Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
AMOS III.
against Israel, and Ike Cause thereof.
Tlie Publication oj God's Judi,meni hills surrounding and commanding the view of Samaria, the metropolis of the ten tribes, which was on a lower hill (ch. 4. 1; 1 Kings 16. 24). The mountains are to be the tribunal on whlcli the Phillstines and Egyptians are to sit aloft to have a view of your crimes, so as to testffy to the Justice of your punishment (v. 13). tumults—caused by the violence of the princes of Israel in "oppressions" of the poor (Job 35.9; Ecclesiastes 4.1). 10. knovF not to do— their moral corruption blinds their power of discernment so that they cannot do right (Jeremi all 4.22). Not simple intellectual ignorance; the defect lay in the heart and will, store up violence and rol>l)ery i. e., treasures obtained by "violence and robbery." (Proverbs 10.2). 11. OTranslate," Xn adversary (the aliruptness produces a startling effect) ! and that too, from every side of the land." So in the fulfilment, 2 Kings 17.5: "The king of Assyria (Shalmaneser) came up throughout prophecies were false? The Israelites were "at ease," not believing that God was with the prophets in their denunciations of com inn ruin to the nation (ch. 6. 1,3 ; cf. 1 Kings
22. IS, 24, 27; Jeremiah ^:!. 2). This accords with v. 7, 8. So "I will be with thy mouth" (Exodus 4. 12; .leremlah 1.8; Matthew 10. 20). If the prophets and God were not agreed, tlie former could not predict the future as they do. In ch. 2.12 he had said, the Israelites forbad the prophets prophesying; therefore, in r. 3, 8, he asserts the agreement between the prophets and 6rod who spake by them against
Israel. [Rosenmuller.] Rather, I once walked with you (Leviticus 26. 12) as a Father and Husband (Isaiah 54.5; Jeremiah 3. 14); but now your way and mine are utterly diverse, there can therefore be no fellowsliip between us Buch as there Avas (v. 2); I will walk with you only to "punisli you;'' as a " lion" walks with his " prey" (u. 4), nsabird-catcherwithablrd. [Tarnovids.] Theprophets, and all servants of God, can have no fellowship with the ungodly (Psalm 110.63; 2 Corinthians 6.16, 17; Ephesians all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years." bring down thy strength from tliee—t. e., bring thee down from thy strengtli (the strength on which thon didst boast thyself): all thy resources (Proverbs 10. 15). palaces shall be spoiled—a Just retribution in kind(f. 10). The palaces in which spoils of robbery were stored up, " shall, be spoiled." 13, shepherd—a pastoral image, appropriately used by Amos, a shepherd himself, piece of
5.11; James 4. 4). 4. The same idea as in Matthew 34. 28. Where a corrupt nation is, there God's instruments of punishment are sure also to be. The lion roars loudly only when he has prey in sight, will a young lion cry out. . . if iie (the "lion," not the "young lion") liivve taken notlilngT—The young lion just weaned lies silent, until the old lion lirings the prey near; then the scent rouses him. So, the prophet would not speak against Israel, If God did not reveal to him Israel's sins as requiring punishment. 5. When a bird trying to fly upwards is made to. . . ear—brought by the shepherd to the owner of the sheep, so as not to have to pay for the loss (Genesis 31. 39; Exodus 22. 13). So if aught of Israel escapes, it shall be a miracle of God's goodness. It shall be but a scanty remnant. There is a kind of goat in the East the ears of which are a foot long, and proportionally broad. Perliaps the reference is to this. Cf. on the image 1 Samuel 17. 34, fall upon the earth by an earth-snare, it is a plain proof tliat the snare is there; so, Israel, now that thou art falling, infer thence, that it Is in the snare of the Divine Judgment that thou art entangled. [LuDOVicus de Dieu.]
