Amos 3:11-15

11-15. The sentence. Jehovah will speedily send an enemy to avenge the wrongdoing; he will lay waste the corrupt city; even the altars of Beth-el will be overthrown. The sentence is introduced by the solemn “Thus saith the Lord Jehovah.”

Therefore Because of the utter corruption.

An adversary A word rendered more often “trouble” or “distress,” but “adversary” is most suitable here.

There shall be even round about the land This is undoubtedly the sense of the passage, but the Hebrew is awkward. A very slight change, supported by Peshitto, gives “shall surround the land.” With the land completely surrounded, every avenue of escape will be cut off.

He shall bring down thy strength May be rendered also, “thy strength shall be brought down” (G.-K., 144d.)

Strength Defenses, that is, the walls and the citadel; they will be torn down.

Thy palaces In which the plunder is stored.

Shall be spoiled The retribution is according to the lex talionis.

Following Amos 3:11 Harper reads Amos 3:15, then Amos 3:12-14, but there is no necessity for the transposition.

12. The people will be swept away, only a small fraction will escape.

Taketh R.V., “rescueth.” The Davids who could kill the wild beasts and save the lambs unharmed (1 Samuel 17:34-35) were the exception; ordinarily the lion devoured the prey.

Two legs Literally, shin bones.

Piece of an ear That is, small fragments which were overlooked by accident. As a shepherd Amos would be familiar with such happenings.

Children of Israel Perhaps not the whole nation, but the nobles of Samaria who are described in the following words.

Corner of a bed Better, R.V., “couch,” or divan. The divan in an Oriental home runs around three sides, the seat of honor being in the corner opposite the door, “where upon the usual cushions is set a smaller one, against which he may rest his head and take a nap” (Van Lennep, Bible Lands, 460, 461). The prophet evidently has in mind the extravagant, luxury-loving nobles of Samaria.

In Damascus in a couch R.V., “on the silken cushions of a bed.” Some Hebrew manuscripts and LXX. read “Damascus” (so A.V.), but the common Hebrew text has a word with a slightly different vocalization, the meaning of which is uncertain. Damascus is out of the question, since Amos is not concerned in this connection with inhabitants of a foreign Country. Most commentators read damask similarly R.V, “silken cushions” the fine material which derives its name from Damascus. However, it is very doubtful that in Amos’s day Damascus had already given its name to this material. Nevertheless, we expect a word of some such meaning, or possibly one parallel with corner.

In Amos 3:13-15 the judgment is announced once more, in the form of a proclamation.

Hear As in Amos 3:9, no one in particular is addressed.

This mode of expression is chosen for rhetorical purposes, to introduce in a more vivid and forceful manner the announcement of judgment.

Testify Announce solemnly (Genesis 43:3; Deuteronomy 4:26).

The house of Jacob Israel; here in the narrower sense, the northern kingdom.

The Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts The accumulation of divine titles indicates the solemnity of the announcement. On the first two see on Amos 1:8; on the whole title, which is used again in Amos 4:13; Amos 5:16; Amos 5:27; Amos 6:14, see on Hosea 12:5.

Amos 3:14-15 emphasize the completeness of the destruction. Not even the sanctuaries will escape.

Beth-el The chief sanctuary of the northern kingdom. Dan also enjoyed royal patronage (1 Kings 12:29), but the former was supreme. It was situated about ten miles north of Jerusalem, on the road to Nablus. Its name house of God testifies to its sanctity, and very early in Hebrew history it appears as a sacred place (Genesis 12:8; Genesis 35:7; 1 Samuel 10:3). It was at Beth-el that Amos delivered his message (Amos 7:13). The ruins of the old town, now called Beitin, lie on the summit of a hill sloping to the southeast, and cover three or four acres. It appears from this verse (compare Amos 2:8) that numerous altars were at Beth-el; whether they were all, nominally at least, consecrated to Jehovah, or whether some were sacred to other deities, is not certain probably the former.

Horns of the altar Important fixtures of the altar (Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 4:18; Leviticus 4:30), which offered a place of refuge and safety (1 Kings 1:50-51; 1 Kings 2:28). When they are gone the last ray of hope must vanish. The horns of the altar are mentioned frequently in the Old Testament, but their origin is not yet satisfactorily explained. They were found also on altars outside of Israel. On a monument found in Teima, southeast of Edom, an altar is represented with horns curved like those of an ox, rising from the corner. With the sanctuaries the magnificent palaces of king and nobles will be destroyed.

Winter house… summer house To be understood as collectives; the summer residences and winter residences of king and nobles. For the latter compare Jeremiah 36:22; for the former Judges 3:20. Ordinarily the summer and winter houses do not appear to have been separate buildings, they were rather different parts of the same house. The upper rooms, if there are two stories, or the outside rooms, if there is but one story, are still the rooms occupied preferably in summer, while the lower story or inside rooms are preferred for winter (Thomson, The Land and the Book, 1: 478). In exceptional cases people have separate dwellings for summer and winter respectively (Van Lennep, Bible Lands, 115). The language here would seem to indicate separate dwellings. An Aramaic inscription found in Zinjirli, near Aleppo, furnishes an interesting parallel to these expressions. In it Bar-rekub, king of Sham’al, a vassal of Tiglath-pileser III, and therefore a younger contemporary of Amos, relates that he beautified his father’s house in honor of his ancestors; then he continues, “and it is for them a summer house and a winter house.”

Houses of ivory Houses whose walls are paneled or inlaid with ivory (1 Kings 22:39; compare Amos 6:4). Since ivory was very costly, only the wealthy could afford this luxury.

Great houses Or, magnificent (Amos 5:11; Amos 6:11); R.V. margin, “many houses.” The word is so rendered in Isaiah 5:9; if so here, it points to the wide extent of the threatened ruin.