Discovery BoxAmos 1:5
Context1:5 I will break the bar 1 on the gate of Damascus.
I will remove 2 the ruler 3 from Wicked Valley, 4
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. 5
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” 6
The Lord has spoken!
Amos 1:2
Context“The Lord comes roaring 8 out of Zion;
from Jerusalem 9 he comes bellowing! 10
The shepherds’ pastures wilt; 11
the summit of Carmel 12 withers.” 13
Amos 1:9
Context1:9 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Tyre has committed three crimes 14 –
make that four! 15 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 16
[1:5] 1 sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
[1:5] 3 tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some English versions take the Hebrew term in a collective sense as “inhabitants” (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV). The context and the parallel in the next clause (“the one who holds the royal scepter”), however, suggest that the royal house is in view. For this term (יוֹשֵׁב, yoshev), see N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, 512-30.
[1:5] 4 tn Heb “valley of wickedness.” Though many English versions take the Hebrew phrase בִקְעַת־אָוֶן (biq’-at ’aven) as a literal geographical place name (“Valley of Aven,” so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), it appears to be a derogatory epithet for Damascus and the kingdom of Aram.
[1:5] 5 tn Many associate the name “Beth Eden” with Bit Adini, an Aramean state located near the Euphrates River, but it may be a sarcastic epithet meaning “house of pleasure.”
[1:5] 6 sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The
[1:2] 7 tn Heb “he;” the referent (Amos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:2] 8 sn The
[1:2] 9 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[1:2] 10 tn Heb “gives his voice.”
[1:2] 11 tn Lexicographers debate whether there are two roots אָבַל (’aval), one signifying “mourn” and the other “be dry,” or simply one (“mourn”). The parallel verb (“withers”) might favor the first option and have the meaning “wilt away.” It is interesting to note, however, that the root appears later in the book in the context of lament (5:16; 8:8, 10; 9:5). Either 1:2 is a possible wordplay to alert the reader to the death that will accompany the judgment (the option of two roots), or perhaps the translation “mourns” is appropriate here as well (cf. KJV, NASB, NKJV, NJPS; see also D. J. A. Clines, “Was There an ’BL II ‘Be Dry’ in Classical Hebrew?” VT 42 [1992]: 1-10).
[1:2] 12 sn Carmel was a region known for its abundant plants and trees. See Isa 33:9; 35:2; Jer 50:19.
[1:2] 13 sn Loss of a land’s fertility is frequently associated with judgment in the OT and ancient Near Eastern literature.
[1:9] 14 tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.
[1:9] 15 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Tyre, even because of four.”
[1:9] 16 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.
[1:9] 17 tn Heb “handed over.”
[1:9] 18 tn Heb “[group of] exiles.” A similar phrase occurs in v. 6.
[1:9] 19 tn Heb “did not remember.”
[1:9] 20 sn A treaty of brotherhood. In the ancient Near Eastern world familial terms were sometimes used to describe treaty partners. In a treaty between superior and inferior parties, the lord would be called “father” and the subject “son.” The partners in a treaty between equals referred to themselves as “brothers.” For biblical examples, see 1 Kgs 9:13; 20:32-33.
