Amos 3:9

Samaria Will Fall

3:9 Make this announcement in ¹  the fortresses of Ashdod

and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt.

Say this:

“Gather on the hills around Samaria! ² 

Observe the many acts of violence ³  taking place within the city, ⁴ 

the oppressive deeds ⁵  occurring in it.” ⁶ 

Amos 4:1

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ⁷  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ⁸  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ⁹  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ¹⁰ 

Amos 6:1

The Party is over for the Rich

6:1 Woe ¹¹  to those who live in ease in Zion, ¹² 

to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

They think of themselves as ¹³  the elite class of the best nation.

The family ¹⁴  of Israel looks to them for leadership. ¹⁵ 

Amos 8:14

8:14 These are the ones who now take oaths ¹⁶  in the name of the sinful idol goddess ¹⁷  of Samaria.

They vow, ¹⁸  ‘As surely as your god ¹⁹  lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one ²⁰  lives, O Beer Sheba!’

But they will fall down and not get up again.”

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “on” or “over” (also later in this verse).

[3:9]  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.

[3:9]  ³ tn The Hebrew noun carries the nuance of “panic” or “confusion.” Here it refers metonymically to the violent deeds that terrorize the oppressed.

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “in her midst” (so NAB, NASB); NIV “among her people.”

[3:9]  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).

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “within her.”

[4:1]  ⁷ 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.

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “their.”

[4:1]  ¹⁰ 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).

[6:1]  ¹³ tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.

[6:1]  ¹⁴ sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.

[6:1]  ¹⁵ tn The words “They think of themselves as” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Hebrew text the term נְקֻבֵי (nÿquvey; “distinguished ones, elite”) is in apposition to the substantival participles in the first line.

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[6:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “comes to them.”

[8:14]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “those who swear.”

[8:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the sin [or “guilt”] of Samaria.” This could be a derogatory reference to an idol-goddess popular in the northern kingdom, perhaps Asherah (cf. 2 Chr 24:18, where this worship is labeled “their guilt”), or to the golden calf at the national sanctuary in Bethel (Hos 8:6, 10:8). Some English versions (e.g., NEB, NRSV, CEV) repoint the word and read “Ashimah,” the name of a goddess worshiped in Hamath in Syria (see 2 Kgs 17:30).

[8:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “say.”

[8:14]  ²² sn Your god is not identified. It may refer to another patron deity who was not the God of Israel, a local manifestation of the Lord that was worshiped by the people there, or, more specifically, the golden calf image erected in Dan by Jeroboam I (see 1 Kgs 12:28-30).

[8:14]  ²³ tc The MT reads, “As surely as the way [to] Beer Sheba lives,” or “As surely as the way lives, O Beer Sheba.” Perhaps the term דֶּרֶךְ (derekh, “the way”) refers to the pilgrimage route to Beersheba (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 272) or it may be a title for a god. The notion of pilgrimage appears elsewhere in the book (cf. 4:4-5; 5:4-5; 8:12). The translation above assumes an emendation to דֹּדְךְ (dodÿkh, “your beloved” or “relative”; the term also is used in 6:10) and understands this as referring either to the Lord (since other kinship terms are used of him, such as “Father”) or to another deity that was particularly popular in Beer Sheba. Besides the commentaries, see S. M. Olyan, “The Oaths of Amos 8:14” Priesthood and Cult in Ancient Israel, 121-49.