am a shepherd (cf. v. 15, "flock;" the Hebrew for "herdman" Includes the meaning, shepherd, cf. ch. 1. 1) In humble position, who did not even think of prophesying among yon, until a Divine call impelled me to it. prophet's son—
tlieir following the example of their forefather Isaac, in erecting liigh places at Beer-sheba (ch. 5. 5; cf. Genesis 26.
2:1, 46. 1); but lie and Abraham erected them before
tlie temple was appointed at Jerusalem; and to God, whereas they did so, after the temple had been fixed as the only place for sacrifices; and to idols. In the Hebrew here Isaac is written with .», Instead of the usual ts; both forms mean lani/hler; the change of spelling perhaps expresses tliat their " liigli place.'; of Isaac" may be well so called, but not as they meant by the name; for they are only tit to be laughed at in scorn. Probably, however, the mention of "Isaac" and "Israel" simply expresses that lliese names, wliioh their degenerate posterity boasted In as if ensuring their safety, will not save them and their idolatrous "sanctuaries" on which they depended from ruin (cf. ch. 8. 14). house of Jeroboam witli . . . swoni—fulfilled in the extinction of Zacharlah, son of Jeroboam II., the last of the descendants of Jeroboam I., who had originated the idolatry of the calves
<. e., dwciple. Schools of prophets are mentioned first in 1 Samuel; in these youths were educated to serve the theocracy as public Instructors. Only In the kingdom of the ten tribes the continuance of the schools of the prophets
is mentioned. They were missionary stations near the chief seats of superstition in Israel, and associations endowed with the Spirit of God; none were admitted but those to whom the Spirit had been previously Imparted. Their spiritual fathers travelled about to visit the training-schools, and cared for the members and even their widows (2 Kings 4. 1, 2). The pupils had their common board in them, and after leaving them still continued members. The offerings which In Judah were given by the pious to the Levites, In Israel went to the schools of the prophets (2 Kings 4.42). Prophecy (e. ff., Elijah and
(2 Kings 15. «-10).
10 17. AMAziAH's Charge against Astos: his Doom
AMOS VIII, IX.
A Famine of the Wi/rd Threatened.
VUiAjn of a Basket of Fruit.
Elisha) in Israel was more connected with extraordinary events than in Judali, inastnucli as, in the absence of the legal hierarchy ot the huter, it needed to have more palpable Divine sanction, sycamore—abounding in Pales-
worth, to sell themselves tons as bondmen, in defiance of Leviticus 25. 3U; the very thing which brings down God's judgment (ch 2.6). sell tlie refuse of . . . wheat which contains no nutriment, but whi<-h the poor eat at a low price, being unable to pay for flour. 7. Lord hath sworn by the excellency of .lacob i. e,, by Himself, in whom Jacob's seed glory. [Maurkr.] Rather, by tlie spiritual privileges o) Israel, the adoption as His peculiar people [Calvin,] the temple, and its Shekinah .symbol of His presence. Cf. ch. 6. 8, where it means Jehovah's temple (cf. ch. 4. "2). never forget—not pass by without punishing {v. 2; Hosea 8. 13; !). 9). 8. tlie land . . . rise up wholly as a flood—the land will, as it were, be wholly turned into a Hooding river (a flood being the image of overwhelming calamity, Daniel 9. 20). cast out and drowned, &c.—swept away and overwhelmed, as the land adjoining the Nile is by it, when flooding (ch. 9. .5). The Nile rises generally twenty feet. Tlie waters then "cast out" mire and dirt (Isaiali 57. 20). 9. "Darkness" made to rise "at noon" is the emblem of great calamities (Jeremiah 15. 9; Ezekiel 32. 7-10). 10. baldness—a sign of mourning (Isaiah 15.2; Jeremiah 48. 37; Ezekiel 7. 18). I will make It as . . . mourning of an only son—"it,"
line. The fruit was like the llg, but inferior; according
to Pliny, a sort of compound, as the name expresses, of tne fig and the mulberry. It was only eatc^n by the poorest
(cf. 1 Kings 10. 27). gatlicrcr—one occupied with their
cuHivation. [Maukek.] The mode of cultivating it was, they made an incision in the fruit when of a certain size, and on the fourth day afterwards it ripened (Pliny, H. N. 13. 7, II). GiiOTiu.'i from Jekome says, if it be not plucked ofr and "gathered" (which favours English Ver-
sion), it is spoiled by gnats. 15. took me ks I followed the flock—so David was taken (2 8amuel 7. 8; Psalm 78.
70,71). Messiah is the antitypical Shepherd (Psalm 2,3.; John 10). Miito my people—agrainsi [Maurer]; so i>. 16. Jehovah claims them still as His by right, though slighting His authority. God would recover them to His service by the prophet's ministry. 16. rtrop—distil as the refreshing drops of rain (Deuteronomy 32. 2; Ezekiel 21.2;
cf. Micah 2. 6, 11). 17. Thy wife sliall be an harlot In
tine city—t. e., shall be forced by the enemy, whilst thou art looking on, unable to prevent her dishonour (Isaiah
i. e., the earth {v. 9). I will reduce the land to such a state that there shall be thesione occasion for mourning as when parents mourn for an only son (Jeremiah 6. 26; Zechariah
13. 1(S; Lamentations 5. U). The words, "saith the Loud," are in striking opposition to "2'Jiou sayest" (v. 16). di-
viilert by line—among the foe. a polluted land—Israel regarded every foreign land as that which really her own land was now, " polluted" (Isaiah 24. 5 ; Jeremiah 2. 7). CHAPTER VIII.
