HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  Prepare war,c

  stir up the warriors.

  Let all the soldiers draw near,

  let them come up.

  10Beat your plowshares into swords,

  and your pruning hooks into spears;

  let the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”

  11Come quickly,d

  all you nations all around,

  gather yourselves there.

  Bring down your warriors, O LORD.

  12Let the nations rouse themselves,

  and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat;

  for there I will sit to judge

  all the neighboring nations.

  13Put in the sickle,

  for the harvest is ripe.

  Go in, tread,

  for the wine press is full.

  The vats overflow,

  for their wickedness is great.

  14Multitudes, multitudes,

  in the valley of decision!

  For the day of the LORD is near

  in the valley of decision.

  15The sun and the moon are darkened,

  and the stars withdraw their shining.

  16The LORD roars from Zion,

  and utters his voice from Jerusalem,

  and the heavens and the earth shake.

  But the LORD is a refuge for his people,

  a stronghold for the people of Israel.

  The Glorious Future of Judah

  17So you shall know that I, the LORD your God,

  dwell in Zion, my holy mountain.

  And Jerusalem shall be holy,

  and strangers shall never again pass through it.

  18In that day

  the mountains shall drip sweet wine,

  the hills shall flow with milk,

  and all the stream beds of Judah

  shall flow with water;

  a fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD

  and water the Wadi Shittim.

  19Egypt shall become a desolation

  and Edom a desolate wilderness,

  because of the violence done to the people of Judah,

  in whose land they have shed innocent blood.

  20But Judah shall be inhabited forever,

  and Jerusalem to all generations.

  21I will avenge their blood, and I will not clear the guilty,e

  for the LORD dwells in Zion.

  * * *

  a Ch 4.1 in Heb

  b Or palaces

  c Heb sanctify war

  d Meaning of Heb uncertain

  e Gk Syr: Heb I will hold innocent their blood that I have not held innocent

  3.1–8 Now the nations who were cruel toward Judah will be judged (see Zeph 2).

  3.2 The location of the valley of Jehoshaphat is unknown, although there could have been a valley named for this early Judean king. It was undoubtedly chosen in this prophecy for its symbolic meaning: “YHWH judges.” YHWH defeated the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites during the reign of Jehoshaphat in the Valley of Beracah (2 Chr 20.20–26).

  3.3 For the imagery of casting lots and drunkenness, see Ob 11; 16.

  3.4–6 Criticism of Tyre and Sidon and Philistia for plundering and selling the people…to the Greeks is a historical note unattested elsewhere. The Greeks here are the Ionian Greeks, who inhabited the western coast of Asia Minor, as the Hebrew term for them, Yavan, indicates. The Greeks and Phoenicians were well known for slave trading in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE.

  3.8 Sabeans, an important trading and caravan people whose homeland was on the western side of the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, part of today’s Yemen.

  3.9–21 The prophet summons the nations to judgment by YHWH.

  3.10a An ironic reversal of Mic 4.3 and Isa 2.4, so that an idyllic image of the nation’s recognition of YHWH now becomes a scenario of divine judgment against them.

  3.12 YHWH will judge them in the valley called “YHWH judges”(see 3.2).

  3.14 Valley of decision, again an unknown place, but apparently an echo of the valley of Jehoshaphat of vv. 2, 12.

  3.15 Sun…moon are darkened. Like 2.10, 31, one of the several cases in which the book quotes itself. Again, the imagery presupposes the Hamsin/Sharav (see note on 2.30–31).

  3.16 An almost exact replica of half of the opening prophetic verse of Am 1.2. Shake, the same Hebrew word as that of Am 1.1.

  3.18–21 An ideal, utopian ending. The passage starts with an in that day verse, matching the themes of the ends of other prophetic books (Am 9.11–15; Hos 14.4–9; Mic 7.11–20; Zeph 3.14–20; Isa 66.10–14).

  3.18 Wine…milk…water. The people’s deliverance from threat will be symbolized by material forms: drinking wine in Am 9.14, flourishing gardens in Hos 14.7, and fortunes restored in Zeph 3.20. Fountain…from the house of the LORD, like the water from the temple in Ezek 47.1–12. Wadi Shittim, a place in Moab where the people sinned (Num 25.1); that sin will be overcome by this water.

  3.19 Under Pharaoh Neco Egypt controlled and exploited Judah (see 2 Kings 23.31–35). The tradition that Edom plundered Jerusalem when it was being overrun by others appears in many places in the Bible, e.g., Ezek 25.12–14; Obadiah; Am 1.11; Mal 1.4; Ps 137.7.

  3.21 The book concludes with YHWH’s dwelling in Zion, i.e., the Jerusalem temple (cf. Pss 2; 46; 47; 48; 89).

  AMOS

  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |

  OF THE FOUR PROPHETIC BOOKS that originated with eighth-century BCE figures—Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah—Amos is possibly the earliest one. But Amos was by no means the earliest prophet in ancient Israel. The historical books of the OT allude to the existence of other prophets since the eleventh century BCE (see 1 Sam 9.9–13; 2 Sam 12).