35; 2 Timothy 4. 17. that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed—I. e., that live luxuriously in Samaria (cf. ch. 6. 1, 4). "A bed" means here the Oriental divan, a raised part of the room covered with cushions, in Damascus In a couch—Jeroboam II. had lately restored Damascus to Israel (2 Kings 14. 25, 28). So the Israelites are represented as not merely in "the corner of a bed," as In Samaria, but " in a (whole) couch," at Damascus, living in luxurious ease. Of these, now so luxurious, soon but a remnant shall be left by the foe. The destruction of Damascus and that of Samaria shall be conjoined sliall one itake up a snare from the earth, and liave taken notliing—The bird-catcher does not remove his snare off th-^ ground till he has caught some prey; so God will not withdraw the Assyrians, &c., the instruments of punishment, until tiiey have had the success against you which God gives them. Tlie foe corresponds to the " snare" suddenly .spring'idfir from the ground and enolo Bing the bird on the latter touching it; the Hebrew \s lit., "Shall the snare sprntflr from the earth?" Israel entangled in Judgments answers to the bird " taken." 6. When the sound of alarm is trumpeted by the watchman in the as here their luxurious lives, and subsequently under Pekah and Rezin their inroads on Judah, were combined (Isaiah 7. 1-8 ; 8. 4, 9; 17. 3). The parallelism of " Samaria' city, tlie people are sure to run to and fro in alarm {ITebrew lit.). Yet Israel is not alarmed, though God threatens Judgments, eitall tlierc be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it T—This is the explanation of the preceding similes: Go<l is the Author of all the calamities which happen you, and which are foretold by His prophets. The evil of sin is froTn ourselves; the evil of trouble is from God, whoever be the instruments. 7. his secret viz.. His purpose hidden from all, until it is revealed to His prophets (cf. Genesis 18. 17). In a wider sense, God's will Is revealed to all who love God, which it is not to the world (Psalm 25. 14; John 15. 15 ; 17. 25, 26). nnto his servants— who being .spri'or?/!* cannot but obey their Lord in setting forth His purpose (viz., that of Judgment against Israel) (Jeremiah 20. 0; Ezekiel 9. 11). Therefore the fault which the ungodly find with them is groundless (1 Kings 18.17).
to " Damascus," and LXX. favour English Version rather than Gesenius: "on a damask couch." The Hebrew pointing, though generally expressing damask, may express the city " Damascus ;" and many MSS. point it so. Cf. for
Israel's overthrow, 2 Kings 17. 5, 6; 18. 9-12. 13. testify in the house, &c.—i. e., against the house of Jacob. God calls on the same persons as in v. 9, viz., the heathen Philistines and the Egyptians to witness with their own eyes Samaria's corruptions above described, so as that none may be able to deny the Justice of Samaria's punishment. [MauREK.] God of liosts—having all the powers of heaven and earth at command, and therefore One calculated to strike terror into the hearts of the guilty wiiom he threatens. U. That—rather, since, or for. This verse Is
It aggravates Israel's sin, that God is not about to Inflict Judgment, witliout liaving fully warned the people, If haply tiiey might repent. 8. As when "the lion roars" not,iia English Vasion translates, the thing which the witnesses cited are to " testify" (u. 13), but the reason why God calls on the heathen to witness Samaria's guilt, t»2.. In order to Justify the punlsnment which He declares He
(cf. ch. 1. 2; and v. 4 al)ove), none can help but " fear," so when Jehovah communicates His awful message, the prophet cannot but prophesy. Find not fault with me for projihesy ing, I must obey God. In a wider sense true of will inflict. I wll) also visit . . . Beth-el—the golden calves which were the source of all " the transgressions of Israel" (1 Kings 12.32; 13.2; 2 Kings 23. 15, 16), though Israel thought that by them their transgressions were atoned for and God's favour secured, horns of tlie altar —which used to be sprinkled with the blood of victims. They were hornlike projecting points at the corners of ancient altars . The singular, "a,\tcir," refers to the great altar erected by Jeroboam to the calves. The "altars," plural, refer to tne lesser ones made In imitation of the great one (2 Chronicles 34. 5, cf. with 1 Kings 13. 2; Hose» all believers (Acts 4. 20; 5. 29). 9. Publish in . . . palaces —as tieing placets of greatest resort (cf. Matthew 10.27); and also as it is the sin of prmce* that he arraigns, he calls on princes (the occupants of the "palaces") to be the witnesses. Ashdod—put for all Phillstla. Convene the Philistine and the Egyptian magnates, from whom I have on various occasions rescued Israel. (The opposite formula to "Tell it not in Gath," viz., lest the heathen should glory over Israel). Even these Idolaters, in looking on your enormities, will condemn you, how much more will the holy God ? upon the mountains of Samaria—on the
8 11; 10.1). 15. winter . . . summer house— (Judges 8,
20; Jeremiah 36. 22). Winter houses of the great were In sheltered positions facing the south to get all possible
AMOS I\
for Idolatry, and for Incorrigibleneu,
Israel Reproved for Oppression, mals, leavened bread was also commanded (Levltlcua 7.12, 13), but not as a "meat offering" (Leviticus 2. 11). this llketh you—t. e., this is what ye like. 6-11. Jehovah details His several chastisements inflicted with a view to reclaiming them: but adds to each the same sad result, "yet have ye not returned unto me" (Isaiah 9.13; Jeremiah 5.3; Hosea7. 10); the monotonous repetition of the same burden marking their pitiable obstinacy, cleanness ofteeth—explained by the parallel, " want of bread." The famine alluded to Is that mentioned, 2 Kings 8. 1. [Grotius.] Where there is no food to masticate, the teeth are free from uncleanness, but It is the cleanness of want.