12. 10). 11. famine of. . . hearing tike words of the Lord —a just retribution on those who now will not hear the Lord's prophets, nay even try to drive them away, ae Amaziah did (cli. 7. 12); they shall look in vain, in their distress, for Divine counsel, such as the prophets now offer (Ezekiel 7. 26; Micah 3.7). Cf. as to the Jews' rejection of Messiah, and their consequent rejection by Him (Matthew 21. 43); and their desire for Messiah too late (Luke 17.22; John 7. 34; 8.21). So, the prodigal when he had sojourned a while in the "far-oft" country, began to be in want" in the "mighty famine" which arose (Luke 15. 14;
Ver. 1-14. Vision of a Basket of Summer Fruit, sy'mBOLicAL OF Israel's End. Resuming the series of Symbols interrupted by Amaziah, Amos adds a Fourth. The Avarice of the Oppressors of the Poor: the Overthrow of the Nation: the Wish FOR the Means of Religious Counsel, when there shall be a Famine of the Word. 1. summer fruit —Hebrew, Kitz. In i;. 2 "end" is in Hebrew Keetz. The similarity of sounds implies that, as the summer is the end of the year and tlie time of the ripeness of
cf. 1 Samuel 3. I; 7. 2). It is remarkable, the Jews' religion
is almost the only one that co\ild be abolished against ih» will of the people themselves, on account of its being dependent on a particular place, viz., the temple. When that was destroyed, the Mosaic ritual, which could not exist without it, necessarily ceased. Providence designed
fruits, so Israel is ripe for her last punishment, ending her national existence. As the fruit is plucked when ripe from the tree, so Israel from her land. 3. end—(Ezekiel
it, that, as the law gave way to the gospel, so all men should perceive it was so, in spite of tlie Jews' obstinate rejection of the gospel. liJ. they shall wander from sea to sea i. e., from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, from east to west, from . . . north . . . to . . . east where we might expect "from north to south." But so alienated was Israel from Judah, that no Israelite even then would think of repairing southivard, i. e., to Jerusalem for religious iuforniation. The circuit is traced as in Numbers 34. 3, &c., except that the south is omitted. Their seeking the word of tlie Lord would not be from a sincere de-
7.2,6.) 3. songs of ... temple— (Ch. 5. 23.) The Joyous hymns in the temple of Judah (or rather, in the Selh-el " royal temple," ch. 7. 13; for the allusion is to Israel, not Judah, throughout this chapter) shall be changed into fiowHngs. GROTivstranslales, " palace ;" cf. ch. 6. 5, as to the
songs there. But ch. 5. 23, and 7. 13, favour English Version. tUey shall cast them fortli with silence—not as Margin, "be silent." It is an adverb, si7en<;^. There shall be so
s;reat slaughter as even to prevent the bodies being buried. [Calvin.] There shall be none of the usual professional mourners (ch. 5. 16), but the Ijodieswill be cast out in silence. Perhaps also it is meant, terror both of God (cf. ch.
sire to obey God, but under the pressure of punishment. 13. faint for thirst viz., thirst for hearing the words of the Lord, being destitute of allother comfort. If even the young and strong faint, how much more the infirm(Isaiah
(i. 10) and of tlie foe shall close their lips. 4. Hear—The nobles needed to be urged thus, as hating to hear reproof, swallow up tJne needy—or, ga2>e after, i.e., pant for their goods; so tlie word is used, .lob 7. 2, Margin, to make the poor ... to fall—" that they (themselves) may be placed alone in the midst of the earth" (Isaiah 5. 8). 5. So greedy are they of unjust gain that they cannot spare a sitigle day, however sacred, from pursuing it. They are str.angors to God and enemies to themselves, who love market days better than saljbath days; and they who have lost piety will not long keep Iioncsty. The new moon (Numbers 10. 10) and sal)ljath were to be kept without working or trading (Nehemiah 10. 31). set forth wheat—Zi/., "open ou<" stores of wheat for sale, ephah — containing three
40.30, .31)! 14r. swear l>y the sin of Samaria viz., the calves (Deutei'onomy 9. 21; Hosea 4. 15). "Swear by" means to worsliip (Psalm 63.11). Tlie manner i.e., as " the way" is used (Psalm 139. 21 ; Acts 9. 2), the mode of wor-
ship. Thy God, O Dan—the other golden calf at Dan
(1 Kings 22. 26-30). liveth . . . llveth—rather, " May thy god . . . live . . . may the manner . . . live." Or, "As (surely
as) thy God, O Dan, liveth." This is tlieir formula when they swear; not "May Jehovah live!" or, "As Jehovah liveth!"
