Exodus 32:6

32:6 So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, ¹  and they rose up to play. ² 

Exodus 32:18-19

32:18 Moses ³  said, “It is not the sound of those who shout for victory, ⁴  nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome, ⁵  but the sound of singing ⁶  I hear.” ⁷ 

32:19 When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry. ⁸  He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain. ⁹ 

Hosea 13:6

13:6 When they were fed, ¹⁰  they became satisfied;

when they were satisfied, they became proud; ¹¹ 

as a result, they forgot me!

Amos 6:1-6

The Party is over for the Rich

6:1 Woe ¹²  to those who live in ease in Zion, ¹³ 

to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria.

They think of themselves as ¹⁴  the elite class of the best nation.

The family ¹⁵  of Israel looks to them for leadership. ¹⁶ 

6:2 They say to the people: ¹⁷ 

“Journey over to Calneh and look at it!

Then go from there to Hamath-Rabbah! ¹⁸ 

Then go down to Gath of the Philistines!

Are they superior to our two ¹⁹  kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?” ²⁰ 

6:3 You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, ²¹ 

but you establish a reign of violence. ²² 

6:4 They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, ²³ 

and sprawl out on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock,

and calves from the middle of the pen.

6:5 They sing ²⁴  to the tune of ²⁵  stringed instruments; ²⁶ 

like David they invent ²⁷  musical instruments.

6:6 They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, ²⁸ 

and pour the very best oils on themselves. ²⁹ 

Yet they are not concerned over ³⁰  the ruin ³¹  of Joseph.

[32:6]  ¹ tn The second infinitive is an infinitive absolute. The first is an infinitive construct with a lamed (ל) preposition, expressing the purpose of their sitting down. The infinitive absolute that follows cannot take the preposition, but with the conjunction follows the force of the form before it (see GKC 340 §113.e).

[32:6]  ² tn The form is לְצַחֵק (lÿtsakheq), a Piel infinitive construct, giving the purpose of their rising up after the festal meal. On the surface it would seem that with the festival there would be singing and dancing, so that the people were celebrating even though they did not know the reason. W. C. Kaiser says the word means “drunken immoral orgies and sexual play” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:478). That is quite an assumption for this word, but is reflected in some recent English versions (e.g., NCV “got up and sinned sexually”; TEV “an orgy of drinking and sex”). The word means “to play, trifle.” It can have other meanings, depending on its contexts. It is used of Lot when he warned his sons-in-law and appeared as one who “mocked” them; it is also used of Ishmael “playing” with Isaac, which Paul interprets as mocking; it is used of Isaac “playing” with his wife in a manner that revealed to Abimelech that they were not brother and sister, and it is used by Potiphar’s wife to say that her husband brought this slave Joseph in to “mock” them. The most that can be gathered from these is that it is playful teasing, serious mocking, or playful caresses. It might fit with wild orgies, but there is no indication of that in this passage, and the word does not mean it. The fact that they were festive and playing before an idol was sufficient.

[32:18]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[32:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “the sound of the answering of might,” meaning it is not the sound of shouting in victory (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 418).

[32:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “the sound of the answering of weakness,” meaning the cry of the defeated (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 415).

[32:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “answering in song” (a play on the twofold meaning of the word).

[32:18]  ⁷ sn See A. Newman, “Compositional Analysis and Functional Ambiguity Equivalence: Translating Exodus 32, 17-18,” Babel 21 (1975): 29-35.

[32:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and the anger of Moses burned hot.”

[32:19]  ⁹ sn See N. M. Waldham, “The Breaking of the Tablets,” Judaism 27 (1978): 442-47.

[13:6]  ¹⁰ tc The MT reads כְּמַרְעִיתָם (kÿmar’itam, “according to their pasturage”; preposition כְּ (kaf) + noun מַרְעִית, mar’it, “pasture” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix). Text-critics propose: (1) כְּמוֹ רְעִיתִים (kÿmo rÿ’itim, “as I pastured them”; preposition כְּמוֹ (kÿmo) + Qal perfect 1st person common singular from רָעַה, ra’ah, “to pasture, feed” + 3rd person masculine plural suffix) and (2) כִּרְעוֹתָם (“when they had pastured”; preposition כְּ + Qal perfect 3rd person masculine plural from רָעַה). Some English versions follow the MT: “according to their pasture” (KJV), “as they had their pasture” (NASB), “when you entered the good land” (TEV). Others adopt the first emendation: “when I fed them” (NIV, NRSV), “I fed you [sic = them]” (CEV). Still others follow the second emendation: “but when they had fed to the full” (RSV), “when they grazed” (NJPS).

[13:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “their heart became exalted”; KJV, ASV “was exalted.”

[6:1]  ¹² tn On the Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy; “ah, woe”) as a term of mourning, see the notes in 5:16, 18.

[6:1]  ¹³ sn Zion is a reference to Jerusalem.

[6:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[6:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “comes to them.”

[6:2]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Great Hamath” (cf. NIV); or “Hamath the great” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the word “rabbah” means “great” in Hebrew.

[6:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “to these,” referring to Judah and Israel (see v. 1a).

[6:2]  ²⁰ 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).

[6:3]  ²¹ tn Heb “those who push away a day of disaster.”

[6:3]  ²² tn Heb “you bring near a seat of violence.” The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שֶׁבֶת (shevet, “seat, sitting”) is unclear in this context. The translation assumes that it refers to a throne from which violence (in the person of the oppressive leaders) reigns. Another option is that the expression refers not to the leaders’ oppressive rule, but to the coming judgment when violence will overtake the nation in the person of enemy invaders.

[6:4]  ²³ tn Heb “beds of ivory.”

[6:5]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “upon the mouth of,” that is, “according to.”

[6:5]  ²⁶ sn The stringed instruments mentioned here are probably harps (cf. NIV, NRSV) or lutes (cf. NEB).

[6:5]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn Heb “with the best of oils they anoint [themselves].”

[6:6]  ³⁰ tn Or “not sickened by.”

[6:6]  ³¹ sn The ruin of Joseph may refer to the societal disintegration in Israel, or to the effects of the impending judgment.