Discovery BoxAmos 3:10
Context3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.)
“They store up 1 the spoils of destructive violence 2 in their fortresses.
Amos 3:15
Context3:15 I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. 3
The houses filled with ivory 4 will be ruined,
the great 5 houses will be swept away.” 6
The Lord is speaking!
Amos 2:5
Context2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,
and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 7
Amos 6:8
Context6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. 8
The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking:
“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;
I hate their 9 fortresses.
I will hand over to their enemies 10 the city of Samaria 11 and everything in it.”
Amos 6:2
Context6:2 They say to the people: 12
“Journey over to Calneh and look at it!
Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! 13
Then go down to Gath of the Philistines!
Are they superior to our two 14 kingdoms?
Is their territory larger than yours?” 15
Amos 1:1
Context1:1 The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. 16 He 17 was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him 18 during the time of 19 King Uzziah of Judah and 20 King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 21
[3:10] 2 tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.
[3:15] 3 tn Heb “the winter house along with the summer house.”
[3:15] 4 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.
[3:15] 5 tn Or “many,” cf. NAB “their many rooms.”
[3:15] 6 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.
[2:5] 7 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.
[6:8] 8 tn Heb “swears by his life”; or “swears by himself.”
[6:8] 9 tn Heb “his,” referring to Jacob, which stands here for the nation of Israel.
[6:8] 10 tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[6:8] 11 tn Heb “the city”; this probably refers to the city of Samaria (cf. 6:1), which in turn, by metonymy, represents the entire northern kingdom.
[6:2] 12 tn The words “They say to the people” are interpretive and supplied in the translation for clarification. The translation understands v. 2 as the boastful words, which the leaders (described in v. 1) spoke to those who came to them (v. 1b). Some interpret v. 2 differently, understanding the words as directed to the leaders by the prophet. Verse 2b would then be translated: “Are you (i.e., Israel and Judah) better than these kingdoms (i.e., Calneh, etc.)? Is your border larger than their border?” (This reading requires an emendation of the Hebrew text toward the end of the verse.) In this case the verse is a reminder to Judah/Israel that they are not superior to other nations, which have already fallen victim to military conquest. Consequently Judah/Israel should not expect to escape the same fate. Following this line of interpretation, some take v. 2 as a later addition since the Assyrians under Tiglath-pileser III conquered Calneh, Hamath, and Gath after the time of Amos’ ministry. However, this conclusion is not necessary since the kingdoms mentioned here had suffered military setbacks prior to Amos’ time as well. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 201-4.
[6:2] 13 tn Or “Great Hamath” (cf. NIV); or “Hamath the great” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the word “rabbah” means “great” in Hebrew.
[6:2] 14 tn Heb “to these,” referring to Judah and Israel (see v. 1a).
[6:2] 15 tn Both rhetorical questions in this verse expect the answer “no.” If these words do come from the leaders, then this verse underscores their self-delusion of power (compare 6:13). The prophet had no such mistaken sense of national grandeur (7:2, 5).
[1:1] 16 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).
[1:1] 17 tn Heb “who.” Here a new sentence has been started in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[1:1] 18 tn Heb “which he saw concerning Israel.”
[1:1] 19 tn Heb “in the days of.”
[1:1] 20 tn The Hebrew text repeats, “and in the days of.” This phrase has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[1:1] 21 sn This refers to a well-known earthquake that occurred during the first half of the 8th century
