amos-1:1-10-esv

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The woe against Damascus. The kingdom of Syria is here named from its capital The crime charged against it had been foretold by Elisha to Hazael, and by him indignantly repudiated ( 2 Kings 8:12 , 2 Kings 8:13 ). But a man in one set of circumstances little knows what he would do under an entirely different set; especially a man beginning a sinful life, the magnitude of the crimes of which he may yet be capable. Accordingly, Hazael fulfilled one prophecy, and supplied the materials of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The judgment on Damascus. The beauty of Damascus has been the admiration of travellers and the praise of poets. It is a mournful reflection that a city so magnificently situated, and with associations so romantic, should so often have been the scene of human injustice, cruelty, and bloodshed. The "pearl girdled with emeralds"—as Damascus was gracefully designated—is beautiful without, but, as the text reminds us, has often contained a lawless and godless population. I. THE OFFENCE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:4

Fire . Material fire, though elsewhere the term is used metaphorically for war and its evils (comp. Numbers 21:28 ; Psalms 78:63 ; Jeremiah 48:45 ). This passage of Amos, combined with verse 14, is quoted by Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 49:27 ), where he is pronouncing the doom of Damascus. House of Hazael … palaces of Benhadad. The two expressions are parallel, or they may signify the family of Hazael, and Damascus itself with its magnificent royal palaces. There were three kings of Syria... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:5

The bar which secured the gate of the city ( 1 Kings 4:13 ; Jeremiah 51:30 ; Nahum 3:13 ). Breaking the bar is equivalent to laying the place open to the enemy. From the plain of Avon; Vulgate, de campo idoli ; Hebrew, bikath-Aven ; Septuagint, ἐκ πεδίου ων ; better, from the valley of Aven, or vanity, perhaps so called analogously with Hosea's naming Bethel, Bethaven, "House of God" and "House of vanity" ( Hosea 5:8 ). Robinson and Pusey refer the name to a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6

Gaza is here used as the representative of the five cities of the Philistines. Three others are mentioned in Amos 1:8 , Gath being omitted as having long lost its importance, if not already destroyed. Gaza, modern Guzzeh, was the most southern city of Philistia in the immediate neighbourhood of the desert. The whole captivity; Hebrew, "an entire captivity," the whole people, so that neither age nor sex was spared. A similar complaint is made in Joel 3:4 , Joel 3:6 . What the LXX ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6-8

The judgment on Philistia. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6-8

The woe against Philistia. Gaza was one of the capitals of Philistia, and is put for the country as a whole. Its wealth and strength and special activity against Israel fitted it to be the representative of all the other capitals which are afterwards ( Amos 1:8 ) enumerated as sharing its punishment. The outrage charged against Gaza is probably that recorded in 2 Chronicles 21:16 and Joel 3:6 , and which occurred in the time of Jehoram. The crime denounced was— I. THE CROWNING... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6-8

The judgment on Philistia. The great religious truth which is conveyed in this prophetic warning addressed to Philistia is this—national retribution is inevitable. I. NATIONAL RETRIBUTION IS NOT AVERTED BY WEALTH AND PROSPERITY . Philistia was a fertile plain, abounding in all material riches. The people not only possessed the produce of a fruitful soil; they were versed in the arts of life, being famous as artificers and craftsmen; and they enjoyed the fruits of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:7

A fire. Each guilty city is to have its own special punishment, though probably the calamity of each is common to all. Gaza was conquered by Sennacherib when he invaded Judea in the time of Hezekiah, by Pharaoh-Necho ( Jeremiah 47:1 ), and by Alexander the Great, who spent more than two months in its siege (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 11:8, 4; Arrian; 2:27; see note on Zephaniah 2:4 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:8

Ashdod , "the Waster," hod . Esdud, or Shdood (called Azotus in Acts 8:40 ), and still a large village, lay about thirty-five miles north of Gaza, three miles from the sea. Ashkelon was situated between the two. "Askelon differs from the other celebrated cities of the Philistines, being seated on the sea, while Ekron, Garb, Jamnia, Ashdod, and Gaza are in the interior. It never could have had a harbour of any considerable size, however …. The topography of the place is peculiar. An... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:6-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:8

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