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Amos Chapter
Eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 8
In
this chapter a fourth vision is delivered
the vision of a "basket of
summer fruit"; signifying the destruction of the ten tribes
for which
they were ripe
and which would quickly come upon them
Amos 8:1; the rich
are reproved for their oppression of the poor
their covetousness and earthly
mindedness
Amos 8:4; for which
they are threatened with entire ruin
sudden calamities
and very mournful
times
instead of light
joy
and gladness
Amos 8:7; and
particularly with a famine of hearing the word of God
Amos 8:11; the
consequence of which would be
a fainting of the young men and virgins for
thirst
and the utter and irrecoverable ruin of all idolaters
Amos 8:13.
Amos 8:1 Thus the Lord God showed me:
Behold
a basket of summer fruit.
YLT
1Thus hath the Lord Jehovah
shewed me
and
lo
a basket of summer-fruit.
Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me
.... Another
vision
which is the fourth
and after the following manner:
and
behold
a basket of summer fruit; not of the
first ripe fruit
but of such as were gathered at the close of the summer
when
autumn began. So the Targum
"the
last of the summer fruit;'
such
as were fully ripe
and would not keep till winter; or
if kept
would rot; but
must be eaten directly
as some sort of apples
grapes
&c. denoting the
people of Israel being ripe for destruction
and would be quickly devoured by
their enemies; and that
as they had had a summer of prosperity
they would now
have a sharp winter of adversity.
Amos 8:2 2 And
He said
“Amos
what do you see?” So I said
“A basket of summer fruit.” Then
the Lord
said to me: “The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them
anymore.
YLT
2And He saith
`What art
thou seeing
Amos?' and I say
`A basket of summer-fruit.' And Jehovah saith
unto me: `The end hath come unto My people Israel
I do not add any more to
pass over to it.
And he said
Amos
what seest thou?.... To quicken his
attention
who might disregard it as a common thing; and in order to lead him
into the design of it
and show him what it was an emblem of:
and I said
a basket of summer fruit; some render
it "a hook"F23כלוב
"unicuus"
V. L.
such as they pull down branches with to gather the
fruit; and the word so signifies in the Arabic languageF24"ferramentum
incurvum
seu uncus ex quo de sella commeatum suspendit viator"
Giggeius
apud Golium
col. 2055. ; but the other is the more received sense of the word:
then said the Lord unto me; by way of explanation of
the vision: the end is come upon my people Israel: the end of the kingdom of
Israel; of their commonwealth and church state; of all their outward happiness
and glory; their "summer was ended"
and they "not
saved"
Jeremiah 8:20; all
their prosperity was over; and
as the Targum
their
"final
punishment was come
'
the
last destruction threatened themF25There is an elegant play on words
in the words קיץ
"summer"
and קץ
"the end". :
I will not again pass by them any more; pass by their
offences
and forgive their sins; or pass by their persons
without taking notice
of them
so as to afflict and punish them for their iniquities: or
"pass
through them and more"F26So Mercerus
Grotius. now making an
utter end of them; See Gill on Amos 7:8.
Amos 8:3 3 And
the songs of the temple Shall be wailing in that day
” Says the Lord God— “Many dead
bodies everywhere
They shall be thrown out in silence.”
YLT
3And howled have
songstresses of a palace in that day
An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah
Many
[are] the carcases
into any place throw -- hush!
And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day
saith the Lord God
.... Not the songs sung by the Levites in
the temple of Jerusalem
this prophecy respects the ten tribes only; but those
in imitation of them
sung in the temple at Bethel
and other idol temples; or
profane songs in the palaces of princes and nobles; that is
instead of these
there should be howlings for the calamities come upon them. So the Targum
"they
shall howl
instead of a song
in their houses then;'
particularly
because of the slain in them
as follows; see Amos 5:23;
there shall be many dead
bodies in every place; in all houses and palaces
in all towns and cities; and
especially in Samaria
during the siege
and when taken
partly through the
famine
and partly through the sword:
they shall cast them forth with silence; they that
have the care of burying the dead bodies shall either cast them out of the
houses upon the bier or cart in which they are carried to the grave
or into
the pit or grave without any funeral lamentation: or
"they shall cast
them forth"
and say
"be silent"; that is
as Kimchi explains
it
"one
of them that casts them forth shall say to his companion
be silent;'
say
not one word against God and his providence
since this is righteously come
upon us; or say nothing of the number of the dead
lest the hearts of those
that hear should become tender
and be discouraged
as Aben Ezra; or the enemy
should be encouraged to go on with the siege.
