Bible Commentaries

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

The words of Amos — Not of that Amos who was father to Isaiah (as some ancients, for want of Hebrew, mistook it), but a man of meaner rank; "rude in speech, but not in knowledge," 2 Corinthians 11:6 , tam sensuum nomine quam simplicitate verborum clarus, as Jerome saith of Didymus. The Jews surname him ψελλος , the stammerer; as if he had been a man, not only of a low, but of a letsome language; one that had an impediment in his speech ( μογιλαλος ), as Mark 7:32 , and this they gather from his name Amos, which signifieth a burden, as if this herdsman had had bovem in lingua, a clog upon his tongue; and could not utter himself freely (like Michael Balbus). But let this pass for a Jewish tradition. True it is, that Amos is by interpretation a burden; and no less true, that the words of Amos are onerosa prophetia, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by him, See Trapp on " Malachi 1:1 " who is a vehement prophet, laden with reproofs and threatenings comminationibus ae reprehensionibus onustus (as Luther saith of him), such as the land was not able to bear, said that malcontent Amaziah, Amos 7:10 who had fel in aure, his gall in his ears, as they write of some creatures. But truth must be spoken, however it be taken: neither may God’s ministers meddle with toothless truths only (as Balak did, Neither curse nor bless at all), but bind heavy burdens, if need be, upon the shoulders of obstinate sinners, that may cripple their iron sinews, and make them buckle under the sense of God’s unsupportable displeasure.

Who was among the herdmen of Tekoah — He was no prophet, neither was he a prophet’s son; but a herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit, Amos 7:14 , and extraordinarily called to this high office by Him "who chooseth the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and the weak things of the world to confound the mighty," 1 Corinthians 1:27 , who enabled the dumb ass to forbid his master’s madness, 2 Peter 2:16 , and sent this downright neat herd to deal with a brutish people, worse than the ox and ass that have no understanding, Psalms 32:9 Isaiah 1:8 Job 10:4 , and who had changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into a fourfooted calf and creeping things, Romans 1:28 . Tekoah is said to be six miles from Bethlehem, twelve from Jerusalem, situated in the tribe of Judah, 2 Chronicles 11:6 . Quinquius, that learned Hebrew, therefore, is utterly out in saying that Tekoah was a great town in the tribe of Asher.

Which he saw concerning Israel — He not only heard these words, but saw them in a vision; he had them by revelation from God. See Trapp on " Hosea 1:1 "

Concerning Israel — Or, against Israel, that is, the ten revolted tribes, who had many prophets sent them to foretell their captivity. God loves to foresignify.

In the days of Uzziah, … — At the same time with Hosea and Isaiah and Micah, when Procas Sylvius was king of the Latins, and Sardanapalus of the Assyrians, as Jerome saith.

And in the days of Jeroboam — The second; not that funestum Iudaeis caput, that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, 2 Kings 14:23 ; 2 Kings 14:27 2 Chronicles 26:6-12 . Under the reign of these two kings Judah and Israel were in great prosperity; and, bewitched therewith, applauded themselves in their impiety, as Psalms 73:5-6 . This prophet, therefore, is sent to rouse them and rub them up, to tell them their own, and what they should trust to.

Two years before the earthquake — That notable earthquake, famous and fresh in most men’s memories. Whether it fell out just then, when Uzziah attempted to offer incense, and was therefore smitten with leprosy, 2 Kings 15:5 , as some ancients affirm; or whether at that instant when Isaiah in a vision saw the Lord in his glory, and the posts of the door moved, Isaiah 6:4 , as some Rabbis tell us, I have not to say. It seems to be foretold, Amos 3:5 , and so terrible it was that people fled from it, Zechariah 14:5 . See the note there. Josephus maketh mention of it in the ninth book of his Antiquities, Am. xi., and telleth us, that half a great hill was removed by it out of its place, and carried four furlongs another way; so that the highway was obstructed, and the king’s gardens utterly marred. God, by such extraordinary works of his, showeth his justice and displeasure against sin, Psalms 18:8 Isaiah 13:13 , as also his special mercy to his praying people, as at Antioch, in the year 529, and at Bern. A.D. 1584; near unto which city a certain hill, carried violently beyond and over other hills, is reported by Polanus (who lived in those parts) to have covered a whole village that had 90 families in it; one half house only excepted, wherein the master of the family with his wife and children were earnestly calling upon God. Oh the terror of the Lord! and oh the power of prayer!

