Amos 5:26-27

26, 27. The sentence. The translation of Amos 5:26 and its relation to the context are matters of much dispute. Does it refer to the past, the present, or the future? Should it be rendered “ye have borne,” or “ye bear,” or “ye shall bear”? Is it a condemnation of past or present idolatry, or a threat of judgment? Is the text correct, or has it suffered in transmission? Are the words translated tabernacle and shrine common or proper nouns? Is Amos 5:26 to be connected with 25 or with 27? These and similar questions are responsible for the greatest variety of opinion among interpreters. To the present writer it seems best to connect Amos 5:26 with 27 as a threat of judgment, and to translate, with R.V. margin, “ye shall take up.” This is in harmony with the prophet’s reasoning and is supported by Hebrew usage. He believes also that the order of the words in LXX. is to be preferred, and that the first word, A.V., “But,” R V., “Yea,” should be rendered “Therefore,” which is permissible. The transposition of the words suggested by LXX. results in a more satisfactory connection for the relative clause and in a smoother reading throughout. Amos 5:26, then, may be rendered, “Therefore ye shall take up the tabernacle of your king, and the shrine of your star-god, your images which ye made to yourselves.” Some, taking greater liberties with the text, propose as the original, “Ye shall lift up the shrine of your king and the image of your god, which ye have made for yourselves.”

Tabernacle… shrine Both these nouns occur only here in the Old Testament; hence the exact meaning is doubtful. The former resembles very closely the common Hebrew word for tabernacle, and it has been customary, from very early times, to regard it as a synonym of the same. With the meaning of this word fixed, the laws of parallelism required that in the next line a word of similar import should be read; hence the rendering shrine, though the most important of the ancient versions take the second as a proper noun. If this translation is adopted king must be understood as a poetic synonym of god (but compare Acts 7:43); and the thought is that they will be compelled to carry the shrines of the false gods with them into exile.

In more recent times, as a result of archaeological discoveries, it has become customary to interpret both words as proper nouns, names of Assyrian deities. In order to do this the vocalization of the Hebrew must be changed, though the consonantal text may remain the same. Schrader was the first to identify the first word Hebrews sikkuth with the Assyrian sakkut, a name of the god Ninib. Oppert recognized in the second Heb, kiy - yun the Assyrian kaiwan, the name of the planet Saturn. Ninib is the god of Saturn, and the two names have been found together on a Babylonian tablet (see Encyclopaedia Biblica, article “Chiun”). These identifications are accepted by nearly all modern commentators, and Amos 5:26 is now commonly rendered, “Therefore ye shall take up (to carry into exile) Sakkut your king and Kaiwan your star-god, the images which you made to yourselves.” This translation sees here an implied condemnation of Assyrian idolatry, which had been introduced into Palestine and had helped to corrupt Hebrew religion. The “host of heaven” was worshiped in Israel before the fall of Samaria (2 Kings 17:16); however, 2 Kings 17:31, places the introduction of Assyrian religious practices subsequent to the deportation of the northern tribes. That similar customs had been adopted before the time of Amos, as the above interpretation assumes, cannot be asserted with absolute certainty, nor can it be denied. The future may throw additional light on the interpretation of this much-discussed verse.

Amos 5:27 continues the threat.

Therefore will I Better, literally, and I will.

Go into captivity See Amos 4:3; Amos 7:17.

Beyond Damascus The place is not named, but the expression implies a far-distant country. Armenia (see on Amos 4:3) was beyond Damascus, and far distant from Palestine. Acts 7:43, reads, “beyond Babylon.”

Jehovah,… The God of hosts See on Amos 4:13.