Amos 5:4-5

4, 5. The prophet begins again with the solemn “Thus saith Jehovah.”

Seek ye me, and ye shall live Hebrews “Seek ye me, and live”; that is, If ye seek me ye shall surely live (G.-K., 110f.). Return to Jehovah will save them from the threatened calamity. To seek the Deity has a twofold meaning in the Old Testament: (1) To go to the shrine to offer sacrifice (Amos 5:5), or to consult the oracle (Genesis 25:22; 1 Samuel 9:9, etc.); (2) to enter into fellowship with the Deity in love and obedience (Hosea 10:12; Isaiah 9:13, etc.). In the latter sense Amos uses it here.

Seek not Beth-el See on Amos 3:14. Nominally they went to the sanctuaries to “seek” Jehovah (see preceding comment); in reality their desire was to participate in the joyous festivals celebrated there under the guise of religion. Such worship could awaken no response in Jehovah.

Gilgal See on Amos 4:4.

Beer-sheba Also a very ancient sanctuary (Genesis 21:14; Genesis 26:25; Genesis 46:1). Israelites desirous of visiting it had to pass over their borders and the borders of Judah, for it was located in the extreme south, in the Negeb. The long journeys were undertaken probably only on special occasions. The character of the worship at Beer-sheba, in all probability, differed but little from that at the other Hebrew sanctuaries. Its ruins are represented by the modern Bir-es-Seba’, about fifty miles south-southwest of Jerusalem, about twenty-eight miles southwest of Hebron. These sanctuaries can offer no permanent refuge, for they also are doomed (compare Isaiah 1:29-31). It is difficult to reproduce the paronomasia which is very marked in 5b, Gilgal galoh yigleh and Beth-el ( beth) aven. “Gilgal shall taste the gall of exile” (G.A. Smith). “Beth-el (the house of God) shall become Beth-aven (the house of naught).” Wellhausen offers a striking translation: “Gilgal wird zum Galgen gehen, und Beth-el wird des Teufels werden” ( Gilgal will go to the gallows, and Beth-el will become the devil’s).

Come to naught Hebrews aven. See on Hosea 4:15.

In Amos 5:6 the exhortation is repeated with a few changes. Jehovah is used instead of me, as if Amos were taking up the exhortation uttered previously by Jehovah himself. A new motive for obedience is introduced. Obedience will mean life; disobedience what? (Compare Isaiah 1:20.)

Lest he break out A forceful verb, equivalent to cleave, penetrate.

Like fire The point of comparison is destructiveness.

Joseph As the ancestor of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two most powerful tribes of the north (Hosea 13:1), Joseph stands here for Israel, that is, the northern kingdom (Amos 5:15; Amos 6:6). Hosea uses in the same sense Ephraim (Amos 5:3; Amos 6:4, etc.). House of Joseph house of Israel kingdom of Israel.

And devour it An unexpected change in the original from masculine to feminine, as if from now on fire were the subject. This makes the construction harsh; therefore Nowack suggests a slight emendation: “lest he will kindle the house of Joseph with fire, which will devour.…” The conflagration will prove disastrous, for there is no one to quench it (Isaiah 1:31; Jeremiah 4:4). Jehovah alone could do it, but he is sending the fire.

In Beth-el Literally, for Beth-el; LXX., “for the house of Israel.” While this is the thought expected here, it is not necessary to suppose that the present Hebrew text is incorrect. Beth-el, as the religious center, might represent the entire kingdom.

The transition from Amos 5:6-7 ff. is again abrupt, and the logical connection between the two parts has been variously explained. The most natural explanation is to regard Amos 5:7 a justification of the prophet’s earnest exhortation to seek Jehovah. The exhortation is needed, for at present they are not seeking him in a manner that will enable them to find him; far from it, they are doing the very things that will cause him to hide his face. As in Amos 2:7, the participial construction is used, which is reproduced correctly in English by the relative clause connected with the subject implied in seek (Amos 5:6): “You who are living such godless and immoral lives, seek Jehovah.”

Wormwood A plant having a bitter juice (Deuteronomy 29:18; Proverbs 5:4), unpalatable and, when drunk to excess, noxious. In Scripture it is always used as a symbol of that which is unpleasant and bitter (Amos 6:12; Jeremiah 9:15).

Judgment R.V., “justice”; here the administration of justice. Under normal conditions this is desirable and of great value, but they have changed its character so that it has become undesirable and bitter.

Leave off righteousness in the earth More accurately, R.V., “cast down righteousness to the earth,” instead of “establishing” it (Amos 5:15). Righteousness justice, equity (2 Samuel 8:15; Jeremiah 22:3). This they trample under foot, while they exalt violence and oppression. Primarily these are crimes committed by those in authority, but all have become corrupt (compare Isaiah 3:12), so that the description fits all.

The next two verses (8, 9) resemble closely Amos 4:13. Like the latter, and for similar reasons, they are denied to Amos (see Introduction, pp.

217ff). In this instance the objections derive additional weight from the fact that the interruption of the thought is more apparent, Amos 5:10 being the natural continuation of Amos 5:7. Whether from Amos or not, the verses, like Amos 4:13, present a reason why the listeners should receive the prophetic message with reverence and ready obedience. Assuming that they are authentic, two ways seem open for removing the apparent interruption in thought: (1) It is proposed to change the order, so as to read 7, 10, 8, 9, which would require no alteration in the text itself. True, this would make the transition from 10 to 8 abrupt, but no more so than at present, from 7 to 8. (2) Another possibility is to place 8, 9 after 6, in apposition to Jehovah in 6, followed by 7, 10. If this is done, 7, 10 cannot be connected very well with the preceding, but must be interpreted as introducing a new thought. To make the beginning more natural, it is proposed to prefix “Woe” (compare Amos 5:16; Amos 6:1): “Woe unto those who turn.…” A few commentators deny that the thought is interrupted. Mitchell, for example, seeks to show the logical connection between 7 and 8ff. in the following paraphrase: “Ye oppressors (Amos 5:7), know ye not that Jehovah, whose mercy ye have spurned, is the maker and ruler of all things (Amos 5:8), a mightier than the mightiest (Amos 5:9)? Therefore, ye enemies of righteousness (Amos 5:10), because ye trample… (Amos 5:11).” Absolute certainty on this point is impossible.