Justi, Vater, Benefield, and Laurent. Of the above, the commentary of Baur, with a Summons of the nations bordering on the Holy Land. Summons and general denunciation of Israel. Three addresses particularizing the sins of Israel and announc-- § 1. (Ch. iii.) First address. § 2. (Ch. iv.) Second address. § 3. (Ch. v., vi.) Third address. Part III. (Ch. vii.-ix. 10.) Five visions, with explanations. Part IV. (Ch. ix. 11-15.) Epilogue: establishment of the new kingdom. Ver. 1-ch. ii. 16.-Part I. APPROACHING Ver. 1-ch. ii. 3.-§ 1. The nations bor- dering on the Holy Land are solemnly sum Vers. 1, 2.-Heading of the book, with Ver. 1.-Heading. The words. So Jere- miah begins his prophecy (Jer. i. 1), and the writer of Ecclesiastes (i. 1). That the words are not those of Amos, but of Jehovah, is shown by the succeeding clause, “which he saw." Herdmen. The Hebrew word noked used here is found in 2 Kings iii. 4, applied to Mesha King of Moab, a great "sheepmaster;" hence some have considered that Amos was not a mere mercenary, but a rich possessor of flocks. His own words, however (ch. vii. 14, 15), decide his position as that of a poor labouring man. Tekoah. A small town of Judah (see above in the account of the author, Introduction, § II.). He saw, with inward intuition. Hence his "words" were inspired (comp. Isa. ii. 1; Hab. i. 1). Concerning Israel chiefly, men- tion of Judah being introduced only inci- dentally and as connected with the destinies of Israel. The Septuagint reads, by some mistake, "concerning Jerusalem." In the days. (For the date of the prophecy, see above, Introduction, § III.) Earthquake. No mention is made of this event in the historical books. It was remembered in after-years (see Zech. xiv. 5), and Amos alludes to it as a token of the judgment which he foretold, such catastrophes being regarded as signs of the majesty of God and his vengeance on sinners (comp. Exod. xix. 18; Ps. lxviii. 8; Micah i. 4; Hab. iii. 6, Ver. 2.-And he said. This is the com- mencement of " the words" of Amos (ver. 1); and herein the prophet gives a short sum- pronounce. The following clause is a repe- heathen nations. To the nations denounced by Joel, Amos adds others of Israel's enemies, viz. Syria, Ammon, and Moab. Roar . voice. The thunder is the voice of God, announcing his coming to judge. From Zion. Not from Dan and Bethel, the seats of idolatrous worship, but from Jeru- salem, the abode of his presence. The habitations; better, the pastures. only natural that Amos, the shepherd, should use such terms to express the idea that the whole land, from Jerusalem on the south to Carmel on the north, should feel the vengeance of the Lord. Shall mourn; explained by the following term, shall wither; i.e. shall lose their verdure (comp. Jer. xii. 11; Hos. iv. 3). The top of Carmel. This is the Mount Carmel, which stretches boldly into the sea on the south of the Bay of Acre, and is remarkable for its extreme fertility, its rich pastures, its vines, olives, fruits, and flowers. Thomson, "The Land and the Book,' writes thus about it: "The celebrated ridge, called in the Bible Mount Carmel, and by the Arabs Jebel Kurmul, or Mâr Elyâs, in honour of Elijah, is an extension of the hills of Samaria, in a north-westerly direction, for a distance of about eighteen miles, terminating in the bold promontory of Carmel, which descends almost literally B and on that face which overlooks the Plain of Acre on the north, and that of Esdraelon towards the south-east. There is no special excellency in Carmel at the present day, whatever may be said of Sharon. Its name, Kurmul, or Kerm-el, signifies the vineyard of God; but its vineyards have all disappeared. It was a glorious mountain, however, and a prominent landmark; according to Jeremiah (xlvi. 18), Carmel was a resort of herdsmen. Amos says, "The habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither,' in the time of the threatened judgment, and this implies that its pastures were not ordinarily liable to wither. This may, in part, have been occasioned by the heavy dews which its lofty elevation, so near the sea, causes to distil nightly upon its thirsty head. I found it quite green and flowery in midsummer. It was a noble pasture-field, and, in reference to that characteristic, Micah utters his sweet prayer, Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel; let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old."" Vers. 3-5.