Amos 8:4 4 Hear
this
you who swallow up[a] the needy
And make the poor of the land fail
YLT
4Hear this
ye who are
swallowing up the needy
To cause to cease the poor of the land
Hear this
O ye that swallow up the needy
.... Like a
man that pants after a draught of water when thirsty; and
when he has got it
greedily swallows it down at one gulp; so these rich men swallowed up the poor
their labours
gains
and profits
and persons too; got all into their own
hands
and made them bondsmen and slaves to them; see Amos 2:7; these are
called upon to hear this dreadful calamity threatened
and to consider what
then would become of them and their ill gotten riches; and suggesting
that their
oppression of the needy was one cause of this destruction of the land:
even to make the poor of the land to fail; or
"cease"F1לשבות "ad cessare
faciendum"
Mercerus; "et facitis cessare"
Munster
Drusius. ;
to die for want of the necessaries of life
being obliged to such hard labour;
so unmercifully used
their faces ground
and pinched with necessity; and so
sadly paid for their work
that they could not live by it.
Amos 8:5 5 Saying:
“When will the New Moon be past
That we may sell grain? And the Sabbath
That
we may trade wheat? Making the ephah small and the shekel large
Falsifying the
scales by deceit
YLT
5Saying
When doth the new
moon pass
And we sell ground corn? And the sabbath
and we open out pure corn?
To make little the ephah
And to make great the shekel
And to use perversely
balances of deceit.
Saying
when will the new moon be gone
that we may sell corn?.... The first
day of every month
on which it was forbid to sell any thing
or do any worldly
business
being appointed and used for religious service; see 2 Kings 4:23; and
which these carnal earthly minded men were weary of
and wanted to have over
that they might be selling their grain
and getting money
which they preferred
to the worship of God. Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of the month of
harvest
when the poor found what to eat in the fields; when they gleaned
there
and got a sufficiency of bread
and so had no need to buy corn; and
hence these rich misers
that hoarded up the grain
are represented as wishing
the harvest month over
that they might sell their grain to the poor
having
had
during that month
no demand for it; and so the Targum renders it the month
of grain: or the month of intercalation
as Jarchi understands it; every three
years a month was intercalated
to bring their feasts right to the season of
the year; and that year was a month longer than the rest
and made provision
dearer; and then the sense is
when will the year of intercalation come
that
we may have a better price for our grain? but the first sense seems best;
and the sabbath
that we may set forth wheat; in the shops
or markets
for sale: or "open wheat"F2ונפתחה
בר "et apericmus frumentam"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus; "ut aperiamus frumenti horrea"
Junius
& Tremellius; "ut aperiamus frumentum"
Piscator
Cocceius;
"quo far aperiamus"
Castalio. ; the granaries and treasures of it
to be seen and sold. Now the sabbath
or seventh day of the week
as no servile
work was to be done on it
so no trade or commerce was to be carried on on that
day; which made it a long and wearisome one to worldly men
who wished it over
that they might be about their worldly business. Kimchi and Ben Melech
by
"sabbath"
understand a "week"
which these men put off the
poor unto
when the price of grain would rise; and so from week to week refused
to sell
and longed till the week came when it would be dearer. The Targum and
Jarchi interpret it of the seventh year Sabbath
when there was no ploughing
nor sowing
nor reaping
and so no selling of grain
but the people lived upon
what the earth brought forth of itself. But the first sense here is also best;
making the ephah small; a dry measure
that held
three scabs
or about a bushel of ours
with which they measured their grain
and their wheat; so that
besides the exorbitant price they required
they did
not give due measure:
and the shekel great; that is
the weight
or
shekel stone
with which they weighed the money the poor gave for their grain
and wheat; this was made heavier than it should be
and so of course the money
weighed against it was too light
and the poor were obliged to make it up with
more; and thus they cheated them
both in their measure
and in their money:
and falsifying the balances by deceit? contrary to
the law in Deuteronomy 25:13.
