10 Also I brought you up H5927 from the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and led H3212 you forty H705 years H8141 through the wilderness, H4057 to possess H3423 the land H776 of the Amorite. H567
For the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath blessed H1288 thee in all the works H4639 of thy hand: H3027 he knoweth H3045 thy walking H3212 through this great H1419 wilderness: H4057 these forty H705 years H8141 the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath been with thee; thou hast lacked H2637 nothing. H1697
To him that smote H5221 Egypt H4714 in their firstborn: H1060 for his mercy H2617 endureth for ever: H5769 And brought out H3318 Israel H3478 from among H8432 them: for his mercy H2617 endureth for ever: H5769
And G2532 about G5613 the time G5550 of forty years G5063 suffered he G5159 their G846 manners G5159 in G1722 the wilderness. G2048
Then G1161 God G2316 turned, G4762 and G2532 gave G3860 them G846 up G3860 to worship G3000 the host G4756 of heaven; G3772 as it G2531 is written G1125 in G1722 the book G976 of the prophets, G4396 O ye house G3624 of Israel, G2474 have ye offered G3361 G4374 to me G3427 slain beasts G4968 and G2532 sacrifices G2378 by the space of forty G5062 years G2094 in G1722 the wilderness? G2048
For I brought thee up H5927 out of the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and redeemed H6299 thee out of the house H1004 of servants; H5650 and I sent H7971 before H6440 thee Moses, H4872 Aaron, H175 and Miriam. H4813
Are ye not as children H1121 of the Ethiopians H3569 unto me, O children H1121 of Israel? H3478 saith H5002 the LORD. H3068 Have not I brought up H5927 Israel H3478 out of the land H776 of Egypt? H4714 and the Philistines H6430 from Caphtor, H3731 and the Syrians H758 from Kir? H7024
Which hast set H7760 signs H226 and wonders H4159 in the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 even unto this day, H3117 and in Israel, H3478 and among other men; H120 and hast made H6213 thee a name, H8034 as at this day; H3117 And hast brought forth H3318 thy people H5971 Israel H3478 out of the land H776 of Egypt H4714 with signs, H226 and with wonders, H4159 and with a strong H2389 hand, H3027 and with a stretched out H5186 arm, H248 and with great H1419 terror; H4172
And I am come down H3381 to deliver H5337 them out of the hand H3027 of the Egyptians, H4714 and to bring H5927 them up out of that land H776 unto a good H2896 land H776 and a large, H7342 unto a land H776 flowing H2100 with milk H2461 and honey; H1706 unto the place H4725 of the Canaanites, H3669 and the Hittites, H2850 and the Amorites, H567 and the Perizzites, H6522 and the Hivites, H2340 and the Jebusites. H2983
Forty H705 years H8141 long was I grieved H6962 with this generation, H1755 and said, H559 It is a people H5971 that do err H8582 in their heart, H3824 and they have not known H3045 my ways: H1870
Yea, forty H705 years H8141 didst thou sustain H3557 them in the wilderness, H4057 so that they lacked H2637 nothing; their clothes H8008 waxed not old, H1086 and their feet H7272 swelled H1216 not.
And foundest H4672 his heart H3824 faithful H539 before H6440 thee, and madest H3772 a covenant H1285 with him to give H5414 the land H776 of the Canaanites, H3669 the Hittites, H2850 the Amorites, H567 and the Perizzites, H6522 and the Jebusites, H2983 and the Girgashites, H1622 to give H5414 it, I say, to his seed, H2233 and hast performed H6965 thy words; H1697 for thou art righteous: H6662 And didst see H7200 the affliction H6040 of our fathers H1 in Egypt, H4714 and heardest H8085 their cry H2201 by the Red H5488 sea; H3220 And shewedst H5414 signs H226 and wonders H4159 upon Pharaoh, H6547 and on all his servants, H5650 and on all the people H5971 of his land: H776 for thou knewest H3045 that they dealt proudly H2102 against them. So didst thou get H6213 thee a name, H8034 as it is this day. H3117 And thou didst divide H1234 the sea H3220 before H6440 them, so that they went through H5674 the midst H8432 of the sea H3220 on the dry land; H3004 and their persecutors H7291 thou threwest H7993 into the deeps, H4688 as a stone H68 into the mighty H5794 waters. H4325 Moreover thou leddest H5148 them in the day H3119 by a cloudy H6051 pillar; H5982 and in the night H3915 by a pillar H5982 of fire, H784 to give them light H215 in the way H1870 wherein they should go. H3212
And thou shalt remember H2142 all the way H1870 which the LORD H3068 thy God H430 led H3212 thee these forty H705 years H8141 in the wilderness, H4057 to humble H6031 thee, and to prove H5254 thee, to know H3045 what was in thine heart, H3824 whether thou wouldest keep H8104 his commandments, H4687 or no. And he humbled H6031 thee, and suffered thee to hunger, H7456 and fed H398 thee with manna, H4478 which thou knewest H3045 not, neither did thy fathers H1 know; H3045 that he might make thee know H3045 that man H120 doth not live H2421 by bread H3899 only, H905 but by every word that proceedeth H4161 out of the mouth H6310 of the LORD H3068 doth man H120 live. H2421 Thy raiment H8071 waxed not old H1086 upon thee, neither did thy foot H7272 swell, H1216 these forty H705 years. H8141
Moreover your little ones, H2945 which ye said H559 should be a prey, H957 and your children, H1121 which in that day H3117 had no knowledge H3045 between good H2896 and evil, H7451 they shall go in H935 thither, and unto them will I give H5414 it, and they shall possess H3423 it.