-Before announcing the judgment on Israel, Amos proclaims the punishment on neighbouring heathen nations for their injurious treatment of the chosen people, thus showing God's care for his elect, and leading them to fear vengeance for their own greater sins towards him. The order observed in denouncing these nations is not geographical, but is regulated by the nature of each people's relation to Israel, and the degree in which they have sinned against her. The denunciation begins with Syria, her hitherto most oppressive enemy, and the least akin. The Ver. 3.-For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four. This form of expression is repeated in each of the following strophes, and some critics have taken the terms literally, and have tried to identify that particular number of transgressions in each case; but this is trifling. phrase and others similar to it are not uncommon, and are used to signify a great number, the last-mentioned being supposed to fill up the measure and make it overflow. Thus Job v. 19, "He shall deliver thee in six troubles, yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee" (comp. Job xxxiii. 29; Prov. xxx. 15, 18, 21; Eccles. xi. 2). So Hom., ' Od., ν. 306, Τρισμάκαρες Δαναοὶ καὶ TETράKIS: and Virg., Æn.,' i. 94, "O terque quaterque beati; comp. Hor., Carm., i. 31. 13. Damascus had been an active enemy of Israel since the time that Rezon threw off his allegiance (1 Kings xi. 23, etc.), and seized Damascus, which had been tributary to David (2 Sam. viii. 5). The history of the wars carried on by Syria against the Jews may be read in the sacred books (see 1 Kings xv. 19, etc.; 2 Chron. xvi. 2, etc.; 1 Kings xx.; xxii.; 2 Kings vii.; ix. 14, etc.; x. 32, etc.; xii. 18; xiii. 5, 25; 2 Chron. xxiv. 23, etc.; 2 Kings xiv. 28). I will not turn away the punishment thereof. So in the following strophes. Literally, I will not reverse it. Amos does not expressly say what; but he means the sentence or judgment (comp. Numb, xxiii. 20, "I cannot reverse it," where the same word is used). The Latin Vulgate gives, Non convertam eum, i.c. Damascum, which Knabenbauer explains, "I will not avert its destruction, will not turn it aside from its downward course." The LXX. renders, Οὐκ ἀποστραφήσομαι αὐτόν, “I will not turn away from it," i.e., as explained by Theodoret, "I will no longer disregard its sins." Because they have threshed Gilead. This is the culminating offence of the Syrians. The word rendered "threshing-instrument" (charutz) signifies a kind of corn-drag made of heavy planks fastened together and armed beneath with sharp stones or iron points. This machine, weighted with the driver who sat or stood upon it, was drawn by oxen over the corn (comp. Isa. xxviii. 27; xli. 15). A representation of it is given by Smith, 'Dict. of Bible,' i. 31, and Kitto, Cyclop.,' i. 86. Such an instrument, set with sharp flints in rows, was to be seen in the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of the year 1886, in the Cyprus department. Another kind of instrument (moreg) is thus described by Jerome: "Est autem genus plaustri, quod rotis subter ferreis atque dentatis volvitur, ut excussis frumentis stipulam in areis conterat, et in cibos jumentorum propter fœni sterilitatem paleas comminuat." Such an implement was used in the infliction of capital punishment by David (2 Sam. xii. 31; comp. Prov. xx. 26). Gilead is here put for all the country east of Jordan (Josh. xxii. 9). The cruel treatment referred to in the text occurred in the time of Hazael during the reign of Jehu (2 Kings x. 32, etc.; comp. xiii. 7). The Septuagint has, "Because with iron saws they sawed asunder women with child." This is doubtless a reminiscence of Elisha's words to Hazael (2 Kings viii. 12). Ver. 4.-Fire. Material fire, though elsewhere the term is used metaphorically for war and its evils (comp. Numb. xxi. 28; Ps. lxxviii. 63; Jer. xlviii. 45). This passage of Amos, combined with ver. 14, is quoted by Jeremiah (xlix. 27), where he is pronouncing the doom of Damascus. House of Hazael palaces of Benhadad. The two expressions are parallel, or they may signify the family of Hazael, and Damascus itself with its magnificent royal palaces. There were three kings of Syria named Benhadad. The first of the name made alliance with Asa, and fought successfully against Baasha (1 Kings xv. 20); Benhadad II. was the contemporary of Ahab, and carried on war for many years with the northern kingdom (1 Kings xx.). He was murdered either by Hazael or his servants (2 Kings viii. 15). Benhadad III., the son of Hazael, was a monarch of small ability, and Syria under his sway sank into insignificance (2 Kings xiii. 4, etc.; xiv. 27; xv. 17). All this happened before the time of Amos, who probably refers to all the kings of that name, Benhadad, "Son of the Sun," being the title of the dynasty. Ver. 5.