‏ Amos 2:6-16

Summary for Amos 2:6-16: 2:6-16  ^a Israel: After leading the people through a litany of sins committed by Israel’s neighbors, Amos arrived at his real point: The Israelites would suffer a similar fate (cp. Nathan’s use of prophetic rhetoric to induce self-indictment, 2 Sam 12:1-13  ^b). 2:6  ^c Honorable people are the “righteous,” those who enjoyed a right relationship with God and other people. The parallel with poor people creates the idea of the “righteous needy.” The law of Moses urged those who had much to help those in need by lending freely (Deut 15:7-11  ^d). As a last resort, those too poor to pay their debts could become bond servants to repay their debts through labor (Lev 25:39-43  ^e). These righteous needy were being sold into bond servitude for a pair of sandals, a hyperbole for the pittance they owed (see Amos 8:6  ^f). The sandals were a pledge given for the debt or a token used to seal a bargain (see Ruth 4:7  ^g).
2:7  ^h To trample ... people was to treat them ruthlessly (see also 8:4  ⁱ).

• The helpless and oppressed were people exploited by a socio-economic system that denied them the justice guaranteed by law (Exod 23:6-8  ^j).

• That father and son sleep with the same woman demonstrated the moral destitution of the Israelites; the law of Moses prohibited this practice (Lev 18:7-8  ^k, 15  ^l; 20:11-12  ^m).

• corrupting my holy name: In worshiping various fertility gods, Israel and surrounding nations engaged in “sacred prostitution” (see Hos 4:10-14  ⁿ). Sexual relations with a shrine prostitute were thought to ensure plentiful crops and thriving herds of livestock. This verse suggests that these acts were performed in the name of the Lord. When performed as religious rituals, these corrupt actions treat God’s name as worthless.
2:8  ^o The irony is that the oppressors of the poor flaunted their sins at religious festivals.

• The Torah allowed a lender to take a poor man’s cloak as security for a debt, but it was not to be kept overnight, because the nights were cold (Exod 22:26-27  ^p; Deut 24:12-13  ^q). A widow’s clothing was never to be taken as security for a debt (Deut 24:17  ^r).

• unjust fines: The wealthy bribed judges and used their influence to keep the poor, who could not defend themselves, from obtaining a fair hearing (Amos 5:12  ^s).
2:9  ^t Amorites is used here as a general term to denote the inhabitants of Canaan (see Gen 15:16  ^u; Judg 6:10  ^v).
Summary for Amos 2:11-12: 2:11-12  ^w In addition to priests, God provided prophets to speak his word and will (Deut 18:15-19  ^x) and holy men called Nazirites, who were dedicated to the Lord by vows that included abstention from fermented drinks (Num 6:1-21  ^y). Israel showed its disregard for God by telling both the Nazirites and the prophets to ignore and violate God’s calling (see Amos 7:12-13  ^z).
Summary for Amos 2:14-16: 2:14-16  ^aa The chapter concludes with a description of the battle in which Israel would be defeated and would flee (see Ps 33:16-17  ^ab).
2:15  ^ac The archers stood in the last ranks. If they fled, it meant the forward ranks had collapsed.
2:16  ^ad Amos later calls that day the “day of the Lord” (5:18  ^ae); both expressions indicate the time of judgment on Israel (see also 8:3  ^af).