Amos 8:6 6 That
we may buy the poor for silver
And the needy for a pair of sandals— Even sell
the bad wheat?”
YLT
6To purchase with money the
poor
And the needy for a pair of sandals
Yea
the refuse of the pure corn we
sell.
That we may buy the poor for silver
.... Thus making them pay
dear for their provisions
and using them in this fraudulent manner
by which
they would not be able to support themselves and their families; they might
purchase them and theirs for slaves
at so small a price as a piece of silver
or a single shekel
worth about half a crown; and this was their end and design
in using them after this manner; see Leviticus 25:39;
and the needy for a pair of shoes; See Gill on Amos 2:6;
yea
and sell the refuse of
the wheat; not only did they sell the poor grain and wheat at a dear rate
and in scanty measure
but the worst of it
and such as was not fit to make
bread of
only to be given to the cattle; and
by reducing the poor to extreme
poverty
they obliged them to take that of them at their own price. It may be
rendered
"the fall of wheat"F3מפל
בר "labile frumenti"
Montanus;
"decidum frumenti"
Cocceius; "deciduum triciti"
Drusius
Mercerus
Stockius
p. 690. ; that which fell under the sieve
when the wheat
was sifted
as Aben Ezra
Kimchi
and Ben Melech
observe.
Amos 8:7 7 The
Lord has sworn by
the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their works.
YLT
7Sworn hath Jehovah by the
excellency of Jacob: `I forget not for ever any of their works.
The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob
.... Not by
the ark
as R. Japhet; nor by the temple
as Kimchi; but by himself; which
sense Kimchi also mentions
and Aben Ezra; the God of Jacob and his glory
the
most excellent of all Jacob's enjoyments
and of whom he had reason to boast
and glory; see Amos 6:8;
surely I will never forget any of their works; their wicked
works
especially those now mentioned; God forgets when he forgives them
or
suffers them to go unpunished; but though he had done so long
he would do so
no more; on which they might depend
since he had not only said it
but swore
to it.
Amos 8:8 8 Shall
the land not tremble for this
And everyone mourn who dwells in it? All of it
shall swell like the River
[b] Heave and
subside Like the River of Egypt.
YLT
8For this doth not the land
tremble
And mourned hath every dweller in it? And come up as a flood hath all
of it. And it hath been cast out
and hath sunk
Like the flood of Egypt.
Shall not the land tremble for this
.... For this wickedness
committed
in using the poor with so much inhumanity? may not an earthquake be
expected? and which happened two years after Amos began to prophesy
Amos 1:1; or that
the earth should gape and swallow up these men alive
guilty of such
enormities? or shall not the inhabitants of the land tremble at such judgments
which the Lord hath sworn he will bring upon it?
and everyone mourn that dwelleth therein? at the
hearing of them
and especially when they shall come upon them: as the calamity
would be general
the mourning should be universal:
and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; that is
the
calamity threatened shall rise up at once like a flood of waters
like Noah's
flood
and cover the whole land
and wash off and utterly destroy man and
beast:
and it shall be cast out and drowned
as by the flood of
Egypt; or the river of Egypt
the Nile
which overflows at certain
times
and casts up its waters and its mud
and drowns all the country; so that
the whole country
during its continuance
looks like a sea: it overflows both
its banks
both towards Lybia or Africa
and towards Arabia
and on each side
about two days' journey
as HerodotusF4Euterpe
sive l. 9. c. 19.
