Amos 4:2

4:2 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his own holy character: ¹ 

“Certainly the time is approaching ² 

when you will be carried away ³  in baskets, ⁴ 

every last one of you ⁵  in fishermen’s pots. ⁶ 

Amos 6:8

6:8 The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. ⁷ 

The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking:

“I despise Jacob’s arrogance;

I hate their ⁸  fortresses.

I will hand over to their enemies ⁹  the city of Samaria ¹⁰  and everything in it.”

Amos 8:14

8:14 These are the ones who now take oaths ¹¹  in the name of the sinful idol goddess ¹²  of Samaria.

They vow, ¹³  ‘As surely as your god ¹⁴  lives, O Dan,’ or ‘As surely as your beloved one ¹⁵  lives, O Beer Sheba!’

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

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “swears by his holiness.”

[4:2]  ² tn Heb “Look, certainly days are coming upon you”; NRSV “the time is surely coming upon you.”

[4:2]  ³ tn Heb “one will carry you away”; NASB “they will take you away.”

[4:2]  ⁴ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word translated “baskets” is uncertain. The translation follows the suggestion of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (130-32): “shields” (cf. NEB); “ropes”; “thorns,” which leads to the most favored interpretation, “hooks” (cf. NASB “meat hooks”; NIV, NRSV “hooks”); “baskets,” and (derived from “baskets”) “boats.” Against the latter, it is unlikely that Amos envisioned a deportation by boat for the inhabitants of Samaria! See also the note on the expression “fishermen’s pots” later in this verse.

[4:2]  ⁵ tn Or “your children”; KJV “your posterity.”

[4:2]  ⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew expression translated “in fishermen’s pots” is uncertain. The translation follows that of S. M. Paul (Amos [Hermeneia], 128), who discusses the various options (132-33): “thorns,” understood by most modern interpreters to mean (by extension) “fishhooks” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV); “boats,” but as mentioned in the previous note on the word “baskets,” a deportation of the Samaritans by boat is geographically unlikely; and “pots,” referring to a container used for packing fish (cf. NEB “fish-baskets”). Paul (p. 134) argues that the imagery comes from the ancient fishing industry. When hauled away into exile, the women of Samaria will be like fish packed and transported to market.

[6:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “swears by his life”; or “swears by himself.”

[6:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “his,” referring to Jacob, which stands here for the nation of Israel.

[6:8]  ⁹ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[6:8]  ¹⁰ 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.

[8:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “those who swear.”

[8:14]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “say.”

[8:14]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.