-The bar which secured the gate of the city (1 Kings iv. 13; Jer. li. 30; Nah. iii. 13). Breaking the bar is equivalent to laying the place open to the enemy. From the plain of Aven; Vulgate, de campo idoli; Hebrew, bikath-Aven; Septuagint, ek πedíov Him v; better, from the valley of Aven, or canity, perhaps so called analogously with Hosea's naming Bethel, Bethaven, “House of God" and "House of vanity" (Hos. v. 8). Robinson (Bibl. Res.,' 677) and Pusey refer the name to a valley between Lebanon and Antilibanus, a continuation of the Arabah, still called Bukaa, in the middle of which stood Baalbec, "the Temple of the sun of the valley," called Heliopolis by Greek and Roman writers (see 'Classical Museum,' iii. 136). The LXX. renders" On" in Gen. xli. 45 by "Heliopolis;" and On and Baal being both titles of the sun, and indeed synonymous, the introduction of "On" into this passage may be accounted for. that holdeth the sceptre. The king and princes, as ver. 8. From the house of Eden; Hebrew, Beth-Eden, "House of delight; Vulgate, de domo voluptatis; Septuagint, àvôpav Xappáv, "out of the men of Charran.' This last rendering arises from considering that the reference was to the Eden of Gen. ii., which the translators placed in the region of Haran. The place in the text Keil supposes to be the Paradisus of the Greeks, which Ptolemy (v. 15. 20) locates southeast of Laodicea. Schrader suggests a place on the banks of the middle Euphrates between Bâlis and Biredschich called BitAdini in inscriptions of Asurnasirhabal and Salmanassur II. But this seems to be a wrong locality (see 'Die Keilinschriften,' p. 327). The passage means that all the inhabitants of valley and city, king and peasant, shall be cut off. Shall go into captivity. The word implies that the land shall be "stripped" or "bared" of its inhabitants. Wholesale deportation had not hitherto been common in these regions. Kir has been identified with the country on the banks of the river Kar, which flows into the Araxes on the south-west of the Caspian Sea. It forms part of the territory known as Transcaucasia. From this region the Syrians originally emigrated (ch. ix. 7), and back to this land a large body were carried when Tiglath-Pileser, some fifty years later, killed Rezin and sacked Damascus, as related in 2 Kings xvi. 9. Saith the Lord. This is the solemn confirmation of the prophet's announcement, and recurs in vers. 8, 15 and ch. ii. 3. Vers. 6-8.-The judgment on Philistia. Ver. 6. Gaza is here used as the representative of the five cities of the Philistines. Three others are mentioned in ver. 8, Gath being omitted as having long lost its importance, if not already destroyed (comp. 2 Chron. xxvi. 6; Jer. xxv. 20; Zeph. ii. 4, where see note; Zech. ix. 5, 6). Gaza, modern Guzzeh, was the most southern city of Philistia in the immediate neighbourhood of the desert. (For a description of the Plain of Philistia, see Sir C. Warren, 'Survey Memoirs,' volume on Jerusalem, p. 436.) The whole captivity; Hebrew, "an entire captivity," the whole people, so that neither age nor sex was spared. A similar complaint is made in Joel iii. 4, 6. What the LXX. mean by their rendering here and ver. 9, αἰχμαλωσίαν τοῦ Σαλωμὼν, it is very hard to say. Probably they punctuated the word translated "perfect" (shelemah) shelomoh, making "Solomon" stand for his people Israel. Cyril supposes that the reference is to cities which Solomon established among neighbouring nations; these had now been destroyed or seized. The event referred to may be the invasion of Judah by Philistines and Arabians in the time of Joram, mentioned in 2 Chron. xxi. 16, etc., and in which it is possible that a compact was made that the captive Judæans should be delivered to their bitterest enemies, the Edomites. One would rather have expected a reference to some evil inflicted on Israel (as in ver. 3) instead of an injury done to Judah. Ver. 7.-A fire. Each guilty city is to have its own special punishment, though probably the calamity of each is common to all. Gaza was conquered by Sennacherib when he invaded Judæa in the time of Hezekiah, by Pharaoh-Necho (Jer. xlvii. 1), and by Alexander the Great, who spent more than two months in its siege (Josephus, Ant.,' xi. 8. 4; Arrian., ii. 27; see note on Zeph. ii. 4). Ver. 8.-Ashdod, "the Waster," hod. Esdud, or Shdood (called Azotus in Acts viii. 40), and still a large village, lay about thirty-five miles north of Gaza, three miles |