relates; and this it does regularly every year
in the summer solstice
in the
higher and middle Egypt
where it seldom rains
and its flood is necessary; but
is not so large in the lower Egypt
where it more frequently rains
and the
country needs it not. StraboF5Geograph. l. 17. p. 542. says this
flood remains more than forty days
and then it decreases by little and little
as it increased; and within sixty days the fields are seen and dried up; and
the sooner that is
the sooner they plough and sow
and have the better
harvests. HerodotusF6Ut supra. (Euterpe
sive l. 9. c. 19.) says it
continues a hundred days
and is near the same in returning; and he says
unless it rises to sixteen
or at least fifteen cubits
it will not overflow
the countryF7Ibid. c. 13. : and
according to PlinyF8Nat.
Hist. l. 5. c. 9.
the proper increase of the waters is sixteen cubits; if
only they arise to twelve
it is a famine; if to thirteen
it is hunger; if to
fourteen
it brings cheerfulness; if to fifteen
security; and if to sixteen
delights. But StraboF9Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 17. p. 542.) relates
that the fertility by it is different at different times; before the times of
Petronius
the greatest fertility was when the Nile arose to the fourteenth
cubit; and when to the eighteenth
it was a famine: but when he was governor of
that country
when it only reached the twelfth cubit
there was great fruitfulness;
had when it came to the eighth (the eighteenth I suppose it should be) no
famine was perceived. An Arabic writerF11Apud Calmet. Dictionary
in
the word "Nile". gives an account of the Nilometry
or measures of
the Nile
from the year of Christ 622 to 1497; and he says
that
when the
depth of the channel of the Nile is fourteen cubits
a harvest may be expected
that will amount to one year's provision; but
if it increases to sixteen
the
corn will be sufficient for two years; less than fourteen
a scarcity; and more
than eighteen makes a famine. Upon the whole
it seems that sixteen cubits have
been reckoned the standard that portends plenty
for many generations
to which
no addition has appeared to have been made during the space of five hundred
years.
"This
we learn (says Dr. Shaw)F12Travels
p. 384. Ed. 2.
not only from
the sixteen children that attend the statue of the Nile
but from Pliny also;
and likewise from a medal of Hadrian in the great brass where we see the figure
of the Nile
with a boy upon it
pointing to the number sixteen. Yet in the
fourth century
which it will be difficult to account for
fifteen cubits only
are recorded by the Emperor JulianF13Ecdicio
Ep. 50. as the height
of the Nile's inundation; whereas
in the middle of the sixth century
in the
time of Justinian
ProcopiusF14De Rebus Gothicis
l. 3. informs us
that the rise of the Nile exceeded eighteen cubits; in the seventh century
after Egypt was subdued by the Saracens
the amount was sixteen or seventeen
cubits; and at present
when the river rises to sixteen cubits
the Egyptians
make great rejoicings
and call out
"wafaa Allah"
that is
"God has given them all they wanted".'
The
river begins to swell in May
yet no public notice is taken of it till the
twenty eighth or twenty ninth of June; by which time it is usually risen to the
height of six or eight pikes (or cubits
πηεος
a Turkish
measure of twenty six inches); and then public criers proclaim it through the
capital
and other cities
and continue in the same manner till it rises to
sixteen pikes; then they cut down the dam of the great canal. If the water
increases to the height of twenty three or twenty four pikes
it is judged most
favourable; but
if it exceed that
it does a great deal of mischief
not only
by overflowing houses
and drowning cattle
but also by engendering a great
number of insects
which destroy the fruits of the earthF15Universal
History
vol. 1. p. 413. . And a late learned travellerF16Pocock's
Description of the East
p. 200. tells us
that
"eighteen
pikes is an indifferent Nile (for so high it is risen when they declare it but
sixteen); twenty is middling; twenty two is a good Nile
beyond which it seldom
rises; it is said
if it rises above twenty four pikes
it is looked on as an
inundation
and is of bad consequence.'
