Amos 6:8-11

8, 9. Lord Jehovah See on Amos 1:8.

Hath sworn See on Amos 4:2.

By himself Literally, by his soul. The most solemn oath, since there is no greater than Jehovah (see also on Amos 4:2; compare Jeremiah 51:14).

Jehovah the God of hosts See on Hosea 12:5. The oath embodies a threat and the justification of the same. The threat is the result of God’s abhorrence for Israel, which is due to their arrogant attitude toward him. Once their father, protector, and friend (Amos 3:2), now their enemy. How great must have been the provocation! (Amos 9:4; Hosea 5:12; Hosea 5:14; Hosea 13:7-8.)

Excellency Better, R.V. margin, “pride,” that is, the arrogant attitude which led them to rebel against Jehovah (Hosea 5:5) and to trust in wealth and human defenses.

Palaces See on Amos 3:10-11 (compare Isaiah 3:14).

Deliver up To the enemy, for plunder (Amos 3:11) and destruction (Amos 6:11; Amos 2:14-16; Amos 3:11 ff.). Again the prophet thinks of a foreign invasion.

The city Samaria (Amos 6:1), the capital; it will suffer most heavily from the invasion.

All that is therein Men, cattle, and possessions of every kind. The originality of Amos 6:9-10 is questioned by some modern commentators. “This verse (9) and the following introduce a new element into the description of the future punishment, and at the same time a new form and a new style. After these verses the old idea, style, and form recur. The new element is the plague, the new form is the individual experience, the new style, conversational prose, the poetic form being abandoned” (Harper). Marti retains the verses, Oettli rearranges them, reading them in the order 7, 11, 8, 9, 10, which in some respects is an improvement over the present arrangement. As the verses stand now they illustrate the extent of the judgment and the resulting terror.

It shall come to pass When the city is delivered up to the invader. While there is agreement concerning the general import of Amos 6:9, there is difference of opinion respecting details. Some interpret: Even large families, having as many as ten members, will be completely blotted out. Others see in house a reference to the large households of the nobles. If of these, numbering perhaps hundreds of people, ten should escape the terrors of the siege, they will be slain in the slaughter following the capture. Or, if ten should escape the slaughter, they will surely perish in the pestilence following the slaughter.

Amos 6:10 carries further the thoughts of Amos 6:9, calling special attention to the effect of the judgment upon the survivors. R.V. translates more accurately, “And when a man’s uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee?

and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah.”

Uncle Perhaps better, R.V. margin, “kinsman.” All the members of the immediate family having perished, a more distant relative comes to care for the body.

He that burneth him Literally, his burner. A.V. considers this a separate person, accompanying the kinsman. R.V., more correctly, identifies the two. It would seem most natural to see here a reference to cremation; but that method of disposing of the dead does not seem to have been prevalent among the Israelites. Criminals were, indeed, burned (Leviticus 20:14; Joshua 7:15); so were Saul and his sons (1 Samuel 31:12), but these were exceptional cases. If cremation is in the mind of the prophet, it must be because he expected conditions to become such as to make burial impossible, either because the dead would be too numerous, or because the enemies would prevent it. An alternative rendering is, “who burneth for him,” that is, incense; which would make the expression a reference to the burning of incense in honor of the dead (Jeremiah 34:5; 2 Chronicles 16:14).

Bring out the bones The corpse, to care for it.

The sides Better R.V., “the innermost parts.” Set apart for the women (compare Psalms 128:3); in this part the lone survivor has taken refuge. As the kinsman pursues his solemn task he discovers the terrified individual.

Is there yet any with thee Dead or alive. The answer is, No. Hold thy tongue [“peace”] Literally, hush. The speaker is the survivor who, in his anxiety and despair, attempts to silence the kinsman.

Then shall he say Literally, and he shall say. The subject is again the survivor. The verb is repeated to separate “two parts of the answer which have no immediate connection with each other.”

We may not Or, we must not. The reason for the prohibition is not quite clear. Perhaps the speaker had a superstitious fear that the mention of the divine name would result in additional judgment. The sense is little altered if the words “Hold thy peace…” are placed in the mouth of the kinsman, who, by the prohibition would seek to prevent the terrified survivor from adding to his No a formula of confirmation containing the divine name. To consider the words an explanatory statement by Amos is less natural.

Amos 6:11 is the continuation of the sentence in Amos 6:8.

For, behold, Jehovah commandeth The invader (14). The words are added to make the transition between 10 and 11 less abrupt, but there is no reason for denying them to Amos.

Great house Used collectively; the palaces of the nobles (Amos 3:15).

Little house The less pretentious dwellings.

With breaches Or, into fragments.

With clefts Or, into splinters. Palaces and huts will suffer the same fate.

The connection of Amos 6:12-14 with the preceding does not appear on the surface; nevertheless there exists a logical connection. The threat seems to be without effect, and the people, boasting in their own strength, show no concern. Have they not been successful against the mighty Damascus? Let the invader come; they will soon drive him from their borders. Such boast, the prophet says, is absurd (12a), because they have forfeited the support of Jehovah through disobedience to his will (12b); besides, they overestimate their past successes and present resources (13). The invader will surely come and overrun the whole country (14).