Amos 1:4-5

4, 5. Jehovah cannot endure the perpetration of such cruelties. The form which the announcement of judgment takes is practically the same in each case (Amos 1:7; Amos 1:10; Amos 1:12; Amos 1:14; Amos 2:2; Amos 2:5; compare Hosea 8:14).

Fire Symbol of war and its horrors.

House of Hazael Not “dynasty,” but “palace” or “city” or “land” of Hazael (compare Hosea 8:1; Hosea 9:15). Hazael usurped the throne of Damascus about 843 B.C. (2 Kings 8:7 ff.); he was the contemporary of Kings Joram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz, and inflicted heavy defeats upon all three. Since he was the founder of the then ruling dynasty, Amos calls Syria “the house of Hazael,” just as Israel is called in Assyrian inscriptions “the house of Omri.”

Ben-hadad Three kings of Damascus by that name are definitely known, two preceding Hazael, the third his son and successor (2 Kings 13:3; 2 Kings 13:25). The allusion may be to the third, who in time was nearest to Amos, though it is not likely that he was then on the throne. However, it is not impossible that the reigning monarch bore the same name. Some suggest that Hazael and Ben-hadad are mentioned simply as typical, representative names of Syrian kings without reference to any particular monarch; still others think that Ben-hadad (that is, the son of the deity Hadad) was a title of the Syrian kings as Pharaoh was of the Egyptian rulers.

Bar The bar of iron or bronze used to fasten the gates of ancient cities; here a symbol of defense in general. No human defenses can stand against the wrath of Jehovah.

Inhabitant R.V. margin, “him that sitteth on the throne” (Isaiah 10:3) the ruler; which is preferable, in view of the parallel, “him that holdeth the scepter” the reigning monarch (Judges 5:14). The rulers will be smitten; only in the last clause of Amos 1:5 is the fate of the people indicated.

The plain [“valley”] of Aven R.V. margin, “of Vanity,” or Idolatry. LXX. reads “On” for “Aven,” which presupposes a different vocalization of the same Hebrew consonants. This reading, indecisive though it may be in view of the LXX. rendering of the same word in Hosea 4:15; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 10:5; Hosea 10:8, pointed the way to the now almost universally accepted explanation. The word translated “valley” is used even to-day as a proper noun, denoting the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon (Joshua 11:17), in Arabic el-Buka’a. In this valley, about sixty miles north-northeast of Dan, are located the ruins of Baal-bek, the ancient Heliopolis, formerly, as its name indicates, a center of sun worship. According to two ancient authorities, Macrobius and Lucian, sun worship was introduced in the Syrian Heliopolis from Heliopolis in Egypt. The Egyptian name of Heliopolis in Egypt is Aunu, Hebrews On (Genesis 41:45; Genesis 41:50; Genesis 46:20). This name may have been brought, with the sun worship, from Egypt to Syria, and at one time Heliopolis in Syria may have been known as On. If this is the correct interpretation, instead of “valley of Aven” we should read Buka’a-On, or “valley of On,” the valley around the city On. Intentionally the word was changed by Amos or a later copyist into “vanity” to express contempt for the worship practiced there.

The house of Eden Margin, “Beth-eden,” making the two words the name of a locality. A village Edhen is located about twenty miles northwest of Baal-bek, which may have served as a summer residence to the Syrian kings. Though the place mentioned by Amos has often been identified with this village, it is more likely that he has in mind a district mentioned frequently in the Assyrian inscriptions and called Bit-adini. This district is about two hundred miles north-northeast of Damascus on both sides of the Euphrates (2 Kings 19:12; Ezekiel 27:23), and may have been at one time a vassal state of Damascus. If this is the correct interpretation, the prophet says that the chief ruler in Damascus as well as the vassal princes will be smitten by the divine judgment, while the people will be carried into exile.

Kir Amos 9:7, makes Kir the original home of the Syrians. According to 2 Kings 16:9, the prediction was fulfilled in less than a generation; but it is to be noted that LXX. in the passage in Kings omits “Kir.” Tiglath-pileser III states that he took Damascus (in 732), and that he carried a large proportion of its inhabitants into exile, but the place of exile is omitted. Kir is mentioned again in Isaiah 22:6. Concerning its location opinions vary. It has been identified most commonly with a district of Armenia, near the river Kur, which flows into the Caspian Sea; but this district does not appear to have been a part of Assyria in the days of Tiglath-pileser. At least ten other identifications have been proposed, not one of which can be considered entirely satisfactory.

Amos does not state by whom he expected the judgment to be executed; nevertheless, it is very probable that he was thinking of the Assyrians, the most powerful nation in his day. As a matter of history, after several unsuccessful attempts the Assyrians, under Tiglath-pileser, finally did overthrow the Syrian power in 732, captured Damascus, put to death King Rezin, and carried thousands of its inhabitants into exile.