Text -- Amos 3:9--4:3 (NET)

Samaria Will Fall

3:9 Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: “Gather on the hills around Samaria! Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city, the oppressive deeds occurring in it.” 3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.) “They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses. 3:11 Therefore,” says the sovereign Lord, “an enemy will encircle the land. He will take away your power; your fortresses will be looted.” 3:12 This is what the Lord says: “Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch.” 3:13 Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking! 3:14 “Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. 3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. The houses filled with ivory will be ruined, the great houses will be swept away.” The Lord is speaking! 4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria! You oppress the poor; you crush the needy. You say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink!” 4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: “Certainly the time is approaching when you will be carried away in baskets, every last one of you in fishermen’s pots. 4:3 Each of you will go straight through the gaps in the walls; you will be thrown out toward Harmon.” The Lord is speaking!

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Amo 3:9

Ye prophets invite strangers to come and observe what cause I have to do what I threaten.

Wesley: Amo 3:9

The seditious counsels, and rebellious conspiracies among them.

Wesley: Amo 3:9

Multitudes of oppressed ones, as the usurpers took it to be their interest to crush all they feared or suspected.

Wesley: Amo 3:9

Yea, throughout the whole kingdom of Samaria.

Wesley: Amo 3:10

As men lay up wealth in their treasures, perverting judgment, first condemning the innocent, next seizing all his substance.

Wesley: Amo 3:11

Because of all the violence and rapine with other crying sins.

Wesley: Amo 3:11

The Assyrian.

Wesley: Amo 3:11

Shall beset the whole land as one besieged city.

Wesley: Amo 3:12

As the shepherd doth hardly rescue a small part of a sheep or lamb from the lion, so a small part of the children of Israel, shall escape when Samaria is taken.

Wesley: Amo 3:12

Lying in some dark corner.

Wesley: Amo 3:12

The chief city of Syria taken by Tiglath - Pilneser about the time when he wasted Israel.

Wesley: Amo 3:12

Some few of the poor, shall escape, pitied by the enemy, when he finds them sick upon their couch.

Wesley: Amo 3:13

Prophets.

Wesley: Amo 3:13

Who is Lord of all, and hath all power in his hand.

Wesley: Amo 3:14

The many and great transgressions of the ten tribes.

Wesley: Amo 3:15

house - Which probably was in the chief city, whither the great men retired in the winter.

Wesley: Amo 3:15

house - The houses of pleasure, where the nobles and rich men spent the summer time.

Wesley: Amo 3:15

Beautified with ivory.

Wesley: Amo 4:1

So Amos compares the mighty, wanton, and oppressive rulers of Israel, to those full - fed, strong, and wanton beasts which in the herds did push at, hurt, and disturb the weaker cattle.

Wesley: Amo 4:2

By himself as he is the holy God.

Wesley: Amo 4:2

Of famine, desolation and captivity.

Wesley: Amo 4:2

God by the Assyrian army will take you, as fish are taken with the hook.

Wesley: Amo 4:2

The children of these oppressors.

Wesley: Amo 4:3

Kine of Bashan.

Wesley: Amo 4:3

Ye shall endeavour to make your escape.

Wesley: Amo 4:3

Which the besieging enemy make in your walls, when Samaria is besieged.

Wesley: Amo 4:3

Taking the readiest way.

Wesley: Amo 4:3

All the riches and ornaments of your palaces.

JFB: Amo 3:9

As being places of greatest resort (compare Mat 10:27); and also as it is the sin of princes that he arraigns, he calls on princes (the occupants of the "palaces") to be the witnesses.

JFB: Amo 3:9

Put for all Philistia. 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," namely, 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?

JFB: Amo 3:9

On the hills surrounding and commanding the view of Samaria, the metropolis of the ten tribes, which was on a lower hill (Amo 4:1; 1Ki 16:24). The mountains are to be the tribunal on which the Philistines and Egyptians are to sit aloft to have a view of your crimes, so as to testify to the justice of your punishment (Amo 3:13).

JFB: Amo 3:9

Caused by the violence of the princes of Israel in "oppressions" of the poor (Job 35:9; Ecc 4:1).

JFB: Amo 3:10

Their moral corruption blinds their power of discernment so that they cannot do right (Jer 4:22). Not simple intellectual ignorance; the defect lay in the heart and will.

JFB: Amo 3:10

That is, treasures obtained by "violence and robbery" (Pro 10:2).

JFB: Amo 3:11

Translate, "An adversary (the abruptness produces a startling effect)! and that too, from every side of the land." So in the fulfilment, 2Ki 17:5 : "The king of Assyria (Shalmaneser) came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years."

JFB: Amo 3:11

That is, bring thee down from thy strength (the strength on which thou didst boast thyself): all thy resources (Pro 10:15).

JFB: Amo 3:11

A just retribution in kind (Amo 3:10). The palaces in which spoils of robbery were stored up, "shall be spoiled."

JFB: Amo 3:12

A pastoral image, appropriately used by Amos, a shepherd himself.

JFB: Amo 3:12

Brought by the shepherd to the owner of the sheep, so as not to have to pay for the loss (Gen 31:39; Exo 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. Perhaps the reference is to this. Compare on the image 1Sa 17:34-35; 2Ti 4:17.

JFB: Amo 3:12

That is, that live luxuriously in Samaria (compare Amo 6:1, Amo 6:4). "A bed" means here the Oriental divan, a raised part of the room covered with cushions.

JFB: Amo 3:12

Jeroboam II had lately restored Damascus to Israel (2Ki 14:25, 2Ki 14:28). 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; as here their luxurious lives, and subsequently under Pekah and Rezin their inroads on Judah, were combined (Isa 7:1-8; Isa 8:4, Isa 8:9; Isa 17:3). The parallelism of "Samaria" to "Damascus," and the Septuagint favor English Version rather than GESENIUS: "on a damask couch." The Hebrew pointing, though generally expressing damask, may express the city "Damascus"; and many manuscripts point it so. Compare for Israel's overthrow, 2Ki 17:5-6; 2Ki 18:9-12.

JFB: Amo 3:13

That is, against the house of Jacob. God calls on the same persons as in Amo 3:9, namely, the heathen Philistines and the Egyptians to witness with their own eyes Samaria's corruptions above described, so that none may be able to deny the justice of Samaria's punishment [MAURER].

JFB: Amo 3:13

Having all the powers of heaven and earth at His command, and therefore One calculated to strike terror into the hearts of the guilty whom He threatens.

JFB: Amo 3:14

Rather, "since," or "for." This verse is not, as English Version translates, the thing which the witnesses cited are to "testify" (Amo 3:13), but the reason why God calls on the heathen to witness Samaria's guilt; namely, in order to justify the punishment which He declares He will inflict.

JFB: Amo 3:14

The golden calves which were the source of all "the transgressions of Israel" (1Ki 12:32; 1Ki 13:2; 2Ki 23:15-16), though Israel thought that by them their transgressions were atoned for and God's favor secured.

JFB: Amo 3:14

Which used to be sprinkled with the blood of victims. They were horn-like projecting points at the corners of ancient altars. The singular, "altar," refers to the great altar erected by Jeroboam to the calves. The "altars," plural, refer to the lesser ones made in imitation of the great one (2Ch 34:5, compare with 1Ki 13:2; Hos 8:11; Hos 10:1).

JFB: Amo 3:15

(Jdg 3:20; Jer 36:22). Winter houses of the great were in sheltered positions facing the south to get all possible sunshine, summer houses in forests and on hills, facing the east and north.

JFB: Amo 3:15

Having their walls, doors, and ceilings inlaid with ivory. So Ahab's house (1Ki 22:39; Psa 45:8).

JFB: Amo 4:1

Fat and wanton cattle such as the rich pasture of Bashan (east of Jordan, between Hermon and Gilead) was famed for (Deu 32:14; Psa 22:12; Eze 39:18). Figurative for those luxurious nobles mentioned, Amo 3:9-10, Amo 3:12, Amo 3:15. The feminine, kine, or cows, not bulls, expresses their effeminacy. This accounts for masculine forms in the Hebrew being intermixed with feminine; the latter being figurative, the former the real persons meant.

JFB: Amo 4:1

That is to their king, with whom the princes indulged in potations (Hos 7:5), and whom here they importune for more wine. "Bring" is singular, in the Hebrew implying that one "master" alone is meant.

JFB: Amo 4:2

The same Hebrew as "masters" (Amo 4:1). Israel's nobles say to their master or lord, Bring us drink: but "the Lord" of him and them "hath sworn," &c.

JFB: Amo 4:2

Which binds Him to punish the guilty (Psa 89:35).

JFB: Amo 4:2

That is God by the instrumentality of the enemy.

JFB: Amo 4:2

Literally, "thorns" (compare 2Ch 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 (Eze 29:4; compare Job 41:1-2; Jer 16:16; Hab 1:15). The image is the more appropriate, as anciently captives were led by their conquerors by a hook made to pass through the nose (2Ki 19:28), as is to be seen in the Assyrian remains.

JFB: Amo 4:3

Namely, of the city walls broken by the enemy.

JFB: Amo 4:3

Figurative for the once luxurious nobles (compare "kine of Bashan," Amo 4:1) shall go out each one 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.

JFB: Amo 4:3

"them," that is, "your posterity," from Amo 4:2. You yourselves shall 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 yourselves into the palace," so as to escape from it out of the city [CALVIN]. The palace, the scene of the princes riots (Amo 3:10, Amo 3:15; Amo 4:1), is to be the scene of their ignominious flight. Compare in the similar case of Jerusalem's capture, the king's escape by way of the palace, through a breach in the wall (Eze 12:5, Eze 12:12). GESENIUS 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 Israel's nobles, the store houses of their robberies (Amo 3:10).

Clarke: Amo 3:9

Publish in the palaces - The housetops or flat roofs were the places from which public declarations were made. See on Isa 21:1 (note), and on Mat 10:27 (note). See whether in those places there be not tumults, oppressions, and rapine sufficient to excite my wrath against them.

Clarke: Amo 3:10

For they know not to do right - So we may naturally say that they who are doing wrong, and to their own prejudice and ruin, must certainly be ignorant of what is right, and what is their own interest. But we say again "There are none so blind as those who will not see."Their eyes, saith the Lord, they have closed.

Clarke: Amo 3:11

An adversary, round about the land - Ye shall not be able to escape, wherever ye turn, ye shall meet a foe.

Clarke: Amo 3:12

As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion - Scarcely any of you shall escape; and those that do shall do so with extreme difficulty, just as a shepherd, of a whole sheep carried away by a lion, can recover no more than two of its legs, or a piece of its ear, just enough to prove by the marks on those parts, that they belonged to a sheep which was his own

Clarke: Amo 3:12

So shall the children of Israel be taken out - Those of them that escape these judgments shall escape with as great difficulty, and be of as little worth, as the two legs and piece of an ear that shall be snatched out of the lion’ s mouth. We know that when the Babylonians carried away the people into Chaldea they left behind only a few, and those the refuse of the land

Clarke: Amo 3:12

In the corner of a bed - As the corner is the most honorable place in the East, and a couch in the corner of a room is the place of the greatest distinction; so the words in the text may mean, that even the metropolitan cities, which are in the corner - in the most honorable place - of the land, whether Samaria in Israel, or Damascus in Syria, shall not escape these judgments; and if any of the distinguished persons who dwell in them escape, it must be with as great difficulty as the fragments above-mentioned have been recovered from a lion. The passage is obscure. Mr. Harmer has taken great pains to illustrate it; but I fear with but little success. A general sense is all we can arrive at.

Clarke: Amo 3:13

Hear ye - This is an address to the prophet.

Clarke: Amo 3:14

In the day that I shall visit - When Josiah made a reformation in the land he destroyed idolatry, pulled down the temples and altars that had been consecrated to idol worship, and even burnt the bones of the priests of Baal and the golden calves upon their own altars. See 2Ki 23:15, 2Ki 23:16, etc.

Clarke: Amo 3:15

I will smite the winter house with the summer house - I will not only destroy the poor habitations and villages in the country, but I will destroy those of the nobility and gentry as well as the lofty palaces in the fortified cities in which they dwell in the winter season, as those light and elegant seats in which they spend the summer season. Dr. Shaw observes that "the hills and valleys round about Algiers are all over beautified with gardens and country seats, whither the inhabitants of better fashion retire during the heats of the summer season. They are little white houses, shaded with a variety of fruit trees and evergreens, which beside shade and retirement, afford a gay and delightful prospect toward the sea. The gardens are all well stocked with melons, fruits, and pot herbs of all kinds; and (which is chiefly regarded in these hot countries) each of them enjoys a great command of water.

Clarke: Amo 3:15

And the houses of ivory - Those remarkable for their magnificence and their ornaments, not built of ivory, but in which ivory vessels, ornaments, and inlaying abounded. Thus, then, the winter houses and the summer houses, the great houses and the houses of uncommon splendor, shall all perish. There should be a total desolation in the land. No kind of house should be a refuge, and no kind of habitation should be spared. Ahab had at Samaria a house that was called the ivory house, 1Ki 22:39. This may be particularly referred to in this place. We cannot suppose that a house constructed entirely of ivory can be intended.

Clarke: Amo 4:1

Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan - Such an address was quite natural from the herdsman of Tekoa. Bashan was famous for the fertility of its soil, and its flocks and herds; and the prophet here represents the iniquitous, opulent, idle, lazy drones, whether men or women, under the idea of fatted bullocks, which were shortly to be led out to the slaughter.

Clarke: Amo 4:2

He will take you away with hooks - Two modes of fishing are here alluded to

1.    Angling with rod, line, and baited hook

2.    That with the gaff, eel-spear, harpoon, or such like; the first used in catching small fish, by which the common people may be here represented; the second, for catching large fish, such as leave the sea, and come up the rivers to deposit their spawn; or such as are caught in the sea, as sharks, whales, dolphins, and even the hippopotamus, to which the more powerful and opulent inhabitants may be likened

But as the words in the text are generally feminine, it has been supposed that the prophecy is against the proud, powerful, voluptuous women. I rather think that the prophet speaks catachrestically; and means men of effeminate manners and idle lives. They are not the bulls of Bashan, but the cows; having little of the manly character remaining. Some understand the latter word as meaning a sort of basket or wicker fish-nets.

Clarke: Amo 4:3

And ye shall go out at the breaches - Probably the metaphor is here kept up. They shall be caught by the hooks, or by the nets; and though they may make breaches in the latter by their flouncing when caught, they shall be taken out at these very breaches; and cast, not in the palace, but into a reservoir, to be kept awhile, and afterwards be taken out to be destroyed. Samaria itself is the net; your adversaries shall besiege it, and make breaches in its walls. At those breaches ye shall endeavor to make your escape, but ye shall be caught and led into captivity, where most of you shall be destroyed. See Houbigant on this passage.

Calvin: Amo 3:9

Amos begins here to set judges over the Israelites; for they would not patiently submit to God’s judgment: and he constitutes and sets over them as judges the Egyptians and Idumeans. This prophecy no doubt increasingly exasperated the minds of the people, who were already very refractory and rebellious; but yet this was necessary. God, indeed, had cited them to his tribunal, as long as a hope of reconciliation remained: when they became angry on account of God’s threatening, clamored against his servants, yea, and obstinately disputed, as though they were guilty of no fault, what remained, but that God should constitute judges over them, whom the Prophet names, even the Egyptians and Idumeans? “Ye cannot bear my judgment; unbelievers, who are already condemned, shall pronounce sentence upon you. I am indeed your legitimate judge; but as ye have repudiated me, I will prove to you how true my judgment is; I will be silent, the Egyptians shall speak.” And who were these Egyptians? Even those who were equally guilty with the Israelites, and labored under the same charges, or were at least not far from deserving a similar punishment; and yet God would compel the Israelites to hear the sentence that was to be pronounced on them by the Egyptians and Idumeans. We know how proudly the Israelites gloried in their primogeniture; but the Lord here exposes to scorn this arrogance, because they made such bad use of his benefits. We now then perceive the Prophet’s intention.

Publish, he says, in the palaces of Ashdod, in the palaces of the land of Egypt, and say — what? “Assemble on the mountains of Samaria.” He would have the Egyptians and the Idumeans to meet together, and the mountains of Samaria to be as it were the theater, though the idea of a tribunal is more suitable to the similitude that is used. It was then, as though the Egyptians and Idumeans were to be seated on an elevated place; and God were to set before them the oppressions, the robberies and iniquitous pillages, which prevailed in the kingdom of Israel. Assemble then on the mountains of Samaria. The Prophet alludes to the situation of the country: for though Samaria was situated on a plain, ²² there were yet mountains around it; and they thought themselves hid there, and were as wine settled on its lees. God says now, “Let the Egyptians and Idumeans meet and view the scene; I will allot them a place, from which they can see how greatly all kinds of iniquity prevail in the kingdom of Israel. They indeed dwell in their plain, and think themselves sufficiently defended by the mountains around; but from these mountains even the very blind will be able to see how abominable and shameful is their condition.”

Let them come and see, he says, the oppressions in the midst of her. The word he uses is מהומת , meumet, tumults; but he means oppressions, committed without any regard to reason or justice, when all things are done with glamour and violence. “Let them see then the oppressions, let them see the distresses.” He speaks of their deeds; he afterwards mentions the persons; but the Prophet means the same thing, though he uses different forms of expression, that is, that the kingdom of Israel was filled with many crimes; for plunder of every kind prevailed there and men kept within no bounds of moderation, but by tumult and clamor pillaged the poor and the miserable. It now follows —

Calvin: Amo 3:10

In this verse he confirms what I have already said of oppressions: he says that they despised every thing right. But not to know this lessens not their guilt, as though they ignorantly offended; but the Prophet means, on the contrary, that they had cast away far from them everything that was just and allowed themselves all liberty in sinning, without any discrimination, without any shame; as though he said, “They are brute animals, who are void of all judgments of all reason, and of all shame; for they seek not to have a light understanding any more.” here then he accuses the Israelites of wilful blindness; for they hardened themselves in every evil, and extinguished all judgments shame and reasons so that they no longer distinguished between what was just and unjust: and he mentions one thing in particular — that they accumulated much wealth by plunder and robbery. The Israelites were no doubt guilty of many other crimes; but by stating a part for the whole, he mentions one thing which includes other things, and intimates, that the people were wholly given to all kinds of crimes, and that as they had cast aside every shame, obliterated every distinction, and repudiated every regard for justice, they abandoned themselves to every kind of wickedness. This, is the import of the Prophet’s words.

But our Prophet points out here the gross sins of the Israelites, because he had previously constituted the blind as their judges. Hence it was the same as though he had said, “Though the Egyptians and the Idumeans are void of light, yet your iniquity is so palpable, that they will be able to perceive it. There is indeed no necessity of any subtle disputation, since plunders and pillages are carried on with so much violence, since no moderation or equity is any longer observed, and no shame exists; but men rush headlong with blind impetuosity into every kind of evil; so that the very blind, though without eyes, can know what your state is. Then the Egyptians and Idumeans will perceive your vices, when located on the neighboring mountains.” This is the meaning. It now follows —

Calvin: Amo 3:11

The Prophet here announces the punishment God would inflict on the Israelites. An enemy, he says, and indeed one around you, etc. Some think צר , tsar, to be a verb in the imperative mood; but this cannot be maintained. But Amos, here declares that an enemy was near the Israelites, who would besiege them on every side. The ungodly are ever wont to seek escapes, and if they see the smallest hole, they think that they can escape. Strange is the presumption of men with regard to God: when they see themselves hemmed in, they are really frightened, yea, they become wholly disheartened; but yet they seek subterfuges on the right hand and on the left, and never submit to God except when constrained. This is the reason why the Prophet now says, that an enemy was near, and indeed around them; as though he said, “You have no reason to think that there is any way of escape open to you; for God has hemmed you in on every side; there is therefore a siege which so confines you, that you in vain hope to escape.” An enemy, he says, is indeed around — around the whole land, who will take away from thee thy strength. Here the Prophet removes from the Israelites their vain confidence; for they could not think of God’s vengeance, while looking on their own power. They indeed thought that they had sufficient protection in their own large number, riches, and arms, as men are wont to set up against God what proceeds from himself, as though creatures could do anything against him, and as though God could not take away, when he pleases, what he has given: and yet such is the blindness of men. Hence the Prophet says, that all the wealth and all the strength in which the Israelites excelled would be useless, inasmuch as an enemy, he says, armed by God, shall take from thee thy strength; and thy palaces shall be plundered.

Calvin: Amo 3:12

In the next verse he leaves some hope, though this is not avowedly done. For when he says that some would be saved, as when a shepherd snatches from the jaws of a lion the ear of a sheep or two legs, it is not the Prophet’s design to mitigate the severe judgment of which he had before spoken; but shows, on the contrary, that when any should be saved, it would not be because the people would defend themselves, or were able to resist; but that it would be as when a trembling shepherd snatches some small portion of a spoil from the lion’s mouth. We must bear in mind what I have just said of the proud confidence of the people; for the Israelites thought that they were safe enough from danger; and therefore despised all threatenings. But what does Amos say? “Think not,” he says, “that there will be any defense for you, for your enemies will be like lions, and there will be no more strength in you to resist them than in sheep when not only wolves but lions, seize them and take them as their prey.” When any thing is then saved, it is as it were by a miracle; the shepherd may perhaps take a part of the ear or two legs from the lion’s mouth when he is satisfied. The shepherd dares not to contend with the lion; he always runs away from him, but the lion will have his prey and devour it at his pleasure; when he leaves a part of the ear or two legs, the shepherd will then seize on them, and say, “See, how many sheep have been devoured by lions:” and these will be the proof’s of his loss. So now the Prophet says, “The Lord will expose you as a prey to your enemies, and their rapacity will not be less dreaded by you than that of a lion: in vain then ye think yourselves defended by your forces; for what is a sheep to a lion? But if any part of you should remain, it will be like an ear or a leg: and still more, — as when a lion devours a sheep, and leaves nothing after having taken his prey until he is satisfied, so shall it happen to you”.

They are then mistaken who think that the preceding commination is here designedly mitigated; for the Prophet does not do this, but continues the same subject, and shows that the whole people would become a prey, that their enemies would be like lions, and that they would have no strength to resist. Some hope, I indeed allow, is here given to the people; for, as it has been before seen, God intended that there should ever be some remnant as a seed among that chosen people. This, I admit, is true: but we must yet regard what the Prophet treats of; and what he had in view. He then did not intend here expressly to console the Israelites; though incidentally he says, that some would remain, yet his object was to show that the whole kingdom was now given up as a prey to lions, and that nothing would be saved except a very small portion, as when a shepherd carries away an ear when the wolves and lions had been satiated. ²³ It follows —

Calvin: Amo 3:14

Amos, I have no doubt, added this passage, to show that the superstitions, in which he knew the Israelites falsely trusted, would be so far from being of any help to them, that they would, on the contrary, lead them to ruin, because the people were by them provoking God’s wrath the more against themselves. When the Israelites heard that God was offended with them, they looked on their sacrifices and other superstitions, as their shield and cover: for thus do hypocrites mock God. But we know that the sacrifices offered at Bethel were mere profanations; for the whole worship was spurious. God had indeed chosen to himself a place where he designed sacrifices to be offered. The Israelites built a temple without any command, nay, against the manifest prohibition of God. Since then they had thus violated and corrupted the whole worship of God, strange was their madness to dare to obtrude on God their superstitions, as though they could thus pacify his displeasure! The Prophet then rebukes now this stupidity and says, In the day when God shall visit the sins of Israel, he will inflict punishment on the altars of Bethel By the sins, which the Prophet mentions, he means plunder, unjust exactions, robbery, and similar crimes; for there prevailed then, as we have seen, among the people, an unbridled cruelty, avarice, and perfidiousness.

