2 Chronicles 20:20

20:20 Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah ¹  and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! ²  Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.”

2 Chronicles 20:2

20:2 Messengers ³  arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead Sea, ⁴  from the direction of Edom. ⁵  Look, they are in Hazezon Tamar (that is, En Gedi).”

2 Chronicles 14:2

Asa’s Religious and Military Accomplishments

14:2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved. ⁶ 

Nehemiah 3:5

3:5 The men of Tekoa worked on the section adjacent to them, but their town leaders ⁷  would not assist ⁸  with the work of their master. ⁹ 

Nehemiah 3:27

3:27 After them the men of Tekoa worked on another section, from opposite the great protruding tower to the wall of Ophel.

Jeremiah 6:1

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

6:1 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!

Get out of Jerusalem! ¹⁰ 

Sound the trumpet ¹¹  in Tekoa!

Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster lurks ¹²  out of the north;

it will bring great destruction. ¹³ 

Amos 1:1

Introduction

1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. ¹⁴  He ¹⁵  was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him ¹⁶  during the time of ¹⁷  King Uzziah of Judah and ¹⁸  King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ¹⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “O Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. 15.

² tn There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The Hiphil verb form הַאֲמִינוּ (ha’aminu, “trust”) and the Niphal form תֵאָמֵנוּ (te’amenu, “you will be safe”) come from the same verbal root (אָמַן, ’aman).

³ tn Heb “they”; the implied referent (messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “the Sea”; in context (“from the direction of Edom”) this must refer to the Dead Sea, which has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NEB, NLT).

⁵ tc Most Hebrew mss read “from Aram” (i.e., Syria), but this must be a corruption of “Edom,” which is the reading of the LXX and Vulgate.

⁶ tn Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”

⁷ tn Heb “their nobles.”

⁸ tn Heb “bring their neck.”

⁹ tn The plural form אֲדֹנֵיהֶם (’adonehem, “lords”) is probably a plural of majesty referring to Nehemiah (e.g., Isa 19:4; see GKC 399 §124.i). However, some English versions take the plural to refer to the “supervisors” (NIV, NCV, TEV) and others to “their Lord” (KJV, NRSV).

¹⁰ tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”

¹¹ tn Heb “ram’s horn,” but the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.

¹² tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.

¹³ tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.

¹⁴ tn Heb “The words of Amos.” Among the prophetic books this opening phrase finds a parallel only at Jer 1:1 but is not that uncommon in other genres (note, e.g., Prov 30:1; 31:1; Eccl 1:1; Neh 1:1).

¹⁵ tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁶ tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “in the days of.”

¹⁸ tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁹ sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century b.c. According to a generally accepted dating system, Uzziah was a co-regent with his father Amaziah from 792-767 b.c. and ruled independently from 767-740 b.c. Jeroboam II was a co-regent with his father Joash from 793-782 b.c. and ruled independently from 782-753 b.c. Since only Uzziah and Jeroboam are mentioned in the introduction it is likely that Amos’ mission to Israel and the earthquake which followed occurred between 767-753 b.c. The introduction validates the genuine character of Amos’ prophetic ministry in at least two ways: (1) Amos was not a native Israelite or a prophet by trade. Rather he was a herdsman in Tekoa, located in Judah. His mere presence in the northern kingdom as a prophet was evidence that he had been called by God (see 7:14-15). (2) The mighty earthquake shortly after Amos’ ministry would have been interpreted as an omen or signal of approaching judgment. The clearest references to an earthquake are 1:1 and 9:1, 5. It is possible that the verb הָפַךְ (hafakh, “overturn”) at 3:13-15, 4:11, 6:11, and 8:8 also refers to an earthquake, as might the descriptions at 2:13 and 6:9-10. Evidence of a powerful earthquake has been correlated with a destruction layer at Hazor and other sites. Its lasting impact is evident by its mention in Zech 14:5 and 2 Chr 26:16-21. Earthquake imagery appears in later prophets as well (cf. D. N. Freedman and A. Welch, “Amos’s Earthquake and Israelite Prophecy,” Scripture and Other Artifacts, 188-98). On the other hand, some of these verses in Amos could allude to the devastation that would be caused by the imminent military invasion.