Ver. 1-15. Fifth and Last Vision, x^^one can escape the coming judgment in any hiding-place : for God is omni-
se.ahs, or above three pecks, making . . . small—making it below the just weight to purchasers, shekel great —taking from purchasers a greater weight of money than was due. Shekels used to be weighed out in payments {Genesis 23. 16). Thus they committed a double fraud against the law (Deuteronomy 25. 13, 14). 6, buy . . . poor for silver . . . pair of shoes—i. e., that we may compel the needy for money, or any other thing of however little
preserit and irresistible (v. 1-6). ^.v a kingdom, Israel shall perish as if it neveiwas in covenant v,ith Him: but as indi' viduals the house of Jacob shall not utterly perish, nay, not on«
of the least of the righteous shall fall, but only all the sinnert
(v. 7-10). Restoration of the Jews finally to their own land after
the re-establishment of the fallen tabernacle qf David ; conae
The Certainty of the Desolation, AMOS IX. The Resloraiwn of David's TubernaeU.
ffiient conversion of all the heathen {v. 11-15). 1. Lord . . . tpou the nJtar—(iz., in the idolatrous temple at Beth-el;
ture statement (Genesis 10. 6, R, 10). 8. eyes . . . upon the sinful kingdom—i. e., I am watching all its sinful course in order to punish it(of. v.4; l^salm 31. 15, 10). not utterly destroy the house of Jacob—tiiough as a "kingiloin" the nation is now utterly to perish, a remnant is to be spared for "Jacob" their forefather's sake (cf. Jeremiah 30. 11;; to fulfil the covenant whcrel)y " the seed of Israel" is hereafter to be "a nation for ever" (Jeremiah 31. 36). 9. sift
llie calvi-s of wliicli were spoken of in the verse just pre-
eedinsi, of eli. 8. Hither they would flee for protection from the Assyrians, and would perish in the ruins, with
tlie vain object of their trust. [Hbnderson.] Jehovah stands here to direct the destruction of it, them, and the lUohitrous nation. He demands many victims on the
ttltar, hut they are to be human victims. Cai>vin and Kaikbaikn, &c., make it in Die fenqHe at Jerusalem. Judgment wajs to descend both on Israel and Judah. As the services of both alike ought to have been offered on the Jerusalem temple-altar, it is there that Jehovah ideally stands, as if the whole people were assembled there, their atominations lying unpardoned there, and crying for vengeance, though in fact committed el.sewhere (cf. Ezekiel 8. 1-18). This view harmonizes with the similarity of the vision in Amos to that in Isaiah 6., at Jerusalem. Also with the end of this chapter (v. U-lo), wliich applies both to Judali and Israel: "the tal)ernacle of David," viz., at Jerusalem. His attitude, slandiiu/, implies fixity of purpose. liiUrl—rather, the spherelike capital of the column. IMauker.] posts—rather, thresholds, as in Isaiah 6.4, Margin. The temple is to be smitten below as well as above, to ensure utter destruction, cut tliem in the Uctid —ftz., with tlie broken fragments'of the capitals and columns (cf. Psalm 08. 21 ; Habakkuk 3. 13). slay the last of them—their posterity. [HENDEit-SON.J The survivors. [Maixrkk.] Jehovah's directions are addressed to His angels, ministers of judgment (cf. Ezekiel 9). he that
I will cause the Israelites to be tossed about tlirougli all nations as corn is shaken about in a sieve, in such a way, however, that whilst the chafl' and dust (the wicked) fall through (perish), all the solid grains (the godly elect) remain (are preserveil), (Romans 11. 26; cf. Note, Jeremiah 3.
IJ). So spiritual Israel's final safety is ensured (Luke 22. 32; Jolin 10.28; 6.39). 10. All the sinners—answering to the chart' in the image in v. 9; whicli falls on the earth, in opposition " to the grain" that does not " fall." overtake
. . . us—" come on us from beliind." [Maubeu.J 11. In that day—quoted by St. James (Acts 15.16,17), "After this,"
i.e., in the dispensation of Messiali (Genesis 49. 10; Hosea 3.4,5; Joel 2. 28; 3.1). tabernacle of David—not "the house ot David," which is used of his affairs when prospering (2 .Samuel 3. 1), but the lent or booth, expressing the low condition to which his kingdom and family had fallen in Amos' time, and subsequently at tlie Babylonian captivity before the restoration; and secondarily, la the last days preceding Israel's restoration under Messiah, the antitype to David (Psalm 102. 13, 14; Note, Isaiah 12.1; Jeremiah 30.9; Ezekiel 34. 24; 37. 24). The type is taken from architecture (Ephesians 2. 20). The restoration under Zerubbabel can onlj' be a partial, temporary fulfilment; for it did not include Israel, which nation is the main subject of Amos' prophecies, but only Judah; also Zerubabbel's kingdom was not independent and settled ; also all the prophets end their prophecies with Messiah, whose advent is the cure of all previous disorders. " Tabernacle" is appropriate to Him, as His human nature is the tabernacle which He assumed in becoming Immanuei, " God with us" (John 1. 14). " Dwelt," lit., tabernacled "among us" (cf. Revelation 21.3). Some understand "the tabernacle of David" as that which David pitched for the ark in Zion, after bringing it from Obededom's house. It remained there all his reign for thirty years, till the temple of Solomon was built; whereas the
fleetli . . . shall not flee away—he who fancies himself safe and out of reacli of the enemy shall be taken (ch. 2.
14). 3. Though they dig luto hell—Though they hide over so deeply in the earth (Psjilm 139. 8). though they climb . . . Iieaveii—though they ascend the greatest heights (Job 2(). G, 7; Jeremiah 51. 53; Obadiah 4). 3. Carmel—where the forests, and, on the west side, the caves, furnished hiding-places (ch. 1. 2; Judges 6. 2; 1 Samuel 13.
