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Amos Chapter
Seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 7
In
this and the two following chapters are the visions of Amos
in number five;
three of which are contained in this chapter
and with which it begins. The
first is of the grasshoppers or locusts eating up the later grass of the land
which are stopped at the intercession of the prophet
Amos 7:1; the
second is of fire the Lord called for to contend by
whose devouring flames are
made to cease by the same interposition
Amos 7:4; and the
other is of the plumbline
signifying the utter destruction of the people of
Israel
according to the righteous judgment of God
Amos 7:7; upon the
delivery of which prophecies and visions
the priest of Bethel forms a charge
against the prophet to the king; and advises Amos to flee into Judea
and
prophesy there
and not at Bethel
being willing to be rid of him at any rate
Amos 7:10; next
follows the prophet's vindication of himself showing his divine call to the
prophetic office
and his mission and express order he had from the Lord to
prophesy unto Israel
Amos 7:14; and
concludes with a denunciation of divine judgments on the priest's family
and
upon the whole land of Israel
Amos 7:16.
Amos
7:1 Thus the Lord God showed me:
Behold
He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it
was the late crop after the king’s mowings.
YLT
1Thus hath the Lord Jehovah
shewed me
and lo
He is forming locusts at the beginning of the ascending of
the latter growth
and lo
the latter growth [is] after the mowings of the
king;
Thus hath the Lord showed unto me
.... What follows in this
and the two chapters
before the prophet delivered what he heard from the Lord;
now what he saw
the same thing
the ruin of the ten tribes
is here expressed
as before
but in a different form; before in prophecy
here in vision
the
more to affect and work upon the hearts of the people:
and
behold
he formed grasshoppers; or "locusts"F21גבי "ecce fictor locustarum"
Pagninus
Montanus;
so Munster
Vatablus
Cocceius
Burkius.
as the word is rendered
Isaiah 33:4; and so
the Septuagint here
and other versions. Kimchi interprets it
and
behold
a
collection or swarm of locusts; and the Targum
a creation of them. Though Aben
Ezra takes the word to be a verb
and not a noun
and the sense to be
agreeably to our version
he showed me the blessed God
who was forming
locusts; it appeared to Amos
in the vision of prophecy
as if the Lord was
making locusts
large and great ones
and many of them; not that this was
really done
only visionally
and was an emblem of the Assyrian army
prepared
and ready to devour the land of Israel; see Joel 1:4. And this
was
in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and
lo
it was the latter growth after the king's mowings; when the
first grass was mowed down
and the first crop gathered in
for the use of the
king's cattle; as the later grass was just springing up
and promised a second
crop
these grasshoppers or locusts were forming
which threatened the
destruction of it. This must be towards the close of the summer
and when
autumn was coming on
at which time naturalists tell us that locusts breed. So
AristotleF23Hist. Animal. l. 5. c. 28
29. says
they bring forth at
the going out of the summer; and of one sort of them he says
their eggs perish
in the waters of autumn
or when it is a wet autumn; but in a dry autumn there
is a large increase of them: and so Pliny saysF24Nat. Hist. l. 11.
c. 29.
they breed in the autumn season and lie under the earth all the
winter
and appear in the spring: and Columella observesF25Apud
Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 6. col. 484.
that locusts are most
suitably and commodiously fed with grass in autumn; which is called
"cordum"
or the latter grass
that comes or springs late in the
year; such as this now was. The Mahometans speakF26Vid. Bochart
ib.