  Historical Circumstances

  THE SUPERSCRIPTION (1.1) LOCATES AMOS in the reigns of two kings, Uzziah of Judah (783–742 BCE) and Jeroboam II of Israel (786–746 BCE). Allusions elsewhere in the book, especially in 7.9–10, confirm this and also verify that the prophet was a native of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, who came to the Northern Kingdom, Israel, to proclaim the word of God. Although the earthquake by which Amos is dated (1.1) cannot be identified, the report that the prophet spoke “two years before the earthquake” suggests that Amos was active for only a short time.

  More precisely, the circumstances assumed by the prophet’s message place Amos in the last decade or so of the reign of Jeroboam II, about 760 BCE. The reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah were long and relatively peaceful. There had been no major threats to the small states from major Near Eastern powers such as Egypt or Assyria, and peace seems to have been accompanied by prosperity, at least for a few and—according to Amos—at the expense of many. There seems to have been a breakdown in the old tribal and family systems of land ownership and the emergence of a wealthy class at the top of the society.

  But Israel and Judah would not be left on their own much longer. At about the time the long reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam ended, a new and aggressive king came to the throne in Assyria. He was Tiglath-pileser III (745–727 BCE), whose goal was to incorporate the little states in Syria and Palestine into his empire. He would not live to conquer Israel, but his successors would invade the Northern Kingdom, destroy its cities, and carry the people into exile. Samaria, the capital city, fell to the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722/21 BCE (2 Kings 17.1–6), and the history of Israel came to an end. The prophecies of Amos thus were fulfilled some forty years after he uttered them.

  Only a few details are preserved concerning the life of Amos. His home, Tekoa, is in the Judean hills south of Bethlehem, and by trade he was “a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees”(7.14) who was called to prophesy in Israel. Since Amos addressed his words particularly to those who lived in Samaria and Bethel, it is reasonable to conclude that he was active in those two Northern cities.

  The Book of Amos

  THE BOOK OF AMOS is a collection of the words of and traditions concerning the prophet. The material is sometimes organized carefu
lly, but at other points the logic of the collection is difficult to discern. Most of the book consists of speeches attributed to the prophet, and most of his speeches are prophetic announcements; i.e., he speaks in the name of the Lord concerning the immediate future. Some of his speeches were reports of his threatening visions. Although it is possible that Amos himself later dictated his speeches to someone, or even wrote them down himself, it is more likely that the addresses were collected and recorded by others. In addition to speeches there are reports about the prophet’s activities (1.1; 7.10–17) and three fragments of hymns (4.13; 5.8–9; 9.5–6).

  Not everything in the book comes from the prophet or even from his time. The first verse looks back on the prophet’s activity and talks about him. Likewise the story of the prophet’s clash with Amaziah the priest of Bethel (7.10–17) speaks of Amos from the perspective of a third party. A few other passages possibly reflect a perspective considerably after the Northern Kingdom fell and may have been added later as the book was saved and then circulated in Judah. According to scholars these include the prophecy against Judah (2.4–5), the hymnic passages, the concluding prophecies of hope (9.8c–15), and a few others.

  The Message of the Prophet and of the Book

  THE MESSAGE OF AMOS is direct and uncompromising. Over and over he announces to the people of Israel that, because of their social injustice and religious arrogance, the Lord will punish them by means of a total military disaster. His addresses typically make a logical connection between Israel’s unjust actions—past and present—and the Lord’s coming judgment. Rarely does the prophet call for the people to change their behavior.

  The words of Amos are so startling and dramatic that they might appear to be unprecedented, but the message of the prophet did not arise out of thin air. Rather, Amos over and over again appeals to traditions that he and his hearers held in common. Among these is the belief that the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt and granted the people the land of Canaan (2.9–10; 3.1–2; 9.7–8). The prophet also takes for granted that the people of Israel had always known that the Lord expected of them justice and righteousness. Consequently, he is not introducing any new moral or legal expectations, but draws disturbing implications from them in holding the people accountable for their transgressions. In this respect Amos is not radical, but conservative, calling Israel back to what had been revealed from the beginning of its history.

  Although Amos relies upon earlier beliefs and traditions, he does introduce some new perspectives. First, he seems to have been the first to stress that Israel’s election itself may be a reason for judgment (3.1–2) and that Israel is not the only people the Lord has chosen (9.7–8). Second, Amos is the first one we know of who announced total and complete judgment upon Israel.

  Just as Amos depended upon tradition, so his words became part of tradition, being collected and handed down in Judah after Israel fell to Assyria. In the process of centuries additions were made to the scroll, generally with a view toward applying the old prophetic message to new circumstances. This is one way to account for the references to Judah in the book. For example, Amos may not have spoken against Judah, yet an announcement against Judah (2.4–5) was subsequently added, to apply the now validated words of judgment also to the Southern Kingdom. [GENE M. TUCKER, revised by J. ANDREW DEARMAN]

  AMOS 1

  1The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two yearsa before the earthquake.

  Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

  2And he said:

  The LORD roars from Zion,

  and utters his voice from Jerusalem;

  the pastures of the shepherds wither,

  and the top of Carmel dries up.

  3Thus says the LORD:

  For three transgressions of Damascus,

  and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;b

  because they have threshed Gilead

  with threshing sledges of iron.

  4So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael,

  and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.

  5I will break the gate bars of Damascus,

  and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven,

  and the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;

  and the people of Aram shall go into exile to Kir,

  says the LORD.

  6Thus says the LORD:

  For three transgressions of Gaza,

  and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;c

  because they carried into exile entire communities,

  to hand them over to Edom.

  7So I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,

  fire that shall devour its strongholds.

  8I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod,

  and the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;

  I will turn my hand against Ekron,

  and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,

  says the Lord GOD.

  9Thus says the LORD:

  For three transgressions of Tyre,

  and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;d

  because they delivered entire communities over to Edom,

  and did not remember the covenant of kinship.

  10So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,

  fire that shall devour its strongholds.

  11Thus says the LORD:

  For three transgressions of Edom,

  and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;e

  because he pursued his brother with the sword

  and cast off all pity;

  he maintained his anger perpetually,f

  and kept his wrathg forever.

  12So I will send a fire on Teman,

  and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah.

  13Thus says the LORD:

  For three transgressions of the Ammonites,

  and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;h

  because they have ripped open pregnant women

  in Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

  14So I will kindle a fire against the wall of Rabbah,

  fire that shall devour its strongholds,

  with shouting on the day of battle,

  with a storm on the day of the whirlwind;

  15then their king shall go into exile,

  he and his officials together,

  says the LORD.

  next chapter

  * * *

  a Or during two years

  b Heb cause it to return

  c Heb cause it to return

  d Heb cause it to return

  e Heb cause it to return

  f Syr Vg: Heb and his anger tore perpetually

  g Gk Syr Vg: Heb and his wrath kept

  h Heb cause it to return

  1.1–2 An introduction to the whole book.

  1.1 The superscription to the book, providing its title, The words of Amos, and information concerning the background of the prophet, the object of his words, and the date of his activity. In addition to locating Amos in the reigns of Uzziah (783–742 BCE) and Jeroboam (786–746 BCE), the editor provides a specific date, two years before the earthquake.

  1.2 The motto summarizes the message of the book: the word of the Lord through the Judean prophet roars northward to bring destruction.

  1.3–2.16 Seven similar prophecies against foreign nations are followed by a prophecy against Israel. The foreigners are not judged because they are Israel’s enemies but because of violations against other neighbors and an international moral code overseen by the Lord. The sequence of condemning foreigners, then Judah, and finally Israel would have been rhetorically powerful before an Israelite audience, but there is no reason to doubt the seriousness of those judgments, as well as that against Israel.

  1.3 The phrase for three transgressions of X and for four, a refrain in the series of announcements (e.g., vv. 3, 6, 9, 11, 13
; 2.1, 4, 6), probably means an indefinite but finally decisive number of violations. The meaning of the Hebrew phrase translated I will not revoke the punishment, lit. “I will not cause it to return,” is uncertain, but it likely refers to the Lord’s promise not to stop the effects of the transgressions.

  1.4 The Aramean king Hazael established a dynasty by assassinating a certain Ben-hadad (2 Kings 8.15). Likewise one of his descendants was named Ben-hadad (2 Kings 13.3).

  1.6 Gaza was one of the Philistine city-states. Three others are listed in v. 8.

  1.9 Since covenant of kinship, lit. “covenant of brothers,” does not occur elsewhere in the OT, its meaning is uncertain. It probably refers to a political treaty that Tyre violated.

  2.4 The indictment of Judah is quite different from the preceding ones, all of which had listed violations of standards of international conduct as reasons for Yahweh’s judgment. The language of the accusation, law of the LORD…his statutes…after which their ancestors walked, is that of Deuteronomy, perhaps indicating that the judgment against Judah was added after the time of Amos, and possibly even after Jerusalem had fallen to the Babylonians.

  2.6–8 Israel is accused of injustice against the poor and of several forms of religious corruption.

  2.6 Sell the righteous, a reference to enslavement for nonpayment of debts.

  2.7 Push the afflicted out, probably the denial of legal due process in the courts. Father and son…same girl. The accusation may refer to the violation of laws concerning incest, although there is no law that exactly parallels this situation (but see Lev 18.15; 20.12), or the offense may be the exploitation of the girl.

  2.9–11 As further foundation for the announcement of judgment Yahweh reminds Israel of his saving acts on their behalf.

  2.9 Amorite. See Num 21.21–31.

  2.11 The nazirites, “separated or consecrated ones,” took vows that included abstinence from wine and strong drink (see v. 12; Num 6.1–21). The only person specifically named as a Nazirite was Samson (see Judg 13.4–7), whose consecration included the vow that his hair would never be cut.