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And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

And he said, The Lord will roar — This is spoken for the terror of the wicked, as the like was, Joel 3:16 , for the comfort of the godly. See Trapp on " Joel 3:16 " The word, as Moses, saves the Israelite, slays the Egyptian; and is as the fragrance of precious ointment, of which Oecumenius tells us that it refresheth the dove but killeth the beetle, Columbam vegetat, scarabaeum necat. See 2 Corinthians 2:16 . See Trapp on " 2 Corinthians 2:16 " The prophet here tells idolatrous Israel to their teeth that God will no longer deal fairly with them, as a shepherd, but fiercely, as a lion; he will not only roar upon them, but rend the caul of their hearts; as the lion, together with his roar, lays his paws upon the prey; and that ye may know that these are not hobgolbin terms, devised on purpose to frighten silly people, and that I shoot not popguns at you.

The habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, … — That is, all your bravery shall down; all your wealth and worldly greatness shall wither; the top of your Carmel, the zenith of your prosperity, shall be blasted, and the scene soon altered. All this the prophet, used to shepherdy, expresseth accordingly, artis sum usus sermonibus (as it is natural for all artists to do), but with a great deal of life and boldness. Navita de ventis, de tauris narrat arator. Verbis vivis, animatis sententiis, et spiritus fervore flagrantissimus, as Bucholcer saith of Savonarola’s Meditations upon Psalms 51:0 .

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Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

For three transgressions of Damascus and for four — For their seven, that is, several sins, not a few; for their many and bony provocations, for their progress in sin, without mean or measure. The Jews here note, that for three faults God will pardon a man, but let him beware of the fourth: God will not always serve man for a sinning stock, but break off his abused patience, and proceed to punishment. Lo, all these things worketh God twice and thrice with man, Job 33:29 , but let him not thereupon grow overly bold, lest he pay for his presumption. Sin iterated is greatly aggravated; as ciphers added increase the sum; and though it may sleep a long time, yet it is but a sleeping debt, not called for of many years, required at length; as Saul’s sin in slaying the Gibeonites was not punished till forty years after; as Joab’s killing of Abner slept all David’s days. Now, lest Israel, looking upon Syria yet flourishing, should promise themselves like impunity, they are here thus threatened.

I will not turn away the punishment thereof — But pay them home for the new and the old; yea, for the old by occasion of the new; for their obstinate and incurable wickedness, I will punish them seven times more, and seven times more, and seven to that, Leviticus 26:24 , and so hang them up, as it were, in gibbets, for a warning to Israel, that they may wash their feet in the blood of these heathens, and redeem their own sorrows.

Because they have threshed Gilead — i.e. the Gileadites whom they had taken captive, and thus cruelly intreated; see 2 Kings 13:7 ; 2 Kings 10:32 , where it appeareth, that all this was done not without the Lord; which yet is no excuse to Hazael’s cruelty. That conquerors were wont to use this kind of torment and punishment, see 2 Samuel 12:31 . But that David should do so, is some wonder: he was hardly recovered of his late foul fall; and thence, haply, so much harshness. Certain it is, that the merciful God abhorreth cruelty toward his creature, and severely punisheth it; such as was this of Hazael toward Israel, foretold by Elisha, 2 Kings 8:12 , and afterwards of Ptolemy Lathurus, king of Egypt, who slew 30,000 Jews at once; and forced the rest to eat up their dead carcases. (Joseph.) So that barbarous Duke of Alva roasted some of his prisoners to death, starved others, and that even after quarter, saying, though he promised to give them their lives, he did not promise to find them food. Dio telleth us of the Jews that dwelt about Cyrene in the days of Trajan; that they slaughtered a great sort of Romans and Greeks after a miserable manner; sawing them down the middle from the crown of the head, tearing their flesh with their teeth, smearing themselves with their blood, and wearing their skins for coverings, …, so that 220,000 people perished there; and besides, in Egypt and Cyprus, 240,000, by the like abhorred cruelty, and about the same time, by the same hands. Dio, In Vitae Trajan, l. 58. c. 75. 8:421,423 "Beware of men," Matthew 10:17 .

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But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael — Sin doth as naturally draw judgments to it as the lodestone doth iron or turpentine fire; and heinous sins, heaviest judgments, devouring plagues. Such as are the fire of war, Psalms 78:62 ; pestilence, Leviticus 26:25 ; foreign enemies, Numbers 21:28 Jeremiah 48:45 ; homebred conspiracies, Judges 9:15 ; Judges 9:20 ; besides the fire of hell, whereof all miseries here are but typical. Let men kiss the Son therefore, lest God’s anger be kindled; and get the spirit of judgment, and of burning, that they may dwell with everlasting burnings. For even "our God is a consuming fire," Hebrews 12:29 .