And
to such a flood the allusion is here. Thus the land of Israel should be
overwhelmed and plunged into the utmost distress
and sink into utter ruin
by
this judgment coming upon them; even the Assyrian army
like a flood
spreading
themselves over all the land
and destroying it. So the Targum
"a
king shall come up against it with his army
large as the waters of a river
and shall cover it wholly
and expel the inhabitants of it
and shall plunge as
the river of Egypt;'
see
Isaiah 8:7.
Amos 8:9 9 “And
it shall come to pass in that day
” says the Lord God
“That I will
make the sun go down at noon
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
YLT
9And it hath come to pass in
that day
An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah
I have caused the sun to go in at
noon
And caused darkness on the land in a day of light
And it shall come to pass in that day
saith the Lord God
.... When this
deluge and desolation of the land shall be
now spoken of:
that I will cause the sun to go down at noon: or to he so
dark as if it was set; as at the time of our Lord's crucifixion
to which many
of the ancient fathers refer this prophecy
though it has respect to other
times and things. Jarchi interprets it of the kingdom of the house of David. It
doubtless designs the kingdom of Israel
their whole policy
civil and
ecclesiastic
and the destruction of it; particularly their king
princes
and
nobles
that should be in great adversity
and that suddenly and unexpectedly;
it being a fine sunshine morning with them
and they in great prosperity
and
yet by noon their sun would be set
and they in the utmost darkness and
distress;
and I will darken the earth in a clear day; the land of
Israel
the people of it
the common people
who should have their share
in
this calamity and affliction; and though it had been a clear day with them
and
they promised themselves much and long felicity
yet on a sudden their light
would be turned into darkness
and their joy into sadness and sorrow.
Amos 8:10 10 I
will turn your feasts into mourning
And all your songs into lamentation; I
will bring sackcloth on every waist
And baldness on every head; I will make it
like mourning for an only son
And its end like a bitter day.
YLT
10And have turned your
festivals to mourning
And all your songs to lamentation
And caused sackcloth
to come up on all loins
And on every head -- baldness
And made it as a
mourning [of] an only one
And its latter end as a day of bitterness.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into
lamentation
.... Either their religious feasts
the feasts of pentecost
tabernacles
and passover; at which three feasts there were eclipses of the
sun
a few years after this prophecy of Amos
as Bishop UsherF17Annales
Vet. Test. ad A. M. 3213. observes: the first was an eclipse of the sun about
ten digits
in the year 3213 A.M. or 791 B.C.
June twenty fourth
at the feast
of pentecost; the next was almost twelve digits
about eleven years after
on
November eighth
780 B.C.
at the feast of the tabernacles; and the third was
more than eleven digits in the following year
779 B.C.
on May fifth
at the
feast of the passover; which the prophecy may literally refer to
and which
might occasion great sorrow and concern
and especially at what they might be
thought to forebode: but particularly this was fulfilled when these feasts
could not be observed any longer
nor the songs used at them sung any more; or
else their feasts
and songs at them
in their own houses
in which they
indulged themselves in mirth and jollity; but now
instead thereof
there would
be mourning and lamentation the loss of their friends
and being carried
captive into a strange land;
and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins; of high and
low
rich and poor; even those that used to be covered with silk and rich
embroideries: sackcloth was a coarse cloth put on in times of mourning for the
dead
or on account of public calamities:
and baldness upon every head: the hair being either
shaved off or pulled off; both which were sometimes done
as a token of
mourning:
and I will make it as the mourning of an only son; as when
parents mourn for an only son
which is generally carried to the greatest
height
and continued longest
as well as is most sincere and passionate; the
case being exceeding cutting and afflictive
as this is hereby represented to
be:
and the end thereof as a bitter day; a day of bitter
calamity
and of bitter wailing and mourning
in the bitterness of their
spirits; though the beginning of the day was bright and clear
a fine sunshine
yet the end of it dark and bitter
distressing and sorrowful
it being the end
of the people of Israel
as in Amos 8:2.
Amos 8:11 11 “Behold
the days are coming
” says the Lord God
“That I will send a famine on the land
Not
a famine of bread
Nor a thirst for water
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
YLT
11Lo
days are coming
An
affirmation of the Lord Jehovah
And I have sent a famine into the land
Not a
famine of bread
nor a thirst of water But of hearing the words of Jehovah.
Behold
the days come
saith the Lord God
.... Which
Kimchi interprets of all the days of the second house or temple after Malachi
when prophecy ceased; but it rather has respect to the time of Shalmaneser's
carrying captive the ten tribes
when they had no more prophets nor prophecy
among them
or any to tell how long their captivity should last
or when it
would be better times with them
Psalm 74:9;
that I will send a famine in the land; which
in a
literal sense
is one of God's arrows he has in his quiver
and sends out when
he pleases; or one of his sore judgments
which he sometimes orders to come
upon a people for their sins: but here is meant
not a famine of bread; or through want of that
which is very dreadful; as was the famine of Samaria
when an ass's head was
sold for fourscore pieces of silver
and a certain measure of dove's dung for
five pieces of silver
2 Kings 6:25; and
as were the famines of Jerusalem
when taken both by the Chaldeans and Romans
when delicate women boiled and ate their own children
Lamentations 4:8;
nor a thirst for water; which is more
distressing and tormenting than hunger; and to be slain with thirst is to be
destroyed in the most afflictive manner
Hosea 2:3.
Lysimachus is said to part with his kingdom for a draught of water; and the
torments of hell are set forth by a violent thirst for it
Luke 16:24; but
something worse than either of these is here threatened:
but of hearing the words of the Lord; the word of
prophecy
and the preaching of the word
or explaining the Scriptures. Of this
blessing the ten tribes were deprived at their captivity
and have been ever
since; and the Jews
upon their rejection of Christ
have had the kingdom of
God
the Gospel of the kingdom
the word and ordinances of God
taken from
them
and remain so to this day; the seven churches of Asia have had their
candlestick removed out of its place
and this famine continues in those parts
to this time; and
by the symptoms upon us
we may justly fear it
will be our
case before long. "The words of the Lord" are the Scriptures
which
cone from him
and are concerning him; the doctrines of grace contained in
them
the wholesome words of Christ: hearing them signifies the preaching of
them
Isaiah 53:1; by
which hearing comes
and is a great blessing
and should be attended to
as
being the means of conversion
regenerations
the knowledge of Christ
faith in
him
and the joy of it. Now
to be deprived of hearing the Gospel is a
spiritual famine
for that is food
bread
meat
milk
honey
yea
a feast; it
is food that is savoury
wholesome
nourishing
satisfying
strengthening
and
comforting; and when this is took away a famine ensues
as when a church state
is dissolved
ministers are ordered to preach no more in such a place
or are
scattered by persecution
or removed by death
and none raised up in their
stead; or when error prevails
to the suppressing of truth: all which is done
or suffered to be done
for indifference to the word of God
unfruitfulness
under it
and contempt of it
and
opposition to it; which is a dreadful case
when such a famine is; for the glory
riches
and light of a nation
are gone;
bread for their souls is no more; and the means of conversion
knowledge
comfort
&c. cease; and people in course must die
for lack of these
things; see Isaiah 3:1.
Amos 8:12 12 They
shall wander from sea to sea
And from north to east; They shall run to and
fro
seeking the word of the Lord
But shall not find it.
YLT
12And they have wandered from
sea unto sea
And from north even unto east
They go to and fro to seek the
word of Jehovah
And they do not find.