6;. the sea—the Mediterranean, which flows at the foot of Mount Carmel ; forming a strong antithesis to it. commaud'the serpent—the sea-serpent, a term used for any great water-monster (Isaiah 27. 1). The symbol of cruel and oppressive kings (Psalm 74. 13, 14). 4. though Ihey go into captivity—hoping to save their lives by voluntarily surrendering to the foe. 5. As Amos had threatened that nowhere should the Israelites be safe from the Divine judgments, he here shows God's omnipotent ability to execute His threats. So in the case of the threat in ch. 8. 8, God is here stated to be the first cause of the mourning of all thai dwell in the land, and of its rising
"tabernacle of tne congregation" remained at Gibeon
(2 Chrcmicles 1. 3), where the priests ministered in sacrifices (1 Chronicles 16. 39). Song and pi-aise was the servico of David's attendants before the ark (Asaph, &c.); a type of the gospel separation between tlie sacrificial service (Messiah's priesthood now m heaven) and the access' of believers on earth to the presence of God, apart from the former (cf. 2.Samuel 0. 12-17; 1 Chronicles 16. 37-39; 2 Chronicles 1. 3). breaclies thereof-ii/., of them, i. e., of the whole nation, Israel as well as Judah. as in . . . days of old—as
like ajlood, and of its being drowned asby Oie flood of Egypt.
fi. stoviva—lit., ascents, i. e., upper chambers, to which the ascent is by steps [Maurer] ; evidently referring to the words, Psalm 104. 3, 13. Grotius explains it; God's royal throne, expressed in language drawn from Solomon's throne, to wliich the ascent was by steps (cf. 1 Kings 10.
it was formerly in the days of David and Solomon, when the kingdom was in Us full ex tent and undivided. I'Z. That tliey iknay possess . . . remitant of £dom, and of all the heathen—" Edom," the bitter foe, thougii the brother, of Israel; therefore to be puuislied (ch. 1. 11, 12). Israel shall be lord of the " remnant" of Edom left after the punishment of the latter. .St. James quotes it, "That the residue
18, 19). founded his troop viz., all animate creatures, which are God's troop, or haU (Genesis 2. 1), doing His will (Psalm 103.2!), 21; Joel 2.11). Maukeb translates, "His oauU," i. e., the vaulted sky, which seems to rest on the earth supported by the horizon. 7. unto me—however great ye seem to yourselves. Do not rely on past privi-
of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles," &c. For "all the heathen" nations stand on the same footing as Edom: Edom is the representative of them all. The residue or remnant in both cases expresses those left after great antecedent calamities (Romans 9. 27; Zechariali
leges, and on my having delivered j'ou from Egypt, as if therefore I never would remove you from Canaan. I make no more ac<»unt of you than of "the Ethiopian"
(cf. Jeremiah 13. 23). " Have not I (who) brought you out of Egypt," done as niucli for other peoples? For instance, did I not bring " the Philistines (Notes, Isaiah 14. 29, &c.) frorn C'aplitor (cf. Deuteronomy 2.23; Note, Jeremiah 47.
14. 16). Here the conversion of "all nations" (of which the earnest was given in St. James' time) is represented as only to be realized on the re-establishment of the theocracy under Messiah, the Heir of the throne of David {V 11). The possession of the heatlien nations by Israel is to be spiritual, the latter being the ministers to the Ibrmer for 'their conversion to Messiah, King of the Jews; just as the first conversions of heathens were through the ministry of the apostles, who were Jews. Cf. Lsaiah 54. 3, " thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles" (cf. Isaiah
4), where they had been bond-servants, and tlie Si'rians from Kir?" It Is appropriate, that as the Syrians migrated into Syria from Kir (cf. Note, Isaiah 22. 6), so they should be carried back captive into tlie same land (Note, ch. 1. 5; 2 Kings 16. 9), just as elsewhere Israel is threatened with a return to Egypt whence they had been delivered. The " Ethiopians," Hebrew, Cushites, were originally akin to tlie race that founded Babylon: the cuneiform Ulttcriptions la this coaflrmiug indepeodently the Scrip-
49.8; Romans 4.13). A remnant of Edom became Jews under John Hyrcanus, and the rest amalgamated wiU»
The Boom of Edom OBADIAH. for Cruelty to Jacob.
the Arabians, who became Christians subsequently. 'vrKicIi are called toy my name—t. e., who belong to me, whom I claim as mine (Psalm 2.8); in the purposes of electing grace, God terms them already called by His name. Ct. the title, " the children," applied by anticipation, Hebrews 2. 14. Hence as an act of sovereign grace, fulfilling His promise, It is spoken of God. Proclaim His title as sovereign, " the Lord that doeth this" (" all these things," Acts 15. 17, viz., all these and such like acts of sovereign love). 13. the days come—at the future restoration of the Jews to their own land, plougtomaii shall overtake . . . reaper . , . treader of grapes lilm that soweth—fulfilling Leviticus 26. 5. Such shall be the abundance that the
harvest and vintage can hardly be gathered before the time for preparing for the next crop sliall come. Instead of the greater part of the year being spent in war, the whole shall be spent in sowing and reaping the fruits of earth. Cf. Isaiah 65. 21-23, as to the same period, soweth
aeeA—lit., draweth it forth, viz., from the sack in order to sow it. mountain . . . drop sweet wine—an appropriate image, as the vines in Palestine were trained on terraces
at the sides of the hills. 14. towlld the waste cities—(Isaiah
61.4; Ezekiel 36. 33-^16.) 15. plant them ... no more be pulled up—(Jeremiah 32. 41.) thy God—Israel's; this
is the ground of their restoration, God's original choice of them as His.
