Hosea 10:5

The Calf Idol and Idolaters of Samaria Will Be Exiled

10:5 The inhabitants ¹  of Samaria will lament ²  over the calf idol ³  of Beth Aven. ⁴ 

Its people will mourn over it;

its idolatrous priests will wail ⁵  over it, ⁶ 

because its splendor will be taken from them ⁷  into exile.

Amos 7:9-17

7:9 Isaac’s centers of worship ⁸  will become desolate;

Israel’s holy places will be in ruins.

I will attack Jeroboam’s dynasty with the sword.” ⁹ 

Amos Confronts a Priest

7:10 Amaziah the priest of Bethel ¹⁰  sent this message ¹¹  to King Jeroboam of Israel: “Amos is conspiring against you in the very heart of the kingdom of Israel! ¹²  The land cannot endure all his prophecies. ¹³  7:11 As a matter of fact, ¹⁴  Amos is saying this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword and Israel will certainly be carried into exile ¹⁵  away from its land.’”

7:12 Amaziah then said to Amos, “Leave, you visionary! ¹⁶  Run away to the land of Judah! Earn your living ¹⁷  and prophesy there! 7:13 Don’t prophesy at Bethel ¹⁸  any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!” ¹⁹ 

7:14 Amos replied ²⁰  to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. ²¹  No, ²²  I was a herdsman who also took care of ²³  sycamore fig trees. ²⁴  7:15 Then the Lord took me from tending ²⁵  flocks and gave me this commission, ²⁶  ‘Go! Prophesy to my people Israel!’ 7:16 So now listen to the Lord’s message! You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel! Don’t preach ²⁷  against the family of Isaac!’

7:17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets ²⁸ 

and your sons and daughters will die violently. ²⁹ 

Your land will be given to others ³⁰ 

and you will die in a foreign ³¹  land.

Israel will certainly be carried into exile ³²  away from its land.’”

[10:5]  ¹ tc The MT reads the singular construct noun שְׁכַן (shÿkhan, “the inhabitant [of Samaria]”), while the LXX and Syriac reflect the plural construct noun שְׁכַנֵי (shÿkhane, “the inhabitants [of Samaria]”). The singular noun may be a collective referring to the population of Samaria as a whole (BDB 1015 s.v. שָׁכֵן; e.g., Isa 33:24). Most English translations view this as a reference to the inhabitants of the city as a whole (KJV, RSV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJPS, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[10:5]  ² tc The MT reads יָגוּרוּ (yaguru, Qal imperfect 3rd person common plural from III גוּר, gur, “to dread”; see BDB 159 s.v. III גוּר 1). This reading is followed by most English versions but is syntactically awkward because III גוּר (“to dread”) is used nowhere else with the preposition לְ (lamed, “they are in dread for…”?). BDB suggests reading יָנוּדוּ (yanudu, Qal imperfect 3rd person common plural from נוּד, nud, “to lament”; BDB 626 s.v. נוּד 2.a) which harmonizes better with the parallelism with אָבַל (’aval, “to mourn”) in the following line. The verb נוּד (“to lament”) is used with the preposition לְ in the idiom “to lament for” (e.g., Isa 51:19; Jer 15:5; 16:5; 48:17; Nah 3:7). This involves simple orthographic confusion between ג (gimel) and נ (nun), as well as ר (resh) and ד (dalet) which were often confused by the scribes.

[10:5]  ³ tc The MT reads the plural לְעֶגְלוֹת (lÿ’eglot, “for the calves”), while some Greek versions (LXX, Theodotion) and the Syriac reflect the singular לְעֵגֶל (“for the calf [calf idol]”). The singular reading is preferred on the basis of internal evidence: the oracle denounces the calf idol worship of Samaria. The plural form probably arose due to the ambiguity of the term “calf” when a scribe did not realize that the term was being used as a metonymy for the worship of the Egyptian calf goddess. Most recent English versions adopt the singular form and relate it to the calf goddess cult (RSV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NJPS, TEV, CEV, NLT); however, older English versions follow the MT plural (KJV, ASV).

[10:5]  ⁴ sn See the note on the place name Beth Aven in 4:15.

[10:5]  ⁵ tc The MT appears to read יָגִילוּ (yagilu, “they will rejoice”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from גִּיל, gil, “to rejoice”), but this is likely an example of semantic polarization. See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-67. The BHS editors propose the reading יְיֵלִילוּ (yÿyelilu, “they will lament”; Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from יָלַל, yalal, “to lament”), which also appears in Hos 7:14. If this reading is original, the textual variant may be attributed to: (1) orthographic confusion between ל (lamed) and ג (gimel), and (2) haplography or dittography of י (yod). English versions are split; some follow the MT (KJV, ASV, NIV, NJPS), others the proposed emendation (RSV, NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[10:5]  ⁶ tc This line division follows the MT rather than the line division suggested by the BHS editors.

[10:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “from it” (so NAB, NRSV).

[7:9]  ⁸ tn Traditionally, “the high places” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “pagan shrines.”

[7:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “And I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.”

[7:10]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:10]  ¹¹ tn The direct object of the verb translated “sent” is elided in the Hebrew text. The words “this message” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[7:10]  ¹² tn Heb “in the middle of the house of Israel.”

[7:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “words.”

[7:11]  ¹⁴ tn Or “for.”

[7:11]  ¹⁵ tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.

[7:12]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally, “seer.” The word is a synonym for “prophet,” though it may carry a derogatory tone on the lips of Amaziah.

[7:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Eat bread there.”

[7:13]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[7:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for it is a temple of a king and it is a royal house.” It is possible that the phrase “royal house” refers to a temple rather than a palace. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 243.

[7:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.

[7:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.

[7:14]  ²² tn Heb “for.”

[7:14]  ²³ tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”

[7:14]  ²⁴ sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).

[7:15]  ²⁵ tn Heb “from [following] after.”

[7:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and the Lord said to me.”

[7:16]  ²⁷ tn The verb, which literally means “to drip,” appears to be a synonym of “to prophesy,” but it might carry a derogatory tone here, perhaps alluding to the impassioned, frenzied way in which prophets sometimes delivered their messages. If so, one could translate, “to drivel; to foam at the mouth” (see HALOT 694 s.v. נטף).

[7:17]  ²⁸ tn Heb “in the city,” that is, “in public.”

[7:17]  ²⁹ tn Heb “will fall by the sword.”

[7:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “will be divided up with a [surveyor’s] measuring line.”

[7:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “[an] unclean”; or “[an] impure.” This fate would be especially humiliating for a priest, who was to distinguish between the ritually clean and unclean (see Lev 10:10).

[7:17]  ³² tn See the note on the word “exile” in 5:5.