And I said H559 unto you, Ye are come H935 unto the mountain H2022 of the Amorites, H567 which the LORD H3068 our God H430 doth give H5414 unto us. Behold, H7200 the LORD H3068 thy God H430 hath set H5414 the land H776 before H6440 thee: go up H5927 and possess H3423 it, as the LORD H3068 God H430 of thy fathers H1 hath said H1696 unto thee; fear H3372 not, neither be discouraged. H2865
But your little ones, H2945 which ye said H559 should be a prey, H957 them will I bring in, H935 and they shall know H3045 the land H776 which ye have despised. H3988 But as for you, your carcases, H6297 they shall fall H5307 in this wilderness. H4057 And your children H1121 shall wander H7462 in the wilderness H4057 forty H705 years, H8141 and bear H5375 your whoredoms, H2184 until your carcases H6297 be wasted H8552 in the wilderness. H4057 After the number H4557 of the days H3117 in which ye searched H8446 the land, H776 even forty H705 days, H3117 each day H3117 for a year, H8141 H3117 H8141 shall ye bear H5375 your iniquities, H5771 even forty H705 years, H8141 and ye shall know H3045 my breach of promise. H8569 I the LORD H3068 have said, H1696 I will surely H518 H3808 do H6213 it H2063 unto all this evil H7451 congregation, H5712 that are gathered together H3259 against me: in this wilderness H4057 they shall be consumed, H8552 and there they shall die. H4191
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Amos 2
Commentary on Amos 2 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 2
Am 2:1-16. Charges against Moab, Judah, and Lastly Israel, the Chief Subject of Amos' Prophecies.
1. burned … bones of … king of Edom into lime—When Jehoram of Israel, Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom, combined against Mesha king of Moab, the latter failing in battle to break through to the king of Edom, took the oldest son of the latter and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall (2Ki 3:27) [Michaelis]. Thus, "king of Edom" is taken as the heir to the throne of Edom. But "his son" is rather the king of Moab's own son, whom the father offered to Molech [Josephus, Antiquities, 9.3]. Thus the reference here in Amos is not to that fact, but to the revenge which probably the king of Moab took on the king of Edom, when the forces of Israel and Judah had retired after their successful campaign against Moab, leaving Edom without allies. The Hebrew tradition is that Moab in revenge tore from their grave and burned the bones of the king of Edom, the ally of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat, who was already buried. Probably the "burning of the bones" means, "he burned the king of Edom alive, reducing his very bones to lime" [Maurer].
2. Kirioth—the chief city of Moab, called also Kir-Moab (Isa 15:1). The form is plural here, as including both the acropolis and town itself (see Jer 48:24, 41, Margin).
die with tumult—that is, amid the tumult of battle (Ho 10:14).
3. the judge—the chief magistrate, the supreme source of justice. "King" not being used, it seems likely a change of government had before this time substituted for kings, supreme judges.
4. From foreign kingdoms he passes to Judah and Israel, lest it should be said, he was strenuous in denouncing sins abroad, but connived at those of his own nation. Judah's guilt differs from that of all the others, in that it was directly against God, not merely against man. Also because Judah's sin was wilful and wittingly against light and knowledge.
law—the Mosaic code in general.
commandments—or statutes, the ceremonies and civil laws.
their lies—their lying idols (Ps 40:4; Jer 16:19), from which they drew false hopes. The order is to be observed. The Jews first cast off the divine law, then fall into lying errors; God thus visiting them with a righteous retribution (Ro 1:25, 26, 28; 2Th 2:11, 12). The pretext of a good intention is hereby refuted: the "lies" that mislead them are "their (own) lies" [Calvin].
after … which their fathers … walked—We are not to follow the fathers in error, but must follow the word of God alone. It was an aggravation of the Jews' sin that it was not confined to preceding generations; the sins of the sons rivalled those of their fathers (Mt 23:32; Ac 7:51) [Calvin].