OBADIAH.
This is the shortest book In the Old Testament. The name means " servant of Jehovah." Obadiah stands fourth of the minor prophets according to the Hebrew arrangement of the canon, the fifth according to the Greek. Some consider he is the same as the Obadiah who superintended the restoration of the temple under Josiali, b. c. 627 (2 Chronicles
34. 12). But V. 11-16, 20 imply that Jerusalem was by this time overthrown by the Chaldeans, and tliat he refers to the cruelty of Edom towards tlie Jews ou that occasion, which is referred to al.so in Lamentations 4. 21, 22; Ezekiel 25. 12-
14, and 35. ; Psalm 137. 7. From comparing v. 5 with Jeremiah 49. 9 ; u. 6 with Jeremiah 49. 10 ; v. 8 with Jeremiah 49. 7,
It appears that Jeremiah embodied in his prophecies part of Obadiah's, as he had done in the case of other prophets also (cf. Isaiah 15. and 16. with Jeremiah 48). The reason for the present position of Obadiah before other of the minor prophets anterior in date is, Amos at the close of his prophecies foretells the subjugation of Edom hereafler by the Jews ; the arranger of the minor proptiets in one volume, therefore, placed Obadiah next, as being a fuller statement, and, as it were, a commentary on tlie foregoing briefer prophecy of Amos as to Edom [Maurer] (cf. Amos 1. 11). The date of Obadiali's prophecies was probably immediately after the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 5S8 b. c. In
five years afterwards (583 B. c.) Edom was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah must have iacorporated part of Obadiah's prophecies witii his own Immediately after they were uttered, thus stamping his canonicity.
Jerome makes him contemporary with Hosea, Joel, and Amos. It is an argument in favour of this view that Jeremiah would be more likely to insert in his prophecies a portion from a preceding prophet tlian from a contemporary. If
so, the allusion in v. 11-14 will be to some one of the former captures of Jerusalem : by the Egyptians underKehoboam
(1 Kings 14. 25, 26 ; 2 Chronicles 12. 2, &c.), or that by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Joram (2 Chronicles
21. 16, 17); or that by Joash, king of Israel, in the reign of Amaziah (2 Chronicles 25. 22, 23); or that in the reign of Jelioiakim (2 Kings 24. 1, &c.); or tliat in the reign of Jehoiachtn (2 Kings 24. 8-16). On all occasions the Idumeans were hostile to the Jews ; and the terms in which that enmity is characterized are not stronger in Obadiah than in Joel 3. 19
(cf. Obadiah 10); Amos 1. 11, 12. The probable capture of Jerusalem alluded to by Obadiah is that by Joash and the Israelites in the reign of Amaziah. For as, a little before, in the reign of the same Amaziah, the Jews had treatjed harshly the Edomites after conquering them in battle (2 Chronicles 25. 11-23), it is probable that the Edomites, In revenge. Joined the Israelites in the attack on Jerusalem. [Jaeger.] This book may be divided into two parts: (I.) v. 1-6 set forth Edom's violence toward his brother Israel in the day of the latter's distress, and his coming destruction with the rest of the foes of Judah ; (II.) v. 17-21, the coming re-establishment of tlie Jews in their own possessions, to which shall be added those of the neighbouring peoples, and especially those of Edom.
Ver. 1-21. Doom of Edom fob Cruelty to Judah, Edom's Brother; Restoration of the Jew.s. 1. Obadlalt i. e., servdnt of Jehovah; same &s Abdeel and Arabic Abd-allah. Wc—/ and my people, heard—(Isaiah 21. 10.) and an ambassador is sent—yea, an ambassador is already sent, viz., an angel, to stir up the Assyrians (and afterwards the Chaldeans) against Edom. The result of the ambassador's message on the heathen is, they simultaneously exclaim, " Arise ye, and let us (with united strength)
clause, " thy nest" [Mauker] (cf. Job 20. 0; Jeremiah 49. 16; Amos 9. 2.). set . . . nest among . . . stars—fiz., on the loftiest hills which seem to reach the very stars. Edom is a type of Antichrist (Isaiah 14. 13; Daniel 8.10; 11.37). tlience will I bring thee down—in spite of tiiy boast (y.