col. 486. much of God being the Maker of locusts; they say he made them of the
clay which was left at the formation of Adam; and represent him saying
I am
God
nor is there any Lord of locusts besides me
who feed them
and send them
for food to the people
or as a punishment to them
as I please: they call them
the army of the most high God
and will not suffer any to kill them; See Gill
on Revelation 9:3;
whether all this is founded on this passage of Scripture
I cannot say;
however
there is no reason from thence to make the locusts so peculiarly the
workmanship of God as they do
since this was only in a visionary way; though
it may be observed
that it is with great propriety
agreeable to the nature of
these creatures
that God is represented as forming them at such a season of
the year. Some
by "the king's mowings"
understand the carrying
captive the ten tribes by Shalmaneser king of Assyria; so Ribera; after which
things were in a flourishing state
or at least began to be so
in the two
tribes under Hezekiah
when they were threatened with ruin by the army of
Sennacherib
from which there was a deliverance: but as this vision
and the
rest
only respect the ten tribes of Israel
"the king's mowings" of
the first crop may signify the distresses of the people of Israel
in the times
of Jehoahaz king of Israel
by Hazael and Benhadad kings of Syria
2 Kings 13:3; when
things revived again
like the shooting up of the later grass
in the reign of
Joash
and especially of Jeroboam his son
who restored the coast of Israel
the Lord having compassion on them
2 Kings 13:25; but
after his death things grew worse; his son reigned but six months
and he that
slew him but one; and in the reign of Menahem
that succeeded him
an invasion
of the land was made by Pul king of Assyria
2 Kings 15:19;
which is generally thought to be intended here. Or else
as others
it may
refer to the troubles in the interregnum
after the death of Jeroboam
to his
son's mounting the throne
the space of eleven years
when
and afterwards
Israel was in a declining state.
Amos 7:2 2 And
so it was
when they had finished eating the grass of the land
that I said: “O
Lord God
forgive
I pray! Oh
that Jacob may stand
For he is small!”
YLT
2and it hath come to pass
when it hath finished to consume the herb of the land
that I say: `Lord
Jehovah
forgive
I pray Thee
How doth Jacob arise -- for he [is] small?'
And it came to pass
that when they had made an end of
eating the grass of the land
.... That is
the grasshoppers or locusts;
when in the vision it seemed to the prophet that almost all the grass of the
land was eaten up
and they were going to seize upon the corn
and other fruits
of the earth: this signifies not Sennacherib's invasion of the land of Judea
but Pul's invasion of the land of Israel
whose army seemed like these locusts;
and spreading themselves over the land
threatened it with desolation
as these
locusts seemed to have wholly consumed all the grass of the land; then the
prophet said what follows:
then I said
O Lord God
forgive
I beseech thee; the sins of
the people
as the Targum
which were the cause of these locusts coming
or of
the Assyrian army invading the land; and the prophet prays that God would avert
this judgment
signified in this vision
or remove it
which is often in
Scripture meant by the forgiveness of sin
Exodus 32:31; this
is the business of the prophets and ministers of the Lord
to intercede for a
people when ruin is near; and happy is that people
when they have such to
stand up in the breach for them. The argument the prophet uses is
by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small; or
"little"F1קטן
"parvulus"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus; "parvus"
Junius
& Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius. ; like the first shooting up of the
grass
after it has been own: or
as NoldiusF2מי
יקום יעקב "quomodo
(alias) surgeret Jacob?" Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 60. No. 1979.
"quomodo consistet?" Liveleus; "quomodo surget Jacob?"
Drusius. renders it
"how otherwise should Jacob stand?" and
so Kimchi
how should there be a standing for him? that is
unless God forgives
his sin
and turns away his wrath
how shall he stand up under the weight of
his sins
which must lie upon him
unless forgiven? and how shall he bear the
wrath and indignation of God for them? and so if any sinner is not forgiven
how shall he stand before God to serve and worship him now? or at his tribunal
with confidence hereafter? or sustain his wrath and displeasure to all
eternity? see Psalm 130:3; or
"who of" or "in Jacob shall stand"F3"Quis
staret
Jahacobo?" Junius & Tremellius; "quis remaneret
Jacobo?" Piscator. ? not one will be left; all must be cut off
if God
forgive not; for all are sinners
there are none without sin: or
"who
shall stand for Jacob?"F4"Quis stabit pro Jacobo?"
