阿摩司书 1:5 CUNPSS

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Amos 1:3-15

What the Lord says here may be explained by what he says Jer. 12:14; Thus said the Lord, against all my evil neighbours that touch the inheritance of my people Israel, Behold, I will pluck them out. Damascus was a near neighbour to Israel on the north, Tyre and Gaza on the west, Edom on the south, Ammon and (in the next chapter) Moab on the east; and all of them had been, one time, one way, or other, pricking briers and grieving thorns to Israel, evil neighbours to them; and, because God... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 1:5

I will break also the bar of Damascus ,.... Or bars, the singular for the plural, by which the gates of the city were barred; and, being broken, the gates would be easily opened, and way made for the enemy to pass into the city and spoil it; or it may signify the whole strength and all the fortifications of it. So the Targum, "I will break the strength of Damascus:' and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven ; or, "of an idol", as the Vulgate Latin version. It is thought to be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 1:5

The bar of Damascus - The gates, whose long traverse bars, running from wall to wall, were their strength. I will throw it open; and the gates were forced, and the city taken, as above. The plain of Aven - the house of Eden - These are names, says Bochart, of the valley of Damascus. The plain of Aven, or Birkath-Aven, Calmet says, is a city of Syria, at present called Baal-Bek, and by the Greeks Heliopolis; and is situated at the end of that long valley which extends from south to north,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 1:5

Verse 5 He then adds,I will break in pieces the bar of Damascus The Prophet confirms what he had already said; for Damascus, being strongly fortified, might have seemed unassailable. By bar, the Prophet, mentioning a part for the whole, meant strongholds and everything which could keep out enemies. Nothing, then, shall prevent enemies from taking possession of the city of Damascus. How so? Because the Lord will break in pieces its bars. It is then added, I will cut off, or destroy, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

Before announcing the judgment on Israel, Amos proclaims the punishment on neighbouring heathen nations for their injurious treatment of the chosen people, thus showing God's care for his elect, and leading them to fear vengeance for their own greater sins towards him. The order observed in denouncing these nations is not geographical, but is regulated by the nature of each people's relation to Israel, and the degree in which they have sinned against her. The denunciation begins with Syria,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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 1:5

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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Amos 1:5

I will also break the bar of Damascus - In the East, every city was fortified; the gates of the stronger cities were cased in iron, that they might not be set on fire by the enemy; they were fastened within with bars of brass 1 Kings 4:13 or iron (Psalms 107:16; Isaiah 45:2; compare Isaiah 48:14; Jeremiah 51:3 O). They were flanked with towers, and built over, so that what was naturally the weakest point and the readiest access to an enemy became the strongest defense. In Hauran the huge doors... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Amos 1:4-5

Amos 1:4-5. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael God’s judgments are often compared to fire. But perhaps the expression may here signify, that the fine palaces of Hazael, and his son and successor Ben- hadad, should be burned down, as they probably were in the taking of Damascus by Tiglath-pileser. I will break also the bar of Damascus The gates and fortifications thereof, in which its strength consists, shall be broken down: and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven ... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Amos 1:3-15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Amos 1:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 1:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 1:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:3-5

The Pulpit Commentary - Amos 1:5

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Amos 1:5

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Amos 1:4-5

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