3), " ir7io shall bring me down 7" 5. The spoliation which thou shalt sutler sliall not be such as that which thieves cause, bad as tliat is, for these when they have seized enough, or all they can get in a hurry, leave the rest,— nor such as grape-gatherers cause in a vineyard, for they, when they have gathered most of the grapes, leave gleanings behind,—but it shall be utter, so as to leave thee nothing. The exclamation, " How art tliou cutoff!" bursting In amidst the words of llie imiige, marks strongly-excited feeling. The contrast between Edom where no gleanings shall be left, and Israel where at the worst a gleaning is
rise," &c. Jeremiah 49. 14 quotes this. 8. I have made thee small—tliy reduction to insignificance is as sure as if
it were already accomplislied ; tlierefore the past tense is used. [Maurer. J Kdom tlien extended from Dedan of Araliia to Bozrah in the north (Jeremiah 49. 8, 13). Calvin exjilains it, "Wlieroas thou wast made by me an Insignificant people, why art thou so proud" {v. 3)1 But if so, why sliould tlie lieatlien peoples be needed to subdue one no iusigniticant? Jeremiah 49. 15, Cfnflrms Maurbr's view. 3. clefts of . . . rocli—(Song of Solomon 2. 14 ; Jeremiali 48. 2S.) Tlie cities of Edom, and among them Petra (Hebrew, Seta, rac^aning rock, 2 Kings 14. 7, Margin), the capital, in the Wady Musa, consisted of houses mostly cut In the rocks. 4. exalt >Jiyse(/—or supply from the second
left (Isaiali 17. 6 ; 21. 13), is striking. 6. How are the thingt ofVLnan searched out J—by hostile soldiers seeking booty.
Cf. witli V. 5, 6 here, Jeremiah 49. 9, 10. hiildeu tilings—or places. Edom abounded in sucli liiding-places, as caves, clefts In the rcxdt, &c. None of these should be left unex ploreil by the foe. 7. Men of thy confederacy —i. e. th> confederates, brouglit thee ... to the border — Ce..
• 680
The Destruction of Edom. OBADIAH. The Salvation of Jueob,
any more. English Version agrees with the context better, the day of thy brother—his day of calamity, became a stronger—t. e., was banished as an alien from his own land. God sends heavy calamities on those who rejoice in the calamities of their enemies (Proverbs 17.5; 24. 17, 18). Contrast the opposite conduct of David and of the Divine Son of David in a like case (Psalm 35. 13-15). spoken proudly lit., made great the mouth: proudly insulting the fallen (Ezekiel 35. 13, Margin; cf. 1 Samuel 2. t; Revelation
when Idumean ambassadors shall go to confederate states seeking aid. these latter shall conduct them with due ceremony to their border, giving them empty compliments, but not the aid required. [Drusius.J This view agrees
witli the context, which speaks of false friends deceimngt Edoin: i. e., failing to give help In need (cf. Job 6.14, 15). Calvin iranslates, "have driven," i.e., shall drive thee;
shall help to drive thee to thy border on thy way Into cap-
tivityin foreign lands, tlie men that were at peace wltU thee—H;., the men of thy peace. Cf. Psalm 41.9; Jeremiah
13. 6). 13. substance—translated "forces" In v. II. 14. stood In the crossway, to cut off those of his (Judah's) tliat <lld escape—the Jews naturally fled by the crossways (Mauker translates, "narrow mountain passes") well known to them, t o escape to the desert, and through Edom to Egypt; but tlie Edomites stood ready to intercept the fugitives, and either kill or "deliver them up" to the foe. 15. For—resumptive in connection with v. 10, wherein Edom was threatened witli cutting offfor ever, the day of the liord—the day in whicli He will manifest Himself aa the Righteous Punisher of the ungodly peoples (Joel 3. 141 The "all" shows that tlie fulfilment is not exhausted in the punishment inllicted on the surrounding nations by the instrumentality ol Nebuchadnezzar; but, as in Joe)
38. 22 (Margin), where also the same formula occurs, "prevailed against thee." they that eat thy bread— the poorer tribes of the desert who subsisted on the bounty of Edom. Cf. again Psalm 41. 9, which seems to have been before Obadiah's mjnd; as his words were before Jeremiah's, have laid a wound under thee—" laid" implies that their intimacy was used as a snabb laid with a view
to wound; also, these guest-friends of Edom, instead of the cushions ordinarily laid under guests at table, laid snares to wound, viz., had a secret understanding with Edom's foe for that purpose. Mauber translates, " a snare." But English Version agrees with the Hebrew, which means, lit., " a bandage for a wound." none understanding—none of the wisdom for which Edom was famed (see
3. 14, and Zechariah 12. 3, tliat the last judgment to come on the nations confederate against Jerusalem is referred to. as thou hastdonc, It shall be done uuto thee—the righteous principle of retribution in kind (Leviticus 24. 17; Matthew 7. 2; cf. Judges 1. 6, 7 ; 8.19; Esther 7. 10). thy reward—the I'eward of thy deed (cf. Isaiah 3. 9-11). IG. ye . . . upon my holy mountain—a periplirasis for, "ye Jews" [MaurebJ, wliom Obadiaii now by a sudden apostrophe addresses. The clause, " upon my hoiy mountain," expre.sses the reason of tlie vengeance to be taken on Judah's
V. 8) to extricate him from his perilous position. In him —Instead of " in thee." The change implies the alienation of God from Edom: Edom has so estranged himself from God, thHt He speaks now o/him, not to him. 8. (Isaiah 49.