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I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.

I will break also the bar of Damascus — i.e. their power and might, all strength defensive, or offensive, and so make way for the enemy into the city; give him a fair entrance without resistance. It is God that orders the battle, and renders men’s attempts vain or prosperous, Isaiah 54:17 Jeremiah 50:9 ; whereever the sword comes it is "bathed in heaven," Isaiah 34:5 .

And cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven — Campus idoli, the plain or valley of idols (so Mercer rendereth it), that is, of Syria given to idolatry; or Damascus, a very Poneropolis, and therefore ripe for ruin.

And him that holdeth the sceptre — & plain periphrasis of a king (called often by Homer, σκηπρουχος , sceptre bearer), or of him that was to succeed in the kingdom. The French call him Dauphin; the Spaniards, Infant, … Our Henry II crowned his eldest son Henry while he was yet alive, and put the sceptre into his hand; which made his ambition quite turn off his obedience.

From the house of Eden — Or of pleasure, the king’s palace, a very paradise. God denieth not great men their lawful pleasures for refreshment, amidst their weighty businesses, …, but yet they must remember St James’s charge, James 5:5 , against the grandees of his time: "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter," or of good cheer. And that of Abraham to Dives, "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things," …, Luke 16:25 , which text Gregory the Great could never read but his heart ached with fear, lest it should be his own case. It is well observed that ( φιληδονοι ) lovers of pleasure are set as last and worst of those wicked ones, 2 Timothy 3:4 . Solomon is blamed for spending thirteen years in building his house, and planting those paradises about it, Ecclesiastes 2:5 .

And the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir — A place of Media, called by other authors Cyrrha, or (as others think) Cyrene, in Egypt or Africa. This was fulfilled fifty years after by Tiglathpileser.

Saith the Lord — Who spake the word and it was done, Psalms 33:9 ; Psalms 148:5 . And what wonder, when his fiat only made the world, and he can as easily unmake it if he please.

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Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver [them] up to Edom:

For three transgressions — See Trapp on " Amos 1:3 "

Of Gaza — One of the five chief cities or satrapies of the Philistines; an ancient name, Genesis 10:19 Deuteronomy 2:23 1 Samuel 6:17 , and not so first called by Cambyses, making it his magazine when he marched against Egypt, as Mela would persuade us.

I will not turn away — Or I will not convert them, as some render it, so Amos 1:2 ; Amos 1:1 ; Amos 1:4 ; Amos 1:6 i.e. non reducam ad misericordiam suam, I will show them no mercy; but they shall have "an evil, an only evil," Ezekiel 7:5 , without mixture of mercy. This is punishment enough.

Because they carried away captive the whole captivity — This cruelty God singleth out (as before) as a singular sin that shall be surely punished. Now that is called a whole or perfect deportation, when none escapeth; but all of all sorts, sexes, and sizes, are carried away, as by a sweeping rain, or universal deluge: Jeremiah 13:19 , "Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive." Whether this were Judah or Israel that was so inhumanly dealt with by the Philistines we find not. Something like it we read, 2 Chronicles 21:16-17 Joel 3:6 . See Trapp on " Joel 3:6 "

To deliver them up to Edom — Or to shut them up in Edom, their most inveterate deadly enemy; to whom the Philistines delivered or sold them on this condition or bargain, that they should hold them there in perpetual and irrevocable slavery.

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But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

But I will send a fire — i.e. an enemy, saith Drusius, which, as a fire, shall consume all. This was fulfilled by Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26:6 , whence it was afterward called "Gaza, which is desert," Acts 8:26 .

Which shall devour the palaces thereof — Built likely in the blood of the poor afflicted, and having sin at the bottom, which blew up all at length, as the voice from heaven said to Phocas, who likewise laid his foundation in blood. See Trapp on " Amos 1:4 "

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And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.

And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod — These other four Satrapies of the Philistines (Gath is not mentioned, because happily time had now triumphed over it, so that it lived by fame only) were the worse likely, and fared the worse for Gaza’s ill neighbourhood; like as Hamath did for Damascus, Zechariah 9:2 .

And I will turn mine hand — Not in mercy, as Zechariah 13:7 , but for further mischief; I will have a double blow at Ekron, where Beelzebub the Grandiabolo is worshipped, Iterabo plagam: and when I have done with the rest I will begin again with Ekron; Acheronta movebo.

And the remnant of the Philistines — This is dreadful, but due to them, and just upon them for their savage dealing with Israel, Amos 1:6 . This was fulfilled by Hezekiah conquering all that country, 2 Kings 18:8 . See Josephus, lib. ix. 13.

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