sin. = guilt., trespass. Hebrew asham. App-44 . Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for the idol itself. Dan . . . Beer-sheba . The two places where the calves were set up (1 Kings 12:26-30 ). manner = mode [of worship]; Acts 9:2 . So used in Acts 16:17 ; Acts 18:25-26 ; Acts 19:9 , Acts 19:23 ; Acts 24:14 . they : i.e. the two calves, or "they that swear". read more
"They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, As thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, As the way of Beersheba liveth; they shall fall, and never rise again.""They that swear by the sin of Samaria ..." This expression means, "The calves at Dan and Bethel, and to `swear by,' means `to worship.'"[39] McKeating, following the New English Bible, translated this, "All who take their oath by Ashimah, goddess of Samaria";[40] but this cannot possibly be correct. The New English Bible and other translations... read more
Amos 8:14. They that swear by the sin of Samaria— The calf set up at Beth-el by Jeroboam. Instead of, The manner of Beer-sheba, Houbigant reads very properly, Thy god, O Beer-sheba! Compare chap. Amos 5:5. REFLECTIONS.—1st, The prophet is called upon to attend to another vision, and, lo! a basket of summer fruit stood before him, an emblem of that people ripe for destruction, and ready to be devoured by their enemies. 1. Their end is come: they have been suffered, like fruit, to grow till they... read more
14. swear by the sin of Samaria—namely, the calves (Deuteronomy 9:21; Hosea 4:15). "Swear by" means to worship (Hosea 4:15- :). The manner—that is, as "the way" is used (Psalms 139:24; Acts 9:2), the mode of worship. Thy god, O Dan—the other golden calf at Dan (Acts 9:2- :). liveth . . . liveth—rather, "May thy god . . . live . . . may the manner . . . live." Or, "As (surely as) thy god, O Dan, liveth." This is their formula when they swear; not "May Jehovah live!" or, "As Jehovah liveth!" read more
The silence of Yahweh 8:11-14The few remaining Israelites would be silent as they disposed of the corpses of their fellows (Amos 8:3), but God would also be silent in that day of judgment. read more
The apostate Israelites who swore in the name of their favorite pagan deities would fall never to rise again because their idols would not uplift them. Amos described the prominent idol in Samaria as Samaria’s guilt or shame. One of the idols they worshipped in Samaria was Ashimah (cf. 2 Kings 17:29-30), which Amos apparently alluded to here. From Dan to Beersheba, throughout the whole Promised Land, the Israelites would seek some word from Yahweh, but they would find none to meet their need.... read more
The Vision of the Ripe Fruit, followed by a Fifth Address1-3. The vision. 4-14. The address, denouncing dishonest traders (Amos 8:4-6), threatening earthquakes, eclipse, mourning, a painful sense of abandonment by God, an utter destruction of the superstitious (Amos 8:7-14).1-3. Notwithstanding the interference of Amaziah, the prophet finishes the recital of his visions.1, 2. Another play on words—qayits is the word for ripe fruit, and qçts for end. We might represent it by, ’A basket of ripe... read more
(14) Thy God, O Dan, liveth.—Translate, By the life of thy God, O Dan, and by the life of the way of Beersheba. On such forms of oath, see Note on Amos 6:8. The “way of Beersheba” was the ritual practised at Beersheba, another mode of designating the deity himself (probably Baal).[18] So LXX. Similarly the “sin of Samaria” means the golden calf that was worshipped there (Hosea 8:5). The supposition of Hitzig and Duhm (followed by W. R. Smith) that it refere to the Asherah worship (2 Kings 13:6)... read more
1. EARTHQUAKE, ECLIPSE, AND FAMINEAmos 8:4-14"Hear this, ye who trample the needy, and would put an end to the lowly of the land, saying, When will the New-Moon be over, that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may open corn (by making small the measure, but large the weight, and falsifying the fraudulent balances; buying the wretched for silver, and the, needy for a pair of shoes!), and that we may sell as grain the refuse of the corn!" The parenthesis puzzles, but is not impossible:... read more
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Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Amos 8:1-14
Israel nears its end (8:1-14)Just as the harvest comes to an end and the fruit is gathered into baskets, so Israel has come to its end and will be punished. Celebration will be turned to mourning, and hope will be replaced by despair. When the enemy attacks, the slaughter will be so extensive that bodies will lie unburied in the streets and fields for days (8:1-3).Amos returns to conditions in Israel to indicate that one reason for the nation’s downfall is the upper classes’ exploitation of the... read more