Mercerus. or intercede for him? it will be to no purpose
if God is inexorable:
so the Targum
"who
will stand and ask "pardon" for their sins?'
or
"who will raise up Jacob?"F5"Quis suseitabit
Jahacob?" V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus. from that low condition in
which he is
or likely to be in
if God forgive not
and does not avert the
judgment threatened
to a high and glorious state of prosperity and happiness;
for
if all are cut off
there will be none left to be instruments of such a
work: "for he is small"; few in number
and greatly weakened
by one calamity or another; and
if this should take place
would be fewer and
weaker still. So the church of Christ
which is often signified by Jacob
is
sometimes in a very low estate; the number of converts few; has but a little
strength to bear afflictions
perform duty
and withstand enemies; it is a day
of small things with it
with respect to light and knowledge
and the exercise
of grace
especially faith; when some like the prophet are concerned for it
by
whom it shall arise; the God of Jacob can cause it to arise
and can raise up
instruments for such service
and make his ministers
and the ministry of the
word and ordinances
means of increasing the number
stature
spiritual light
knowledge
grace
and strength of his people.
Amos 7:3 3 So the Lord relented
concerning this. “It shall not be
” said the Lord.
YLT
3Jehovah hath repented of
this
`It shall not be
' said Jehovah.
The Lord repented for this
.... He heard the prayer
of the prophet
and at his intercession averted
the threatened judgment; thus
the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much
James 5:16; this is
spoken after the manner of men; as men
when they repent of a thing
desist
from it
so the Lord desisted from going on with this judgment; he did not
change his mind
but changed the dispensations of his providence according to
his mind and will:
it shall not be
saith the Lord; these grasshoppers or
locusts
the Assyrian army
shall not at this time destroy the land of Israel:
Pul king of Assyria took a sum of money of the king of Israel
and so turned
back
and stayed not in the land
2 Kings 15:19.
Amos 7:4 4 Thus
the Lord God
showed me: Behold
the Lord God called for conflict by fire
and it consumed
the great deep and devoured the territory.
YLT
4Thus hath the Lord Jehovah
shewed me
and lo
the Lord Jehovah is calling to contend by fire
and it
consumeth the great deep
yea
it hath consumed the portion
and I say:
Thus hath the Lord showed unto me
.... Another vision after
this manner:
and
behold
the Lord God called to contend by fire; gave out that
he would have a controversy with his people Israel
and proclaimed the time when
he would try the cause with them
and that by fire: or he called his family
as
Jarchi; that is
his angels
as Kimchi
to cause fire to descend upon Israel
as upon Sodom and Gomorrah; so other Rabbins Kimchi mentions: or
as he
interprets it
the scorching heat of the sun
like fire that restrained the
rain
dried up the plants
and lessened the waters of the river
and so brought
on a general drought
and in consequence famine: or rather a foreign army
involving them in war
burning their cities and towns; see Amos 1:4;
and it devoured the great deep; it seemed
as if it did;
as the fire from heaven
in Elijah's time
licked up the water in the trench
1 Kings 18:38; so
this
coming at God's command
seemed to dry up the whole ocean; by which may
be meant the multitude of people
nations
and kingdoms
subdued by the
Assyrians; see Revelation 17:15;
and did eat up a part; a part of a field
as
Jarchi and Aben Ezra; of the king's field
Amos 7:1; as
Kimchi; showing
as he observes
that the reigning king was a bad king
and
that this was for his sin: or rather a part of the land of Israel; and so
refers
as is generally thought
to Tiglathpileser's invasion of the land
who
carried captive a part of it
2 Kings 15:29.
Amos 7:5 5 Then
I said: “O Lord God
cease
I pray! Oh
that Jacob may stand
For he is small!”
YLT
5`Lord Jehovah
cease
I
pray Thee
How doth Jacob arise -- for he [is] small?'
Then said I
O Lord God
cease
I beseech thee
.... From
destroying the land; suffer not this calamity to proceed any further; using the
same argument as before:
by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small; See Gill on Amos 7:2.
Amos 7:6 6 So the Lord relented
concerning this. “This also shall not be
” said the Lord God.