5. a fire—Nebuchadnezzar.
6. Israel—the ten tribes, the main subject of Amos' prophecies.
sold the righteous—Israel's judges for a bribe are induced to condemn in judgment him who has a righteous cause; in violation of De 16:19.
the poor for a pair of shoes—literally, "sandals" of wood, secured on the foot by leather straps; less valuable than shoes. Compare the same phrase, for "the most paltry bribe," Am 8:6; Eze 13:19; Joe 3:3. They were not driven by poverty to such a sin; beginning with suffering themselves to be tempted by a large bribe, they at last are so reckless of all shame as to prostitute justice for the merest trifle. Amos convicts them of injustice, incestuous unchastity, and oppression first, as these were so notorious that they could not deny them, before he proceeds to reprove their contempt of God, which they would have denied on the ground that they worshipped God in the form of the calves.
7. pant after … dust of … earth on … head of … poor—that is, eagerly thirst for this object, by their oppression to prostrate the poor so as to cast the dust on their heads in mourning on the earth (compare 2Sa 1:2; Job 2:12; Eze 27:30).
turn aside … way of … meek—pervert their cause (Am 5:12; Job 24:4 [Grotius]; Isa 10:2).
a man and his father—a crime "not so much as named among the Gentiles" (1Co 5:1). When God's people sin in the face of light, they often fall lower than even those who know not God.
go in unto the same maid—from Am 2:8 it seems likely "the damsel" meant is one of the prostitutes attached to the idol Astarte's temple: prostitution being part of her filthy worship.
to profane my … name—Israel in such abominations, as it were, designedly seeks to insult God.
8. lay themselves … upon clothes laid to pledge—the outer garment, which Ex 22:25-27 ordered to be restored to the poor man before sunset, as being his only covering. It aggravated the crime that they lay on these clothes in an idol temple.
by every altar—They partook in a recumbent posture of their idolatrous feasts; the ancients being in the habit of reclining at full length in eating, the upper part of the body resting on the left elbow, not sitting as we do.
drink … wine of the condemned—that is, wine bought with the money of those whom they unjustly fined.
9. Yet—My former benefits to you heighten your ingratitude.
the Amorite—the most powerful of all the Canaanite nations, and therefore put for them all (Ge 15:16; 48:22; De 1:20; Jos 7:7).
height … like … cedars—(Nu 13:32, 33).
destroyed his fruit … above … roots … beneath—that is, destroyed him utterly (Job 18:16; Eze 17:9; Mal 4:1).
10. brought you up from … Egypt—"brought up" is the phrase, as Egypt was low and flat, and Canaan hilly.
to possess the land of the Amorite—The Amorites strictly occupied both sides of the Jordan and the mountains afterward possessed by Judah; but they here, as in Am 2:9, stand for all the Canaanites. God kept Israel forty years in the wilderness, which tended to discipline them in His statutes, so as to be the better fitted for entering on the possession of Canaan.
11. Additional obligations under which Israel lay to God; the prophets and Nazarites, appointed by Him, to furnish religious instruction and examples of holy self-restraint.
of your young men—It was a specimen of Israel's highly favored state, that, of the class most addicted to pleasures, God chose those who by a solemn vow bound themselves to abstinence from all produce of the vine, and from all ceremonial and moral defilement. The Nazarite was not to shave (Nu 6:2, &c.). God left nothing undone to secure the purity of their worship and their faithfulness to it (La 4:7). The same comes from a Hebrew root, nazar, "to set apart." Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist were Nazarites.
Is it not even thus—Will any of you dare to deny it is so?
12. Ye so despised these My favors, as to tempt the Nazarite to break his vow; and forbade the prophets prophesying (Isa 30:10). So Amaziah forbade Amos (Am 7:12, 13, 14).
13. I am pressed under you—so Calvin (Compare Isa 1:14). The Margin translates actively, "I will depress your place," that is, "I will make it narrow," a metaphor for afflicting a people; the opposite of enlarging, that is, relieving (Ps 4:1; Pr 4:12). Maurer translates, "I will press you down" (not as Margin, "your place"; so the Hebrew, Job 40:12; or Am 2:7 in Hebrew text). Amos, as a shepherd, appropriately draws his similes from rustic scenes.
14. flight shall perish from … swift—Even the swift shall not be able to escape.
strong shall not strengthen his force—that is, shall not be able to use his strength.
himself—literally, "his life."
16. flee … naked—If any escape, it must be with the loss of accoutrements, and all that would impede rapid flight. They must be content with saving their life alone.