Amos 1

• words: This is the usual way to introduce a prophetic message (Jeremiah 1:1; see also Haggai 1:12). It emphasizes the form and content of the message.

• sheepherders (Hebrew noqed): This word appears only one other time in the Old Testament, describing the king of Moab as a sheep breeder (2 Kings 3:4). Amos uses a different Hebrew word for his job in Amos 7:14 (boqer, meaning “herdsman”; see Amos Book Introduction, “The Prophet Amos”). Amos was not a professional prophet serving the court or temple.

• Amos received this message through visions, that is, through God’s direct revelation (see Isaiah 1:1).

• Amos describes the earthquake during Uzziah's reign (Zechariah 14:5) as an act of God's judgment (Amos 3:14–15; 6:11, 14; 8:8; 9:1, 9).

• Uzziah, also known as Azariah, ruled from 792 to 740 BC. He was the most powerful king of Judah after the kingdom split.

• Jeroboam II, who ruled from 793 to 753 BC, was from Jehu's family line of kings. He took advantage of a time when no strong power controlled the region. During this time, he regained land that the Arameans had taken earlier.

• This message speaks about judgment on the day of the Lord (the time when God acts to judge and restore).

• Mount Zion, the place of the temple in Jerusalem, was the natural place for a message from the Lord to come.

• Mount Carmel rises near the Mediterranean Sea and usually has plenty of water, even during dry seasons. If the grass on Mount Carmel dried up, it would be a clear sign of a severe and widespread drought.

• For three transgressions of Damascus, even four: This phrase describes ongoing rebellion against the natural order set by God. The Hebrew phrase does not describe an exact number. Instead, it points to a pattern of repeated wrongdoing.

• they threshed: Threshing grain was the process of separating the grain heads from their husks. People did this by pulling wooden sledges with sharp edges over the cut grain (Isaiah 41:15; see Micah 4:13). This image helps explain how harsh and violent the actions of the people of Damascus were.

Damascus, the capital of Aram, treated the people of Gilead with great cruelty. Gilead was Israel’s land east of the Jordan River.

By the time Ahab died in 853 BC, Damascus had taken Ramoth in Gilead (1 Kings 22:3). Around 801 BC, Assyria captured Damascus. After this, the city never again had the power it once did.

This prophecy's eight judgments start with the most obvious enemy, Damascus, and end with the least obvious, Israel itself. This order would have captured Israel's attention as they listened to God's judgment on their enemies. However, Amos eventually revealed God's judgment on Israel, too.

• I will send fire upon: In ancient times, invading armies often burned cities after they conquered them (see also Amos 1:7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5). The destruction of Damascus would therefore be an act of God’s judgment on the city.

• Hazael ruled as king of Damascus from about 843 to 802 BC. He took the throne by killing the previous king. Ben-hadad, Hazael’s son, ruled after him from about 802 to 792 BC.

• Aven and Beth-eden were both linked with Aram and Damascus. The name Aven means “evil” or “wickedness.” It refers to the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains, also known as the plain of Damascus. Beth-eden was a small city-state north of Aram. In other biblical texts, it is simply called Eden (2 Kings 19:12; Ezekiel 27:23).

• The Arameans originally came from Kir (Amos 9:7), probably in southern Babylonia. When Damascus fell, Assyria forced the Arameans to return to Kir (2 Kings 16:9). Just as Egypt symbolized captivity for Israel (see Deuteronomy 28:68), Kir became a symbol of captivity for Aram.

The Philistine city of Gaza was located on the seacoast at the southwest edge of Palestine. It served as a gateway for trade between Africa and Asia. Its wrongdoing was engaging in slave trading. Philistia had attacked Israel or Judah and sold entire villages into slavery to Edom.

I will send fire upon: Uzziah defeated Philistia (2 Chronicles 26:6). Later, in 701 BC, an invasion by Assyria nearly erased the Philistines as a distinct people.

• The Philistine cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon were located on or near the coast, while Ekron was inland. Gath is not mentioned here because Hazael had conquered it earlier (2 Kings 12:17), followed by Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:6).

• the remnant of the Philistines: They kept their ethnic identity during the Assyrian period, but this distinction disappeared by the time of the Persians (Zechariah 9:5–7).

• Tyre and Sidon were the main seaports of Phoenicia.

• Tyre's crime, like Philistia's (Amos 1:6–8), was selling entire villages of Israelite captives to the Edomites as slaves. This captivity was more painful due to a sense of betrayal (see 2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1, 11; 16:30–31). Tyre was known for its reputation of "anything is for sale." Isaiah described the city as a prostitute selling her goods (Isaiah 23:15–17).

fire upon the walls: The main part of Tyre was built on an island, making it almost impossible to capture (see Ezekiel 26:1–28:19).

• Edom was another betrayer (see Amos 1:9; Genesis 36; see also Genesis 25:23–30; 27:39–40).

• The word brother refers to Edom’s close family relationship with Israel, since both peoples came from Isaac’s sons (see Genesis 25:25–30). The word brothers can also describe groups that are bound together by a treaty (see Amos 1:9).

  In this passage, Edom’s guilt lies in its ongoing hostility toward Israel and Judah. Edom repeatedly attacked Israel’s borders and took advantage of times of weakness by raiding and stealing (Jeremiah 49:7–22; Obadiah 1:1–9).

When Babylon destroyed the major cities of Teman and Bozrah, Edom lost its ability to continue fighting. Babylon conquered Edom shortly after Judah in 553 BC (see Jeremiah 27; 49:7–22; see also study note on Obadiah 1:18).

• Israel saw the people of Ammon as relatives who betrayed them. The Ammonites, like the Moabites (Amos 2:1), were descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew (Genesis 19:37–38). Ammon was a constant threat to Gilead (see Judges 10:7–9).

• In ancient times, conquering armies often harmed pregnant women (2 Kings 8:12; 15:16; Hosea 13:16). They also raped women and killed children in the towns they captured (Isaiah 13:16, 18; Lamentations 5:11; Hosea 10:14; 13:16; Nahum 3:10; Zechariah 14:2).

• Rabbah was the main city of the Ammonites (2 Samuel 12:26).

• The Assyrians defeated Ammon in the 800s BC (Amos 1:13). Later, in the 700s BC, the Babylonians attacked Ammon and forced many of its people to leave the land.

Their king: The Hebrew term malkam might refer to the Ammonite god Molech. In ancient times, people believed that when a nation was conquered, its god or gods went into exile with them (see Amos 5:26–27; 1 Samuel 5:1–2; Isaiah 46:1).