And they shall wander from sea to sea
.... From the
sea of Tiberias
or Galilee; or from the Dead sea
the lake Asphaltites; or
from the Red sea
which was to the south of the land of Israel
to the great
sea
which is to the west
as Aben Ezra: so the Targum
"from
the sea to the west;'
that
is
to the Mediterranean sea:
and from the north even to the east; proceeding from the
south to the west
they shall turn from thence to the north
and so to the
east
which describes the borders of the land of Canaan
Numbers 34:3; and
the sense is
that
they shall go to and fro; throughout the whole
land
and all over it
to seek the word of the Lord; not the written word
but the interpretation of it; doctrine from before the Lord
as the Targum; the
preaching of the word
or ministers to instruct them in it; or the word of
prophecy
and prophets to tell them when it would be better times
and how long
their present distress should last:
and shall not find it; there should be no
ministry
no preaching
no prophesying; as never since among the ten tribes
so
it has been the case of the Jews
the two tribes
upon the rejection of the
Messiah; the Gospel was taken from them; no tidings could they hear of the Messiah
though they ran to and fro to find him
it being told them Lo
here
and Lo
there; see John 7:34.
Amos 8:13 13 “In
that day the fair virgins And strong young men Shall faint from thirst.
YLT
13In that day faint do the
fair virgins
And the young men
with thirst.
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. After the
word
for want of that grain and wine
which make young men and maids cheerful
Zechariah 9:17;
but
being destitute of them
should be covered with sorrow
overwhelmed with
grief
and ready to sink and die away. These
according to some
design the
congregation of Israel; who are like to beautiful virgins
as the Targum
paraphrases it; and the principal men of it
the masters of the assemblies: or
as others
such who were trusting to their own righteousness
and seeking after
that which they could never attain justification by
and did not hunger and
thirst after the righteousness of Christ
and so perished.
Amos 8:14 14 Those
who swear by the sin[c] of
Samaria
Who say
‘As your god lives
O Dan!’ And
‘As the way of Beersheba
lives!’ They shall fall and never rise again.”
YLT
14Those swearing by the guilt
of Samaria
And have said
Live doth thy god
O Dan
And
Live doth the way of
Beer-Sheba
And they have fallen -- and rise not again!'
They that swear by the sin of Samaria
.... The calf
at Bethel
which was near Samaria
and which the Samaritans worshipped; and was
set up by their kings
and the worship of it encouraged by their example
and
which is called the calf of Samaria
Hosea 8:5; the
making of it was the effect of sin
and the occasion of leading into it
and
ought to have been had in detestation and abhorrence
as sin should; and yet by
this the Israelites swore
as they had used to do by the living God; so setting
up this idol on an equality with him:
and say
thy God
O Dan
liveth; the other calf
which
was set up in Dan; and to this they gave the epithet of the bring God
which
only belonged to the God of Israel:
and the manner of Beersheba liveth; or
"the way of
Beersheba"F18דרך באר־שבע
"via Beersebah"
Pagninus
Montanus
Munster
Vatablus
Mercerus
Tigurine version; "iter
peregrinatio"
Drusius; "Bersabanum
iter"
Castalio. ; the long journey or pilgrimage of those at Beersheba;
who chose to go to Dan
rather than Bethel
to worship; imagining they showed
greater devotion and religion
by going from one extreme part of the land to
the other
for the sake of it. Dan was on the northern border of the land of
Judea
about four miles from Paneas
as you go to TyreF19Hieronymus de
locis Heb. fol. 92. H. ; and Beersheba was on the southern border of the land
twenty miles from HebronF20Ibid. fol. 89. F. ; and the distance of
these two places was about one hundred and sixty milesF21Ib. Epist.
ad Dardanura
fol. 22. I. . And by this religious peregrination men swore; or
rather by the God of Beersheba
as the Septuagint render it; though the phrase
may only intend the religion of Beersheba
the manner of worship there
it
being a place where idolatry was practised; see Amos 5:5. The
Targum is
"the
fear (that is
the deity) which is in Dan liveth
and firm are the laws of
Beersheba;'
even they shall fall
and never rise up again; that is
these idolatrous persons
that swear by the idols in the above places
shall
fall into calamity
ruin
and destruction
by and for their sins
and never
recover out of it; which was fulfilled in the captivity of the ten tribes
from
whence they have never returned to this day.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)