Discovery BoxAmos 5:2
Context5:2 “The virgin 1 Israel has fallen down and will not get up again.
She is abandoned on her own land
with no one to help her get up.” 2
Amos 6:5-6
Context6:5 They sing 3 to the tune of 4 stringed instruments; 5
like David they invent 6 musical instruments.
6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, 7
and pour the very best oils on themselves. 8
Yet they are not concerned over 9 the ruin 10 of Joseph.
Amos 7:6-7
Context7:6 The Lord decided not to do this. 11 The sovereign Lord said, “This will not happen either.”
7:7 He showed me this: I saw 12 the sovereign One 13 standing by a tin 14 wall holding tin in his hand.
Amos 7:9
Context7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship 15 will become desolate;
Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.
I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” 16
[5:2] 1 tn Or “young lady.” The term “Israel” is an appositional genitive.
[5:2] 2 tn Or “with no one to lift her up.”
[6:5] 3 tn The meaning of the Hebrew verb פָּרַט (parat), which occurs only here in the OT, is unclear. Some translate “strum,” “pluck,” or “improvise.”
[6:5] 4 tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”
[6:5] 5 sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).
[6:5] 6 tn The meaning of the Hebrew phrase חָשְׁבוּ לָהֶם (khoshvu lahem) is uncertain. Various options include: (1) “they think their musical instruments are like David’s”; (2) “they consider themselves musicians like David”; (3) “they esteem musical instruments highly like David”; (4) “they improvise [new songs] for themselves [on] instruments like David”; (5) “they invent musical instruments like David.” However, the most commonly accepted interpretation is that given in the translation (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 206-7).
[6:6] 5 sn Perhaps some religious rite is in view, or the size of the bowls is emphasized (i.e., bowls as large as sacrificial bowls).
[6:6] 6 tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”
[6:6] 7 tn Or “not sickened by.”
[6:6] 8 sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.
[7:6] 7 tn Or “changed his mind about this.”
[7:7] 9 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
[7:7] 10 tn Or “the Lord.” The Hebrew term translated “sovereign One” here and in the following verse is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[7:7] 11 tn The Hebrew word אֲנָךְ (’anakh, “tin”) occurs only in this passage (twice in this verse and twice in the following verse). (Its proposed meaning is based on an Akkadian cognate annaku.) The tin wall of the vision, if it symbolizes Israel, may suggest weakness and vulnerability to judgment. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 233-35. The symbolic significance of God holding tin in his hand and then placing tin among the people is unclear. Possibly the term אֲנָךְ in v. 8b is a homonym meaning “grief” (this term is attested in postbiblical Hebrew). In this case there is a wordplay, the אֲנָךְ (“tin”) of the vision suggesting the אֲנָךְ (“grief”) that judgment will bring upon the land. See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos (AB), 759. Another option is to maintain the meaning “tin” and understand that the Lord has ripped off a piece of the tin wall and placed it in front of all to see. Their citadels, of which the nation was so proud and confident, are nothing more than tin fortresses. The traditional interpretation of these verses (reflected in many English versions) understands the term אֲנָךְ to mean “lead,” and by extension, “plumb line.” In this case, one may translate: “I saw the sovereign one standing by a wall built true to plumb holding a plumb line in his hand. The
[7:9] 11 tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”
[7:9] 12 tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”
