Amo 4:1 | KingComments | STEP | With astonishing irony Amos speaks to the wives of the leaders in Israel. He calls them “cows of Bashan”. They are one of the causes of the oppression of the poor. The judgment will strike them. A people that feasts at the expense of others also push religion their own way. Amos denounces the religion that is practiced by the Israelites according to their own preferences in the places they have chosen themselves. After denouncing both social and religious life, Amos points to events in Israel’s history in which God’s discipling hand has been visible. These disciplines are intended by God to bring them to repentance, but they have not been listened to. Therefore, He calls them to prepare to meet Him. The prophet now addresses the ten tribes he compares to the cows of Bashan. From the female verbal forms it appears that Amos has the female or effeminate inhabitants of Samaria in mind (cf. ). He speaks to them in particular, because they are the models of people who live in laziness and self-satisfaction. In his words he uses the picture of grazing cows on the rich meadows on the other side of the Jordan. The cows of Bashan are known for being an excellent herd, well fed by grazing in the grassy meadows of the high plains of Bashan ( ; ). Amos uses these cows as an application to Israel because of both the prosperity of Israel and the beastly character that the Israelites display. And just as cows live for only one thing, that is to eat and become fat, and therefore want everything for themselves, so do these women. They focus exclusively on caring for their bodies. As far as that is concerned, a clear parallel can be drawn with the ‘body culture’ of our time, in which it is mainly about how I look or how the other person looks. It is not a compliment for a woman to be compared to a cow. It is the women of Samaria’s new elite whose men made it into the welfare state of Israel. In name they are subject to their husbands and call them ‘lord’. In reality, the men are obedient servants who have to fulfill all their whims and pleasures. They command: “Bring now!” The high costs of maintaining such a woman can only be met by further exacerbating the poor and needy of the people. Amos denounces all this. He does here what his fellow prophet Isaiah did. Isaiah also rages against the women who have the same characteristics as those to whom Amos addresses ( ). In what Amos says here to the women of Samaria, we see the world in miniature, constantly protesting to his leaders for more material goods and where selfishness is growing. And the greater the selfishness, the more insensitive we become to the needs of others. We will even exploit those others to satisfy our selfish desires. To do this, we will finally go over corpses. All sympathy is gone, the fulfilment of one’s own desires is central. That is how cows live, that is how the women of Samaria live. They will be shocked, the ladies! They sit and lie happily together, all tastefully and stylishly dressed according to the latest fashions, adorned with the most beautiful jewelry and richly painted with the refined products of the cosmetics industry. The room is filled with perfume. They all think they see the jealous glances of the other, because everyone thinks they look just as charming or more challenging than the other. With an affected voice they tell each other their embellished stories. With their stories they try to outdo each other and exaggerate them firmly to that end. It gives you a dry throat. The hostess is told by her guests whether that husband of hers can bring in another drink. Where is that guy? Suddenly the voice of the prophet bangs against those women: “Cows of Basan!” Amazed they stop their conversation. How dare that hillbilly! Without being presented, ill-mannered, illiterate – you can hear that in his dialect – and extremely insulting he disturbs their pleasurable togetherness. But listen, he talks on:

‏ Amos 4:1

Introduction

With astonishing irony Amos speaks to the wives of the leaders in Israel. He calls them “cows of Bashan”. They are one of the causes of the oppression of the poor. The judgment will strike them.

A people that feasts at the expense of others also push religion their own way. Amos denounces the religion that is practiced by the Israelites according to their own preferences in the places they have chosen themselves.

After denouncing both social and religious life, Amos points to events in Israel’s history in which God’s discipling hand has been visible. These disciplines are intended by God to bring them to repentance, but they have not been listened to. Therefore, He calls them to prepare to meet Him.

Cows!

The prophet now addresses the ten tribes he compares to the cows of Bashan. From the female verbal forms it appears that Amos has the female or effeminate inhabitants of Samaria in mind (cf. Amos 4:3). He speaks to them in particular, because they are the models of people who live in laziness and self-satisfaction.

In his words he uses the picture of grazing cows on the rich meadows on the other side of the Jordan. The cows of Bashan are known for being an excellent herd, well fed by grazing in the grassy meadows of the high plains of Bashan (Deu 32:14; Eze 39:18).

Amos uses these cows as an application to Israel because of both the prosperity of Israel and the beastly character that the Israelites display. And just as cows live for only one thing, that is to eat and become fat, and therefore want everything for themselves, so do these women. They focus exclusively on caring for their bodies. As far as that is concerned, a clear parallel can be drawn with the ‘body culture’ of our time, in which it is mainly about how I look or how the other person looks.

It is not a compliment for a woman to be compared to a cow. It is the women of Samaria’s new elite whose men made it into the welfare state of Israel. In name they are subject to their husbands and call them ‘lord’. In reality, the men are obedient servants who have to fulfill all their whims and pleasures. They command: “Bring now!” The high costs of maintaining such a woman can only be met by further exacerbating the poor and needy of the people.

Amos denounces all this. He does here what his fellow prophet Isaiah did. Isaiah also rages against the women who have the same characteristics as those to whom Amos addresses (Isa 3:16-26 ; Isa 32:9).

In what Amos says here to the women of Samaria, we see the world in miniature, constantly protesting to his leaders for more material goods and where selfishness is growing. And the greater the selfishness, the more insensitive we become to the needs of others. We will even exploit those others to satisfy our selfish desires. To do this, we will finally go over corpses. All sympathy is gone, the fulfilment of one’s own desires is central. That is how cows live, that is how the women of Samaria live.

They will be shocked, the ladies! They sit and lie happily together, all tastefully and stylishly dressed according to the latest fashions, adorned with the most beautiful jewelry and richly painted with the refined products of the cosmetics industry. The room is filled with perfume. They all think they see the jealous glances of the other, because everyone thinks they look just as charming or more challenging than the other.

With an affected voice they tell each other their embellished stories. With their stories they try to outdo each other and exaggerate them firmly to that end. It gives you a dry throat. The hostess is told by her guests whether that husband of hers can bring in another drink. Where is that guy?

Suddenly the voice of the prophet bangs against those women: “Cows of Basan!” Amazed they stop their conversation. How dare that hillbilly! Without being presented, ill-mannered, illiterate – you can hear that in his dialect – and extremely insulting he disturbs their pleasurable togetherness. But listen, he talks on: