AMOS 1:3 TO AMOS 2:5. THE SINS OF ISRAEL'S NEIGHBOURS. According to the present arrangement the prophet begins by arraigning Israel's neighbours. This arrangement may not be original. Yet it is quite likely that he deliberately chose to make a denunciation of the sins of Israel's neighbours lead up... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS 1:1 F. SUPERSCRIPTION AND MOTTO. In the present form of the book we find prefixed to the oracles, probably by a post-exilic editor, some brief particulars as to the person of the prophet, the date of his ministry, and the key-note of his message. The prophet belonged to the Southern Kingdom. He... [ Continue Reading ]
DAMASCUS. It is Yahweh who speaks by the mouth of the prophets. The mention of Damascus, the capital of the Aramaean or Syrian kingdom, would at once arrest attention, for until recently Israel had been engaged in a severe struggle (p. 69) with this kingdom (Damascus stands here for the whole region... [ Continue Reading ]
PHILISTIA. Philistia was another name to strike terror. The country is well represented by Gaza (Amos 1:6), the southernmost and largest city of the Philistines (p. 28), an emporium of trade and the centre of the slave-traffic. A typical instance of brutality is found in the carrying away of a whole... [ Continue Reading ]
AMOS 1:9 F. ON TYRE. Possibly an exilic or post-exilic insertion. The mention of the Phœ nicians would not evoke such hostile feelings, but they too had repeatedly perpetrated crimes that called aloud for punishment. The whole land is here represented by its chief city, Tyre. Tyre is charged with co... [ Continue Reading ]
THE AMMONITES. The Ammonites were old enemies. Originally they had pressed Israel from the S. and E. as the Aramæ ans had done from the N. Then they occupied the territory E. of the Jordan from Jabbok to the Arnon. Jephthah defeated and David completely overthrew them (Judges 11:32; 2 Samuel 12:31).... [ Continue Reading ]