YLT
6Jehovah hath repented of
this
`It also shall not be
' said the Lord Jehovah.
The Lord repented for this
.... He heard the
prophet's prayer
and desisted from going on with the threatened destruction:
this also shall not be
saith the Lord God; the whole
land shall not be destroyed
only a part of it carried captive.
Amos 7:7 7 Thus
He showed me: Behold
the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line
with a plumb line in His hand.
YLT
7Thus hath He shewed me
and
lo
the Lord is standing by a wall [made according to] a plumb-line
and in His
hand a plumb-line;
Thus he showed me
.... A third vision
which was in the
following manner:
and
behold
the Lord stood upon a wall made by a
plumbline
with a plumbline in his hand: this "wall"
was the people of Israel
who were built up as a wall
firm and strong; and so
stood against their enemies
while supported by the Lord
and he stood by them.
The Septuagint version is
"an adamantine wall". In their constitution
both civil and ecclesiastic
they were formed according to the good and
righteous laws of God
which may be signified by the plumbline; and so the
Targum renders it
"the wall of judgment". And now the Lord appears
standing upon this wall
to trample it down
and not to support it; and with a
plumbline in his hand
to examine and try whether this wall was as it was first
erected; whether it did not bulge out
and vary from its former structure
and
was not according to the line and rule of his divine word
which was a rule of
righteousness.
Amos 7:8 8 And
the Lord
said to me
“Amos
what do you see?” And I said
“A plumb line.” Then the Lord
said: “Behold
I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I
will not pass by them anymore.
YLT
8and Jehovah saith unto me
`What art thou seeing
Amos?' And I say
`A plumb-line;' and the Lord saith:
`Lo
I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of My people Israel
I do not add
any more to pass over to it.
And the Lord said unto me
Amos
what seest thou?.... This
question was put to him
the rather
since he was silent
and did not upon this
vision
as the former
make any supplication to the Lord; as also
because this
vision portended something of moment and importance
which he would have the
prophet attend to:
and I said
a plumbline; the same word as before
and is differently rendered
as already observed. The Vulgate Latin version
renders it
"a plasterer's" or "mason's trowel"; with which
they lay their plaster and mortar on in building: the Septuagint
an adamant:
and which
by PlinyF6Nat. Hist. l. 3. c. 4.
is called
"anachites"; a word in sound near to this here used: the Targum
renders it
"judgment": but Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe
that in the
Arabic tongue it signifies lead or tin
as it doesF7"plumbum
sive nigrum
sive album puriusque"
Camusus; "plumbum et
stannum"
Ibn Maruph apud Golium
col. 176. Avicenna apud Castel. col.
161. Vid. Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 7. p. 122. ; and so a line with
lead at the end of it;
then said the Lord
behold
I will set a plumbline in the midst of
my people Israel; take an exact account of their actions
and see how they agree
or disagree with the rule of the word; and in the most strict and righteous
manner deal with them for their sins and transgressions
"lay judgment to
the line
and righteousness to the plummet"
Isaiah 28:17;
I will not again pass by them any more; wink at their
sins
and overlook their transgressions
by not correcting and punishing for
them; or will not pardon them
but inflict punishment on them. So the Targum
"behold
I will exercise judgment in the midst of my people Israel
and I will not add
any more to pardon them.'
Though
some understand it of God's making such an utter end of them
that he should no
more "pass through them"F8לא אוסיף עוד עבור
לו "non adjiciam ultra pertransire eum"
Montanus; "non ultra per eum transibit"
some in Mercerus.
to
destroy them
having done it at once
and thoroughly.
Amos 7:9 9 The
high places of Isaac shall be desolate
And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be
laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”
YLT
9And desolated have been
high places of Isaac
And sanctuaries of Israel are wasted
And I have risen
against the house of Jeroboam with a sword.'