Hence he says now, When God shall visit the sins of Israel; that is, when he shall punish avarice, pride, and cruelty; when he shall execute vengeance on pillages and robberies, he shall then visit also the altars of Bethel. The Israelites thought that God would be propitious to them while they sacrificed though they were wholly abandoned in their lives: they indeed thought that every uncleanness was purified by their expiations; and they thought that God was satisfied while they performed an external worship. Hence, when they offered sacrifices, they imagined that they thus made a compact with God, and presented such a compensation, that he dared not to punish their sins. Their own fancy greatly deceives them,” says Amos. For, as we know, this was, at the same time, their principal sin, — that they rashly dared to change the worship of God, that they dared to build a temple without his command; in short, that they had violated the whole law. God then will begin with superstitions in executing judgment for the sins of the people. We now then understand the Prophet’s design in saying, that God would visit the altars of Bethel when inflicting punishment on the sins of Israel.

But as it was difficult to produce conviction on this subject, the Prophet here invites attention, Hear ye, and testify, he says, in the house of Jacob. Having bidden them to hear, he introduces God as the speaker: for the Israelites, as we know they were wont to do, might have pretended that Amos had, without authority, threatened such a punishment. “Nothing is mine,” he says. We then see the design of this address, when he says, Hear: he shows God to be the author of this prophecy, and that nothing was his own but the ministration. Hear ye, then, and testify in the house of Jacob By the word testify, he seals his prophecy that it might have more weight, that they might not think that it was a mere mockery, but might know that God was dealing seriously with them, Then testify ye in the house of Jacob. And for the same purpose are the titles which he ascribes to God, The Lord Jehovah, he says, the God of hosts He might have used only one word, “Thus saith Jehovah,” as the prophets mostly do; but he ascribes dominion to him, and he also brings before them his power, — for what end? To strike the Israelites with terror, that vain flatteries might no longer, as heretofore, take possession of them; but that they might understand, that so far were they from doing anything towards pacifying God’s wrath by their superstitions, that they thereby the more provoked him.

Calvin: Amo 3:15

Amos shows again that in vain the great people trusted in their wealth and fortified places; for these could not hinder God from drawing them forth to punishment. As then abundance blinds men, and as they imagine themselves to be as it were inaccessible, especially when dwelling in great palaces, the Prophet here declares, that these houses would be no impediment to prevent God’s vengeance to break through; I will then destroy the winter-house together with the summer-house. Amos no doubt intended by this paraphrase to designate the palaces. The poor deem it enough to have a cottage both for winter and summer; for they change not the parts of their buildings, so as to inhabit the hotter in winter, and to refresh themselves in the colder during summer: no such advantage is possessed by the poor, for they are content with the same dwelling through life. But as the rich sought warmth in winter, and had their summer compartments, the Prophet says, that their large and magnificent buildings would be no protection to the rich, for God’s vengeance would penetrate through them; I will destroy then the winter with the summer house

And then he says, Fail shall the houses of ivory. We now see more clearly that the Prophet speaks here against the rich and the wealthy, who inhabited splendid and magnificent palaces. Perish then shall the houses of ivory and fail shall the great houses; some say, many houses, but improperly; for the Prophet continues the same idea; and as he had before mentioned houses of ivory so he now calls them great houses; for they were not only built for use and convenience, like common and plebeian houses, but also for show and display; for the rich, we know, are ever lavish and profuse, not only in their table and dress, but also in their palaces. This is the meaning. Now follows —

Calvin: Amo 4:1

He who divided the chapters seems not to have well considered the Prophet’s argument: for he pursues here his reproof of the rich, and he had been prophesying against the chief men in the kingdom of Israel. We indeed know how much ferocity there is in the rich, when they become formidable to others by their power. Hence the Prophet here laughs to scorn their arrogance: Hear, he says, this word; as though he said, “I see how it will be; for these great and pompous men will haughtily despise my threatening, they will not think themselves exposed to God’s judgment; and they will also think that wrong is done to them: they will inquire, ‘Who I am,’ and ask, ‘How dares a shepherd assail them with so much boldness?’ “ Hear then ye cows; as though he said, that he cared not for the greatness in which they prided themselves. “What then is your wealth? It is even fatness: then I make no more account of you than of cows; ye are become fat; but your power will not terrify me; your riches will not deprive me of the liberty of treating you as it becomes me and as God has commanded me.” We hence see that the Prophet here assails with scorn the chief men of the kingdom, who wished to be sacred and untouched. The Prophet asks by what privilege they meant to excuse themselves for not hearing the word of the Lord. If they pleaded their riches and their own authority; “These,” he says, “are fatness and grossness; ye are at the same time cows and I will regard you as cows; and I will not deal with you less freely than I do with my cattle.” We now then perceive the Prophet’s intention.

But he goes on with his similitude: for though he here accuses the chiefs of the kingdom of oppressing the innocent and of distressing the poor, he yet addresses them in the feminine gender, who dwell, he says, on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who consume the needy, who say, etc. He does not think them worthy of the name of men; and yet they wished to be viewed a class separate from the common people, as though they were some heroes or halfgods. The Prophet, by way of contempt, calls them here cows; and he also withholds from them the name of men. Bashan, we know, derived its name from fatness; it was a very rich mountain, and celebrated for its pastures: as the fertility of this mountain was well known among that people, the Prophet gave the name of the cows of Bashan to those fat and full men: and it was right that they should be thus roughly handled, because through fatness, as it is usually the case, they had contracted dullness; for when men abound in riches, when they become great in power, they forget themselves and despise God, for they think themselves beyond the reach of danger. As then this security makes the rich torpid and inattentive to any threatenings, and disobedient to God’s word, so that they regard all counsels superfluous, the Prophet here rebukes them with greater asperity, and addresses them, by way of reproach, under the name of cows. And when he says that they were on the mountain of Samaria, this is still ironical; for they might have made this objection, that they dwelt in the royal city, and were watchful over the state of the whole nation, and that the kingdom stood through their counsels and vigilance: “I see how it is,” he says; “Ye are not on mount Bashan, but on the mount of Samaria; what is the difference between Samaria and Bashan? For ye are there inebriated with your pleasures: as cows, when fattened, are burdened with their own weight, and can hardly draw along their own bodies; so it is with you, such is your slowness through your gluttony. Samaria then, though it may seem to be a watch-tower, is yet nothing different from mount Bashan: for ye are not there so very solicitous (as ye pretend) for the public safety; but, on the contrary, ye devour great riches; and as your cupidity is insatiable, the whole government is nothing else to you than fatness or a rich pasturage.”

But the Prophet chiefly reproves them, because they oppressed the poor and consumed the needy. Though the rich, no doubt, did other wrongs, yet as they especially exercised cruelty towards the miserable, and those who were destitute of every help, this is the reason why the Prophet here elates expressly that the poor and the needy were oppressed by the rich: and we also know, that God promises special aid to the miserable, when they find no help on earth; for it more excites the mercy of God, when all cruelly rage against the distressed, when no one extends to them a helping hand or deigns to aid them.

He adds, in the last place, what they say to their masters. I wonder why interpreters render this in the second person, who say to your masters; for the Prophet speaks here in the third person: they seem therefore designedly to misrepresent the real meaning of the Prophet; and by masters they understand the king and his counselors, as though the Prophet here addressed his words to these chief men of the kingdom. Their rendering then is unsuitable. But the Prophet calls those masters who were exactors, to whom the poor were debtors. The meaning is, that the king’s counselors and judges played into the hands of the rich, who plundered the poor; for when they brought a bribe, they immediately obtained from the judges what they required. They are indeed to be bought by a price who hunt for nothing else but a prey.

They said then to their masters, Bring and we shall drink; that is, “Only satiate my cupidity, and I will adjudge to thee what thou wouldest demand: provided then thou bringest me a bribe, care not, I will sell all the poor to thee.” We now comprehend the design of the Prophet: for he sets forth here what kind those oppressions were of which he had been complaining. “Ye then oppress the poor, — and how? Even by selling them to their creditors, and by selling them for a price. Hence, when a reward is offered to you, this satisfies you: Ye inquire nothing about the goodness of the cause, but instantly condemn the miserable and the innocent, because they have not the means of redeeming themselves: and the masters to whom they are debtor; who through your injustice hold them bound to themselves, pay the price: there is thus a mutual collusion between you.” It now follows —

Calvin: Amo 4:2

Here Amos declares what sort of punishment awaited those fat cattle, who being well fed despised God, and were torpid in their fatness. He therefore says, that the days were nigh, when they should be taken away together with all that they had, and all their posterity, as by a hook of a fisher.

But to give more effect to his combination, he says that God had sworn by his sanctuary. ²⁴ The simple word of God ought indeed to have been sufficient: but as we do not easily embrace the promises of God, so also hypocrites and the reprobate are not easily terrified by his threatening; but they laugh to scorn, or at least regard as empty, what God’s servants declare. It was then necessary that God should interpose this oath, that secure men might be more effectually aroused.

“The Lord then has sworn by his sanctuary”. It is singular that God should swear by his temple rather than by himself: and this seems strange; for the Lord is wont to swear by himself for this reason, — because there is none greater by whom he can swear, as the Apostle says, (Heb 6:13.) God then seems to transfer the honor due to himself to stones and wood; which appears by no means consistent. But the name of the temple amounts to the same thing as the name of God. God then says that he had sworn by the sanctuary, because he himself is invisible, and the temple was his ostensible image, by which he exhibited himself as visible: it was also a sign and symbol of religion, where the face of God shone forth. God did not then divest himself of his own glory, that he might adorn with it the temple; but he rather accommodated himself here to the rude state of men; for he could not in himself be known, but in a certain way appeared to them in the temple. Hence he swore by the temple.

But the special reason, which interpreters have not pointed out, ought to be noticed, and that is, that God, by swearing by his sanctuary, repudiated all the fictitious forms of worship in which the Israelites gloried, as we have already seen. The meaning is this, — “God, who is rightly worshipped on mount Zion, and who seeks to be invoked there only, swears by himself; and though holiness dwells in himself alone, he yet sets before you the symbol of his holiness, the sanctuary at Jerusalem: he therefore repudiates all your forms of worship, and regards your temples as stews or brothels.” We hence see that there is included in this expression a contrast between the sanctuary, where the Jews rightly and legitimately worshipped God, and the spurious temples which Jeroboam built, and also the high places where the Israelites imagined that they worshipped him. We now then understand what is meant by the words, that God sware by his sanctuary

And he sware by his sanctuary, that the days would come, yea, were nigh, in which they should be taken away with hooks, or with shields. צנה , tsane, means in Hebrew to be cold: ²⁵ but צנות , tsanut denotes shields in that language, and sometimes fishing-hooks. Some yet think that the instrument by which the flesh is pulled off is intended, as though the Prophet still alluded to his former comparison. But another thing, which is wholly different, seems to be meant here, and that is, that these fat cows would be drawn out as a little fish by a hook; for afterwards he mentions a thorn or a hook again. It is the same as though he had said, “Ye are indeed of great weight, and ye are very heavy through your fatness; but this your grossness will not prevent God from quickly taking you away, as when one draws out a fish by a hook.” We see how well these two different similitudes harmonize: “Ye are now trusting in your own fatness, but God will draw you forth as if ye were of no weight at all: ye shall therefore be dragged away by your enemies, not as fat cows but as small fishes, and a hook will be sufficient, which will draw you away into remote lands.” This change ought to have seriously affected the Israelites, when they understood that they would be stripped of their fatness and wealth, and then taken away as though they were small fishes, that a hook was enough, and that there would be no need of large wagons. It follows —

Calvin: Amo 4:3

The Prophet expresses now, in different words, what would be the future calamity of that kingdom; but he still speaks of the rich and the chief men. For though he threatened also the common people and the multitude, it was not yet needful expressly to name them, inasmuch as when God fulminates against the chief men, terror ought surely to seize also the humbler classes. The Prophet then designedly directs his discourse still to the judges and the king’s counselors, Ye shall go forth at the breaches, every one of you. We see that he continues as yet the same mode of speaking, for he counts not those pompous and haughty masters as men, but still represents them as cows, “Every one”, that is, every cow, he says, shall go forth through the breaches over against it. We know how strictly the rich observe their own ranks and also how difficult it is to approach them. But the Prophet says here, that the case with them would be far different: “There will not be,” he says, “a triple wall or a triple gate to keep away all annoyances, as when ye live in peace and quietness; but there will be breaches on every side, and every cow shall go forth through these breaches; yea, shall throw herself down from the very palace: neither the pleasures nor the indulgence, in which ye now live, shall exist among you any more; no, by no means, but ye will deem it enough to seek safety by flight. Each of you will therefore rush headlong, as when a cow, stung by the gadfly or pricked by goads runs madly away.” And we know how impetuous is the flight of cows. So also it will happen to your says the Prophet. We now then perceive the import of the words.

Some take הרמונה , ermune, for Armenian because the Israelites were led away into that far country; and others, take it for the mount Amanus; but for this there is no reason. I do not take its as some do, as meaning, “In the palace,” but, on the contrary, “From the palace,” or, from the high place. Ye shall then throw yourselves down from the palace; that is, “Ye shall no more care for your pomps and your pleasures, but will think it enough to escape the danger of death, even with an impetuosity like that of beasts, as when cows run on headlong without any thought about their course.”

It was not without reason that he repeated the name of God so often; for he intended to shake off from the Israelites their self-complacencies; inasmuch as the king’s counselors and the judges, as we have already stated, were extremely secure and careless; for they were in a manner stupefied by their own fatness. It follows —

TSK: Amo 3:9

Publish : 2Sa 1:20; Jer 2:10,Jer 2:11, Jer 31:7-9, Jer 46:14, Jer 50:2

Ashdod : Amo 1:8; 1Sa 5:1

the mountains : Amo 4:1, Amo 6:1; Jer 31:5; Eze 36:8, Eze 37:22

and behold : Deu 29:24-28; Jer 22:8, Jer 22:9

oppressed : or, oppressions, Amo 4:1, Amo 8:6

TSK: Amo 3:10

they : Psa 14:4; Jer 4:22, Jer 5:4; 2Pe 3:5

who : Hab 2:8-11; Zep 1:9; Zec 5:3, Zec 5:4; Jam 5:3, Jam 5:4

robbery : or, spoil

TSK: Amo 3:11

An, Amo 6:14; 2Ki 15:19, 2Ki 15:29, 2Ki 17:3-6, 2Ki 18:9-11; Isa 7:17-25, Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8, Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Isa 10:9-11; Hos 11:5, Hos 11:6

and thy : Amo 3:10,Amo 3:15, Amo 2:5, Amo 6:8; 2Ch 36:19

TSK: Amo 3:12

As the : 1Sa 17:34-37; Isa 31:4

taketh : Heb. delivereth

so shall : Amo 9:2, Amo 9:3; 1Ki 20:30, 1Ki 22:25; Isa 8:4, Isa 17:1-4; Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5

in Damascus in a couch : or, on the bed’ s feet, 1Ki 20:34; 2Ki 16:9

TSK: Amo 3:13

and testify : Deu 8:19, Deu 30:18, Deu 30:19; 2Ki 17:13, 2Ki 17:15; 2Ch 24:19; Act 2:40, Act 18:5, Act 18:6, Act 20:21; Eph 4:17; 1Th 4:6

the Lord : Amo 5:27; Jos 22:22; Isa 1:24

TSK: Amo 3:14

in the : Exo 32:34

visit the transgressions of Israel upon him : or, punish Israel for his transgressions

I will : Amo 9:1; 1Ki 13:2-5; 2Ki 23:15; 2Ch 31:1, 2Ch 34:6, 2Ch 34:7; Hos 10:5-8, Hos 10:14, Hos 10:15; Mic 1:6, Mic 1:7

TSK: Amo 3:15

the winter : Jer 36:22

the summer : Jdg 3:20

the houses : 1Ki 22:39

the great : Amo 3:11, Amo 6:11; Isa 5:9

TSK: Amo 4:1

ye kine : By the ""kine of Bashan,""some understand the proud, luxurious matrons of Israel; but it is probable the prophet speaks catachrestically, and means the wealthy, effeminate, and profligate rulers and nobles of Samaria. Deu 32:14, Deu 32:15; Psa 22:12; Jer 50:11, Jer 50:27; Eze 39:18

the mountain : Amo 6:1; 1Ki 16:24

which oppress : Amo 2:6, Amo 2:7, Amo 3:9, Amo 3:10, Amo 5:11, Amo 8:4-6; Exo 22:21-25; Deu 15:9-11; Psa 12:5, Psa 140:12; Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23, Pro 23:10,Pro 23:11; Ecc 4:1, Ecc 5:8; Isa 1:17-24, Isa 5:8, Isa 58:6; Jer 5:26-29, Jer 6:6, Jer 7:6; Eze 22:7, Eze 22:12, Eze 22:27, Eze 22:29; Mic 2:1-3, Mic 3:1-3; Zec 7:10,Zec 7:11; Mal 3:5; Jam 5:1-6

crush : Deu 28:33; Job 20:19 *marg. Jer 51:34

Bring : Amo 2:8; Joe 3:3

TSK: Amo 4:2

Psa 89:35

hath sworn : Amo 6:8

he will : Isa 37:29; Jer 16:16; Eze 39:4, Eze 39:5; Hab 1:15, Hab 1:16

TSK: Amo 4:3

ye shall go : 2Ki 25:4; Eze 12:5, Eze 12:12

them into the palace : or, away the things of the palace, 2Ki 7:7, 2Ki 7:8, 2Ki 7:15; Isa 2:20, Isa 31:7; Zep 1:18; Mat 16:26

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Amo 3:9

Publish - " ye,"they are the words of God, commissioning His prophets

In (on) the palaces of Ashdod - , that is, on the flat roofs of their high buidings, from where all can hear

And in (on) the palaces in the land of Egypt - Theodoret: "Since ye disbelieve, I will manifest to Ashdodites and Egyptians the transgressions of which ye are guilty."Amos had already pronounced God’ s sentence on "the palaces of Ashdod"and all Philistia, for their sins against Himself in His people (see the notes at Amo 1:6-8). Israel now, or a little later, courted Egypt Hos 7:11; Hos 12:1. To friend then and to foe, to those whom they dreaded and those whom they courted, God would lay open their sins. Contempt and contumely from an enemy aggravate suffering: man does not help whom he despiseth. "They were all ashamed of a people who could not profit them,"saith Isaiah Isa 30:5 subsequently, of Egypt in regard to Judah. From those palaces, already doomed to destruction for their sins, the summons was to go, to visit Samaria, and see her sins, amid grace which those people had not. As our Lord says, "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment, than for that city"Mat 10:15. Shame toward man survives shame toward God. What people are not ashamed to do, they are, apart from any consequences, ashamed to confess that they have done. Nay, to avoid a little passing shame, they rush upon "everlasting shame."So God employs all inferior motives, shame, fear, hope of things present, if by any means He can win people, not to offend Him.

Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria - that is, those surrounding it. Samaria was chosen with much human wisdom for the strong capital of a small people. Imbedded in mountains, and out of any of the usual routes , it lay, a mountain-fastness in a rich valley. Armies might surge to and fro in the valley of Jezreel, and be unconscious of its existence. The way from that great valley to Samaria lay, every way, through deep and often narrowing valleys , down which the armies of Samaria might readily pour, but which, like Thermopylae, might be held by a handful of men against a large host.

The broad vale near the hill of Dothan , along which the blinded Syrian army followed Elisha to Samaria, contracts into "a narrow valley", before it reaches Samaria. The author of the book of Judith, who knew well the country, speaks of "the passages of the hill-country"near Dothaim, "by"which "there was an entrance into Judaea, and it was easy to stop them that would come up, because the passage was strait for two men at the most". : "A series of long winding ravines open from the mountains to the plain; these were the passes so often defended by the ‘ horns of Joseph, the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh’ against the invaders from the north."

Within these lay "the wide rocky rampart"which fenced in Samaria from the north . "The fine round swelling hill of Samaria, now cultivated to the top, (about 1,100 feet above the sea , and 300 from its own valley ,) stands alone in the midst of a great basin of some two hours (or 5 miles) in diameter surrounded by higher mountains on every side.": "The view from its summit presents a splendid panorama of the fertile basin and the mountains around, teeming with large villages, and includes not less than 25 degrees of the Mediterranean."Such a place, out of reach, in those days, from the neighboring heights, was well-near impregnable, except by famine. But its inhabitants must have had handed down to them the memory, how those heights had once been populated, while their valleys were thronged with "all the hosts"2Ki 6:24 of Benhadad, his chariots and his horsemen; and the mountains, in which they had trusted to shut out the enemy, were the prison-walls of their famished people.

From those heights , "the Syrians could plainly distinguish the famishing inhabitants of the city. The adjacent circle of hills were so densely occupied, that not a man could push through to bring provisions to the beleaguered city."The city, being built on the summit and terraced sides of the hill, unfenced and unconcealed by walls which, except at its base, were unneeded, lay open, unsheltered in every part from the gaze of the besiegers. The surrounding hills were one large amphitheater, from where to behold the tragedy of Israel , and enemies were invited to be the spectators. They could see its faminestricken inhabitants totter along those open terraces. Sin had brought this chastisement upon them. God had forgiven them then. When God who had, by His prophet, foretold their relief then 2Ki 7:1-2, now by His prophet called anew those enemies of Samaria to those same heights to behold her sins, what could this mean but that He summoned them to avenge what He summoned them to behold?

It was no figure of speech. God avenges, as He comforts, not in word, but in deed. The triumph of those enemies David had especially deprecated, "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumised triumph"2Sa 1:20. To these Israel was to be a gazingstock. They were like "the woman set in the midst Joh 8:3, amid one encircling sea of accusing insulting faces, with none to pity, none to intercede, none to show mercy to them who "had shewed no mercy."Faint image of the shame of that Day, when not people’ s deeds only, but "the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed"Rom 2:16, and "they shall begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us"Luk 23:30; and of that "shame"there will be no end, for it is "everlasting"Dan 12:2.

And behold the great tumults - I. e, the alarms, restlessness, disorders and confusion of a people intent on gain; turning all law upside down, the tumultuous noise of the oppressors and oppressed. It is the word which Solomon uses , "Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and tumult therewith,"the tumults and restlessness of continual gaining. "And the oppressed,"or better (as in the English margin) the oppressions , the manifold ever-repeated acts by which people were crushed and trampled on.

In the midst thereof - Admitted within her, domiciled, reigning there in her very center, and never departing out of her, as the Psalmist says, "Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deciet and guile depart not from her streets"Psa 55:11. Aforetime, God spared His people, that "His Name Eze 20:9 should not be polluted before the pagan, among whom they were, in whose sight I made Myself known unto them in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt."Now He summons those same pagan as witnesses that Israel was justly condemned. These sins, being sins against the moral law, the pagan would condemn. People condemn in others, what they do themselves. But so they would see that God hated sin, for which He spared not His own people, and could the less triumph over God, when they saw the people whom God had established and protected, given up to the king of Assyria.