7; cf. Job 5.12,18; Isaiah 19.3; Jeremiah 19.7.) in that day . . . even destroy—heretofore Edom, through its intercourse with Babylon and Egypt, and from its means of information through the many caravans passing to and fro between Europe and India, has been famed for knowledge; but in that day al last ("even") I will destroy its wise men. mount of Ksau i. e., Idumea, whicli was a mountainous region. 9. cut offby slaughter Mauber
foes, viz., that Jerusalem is God's holy mountain, the se.at of His temple, and Judah His covenant people. Jeremiah
49. 12, which is copied from Obadiah, establishes this view
(cf. 1 Peter 4. 17). as ye have drunk, itc. viz., the cup of wrath, being dispossessed of your goods and places as a nation, by Edom and all the heathen; so shall all the heathen (Edom included) drink the same cup (Psalm 60.3; Isaiah 51.17,22; Jeremiah 13.12,13; 2,5.15-33; 49.
translates, " on account of the slaughter," viz., that in-
flicted on Judea by Edom (cf. v. 14). LXX., Syriac and Vulgate connect these words with v. 10, " for the slaugliter, for the violence (of which thou art guilty) against thy brother Jacol)," &c. English Version, "cut off by .slaughter"
12; 51.7; Lamentations 4.21, 22; Nahum 3.11; Habakkuk 2.16). continually — whereas Judah's calamity shall be temporary (v. 17). The foes of Judah shall never regain their former position (v. 18, 19). swallow down—so as not to leave anything iji tlie cup of calamity
{i. e., an utter cutting off), answers well to " cut off/or ever"
(v. 10). However, the arrangement of LXX. gives a better parallelism in r. 10. "For the slaughter" (1) being balanced in just retribution by "thou slialt be euio/f forever"
(4); as "For \X\y violence (not so bad as slaughter) against thy brother Jacob" (2) is balanced by "shame (not so bad as Being cut off) shall cover thee" (3). Shame and extinction shall repajviolence and slaughter (Matthew 26.52; Revelation 13. 10). Cf. as to Edom's violence. Psalm 137.
not merely "drink" (Psalm 75.8). be as though they had not been—not a trace left of their national existence (Job 10.19; Psalm 37.36; Ezekiel 26.21). 17. upon . . . Zion . . . deliverance—both in the literal sense and spiritual sense (Joel 2. 32; Isaiah 46. 16; 59. 20; Romans 11. 26). Maureb as Margin explains it, " there shall be a remnant that shall escape." Cf. Isaiah 37. .32; to the deliverance from Sennacherib there described Grotius thinks Obadiah here refers. "Jerusalem shall not be taken, and many of the neighbouring peoples also shall find deliverance there." Unlike Judah's heathen foes of whom no remnant shall escape {v. 9, 16), a remnant of Jews shall escape when the rest of the nation h,as perished, and shall regain their ancient "possessions." there shall be holiness—i. e., Zion shall be sacrosanct or inviolable : no more violated by foreign invaders (Isaiah 42. 1 ; Joel 3. 17). 18. fire—see tiie same figure. Numbers '21. 28; Is.aiah .5. 24;
7; Ezekiel 2.5.12; Amos 1. 11. 10. against thy brother this aggravates the sin of Esau, that it was against him who was his brotlier by birth and by circumcision. The posterity of Plsau followed in the steps of their father's hatred to Jacob by violence against Jacob's seed (Genesis
27.41). Jacob—not merely his own brother, but his twin brother ; hence the name Jacob is here put emphatically, not Israel. Cf. Deuteronomy 23. 7 for the opposite feeling which Jacob's seed was commanded to entertain towards Edom's. shame . . . cover thee—(Psalm 35.26 ; 69.
7.) for ever—(Isaiah 34.10; Ezekiel 3;5.9; Malachl 1.4.) Idumea, as a nation, should be "cut off for ever," though the land should be again inhabited. 11. thou stoodest on the other side—in an attitude of hostility, rather than the sympathy which l)ecarae a brother, feasting thine eyes (see V. 12) with the misery of Jacob, and eagerly watching for his destruction. So Messiah, the antitype to Jerusalem, abandoned by Hiskinsmen (Psalm 38. 11). strangers —the Pliilistines, Arabians in the reign of Jehoram, &c.
10. 17. house of .Tacob . . . Joseph— i. e., the two kingdoms, Jud.ah and Ephraim or Israel. [Jerome.] The two shall form one kingdom, their former feuds being laid aside (Isaiah 11. 12, 13; 37. 2*2-28; Jeremiah 3. 18; Hosea 1. U). The Jews returned with some of the Israelites from Babylon, and, under Jolin Hyrcanus, so subdued and, compelling them to be circumcised, incorporated the Idumeans witli tliemselves that they formed part of the nation. [Josephus, 13. 17, and 12. 11.] This was butan earnest of the future union'of Israel and Judiili in the possession of the enlarged land as one kingdom (f^zekiel 37. 16, &c.). stublde—(Malachi 4. 1.) 19. they of the south—the Jews who in the coming time are to occupy the south of Judea shall possess, in addition to their own territory, the aU-
(2 Chronicles 21. 16); the Syrians in the reign of Joash of Judali (2 Chronicles 24. 21); the Chaldeans(2Clironic!es 36). carried .. . captive his forces—his "host" (v. 20): the multitude of Jerusalem's inhabitants, cast lots upon Jerusalem—i^Joel 3. 3.) So Messiah, Jerusalem's antitype, had his only eai lhly possessions cast lots for (Ptialtn 22.