And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate
.... Such as
the ten tribes of Israel
who descended from Isaac
built at Beersheba
in
imitation of Isaac
and pleading his example; who worshipped there
though not
idols
as they
but the true God; and in commemoration of his being bound upon
an altar on Mount Moriah: but these
as the Septuagint version renders it
were
"high places of laughter"
ridiculous in the eyes of the Lord
despised by him
and so should be made desolate:
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; the temples
built for the calves at Dan and Bethel
and other places:
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword; or
as the
Targum
"I
will raise up against the house of Jeroboam those that slay with the sword;'
this
was fulfilled by Shallum
who conspired against Zachariah the son of Jeroboam
and slew him
and reigned in his stead
which put an end to the family of
Jeroboam
2 Kings 15:10.
Amos 7:10 10 Then
Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel
saying
“Amos has
conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able
to bear all his words.
YLT
10And Amaziah priest of
Beth-El sendeth unto Jeroboam king of Israel
saying
`Amos hath conspired
against thee in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear
all his words
Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel
.... The Targum calls him
the prince or president of Bethel; and the word used signifies both a prince
and a priest; and very probably this man had the care of the civil as well as
religious matters in Bethel. Aben Ezra styles him the priest of Baal; he was
one that succeeded the priests that Jeroboam the son of Nebat placed here
to
offer sacrifices to the calf he set up in this place
1 Kings 12:32; who
hearing the above three visions of Amos delivered
and fearing that he would
alienate the people from the idolatrous worship he was at the head of
and
frighten them from an attendance on it
which would lessen his esteem with the
people
and also his worldly gain and profit; and observing that Amos did not
make any intercession for the averting of the judgment threatened in the last
vision
as in the other two
and which particularly concerned the king's
family: he
sent to Jeroboam king of Israel; either letters or
messengers
or both; who
it seems
was not at this time at Bethel
but at some
other place; perhaps Samaria
which was not a great way from hence:
saying
Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the land
of Israel; he speaks of Amos as if he was well known to the king
and
perhaps he might be
having long prophesied in the land of Israel
and near the
court; and represents him as a seditious person
not as affecting the crown and
kingdom himself
but as stirring up a spirit
of rebellion among the people;
taking off their affections from their prince
and them from their allegiance
to him
by representing him as a wicked person that would in a little time be
cut off; and this he did not privately
and in a corner
but publicly
in the
midst of the land
and before all the people of Israel; and this was no new and
unusual thing to represent good man
and especially ministers of the word
as
enemies to the civil government
when none are truer friends to it
or more
quiet under it:
the land is not able to bear all his words; either to
withstand the power of them; they will have such an influence upon the people
if timely care is not taken
as to cause them both to reject the established
religion and worship at Dan and Bethel
and to rise up in arms against the
civil government
and dethrone him the king; such terrible things he says to
the people
as will frighten them
and put them upon taking such measures as
these: or else the prophet's words were so intolerable
that his good subjects
the inhabitants of the land could not bear them; and if he did not give orders
himself to take away his life
they would rise up against him
and dispatch him
themselves.
Amos 7:11 11 For
thus Amos has said: ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword
And Israel shall surely
be led away captive From their own land.’”
YLT
11for thus said Amos: By
sword die doth Jeroboam
And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'
For thus Amos saith
Jeroboam shall die by the sword
.... Which was
not saying truth; for Amos said not that Jeroboam should die by the sword
but
that God would raise up the sword against his house or family; nor did Jeroboam
die by the sword
but his son Zachariah did:
and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land; this was
true; Amos did say this
and he afterwards confirms it. This is the amount of
the charge brought against the prophet
which has some truth and some falsehood
mixed together; and by which method the priest hoped to gain his point
and get
the prophet either banished or put to death.
Amos 7:12 12 Then
Amaziah said to Amos: “Go
you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat
bread
And there prophesy.