aunshlne, summer houses in forests and on htlls, facing the east and north, houses of Ivory—having thelrwalls, doors, and ceilings inlaid with Ivory. So Ahab's house
(1 Kings 22. 39; P.salm «. 8).
CHAPTER IV.
Ver. 1-13. Denunciation of Israel's Nobles fok Oppression; and of the whole Nation fob Idolatry; AND for their BEING UNREFORMED EVEN BY God's Judgments : therefore they must Prepare FOR THE Last and Worst Judgment of all. 1. Ulne of Bashan—fat and wanton klne sucli as the rich pasture of Basliau (east of Jordan, between Hermon and
Cf. Proverbs 14. 4, " Where no oxen are, the crib is clean." So spiritually, where all Is outwardly smooth and clean,
It Is often because there is no solid religion. Better fightings and fears with real piety, than peace and respectable decorum without spiritual life. 7. wlthholden . . . rain
was famed for (Deuteronomy o2. 14 ; Psalm 22. 12; Ezeklel 39. 18). Piff. for those luxurious nobles mentioned, eh. 3. 9, 10, 12, 15. The feminine, fcine, or coivs, not bulls, expresses their effemlnacj'. This accounts for masculine forms In the Hebrew being Intermixed with feminine ; the. . . three months to . . . harvest—the time when rata was most needed, and when usually " the latter rain" fell, viz., in spring, the latter half of February, and the whole of March and April (Hosea 6. 3 ; Joel 2. 23). The drought meant is that mentioned 1 Kings 17. 1. [Grotius.] rain upon one city . . . not . . . upon another—any rain that latter belnf;/i.<;., the former the real persons meant, gay to their mn8t«(rs—t. e., to their king, with whom the princes indulged ir.. f*)tatlons (Hosea7. 5), and whom here they Importune for more wine. "Bring" Is xingiilar, In the Hebrew Implying that one "master" alone Is meant, a. The Iiord—the same Hebrew as " masters" {v. 1). Israel's nobles say to their master or lord. Bring us drink: but "theli Ord"of him and thera"hath sworn," &c. by his holiness—which binds Him to punish the guilty (Psalm fell was only partial. 8. three cities wandered—f. e., tA« inhabitants of three cities (cf. Jeremiah 14. 1-6). Grotius explains this verse and v. 7, "The rain fell on neighbouring countries, but not on Israel, which marked the drought to be, not accidental, but the special judgment of God." The Israelites were obliged to leave their cities and homes to seek water at a distance. [Calvin.] 9. blasting—the blighting influence of the east wind on the corn (Genesis 41. 6). when . . . gardens . . . Increased in vain ye multiplied your gardens, Ac, for I destroyed their produce. Bochart supports Margin, " the multitude of your gardens." palmer-worn —a species of locust ia here meant hurtful to fruits of trees, not to herbage or corn. The same east wind which brought the drought, blasting, and mildew, brought also the locusts into Judea [Bochart] (Exodus 10. 13). 10. pestilence after the manner of Egypt—such as I formerly sent on the Egyptians (Exodus 9. 3, &c., 8, &c. ; 12. 29 ; Deuteronomy 28. 27, 60). Cf. the same phrase, Isaiah 10. 24. have taken away your horses lit., accompanied with the captivity of your horses: I have given up your young men to be slain, and their horses to be taken by the foe (cf. 2 Kings 13. 7). stink of your camps—{. e., of your slain men (cf. Isaiah 34. 8 ; Joel
89. 35). he will take you away i.e., God by the instrumentality of the enemy, with hooks—2t<., "thorns" (cf.
2 Chronicles 33. 11). As fish are taken out of the water by hooks, so the Israelites are to be taken out of their cities by the enemy (Ezeklel 29. 4; cf. Job 41. 1, 2; Jeremiah 16.