Barnes: Amo 3:10

For - (and) they know not to do right They "have not known,"they have least all sense and knowledge, how "to do right"(literally, what is "straight-forward") because they had so long ceased to do it. It is part of the miserable blindness of sin, that, while the soul acquires a quick insight into evil, it becomes, at last, not paralyzed only to "do"good, but unable to perceive it. So Jeremiah says, "they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge"Jer 4:22. Whence of the Christian Paul says, "I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil"Rom 16:19. People, step by step, lose the power of understanding either good or evil, the love of the world or the love of God. Either becomes "a strange language"to ears accustomed to the "songs of Zion"or the din of the world. When our Lord and God came to His own, they said, "we know that God spake unto Moses: as for this man we know not whence He is"Joh 9:29. And this blindness was brought about by covetousness which "blindeth the eyes"even of "the wise"Exo 23:8, as he adds;

Who store - (Literally, with indignation, "the storers"

With violence and robbery - They could not understand what was right, while they habitually did what was wrong. They "stored up,"as they deemed, the gains and fruits; the robbery and injustice they saw not, because they turned away from seeing. But what is "stored"up, is not what wastes away, but what abides. Who doubts it? Then, what they treasured, were not the perishing things of earth, but, in truth, the sins themselves, as "a treasure of wrath against the Day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God"Rom 2:5. Strange treasure, to be so diligently accumulated, guarded, multiplied! Yet it is, in fact, all which remains. "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God"Luk 12:21. He adds, as an aggravation, "in their palaces."Deformed as in all oppression, yet to "oppress the poor, to increase his riches"Pro 22:16, has an unnatural hideousness of its own. What was wrung from the poor, laid up "in places!"Yet what else is it to cheapen luxuries at the cost of the wages of the poor?

Barnes: Amo 3:11

Therefore thus saith the Lord God - There was no human redress. The oppressor was mighty, but mightier the Avenger of the poor. Man would not help; therefore God would. "An adversary"there shall be, "even round about the land;"literally, "An enemy, and around the land!"The prophets speaks, as seeing him. The abruptness tells how suddenly that enemy should come, and hem in the whole land on all sides. What an unity in their destruction! He sees one "enemy, and"him everywhere, all "around,"encircling, encompassing, as with a net, their whole land, narrowing in, as he advanced, until it closed around and upon them. The corruption was universal, so should be the requital.

And he shall bring down thy strength from - (that is, away from) thee The word "bring down"implies a loftiness of pride which was to be brought low, as in Obadiah, "thence will I bring thee down"Oba 1:4; and in Isaiah, "I will bring down their strength to the earth"Isa 63:6. But further, their strength was not only, as in former oppressions, to be "brought down,"but "forth from thee. Thy palaces shall be spoiled;"those palaces, in which they had heaped up the spoils of the oppressed. Man’ s sins are, in God’ s Providence, the means of their punishment. "Woe to thee that spoilest and"Isa 33:1 (that is, whereas) thou wert "not spoiled, and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherowsly with thee! when thou perfectest, spoiling, thou shalt be spoiled; when thou accomplihest dealing treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee."Their spoiling should invite the spoiler, their oppressions should attract the oppressor and they, with all which they held to be their strength, should go "forth"into captivity.

Rib.: "The Lord will be justified in His sayings, and in His works, when He executeth judgment on ‘ us and shall be cleared,’ even by the most unjust judges, ‘ when He is judged.’ Psa 51:4. He cites the Ashdodites and Egyptians as judges, who were witnesses of His benefits to this people, that they might see how justly He punished them. And now the hardened Jews themselves, Turks and all Hagarenes, might be called to behold at once our iniquities, and ‘ the mercies of the Lord, that we are not consumed’ Lam 3:22. If these were gathered on the mountains of Samaria, and surveyed from aloft our sins, who worship Mammon and Vain-glory and Venus for God, doubtless the Name of God would through us be blasphemed among the pagan. ‘ Imagine yourselves withdrawn for a while to the summit of some lofty mountain,’ says the blessed martyr Cyprian , ‘ view thence the face of things, as they lie beneath you, yourself free from contact of earth, cast your eyes hither and thither, and mark the turmoils of this billowy world.

You too, recalled to self-remembrance, will pity the world; and, made more thankful to God, will congratulate yourself with deeper joy that you have escaped it. See thou the ways obstructed by bandits, the seas infested by pirates, war diffused everywhere by the camp’ s bloodstained fierceness: a world reeking with mutual slaughter; and homicide, a crime in individuals, called virtue when worked by nations. Not innocence but the scale of its ferocity gains impunity for guilt. Turn thy eyes to the cities, thou wilt see a populated concourse more melancholy than any solitude.’ This and much more which he says of the life of the Gentiles, how it fits in with our’ s, any can judge. What greater madness than that people, called to heavenly thrones, should cling to trifles of earth? immortal man glued to passing, perishable things people, redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ, for lucre wrong their brethren, redeemed by the same Price, the same Blood! No marvel then, that the Church is afflicted, and encompassed by unseen enemies, and her strength drawn down from her spoiled houses."

"Samaria is also every soul, which willeth to please man by whom it thinketh it may be holpen, rather than God, and, boasting itself to be Israel, yet worshipeth the golden calves, that is, gold, silver, honors, and pleasures. Let people alien from the light of the Gospel survey ‘ its tumults,’ with what ardor of mind riches, pleasures are sought, how ambition is served, how restless and disturbed the soul is in catching at nothings, how forgetful of God the Creator and of heavenly things and of itself, how minded, as if it were to perish with the body! What tumults, when ambition bids one thing, lust another, avarice another, wrath another, and, like strong winds on the sea, strong, unbridled passions strive together! They ‘ know not to do right,’ bad ends spoiling acts in themselves good. They ‘ treasure up violence,’ whereas they ought to treasure up grace and charity against that Day when God shall judge the secrets of people. And when they ascribe to themselves any benefits of the divine mercy, and any works pleasing to God, which they may have done or do, what else do they than ‘ store up robbery?’ So then the powers of the soul are "spoiled,"when truths as to right action, once known and understood by the soul, fade and are obscure, when the memory retaineth nothing usefill, when the will is spoiled of virtues and yields to vicious affections."

Barnes: Amo 3:12

As the shepherd taketh - (Rather, rescueth) out of the mouth of the lion two legs (Properly, the shank, the lower part of the leg below the knee, which in animals is dry, and bone only and worthless) "or apiece"(the tip) "of an ear, so"(that is, so few and weak, so bared and spoiled, a mere remnant,) "shall the children of Israel be taken out"(rather, "rescued") "that"now "dwell"at ease "in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus", in "a couch,"or rather "in Damascus, a couch."Now, that soft, rounded, oblong, hill of Samaria, was one large luxurious couch, in which its rich and great rested securely, propped and cushioned up on both sides, in, what is still the place of dignity, "the corner of a bed,"or "Divan,"that is, the inner corner where the two sides meet. Damascus also, which Jeroboam had won for Israel, was a canopied couch to them, in which they stayed themselves. It is an image of listless ease and security, like that of these whom the false prophetesses lulled into careless stupidity as to their souls; "sewing pillows to all armholes,"or "wrists"Eze 13:18, whereon to lean in a dull inertness.

In vain! Of all those who then dwelt at ease and in luxury, the Good Shepherd Himself should rescue from "the lion,"(the enemy, in the first instance the Assyrian,) a small remnant, in the sight of the enemy and of man of little account, but precious in the sight of God. The enemy would leave them perhaps, as not worth removing, just as, when the lion has devoured the fat and the strong, the shepherd may recover from him some slight piece of skin or extremity of the bones. Amos then, as well as Joel (see the note at Joe 2:32), preaches that same solemn sentence, so repeated throughout the prophets, "a reimnant"only "shall be saved."So doubtless it was in the captivity of the ten tribes, as in the rest. So it was in Judah, when certain "of the poor of the land"only were "left behind vinedessers and for farmers"2Ki 25:12; Jer 52:16. In the Gospel, "not many wise men after the flesh not many mighty, not many noble were called"1Co 1:26, but "God chose the poor of this world, rich in faith Jam 2:5, and the Good Shepherd rescued from the mouth of the lion those whom man despised, yet who "had ears to hear."

After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, a poor remnant only escaped. Rup.: "The spirit of prophecy foresaw both captivities, the end whereof was to confirm the faith, not in one place only but in all the earth, and so a slight remnant was "rescued from the mouth of the lion,"that is, from the slaughter of the destroyers, and permitted to live, that through them, as a witness and monument, the justice of God might be known from age to age, and the truth of the Scriptures might be everywhere, borne about by them, still witnessing to Christ the Son of God, who is known by the law and the prophets. Hapness remnants, so "taken out"for the good of others, not their own!"As these remnants of the animal show what it was which the lion destroyed, yet are of no further profit, so are they now a memorial of what they once were, what grace through their sins they have lost.

Rib.: "Many souls will perish because they trust in their own strength, and no more call on God to have mercy on them than if they could rise of themselves and enter the way of salvation without God. They trust in the power of their friends, or the friendship of princes, or the doctrines of philophers, and repose in them as in a couch of Damascus. But Christ, the Good Shepherd, will rescue out of the mouth of "the lion,"who "goeth about seeking, whom he may devour,"what is last and of least esteem in this world, who have anything whereby the Good Shepherd can hold them. The "legs"signify the desire to go to hear the Word of God; the extremity of the ear, that obedience was not wholly lost. For if any begin even in part to obey the word of God which he hath heard, God, of His fatherly mercy, will help him and lead him on to perfect obedience. The legs also denote desire , whereby, as by certain steps, the soul approacheth to God or departeth from Him. Yet if a soul would be saved, desires suffice not; but if to these obedience to the heavenly commands be added, it shall be rescued from the mouth of the lion."

Barnes: Amo 3:13

Hear ye and testify ye in - (Rather unto or against ) the house of Israel; first "hear"yourselves, then "testify,"that is, solemnly "protest,"in the Name of God; and "bear witness unto"and "against"them, so that the solemn words may sink into them. It is of little avail to "testfy,"unless we first "hear;"nor can man "bear witness"to what he doth not know; nor will words make an "impression,"that is, leave a trace of themselves, be stamped in or on people’ s souls, unless the soul which utters them have first hearkened unto them.

Saith the Lord God of hosts - " So thundereth, as it were, the authority of the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of the shepherd. Foretelling and protesting the destruction of the altar of Bethel, he sets his God against the god whom Israel had chosen as theirs and worshiped there, "the Lord God of hosts,"against "the similitude of a calf that eateth hay"Psa 106:20. Not I, a shepherd, but so speaketh my God against your god."

Barnes: Amo 3:14

In the day that I shall visit the transgression of Israel upon, him, I will also visit (upon) the altars of Bethel - Israel then hoped that its false worship of "nature"would avail it. God says, contrariwise, that when He should punish, all their false worship, so far from helping them, should itself be the manifest object of His displeasure. Again God attests, at once, His long-suffering and His final retribution. Still had He foreborne to punish, "being slow to anger and of great goodness;"but when that day, fixed by the divine Wisdom, should come, wherein He should vindicate His own holiness, by enduring the sin no longer, then He would "visit their transgressions,"that is, all of them, old and new, forgotten by man or remembered, "upon them."Scripture speaks of "visiting offences upon"because, in God’ s Providence, the sin returns upon a man’ s own head. It is not only the cause of his being punished, but it becomes part of his punishment.

The memory of a man’ s sins will be part of his eternal suffering. Even in this life, "remorse,"as distinct from repentance, is the "gnawing"of a man’ s own conscience for the folly of his sin. Then also God would visit upon the false worship. It is thought that God visits less speedily even grave sins against Himself, (so that man does not appeal falsely to Him and make Him, in a way, a partner of his offence,) than sins against His own creature, man. It may be that, All-Merciful as He is, He bears the rather with sins, involving corruption of the truth as to Himself, so long as they are done in ignorance, on account of the ignorant worship Act 17:23, Act 17:30; Act 14:16 of Himself, or the fragments of truth which they contain, until the evil in them have its full sway in moral guilt Rom. 1. Montanus: "Wonderful is the patience of God in enduring all those crimes and injuries which pertain directly to Himself; wonderful His waiting for repentance. But the deeds of guilt which violate human society, faith, and justice, hasten judgment and punishment, and, as it were, with a most effectual cry call upon the Divine Mind to punish, as it is written, "The voices of thy brother’ s blood crieth unto Me from the ground, And now cursed art thou, ..."Gen 4:10-11.

If then upon that very grave guilt against God Himself there be accumulated these other sins, this so increases the load, that God casts it out. However long then Israel with impunity, given itself to that vain, alien worship, this evinced the patience, not the approval, of God. Now, when they are to be punished for the fourth transgresston, they will be punished for the first, second and third, and so, most grievously; when brought to punishment for their other sins, they should suffer for their other guilt of impiety and superstition."

And the horns of the altar - This was the one great "altar"1Ki 12:32-33; 1Ki 13:1-5 for burnt-offerings, set up by Jeroboam, in imitation of that of God at Jerusalem, whose doom was pronounccd in the act of its would-be consecration. He had copied faithfully outward form. At each corner, where the two sides met in one, rose the "horn,"or pillar, a cubit high , there to sacrifice victims, Psa 118:27, there to place the blood of atonement Exo 29:12. So far from atoning, they themselves were "the"unatoned "sin"of "Jeroboam whereby 2Ki 17:21 he drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. These were to be cut off; hewn down, with violence. A century and a half had passed, since the man of God had pronounced its sentence. They still stood. The day was not yet come; Josiah was still unborn; yet Amos, as peremptorily, renews the sentence. In rejecting these, whereon the atonement was made, God pronounced them out of covenant with Himself. Heresy makes itself as like as it can to the truth, but is thereby the more deceiving, not the less deadly. Amos mentions the altars of Bethel, as well as the altar. Jeroboam made but one altar, keeping as close as he could to the divine ritual. But false worship and heresy ever hold their course, developing themselves. They never stand still where they began, but spread, like a cancer 2Ti 2:17. It is a test of heresy, like leprosy, that it spreads abroad Lev. 13, preying on what at first seemed sound. The oneness of the altar had relation to the Unity of God. In Samaria, they worshiped, they know not what Joh 4:22, not God, but some portion of His manifold operations. The many altars, forbidden as they were, were more in harmony with the religion of Jeroboam, even because they were against God’ s law. Heresy develops, becoming more consistent, by having less of truth.

Barnes: Amo 3:15

And I will smite the winter house with the summer house - Upon idolatry, there follow luxury and pride. "So wealthy were they,"says Jerome, "as to possess two sorts of houses, "the winter house"being turned to the south, the "summer house"to the north, so that, according to the variety of the seasons, they might temper to them the heat and cold."Yet of these luxuries, (so much more natural in the East where summer-heat is so intense, and there is so little provision against cold) the only instance expressly recorded, besides this place, is "the winter house"of Jehoiakim. In Greece and Rome , the end was attained, as with us, by north and south rooms in the same house. These, which Amos rebukes, were like our town and country houses, separate residences, since they were to be destroyed, one on the other. "Ivory houses"were houses, paneled, or inlaid, with ivory. Such a palace Ahab built 1Ki 22:39. Even Solomon "in all his glory"had but an ivory throne 1Ki 10:18. Else "ivory palaces"Psa 45:8 are only mentioned, as part of the symbolic glory of the King of glory, the Christ. He adds, "and the great (or many) houses shall have an end, saith the Lord."So prosperous were they in outward show, when Amos foretold their destruction. The desolation should be wide as well as mighty. All besides should pass away, and the Lord alone abide in that Day. : "What then shall we, if we would be right-minded, learn hence? How utterly nothing will all earthly brightness avail, all wealth, glory, or ought besides of luxury, if the love of God is lacking, and righteousness be not prized by us! For "treasures of wickedness profit nothing; but righteousness delivereth from death"Pro 10:2.

Barnes: Amo 4:1

Hear ye this, ye kine of Bashan - The pastures of Bashan were very rich, and it had its name probably from its richness of soil . The Batanea of later times was a province only of the kingdom of Bashan, which, with half of Gilead, was given to the half tribe of Manasseh. For the Bashan of Og included Golan Deu 4:43, (the capital of the subsequent Gaulonitis, now Jaulan) Beeshterah Jos 21:27, (or Ashtaroth) 1Ch 6:71, very probably Bostra (see ab. on 1Ch 1:12), and Elrei Deu 1:4, in Hauran or Auranitis; the one on its southern border, the other perhaps on its northern boundary toward Trachonitis . Its eastern extremity at Salkah Deu 3:10; Jos 13:11, (Sulkhad) is the southern point of Batanea (now Bathaniyyeh); Argob, or Trachonitis , (the Lejah) was its north eastern fence.

Westward it reached to Mount Hermon Deu 3:8; Jos 12:5; Jos 13:11; 1Ch 5:23. It included the subsequent divisions, Gaulonitis, Auranitis, Batanea, and Trachonitis. Of these the mountain range on the northwest of Jaulan is still "everywhere clothed with oak-forests."The Ard-el-Bathanyeh , "the country of Batanea or Bashan, is not surpassed in that land for beauty of its scenery, the richness of its pastures, and the extent of its oak forests.""The Arabs of the desert still pasture their flocks on the luxuriant herbage of the Jaulan". Its pastures are spoken of by Micah Mic 7:14 and Jeremiah Jer 50:19. The animals fed there were among the strongest and fattest Deu 32:14. Hence, the male animals became a proverb for the mighty on the earth Exo 39:18, the bulls furnished a type for fierce, unfeeling, enemies Psa 22:12. Amos however, speaks of "kine;"not, as David, of "bulls."He upbraids them not for fierceness, but for a more delicate and wanton unfeelingness, the fruit of luxury, fullness of bread, a life of sense, which destroy all tenderness, dull the mind, "banker out the wits,"deaden the spiritual sense.

The female name, "kine,"may equally brand the luxury and effeminacy of the rich men, or the cruelty of the rich women, of Samaria. He addresses these "kine"in both sexes, both male and female . The reproachful name was then probably intended to shame both; men, who laid aside their manliness in the delicacy of luxury; or ladies, who put off the tenderness of womanhood by oppression. The character of the oppression was the same in both cases. It was done, not directly by those who revelled in its fruits, but through the seduction of one who had authority over them. To the ladies of Samaria, "their lord"was their husband, as the husband is so called; to the nobles of Samaria, he was their king, who supplied their extravagances and debaucheries by grants, extorted from the poor.

Which oppress - Literally, "the oppressing!"The word expresses that they habitually oppressed and crushed the poor. They did it not directly; perhaps they did not know that it was done; they sought only, that their own thirst for luxury and self-indulgence should be gratified, and knew not, (as those at ease often know not now,) that their luxuries are continually watered by the tears of the poor, tears shed, almost unknown except by the Maker of both. But He counts willful ignorance no excuse. "He who doth through another, doth it himself,"said the pagan proverb. God says, they did "oppress,"were "continually oppressing, those in low estate,"and "crushing the poor"(a word is used expressing the vehemence with which they "crushed"them.) They "crushed"them, only through the continual demand of pleasures of sense, reckless how they were procured; "bring and let us drink."They invite their husband or lord to joint self-indulgence.

Barnes: Amo 4:2

The Lord God hath sworn by His holiness - They had sinned to profane His "Holy Name"(see the note at Amo 2:7). God swears by that holiness which they had profaned in themselves on whom it was called, and which they had caused to be profaned by others. He pledges His own holiness, that He will avenge their unholiness. : "In swearing "by His holiness,"God sware by Himself. For He is the supreme uncreated justice and Holiness. This justice each, in his degree, should imitate and maintain on earth, and these had sacrilegiously violated and overthrown."

Days shall come (literally, are among) upon you - God’ s Day and eternity are ever coming. He reminds them of their continual approach. He says not only that they will certainly come, but they are ever coming. They are holding on their steady course. Each day which passes, they advance a day closer upon the sinner. People put out of their minds what "will come;"they "put far the evil day."Therefore, God so often in His notices of woe to come, (1Sa 2:31; Isa 39:6; Jer 7:32; Jer 9:25; Jer 17:14; Jer 19:6; Jer 23:5, Jer 23:7; Jer 30:3; Jer 31:27-31, Jer 31:38; Jer 33:14; Jer 48:12; Jer 49:2; Jer 51:47, Jer 51:52. (Ges.); Amo 8:11), brings to mind, that those "days are"ever "coming"; they are not a thing which shall be only; in God’ s purpose, they already "are;"and with one uniform steady noiseless tread "are coming upon"the sinner. Those "days shall come upon you,"heavily charged with the displeasure of God, crushing you, as ye have crushed the poor. They come doubtless, too, unexpectedly upon them, as our Lords says, "and so that day come upon you unwares."

He (that is one) will take you away - In the midst of their security, they should on a sudden be taken away violently from the abode of their luxury, as the fish, when hooked, is lifted out of the water. The image pictures (see Hab 1:15; Eze 29:4-5,) their utter helplessness, the contempt in which they would be had, the ease with which they would be lifted out of the flood of pleasures in which they had immersed themselves. People can be reckless, at last, about themselves, so that their posterity escape, and they themselves survive in their offspring. Amos foretells, then, that these also should be swept away.

Barnes: Amo 4:3

Ye shall go out through the breaches - Samaria, the place of their ease and confidence, being broken through, they should go forth one by one, "each straight before her,"looking neither to the right nor to the left, as a herd of cows go one after the other through a gap in a fence. Help and hope have vanished, and they hurry pell-mell after one another, reckless and desperate, as the animals whose life of sense they had chosen.

And ye shall cast them into the palace - Or, better, (since nothing has been named which they could cast) "cast yourselves."The word may describe the headlong motion of the animal, and the desperate gestures of the hopeless. They should cast themselves from palace to palace, from the palace of their luxuries to the palace of their enemies, from a self-chosen life of sensuousness to he concubines in the harem. If the rulers are still included, it was reserved for the rich and noble to become eunuchs in the palace of their Assyrian or Babylonian conquerors, as Isaiah foretold to Hezekiah Isa 39:7. It is another instance of that great law of God, "wherewithal a man sinneth, by the same shall he be tormented"(Wisdom Isa 11:16). They had lived in luxury and wantonness; in luxury and wantonness they should live, but amid the jealousies of an Eastern harem, and at the caprice of their sensual conquerors.

The word however rendered, "to the palace,"occurring only here, is obscure. The other most probable conjecture is, that it is a name of a country, "the mountains of Monah,"that is, perhaps Armenia. This would describe accurately enough the country to which they were to be carried; "beyond Damascus; the cities of the Medes."The main sense is the same. They should be cast forth from the scene of their pleasures and oppression, to be themselves oppressed. The whole image is one, which an inspired prophet alone could use. The reproof was not from man, but from God, unveiling their sins to them in their true hideousness. Man thinks nothing of being more degraded than the brutes, so that he can hide from himself, that he is so.

Poole: Amo 3:9

Publish you prophets whom I have sent to threaten the sins of my people Israel, now invite strangers to come and observe what just cause I have to do what I threaten.

In the palaces at Ashdod one of the principal cities of the Philistines, Amo 1:8 Zep 2:4 ; let those that are in the court at Ashdod, and have a mind to travel a while out of their own land, let them know what strange sights they may see in their neighbour land.

And in the palaces in the land of Egypt let the young noblemen of Egypt come too, yea, let as many as will come.

Assemble yourselves by an appointment (if it may be) let them meet together, and make their observations, and then judge between their doings and their sufferings, my judgments and the causes of them.

Upon the mountains of Samaria either the whole kingdom of Samaria or the ten tribes, or else it may denote the great men and cities of Samaria; let Egyptians and Philistines in their travels up and down over the kingdom of Israel associate themselves with the great men, and converse in the cities.

Behold take an exact view of all done by them and in them.

The great tumults the seditious counsels and rebellious conspiracies, begun amongst them on the death of Jeroboam the Second, and continued one after another for many years, like madmen, bent on ruining one another, to the undoing of all: besides all former violences of Baasha, Zimri, Omri, and Jehu, who took the kingdom out of the hands of their masters; those of Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea, acted in the times Amos pointeth at.

The oppressed multitudes of oppressed ones in those times, when the usurpers took it to be their interest to crush all they feared or suspected.

In the midst thereof Samaria, the chief city of the kingdom, and in other cities; yea, rather through the whole kingdom of Samaria.

Poole: Amo 3:10

For they know not those who oppress others do it as unlearned lawyers and judges do, they are shamefully ignorant of the law of God.

To do right what is equal between man and man they will not consider, nor do they care whether it be done or not.

Store up as men lay up wealth in their treasures, they fill their houses.