YLT
12And Amaziah saith unto
Amos
`Seer
go flee for thee unto the land of Judah
and eat there bread
and
there thou dost prophesy;
Also Amaziah said unto Amos
.... Either at the same
time; or
it may be
after he had waited for the king's answer
and received
none; or what did not come up to his expectations and wishes. We have no
account of any answer the king returned; who either gave no heed to the
representations of the priest
or had a better opinion of
he prophet
and did
not credit the things imputed to him; which the priest observing
took another
way to get rid of the prophet
and that by flattery:
O thou seer; that seest visions
and foretells things to come. This title
which of right belonged to him
and is given to the true prophets of God
sometimes
is here given to Amos
either seriously or ironically:
go
flee thee away into the land of Judah; to which he
belonged
and where the temple stood
and the true worship of God was
performed; and where the king
princes
and people
were on his side of the
question; and where his prophecies would be received
and he caressed for them
being against the ten tribes
with whom they were at variance
and where also he
would be safe; for he suggests
that
in giving this advice
he consulted his
good and safety; for
if he stayed here long
King Jeroboam would certainly
take away his life; and therefore he advised him to flee with all haste to his
own country:
and there eat bread
and prophesy there: he took him
for a mercenary man like himself
and that he prophesied for bread; which he
intimates he would never be able to get in the land of Israel
but in all
probability might in the land of Judea.
Amos 7:13 13 But
never again prophesy at Bethel
For it is the king’s sanctuary
And it is
the royal residence.”
YLT
13and [at] Beth-El do not add
to prophesy any more
for it [is] the king's sanctuary
and it [is] the royal
house.'
But prophesy not again any more at Bethel
.... He might
prophesy any where
if he did not there
for what the priest cared
that so his
honour and interest were not hurt. The reasons he gave were
for it is the king's chapel; or "sanctuary"F9מקדש "sanctuarium"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus
Mercerus
Junius & Tremellius. Piscator
Drusius
Cocceius. ; where a
temple was built for the idol calf
and where the king worshipped it
and
attended all other religious service:
and it is the king's court; or "the house of
the kingdom"F11ובית ממלכה הוא "et domus regni
est"
V. L. Pagninus
Montanus
Mercerus
Cocceius; "domus
regia"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ; the seat of it
where the
king had a royal palace
and sometimes resided here
and kept his court
as
well as at Samaria; often coming hither to worship
it being nearer to him than
Dan
where the other calf was placed; intimating hereby that the king would
never suffer such a troublesome man as he to be so near him; and by prophesying
to interrupt him
either in his religious or civil affairs; and therefore
advises him by all means to depart
if he had any regard to his life or peace.
Amos 7:14 14 Then
Amos answered
and said to Amaziah: “I was no prophet
Nor was I
a son of a prophet
But I was a sheepbreeder[a] And a
tender of sycamore fruit.
YLT
14And Amos answereth and
saith unto Amaziah
`I [am] no prophet
nor a prophet's son [am] I
but a
herdsman I [am]
and a cultivator of sycamores
Then answered Amos
and said to Amaziah
.... With much
freedom
boldness
and intrepidity
and yet with modesty and humility; not at
all moved by his frowns or his flattery:
I was no prophet
neither was I a prophet's son: he was not a
prophet originally
or from his youth
as Kimchi; he was not born and bred one;
neither his father was a prophet
by whom he could get any instructions in the
mystery of prophesying; nor was he a disciple of any of the prophets
or
brought up in any of their schools as some were; he was no prophet till the
Lord called him immediately
at once
from his secular employment to this
office; and therefore did not take it up to get a livelihood by Jarchi and Aben
Ezra interpret it
that he was not one of the false prophets that prophesied
for hire
and took a reward:
but I was an herdsman
and a gatherer of sycamore fruit; that is
originally: this was the employment he was brought up in from his youth
and was
in it when he was called to be a prophet; he looked after cattle
both great
and small; and at a certain time of the year used
to gather sycamore fruit
which was a kind of figs; and by
its name had the resemblance both of figs and
mulberries. Some take it to be what were called Egyptian figs; these he
gathered
either for the use of his masters
or for food for himself
or for
the cattle
or both: or he was an "opener" of them
as the
Septuagint; he cut
them
and made incisions in them; for
as PlinyF12Nat.
Hist. l. 13. c. 7.