16; Habakkuk 1. 15). The image is the more appropriate, aa anciently captives were led by their conquerors by a hook made to pass through the nose (2 Kings 19. 28), as Is to be seen In tlie Assyrian remains. 3. go out at the breaches—t)tz., of the city walls broken by the enemy, every coiv at that which is before Ixcr—flg. for the once luxurunis nobles (cf. v. 1, " klne of Bashan") shall go out each orne right before her ; not through the gates, but each at the breach before him, not turning to the right or left, apart from one another ye shall ctiat them into the palace "them," t. e., "your posterity," from v. 2. Yourselves gliall escape through the breaches, after having cast your little children Into the palace, so as not to see their destruction, and to escape the more quickly. Rather, " ye shall cast j/ourselves Into the palace," so as to escape from
2. 20). to come up unto your nostrils—The Hebrew is more emphatic, " to come up, and that unto your nostrils." 11. some of you—some parts of your territory, as God overthrew Sodom — (Deuteronomy 29. 23; Isaiah 13.19;. Jeremiah 49. 18 ; 50. 40 ; 2 Peter 2. 6 ; Jude 7.) " God" is oftea repealed in Hebrew instead of I. The earthquake here apparently alluded to is not that in the reign of Uzzlah, which occurred " two years" later (ch. 1. 1). Traces ofearthquakes and volcanic agency abound in Palestine: to some of the efl Tects of these In previous times the allusion here ISi Cf. the prophecy, Deuteronomy 28. 15-68, with v. 6-11 here. OS a firebrand plucked out of . . . burning—(Cf. Isaiah 7.
It out of the city. [Calvin.] The palace, the scene of the princes' riots (ch. 3. 10, 15; 4. 1), Is to be the scene of their Iguomlnlous flight. Cf. In the similar case of Jerusalem's capture, the king's escape by way of the palace, through abreach In the wall, Ezeklel 12.5,12. QESEmus translates, " Ye shall be cast (as captives) Into the (enemy's) stronghold;" In this view, the enemy's stronghold Is called "palace," In retributive contrast to the "palaces" of
Isreiel's nobles, the riore-houses of their robberies (ch. 3. 10). *. God gives them up to their self-willed Idolatry, that they may see how unable their Idols are to save them from their coming calamities. So Ezeklel 20. 39. Beth-el—(Ch.
4 ; Zechariah 3. 2.) The phrase Is proverbial for a narrow escape from utter extinction. Though Israel revived a« a nation under Jeroboam II., It was but for a time, and that after analmost utter destruction previously (2 Kings 14.
3. 14.) Gilgal—(Hosea 4. 15; 9. 15; 12. 11.) sacrifices every morning—as commanded in the law (Numbers 28. 3, 4). They imitated the letter, whilst violating by calf-worship the spirit, of the Jerusalem temple worship, after three years—every third year; lit., after three (years of) days
26). 18. Therefore—as all chastisements have failed to make thee " return unto me." thus will 1 do unto thee —as I have threatened (v. 2. 8). prepare to meet thy God —God is about to inflict the last and worst judgment on thee, the extinction of thy nationality ; consider then what preparation thou canst make for encountering Him as thy foe (Jeremiah 46. 14; Luke 14. 31, 32). But as that' would be madness to think of (Isaiah 27. 4 ; Ezeklel 22. 14 Hebrews 10. 31), see what can be done towards mitigating the severity of the coming Judgment, by penitence (Isaiah
(i. e., the fullest complement of days, or a year); "after three full yeare." Cf. Leviticus 25. 20; Judges 17. 10, and " the days" for the years, Joel 1. 2. So a month of days Is ased for a full month, wanting no day to complete It {Margin, Genesis 29. 14; Numbers 11. 80, 21). The Israelites here also kept to the letter of the law In bringing in the tithes of their increase every third year (Deuteronomy 14. 28; 28.12). 5. ofl Ter lit., burn incense; i.e., "offer a sacri-
27. 5; 1 Corinthians 11. 31). This latter exhortation Is followed up In ch. 5. 4, 6, 8, 14, 15. 13. The God whom Israel fice of thanksgiving with burnt incense and with leavened bread." The frankincense was Jald on the meat offering, and taken by the priest from It to burn on the altar (Leviticus 2. 1, 2, 8-11). Though unleavened cake* were to accompany the peace offering sacrifice of aciis to "prepare to meet" (t>. 12) is here described In sublime terms, wind— not as Margin, "spirit." The God with whom thou hast to do is the Omnipotent Maker of things seen, such as the stupendous mountains, and of things too