Discovery BoxAmos 2:1-6
Context2:1 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Moab has committed three crimes 1 –
make that four! 2 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 3
They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. 4
2:2 So I will set Moab on fire, 5
and it will consume Kerioth’s 6 fortresses.
Moab will perish 7 in the heat of battle 8
amid war cries and the blaring 9 of the ram’s horn. 10
2:3 I will remove 11 Moab’s leader; 12
I will kill all Moab’s 13 officials 14 with him.”
The Lord has spoken!
2:4 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions 15 –
make that four! 16 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 17
They rejected the Lord’s law; 18
they did not obey his commands.
Their false gods, 19
to which their fathers were loyal, 20
led them astray.
2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 21
2:6 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions 22 –
make that four! 23 – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. 24
They sold the innocent 25 for silver,
the needy for a pair of sandals. 26
[2:1] 1 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.
[2:1] 2 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Moab, even because of four.”
[2:1] 3 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.
[2:1] 4 sn The Moabites apparently desecrated the tomb of an Edomite king and burned his bones into a calcined substance which they then used as plaster (cf. Deut 27:2, 4). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 72. Receiving a proper burial was very important in this culture. Desecrating a tomb or a deceased individual’s bones was considered an especially heinous act.
[2:2] 5 sn The destruction of Moab by fire is an example of a judgment in kind – as the Moabites committed the crime of “burning,” so the
[2:2] 6 sn Kerioth was an important Moabite city. See Jer 48:24, 41.
[2:2] 7 tn Or “die” (KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV); NAB “shall meet death.”
[2:2] 8 tn Or “in the tumult.” This word refers to the harsh confusion of sounds that characterized an ancient battle – a mixture of war cries, shouts, shrieks of pain, clashes of weapons, etc.
[2:2] 9 tn Heb “sound” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
[2:2] 10 sn The ram’s horn (used as a trumpet) was blown to signal the approaching battle.
[2:3] 11 tn Heb “cut off” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “root out”; NCV “bring to an end.”
[2:3] 12 tn Heb “the leader [traditionally, “judge”] from her midst.”
[2:3] 13 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:3] 14 tn Or “princes” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NLT); TEV, CEV “leaders.”
[2:4] 15 tn This is the same Hebrew term that is translated “crimes” in the previous oracles (see at 1:3). The change to “covenant transgressions” reflects the probability that the prophet is condemning the nation of Israel for violating stipulations of the Mosaic Law.
[2:4] 16 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Judah, even because of four.”
[2:4] 17 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.
[2:4] 18 tn Or “instruction”; NCV “teachings.”
[2:4] 19 tn Heb “lies.” This may very well be a derogatory term for idols (perhaps also at Ps. 40:4 [Heb 40:5]). Elsewhere false gods are called “vanities” (Deut 32:21; 1 Kgs 16:13, 26) and a delusion (Isa 66:3). In no other prophetic passages, however, are they called “lies.” The term could refer to the deceptions of false prophets (note Ezek 13:6-9; cf. Hab 2:3). See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 301-6.
[2:4] 20 tn Heb “after which their fathers walked.” The expression “to walk after” is an idiom meaning “to be loyal to.” See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 75-76.
[2:5] 21 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[2:6] 22 tn For this translation see the note at 2:4.
[2:6] 23 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Israel, even because of four.”
[2:6] 24 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.
[2:6] 25 tn Or “honest” (CEV, NLT). The Hebrew word sometimes has a moral-ethical connotation, “righteous, godly,” but the parallelism (note “poor”) suggests a socio-economic or legal sense here. The practice of selling debtors as slaves is in view (Exod 21:2-11; Lev 25:35-55; Deut 15:12-18) See the note at Exod 21:8 and G. C. Chirichigno, Debt-Slavery in Israel and the Ancient Near East (JSOTSup). Probably the only “crime” the victim had committed was being unable to pay back a loan or an exorbitant interest rate on a loan. Some have suggested that this verse refers to bribery in legal proceedings: The innocent are “sold” in the sense that those in power pay off the elders or judges for favorable decisions (5:12; cf. Exod 23:6-7).
[2:6] 26 tn Perhaps the expression “for a pair of sandals” indicates a relatively small price or debt. Some suggest that the sandals may have been an outward token of a more substantial purchase price. Others relate the sandals to a ritual attached to the transfer of property, signifying here that the poor would be losing their inherited family lands because of debt (Ruth 4:7; cf. Deut 25:8-10). Still others emend the Hebrew form slightly to נֶעְלָם (ne’lam, “hidden thing”; from the root עָלַם, ’alam, “to hide”) and understand this as referring to a bribe.