Violence perverting judgment, first condemning the innocent, next seizing all as forfeited by law; so they did, no doubt, in those times of rebellion and usurpations; sequestrations and decimations, &c. were then too.

Robbery the true name of all their proceedings, however palliated.

In their palaces: this intimates to us that the greatest among them were chief actors herein; see Zep 1:9 ; but as they stored up violence, they also treasured up misery and desolation too, as the Hebrew elegantly imports.

Poole: Amo 3:11

Therefore because of all the violence and rapine, with other crying sins, multiplied against God in the midst of them.

An adversary the Assyrian with united forces, shall be even round about the land, on all sides shall beset thee; the whole land shall be but as one besieged city, out of which none, or so few as next to none, shall escape.

He shall bring down thy strength from thee lay low all thy fortresses, break all thy power, kill thy valiant men, destroy thy armies, and by force take thy strong holds.

Thy palaces shall be spoiled where thou laidst up thy spoils gotten by violence and oppression, there thy enemy shall find them, and take them away as lawful plunder; and when thy riches are carried out, they shall burn the palaces themselves too.

Poole: Amo 3:12

In brief, this verse foretells how few and with what difficulty they shall escape who are not swallowed up of the approaching judgments, and it is elegantly expressed in the following similitude.

As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth as the shepherd doth hardly rescue a small part of a sheep or lamb, when the lion hath seized and torn it.

The lion the fiercest, strongest, and boldest creature, not a bear or wolf.

Two legs which are parts the ravening lion less regardeth and last eateth;

or a piece of an ear less considerable than the legs.

So shall the children of Israel some of the children of Israel, or some of the ten tribes, but the poorer, meaner, and more worthless of them,

be taken out that dwell in Samaria shall escape when Samaria is taken.

In the corner of a bed lying in some dark corner, and on a piece of a bed, as the poor do in most places.

In Damascus the chiefest city of Syria, taken by Tiglath-pileser much about the time when he wasted Israel in aid of Ahaz against Rezin and Pekah.

In a couch some few of the poorer among them also shall escape, pitied by the enemy when he findeth them weakly and sick upon their couch.

Poole: Amo 3:13

Hear ye prophets.

Testify publicly declare and witness, make what proof you can of this thing, in the house of Jacob; to the ten tribes, as first and most nearly concerned herein, and to the two tribes also, who, as guilty of many and great sins, so are in danger of many and great judgments, and these hastening on them.

Saith the Lord God assure them the message comes from the Lord God.

The God of hosts who is Lord of all, and hath all power in his hand; when he commands, all the hosts of creatures attend to execute his commands, so that what he threateneth he will surely execute.

Poole: Amo 3:14

In the day in the appointed time, and within compass of a little time too; God will in his set time make quick work with them.

Visit the transgressions of Israel upon him the many and great transgressions of the ten tribes, these God will, as he hath foretold by his prophets, severely punish, and in particular their idolatry.

The altars erected unto the calves, and on which they Offered sacrifices to those idols by Jeroboam’ s appointment at first, and by the continued commands of their idolatrous governors. It is possible there might be altars to other idols too: see 2Ch 34:4 Hos 8:11 10:1 .

Beth-el anciently called Luz, but afterwards Jacob, on his comfortable vision, did change its name into Beth-el; it was in the tribe of Benjamin, and one of the two places Jeroboam first set up his idolatry in.

The horns of the altar whether a more sacred part in their account I know not, but who fled to the altar, and laid hold on the horns of it, found them a sanctuary, 1Ki 2:28 ; but these now should not be safety to themselves.

Shall be cut off the altars shall be pulled down,

and fall to the ground be cast out as common, and trodden under foot with contempt.

Poole: Amo 3:15

I will smite by the greatness of the desolation it shall appear that God did smite, though by the Assyrian; or perhaps it may refer to the earthquake foretold two years before it came, Amo 1:1 .

The winter house which probably was in the chief city, where the rich and great men retired in the winter time, as more for their delight than the country, horrid and cold, and stripped of its glory.

The summer house the houses of pleasure, where the nobles and rich men of Israel spent the summer time.

The houses of ivory not built with, but beautified with ivory, or the elephant’ s tooth, called here and elsewhere, by way of eminency, the tooth.

Shall perish by the violence of the enemies, these stately houses shall be ransacked first, and pulled down next, and left in rubbish.

The great houses or many, for the word includes both. The magnificent palaces of princes and the nobles of Israel

shall have an end shall cease for ever, either be utterly wasted, or cease to be theirs whose once they were.

Saith the Lord all this shall infallibly come to pass and be fulfilled in due time.

Poole: Amo 4:1

Hear attentively, and consider the consequences of it; weigh both what and whose it is that is spoken. This word; prophecy, or sermon of reproof and threatening: see Amo 3:1 .

Ye kine of Bashan: so Amos, bred among cattle, compares the mighty, proud, wanton, and oppressive riflers of Israel to those full-fed, strong, and wanton beasts, which in the herds did push at, hurt, and disturb the weaker cattle. Some will by this understand the court ladies of Israel in those times; but this perhaps is too nice: though, as in Ahab’ s time Jezebel was at court, and a promoter of oppression and violence, so there might be in aftertimes some like her, and perhaps these may be intended secondarily; yet surely Amos intends the great men and governors, whom he calls kine of Bashan, a fruitful country, of which see Eze 39:18 Nah 1:4 .

In the mountain of Samaria: in a decorum to his first allusion he calls their places of power, authority, and office in the kingdom of Israel, mountains; for as those beasts grazing on mountains grew fat, so these men by their fees, perquisites, and bribes grew insolent and mischievous: see Amo 3:9 .

Which oppress the poor the meaner sort of the people, the commonalty, under their jurisdiction, by colour of law.

Which crush the needy by force and open violence break in pieces the afflicted, who have neither power nor friend to relieve them.

Which say to their masters husbands, say some, so the Hebrew will bear; or it may refer to some of the greatest officers in Israel, who had inferior officers under them, or the masters of the poor.

Bring get us commission, or bring them into our court and office.

Let us drink we will get by them to feast on and revel in drink.

Poole: Amo 4:2

I have often told you that God had spoken, now I assure you that the mighty and eternal God hath sworn the thing, and you must therefore needs conclude it sure and certain.

He hath sworn by his holiness by himself, as he is the holy God, and cannot lie: see Psa 89:35 .

The days of darkness, slaughter, famine, desolation, and captivity, threatened against you, shall come upon you, oppressors that crush the poor.

He will take God by the Assyrian army under Shalmaneser, nay, before that time you shall be taken, as fish are taken with the hook, during the intestine wars that are coming upon you.

You who now live, and hear the word of Amos and Hoses, but notwithstanding do continue to act the same violence still.

With hooks or thorns, as the Hebrew, with which they did pierce the greater fish, before they had the skill of making iron darts, as some observe.

Your posterity the children of these oppressors.

With fish-hooks shall be taken as silly fish, and as easily carried away; the enemy shall with delight insnare and destroy them.

Poole: Amo 4:3

And ye kine of Bashan, oppressors distressed by the just hand of God, and by the violent hand of your enemy, shall go out, endeavour to make your escape by flight, at the breaches, which the besieging enemy made in your walls, when Samaria is besieged.

Every cow at that which is before her: it shall be a universal flight, and with great consternation, they not able to forecast where the safest, but taking which way is readiest.

Ye shall cast them into the palace either cast away all the riches and ornaments of your palaces, or the prey and bribes you had laid up there, or ye shall abandon the palaces ye dwelt in.

Haydock: Amo 3:9

Azotus. Septuagint, "Assyrians." ---

Follies. Septuagint, "wonders." Let you greatest enemies know what crimes you commit against yourselves (Haydock) and others.

Haydock: Amo 3:11

About, As oxen tread out corn, going round a tree. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "Tyre even all round, thy land shall be a desert." Tsar means "Tyre and tribulation," according to St. Jerome's master. (Haydock)

Haydock: Amo 3:12

Ear: things of small value. Thus few even of the poor will escape the Assyrians. (Menochius) ---

Damascus. Some render "couch side." But there is no proof of this being accurate. Jeroboam II subdued Damascus, and reigned in prosperity. Who would then have thought that Israel should so soon be removed into Media? (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "over-against the tribe of Juda, and in Damascus, priests hear," &c. They probably left hares, (Haydock) "couches," (Aquila) untranslated, and some person has substituted "priests." (St. Jerome) ---

Only the miserable (Menochius) or fugitives escape the enemy. (Haydock)

Haydock: Amo 3:15

Winter. Septuagint, "winged house," to keep off cold, (St. Jerome) or to give air. (Calmet) ---

Summer-house. The noblemen had such is cooler regions. (Menochius) ---

The kings of Persia passed the summer at Ecbatana. (Xen. Cyr. viii.) ---

Palladius (i. 12.) orders that the summer apartments must look to the north. ---

Ivory. Many ornaments of this nature appeared in them, (Calmet) whence Achab's palace was so called, 3 Kings xxii. 39. (Haydock)

Haydock: Amo 4:1

Fat kine. He means the great ones that lived in plenty and wealth, (Challoner) and without restraint, (Isaias xv. 5., and Jeremias xlvi. 20.; Calmet) having no compassion for the poor. (Worthington) ---

The women who had too great an ascendency over their husbands, like Jezabel, may also be meant. (Theodoret; Grotius) ---

In many parts of the East the women affect being fat.

Haydock: Amo 4:2

Holiness. He has none but himself to swear by, Hebrews vi. 13. His word is infallible; but he condescends to use an oath to make a deeper impression on man. ---

Pikes; spits, or large shields. Hebrew also, "They will lead you away with hooks, (in the nose, Isaias xxxvii. 29.) and your children with fish-hooks," or pots. You shall be treated like victims, being either roasted or boiled. No part shall be left.

Haydock: Amo 4:3

Breaches of the city. (Calmet) ---

Septuagint, "naked." Hebrew, "apart." (Haydock) ---

The victors shall divide you among them. (Calmet) ---

Armon, a foreign country; some understand it of Armenia, (Challoner) and this is the general opinion. (Menochius) ---

Septuagint, "on Mount Remmon." Theodotion, "Mona." Israel was removed into Armenia, "the mountain of Menni," Jeremias li. 27.

Gill: Amo 3:9

Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt,.... This is spoken to the prophets, to publish and declare in all the courts of the Philistines and Egyptians, and among all the princes and great men therein, the sins of the people of Israel, and the punishment God threatened them with; and let them, even these very Heathens, judge whether there was not a just proportion between them, and whether their sins did not deserve such calamities to be brought upon them, the Lord by his prophets had denounced;

and say, assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; the metropolis of the ten tribes, Isa 7:9; and which was built upon a mountain, and several others were about it, and joined to it; where these princes of Ashdod or Azotus in Palestine, and of Egypt, are called to leave their courts, and meet together, to behold the iniquities committed by Israel, and to sit in judgment upon them, and declare their sense of what was just and fitting to be done to such a people:

and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof; the riots of its inhabitants, the noise of the mob committing all manner of outrages and wickedness:

and the oppressed in the midst thereof; the poor, the fatherless, and the widow, injured in their persons and properties, plundered of their substance, or defrauded of it.

Gill: Amo 3:10

For they know not to do right, saith the Lord,.... What is just and fight between man and man, no, not in one single instance; they did not regard it, or advert to it; they were under no concern about it; and were so much under the power of their lusts, that they knew not how to do it; and had used themselves so long to such wicked and unjust ways, that they had lost at least the practical knowledge of doing justice; they knew what was right in the theory, but not in the practice; bribes blinded their eyes; for this seems to design judges, civil magistrates, such who had the administration of justice and the execution Of the laws in their hands. The Targum is,

"they know not to execute the law;''

see Jer 4:22;

who store up violence and robbery in their palaces; treasured up riches in their palaces, gotten in a violent way, by oppression and injustice; and which was no other, nor better, than robbery. This shows that persons in power and authority, that lived in palaces, in great splendour and grandeur, are here meant.

Gill: Amo 3:11

Therefore thus saith the Lord God,.... Because of these tumults and riots, oppression and injustice, violence and robbery:

an adversary there shall be even round about the land: not Tyre, as Theodoret renders the word; but the king of Assyria, who invaded the land of Israel in the days of Hoshea, took Samaria, and carried Israel captive, and placed them in foreign countries, 2Ki 17:6;

and he shall bring down thy strength from thee; take away their riches, demolish their fortresses, and strip them of everything in which they put their confidence:

and thy palaces shall be spoiled; plundered of the treasures laid up in them, and pulled down to the ground; and a just retaliation this for their being the repositories of ill gotten substance and wealth.

Gill: Amo 3:12

Thus saith the Lord, as the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion,.... Or what the lion has left, to show to his master that it had been seized and torn by a beast of prey; for otherwise it is a most daring thing, and not usual, for a shepherd to take anything out of a lion's mouth, though David did: and here it is said to be not a whole sheep, or a lamb, but

two legs, or a piece of an ear; the body of the creature being devoured by the lion, only some offal left he cared not for; two shanks of the legs that had no flesh upon them, and the gristle of the ear, as the Targum; having satisfied his hunger with the best of it: signifying hereby that only a few of the Israelites should escape the enemy, and those poor and insignificant, he made no account of; and this in a miraculous manner, it being like taking anything out of the mouth of a lion, to which a powerful enemy is compared, and particularly the king of Assyria, Jer 50:17;

so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria; only a few of them, and those the poorest; and their escape will be next to a miracle, when the city will be taken; even such as are weak and sickly, or faint hearted: being

in a corner of a bed; who either through sickness lie there, or slothfulness, danger being near; or through poverty, having only a corner or a piece of a bed to lie on; or through cowardice they hid themselves in one part of it:

and in Damascus in a couch; or "in a bed of Damascus" ^h; the chief city in Syria, taken much about the same time as Samaria was; and where some of the Israelites might betake themselves, and think themselves secure as persons laid on a couch: or at the bed's feet ⁱ, as some render it; or "in a corner of a couch" ^k, as before. The Targum paraphrases it,

"that dwell in Samaria, in the strength of power, trusting in Damascus.''

Gill: Amo 3:13

Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob,.... The prophets and priests, whose business it was to speak to the people from the Lord, and declare his will to them, and to admonish them of their sin and danger, are here called upon to hearken to what the Lord was about to say, and to testify and publish it to the people of Israel, the posterity of Jacob, though sadly degenerated:

saith the Lord God, the God of hosts; the eternal Jehovah, the Being of beings, the God of the whole earth, the God of the armies above and below; and, being so great, ought to be heard with the greatest attention and reverence in what follows.

Gill: Amo 3:14

That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him,.... The three or four mentioned in the preceding chapter, the great multitude of them, their profaneness, uncleanness, and luxury, their injustice and oppression of the poor; when he should visit and punish for these sins, as he would by the hand of the Assyrian, he would not forget their idolatry; though no notice is taken of this before, in the appeal to the Heathen princes, who were likewise guilty of it:

I will also visit the altars of Bethel; where one of the calves Jeroboam made was set up and worshipped; and where was an altar erected, and sacrifice offered on it, 1Ki 12:28; and here the plural number is put for the singular; though it may be, that in process of time more altars might be set up as they increased in idolatry, and as seems from Hos 8:11; and now the Lord would show his resentment at them, and punish those that worshipped and sacrificed there. So the Targum,

"that worship at the altars in Bethel;''

and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground; for it seems this altar was made after the form of that at Jerusalem, with four horns at the four corners of it; and which were reckoned the more principal parts of it, and the more sacred, where the blood of the sacrifices was poured, and to which persons in distress fled and laid hold of for refuge; but now these should be of no use unto them, since they would be entirely demolished by the enemy, and laid level with the ground.

Gill: Amo 3:15

And I will smite the winter house with the summer house,.... Both the one and, the other shall fall to the ground, being beat down by the enemy, or shook and made to fall by the earthquake predicted, Amo 1:1; as Kimchi thinks: kings and great personages had houses in the city in the winter season, in which they lived for warmth; and others in the country in the summertime, to which they retired for the benefit of the air; or they had, in one and the same house, a summer and a winter parlour; see Jdg 3:20; it signifies that the destruction should reach city and country, and deprive them of what was for their comfort and pleasure:

and the houses of ivory shall perish; or "of the tooth" ^l; the elephant's tooth, of which ivory is made. Ahab made a house of ivory; and perhaps more were made by others afterwards, following his example, 1Ki 22:39; not that these houses were made wholly of ivory, only "covered" with it, as the Targum here paraphrases it; or they were cieled or wainscotted with it, or were inlaid and covered with it, and were reckoned very curious work; but should be demolished, and perish in the general ruin:

and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord; the houses of princes, nobles, and other persons of figure and distinction; houses great in building, or many in number, as Kimchi observes, and as the word ^m will bear to be rendered; these, which the builders and owners of them thought would have continued many ages, and have perpetuated their names to posterity, should now be thrown down, and be no more; of which they might assure themselves, since the Lord had said it.

Gill: Amo 4:1

Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan,.... Or "cows of Bashan" ⁿ; a country beyond Jordan, inhabited by the tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh, very fruitful of pasturage, and where abundance of fat cattle were brought up; to whom persons of distinction, and of the first rank, are here compared. Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret them of the wives of the king, princes, ministers of state, and great men; and so it may be thought that Amos, a herdsman, in his rustic manner, compliments the court ladies with this epithet, for their plumpness, wantonness, and petulancy. Though it may be the princes and great men themselves may be rather intended, and be so called for their effeminacy, and perhaps with some regard to the calves they worshipped; and chiefly because being fat and flourishing, and abounding with wealth and riches, they became wanton and mischievous; like fat cattle, broke down their fences, and would be under no restraint of the laws of God and man; entered into their neighbours' fields, seized on their property, and spoiled them of it. So the Targum paraphrases it,

"ye rich of substance.''

In like manner the principal men among the Jews, in the times of Christ, are called bulls of Bashan, Psa 22:12;

that are in the mountains of Samaria; like cattle grazing on a mountain; the metaphor is still continued: Samaria was the principal city of Ephraim, the metropolis of the ten tribes, Isa 7:9; situated on a mountain; Mr. Maundrell ^o says, upon a long mount, of an oval figure, having first a fruitful valley, and then a ring of hills running about it. Here the kings of Israel had their palace, and kept their court, and where their princes and nobles resided. Ahab is said to be king of Samaria, 1Ki 21:1;

which oppress the poor, which crush the needy; by laying heavy taxes upon them; exacting more of them than they are able to pay; lessening their wages for work done, or withholding it from them; or by taking from them that little they have, and so reducing them to the utmost extremity, and refusing to do them justice in courts of judicature:

which say to their masters, bring, and let us drink; Kimchi, who interprets these words of the wives of great men, supposes their husbands are here addressed, who are, and acknowledged to be, their masters or lords; see 1Pe 3:6; whom they call upon to bring them money taken from the poor, or for which they have sold them, that they may have wherewith to eat and drink, fare sumptuously, and live in a grand manner, feasting themselves and their visitors: or these are the words of inferior officers to superior ones, desiring they might have leave to pillage the poor, that so they might live in a more gay and splendid manner, and in rioting and drunkenness, in chambering and wantonness. So the Targum,

"give us power, that we may spoil it.''

Or rather these words are directed to the masters of the poor, who had power over them, had them in their clutches, in whose debt they were; or they had something against them, and therefore these corrupt judges, and wicked magistrates, desire they might be brought before them; who for a bribe would give the cause against them, right or wrong, so long as they got something to feast themselves with; or they are spoken by the rich, to the masters of the poor, to whom they had sold them, to bring them the purchase money, that they might indulge and gratify their sensual appetites; see Amo 2:6.

Gill: Amo 4:2

The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness,.... That is, by himself, holiness being his nature, and an essential attribute of his; this is done to ascertain the truth of what is after said, and that men may be assured of the certain performance of it. Some render it, "by his holy place"; and interpret it of heaven; so Aben Ezra and Kimchi; which is not likely; see Mat 5:34. The Targum is,

"the Lord God hath sworn by his word in his holiness;''

that, lo, the days shall come upon you; speedily, swiftly, and at an unawares:

that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fish hooks; the enemy, the king of Assyria, or God by him, would take them out of their own land, as fish out of water, out of their own element, and carry them captive into a strange land, both them and their posterity; and which should be as easily done as fish are taken with the hook, even though they were as the kine of Bashan. The word for fish hooks signifies "thorns" ^p, and is by some so rendered; these perhaps being used in angling, before iron hooks were invented. The Targum is,

"that people shall take you away on their shields, and your daughters in fishermen's ^q boats;''

see Jer 16:16.

Gill: Amo 4:3

And ye shall go out at the breaches,.... Not at the gates of the city, as they had used to do at pleasure; but at the breaches of the walls of it, made by the enemy, in order to make their escape, if possible; they who had broke down the fences of law and justice, and injured the poor and needy, shall now have the walls of their city broken down and they themselves exposed to the most imminent danger, and glad to get out of them to save their lives:

every cow at that which is before her; every woman, as Jarchi and Kimchi; or every great person, compared to the kine of Bashan, shall make up as fast as he can to the breach before him, to get out; shall follow one another as quick as they can, and clamber on one another's backs, as such cattle do, to get out first; which shows the hurry and confusion they should be in, upon the taking of their city Samaria:

and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord; either their children, or their substance, which they shall cast into the royal palace, or fort, or citadel, for safety. Some render it, "ye shall cast yourselves"; so Abarbinel; that is, such as could not get out at the breaches should betake themselves to the palace or fort for their security. The Targum of the whole is,

"and they shall break down the wall upon you, and bring you out, gathered everyone before him, and carry you beyond the mountains of Armenia.''

And so some others, taking it to be the name of a place, render it, "ye shall be cast into Armon", or Mona; which Bochart ^r suspects to be the same with Minni, mentioned with Ararat, a mountain in Armenia, Jer 51:27.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Amo 3:9

¹ tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).

² sn Samaria might refer here both to the region and to the capital city (later known as Sebaste). On the other hand, there actually are hills that surround the mound upon which the city was built. The implication is that the nations can come and sit and see from those hills the sin of the capital city and its judgment.

map For location of the city see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

³ tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.

⁴ tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”

⁵ tn The translation assumes the form is an abstract plural (see Job 35:9; Eccl 4:1). Another option is to understand the form as a substantival passive participle and translate, “the oppressed” (so KJV).

⁶ tn Heb “within her.”

NET Notes: Amo 3:10

¹ tn Heb “those who.”

² tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.

NET Notes: Amo 3:11

¹ tc The MT reads “an enemy and around the land.” It is also possible to take the MT as an exclamation (“an enemy, and all about the land!”; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 118; NJPS; cf. NLT).Most scholars and versions emend the text to יְסוֹבֵב (yÿsovev, Polel imperfect), “will encircle.”

² tn Heb “He will bring down your power from you.” Some emend the text to read “Your power will be brought down from you.” The shift, however, from an active to a passive sense also appears at 3:14 (“I will destroy Bethel’s altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off.”) The pronouns (“your…you”) are feminine singular, indicating that the personified city of Samaria is addressed here. Samaria’s “power” here is her defenses and/or wealth.

NET Notes: Amo 3:12

¹ sn The verb translated salvaged, though often used in a positive sense of deliverance from harm, is here employed in a sarcastic manner. A shepherd would attempt to salvage part of an animal to prove that a predator had indeed killed it. In this way he could prove that he had not stolen the missing animal and absolve himself from any responsibility to repay the owner (see Exod 22:12-13).

² tn Heb “with a corner of a bed.”

³ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דְּמֶשֶׁק (dÿmesheq), which occurs only here, is uncertain. If not emended, it is usually related to the term ַדּמֶּשֶׂק (dammeseq) and translated as the “Damask linens” of the bed (cf. NASB “the cover”) or as “in Damascus” (so KJV, NJB, NIV). The differences in spelling (Damascus is spelled correctly in 5:27), historical considerations, and the word order make both of these derivations unlikely. Many emendations have been proposed (e.g., “a part from the foot [of a bed],” based on a different division of the Hebrew letters (cf. NEB, NRSV); “on the edge,” based on a Hebrew term not attested in the Bible (NKJV). Some suggest a resemblance to an Akkadian term which means “sideboard [of a bed],” which is sometimes incorrectly rendered “headboard” (NJPS; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 121-22). Most likely another part of a bed or couch is in view, but it is difficult to be more specific.

NET Notes: Amo 3:13

¹ tn Or “testify against.”

² tn Heb “house.”

³ tn These words are spoken to either the unidentified heralds addressed at the beginning of v. 9, or to the Egyptians and Philistines (see v. 9b). Another possibility is that one is not to look for a specific addressee but rather appreciate the command simply as a rhetorical device to grab the attention of the listeners and readers of the prophetic message.

⁴ tn Traditionally, “the God of hosts.”

NET Notes: Amo 3:14

¹ tn Heb “in the day.”

² tn Heb “his.” With the referent “Israel” here, this amounts to a collective singular.

³ tn Traditionally, “transgressions, sins,” but see the note on the word “crimes” in 1:3.

⁴ tn Heb “punish” (so NASB, NRSV).

⁵ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

⁶ sn The horns of an ancient altar projected upwards from the four corners and resembled an animal’s horns in appearance. Fugitives could seek asylum by grabbing hold of these corners (see Exod 21:14; 1 Kgs 1:50; 2:28). When the altar’s horns were cut off, there would be no place of asylum left for the Lord’s enemies.

NET Notes: Amo 3:15

¹ tn Heb “the winter house along with the summer house.”

sn Like kings, many in Israel’s wealthy class owned both winter and summer houses (cf. 1 Kgs 21:1,18; Jer 36:22). For a discussion of archaeological evidence relating to these structures, see P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 64-65.

² tn Heb “houses of ivory.” These houses were not made of ivory, but they had ivory panels and furniture decorated with ivory inlays. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 139-48.

³ tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”

⁴ tn The translation assumes the form is from the Hebrew verb סָפָה (safah, “to sweep away”) rather than סוּף (suf, “to come to an end”), which is the choice of most versions. Either option effectively communicates the destruction of the structures.

NET Notes: Amo 4:1

¹ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

² tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

³ tn Heb “their.”

⁴ sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).

NET Notes: Amo 4:2

¹ tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”

sn The message that follows is an unconditional oath, the fulfillment of which is just as certain as the Lord’s own holy character.

² tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”

³ tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”

⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.

⁵ tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”

⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.

sn The imagery of catching fish in connection with the captivity of Israel is also found in Jer 16:16 and Hab 1:14.

NET Notes: Amo 4:3

¹ tn Heb “and [through the] breaches you will go out, each straight ahead.”

² tn The Hiphil verb form has no object. It may be intransitive (F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 425), though many emend it to a Hophal.

³ tn The meaning of this word is unclear. Many understand it as a place name, though such a location is not known. Some (e.g., H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos [Hermeneia[, 204) emend to “Hermon” or to similarly written words, such as “the dung heap” (NEB, NJPS), “the garbage dump” (NCV), or “the fortress” (cf. NLT “your fortresses”).

Geneva Bible: Amo 3:9

Publish in the palaces at ^{( k )} Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.

^{( k )} He calls the strangers, such as the Philistines and Egyptians, to be witness of God's judgments against the Israelites for their cruelty and oppression.

Geneva Bible: Amo 3:10

For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery ^{( l )} in their palaces.

^{( l )} The fruit of their cruelty and theft appears by their great riches, which they have in their houses.

Geneva Bible: Amo 3:12

Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh ^{( m )} out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in ^{( n )} Damascus [in] a couch.

^{( m )} When the lion has satisfied his hunger, the shepherd finds a leg or a piece of an ear, to show that the sheep have been torn by his teeth.

^{( n )} Where they thought to have had a sure stronghold, and to have been in safety.

Geneva Bible: Amo 4:1

Hear this word, ye ^{( a )} kine of Bashan, that [are] in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, ^{( b )} Bring, and let us drink.

^{( a )} Thus he calls the princes and governors, who being overwhelmed with the great abundance of God's benefits, forgot God, and therefore he calls them by the name of beasts and not of men.

^{( b )} They encourage those who have authority over the people to oppress them, so that they may have profit by it.

Geneva Bible: Amo 4:2

The Lord GOD hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with ^{( c )} hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

^{( c )} He alludes to fishers, who catch fish by hooks or thorns.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Amo 3:1-15

1 The necessity of God's judgment against Israel.

9 The publication of it, with the causes thereof.

TSK Synopsis: Amo 4:1-13

1 He reproves Israel for oppression,

4 for idolatry,

6 and for their incorrigibleness.

MHCC: Amo 3:9-15

That power which is an instrument of unrighteousness, will justly be brought down and broken. What is got and kept wrongfully, will not be kept long. Some are at ease, but there will come a day of visitation, and in that day, all they are proud of, and put confidence in, shall fail them. God will inquire into the sins of which they have been guilty in their houses, the robbery they have stored up, and the luxury in which they lived. The pomp and pleasantness of men's houses, do not fortify against God's judgments, but make sufferings the more grievous and vexatious. Yet a remnant, according to the election of grace, will be secured by our great and good Shepherd, as from the jaws of destruction, in the worst times.

MHCC: Amo 4:1-5

What is got by extortion is commonly used to provide for the flesh, and to fulfil the lusts thereof. What is got by oppression cannot be enjoyed with satisfaction. How miserable are those whose confidence in unscriptural observances only prove that they believe a lie! Let us see to it that our faith, hope, and worship, are warranted by the Divine word.

Matthew Henry: Amo 3:9-15

The Israelites are here again convicted and condemned, and particular notice given of the crimes they are convicted of and the punishment they are condemned to.

1. Notice is given of it to their neighbours. The prophet is ordered to publish it in the palaces of Ashdod, one of the chief cities of the Philistines; nay, the summons must go further, even to the palaces in the land of Egypt. "The great men of both those nations, that dwell in the palaces, that are inquisitive concerning the affairs of the neighboring nations, and are conversant with the public intelligence, let them assemble themselves upon the mountains of Samaria, "Amo 3:9. There, upon a throne high and lifted up, the judgment is set. Samaria is the criminal that is to be tried; let them be present at the trial, for it shall be (as other trials are) public, in the face of the country; let them make an appointment to meet there from all parts, to judge between God and his vineyard. God appeals to all impartial righteous men, Eze 23:45. They will all subscribe to the equity of his proceedings when they see how the case stands. Note, God's controversies with sinners do not fear a scrutiny; even Philistines and Egyptians will be made to see, and say, that the ways of the Lord are equal, but our ways are unequal. They are likewise summoned to attend, not only that they may justify God and be witness for him that he deals fairly, but that they may themselves take warning; for, if judgment begin at the house of God, as they see it does, what shall be the end of those that are strangers to him? 1Pe 4:17. If this be done in a green tree, what shall be done in a dry? Or this intimates that the sin of Israel had been so notorious that the neighboring nations could come in witnesses against them, and therefore it was fit that their punishment should be so. "If it could have been concealed, we would have said, Tell it not in Gath; publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; "but why should their friends consult their reputation, when they themselves do not consult it? If they have grown impudent in sin, let them bear the shame: " Publish it in Ashdod, in Egypt. "

1. Let them see how black the charge is, and how well proved. Let them observe the behaviour of the inhabitants of Samaria; let them look off from the adjacent hills, and they may see how rude and boisterous they are, and hear how loud they cry of their sin is, as was that of Sodom. (1.) Look into their streets and you will see nothing but riot and disorder, great tumults in the midst thereof; reason and justice are upon all occasions run down by the noise and fury of an outrageous mob, the dominion of which is the sin and shame of any people, and is likely to be their ruin. (2.) Look into their prisons, and you will see them filled with injured innocents: The oppressed are in the midst thereof, thrown down and crushed by their oppressors, overpowered and overwhelmed, and they had no comforter, Ecc 4:1. (3.) Look into their courts of justice, and you will see that those who preside in those courts know not to do right, because they have always been accustomed to do wrong; they act as if they had no notion at all of the thing called justice, are in no care to do justice themselves nor to see that others do justice. (4.) Look into their treasures and stores, and you will see them replenished with violence and robbery, with that which was unjustly got and is still unjustly kept. Thus they have heaped treasures together for the last days, but it will prove a treasure of wrath against the day of wrath. It may well be said, Those know not to do right who think to enrich themselves by doing wrong.

2. Let them see how heavy the doom is, and how well executed, Amo 3:11, Amo 3:12.

(1.) Their country shall be invaded and ruined; and observe how the punishment answers to the sin. [1.] Great tumults are in the midst of the land, and therefore an adversary shall be even round about the land; the Assyrian forces shall surround it and break in upon it on every side. Note, When sin is harboured and indulged in the midst of a people they can expect no other than that adversaries should be round about them, so that, go which way they will, they go into the mouth of danger, Luk 19:43. [2.] They strengthened themselves in their wickedness, but the enemy shall bring down their strength from them, that strength which they abused in oppressing the poor, and doing violence to all about them. Note, That power which is made an instrument of unrighteousness will justly be brought down and broken. [3.] They stored up robbery in their palaces, and therefore their palaces shall be spoiled; for what is got and kept wrongfully will not be kept long. Even palaces will be no protection to fraud and oppression; but the greatest of men, if they have spoiled others, shall themselves be spoiled, for the Lord is the avenger of all such.

(2.) Their countrymen shall not escape, Amo 3:12. They shall be in the hands of the enemy, as a lamb in the mouth of a lion, all devoured and eaten up, and they shall be utterly unable to make an resistance; and if any do make their escape, so as neither to fall by the sword or go into captivity, yet they shall be very few, and those of the meanest and least considerable, like two legs, or shanks, of a lamb, or, it may be, a piece of an ear, which the lion drops, or the shepherd takes from him, when he has eaten the whole body; so, perhaps, here and there one may escape from Samaria and from Damascus, when the king of Assyria shall fall upon them both, but none to make any account of; and those that do escape shall do so with the utmost difficult and hazard, by hiding themselves in the corner of a bed or under the bed's feet, which intimates that their spirits shall sneak shamefully in the time of danger. They shall not hide themselves in dens and caves, but in the corner of a bed, or the piece of a bed, such as poor people must be content with. They shall very narrowly escape, as it is foretold concerning the last destruction of Jerusalem that there shall be two in a bed together, one taken and the other left. Note, When God's judgments come forth against a people with commission it will be in vain to think of escaping them. Some make their dwelling in the corner of a bed, and in a couch, to denote their present security and sensuality; they are at ease, as in a bed, or on a couch, but, when God comes to contend with them, he shall make them uneasy, shall take them away out of the bed of their sloth and slumber. Those that stretch themselves lazily upon their couches when God's judgments are abroad shall go captive with the first that go captive.

II. Notice is given of it to themselves, Amo 3:13. Let this be testified, and heard, in the house of Jacob, among all the seed of Israel, for it is spoken by the Lord God, the God of hosts, who has authority to pass this sentence and ability to execute it; let them know from him that the day is at hand when God will visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, when he will enquire into them and reckon for them: there will come a day of visitation, a day of punishment, and in that day all those things they are proud of, and put confidence in, shall fail them, and so they shall smart for the sins they have been guilty of about them. 1. Woe to their altars, for God will visit them. He will enquire into the sins they have been guilty of at their altars, and bring into the account all their superstition and idolatry, all their expenses on their false gods, and all their expectations from them; and he will lay the altars themselves under the marks of his displeasure, for the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground, and with them the altar itself demolished and broken to pieces. We find the altar at Bethel prophesied against (1Ki 13:2), and immediately rent (Amo 3:3), and that prophecy fulfilled with Josiah burnt men's bones upon it, 2Ki 23:15, 2Ki 23:16. This seconds that prophecy, and seems to point at the same event. Note, If men will not destroy idolatrous altars, God will, and those with them that had them in veneration. Some make the horns of the altar to signify all those things which they flee to for refuge, and trust in, and which they make their sanctuary: they shall all be cut off, so that they shall have nothing to take hold of. 2. Woe to their houses, for God will visit them too. He will enquire into the sins they have been guilty of in their houses, the robbery that have stored up in their houses, and the luxury in which they lived: and I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house, Amo 3:15. Their nobility, and gentry, and rich merchants, had their winter-houses in the city and their summer-houses in the country, so nice were they in guarding against the inconveniences of the winter when the country was thought too cold, and of the summer when the city was thought too hot, though the climate of that good land was so temperate, like that of ours, that neither the cold nor heat was ever in extremity. They indulged a foolish affectation of change and variety; but God will, either by war or by the earthquake, smite both the winter-house and the summer-house; neither shall serve to shelter them from his judgments. The houses of ivory (so called because the ceiling, or wainscot, or some of the ornaments of them, were edged or inlaid with ivory) shall perish, shall be burnt or pulled down; and the great houses shall have an end; the most splendid and spacious houses, the houses of their great men, shall no longer be, or at least be no longer theirs. Note, The pomp or pleasantness of men's houses will be so far from fortifying them against God's judgments that it will make them the more grievous and vexatious, as their extravagance about them will be put to the score of their sins and follies.

Matthew Henry: Amo 4:1-5

It is here foretold, in the name of God, that oppressors shall be humbled and idolaters shall be hardened.

I. That proud oppressors shall be humbled for their oppressions: for he that does wrong shall receive according to the wrong that he has done. Now observe,

1. How their sin is described, Amo 4:1. They are compared to the kine of Bashan, which were a breed of cattle very large and strong, especially if, though bred there, they were fed upon the mountain of Samaria, where the pastures were extraordinarily fat. Amos had been a herdsman, and he speaks in a dialect of his calling, comparing the rich and great men, that lived in luxury and wantonness, to the kine of Bashan, which were wanton and unruly, would not be kept within the bounds of their own pasture, But broke through the hedges, broke down all the fences, and trespassed upon the neighboring grounds; and not only so, but pushed and gored the smaller cattle that were not a match for them. Those that had their summer-houses upon the mountains of Samaria when they went thither for fresh air were as mischievous as the kine upon the mountains of Bashan and as injurious to those about them. (1.) They oppress the poor and needy themselves; they crush them, to squeeze something to themselves out of them. They took advantage of their poverty, and necessity, and inability to help themselves, to make them poorer and more necessitous than they were. They made use of their power as judges and magistrates for the invading of men's rights and properties, the poor not excepted; for they made no conscience of robbing even the hospital. (2.) They are in confederacy with those that do so. They say to their masters (to the masters of the poor, that abuse them and violently take from them what they have, when they ought to relieve them), " Bring, and let us drink; let us feast with you upon the gains of our oppression, and then we will protect you, and stand by you in it, and reject the appeals of the poor against you."Note, What is got by extortion is commonly made use of as provisions for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof; and therefore men are tyrants to the poor because they are slaves to their appetites. Bring, and let us drink, is the language of those that crush the needy, as if the tears of the oppressed, mingled with their wine, made it drink the better. And by their associations for drinking and reveling, and an excess of riot, they strengthen their combinations for persecution and oppression, and harden the hearts of one another in it.

2. How their punishment is described, Amo 4:2, Amo 4:3. God will take them away with hooks, and their posterity with fish-hooks; he will send the Assyrian army upon them, that shall make a prey of them, shall not only enclose the body of the nation in their net, but shall angle for particular persons, and take them prisoners and captives as with hooks and fish-hooks, shall draw them out of their own land as fish are drawn out of the water, which is their element, them and their children with them, or, They in their day shall be drawn out by one victorious enemy, and their posterity in their day by another, so that by a succession of destroying judgments they shall at length be wholly extirpated. These kine of Bashan thought they could no more be drawn out with a hook and a cord than the Leviathan can, Job 41:1, Job 41:2. But God will make them know that he has a hook for their nose and a bridle for their jaws, Isa 37:29. The enemy shall take them away as easily as the fisherman takes away the little fish, and shall make it their sport and recreation. When the enemy has made himself master of Samaria, then, (1.) Some shall attempt to escape by flight: You shall go out at the breaches made in the wall of the city, every cow at that which is before her, to shift for her own safety, and make the best of her way; and now the unruly kine of Bashan are tamed, and are themselves crushed, as they crushed the poor and needy. Note, Those to whom God has given a good pasture, if they are wanton in it, will justly be turned out of it; and those who will not be kept within the hedge of God's precept forfeit the benefit of the hedge of God's protection, and will be forced in vain to flee through the breaches they have themselves fearfully made in that hedge. (2.) Others shall think to shelter themselves, or at least their best effects, in the palace, because it is a castle well fortified and a garrison well manned: You shall throw yourselves (so some read it), or throw them (that is, your posterity, your children, or whatever is dear to you), into the palace, where the enemy will find it ready to be seized. Note, What is got by oppression cannot long be enjoyed with satisfaction.

3. How their sentence to this punishment is ratified: The Lord God has sworn it by his holiness. He had often said it, and they regarded it not; they thought God and his prophets did but jest with them; therefore he swears it in his wrath, and what he has sworn he will not revoke. He swears by his holiness, that attribute of his which is so much his glory, and which is so much glorified in the punishment of wicked people; for, as sure as God is a holy God, those that plough iniquity and sow wickedness shall reap the same.

II. That obstinate idolaters shall be hardened in their idolatries (Amo 4:4, Amo 4:5): Come to Bethel, and transgress. It is spoken ironically: "Do so; take your course; multiply your transgressions by multiplying your sacrifices, for this liketh you; but what will you do in the end hereof?"Here we see, 1. How intent they were upon the service of their idols, and how willing they were to be at cost upon them; they brought their sacrifices, and their tithes, and their free-will offerings, hoping that therein they should be accepted of God, but it was all an abomination to him. The profuseness of idolaters in the service of their false gods may shame our strait-handedness in the service of the true and living God. 2. How they mimicked God's institutions. They had their daily sacrifice at the altar of Bethel, as God had at his altar; they had their thank-offerings as God had, only they allowed leaven in them, which God had forbidden, because their priests did not like to have the bread to heavy and tasteless as it would be if it had not leaven in it, for something to ferment it. Holy bread would not serve them, unless it were pleasant bread. 3. How well pleased they were with these services themselves: This liketh you, O you children of Israel! So you love. What was their own invention they were fond of and wedded to, and thought it must be pleasing to God because it was agreeable to their own fancy. 4. How they upbraided with it: " Come to Bethel, to Gilgal; bring the sacrifices and tithes yourselves; proclaim and publish to the nation the free-offerings, pressing them to bring in abundance of such; go on in this way;"that is, (1.) "It is plain that you are resolved to do it, whatever God and conscience say to the contrary."(2.) "Your prophets shall let you alone in it, and not admonish you as they have done, for it is to no purpose. Let no man strive nor rebuke his neighbour. "(3.) "Your foolish hearts shall be more and more darkened and besotted, and you shall be quite given up to these strong delusions, to believe a lie. "(4.) "What will you get by it? Come to Bethel and multiply your sacrifices, and see what the better you will be, what returns you will have to your sacrifices, what stead they will stand you in in the day of distress. You shall be ashamed of Bethel your confidence, "Jer 48:13. (5.) " Come, and transgress, come, and multiply your transgression, that you may fill up the measure of your iniquity and be ripened for ruin."Thus Christ said to Judas, What thou doest do quickly; and to the Jews, Fill you up the measure of your fathers, Mat 23:32.

Keil-Delitzsch: Amo 3:9-10

Amos has thus vindicated his own calling, and the right of all the prophets, to announce to the people the judgments of God; and now (Amo 3:9-15) he is able to proclaim without reserve what the Lord has resolved to do upon sinful Israel. Amo 3:9. "Make it heard over the palaces in Ashdod, and over the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumult in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the heart thereof. Amo 3:10. And they know not to do the right, is the saying of Jehovah, who heap up violence and devastation in their palaces." The speaker is Jehovah (Amo 3:10), and the prophets are addressed. Jehovah summons them to send out the cry over the palaces in Ashdod and Egypt ( על as in Hos 8:1), and to call the inhabitants of these palaces to hear, (1) that they may see the acts of violence, and the abominations in the palaces of Samaria; and (2) that they may be able to bear witness against Israel (Amo 3:13). This turn in the prophecy brings out to view the overflowing excess of the sins and abominations of Israel. The call of the prophets, however, is not to be uttered upon the palaces, so as to be heard far and wide (Baur and others), but over the palaces, to cause the inhabitants of them to draw near. It is they alone, and not the whole population of Ashdod and Egypt, who are to be called nigh; because only the inhabitants of the palace could pronounce a correct sentence as to the mode of life commonly adopted in the palaces of Samaria. Ashdod, one of the Philistian capitals, is mentioned by way of example, as a chief city of the uncircumcised, who were regarded by Israel as godless heathen; and Egypt is mentioned along with it, as the nation whose unrighteousness and ungodliness had once been experienced by Israel to satiety. If therefore such heathen as these are called to behold the unrighteous and dissolute conduct to be seen in the palaces, it must have been great indeed. The mountains of Samaria are not the mountains of the kingdom of Samaria, or the mountains upon which the city of Samaria was situated - for Samaria was not built upon a plurality of mountains, but upon one only (Amo 4:1; Amo 6:1) - but the mountains round about Samaria, from which you could look into the city, built upon one isolated hill. The city, built upon the hill of Semer , was situated in a mountain caldron or basin, about two yours in diameter, which was surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains (see at 1Ki 16:24).

(Note: "As the mountains round the hill of Semer are loftier than this hill itself, the enemy might easily discover the internal state of besieged Samaria."V. de Velde, R. i. p. 282.)

M^e hūmâh , noise, tumult, denotes a state of confusion, in which everything is topsy-turvy, and all justice and order are overthrown by open violence (Maurer, Baur). ‛Ashūqı̄m , either the oppressed, or, taken as an abstract, the oppression of the poor (cf. Amo 2:6). In Amo 3:10 the description is continued in the finite verb: they do not know how to do right; that is to say, injustice has become their nature; and they who heap up sins and violence in their palaces like treasures.

Keil-Delitzsch: Amo 3:11-12

Thus do they bring about the ruin of the kingdom. Amo 3:11. "Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, An enemy, and that round about the land; and he will hurl down thy glory from thee, and thy palaces are plundered. Amo 3:12. Thus saith Jehovah, As the shepherd delivers out of the mouth of the lion two shin-bones or an ear-lappet, so will the sons of Israel deliver themselves; they who sit on the corner of the couch and on the damask of the bed." The threat is introduced in the form of an aposiopesis. צר , enemy, וּסביב הארץ , and indeed round about the land ( ו explic. as in Amo 4:10, etc.; and סביב in the construct state construed as a preposition), i.e., will come, attack the land on all sides, and take possession of it. Others regard צר as an abstract: oppression (from the Chaldee); but in this case we should have to supply Jehovah as the subject to והוריד ; and although this is probable, it is by no means natural, as Jehovah is speaking. There is no foundation, on the other hand, for the remark, that if tsar signified the enemy, we should either find the plural צרים , or הצּר with the article (Baumgarten). The very indefiniteness of tsar suits the sententious brevity of the clause. This enemy will hurl down the splendour of Samaria, "which ornaments the top of the mountain like a crown, Isa 28:1-3"(Hitzig: עז , might, with the subordinate idea of glory), and plunder the palaces in which violence, i.e., property unrighteously acquired, is heaped up (Amo 3:10). The words are addressed to the city of Samaria, to which the feminine suffixes refer. On the fall of Samaria, and the plundering thereof, the luxurious grandees, who rest upon costly pillows, will only be able to save their life to the very smallest extent, and that with great difficulty. In the simile used in Amo 3:12 there is a slight want of proportion in the two halves, the object of the deliverance being thrown into the background in the second clause by the passive construction, and only indicated in the verb, to deliver themselves, i.e., to save their life. "A pair of shin-bones and a piece ( בּדל ἁταξ λεγ. ), i.e., a lappet, of the earth,"are most insignificant remnants. The grandees of Samaria, of whom only a few were to escape with their life, are depicted by Amos as those who sit on costly divans, without the least anxiety. פּאת מטּה , the corner of the divan, the most convenient for repose. According to Amo 6:4, these divans were ornamented with ivory, and according to the verse before us, they were ornamented with costly stuffs. דּמשׂק comes from דמּשׂק , Damascus, and signifies damask , an artistically woven material (see Ges. Thes. p. 346). This brings the visitation of God to an end. Even the altars and palaces are to be laid in ruins, and consequently Samaria will be destroyed.

