Amos 5:8

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Amos 5:7-9

Amos 5:7-9. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood Or into hemlock, as the word here used is translated, Amos 6:12. Ye judges and rulers that pervert the law that was designed to protect innocence, and under colour of it exercise the greatest oppression. True or just judgment is sweet or pleasing; corrupt judgment, mere bitterness. And leave off righteousness That is, leave off to practise it, or make it to cease in your courts of judicature. Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Amos 5:1-15

God requires repentance (5:1-15)The prophet again recalls past warnings that the people had consistently ignored. He sees vividly that the result of the people’s stubbornness will be the destruction of Israel. Samaria will be conquered and most of Israel’s army wiped out (5:1-3).What God wants is not an increase in religious ceremonies but a turning in heart and life to him. He does not want processions to religious holy places (which, in any case, will be destroyed) but the administration of... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Amos 5:8

the seven stars. Hebrew. kimah = cluster. Modern name, the Pleiades. See notes on Job 9:9 ; Job 38:31 , Job 38:32 . Compare Isaiah 13:10 ; and see App-12 . Orion. Hebrew. kesel = rigidity, strength; from kesalim = loins (Job 15:27 ): hence, "confidence" derived from strength (Job 8:14 ; Job 31:24 , where the Septuagint has ichun = strength. Psalms 78:7 . Proverbs 3:26 ). In the Denderah Zodiac his name is oar , from the Hebrew root 'Or = light: hence the glorious One. See App-12 .... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Amos 5:8

"Seek him that maketh the Pleiades and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night; that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth (Jehovah is his name)."We have exactly the same theme here that was visible in Amos 4:13; it is just Amos' way of emphasizing that the God who threatens such awful consequences upon Israel is fully able to bring them to pass just as he has promised.Pleaides and Orion ..." These... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Amos 5:8

8. the seven stars—literally, the heap or cluster of seven larger stars and others smaller (Job 9:9; Job 38:31). The former whole passage seems to have been in Amos' mind. He names the stars well known to shepherds (to which class Amos belonged), Orion as the precursor of the tempests which are here threatened, and the Pleiades as ushering in spring. shadow of death—Hebraism for the densest darkness. calleth for the waters of the sea—both to send deluges in judgment, and the ordinary rain in... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Amos 5:1-17

3. The third message on injustice 5:1-17The structure of this message is chiastic, which focuses attention and emphasis on the middle part.A A description of certain judgment Amos 5:1-3B A call for individual repentance Amos 5:4-6C An accusation of legal injustice Amos 5:7D A portrayal of sovereign Yahweh Amos 5:8-9C’ An accusation of legal injustice Amos 5:10-13B’ A call for individual repentance Amos 5:14-15A’ A description of certain judgment Amos 5:16-17Another structural feature stresses... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Amos 5:8-9

A portrayal of sovereign Yahweh 5:8-9Since Yahweh made the Pleiades and Orion, constellations of stars, He could bring His will to pass on earth too. The rising of the Pleiades before daybreak heralded the arrival of spring, and the rising of Orion after sunset signaled the onset of winter. [Note: Sunukjian, p. 1439.] Since Yahweh brings light out of darkness in the morning and darkens the day at night, He could change the fate of Israel from prosperity to adversity. Since He calls the waters... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Amos 5:1-27

The Third Address1-6. A lament, a warning, and an invitation. 7, 10-20. Denunciation of injustice and oppression, with threats of pestilence and judgment. 21-27. A repudiation of their attempt to please God by mere ritual.1, 2. Lamentation] a technical term for mournful poetry consisting of short lines of unequal length: here, for instance (Amos 5:2), the dirge consists of four lines, the first and third having three accents, the second and fourth two. Virgin] because, though often defeated,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Amos 5:8

(8) Connected by E.V. with Amos 5:6 through the verb “seek ye,” so that it may thus be linked to Amos 5:7. To regard it as a solemn assertion “There is one who maketh, &c.,” is not satisfactory. We prefer to render, As for him who made the Pleiades . . . Jehovah is his name, i.e., The God of the Hebrews is the supreme universal Lord (comp. Amos 4:13). This is profoundly impressive, since the prophets were surrounded by the pompous nature-worship of the East.The Heb. word for the Pleiades... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Amos 5:1-27

The Works of God Amos 5:8 The text brings the works of God and the name of God into one focus, and makes use of both as an argument with man to raise himself from the low and unworthy pretences of religion to Him Who sits high above the magnificence of all material forms, yet deigns to listen to the whisper of a kneeling child. I. Seek Him because He is Immutable. This is declared by 'the seven stars and Orion,' and by all the constellations among which the Pleiades are set. It is a... read more

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