Discovery BoxGenesis 14:15
Context14:15 Then, during the night, 1 Abram 2 divided his forces 3 against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north 4 of Damascus.
Isaiah 17:1-3
Context17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:
“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,
it is a heap of ruins!
17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. 5
They will be used for herds,
which will lie down there in peace. 6
17:3 Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim,
and Damascus will lose its kingdom. 7
The survivors in Syria
will end up like the splendor of the Israelites,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
Jeremiah 49:23-27
Context49:23 The Lord spoke 8 about Damascus. 9
“The people of Hamath and Arpad 10 will be dismayed
because they have heard bad news.
Their courage will melt away because of worry.
Their hearts will not be able to rest. 11
49:24 The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee.
Panic will grip them.
Pain and anguish will seize them
like a woman in labor.
49:25 How deserted will that once-famous city 12 be,
that city that was once filled with 13 joy! 14
49:26 For her young men will fall in her city squares.
All her soldiers will be destroyed at that time,”
says the Lord who rules over all. 15
49:27 “I will set fire to the walls of Damascus;
it will burn up the palaces of Ben Hadad.” 16
Amos 1:3-5
Context1:3 This is what the Lord says:
“Because Damascus has committed three crimes 17 –
make that four! 18 – I will not revoke my
decree of judgment. 19
They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. 20
1:4 So I will set Hazael’s house 21 on fire;
fire 22 will consume Ben Hadad’s 23 fortresses.
1:5 I will break the bar 24 on the gate of Damascus.
I will remove 25 the ruler 26 from Wicked Valley, 27
the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. 28
The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” 29
The Lord has spoken!
Amos 3:12
Context3:12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. 30
They will be left with just a corner of a bed, 31
and a part 32 of a couch.”
[14:15] 1 tn The Hebrew text simply has “night” as an adverbial accusative.
[14:15] 2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:15] 3 tn Heb “he divided himself…he and his servants.”
[14:15] 4 tn Heb “left.” Directions in ancient Israel were given in relation to the east rather than the north.
[17:2] 5 tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.
[17:2] 6 tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”
[17:3] 7 tn Heb “and kingship from Damascus”; cf. NASB “And sovereignty from Damascus.”
[49:23] 8 tn The words “The
[49:23] 9 sn Damascus is a city in Syria, located below the eastern slopes of the Anti-lebanon Mountains. It was the capital of the Aramean state that was in constant hostility with Israel from the time of David until its destruction by the Assyrians in 732
[49:23] 10 tn Heb “Hamath and Arpad.” There is no word for people in the text. The cities are being personified. However, since it is really the people who are involved and it is clearer for the modern reader, the present translation supplies the words “people of” both here and in v. 24. The verbs in vv. 23-25 are all to be interpreted as prophetic perfects, the tense of the Hebrew verb that views an action as though it were as good as done. The verbs are clearly future in vv. 26-27 which begin with a “therefore.”
[49:23] 11 tc The meaning of this verse is very uncertain. The Hebrew text apparently reads “Hamath and Arpad are dismayed. They melt away because they have heard bad news. Anxiety is in the sea; it [the sea] cannot be quiet.” Many commentaries and English versions redivide the verse and read “like the sea” for “in the sea” (כַּיָּם [kayyam] for בַּיָּם [bayyam]) and read the feminine singular noun דְּאָגָה (dÿ’agam) as though it were the third masculine plural verb דָּאֲגוּ (da’agu): “They are troubled like the sea.” The translation follows the emendation proposed in BHS and accepted by a number of commentaries (e.g., J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 333; J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 723, n. 1). That emendation involves reading נָמֹג לִבָּם מִדְּאָגָה (namog libbam middÿ’agah) instead of נָמֹגוּ בַּיָּם דְּאָגָה (namogu bayyam dÿ’agah). The translation also involves a double reading of “heart,” for the sake of English style, once in the sense of courage (BDB 525 s.v. לֵב 10) because that is the nuance that best fits “melts” in the English idiom and once in the more general sense of hearts as the seat of fear, anxiety, worry. The double translation is a concession to English style.
[49:25] 12 tn Heb “city of praise.”
[49:25] 13 tn Heb “city of joy.”
[49:25] 14 tc Or “Why has that famous city not been abandoned, that city I once took delight in?” The translation follows the majority of modern commentaries in understanding לֹא (lo’, “not”) before “abandoned” as a misunderstanding of the emphatic ל (lamed; so J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah [NICOT], 723, n. 3, and J. Bright, Jeremiah [AB], 333, n. c; see also IBHS 211-12 §11.2.10i and HALOT 485-86 s.v. II לְ for the phenomenon). The particle is missing from the Vulgate. The translation also follows the versions in omitting the suffix on the word “joy” that is found in the Hebrew text (see BHS note b for a listing of the versions). This gives a better connection with the preceding and the following verse than the alternate translation.
[49:26] 15 tn Heb “Oracle of Yahweh of armies.” For this title for God see the study note on 2:19.