‏ Amos 3

Summary for Amos 3:1-5:17: 3:1–5:17  ^ag Amos directs the three prophetic messages in this section against Israel, indicting them for a false understanding of their status as God’s chosen people. The messages show a progression toward judgment.
Summary for Amos 3:1-2: 3:1-2  ^ah The first message from the Lord warns Israel that its status as God’s elect will not excuse them from God’s judgment. Instead, they will be held to a higher standard than the surrounding nations. 3:1  ^ai Amos begins with a reference to God’s goodness to Israel when he rescued them from Egypt (see 2:10  ^aj).
3:2  ^ak The word translated been intimate indicates personal and experiential knowledge that often extends beyond mere intellectual awareness. It can indicate formal recognition and acknowledgment (Exod 1:8  ^al; 5:2  ^am), personal experience (Gen 2:17  ^an), or sexual relations (Gen 4:1  ^ao). This word is frequently used of God’s relationship with Israel (Hos 5:3  ^ap) and of Israel’s ideal relationship with God (Hos 2:20  ^aq). Because of Israel’s privileged status, God would hold them accountable for all their sins, not just some of them. God holds people accountable in terms of what has been given them (Luke 12:47-48  ^ar).
Summary for Amos 3:3-6: 3:3-6  ^as Amos explains his call to prophesy with a series of rhetorical questions that must be answered in the negative. But the metaphorical language carries deeper meaning than is implied in the questions themselves. 3:3  ^at Amos’s walk with God was evidence that his message was in accord with the direction of God’s plans for Israel’s judgment.
3:4  ^au Amos’s messages have God behind them: What he says would, in fact, happen to Israel. God is the lion who roars, and he has already found his victim—the people of Israel who are ready for judgment.
3:5  ^av The trap pictures the consequences of Israel’s sin. Israel fully deserved the judgment that Amos proclaimed.
3:6  ^aw disaster ... the Lord has planned: God sends both the good and pleasant, and the harmful and painful (Isa 45:7  ^ax; Lam 3:38  ^ay; see Deut 28  ^az; Job 2:10  ^ba).
3:8  ^bb God, the lion, has roared from Mount Zion (1:2  ^bc) and compelled Amos to prophesy (see 7:14-16  ^bd).
3:9  ^be The prophet now turns to two of Israel’s enemies, Philistia (Hebrew Ashdod, one of the key cities of Philistia) and Egypt. He invites them to surround Samaria (the capital of the kingdom of Israel) to see its chaos and oppression. Israel appeared strong from the outside, but it was rotten within, rife with class struggles. The enemies would take advantage of Israel’s internal weakness (see 3:11  ^bf).
3:10  ^bg Israel’s rich people acquired their wealth through their neglect and brutal treatment of the poor and helpless (see 2:6-8  ^bh).
3:11  ^bi The real enemy was not Egypt or Philistia, but Assyria, the only superpower in the region.
3:12  ^bj A shepherd who tries to rescue: The people of both Israel and Judah believed that, because of their chosen status, God would intervene to rescue them and never let them perish. The prophet’s words are ironic: Their rescue would be like a shepherd who arrives too late to save the sheep, and who can pull only two legs or a piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion.

• So it will be ... reclining on couches: Some have interpreted this statement to mean that only the fabric of a few couches would survive the Assyrian siege of Samaria. Accordingly, the last two lines of this verse could be translated So it will be when the Israelites in Samaria are rescued / with only a broken bed and a tattered pillow.
3:13  ^bk The Lord’s message is to go to all Israel (literally the house of Jacob). Jacob was the ancestor of both Israel and Judah.

• The witnesses who are told to listen could be the nations summoned in 3:9  ^bl, the inhabitants of Samaria, or bands of prophets.

• Lord God of Heaven’s Armies: This title, traditionally “Lord God of Hosts” (also in 4:13  ^bm; 5:14-16  ^bn, 27  ^bo; 6:8  ^bp), portrays God as commander of the heavenly armies; this is the true God of the universe, not a local deity (see also Exod 15:3  ^bq).
3:14  ^br pagan altars at Bethel: The shrine at Bethel, built by Jeroboam I shortly after his inauguration (1 Kgs 12:26-33  ^bs), continued through the dynasty of Jehu (2 Kgs 10:29  ^bt), from whom Jeroboam II descended. This shrine merged worship of Yahweh (the Lord) with the pagan symbol of a bull. When the altars were destroyed, the Bethel shrine, the king’s official sanctuary (Amos 7:13  ^bu), and the northern kingdom would also be ruined.
3:15  ^bv Ivory represents the immense, ill-gotten wealth of the rich. Archaeologists have found some of these ivory inlays in the ruins of Samaria.

‏ Amos 4

Summary for Amos 4:1-3: 4:1-3  ^bw In this message Amos holds Samaria’s wives accountable for urging their husbands to perform ruthless acts in order to provide them with money for their parties. 4:1  ^bx you fat cows (literally you cows of Bashan): Bashan was famous for its fierce, fat bulls (Ps 22:12  ^by; Ezek 39:18  ^bz). Amos uses the feminine form (cows) to paint a picture of Israel’s upper class wives, who cared little for the poor. Their only concern was to extract enough wealth from the needy to support their own consumption.
4:2  ^ca has sworn this by his holiness: Holiness speaks of God as existing outside of and independent of creation; his nature is wholly other than what he has created. The oath is similar to 6:8  ^cb; 8:7  ^cc.