18). Iti, looked on— witli malignant pleasure, and a l)rutal stare. So the antitypes, Messiah's foes (Psalm 22. 17). Maukk.k translates, as Margin, " thou shouldest not look"
joining mountaitwus region of Edom. they of tlte plain
[rtlroduction. JONAH. Introduction,
the Jews who shall occupy the low oountvy along the Meditci raneaii, south and south-west of Palestine, shall possess, iu addition to their own territory, the land of" the Philistines," wliicli runs as a long strip between the hills anil tliu sea. and thry shall possess the flelds of
Sepliar, according to others (Genesis 10. .'(0). Palieography confirms Jerome. In the cuneiform inscription containing a list of tlie tribes of Persia [NiEBunK, Tab.'M. 1], befor^ Ionia and Greece, and after Cappadocia (roines, tlie name CPaRaD. It was therefore a district of Western Asia Minor, about Lydia, and near the Bospliorus. It is made an appellative by Maureb. "The Jerusalem captives o/ the diipersion " (cf. James 1. 1), wherever tliey be dispersed, shall return and po.ssess the southern cities. Sepliarad, thougli literally the district near tlie Bospliorus, represents the Jews far and wide dispersion. Jerome says the name in Assyrian means a boundary, i. e., " tlie Jews scattered in all boundaries and regions." 31. savionra
Gx>'>'''''">'—'• Ills rightlul owners shall be restored, the Ephraimites to tlie fields of Ephrajm. Benjamin shall possess Gilead— i. e., the region east of Jordan, occupied formerly Ijy Ilcuben, Gad, and half Manasseh. Benjatnin shall possess besides its own territory the adjoining
lerriloi y eastward, whilst the two and a half tribes sliall in the redistribution occupy the adjoining territory of Moal) and Aminon. 30. the captivity of this host i. p., the captives of tliis multitude of Israelites, shall possess that of the f.niiaanites MauRKR tratislates, " the captives
tliere will be in the kingdom yet to come no king, but a prince; tlie sabljatic period of the judges will return (cf. the plirase so frequent in Judges, only once found in the times of the kings, 2 Chronicles M. i, "the land had rest''}, when there was no visilile king, but God reigned in the theocracy. Israelites, not strangers, shall dispense justice to a God-fearing people (Isai.'ih I. 26; Ezekiel -15). The judges were not such a burden lo the people as the kings proved afterwards (1 Samuel 8. 11-20). In their time the people more readily repented than under the kings (cf. 2 Chronicles 15. 17). [Roos.] Judges were from time to time raised up as saviours or deliverers of Israel from the enemy. These, and the similar deliverers in the long subsequent age of Antiochus, the Maccabees, wlio conquered the Idumeans (as here foretold, cf. 2 Maccabees 10. 15, 23), were types of the peaceful period yet to come to Israel, to judge . . . Esau—topitni«/i (so "judge," ISamuel 3. 13) . . . Edom (cf. v. 1-9, 15-19). Edora is tlie type of Israel's and God's last foes (Isaiah 63. 1-4). kingdom shall be the Lord's—under Messiah (Daniel 2. 44; 7. 14,
. . . whom the t'auaanites (carried away captive into Plxenicia)even unto Zarephath, &c., shall possess the south,"
viz., Idumea as well as the south {v. 19). Hendekson, similarly, "the captives that are among the Canaanites,"
&,c. But the corresponding clauses of the parallelism
p.re better i)alanced in English Version, "the ten trilies of Israel sliall possess the territory of the Canaanites," viz.. Western Palestine and Phrenicia (Judges 3. 3). "And the captives of Jerusalem {and Judah) shall possess the southern cities," viz., Edora, &c. Each has the region respectively adjoiniiis assigned to it; Israel has the western Canaanite region; .Tudah, the southern, even unto Zarephath—near Zidon ; called Sarepta in Luke 4. 26. The name implies it was a place for smelting metals. From this quarter came the " woman of Canaan" (Matthew 15.
21,22). Captives of the Jews had been carried into the coasts of Palestine or Canaan, about Tyre and Zidon (Joel
3. 3, 1; Amos 1. 0). The Jews when restored shall possess the territory of tlieir ancient oppressors. In Sepharad
27 ; Zechariah 14. 9; Luke 1. 33; Revelation 11. 15; 19. 6).
(. e., the Bosphorus. [Jerome, /j-om his Hebrew instructor.]
JONAH. INTRODUCTION.
JoNATt was the son of Amittai, of Gath-hepher in Zebulun (called Gittah-hepher In Joshua 19. 10-13), so that he belonged to the kingdom of the ten tribes, not to Judah. His date is to be gathered from 2 Kings 14. 25-27, " He (Jeroboam
II.) restored the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamatli unto the sea of the plain, according to tlie word of the Lord God of Israel, which He sp.ake by the hand of His servant Jonali, the son of Amittai, the prophet, which was of Gatlihepher. For tlie Lord saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter : for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any lielper for Israel. And the Lord said not that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven : but he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Joash." Now as this prophecy of Jonah was given at a time when
Israel was at the lowest point of depression, when " there was not any shut up or left," i. e., confined or left at large, none to act as a helper for Israel, it cannot have been given in Jerol^oam's reign, which was marked by prosperity,
for in it Syria was worsted in fulfilment of the prophecy, and Israel raised to its former greatness. It must have been,
tiierefore, in the early part of the reign of Joash, Jeroboam's father, wlro had found Israel in subjection to .Syria, but. had raised it by victories which were followed up so successfully by Jeroboam. Thus Jonah was the earliest of the prophets, and close upon Elislia, who died in Joash's reign, having just before his deatli given a token prophetical