Keil-Delitzsch: Amo 3:13-15

This feature in the threat is brought out into peculiar prominence by a fresh introduction. Amo 3:13. "Hear ye, and testify it to the house of Jacob, is the utterance of the Lord, Jehovah, the God of hosts: Amo 3:14. That in the day when I visit the transgressions of the house of Israel upon it, I shall visit it upon the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground. Amo 3:15. And I smite the winter-house over the summer-house, and the houses of ivory perish, and many houses vanish, is the saying of Jehovah." The words "Hear ye"cannot be addressed to the Israelites, fore they could not bear witness against the house of Israel, but must either refer to the prophets, as in Amo 3:9 ("publish ye"), or to the heathen, in which case they correspond to "assemble yourselves and behold"in Amo 3:9 . The latter assumption is the only correct one, for the context does not assign a sufficient motive for an address to the prophets. On the other hand, as the heathen have been summoned to convince themselves by actual observation of the sins that prevail in Samaria, it is perfectly in keeping that they should now hear what is the punishment that God is about to inflict upon Israel in consequence, and that they should bear witness against Israel from what they have heard. העיד ב , to bear witness towards or against (not "in,"as Baur supposes). The house of Jacob is the whole of Israel, of the twelve tribes, as in Amo 3:1; for Judah was also to learn a lesson from the destruction of Samaria. As the appeal to the heathen to bear witness against Israel indicates the greatness of the sins of the Israelites, so, on the other hand, does the accumulation of the names of God in Amo 3:13 serve to strengthen the declaration made by the Lord, who possesses as God of hosts the power to execute His threats. כּי introduces the substance of what is to be heard. The punishment of the sins of Israel is to extend even to the altars of Bethel, the seat of the idolatrous image-worship, the hearth and home of the religious and moral corruption of the ten tribes. The smiting off of the horns of the altar is the destruction of the altars themselves, the significance of which culminated in the horns (see at Exo 27:2). The singular hammizbēăch ( the altar ) preceded by a plural is the singular of species (cf. Ges. §108, 1), and does not refer to any particular one - say, for example, to the principal altar. The destruction of the palaces and houses (Amo 3:15) takes place in the capital. In the reference to the winter-house and summer-house, we have to think primarily of the royal palace (cf. Jer 36:22); at the same time, wealthy noblemen may also have had them. על , lit., over, so that the ruins of one house fall upon the top of another; then "together with,"as in Gen 32:12. בּתּי שׁן , ivory houses, houses the rooms of which are decorated by inlaid ivory. Ahab had a palace of this kind (1Ki 22:39, compare Psa 45:9). בּתּים רבּים , not the large houses, but many houses; for the description is rounded off with these words. Along with the palaces, many houses will also fall to the ground. The fulfilment took place when Samaria was taken by Shalmanezer (2Ki 17:5-6).

Keil-Delitzsch: Amo 4:1-3

"Hear this word, ye cows of Bashan, that are upon the mountain of Samaria, that oppress there the humble and crush the poor, that say to their lords, Bring hither, that we may drink. Amo 4:2. The Lord Jehovah hath sworn by His holiness: behold, days come upon you, that they drag you away with hooks, and your last one with fish-hooks. Amo 4:3. And ye will go out through breaches in the wall, every one before him, and be cast away to Harmon, is the saying of Jehovah." The commencement of this chapter is closely connected, so far as the contents are concerned, with the chapter immediately preceding. The prophet having there predicted, that when the kingdom was conquered by its enemies, the voluptuous grandees would perish, with the exception of a very few who would hardly succeed in saving their lives, turns now to the voluptuous women of Samaria, to predict in their case a shameful transportation into exile. The introduction, "Hear this word,"does not point therefore to a new prophecy, but simply to a fresh stage in the prophecy, so that we cannot even agree with Ewald in taking Amo 4:1-3 as the conclusion of the previous prophecy (Amo 3:1-15). The cows of Bashan are well-fed, fat cows, βόες εὔτροφοι , vaccae pingues (Symm., Jer.), as Bashan had fat pastures, and for that reason the tribes that were richest in flocks and herds had asked for it as their inheritance (Numbers 32). The fuller definitions which follow show very clearly that by the cows of Bashan, Amos meant the rich, voluptuous, and violent inhabitants of Samaria. It is doubtful, however, whether he meant the rich and wanton wives of the great, as most of the modern commentators follow Theodor., Theodoret, and others, in assuming; or "the rulers of Israel, and all the leading men of the ten tribes, who spent their time in pleasure and robbery"(Jerome); or "those rich, luxurious, and lascivious inhabitants of the palace of whom he had spoken in Amo 3:9-10"(Maurer), as the Chald., Luther, Calvin, and others suppose, and whom he calls cows, not oxen, to denote their effeminacy and their unbridled licentiousness. In support of the latter opinion we might adduce not only Hos 10:11, where Ephraim is compared to a young heifer, but also the circumstance that from Amo 3:4 onwards the prophecy refers to the Israelites as a whole. But neither of these arguments proves very much. The simile in Hos 10:11 applies to Ephraim as a kingdom of people, and the natural personification as a woman prepares the way for the comparison to an ‛eglâh ; whereas voluptuous and tyrannical grandees would be more likely to be compared to the bulls of Bashan (Psa 22:13). And so, again, the transition in Hos 10:4 to the Israelites as a whole furnishes no help in determining more precisely who are addressed in Hos 10:1-3. By the cows of Bashan, therefore, we understand the voluptuous women of Samaria, after the analogy of Isa 3:16. and Isa 32:9-13, more especially because it is only by forcing the last clause of Isa 32:1 that it can be understood as referring to men. שׁמעוּ for שׁמענה , because the verb stands first (compare Isa 32:11). The mountain of Samaria is mentioned in the place of the city built upon the mountain (see at Amo 3:9). The sin of these women consisted in the tyrannical oppression of the poor, whilst they asked their lords, i.e., their husbands, to procure them the means of debauchery. For עשׁק and רצץ , compare Deu 28:33 and 1Sa 12:3-4, where the two words are already connected. הביאה stands in the singular, because every wife speaks in this way to her husband.

The announcement of the punishment for such conduct is introduced with a solemn oath, to make an impression, if possible, upon the hardened hearts. Jehovah swears by His holiness, i.e., as the Holy One, who cannot tolerate unrighteousness. כּי (for) before הנּה introduces the oath. Hitzig takes ונשּׂא as a niphal , as in the similar formula in 2Ki 20:17; but he takes it as a passive used impersonally with an accusative, after Gen 35:26 and other passages (though not Exo 13:7). But as נשּׂא unquestionably occurs as a piel in 1Ki 9:11, it is more natural to take the same form as a piel in this instance also, and whilst interpreting it impersonally, to think of the enemy as understood. Tsinnōth = tsinnı̄m , Pro 22:5; Job 5:5, צנּה = צּן , thorns, hence hooks; so also sı̄rōth = sı̄rı̄m , thorns, Isa 34:13; Hos 2:8. Dūgâh , fishery; hence sı̄rōth dūgâh , fish-hooks. 'Achărı̄th does not mean posterity, or the young brood that has grown up under the instruction and example of the parents (Hitzig), but simply "the end ,"the opposite of rē'shı̄th , the beginning. It is "end,"however, in different senses. Here it signifies the remnant (Chaldee), i.e., those who remain and are not dragged away with tsinnōth ; so that the thought expressed is "all, even to the very last"(compare Hengstenberg, Christology , i. p. 368). אחריתכן has a feminine suffix, whereas masculine suffixes were used before ( אתכם , עליכם ); the universal gender, out of which the feminine was first formed. The figure is not taken from animals, into whose noses hooks and rings are inserted to tame them, or from large fishes that are let down into the water again by nose-hooks; for the technical terms applied to these hooks are חח , חוח , and חכּה (cf. Eze 29:4; Job 41:1-2); but from the catching of fishes, that are drawn out of the fish-pond with hooks. Thus shall the voluptuous, wanton women be violently torn away or carried off from the midst of the superfluity and debauchery in which they lived as in their proper element. פּרצים תּצאנה , to go out of rents in the wall, יצא being construed, as it frequently is, with the accusative of the place; we should say, "though rents in the wall,"i.e., through breaches made in the wall at the taking of the city, not out at the gates, because they had been destroyed or choked up with rubbish at the storming of the city. "Every one before her,"i.e., without looking round to the right or to the left (cf. Jos 6:5, Jos 6:20). The words והשּׁלכתּנה ההרמונה are difficult, on account of the ἁπ. λεγ. ההרמונה , and have not yet been satisfactorily explained. The form השׁלכתּנה for השׁלכתּן is probably chosen simply for the purpose of obtaining a resemblance in sound to תּצאנה , and is sustained by אתּנה for אתּן in Gen 31:6 and Eze 13:11. השׁליך is applied to thrusting into exile, as in Deu 29:27.

The ἁπ. λεγ. ההרמונה with ה htiw loc. appears to indicate the place to which they were to be carried away or cast out. But the hiphil השׁלכתּנה does not suit this, and consequently nearly all the earlier translators have rendered it as a passive, ἀποῤῥι-φήσεσθε (lxx), projiciemini (Jerome); so also the Syr. and Chald. ויגלון יתהון , "men will carry them away captive."One Hebrew codex actually gives the hophal . And to this reading we must adhere; for the hiphil furnishes no sense at all, since the intransitive or reflective meaning, to plunge, or cast one's self, cannot be sustained, and is not supported at all by the passages quoted by Hitzig, viz., 2Ki 10:25 and Job 27:22; and still less does haharmōnâh denote the object cast away by the women when they go into captivity.

(Note: The Masoretic pointing probably originated in the idea that harmōnâh , corresponding to the talmudic harmânâ' , signifies royal power or dominion, and so Rashi interprets it: "ye will cast away the authority, i.e., the almost regal authority, or that pride and arrogance with which you bear yourselves to-day"(Ros.). This explanation would be admissible, if it were not that the use of a word which never occurs again in the old Hebrew for a thing so frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, rendered it very improbable. At any rate, it is more admissible than the different conjectures of the most recent commentators. Thus Hitzig, for example ( Comm . ed. 3), would resolve haharmōnâh into hâhâr and mōnâh = m^e ōnâh ("and ye will plunge headlong to the mountain as a place of refuge"). The objections to this are, (1) that hishlı̄kh does not mean to plunge headlong; (2) the improbability of m^e ōnâh being contracted into mōnâh , when Amos has m^e ōnâh in Amo 3:4; and lastly, the fact that m^e ōnâh means simply a dwelling, not a place of refuge. Ewald would read hâhâr rimmōnâh after the lxx, and renders it, "ye will cast Rimmonah to the mountain,"understanding by Rimmonah a female deity of the Syrians. But antiquity knows nothing of any such female deity; and from the reference to a deity called Rimmon in 2Ki 5:18, you cannot possibly infer the existence of a goddess Rimmonah . The explanation given by Schlottmann ( Hiob , p. 132) and Paul Bötticher ( Rudimenta mythologiae semit. 1848, p. 10) - namely, that harmōnâh as the Phoenician goddess Chusarthis , called by the Greeks Ἁρμονία - is still more untenable, since Ἁρμονία is no more derived from the talmudic harmân than this is from the Sanscrit pramāna (Bötticher, l.c. p. 40); on the contrary, harmân signifies loftiness, from the Semitic root הרם , to be high, and it cannot be shown that there was a goddess called Harman or Harmonia in the Phoenician worship. Lastly, the fanciful idea of Bötticher, that harmōnâh is contracted from hâhar rimmōnâh , and that the meaning is, "and then ye throw, i.e., remove, the mountain (your Samaria) to Rimmon, that ancient place of refuge for expelled tribes"(Jdg 20:45.), needs no refutation.)

The literal meaning of harmōnâh or harmōn still remains uncertain. According to the etymology of הרם , to be high, it apparently denotes a high land: at the same time, it can neither be taken as an appellative, as Hesselberg and Maurer suppose, "the high land;"nor in the sense of 'armōn , a citadel or palace, as Kimchi and Gesenius maintain. The former interpretation is open to the objection, that we cannot possibly imagine why Amos should have formed a word of his own, and one which never occurs again in the Hebrew language, to express the simple idea of a mountain or high land; and the second to this objection, that "the citadel"would require something to designate it as a citadel or fortress in the land of the enemy. The unusual word certainly points to the name of a land or district, though we have no means of determining it more precisely.

(Note: Even the early translators have simply rendered haharmōnâh according to the most uncertain conjectures. Thus lxx, εἰς τὸὄρος τὸ Ῥομμάν ( al. Ῥεμμάν ); Aq., mons Armona ; Theod., mons Mona ; the Quinta: excelsus mons (according to Jerome); and Theodoret attributes to Theodot. ὑψηλὸν ὄρος . The Chaldee paraphrases it thus: להלאה מן טוּרי הרמיני , "far beyond the mountains of Armenia."Symmachus also had Armenia , according to the statement of Theodoret and Jerome. But this explanation is probably merely an inference drawn from 2Ki 17:23, and cannot be justified, as Bochart supposes, on the ground that mōnâh or mōn is identical with minnı̄ .)

Constable: Amo 1:3--7:1

II. Prophetic messages that Amos delivered 1:3--6:14

The Book of Amos consists of words (oracles, 1:3-6:14) and visions (chs. 7-9), though these sections also contain short sub-sections of other types of material.

Constable: Amo 3:1--6:14

B. Messages of Judgment against Israel chs. 3-6

After announcing that God would judge Israel, Amos delivered five messages in which he explained more fully why God would judge the Northern Kingdom. Appeals for repentance and explanations of how to avoid judgment appear within these messages. The first three begin with the word, "Hear" (3:1; 4:1; 5:1; cf. Prov. 8:32), and the last two begin "Alas" (5:18) and "Woe" (6:1), both translations of the Hebrew word hoy.

Constable: Amo 3:1-15

1. The first message on sins against God and man ch. 3

Amos' first message explained that God would judge His people because they had oppressed others in spite of their uniquely privileged relationship with Yahweh. The prophet addressed this message initially to both Israel and Judah (vv. 1-2), but he focused it mainly on Israel (vv. 9, 12).

Constable: Amo 3:9-10

Israel's unparalleled oppression from God 3:9-10

3:9 Amos called for announcements to be made to the large buildings (i.e., to the people living in them) of Ashdod in Philistia and to those in Egypt.³⁹ Amos may have chosen these nations because they had previously oppressed the Israelites. People who lived in citadels were the wealthy and the leaders of those areas.⁴⁰ They should come and stand on the mountains surrounding Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom. There they would witness great tumults, not the peace and order that should have prevailed, and oppressions within Samaria. The Israelites were assaulting and robbing one another; the rich were taking advantage of the poor.

3:10 Yahweh announced that the Israelites had plundered, looted, and terrorized each other so long that they no longer knew how to do right (Heb. nekohah, straightness). The Israelites were different from their aggressors because they plundered and looted their own fortresses rather than those of a foreign enemy. It was as though the Israelites hoarded up violence and devastation as others, and they, did material wealth. Now the wealthy foreigners, infamous for their own similar sins, would see that the Israelites behaved even worse in their citadels.

Constable: Amo 3:11-15

Israel's coming catastrophe from Yahweh 3:11-15

Amos' announcement of Israel's coming judgment came in three waves (vv. 11, 12, and 13-15).

3:11 Sovereign Yahweh announced that an enemy that would surround the land of Israel would destroy and loot its impressive fortresses. That enemy proved to be Assyria, which besieged and destroyed Samaria and overran all Israel in 722 B.C.

3:12 Yahweh also predicted that only a small remnant of the people would survive. The situation would be similar to when a shepherd snatched a remaining fragment of a sheep, a couple of leg bones or a small piece of an ear, from the mouth of an attacking wild animal. It would be like when someone stole everything in a house and the owner could only hold onto a piece of his bed or a bedspread. Similarly an overpowering enemy would steal away the people of Samaria, and only a few would escape.

The figure of a shepherd represented Yahweh in Israel's literature (e.g., Ps. 23:1; et al.). The people would have seen Him as the one who would rescue the remnant as well as the one who would allow the enemy to overpower them.

3:13 Sovereign Yahweh almighty, the suzerain warrior who led the most vast and powerful of all armies, urged Amos to hear His word and to bear testimony against the house of Jacob. The reference to Jacob recalls the devious nature of this ancestor whose character the present generation of Israelites manifested. It also recalls God's gracious promises to Jacob. The Israelites, as bad as they were, were God's people, not just the people of King Jeroboam.

3:14 God now promised to destroy the pagan altars that Jeroboam I had erected at Bethel at the same time He destroyed the people of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-30). This altar, and the one in Dan, had taken the place of the one in Jerusalem for most of the Israelites. The one in Bethel was the most popular religious center in Israel. There the Israelites practiced apostate worship. The horns of this altar, symbolic of the strength of its deity, would be cut off and would fall to the ground showing its impotence. The horns of an altar were also places of asylum in the ancient Near East (1 Kings 1:50), so their cutting off pictures no asylum for the Israelites when God's judgment came.

3:15 God also promised to destroy the Israelites' winter and summer homes. The fact that many Israelite families could afford two houses and yet were oppressing their poorer brethren proved that they lived in selfish luxury. They had embellished their great houses with expensive ivory decorations (cf. 1 Kings. 21:1, 18; 22:39; Ps. 45:8). The two great sins of the Israelites, false religion (v. 14) and misuse of wealth and power (v. 15), would be the objects of God's judgment.

"The enduring principle here is that God will destroy elaborate altars, expensive houses, and other accoutrements of an extravagant lifestyle when these items are acquired through oppression, fraud, and strong-arm tactics. The idolatry of the people led to their opulent lifestyles. Life apart from God may yield temporary material gain, but it will surely result in eternal loss."⁴¹

Constable: Amo 4:1-13

2. The second message on women, worship, and stubbornness ch. 4

This message consists of seven prophetic announcements each of which concludes, "declares the LORD" (vv. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11). Verse 12 is a final conclusion and verse 13 a doxology.

Constable: Amo 4:1-3

Economic exploitation 4:1-3

4:1 Amos opened this second message as he did the first (ch. 3), with the cry, "Hear this word." He addressed the wealthy women of Samaria, calling them "cows of Bashan." Bashan was a very luxuriant region of Transjordan east and northeast of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) where cattle had plenty to eat and grew fat (cf. Ps. 22:12; Jer. 50:19; Ezek. 39:18; Mic. 7:14). These women, along with their men, were oppressing (threatening) the poor and crushing (harassing) the needy. They were even ordering their husbands to wait on them and bring them drinks. The Hebrew word adonim, translated "husbands," means "lords" or "masters." By using it Amos was stressing the role reversal that existed. The picture is of spoiled, lazy women ordering their husbands to provide them with luxuries that the men had to oppress the poor to obtain.

4:2-3 Sovereign Yahweh had not just said what He would do, but He had sworn that He would do it. When God swore He provided an external guarantee, in addition to His word, that He would indeed do something (cf. Isa. 62:8; Jer. 44:26; Heb. 6:16). He made this solemn declaration in harmony with His holiness. As surely as God is separate from humankind and cannot tolerate sin, these women would surely suffer His judgment one day.

An enemy would cart them off as butchers carry beef with large meat hooks and as fishermen carry fish with hooks. This description may imply that the enemy would tie them in lines with ropes and lead them away since this is how fishermen strung their fish on lines. Carved reliefs that archaeologists have found show Assyrians leading people by a rope attached to a ring in the jaw or lip of their captives. Alternatively it may mean that their dead bodies would be disposed of as so much meat.⁴² The enemy would carry the bodies of these women (living or dead) off through breaches in Samaria's walls. The women would be carried off without any complications; each one would go straight ahead to captivity or to burial through any one of the many passageways made through the broken walls.

The enemy would take them to Harmon, perhaps an alternative spelling of Mt. Hermon.⁴³ Mt. Hermon was to the north of Bashan, so these cows of Bashan would end up near Bashan. This is, in fact, the direction the Assyrians took the Israelite captives as they deported them to Assyria.

"Those who oppress the poor and crush the needy in order to support an extravagant lifestyle can expect God's harsh judgment to fall upon them."⁴⁴

Guzik: Amo 3:1-15

Amos 3 - The Logic of God's Judgment

A. The logic of God's judgment.

1. (1-2) God's love and care for Israel makes their judgment unavoidable.

Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."

a. Against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt: Israel's rejection and disregard of God is all the more inexcusable in light of God's great deliverance. In His bringing Israel up from the land of Egypt, God proved His love and care for Israel; for God to speak against them shows He must have been sorely provoked.

i. The central act of redemption in the Old Testament is Israel's exodus from Egypt. All through the Old Testament, God calls Israel to look back and remember Him as the one who freed them from Egypt. The central act of redemption in the New Testament - and in God's whole plan of redemption - is the work of Jesus on the cross. In the same way, we are called to constantly look back and remember what Jesus did on the cross and to live in light of that great fact.

b. You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities: God makes a clear connection between the great privilege of Israel (you only have I known) and the great responsibility this privilege brings (therefore I will punish you). If Israel thought that their standing as a specially chosen nation made them less responsible before God, they were tragically mistaken.

i. "The false deduction which is too often made is that if we are the privileged people of God, therefore we may look for His mercy, He will not punish us. That is not so. The measure of our privilege, in the Divine economy, is the measure of our responsibility. Therefore if we fail to fulfill that responsibility He will not pass over our sins, but rather will visit upon us all our iniquities. It is well that those nations who boast of the Divine favour, should lay this lesson to heart." (Morgan)

2. (3-6) The inescapable logic of God's judgment.

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?

a. Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? In this section, Amos connects six statements that are obvious true. In our manner of speaking he might have said, "Is the Pope Catholic?"

b. If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? The six statements of the obvious lead into a seventh statement, each one reinforcing this final point. When judgment comes against the cities of Israel, everyone should know that it was the LORD who has done it. It won't be an accident, fate, or "bad luck." It will be the hand of the LORD.

3. (7-8) The inevitable message of the prophet.

Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

a. Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret: In context, Amos speaks of the coming judgment upon Israel. God revealed this secret to His prophets, and it was prophesied for years and years before it happened so Israel would have every opportunity to repent.

i. God especially reveals the secrets of His coming judgment, so that men will have time to repent and no reason to be surprised. "Such secrets of God are revealed to them, that they may inform the people; that, by repentance and conversion, they may avoid the evil, and, by walking closely with God, secure the continuance of his favour." (Clarke)

ii. We must remember the context of the prophet Amos, and understand that this does not mean that God does nothing without revealing it to a prophet first. In Ephesians 3:5 Paul describes how God deliberately hid the nature of the church (being a new body, not Israel and not Gentile) from Old Testament prophets. This is one example of something that God didn't announce or explain until it happened, without giving a prior revelation to a prophet.

b. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Amos is saying, "Don't blame me. I'm only the messenger." As natural as it is for a man to fear when a lion roars, that is how natural it is for the prophet to prophesy when the Lord GOD has spoken.