DioscoridesF13L. 1. c. 143.
and TheophrastusF14Hist.
l. 4. c. 2. observe
this fruit must be cut or scratched
either with the nail
or with iron
or it will not ripen; but
four days after being scratched or
cut
will become ripe. Mr. NordenF15Travels in Egypt and Nubis
vol.
1. p. 79
80.
a late traveller in Egypt
has given us a very particular
account of this tree and its fruit.
"This
sycamore (he says) is of the height of a beech
and bears its fruit in a manner
quite different from other trees; it has them on the trunk itself
which shoots
out little sprigs in form of grape stalks; at the end of which grow the fruit
close to one another
almost like bunches of grapes. The tree is always green
and bears fruit several times in the year
without observing any certain
seasons: for I have seen (says he) some sycamores that have given fruit two
months after others. The fruit has the figure and smell of real figs
but is
inferior to them in the taste
having a disgusting sweetness. Its colour is a
yellow
inclining to an ochre
shadowed by a flesh colour. In the inside it
resembles the common figs
excepting that it has a blackish colouring with
yellow spots. This sort of tree is pretty common in Egypt; the people for the greater
part live upon its fruit
and think themselves well regaled when they have a
piece of bread
a couple of sycamore figs
and a pitcher filled with water from
the Nile.'
This
account in several things agrees with what PlinyF16Nat. Hist. l. 13.
c. 7. and SolinusF17Polyhistor. c. 45. relate of this tree and its
fruit; very likely there might be many of these trees in Judea; there seem to
have been great numbers of them in Solomon's time
1 Kings 10:27; and
perhaps it was one of these that Zacchaeus climbed
in order to see Christ
Luke 19:4; for this
sort of trees delight in vales and plains
such as were the plains of Jericho;
and in the TalmudF18T. Bab Pesachim
fol. 56. 1. & 57. 1. &
Menachot
fol. 71. 1. we read of sycamore trees in Jericho; and of the men of
Jericho allowing the branches of them to be cut down for sacred uses. These
also grew in lower Galilee
but not in upper Galilee; and that they were
frequent in the land of Israel appears from the rules the Misnic doctorsF19Misn.
Shevath
c. 9. sect. 2. & Bava Bathra
c. 2. sect. 7. give about the
planting
and cutting them down; and in the opening of these trees
and making
incisions in them
and in gathering the fruit of them
Amos might be concerned.
Kimchi and Ben Melech say the word signifies to "mix"
and that his
business was to mix these together with other fruit. Aben Ezra observes
that
in the Arabic language it signifies to dry; and then his work was
after he had
gathered them
to lay them a drying. Some render the word a
"searcher"F20בזלס
"disquirens"
Montanus
Vatablus; "perquirens"
Junius
& Tremellius
Piscator
Cocceius
Burkius. So R. Sol. Urbin Ohel Moed
fol.
31. 2. of them; as if his employment was to look out for them
and seek them
where they were to be got: however
be this as it will
the prophet suggests
that he had been used to a low life
and to mean fare
with which he was
contented
and did not take up this business of prophesying for bread
and
could return to his former employment without any regret
to get a maintenance
if so was the will of God. The Targum gives it a different sense
"for
I am a master of cattle
and have sycamores in the fields;'
and
so Jarchi
Kimchi
and Ben Melech
represent him as suggesting that he was
rich
and had no need of bread to be given him
or to prophesy for that.
Amos 7:15 15 Then
the Lord
took me as I followed the flock
And the Lord said to me
‘Go
prophesy
to My people Israel.’
YLT
15and Jehovah taketh me from
after the flock
and Jehovah saith unto me
Go
prophesy unto My people Israel.
