the Lord GOD. Hebrew. Adonai Jehovah . App-4 . went out = goeth out [to war]. by a thousand = a thousand strong. Ref to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 32:30 ). App-92 . by an hundred = a hundred strong. to = [belonging] to. read more
There are suggestions in this chapter of the method of the apostle Paul, as when he used the diatribe so effectively in Romans. There are apparent interruptions of Amos' line of thought, such as might have occurred when members of his audience objected to his preaching, or attempted to refute his arguments. The discernment of this completely refutes the allegations of critical scholars who laboriously postulate a paste and scissors job that some later editor is alleged to have done on this... read more
"The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is cast down upon her land; there is none to raise her up."It is a mistake to make this whole chapter into a "poem," for it is no such thing. The lament was certainly cast into poetic form; but this was merely an attention-getting device used by the prophet as the background for the shocking and devastating words of God's prophecy which he was delivering to Israel.The virgin of Israel is fallen ..." The use of the present tense here... read more
"For thus saith the Lord, Jehovah: The city that went forth a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went forth a hundred shall have ten left, to the house of Israel."Military defeat and the near-total destruction of Israel's reservoir of fighting men are sternly indicated by this. This portion of Amos' lament continues in the stylized 3 + 2 metre; and, "Some scholars have imagined that Amos actually put on the garb of a professional mourner and sang this song in Samaria and... read more
Amos 5:1. Even a lamentation— This and the following chapter contain a kind of mournful song upon the misfortunes of Israel. See Jer 9:17 and the introduction to the book of Lamentations. read more
Amos 5:2. Forsaken, &c.— Cast down, or laid prostrate, &c. The kingdom of Israel, or of the ten tribes, after being carried into captivity, was never more re-established: it never formed a distinct kingdom from that of Judah. read more
Amos 5:3. The city that went out by a thousand— "The city which was able to furnish out a thousand men for war, shall have only a hundred of them left. Only one in ten of them shall escape the sword, and other chances of war." This was the exhausted state of Israel, when Salmaneser attacked and took Samaria, and carried them into captivity. read more
1. lamentation—an elegy for the destruction coming on you. Compare :-, "take up," namely, as a mournful burden (Ezekiel 19:1; Ezekiel 27:2). read more
2. virgin of Israel—the Israelite state heretofore unsubdued by foreigners. Compare Isaiah 23:12; Jeremiah 18:13; Jeremiah 31:4; Jeremiah 31:21; Lamentations 2:13; may be interpreted, Thou who wast once the "virgin daughter of Zion." Rather, "virgin" as applied to a state implies its beauty, and the delights on which it prides itself, its luxuries, power, and wealth [CALVIN]. no more rise—in the existing order of things: in the Messianic dispensation it is to rise again, according to many... read more
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E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Amos 5:2
virgin. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6 , for the house of Israel, a young girl who is beloved, as in Hosea. Compare Isaiah 37:22 ; Isaiah 47:1 .Jeremiah 14:17 ; Jeremiah 46:11 , &c. she. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Syriac and Vulgate, read "and shall not": i.e. cannot rise again. land = soil. Hebrew. 'adamah. there. Some codices read "and [there]". read more