• hooks: The Assyrians were known for their inhumane treatment of war captives (see 2 Chr 33:11  ^cd; cp. 2 Kgs 19:28  ^ce). A stela (stone pillar with an inscription) discovered in northern Syria shows the Assyrian king Esarhaddon holding cords that pass through the lips of two war captives. A recent scholar has suggested that hooks referred to the rings inserted into the noses of cattle to manage them.
4:3  ^cf The wall of Samaria that these women trusted for security could not protect them.
Summary for Amos 4:4-5: 4:4-5  ^cg The prophet’s sarcasm shows how far Israel had strayed from God’s ways. Israel had plenty of religion but no reverence for God. 4:4  ^ch Amos lampoons the Israelites’ worthless piety.

• Bethel, the site of Jacob’s famous vision of the ladder with angels descending and ascending (Gen 28:11-22  ^ci), was the southern seat of the religion established by Jeroboam I (see Amos 3:14  ^cj; 1 Kgs 12:28-29  ^ck). Gilgal, Israel’s campsite after they crossed the Jordan (Josh 4:19–5:9  ^cl), had become a popular shrine by the time of Amos and Hosea (Hos 4:15  ^cm; 9:15  ^cn; 12:11  ^co).

• sacrifices each morning ... tithes every three days: Israelite males were to appear before the Lord at the sanctuary three times each year (Exod 23:14-19  ^cp; 34:23  ^cq; Deut 16:16-17  ^cr). Tithes were typically paid annually (Deut 14:22-29  ^cs), with a special tithe paid every three years (see Deut 14:28  ^ct; 26:12  ^cu). Amos is making the point that the Israelites were religious to the point of absurdity, but they balked at being godly (Amos 5:15  ^cv; Hos 6:6  ^cw; Mic 6:8  ^cx; see Luke 11:42  ^cy).
4:5  ^cz Leavened bread (that is, sourdough fermented by wild yeast) was for daily consumption. The more primitive unleavened bread (made without yeast) became a sacred symbol, commemorating Israel’s affliction as slaves in Egypt (Deut 16:3  ^da), the Passover (Exod 12:17-20  ^db), and their hasty departure from that land (Exod 12:34  ^dc, 39  ^dd). Unleavened bread thus became altar bread (Lev 6:17  ^de; 7:12  ^df). However, bread made with yeast could accompany a peace offering of thanksgiving (Lev 7:13  ^dg).
Summary for Amos 4:6-11: 4:6-11  ^dh God sent natural disasters to bring his people to repentance, but each time they failed to respond in any sincere manner. Amos ends the account of each disaster with the refrain, “But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.
4:10  ^di God had used plagues to convince Egypt to let Israel go (Exod 7:14–12:30  ^dj; 9:2-3  ^dk; Ps 91:6  ^dl; Hab 3:5  ^dm); he promised to bring the plagues of Egypt on Israel if they continued to turn away from him to worship pagan gods (Deut 28:27  ^dn, 60  ^do).
4:11  ^dp As with the plagues on Egypt (4:10  ^dq), the plagues on Israel increased in magnitude and intensity (cp. 4:12  ^dr).

• as I destroyed: The thought that God would treat his own people in the same way as he had treated Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24-25  ^ds) was shocking to their theology.
4:12  ^dt This is one of the two great thematic verses in Amos (the second is 5:24  ^du). Since Israel would not repent, it must meet ... God in judgment.
4:13  ^dv This verse appears to be a hymn fragment, possibly sung by the worshipers at Bethel (for other hymn fragments, see 5:8-9  ^dw; 9:5-6  ^dx). Israel had been treating God as a baal—a local god with limited power. But the God they professed to worship and whom they would face in judgment is all-powerful.

‏ Amos 5

Summary for Amos 5:1-3: 5:1-3  ^dy The charges against Israel had been filed (3:1-2  ^dz; 4:1-3  ^ea); now it was time for judgment. Amos made this point clear by singing a funeral song for Israel, as though the nation were already dead. 5:1  ^eb funeral song: The Hebrew word (qinah) describes a special rhythm (3+2 beats) used for funeral dirges (most of the book of Lamentations is written in qinah). The ominous significance was clear: Israel had already died and now awaited burial.
5:2  ^ec When used to describe political powers, virgin refers to a state of being unconquered by a foreign power (e.g., Babylon, Isa 47:1  ^ed; Jerusalem, Lam 2:13  ^ee; cp. Lam 1:1  ^ef).
5:3  ^eg This verse is a reversal of the promises made in Lev 26:8  ^eh.
5:4  ^ei Come back to me and live implies a condition: In order to live, Israel should seek the Lord (also in 5:6  ^ej). Otherwise, the funeral song (5:1-2  ^ek) would become Israel’s death sentence.
5:5  ^el Beersheba was another site (see study note on 4:4) with ties to the patriarchal era (e.g., Abraham, Gen 21:33  ^em; 22:19  ^en) that had been made into a shrine.