And the Lord took me as I followed the flock
.... Or
"from behind" itF21מאתרי צאן "de post pecus"
Montanus; "de post
gregem"
Vatablus; "a post gregem"
Liveleus. ; a description of
a shepherd
such an one Amos was
and in this employ when the Lord called him
and took him to be a prophet; he did not seek after it
nor did he take this
honour to himself; by which it appears that his mission was divine
and that he
did not enter on this work with lucrative views: thus God took David in a like
state of life
and made him king of Israel; and Elisha from the plough
and
made him a prophet: and Christ several of his disciples from being fishermen
and made them fishers of men
or ministers of the word; and so their call
appeared more clear and manifest;
and the Lord said unto me; in a vision or dream by
night; or by an articulate voice he heard; or by an impulse upon his spirit
which comes from the Spirit of God:
go
prophesy unto my people Israel; for so they were by
profession
and notwithstanding their apostasy; as yet they were not tallied
"Loammi"
Hosea 1:9; to these
the prophet was bid to go out of the land of Judea
where he was a herdsman
and prophesy in the name of the Lord to them; wherefore what he did was in
obedience to the command of God
and he did but his duty; and what he in this
verse and Amos 7:14 declares
is a sufficient vindication of himself
his character
and conduct; and having
done this
he has something to say to the priest
as follows.
Amos 7:16 16 Now
therefore
hear the word of the Lord: You say
‘Do not
prophesy against Israel
And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’
YLT
16And now
hear a word of
Jehovah: thou art saying
Do not prophesy against Israel
nor drop [any thing]
against the house of Isaac
Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord
.... Which I
have from him concerning thee
and which he has pronounced upon thee and thy
family:
thou sayest
prophesy not against Israel; when God has
bid me prophesy:
and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac; say nothing
against it
though in ever so soft and gentle a manner: it designs the same
thing as before
only in different words; and is a prohibition of the prophet
to prophesy against the ten tribes that descended from Isaac
in the line of
Jacob. So the Targum paraphrases it
"thou
shalt not teach against the house of Isaac;'
or
deliver out any prophecy or doctrine that is against them
or threatens them
with any calamity. Jarchi says the phrase is expressive of prophecy; see Deuteronomy 32:2.
Amos 7:17 17 “Therefore
thus says the Lord:
‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by
the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a
defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.’”
YLT
17therefore thus said
Jehovah: Thy wife in the city doth go a-whoring
And thy sons and thy daughters
by sword do fall
And thy land by line is apportioned
And thou on an unclean
land diest
And Israel certainly removeth from off its land.'
Therefore thus saith the Lord
.... For withstanding the
prophet of the Lord
and forbidding him to speak in his name against the
idolatry of Israel
as well as for his own idolatry:
thy wife shall be an harlot in the city: either of
Bethel or Samaria; either through force
being ravished by the soldiers upon
taking and plundering the city; so Theodoret and others: or rather of choice;
either
through poverty
to get bread
or through a vicious inclination
and
that in a public manner: the meaning is
that she should be a common strumpet;
which must be a great affliction to him
and a just punishment for his
idolatry
or spiritual adultery; this must be before the siege and taking of
Samaria
since by that time the priest's wife would be too old to be used as a
harlot:
and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword; either of
Shallum
who smote Zachariah the son of Jeroboam with the sword
before the
people
and very probably many of his friends with him
among whom this family
was; or of Menahem
who slew Shallum
and destroyed many places that opened not
to him
with their inhabitants
and ripped up the women with child; or in the
after invasions by Pul
Tiglathpileser
and Shalmaneser
2 Kings 15:10;
and thy land shall be divided by line; either the
whole land of Israel be lived in
or the land that was in the possession of
this priest
and was his own property; this should be measured with a line
and
be parted among foreigners
that should invade the land
and subdue it; a just
punishment of the sins he had been guilty of
in getting large possessions in
an ill manner:
and thou shall die in a polluted land; not in his
own land
reckoned holy
but in a Heathen land
which was accounted defiled
because the inhabitants of it were uncircumcised and idolaters
and he was no
better; perhaps the land of Assyria
whither he might with others be carried
captive; or some other land he was forced to flee into:
and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land; as he had
before prophesied
and here confirms it; and which was fulfilled in the times
of Hoshea king of Israel
by Shalmaneser king of Assyria
2 Kings 17:6.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)