[49:27] 16 sn Ben-Hadad was a common name borne by a number of the kings of Damascus, e.g., one during the time of Asa around 900
[1:3] 17 tn Traditionally, “transgressions” or “sins.” The word refers to rebellion against authority and is used in the international political realm (see 1 Kgs 12:19; 2 Kgs 1:1; 3:5, 7; 8:22). There is debate over its significance in this context. Some relate the “rebellion” of the foreign nations to God’s mandate to Noah (Gen 9:5-7). This mandate is viewed as a treaty between God and humankind, whereby God holds humans accountable to populate the earth and respect his image as it is revealed in all people. While this option is a possible theological explanation of the message in light of the Old Testament as a whole, nothing in these oracles alludes to that Genesis passage. J. Barton suggests that the prophet is appealing to a common morality shared across the ancient Near East regarding the conduct of war since all of the oracles can be related to activities and atrocities committed in warfare (Amos’s Oracles against the Nations [SOTSMS], 39-61). The “transgression” then would be a violation of what all cultures would take as fundamental human decency. Some argue that the nations cited in Amos 1-2 had been members of the Davidic empire. Their crime would consist of violating the mutual agreements that all should have exhibited toward one another (cf. M. E. Polley, Amos and the Davidic Empire). This interpretation is connected to the notion that Amos envisions a reconstituted Davidic empire for Israel and the world (9:11-15). Ultimately, we can only speculate what lay behind Amos’ thinking. He does not specify the theological foundation of his universal moral vision, but it is clear that Amos believes that all nations are responsible before the Lord for their cruelty toward other human beings. He also assumes that even those who did not know his God would recognize their inhumane treatment of others as inherently wrong. The translation “crimes” is general enough to communicate that a standard (whether human or divine) has been breached. For a survey of the possible historical events behind each oracle, see S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia).
[1:3] 18 tn Heb “Because of three violations of Damascus, even because of four.”
[1:3] 19 tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The pronominal object (1) refers to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 46-47. Another option (2) is to understand the suffix as referring to the particular nation mentioned in the oracle and to translate, “I will not take him [i.e., that particular nation] back.” In this case the
[1:3] 20 tn Heb “they threshed [or “trampled down”] Gilead with sharp iron implements” (NASB similar).
[1:4] 21 tn “Hazael’s house” (“the house of Hazael”) refers to the dynasty of Hazael.
[1:4] 22 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the fire mentioned in the previous line) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:4] 23 sn Ben-hadad may refer to Hazael’s son and successor (2 Kgs 13:3, 24) or to an earlier king (see 1 Kgs 20), perhaps the ruler whom Hazael assassinated when he assumed power.
[1:5] 24 sn The bar on the city gate symbolizes the city’s defenses and security.
[1:5] 26 tn Heb “the one who sits.” Some English versions take the Hebrew term in a collective sense as “inhabitants” (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NASB, NRSV). The context and the parallel in the next clause (“the one who holds the royal scepter”), however, suggest that the royal house is in view. For this term (יוֹשֵׁב, yoshev), see N. K. Gottwald, The Tribes of Yahweh, 512-30.
[1:5] 27 tn Heb “valley of wickedness.” Though many English versions take the Hebrew phrase בִקְעַת־אָוֶן (biq’-at ’aven) as a literal geographical place name (“Valley of Aven,” so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), it appears to be a derogatory epithet for Damascus and the kingdom of Aram.
[1:5] 28 tn Many associate the name “Beth Eden” with Bit Adini, an Aramean state located near the Euphrates River, but it may be a sarcastic epithet meaning “house of pleasure.”
[1:5] 29 sn According to Amos 9:7, the Arameans originally came from Kir. The
[3:12] 30 sn The verb translated salvaged, though often used in a positive sense of deliverance from harm, is here employed in a sarcastic manner. A shepherd would attempt to salvage part of an animal to prove that a predator had indeed killed it. In this way he could prove that he had not stolen the missing animal and absolve himself from any responsibility to repay the owner (see Exod 22:12-13).
[3:12] 31 tn Heb “with a corner of a bed.”
[3:12] 32 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word דְּמֶשֶׁק (dÿmesheq), which occurs only here, is uncertain. If not emended, it is usually related to the term ַדּמֶּשֶׂק (dammeseq) and translated as the “Damask linens” of the bed (cf. NASB “the cover”) or as “in Damascus” (so KJV, NJB, NIV). The differences in spelling (Damascus is spelled correctly in 5:27), historical considerations, and the word order make both of these derivations unlikely. Many emendations have been proposed (e.g., “a part from the foot [of a bed],” based on a different division of the Hebrew letters (cf. NEB, NRSV); “on the edge,” based on a Hebrew term not attested in the Bible (NKJV). Some suggest a resemblance to an Akkadian term which means “sideboard [of a bed],” which is sometimes incorrectly rendered “headboard” (NJPS; see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 121-22). Most likely another part of a bed or couch is in view, but it is difficult to be more specific.