• Gilgal ... exile: A wordplay using alliteration (Hebrew hagilgal galoh yigleh).
5:6  ^eo The northern kingdom of Israel (literally the house of Joseph) was dominated by the tribes of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (see study note on 5:15; see Hos 5:3  ^ep, 5  ^eq).
Summary for Amos 5:8-9: 5:8-9  ^er Amos quotes a second hymn fragment (see 4:13  ^es; 9:5-6  ^et). Once again, the prophet emphasizes the contrast between the cosmic God and the local gods.

• Stars, celestial bodies, and constellations such as Pleiades and Orion were regarded as deities in the ancient world. Not so, says Amos; the Lord made them and placed them in the sky.

• water: The ancients had observed a process that they did not understand (evaporation and condensation). However, the Lord understands and controls natural processes that seem mysterious to humans.
5:10  ^eu Amos resumes the thought begun in 5:7  ^ev. Israel’s courts, controlled by the wealthy, depended on corrupt judges and hired witnesses. They had no use for what was true, but only for what was expedient to their own cause (5:12  ^ew).
5:11  ^ex stone houses: Again, Amos targets the rich. The houses of peasants were built of mud brick. Cut stone, the result of laborious handwork, was very expensive.
5:13  ^ey Witnesses pleaded that they saw and heard nothing. Truthfulness had become a liability (5:10  ^ez) and might endanger the one who spoke it.
5:14  ^fa Amos makes his earlier hints (5:4  ^fb, 6  ^fc) more explicit: Israel must do what is good and right in order to survive.
5:15  ^fd the remnant of his people: The Hebrew text uses the remnant of Joseph to refer to the northern kingdom, who were still God’s people despite their rebellion and idolatry.
Summary for Amos 5:16-17: 5:16-17  ^fe crying ... mourning ... wailing: Grief would result from the widespread and certain destruction that lay ahead (5:1-2  ^ff). 5:16  ^fg farmers ... professional mourners: This expression is a graphic way of describing that everyone would grieve.
Summary for Amos 5:18-6:14: 5:18–6:14  ^fh The pronouncements of sorrow in this section develop two themes: (1) Israel’s apostasy would make the “day of the Lord” a day of judgment, not salvation; and (2) Judah’s spiritual complacency would also bring judgment. 5:18  ^fi Amos again confronts the Israelites’ distorted view of their chosen status (see 3:2  ^fj).

• The phrase What sorrow awaits you denotes despair brought on by a great tragedy.

• The day of the Lord in the Old Testament (see Isa 13:6  ^fk, 9  ^fl) was a time when God would intervene in the world to set right those things that had gone wrong. God’s intervention would mean vindication for the righteous, but judgment for the wicked. Israel thought that on that day (see also Amos 8:3  ^fm, 9  ^fn, 13  ^fo; 9:11  ^fp) God would save them. However, because the Israelites had been wicked, the day of the Lord would bring darkness, not light. Assyria conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC (2 Kgs 17:7-23  ^fq), fulfilling this prophecy.
Summary for Amos 5:21-27: 5:21-27  ^fr Amos again confronts the religious hypocrisy and spiritual unfaithfulness of the Israelites (see 4:4-5  ^fs; Isa 1:10-20  ^ft).
5:22  ^fu God would not accept the offerings (see Lev 1–6  ^fv) of the Israelites because they were attempts to manipulate him magically rather than signs of true repentance and faith.
5:24  ^fw This is the second of the great thematic verses in Amos (see 4:12  ^fx).

• endless river: The streams or gullies (wadis) in Israel’s dry areas contained water only temporarily during rainy seasons. However, God wanted continual, not just seasonal, justice.
Summary for Amos 5:25-26: 5:25-26  ^fy Although the people of Israel claimed that God had to bless them because of the Sinai covenant, Amos demonstrated that they had been fundamentally pagan from the very earliest days of the covenant. 5:25  ^fz Israel’s relationship with God was based on true devotion that yielded obedience (1 Sam 15:22-23  ^ga). Sacrifices representing repentance and faith could repair a breach made by sin, but they were not a substitute for a life lived in accordance with God’s word.