4. (9-10) The message of judgment against Israel goes to the surrounding nations.

"Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: 'Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see great tumults in her midst, and the oppressed within her. For they do not know to do right,' Says the LORD, 'Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.'"

a. Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt: The city of Ashdod was a leading city of the Philistines. God invites the nations - represented here by Philista and Egypt - to come to Samaria (the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel) and see their sin (great tumults in her midst, and the oppressed within her).

i. Hubbard on the choice of the Egyptians and Philistines as witnesses: "Their reputations for injustice and brutality would be resented by the Israelites, who would consider themselves in every way morally superior to those whom God had summoned as witnesses." It will also "show that covenant law is not the only criterion for testing Israel's behaviour but that by any standards of international decency they have become culprits."

b. Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces: The rich and powerful of Israel used their wealth and power to oppress and steal from others. God invites the nations to see the sin of Israel, so they can understand the judgment He will bring upon Israel.

B. The destruction God's judgment brings.

1. (11-12) Israel will be conquered and exiled.

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary shall be all around the land; he shall sap your strength from you, and your palaces shall be plundered." Thus says the LORD: "As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria; in the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!"

a. An adversary shall be all around the land: This was fulfilled in the Assyrian invasion of Israel, less than 30 years after Amos made this prophecy. For ten years, Israel was a subject state in the Assyrian Empire.

b. As a shepherd takes from the mouth of the lion: Exodus 22:10-13 says that if an animal dies in the care of another man - such as a shepherd - that the shepherd must make restitution to the owner of the animal, unless he can bring remains that demonstrate the animal was attacked by a predator. "Amos' comparison, then, makes the sarcastic point that when invasion strikes Israel's devastation will be so complete that all that will be rescued is proof of death in the form of scraps of furniture." (Hubbard)

c. So shall the children of Israel be taken out who dwell in Samaria: This was fulfilled in the Assyrian exile of Israel, less than 40 years after Amos made this prophecy. After a little more than ten years as a subject state in the Assyrian Empire, Israel was completely conquered by Assyria and the people of Israel were taken from their land and scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire.

2. (13-15) Judgment on wicked places.

"Hear and testify against the house of Jacob," says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, "That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end," says the LORD.

a. I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground: The altars of dedication to idols would be destroyed by God's judgment. When we build a place of idolatry, we invite God to destroy it. The horns of the altar at each corner and were thought to represent the "strength" of the altar, just as horns represent the "strength" of an animal.

b. The great houses shall have an end: God's judgment would not stop at places of idol worship; it would also extend to places built and enjoyed through oppression and robbery.

i. In the age prior to Jeroboam II, the houses in Israel's cities were roughly the same size. But archaeologists find a change starting in the eighth century B.C. - ancient cities like Tirzah have a neighborhood of large, expensive houses and another neighborhood of small, crowded structures, smaller than the houses from previous years. The larger houses are filled with the marks of prosperity, and the oppressive rich of Israel thought they could find safety there - but God's judgment came against those houses as well, just as Amos promised.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Guzik: Amo 4:1-13

Amos 4 - "Yet You Have Not Returned to Me"

A. The sinful women of Israel.

1. (1) Amos describes the indulgent women of Israel.

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, "Bring wine, let us drink!"

a. You cows of Bashan: Amos wasn't trained as a prophet, he was a simple herdsman and farmer. When he wanted to get the point across to the indulgent women of Israel, he called them fat cows. The livestock of Bashan - in the northern part of Israel, the modern-day Golan Heights - was known for being fat and healthy.

i. Psalm 22:12 mentions the strong bulls of Bashan; Ezekiel 39:18 mentions the large livestock, the fatlings of Bashan. It's no exaggeration to say that Amos calls these women "fat cows." Though it is true that the very skinny ideal of female beauty is a modern phenomenon and especially in ancient times plumpness was a valued sign of affluence, we can count on it that at no time in human history has a woman appreciated being called a fat cow.

ii. "The sarcastic epithet cows of Bashan seems to refer both to the luxury that the wealthy women enjoyed and to a certain voluptuousness and sensuality which their extravagant life-style afforded them." (Hubbard)

iii. "The prophet here represents the iniquitous, opulent, idle, lazy drones, whether men or women, under the idea of fatted bullocks, which were shortly to be led out to the slaughter." (Clarke)

b. Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy: It wasn't that these women were plump and affluent, it was that they gained their wealth and affluence by oppressing and crushing the less fortunate. God saw this and promised to hold them to account.

i. "These women may not have been directly involved in mistreating the poor. But their incessant demands for luxuries drove their husbands to greater injustices." (McComiskey)

ii. "David complains of the strong bulls of Bashan (Psalm 22:12), but those he might better deal with than these cursed cows of Bashan." (Trapp)

c. Who say to your husbands, "Bring wine, let us drink!" It wasn't that these women were plump and affluent, it was that they used their affluence in the pure, self-focused pursuit of pleasure. God saw this and promised to hold them to account.

2. (2-3) God's promise of judgment against the women of Israel.

The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: "Behold, the days shall come upon you when He will take you away with fishhooks, and your posterity with fishhooks. You will go out through broken walls, each one straight ahead of her, and you will be cast into Harmon," Says the LORD.

a. The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: This is an exceedingly solemn and sure oath. "When he swore by his holiness in Amos 4:2, he guaranteed that the judgment would become a reality, because the holy God does not lie, nor can his holiness allow sin to go unpunished." (McComiskey)

b. He will take you away with fishhooks: God tells unrepentant Israel of their coming agony when they are conquered and exiled by the Assyrians. When the Assyrians depopulated and exiled a conquered community, they led the captives away on journeys of hundreds of miles, with the captives naked and attached together with a system of strings and fishhooks pierced through their lower lip. God would make sure they were led in this humiliating manner through the broken walls of their conquered cities. This would thoroughly humble the fat cows of Israel.

B. God's answer to Israel's vain sacrifices.

1. (4-5) The vain sacrifices of Israel.

"Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; for this you love, you children of Israel!" says the Lord GOD.

a. Come to Bethel and transgress: Because the kings of Israel did not want their people to go to the southern kingdom of Judah and sacrifice at Jerusalem, they set up rival centers of worship in cities like Bethel and Gilgal. The offered sacrifices - supposedly to the Lord - at these places, but because the offering wasn't made in obedience to God, it was only a transgression.

i. Your tithes every three days: There was a tithe that was to be brought every three years (Deuteronomy 14:28). Amos says, even if you were to bring your tithes every three days it would not matter, because it is all just outward show.

b. Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven: Only one offering in Israel included leaven, the wave offering made on the Day of Pentecost. Here the prophet either refers to this one offering, or to mock their corrupt sacrifices, he suggests they bring an offering polluted by leaven.

c. For this you love: The children of Israel loved their corrupted worship. It was disobedient both in heart and action, but they loved it. It's always wrong to measure worship by how it pleases us, because it is possible for corrupt and disobedient worship to be "wonderfully" pleasing.

i. Of course, we don't want to get into the thinking that worship must "hurt" or be "dour" to be holy and acceptable. That isn't the point. The point is that we don't first measure worship by how it makes us feel, we measure it by how it honors God.

2. (6-8) God withholds rain from idolatrous Israel.

"Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD. "I also withheld rain from you, when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied; yet you have not returned to Me," says the LORD."

a. I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities: Because Israel seems have enjoyed financial prosperity when Amos preached, this is probably set in the "prophetic present" - future events spoken of in the present tense. God will so humble prosperous Israel that their clean teeth won't be made "dirty" by food, because there will be no food to eat in the drought God will send.

b. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city: God made the provision of rain so specific, they would know it was from His hand. Yet the message did not get through to them.

i. "To prove to them that this rain did not come fortuitously or of necessity, God was pleased to make these most evident distinctions. One city had rain, and could fill all its tanks or cisterns, while a neighbouring city had none . . . in these instances a particular providence was most evident." (Clarke)

c. Yet you have not returned to Me: This is the greatest tragedy. Anyone can stumble into sin and feel the correcting hand of God, but we are in far greater trouble when we feel God's correction and still will not return to Him.

3. (9-11) Further judgment on idolatrous Israel.

"I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees, the locust devoured them; yet you have not returned to Me," says the LORD. "I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; your young men I killed with a sword, along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; yet you have not returned to Me," says the LORD. "I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me," says the LORD.

a. I blasted you . . . the locust devoured . . . I sent among you a plague . . . I made the stench of your camps come up: Because Israel would not listen to the chastisement of the Lord, His hand grew more and more heavy upon them.

i. This wasn't a demonstration of God's anger, but of His love. He starts His chastisement slow and increases it incrementally, so that He can use the smallest amount of discipline necessary to turn our hearts back to Him. If we will not turn back the hand of chastisement grows heavier and heavier, out of loving desire to see our repentance.

ii. "Blight is the work of the east wind that dries and scorches the grain prematurely so that it turns brown. Mildew is the product of parasitic worms which turn pale the tips of green grain." (Hubbard)

b. You were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to Me: God sees Israel as a glowing ember plucked from the fires of judgment, like the same judgment that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah. Even though God spared them, they did not respond in gratitude - they have not returned to God.

4. (12-13) God vows to perform what He has promised.

"Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth; the LORD God of hosts is His name.

a. Prepare to meet your God: This is a sober warning, appropriate for all men at all times, because we never know when we will meet our God in eternity. Because we don't know when, we must always be prepared to meet our God - but this is especially true for those facing the judgment of God.

i. We can apply this text in three ways:

· Prepare to meet your God as a challenge

· Prepare to meet your God as an invitation

· Prepare to meet your God as a summons

ii. As a challenge, God invites His enemies to prepare to meet Him. A boxer prepares long and hard before stepping into the ring against a champion. If you are going to step into the ring with God, you had better prepare! "The prophet may be understood as in irony challenging the proud rebels to meet in arms the God whom they have despised. Let them prepare to fight it out with him whom they have made to be their enemy, and against whose laws they have so continually revolted." (Spurgeon)

iii. As an invitation, this is a blessing. The summons, "Prepare to meet your God" was nothing but a blessing to Adam. Ever since the fall it is our nature to hide from God, so the call "Prepare to meet your God" has a different sense entirely. Still, if we will come to God we must prepare ourselves.

iv. As a summons, we recognize that one day all will stand before God and give account. "Think awhile upon who it is that you have to meet! You must meet, your God - your God! That is, offended justice you must meet whose laws you have broken, whose penalties you have ridiculed; justice righteously indignant with its sword drawn you must confront. You must meet your God; that is, you must be examined, by unblinded omniscience. He who has seen your heart, and read your thoughts, and jotted down your affections, and remembered your idle words, you must meet him; and infinite discernment you must meet; those eyes that never yet were duped; the God who will see through the veils of hypocrisy and all the concealments of formality. There will be no making yourself out to be better than you are before him." (Spurgeon)

b. The LORD God of hosts is His name: God emphasizes the point by emphasizing Whom makes the point, a God we should never trifle with.

· He is the God of all creation (He who forms mountains, and creates the wind)

· He is the God who is absolutely sovereign over man (who declares to man what his thought is)

· He is the God with all power over nature (and makes the morning darkness)

· He is the God who rules above all (who treads the high places of the earth)

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Amos (Book Introduction)

AMOS (meaning in Hebrew "a burden") was (Amo 1:1) a shepherd of Tekoa, a small town of Judah, six miles southeast from Beth-lehem, and twelve from Jerusalem, on the borders of the great desert (2Ch 20:20; compare 2Ch 11:6). The region being sandy was more fit for pastoral than for agricultural purposes. Amos therefore owned and tended flocks, and collected sycamore figs; not that the former was a menial office, kings themselves, as Mesha of Moab (2Ki 3:4), exercising it. Amos, however (from Amo 7:14-15), seems to have been of humble rank.

Though belonging to Judah, he was commissioned by God to exercise his prophetical function in Israel; as the latter kingdom abounded in impostors, and the prophets of God generally fled to Judah through fear of the kings of Israel, a true prophet from Judah was the more needed in it. His name is not to be confounded with that of Isaiah's father, Amoz.

The time of his prophesying was in the reigns of Uzziah king of Judea, and Jeroboam II, son of Joash, king of Israel (Amo 1:1), that is, in part of the time in which the two kings were contemporary; probably in Jeroboam's latter years, after that monarch had recovered from Syria "the coast of Israel from the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain" (2Ki 14:25-27); for Amos foretells that these same coasts, "from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of the wilderness," should be the scene of Israel's being afflicted (Amo 6:14); also his references to the state of luxurious security then existing (Amo 6:1, Amo 6:4, Amo 6:13), and to the speedy termination of it by the Assyrian foe (Amo 1:5; Amo 3:12, Amo 3:15; Amo 5:27; Amo 8:2), point to the latter part of Jeroboam's reign, which terminated in 784 B.C., the twenty-seventh year of Uzziah's reign, which continued down to 759 B.C. He was contemporary with Hosea, only that the latter continued to prophesy in reigns subsequent to Uzziah (Hos 1:1); whereas Amos ceased to prophesy in the reign of that monarch. The scene of his ministry was Beth-el, where the idol calves were set up (Amo 7:10-13). There his prophecies roused Amaziah, the idol priest, to accuse him of conspiracy and to try to drive him back to Judah.

The first six chapters are without figure; the last three symbolical, but with the explanation subjoined. He first denounces the neighboring peoples, then the Jews, then Israel (from the third chapter to the end), closing with the promise or restoration under Messiah (Amo 9:11-15). His style is thought by JEROME to betray his humble origin; but though not sublime, it is regular, perspicuous, and energetic; his images are taken from the scenes in nature with which he was familiar; his rhythms are flowing, his parallelisms exact, and his descriptions minute and graphic. Some peculiar expressions occur: "cleanness of teeth," that is, want of bread (Amo 4:6); "the excellency of Jacob" (Amo 6:8; Amo 8:7); "the high places of Isaac" (Amo 7:9); "the house of Isaac" (Amo 7:16); "he that createth the wind" (Amo 4:13).

HENGSTENBERG draws an able argument for the genuineness of the Mosaic records from the evidence in Amos, that the existing institutions in Israel as well as Judah (excepting the calves of Jeroboam), were framed according to the Pentateuch rules.

Two quotations from Amos occur in the New Testament (compare Act 7:42-43, with Amo 5:25-26; and Act 15:16-17, with Amo 9:11).

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.

JFB: Amos (Outline)

• GOD'S JUDGMENTS ON SYRIA, PHILISTIA, TYRE, EDOM, AND AMMON. (Amo 1:1-15)
• CHARGES AGAINST MOAB, JUDAH, AND LASTLY ISRAEL, THE CHIEF SUBJECT OF AMOS' PROPHECIES. (Amos 2:1-16)
• GOD'S EXTRAORDINARY LOVE, BEING REPAID BY ISRAEL WITH INGRATITUDE, OF NECESSITY CALLS FOR JUDGMENTS, WHICH THE PROPHETS ANNOUNCE, NOT AT RANDOM, BUT BY GOD'S COMMISSION, WHICH THEY CANNOT BUT FULFIL. THE OPPRESSION PREVALENT IN ISRAEL WILL BRING DOWN RUIN ON ALL SAVE A SMALL REMNANT. (Amo 3:1-15)
• DENUNCIATION OF ISRAEL'S NOBLES FOR OPPRESSION; AND OF THE WHOLE NATION FOR IDOLATRY; AND FOR THEIR BEING UNREFORMED EVEN BY GOD'S JUDGMENTS: THEREFORE THEY MUST PREPARE FOR THE LAST AND WORST JUDGMENT OF ALL. (Amo 4:1-13)
• ELEGY OVER THE PROSTRATE KINGDOM: RENEWED EXHORTATIONS TO REPENTANCE: GOD DECLARES THAT THE COMING DAY OF JUDGMENT SHALL BE TERRIBLE TO THE SCORNERS WHO DESPISE IT: CEREMONIAL SERVICES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE TO HIM WHERE TRUE PIETY EXISTS NOT: ISRAEL SHALL THEREFORE BE REMOVED FAR EASTWARD. (Amos 5:1-27)
• DENUNCIATION OF BOTH THE SISTER NATIONS (ESPECIALLY THEIR NOBLES) FOR WANTON SECURITY--ZION, AS WELL AS SAMARIA: THREAT OF THE EXILE: RUIN OF THEIR PALACES AND SLAUGHTER OF THE PEOPLE: THEIR PERVERSE INJUSTICE. (Amo 6:1-14)
• AMAZIAH'S CHARGE AGAINST AMOS: HIS DOOM FORETOLD. (Amo 7:10-17)
• VISION OF A BASKET OF SUMMER FRUIT SYMBOLICAL 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. (Amo 8:1-14)
• FIFTH AND LAST VISION. (Amo 9:1-15) None can escape the coming judgment in any hiding-place: for God is omnipresent and irresistible (Amo 9:1-6). As a kingdom, Israel shall perish as if it never was in covenant with Him: but as individuals the house of Jacob shall not utterly perish, nay, not one of the least of the righteous shall fall, but only all the sinners (Amo 9:7-10). Restoration of the Jews finally to their own land after the re-establishment of the fallen tabernacle of David; consequent conversion of all the heathen (Amo 9:11-15).

TSK: Amos 3 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Amo 3:1, The necessity of God’s judgment against Israel; Amo 3:9, The publication of it, with the causes thereof.

TSK: Amos 4 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Amo 4:1, He reproves Israel for oppression, Amo 4:4, for idolatry, Amo 4:6, and for their incorrigibleness.

Poole: Amos (Book Introduction)

THE ARGUMENT

IF we might be allowed to make a conjecture at the quality of our prophet’ s sermons by the signification of his name, we must conclude that they contain heavy tidings and grievous judgments coming upon them to whom he is sent to preach; Amos in the Hebrew coming from a word which signifies to burden, to lay a weight or load on one. But we have a surer rule to judge the contents of his prophecy by. He is by some ancient writers, erring in this point, said to be the father of Isaiah; but besides that Isaiah was contemporary with Amos, which fairly argues it unlikely that Isaiah should be Amos’ s son, Amoz the father of Isaiah is quite another name, different from Amos, both in letters wherewith each is spelt, and in signification also. And if Isaiah were of the royal line, (as some say he was,) nephew to either Amaziah or Uzziah by a brother, it cannot be conceived how Amos, a plain herdsman of Tekoa, should be his father. It is certain he was either by birth, or education, or employment, or in all these respects, of the tribe of Judah, and as certain that by an immediate call from God he was taken off the herdsman’ s work and made a prophet, Amo 7:14,15 . He did in deed, as he professed in word, come from the Lord, and in his name delivered his message to all those whom God sent him unto. And pursuant hereto he preacheth first against those nations who were borderers, and had been bitter, oppressive, and old adversaries to Israel and Judah, Amo 1:3 , to the end, and Amo 2:1-3 . By this express course, declaring future just executions upon Syria, Palestine, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, the prophet doth much prevent the prejudices which Israel and Judah might have had against his person and doctrine. Now he may more freely and plainly reprove and threaten the sins of God’ s own people, since he hath so plainly reproved and threatened their enemies; and they who easily believed him a prophet in his predictions against foreigners, must in reason as easily believe him a prophet in his reproofs and predictions against themselves. He doth bestow the far greater part of his discourses on Israel, or the kingdom of the ten tribes, to whom he was principally sent; yet he doth prophesy against Judah also; and to both he is very sharp in his reproofs, impartial in his censures, earnest in his persuasions to repent, very full in his encouragements to this duty, and demonstratively evident in his charging sin upon them. He had Isaiah, Joel, and Hosea contemporary with him, though it appear not how long.

He is in many places sententious and concise, which makes the passages the more obscure. Though he do bring with him many things from his country employment in his reproofs, allusions, and arguments, yet fitted with admirable skill, and beautified with an unimitable eloquence, and fortified with that loftiness of style that proclaims itself to be from Him who gave man both judgment, fancy, and tongue, which is an intrinsic character of divinity in our prophet’ s writing. He was a person of most undaunted resolution, of a prudent conduct, and of spotless integrity, as appears by the contest he had with Amaziah chief of the priests of Beth-el, Amo 7:10 , &c.

He lived when Judah’ s affairs were tolerably well and prosperous, but when Israel’ s were in the highest meridian, when they thought themselves secure against all the dangers he foretold: Uzziah had pretty well recovered Judah, and settled it; Jeroboam had highly advanced Israel’ s fame, riches; and power. With their growth in these, sin grew as fast and as exorbitant, and called for judgments, which our prophet foretells very plainly in express words, Amo 7:11,17 , and in very significant hieroglyphics, Am 7 Am 8 Am 9 . He foretells the earthquake, Amo 1:1 ; an emblem of those civil dissensions which shook their foundations, and half ruined them before the Assyrian conquered and captivated them. Which miseries lasted through an interregnum of eleven years, say some; to be sure through the reign of Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea, in whose time all these miseries were swallowed up in a greater, their perpetual captivity, which came upon them about fifty-four or sixty-five years after the death of Jeroboam the Second, near to whose court and within their hearing Amos preached many, perhaps most of his sermons; and therefore you may observe his reproofs, threats, and predictions seem to be calculated for that court, which was highly guilty of the sins he reproved, and were called to repent of them, which because they did not, they did deeply suffer both in the civil wars under those four usurpers and conspirators, Shallum, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea, and most deeply in the Assyrian captivity. In the annotations you will find there is some reference to those times, with somewhat more particular application of the prophetic text to the circumstances of times he aimed at, than hath been by any learned pen I have happened to peruse; and would the brevity to which these annotations are bound have borne a larger account of those times, and a fuller accommodation of them to the prophetic discourses, I do not doubt but the truth of the prophet’ s charge, reproof, threats, and predictions against Israel would appear to every reader. Lastly, our prophet, as others, closeth the sad tragedy of this fleshly, sinning Israel with promise of a spiritual state under the Messiah, full of grace and peace.

Poole: Amos 3 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 3

The necessity of God’ s judgment against Israel, Amo 3:1-8 . The publication of it, with the causes thereof, Amo 3:9-15 .

Poole: Amos 4 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 4

Israel reproved for oppression, Amo 4:1-3 ; for idolatry, Amo 4:4,5 ; and for their incorrigibleness, Amo 4:6-13 .

This verse is an introduction to all that follows in this chapter.

MHCC: Amos (Book Introduction)

Amos was a herdsman, and engaged in agriculture. But the same Divine Spirit influenced Isaiah and Daniel in the court, and Amos in the sheep-folds, giving to each the powers and eloquence needful for them. He assures the twelve tribes of the destruction of the neighbouring nations; and as they at that time gave themselves up to wickedness and idolatry, he reproves the Jewish nation with severity; but describes the restoration of the church by the Messiah, extending to the latter days.

MHCC: Amos 3 (Chapter Introduction)

(Amo 3:1-8) Judgments against Israel.

(Amo 3:9-15) The like to other nations.

MHCC: Amos 4 (Chapter Introduction)

(Amo 4:1-5) Israel is reproved.

(Amo 4:6-13) Their impenitence shown.

Matthew Henry: Amos (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Prophecy of Amos

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), for in the Hebrew their names are very different; their families too were of a different character, for Isaiah was a courtier, Amos a country-farmer. Amos signifies a burden, whence the Jews have a tradition that he was of a slow tongue and spoke with stammering lips; we may rather, in allusion to his name, say that his speech was weighty and his word the burden of the Lord. He was (as most think) of Judah, yet prophesied chiefly against Israel, and at Bethel, Amo 7:13. Some think his style savours of his extraction, and is more plain and rustic than that of some other of the prophets; I do not see it so; but it is plain that his matter agreed with that of his contemporary Hosea, that out of the mouth of these two witnesses the word might be established. It appears by his contest with Amaziah the priest of Bethel that he met with opposition in his work, but was a man of undaunted resolution in it, faithful and bold in reproving sin and denouncing the judgments of God for it, and pressing in his exhortations to repentance and reformation. He begins with threatenings against the neighbouring nations that were enemies to Israel, Amo 1:1-15 and 2. He then calls Israel to account, and judges them for their idolatry, their unworthy walking under the favours God had bestowed upon them, and their incorrigibleness under his judgments, Amo 3:1-15 and Amo 4:1-13. He calls them to repentance (ch. 5), rejecting their hypocritical sacrifices unless they did repent. He foretels the desolations that were coming upon them notwithstanding their security (Amo 6:1-14), some particular judgments (ch. 7), particularly on Amaziah; and, after other reproofs and threatenings (Amo 8:1-14 and Amo 9:1-15), concludes with a promise of the setting up of the Messiah's kingdom and the happiness of God's spiritual Israel therein, just as the prophecy of Joel concluded. These prophets, having opened the wound in their reproofs and threatenings, which show all wrong, in the promises of gospel-grace open the remedy, which alone will set all to rights.

Matthew Henry: Amos 3 (Chapter Introduction)

A stupid, senseless, heedless people, are, in this chapter, called upon to take notice, I. Of the judgments of God denounced against them and the warnings he gave them of those judgments, and to be hereby awakened out of their security (Amo 3:1-8). II. Of the sins that were found among them, by which God was provoked thus to threaten, thus to punish, that they might justify God in his controversy with them, and, unless they repented and reformed, might expect no other than that God should proceed in his controversy (Amo 3:9-15).

Matthew Henry: Amos 4 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter, I. The oppressors in Israel are threatened for their oppression of the poor (Amo 4:1-3). II. The idolaters in Israel, being joined to idols, are given up to their own heart's lusts (Amo 4:4, Amo 4:5). III. All the sins of Israel are aggravated from their incorrigibleness in them, and their refusal to return and reform, notwithstanding the various rebukes of Providence which they had been under (Amo 4:6-11). IV. They are invited yet at length to humble themselves before God, since it is impossible for them to make their part good against him (Amo 4:12, Amo 4:13).

Constable: Amos (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title and Writer

The title of the book comes from its writer. The prophet's name means "burden-bearer" or "load-carrier."

Amos was a sheepherder (Heb. noqed; cf. 2 Kings 3:4) or sheep breeder, and he described himself as a herdsman (Heb. boqer; 7:14). He was more than a shepherd (Heb. ro'ah). He evidently owned or managed large herds of sheep and or goats and was probably in charge of shepherds. Amos also described himself as a grower of sycamore figs (7:14). Sycamore fig trees are not true fig trees but are a variety of the mulberry family, which produces fig-like fruit. Each fruit had to be scratched or pierced to let the juice flow out so the "fig" could ripen. These trees grew in the tropical Jordan Valley and around the Dead Sea to a height of 25 to 50 feet and bore fruit three or four times a year. They did not grow as well in the higher elevations such as Tekoa, Amos' hometown, so the prophet appears to have farmed at a distance from his home as well as ranching. Tekoa stood 10 miles south of Jerusalem in Judah. Thus Amos seems to have been a prosperous and influential Judahite, but there is no indication that he was a priest or had any connection with the royal family or the ruling classes in his land. Amos' natural surroundings had a profound effect on him and his writing (cf. 1:2; 2:9; 3:4-5; 5:19-20, 24; 6:12; 7:1-6; 8:1; 9:3-15).

Date

Amos ministered during the reigns of King Jeroboam II of Israel (793-753 B.C.) and King Uzziah (Azariah) of Judah (792-740 B.C.), specifically two years before "the earthquake" (1:1). Zechariah also referred to a notable earthquake during the reign of Uzziah (Zech. 14:5). Josephus wrote that an earthquake occurred when Uzziah entered the temple and was struck with leprosy (2 Chron. 26:16-20).¹ Archaeological excavations at Hazor and Samaria point to evidence of a violent earthquake in Israel about 760 B.C.² So perhaps Amos ministered about 760 B.C. This date may account for the omission of the name of King Jotham who ruled as coregent with Uzziah from 750-740 B.C. Thus Amos was a contemporary of the other eighth-century prophets: Hosea, Jonah, Micah, and Isaiah.

Place of Composition

Since Amos lived in the Judean town of Tekoa, he was a prophet from the Southern Kingdom.

Audience and Purpose

Amos prophesied against the Northern Kingdom of Israel (1:1). Yahweh raised him up to announce judgment on Israel because of her covenant unfaithfulness and rebellion against His authority. Amos announced the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, but he also predicted that the Lord would preserve a remnant that was repentant. He would restore this remnant to political prominence and covenant blessing and, through them, draw all nations to Himself. Amos announced a warning to the residents of the Northern Kingdom, but he also held out hope.

Historical Background

These were times of political stability, material prosperity, and geographical expansion for both the Northern and the Southern Kingdoms (cf. 1:6; 6:2, 13; 2 Kings 14:23-29; 2 Chron. 26:1-15). Jeroboam II and Uzziah were two of the most competent and effective kings that their respective kingdoms enjoyed. They brought their nations to heights of success second only to those in Solomon's golden age.³ The Northern Kingdom was at the height of its power during Jeroboam II's reign. Aramea had not recovered from its defeat by Adad-Nirari III of Assyria in 802 B.C., and Assyria had not yet developed into the superpower that it became under Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 B.C.).

"Commerce thrived (8:5), an upper class emerged (4:1-3), and expensive homes were built (3:15; 5:11; 6:4, 11). The rich enjoyed an indolent, indulgent lifestyle (6:1-6), while the poor became targets for legal and economic exploitation (2:6-7; 5:7, 10-13; 6:12; 8:4-6). Slavery for debt was easily accepted (2:6; 8:6). Standards of morality had sunk to a low ebb (2:7)."⁴

Religion flourished too. The Hebrews participated in the yearly festivals (4:4; 5:5; 8:3, 10) and offered their sacrifices enthusiastically (4:5; 5:21-23). They believed God was with them and considered themselves immune to disaster (5:14, 18-20; 6:1-3; 9:10). Yet they worshipped the native Canaanite deities along with Yahweh.

Unity

Almost all scholars agree that the Book of Amos was originally a single book that the prophet Amos wrote. Comparison with the writings of the other eighth-century prophets and the consistently vivid and forthright style of Amos make this conclusion virtually inescapable.⁵

Theology

Amos stressed the sovereignty of Yahweh over history. He controls the movements of peoples (9:7) and the order of nature (4:13; 5:8). The prophet also affirmed the ability of people to submit to or reject the Lord's authority. He reminded his hearers of Yahweh's election of Israel (3:2) but repudiated the popular idea of his day that God would not punish His people.

"Amos, more than any other prophet, urged the responsibility of elective privilege."⁶

Like many of the other prophets, Amos spoke of the day of the Lord. He saw it as a time when God would judge sin, even in His own people (5:18-20). Another day would come, however, when David's kingdom would be restored and would include both Jews and Gentiles (9:13-15).⁷

Message⁸

The Book of Amos is distinctive from the other prophetic books of the Old Testament in two respects.

First, the prophet Amos was not a prophet in the same sense that the other prophets were prophets. He was not recognized as a prophet among his contemporaries. He had not been to one of the schools of the prophets. He had not been discipled by another recognized prophet. He was what we would call today a "layman" and an untrained layman at that.

Second, the prophecy of Amos is not a prophecy in the same sense that the other prophetic books were prophecies. Amos' perspective was wider than most of the other prophets. One evidence of this is that he did not refer to God as the God of Israel, as the other prophets did. Instead he thought of Him and referred to Him as the God of the whole earth. Moreover, Amos grouped Judah and Israel with Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. He saw Yahweh as sovereign over all these city-states and nations, not just over Judah and Israel primarily. Whereas Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all recorded messages of judgment against foreign nations, they focused on Judah and Israel particularly in their books. Amos viewed Judah and Israel as two among many nations that God would judge for the same sins.

In Amos we see God as detached from the prophetic order and from every nation yet directing through a man uniquely chosen as His prophet and directing over the affairs of all nations.

There are at least three permanent values of the Book of Amos. It reveals the philosophy, the practice, and the promise of divine government.

Amos gives us the philosophy of the divine government in the comprehensiveness of its outlook. The prophet did not argue for God's universal sovereignty nor did he even affirm it. He assumed it and applied it. In particular, he explained the standard by which God exercises His universal sovereignty, the principle by which He rules, and the patience that marks His governing.

The standard by which God measures nations is their treatment of other nations. God would judge the Arameans because they were cruel to their neighbors. He would judge the Philistines because they bought and sold other human beings. The Phoenicians traded in human lives in spite of a covenant in which they pledged to do otherwise. The Edomites were unforgiving and took revenge. The Ammonites were cruel. The Moabites were violent and vindictive. The Judahites had despised the Lord's word regarding what their treatment of others should be. And the Israelites had oppressed the poor and needy even within their own borders. These are all expressions of violations of human rights.

The principle that lies behind this standard is that privilege brings responsibility. God's harshest judgment fell on His own people who had the most light. The pagan nations were guilty of violating human rights too, but their punishment would be less because they did not have the privilege of having God's revealed will as the Israelites did. We see the same principle in operation in Romans 1-3. All people are under divine wrath because everyone has failed to respond positively to the light we have. But those who have more light fall under severer judgment because they sin with a greater knowledge of God's will. Similarly, national privilege determines national responsibility.

The patience that marks God's sovereign governing of the world comes out clearly in Amos too. The phrase "for three transgressions, yes, for four" reminds us that God does not judge nations for only one transgression. Every transgression will receive punishment from God, but judgment does not fall immediately. God could have judged these nations much sooner than He did, but He was patient and waited until they had sinned repeatedly. In Genesis we read that "the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete" (Gen. 15:16). God waited to judge all these nations until they had amassed so much sin that He could wait no longer to judge them. Fortunately, God deals with us the same way, or we all would have died long ago.

If cruelty to other nations makes God angry, it is because His heart is set upon kindness. If oppression stirs up His wrath, it is because He desires people to live in peace. If violations of human rights call down His judgment, it is because He longs that people experience happiness and well-being. His sovereign government always moves toward the best conditions for humanity. He resists what mars those conditions. Amos closes with a picture of the world order that God desires and will bring to pass eventually.

The second permanent value of this book is its presentation of Israel as a case study of Yahweh's government. No nation had so much light as Israel or a closer relationship to God than Israel did (3:1-2, 7). But in Israel privilege had borne the fruit of sin and would end with judgment.

When God wanted to convict His people of their sins, he described the luxury and wantonness of Israel's women (4:1). John Ruskin, the English poet, claimed that war would cease when enough pure women demanded it. Amos pictured the depravity of the Israelites by describing the evil women of the nation promoting it. He also described it this way: 4:4. The Israelites were going to places of worship to engage in sinful rituals, not to worship. A modern equivalent would be, "Let's go to church to meet someone of the opposite sex that we can sin with."

Israel had sinned in failing to yield to Yahweh's chastisement (4:6, 8, 9, 10, 11). None of God's judgments on His people had moved them to repent. The Israelites who longed to see "the day of the Lord" failed to realize that it would be a day of judgment for them (5:18-20). Those of them who never gave "the day of the Lord" a thought and were at ease in Zion needed to realize that this day was coming.

The terrible descriptions of Israel's sins in this book appear all the worse because of Israel's privileged position. These were His chosen people. He did nothing without revealing it to them through His servants the prophets. Yet the Israelites were guilty of the sins of wanton womanhood, of refusal to submit to discipline, of professing a desire for God to act, and of indifference to the fact that He would act in judgment.

In five visions Amos pronounced judgment that would fall on the Israelites. These were the visions of the locusts, the fire, the plumb line, the basket of summer fruit, and the coming of Yahweh by way of the altar of judgment. In all of them Amos pictured divine judgment determined, temporarily restrained, and finally executed. These prophecies of coming judgment must have sounded strange to the Israelites who were then living lives of ease and material prosperity. After all, had not God said He would bless the godly with prosperity? How could Amos then say that the Israelites were such great sinners? Furthermore, Amos was a nobody in society, a despised shepherd, a rural dolt.

Because Israel's light had been clear, her judgment would be pervasive. She had failed to take advantage of her privileges and had lived selfishly. Consequently her ruin would be complete.

The third permanent value of this book is the promise of ultimate restoration that it contains at the very end. This restoration would come in three stages. First, there would be preliminary restoration. God would restore the Davidic dynasty to power (9:11). Then progressive restoration of the nation would follow (9:12-14). Finally, there would be permanent restoration (9:15).

Amos, then, reveals the sovereign government of the God of all the earth. We discover His philosophy of government, we see a case study of His government, and we learn of the outcome of His government in this book.

The message of Amos is that God blesses people so they can be channels of blessing to others, not so they may simply squander His blessings selfishly.

This message is applicable mainly to national life because national life is the primary focus of the revelation in Amos.

God still rules over all nations, not just His chosen people. He still opposes nations that violate human rights, and He will judge them. The old order may pass away with the turning of the pages of the calendar, but the divine order does not change. God remains the same. God's methods change, His requirements for His people change, His dispensations (household rules) change, but His underlying attitudes toward people do not change. Cruelty is as hateful to God today as it ever has been.

Another major lesson of Amos is that people who have the light of God's truth live with greater responsibility than those who live in darkness. The light exposes our sins, and when we see our sins we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God or we will experience His judgment. Christians have a greater responsibility to judge themselves that we be not judged than the unsaved. And we will be judged, not with separation from God eternally but with separation from much future blessing.

Amos charged Israel with injustice, avarice, oppression, immorality, profanity, blasphemy, and sacrilege: seven deadly sins. These same sins mark believers today. We are in danger of doing what the Israelites in Amos' day of material prosperity did. We can conclude that our prosperity is a reward from God, that He is blessing us for our goodness. All the while we are preparing ourselves for judgment. It is only as we turn from our sins in profound repentance that we can live. Yet if judgment comes, its purpose is not to destroy us but to restore us to Himself.

We must distinguish between secular nations and the church of Jesus Christ. The principles that Amos reveals are applicable to both groups. The nations with greater light have greater responsibility. The church has greater light and has greater responsibility. When nations fail to take advantage of their light they become degraded. When the church fails to take advantage of its light it becomes degraded.

These principles are also applicable to individuals, as I'm sure you have seen by now. God's people are greatly blessed people. Unfortunately many Christians conclude that because there is therefore now no condemnation in Christ Jesus there is also no accountability to Christ Jesus. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive payment for what we have done with the light that God has given us. This is an awesome thought that should sober and humble us every day we live. We need to prepare for our "day of the Lord," when we will see our Savior, stand before Him, and give an account of our stewardship to Him. Amos spoke to the Israelites as the people of God. We are the people of God in our day and need to heed his strong words of warning as well.

Constable: Amos (Outline)

Outline

I. Prologue 1:1-2

A. Introduction 1:1

B. Theme 1:2

II. Prophetic messages that Amos delivered 1:3-6:14

A. Oracles against nations 1:3-2:5

1. An oracle against Aram 1:3-5

2. An oracle against Philistia 1:6-8

3. An oracle against Phoenicia 1:9-10

4. An oracle against Edom 1:11-12

5. An oracle against Ammon 1:13-15

6. An oracle against Moab 2:1-3

7. An oracle against Judah 2:4-5

8. An oracle against Israel 2:6-16

B. Messages of judgment against Israel chs. 3-6

1. The first message on sins against God and man ch. 3

2. The second message on women, worship, and stubbornness ch. 4

3. The third message on injustice 5:1-17

4. The fourth message on unacceptable worship 5:18-27

5. The fifth message on complacency and pride ch. 6

III. Visions that Amos saw chs. 7-9

A. Three short visions of impending judgment 7:1-9

1. The swarming locusts 7:1-3

2. The devouring fire 7:4-6

3. The plumb line 7:7-9

B. An intervening incident 7:10-17

1. The challenge 7:10-13

2. The response 7:14-17

C. Two more visions of impending judgment chs. 8-9

1. The basket of summer fruit ch. 8

2. The Lord standing by the altar ch. 9

Constable: Amos

Amos

Bibliography

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic, 1985.

Andersen, F. I., and D. N. Freedman. Amos. Anchor Bible series. New York: Doubleday, 1989.

Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. "Does God Change His Mind'?" Bibliotheca Sacra 152:608 (October-December 1995):387-99.

_____. "A Theology of the Minor Prophets." In A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 397-433. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Constable, Thomas L. Talking to God: What the Bible Teaches about Prayer. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1995.

_____. "What Prayer Will and Will Not Change." In Essays in Honor of J. Dwight Pentecost. Edited by Stanley D. Toussaint and Charles H. Dyer. Chicago: Moody Press, 1986.

Dyer, Charles H., and Eugene H. Merrill. The Old Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2001.

Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Edited by Michael Avi-Yonah and E. Stern. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1978.

Finley, Thomas J. Joel, Amos, Obadiah. The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1990.

Hammershaimb, E. The Book of Amos: A Commentary. Oxford: Blackwell, 1970.

Hayes, J. H. Amos. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988.

Hoffmon, Herbert B. "The Treaty Background of Hebrew Yada'." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 181 (February 1966):31-37.

Hubbard, David A. Joel and Amos. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1989.

Josephus, Flavius. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by William Whiston. Antiquities of the Jews. London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1866.

Kassis, H. "Gath and the Structure of Philistine' Society." Journal of Biblical Literature 84 (1965):259-71.

Limburg, J. "Sevenfold Structures in the Book of Amos." Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987):217-22.

Mays, J. Amos: A Commentary. Old Testament Library series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1969.

McComiskey, Thomas Edward. "Amos." In Daniel-Minor Prophets. Vol. 7 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and Richard P. Polcyn. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985.

Motyer, J. A. The Day of the Lion: The Message of Amos. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1974.

Munro, John "Prayer to a Sovereign God." Interest 56:2 (February 1990):20-21.

Niehaus, Jeff. "Amos." In The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary. 3 vols. Edited by Thomas Edward McComiskey. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992.

Paul, S. Amos. Hermeneia series. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991.

Smith, Billy K., and Frank S. Page. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah. The New American Commentary series. N.c.: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995.

Smith, G. Amos: A Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989.

Stuart, Douglas. Hosea-Jonah. Word Biblical Commentary series. Waco: Word Books, 1987.

Sunukjian, Donald R. "Amos." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 1425-52. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1985.

Thomas, D. W., ed. Archaeology and Old Testament Study. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967.

Weiss, Meir. "The Pattern of Numerical Sequence in Amos 1-2, A Re-examination." Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967):416-23.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

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Haydock: Amos (Book Introduction)

THE PROPHECY OF AMOS.

INTRODUCTION.

Amos prophesied in Israel about the same time as Osee, and was called from following the cattle to denounce God's judgments to the people of Israel and the neighbouring nations, for their repeated crimes, in which they continued with repentance. (Challoner) --- The kingdom was then almost free from idolatry, except that of the calves, yet dissolute and flourishing under Jeroboam II. The prophet spoke at Bethel, (chap. vii.) till the idolatrous priest, Amasias, forced him to flee to Thecua, four leagues south of Jerusalem, where he continued to prophesy against the various nations of Damascus, Juda, &c., but particularly against Israel, chap. i., &c. How long he continued is uncertain. St. Jerome and others account his style rustic; but St. Augustine (Doct. iv. 7.) as good a judge, pronounces that it was eloquent, and like that of the other inspired writers, suited to the speakers. (Calmet) --- Amos means "one carrying," or "a people torn away." (St. Jerome in Joel.) (Haydock) --- He deals in metaphors agreeably to his pastoral education, but is profound in sense. (St. Jerome, ep. ad Paulin.) --- After denouncing judgments on different nations, he foretells the coming of Christ and abundance of grace. (Worthington)

Gill: Amos (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS

This book in the Hebrew Bibles is called "Sepher Amos", the Book of Amos; and, in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions, the Prophecy of Amos. This is not the same person with the father of Isaiah, as some have ignorantly confounded them; for their names are wrote with different letters; besides, the father of Isaiah is thought to have been of the royal family, and a courtier; whereas this man was a country farmer and herdsman. His name signifies "burdened": the Jews ^a say he was so called, because burdened in his tongue, or had an impediment in his speech, and stammered; but rather because his prophecies were burdens to the people, such as they could not bear, being full of reproofs and threatenings; however, his prophecy in this respect agrees with his name. What time he lived may be learned from Amo 1:1; by which it appears that he was, contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea; but whether he lived and prophesied so long as they did is not certain. The author of Seder Olam Zuta ^b makes him to prophesy in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. R. Abraham Zacut ^c, and R. David Ganz ^d, place him later than Hosea, and prior to Isaiah; they say that Amos received the law from Hosea, and Isaiah from Amos. Mr. Whiston ^e makes him to begin to prophesy in the year of the world 3231 A.M. or 773 B.C.; and Mr. Bedford ^f earlier, in 802 B.C.; and, from some passages in his prophecy, he appears to be of the land of Judah; see Amo 1:1; though he prophesied in the land of Israel, and against the ten tribes chiefly; the occasion of which was, Jeroboam had been very successful and victorious, and the people under him enjoyed great plenty and prosperity, and upon this grew wanton, luxurious, and very sinful; wherefore this prophet was sent to reprove them for their sins, to exhort them to repentance, and threaten them with captivity, in case of impenitence; and to comfort the truly godly with promises of the Messiah's coming and kingdom. The authenticity of this book is not to be questioned, since many passages out of it were taken by following prophets, as the words in Amo 1:2, by Joel, Joe 3:16, and by Jeremiah, Jer 25:30; Amo 4:9, by Haggai, Hag 2:17; Amo 9:13, by Joel, Joe 3:18; and others are quoted by the writers of the New Testament as divinely inspired, as Amo 5:25, in Act 7:42; nor is there any room to doubt of his being the writer of this book, as is manifest of his speaking of himself as the first person in it; though Hobbes ^g says it does not appear. Some have thought that his language is rustic, suitable to his former character and employment; but certain it is there are masterly strokes and great beauties of eloquence in it; and which shows that it is more than human. According to some writers, he was often beat and buffeted by Amaziah, the priest of Bethel; and at last the son of the priest drove a nail into his temples, upon which he was carried alive into his own country, and there died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his ancestors at Tekoa ^h.

Gill: Amos 3 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 3

In this chapter the prophet goes on with his prophecy against Israel, whom God had highly favoured, and yet sinned against him, and therefore must expect to be punished by him; and the rather, since he and they were not agreed; and therefore there could be no communion between them, Amo 3:1; and by various similes are set forth the cause of divine judgments, the certain design of them, and their continuance, till the end is answered; which should be attended to, since every thing of this kind is of God, who giving his prophets notice of it, they are under an absolute necessity of declaring it; nor should they be blamed for it, Amo 3:4; and even the Heathen nations are appealed unto as witnesses of the sins of Israel, that caused such a denunciation of wrath; their tumults, oppression, injustice, violence, and robbery, Amo 3:9; wherefore an adversary is threatened to be sent among them, that should utterly destroy them, so that few should escape, Amo 3:11; particularly their idolatry and luxury seem to have been reigning sins, which had a great hand in bringing on their rum, and for which the Lord would punish them, Amo 3:13.

Gill: Amos 4 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 4

In this chapter, the great ones, or the people of Israel, are threatened with calamities for their oppression of the poor, Amo 4:1; and in an ironic manner are reproved for their idolatry, Amo 4:4; then follows an enumeration of several judgments that had been upon them, yet had had no effect on them, to bring them to repentance, nor even mercies, Amo 4:6; and notwithstanding all this, in a wonderful gracious manner, they are called upon to prepare to meet their God, who is described by his power, greatness, and goodness, Amo 4:12.