Table of Contents
Amos 4
Amos 4
1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>cows of Bashan</b>—This refers to the wives of the princes and the officers. <i>Jonathan</i> renders: wealthy in property.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>and you shall be borne on shields</b> Heb. בְּצִנּוֹת. And the nations shall bear you on their shields. <b>and your posterity in fishing boats</b> Heb. בְּסִירוֹת דּוּגָה. [<i>Jonathan</i> renders:] And your daughters in fishermen’s boats. That is a small boat used by fishermen, and, since it is small, he calls it סִיר, a pot, and in Mishnaic Hebrew, it is called דּוּגִית in <i>Baba Bathra</i> 73a. <b>your posterity</b> Heb. וְאַחֲרִיתְכֶן, lit., your end. Dunash ben Livrat (<i>Teshuvoth</i> p. 50): We find a person’s descendants called ‘his end.’ Cf. (Daniel 11:4) “And when he stands up, his kingdom shall be broken, and it shall be divided to the four winds of the heaven, and not to his posterity (לְאַחֲרִיתוֹ).” I.e, he will not leave over his kingdom to his son.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>And [through the] breaches they shall emerge, each woman straight before her</b>—And in the breaches of the wall they shall emerge there to flee. <b>each woman straight before her</b>—In the breach that she will find straight before her. Cf. (Josh. 6:5) “And the people shall go up, every man opposite him (נֶגְדוֹ),” for there will be many breaches, and they will not find it necessary to search for entrances. <b>and you shall cast off the haughtiness</b> Heb. הַהַרְמוֹנָה. And you shall cast off yourselves the haughtiness and the authority that you took. This is an Aramaism in the Talmud: (<i>Baba Mezia</i> 84) “הַרְמָנָה דְמַלְכָּא, It is the king’s command.” And <i>Jonathan</i> renders: “And they shall exile you beyond the טורֵי חַרְמִינֵי”. They are the mountains of darkness, an expression of destruction (חֵרֶם) and waste.</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>Come to Bethel etc.</b>—Like a man who says to a scoundrel, “Do [as you please] until your measure [of sin] is full.” <b>and bring your sacrifices in the morning</b>—The priests of Baal say to them, “Idolatry is liberal and does not impose stringent regulations upon you. The Torah states: (Exodus 34:25) ‘Shall not stay overnight,’ but for idolatry, ‘And bring in the morning. ’ The Torah states concerning sacrifices of lesser sanctity: (Lev. 19:6) ‘On the day of your sacrifice, it may be eaten, and on the morrow, ’ but idolatry, ‘after three days your tithes of cattle.’ The Torah states: (Lev. 2: 11) ‘Leaven… you shall not offer up,’ but idolatry, (verse 5) ‘And offer up a thanksgiving offering of leaven. ’ The Torah states: (Deut. 23:22) ‘You shall not delay its payment,’ but idolatry, ‘and proclaim and publish the free will offerings.’ Proclaim: ‘Whoever vowed and forgot, shall give it thought and remember.’” (<i>Yerushalemi, Avodah Zarah</i> 1:1) And <i>Jonathan</i> renders: And offer up from robbery. Cf. (Isa. 1: 17) “Strengthen the robbed (חָמוֹץ);” (Psalms 71:3) “From the hand of the unrighteous and the robbers (וּמְחַמֵּץ).”</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>and proclaim and publish the freewill offerings</b>—with a song, and say that this sacrifice is desirable and acceptable as a freewill offering. So did <i>Jonathan</i> render.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>Cleanness of teeth</b> Heb. נִקְיוֹן שִׁ נַּיִם. Setting your teeth on edge. [I.e, they would have nothing to eat, and their teeth would be set on edge.] Another explanation: cleanness of teeth. This denotes the lack of meat, which goes between the teeth, as it is stated: (Num. 11:33) “The meat was still between their teeth.”</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>when there were yet three months before the harvest</b>—Until the harvest. I.e, three months before the harvest. <b>field</b> Heb. חֶלְקָה, a fielded plain, campagne in French. <b>shall receive rain</b> Heb. תִמָּטֵר, shall be a place of rain. The master stated: Both of them are for a curse; this one will rot, and this one will wither. [from <i>Taanith</i> 6b] <b>and the field upon which no rain shall fall</b>—That will not show itself rained upon.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>the increase of your gardens</b>—That you are engaged in increasing your gardens. <b>the shearing locust has devoured</b> Heb. יֹאכַל, lit., shall devour. Has devoured.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>after the manner of Egypt</b>—Just as I sent upon you in the desert when you left Egypt. <b>with the captivity of your horses</b>—For they slay the horses as well. <b>and I caused the stench of your camps to rise</b>—The smell of your corpses would raise a stench, and I caused it to rise into your nostrils.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>like a brand</b> Heb. כְּאוּד, tison in French, an ember; i.e, black and dark and burnt black.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>Therefore</b>—Since you did not return to Me. <b>because I will do this to you</b>—as all these evils. <b>because</b>—Since you hear from the mouth of My prophets that I will do this to you. <b>prepare to meet Me</b>—to repent of your wickedness.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>what his speech is</b>—All his deeds are related in detail before him at the time of his death. <b>He makes dawn</b>—for the righteous like a bright light. <b>darkness</b>—He turns the brightness of the wicked into darkness. Cf. (Isa. 8:22) “And behold, distress and darkness, darkness (מְעוּף) of oppression.” Similarly, (Job 10:22) “Land of darkness (עֵפָתָה)”; (ibid. 11:17) “Darkness (תָּעֻפָה) shall be like morning.” Your darkness shall shine like the morning. <b>and treads upon the high places of the earth</b>—He humbles the high and haughty.</html>