• Forty years in the wilderness was the duration of Israel’s wandering after the rebellion at Kadesh-barnea (see Num 14:32-35  ^gb).
Summary for Amos 5:26-27: 5:26-27  ^gc The names that appear in 5:26  ^gd have given rise to several conjectures, but many interpreters consider them to be names of unidentified pagan gods. The king god may well be Molech, god of the Ammonites (see 1:15  ^ge). The word translated you served may mean you will lift up, in which case the prophet is making a contrast between Israel or Judah, who carried their idols, and God, who carries his people (see Isa 46:1-7  ^gf).

‏ Amos 6

6:1  ^gg Jerusalem ... Samaria: A message including Jerusalem is unexpected, but it shows that God plays no favorites; whoever rebels against God will experience sorrow. The Hebrew text uses the terms Zion ... Mount Samaria, indicating the citadels of the two cities. The people of both Judea and Israel were smug and self-important, believing that the fortresses of the cities of Jerusalem and Samaria were impregnable (see also 4:3  ^gh). Relying on physical power instead of on God is sin.
6:2  ^gi Calneh and Hamath were Aramean city-states under Israelite influence (see 2 Kgs 14:28  ^gj). Calneh fell to Assyria in 738 BC, and Hamath was forced to pay tribute shortly thereafter. Uzziah had broken down the wall of Gath (2 Chr 26:6  ^gk), but it also fell to Assyria in 711 BC.

• You are no better: Israel itself fell in 722 BC.
6:3  ^gl day of judgment (literally seat of violence): By this phrase, Amos either meant that Israel’s behavior hastened the violence of the Assyrian conquest, or that the people encouraged everyday violence against the poor by pushing the thought of coming disaster from their minds.
6:4  ^gm Meat was typically used to honor distinguished guests. The common food was bread, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The everyday use of meat shows the opulence of the wealthy classes.
Summary for Amos 6:5-6: 6:5-6  ^gn These verses provide a picture of drunken revelry.
6:6  ^go wine by the bowlful: The word translated bowl (Hebrew mizraq) is related to a verb meaning sprinkle or splash (Hebrew zaraq; see Exod 24:6  ^gp); the same word identified the basins used for sprinkling blood or water in religious ceremonies (see 2 Kgs 12:13  ^gq; 25:15  ^gr), adding a sense of sacrilege to this description of their drunkenness.

• of your nation: The Hebrew text reads of Joseph, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel; see study note on Amos 5:6.
6:8  ^gs The most solemn oath the Lord could pronounce was by his own name (see also Gen 22:16  ^gt; Jer 51:14  ^gu; cp. Amos 4:2  ^gv; Ps 110:4  ^gw; Heb 6:13-14  ^gx).

• arrogance of Israel (literally pride of Jacob; see study note on Amos 8:7): Jacob can mean cheat (Gen 27:36  ^gy), whereas Israel means he struggles with God (Gen 32:28  ^gz). Amos uses Jacob to express the obstinate arrogance that so often characterized the people of Israel.
Summary for Amos 6:9-10: 6:9-10  ^ha These verses graphically picture the wholesale slaughter by military conquest promised in 6:8  ^hb.
6:10  ^hc to dispose of the dead: Or to burn the dead. Cremation was very uncommon in the ancient Near East (see study note on 2:1), so some interpret this phrase to mean burn a memorial fire (see Jer 34:5  ^hd). Others take it to mean dispose of the remains, rather than perform a cremation. Yet the context—the need to dispose of multiple bodies to avoid putrefaction and disease (Amos 6:9  ^he; see 8:3  ^hf)—supports the idea that it means cremation.
6:12  ^hg It would be foolish to run horses ... over boulders, because unshod horses cannot run on rocks without serious damage to their hooves. It is also obvious that oxen cannot plow rocks. A slight adjustment to the word division of the Hebrew text yields plow the sea with oxen, an equally absurd suggestion.

• that’s how foolish you are: The point of the comparisons now becomes obvious, as Israel’s own absurdity surfaces in the moral realm.

• you turn justice into poison: The people perverted what is just and right, turning it into something toxic and bitter (see also 5:7  ^hh).
6:13  ^hi Lo-debar and Karnaim that were part of the territory regained from the Arameans by Jeroboam II (2 Kgs 14:25-28  ^hj). Amos makes puns on their names (see NLT textual footnote).
6:14  ^hk Lebo-hamath marked the northern border of Solomon’s influence (1 Kgs 8:65  ^hl) and of the land recovered by Jeroboam II. The Dead Sea (called the sea of the Arabah; see footnote on 2 Kgs 14:25  ^hm) marked the southern border of Jeroboam’s recovered territory. The irony was clear: All of this recovered land would be oppressed by the enemy nation (Assyria).