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“The words of Amos... who was one of the shepherds of Tekoi” (Amos 1:1). The city of Tekoi was located on the southern borders of the tribe of Judah. “And he said: The Lord will roar from Zion, like a lion in rage against the shepherds and flocks, that is, against kings and kingdoms, and from Jerusalem... will give His voice” to encourage the righteous who are there at the tabernacle, and to frighten the wicked with the destruction that will come upon them from the purification. “And the top of Carmel will dry up... and... the pastures of the shepherds will lament” (Amos 1:2). By these names the prophet means peoples and countries to which he foretells ruin and grave disasters. “Thus says the Lord: For three wickednesses of Damascus and for four I will not turn away from them, that is, My hand, but I have crushed... Gilead with iron nails” (Amos 1:3), that is, the inhabitants of Damascus trampled Gilead, which is in the tribe of Ephraim, with iron nails on their shoes. Because the children of Israel were in error and said that those around were strangers to them the nations, with the assistance of their idols, protect their kingdoms, and the Israelites, as deprived of such help, were subjected to great disasters, repeating the same thing that is written in Jeremiah: “And when we ceased to burn incense to the queen of heaven * and pour out drink offerings, we all ran short of bread, and died with the sword and with famine” (Jer. 44:18), then the prophet, in order to eradicate such an evil thought from their hearts, he predicts the destruction of these pagan nations and, with special force of words, ascertaining this, urges them to take care of their souls, so that they themselves, for their wickedness, will not suffer disasters much more serious than those disasters that other nations will be subjected to, because the Israelites know the true God and despise Him. Of course, the main goal of the prophet, which other prophets also had when they prophesied about neighboring nations and predicted their destruction, was to certify them in the truth of the word of God and to prove the immutability of those promises that God through Moses gave to the righteous people, saying: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Rom. 12:19; Deut. 32:35); and again: “For the blood of His sons avenges... and will render vengeance... to those who hate Him” (Deut. 32:43). However, besides this, the prophet had four other reasons. It was necessary, firstly, to shame the soothsayers, who could not foretell to their people the disasters that were already close and had almost already befallen them; secondly, to show that these peoples suffer punishment not without reason; thirdly, by predicting future misfortunes, bring them into fear, make them more attentive to themselves and dispose them to repentance; fourthly, the prophets, led by the same Spirit that Moses was led, inspired the neighboring peoples that God Himself would take revenge on His enemies, that is, the pagan peoples. The words used by Moses when threatening: “until the third and fourth generation” (Num. 14:18) mean that the punishment that befalls the fathers will extend to their sons until the third and fourth generation of their descendants. In the same sense, Amos uses the definite number of three and four wickednesses here instead of the indefinite number. “And I will send fire into the house of Hazael.” Syria in the days of Hazael saw many good deeds done to her by God, but did not know God. Therefore, the Lord determined to return her to her former slavery and said: “And I will send fire into the house of Hazael, and destroy the foundation of the son of Ader,” that is, I will send Sargon, king of Assyria, to the descendants of Hazael, and he will destroy the kingdom (Amos 1:4). “And I will crush the faiths of Damascus, the whole country surrounding Damascus, and I will consume the inhabitants of the field of Onov,” which was famous for its idolatrous churches. “And he who holds the rod is from the house of Eden” (Beth-Eden). The prophet calls the city of Damascus and its environs Beth-Eden ** because of its pleasant location, wealth, fertility of the land, and many treasures. “And the people of Sirstia will be taken captive to Cyrus, says the Lord” (Am. 1:5), that is, the Assyrians will be resettled in countries subject to their kings. “For three wickednesses of Gaza and for four I will not turn them away from them” until I complete the extermination of the Philistines. “For the hedgehog to bring into captivity” all the people, to deliver the captives “to Idumea” (Am. 1: 6). The Prophet joins the Philistines with the Syrians, because they, together with the Syrians, attacked Ahaz: The Syrians attacked from the east, The Philistines are from the west. “For three wickednesses of Tire and for four I will not turn them away,” because they captured the whole people and delivered them “to Idumea and did not remember the covenant of brothers” (Am. 1:9), which the house of David made with Hiram. “And I will send fire on the fence of Tire, and will girdle the foundations thereof” (Amos 1:10). This fire is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Ezekiel says the same thing. “For three wickednesses of Edomite, and for four, I will not turn them away, since Edom drove out his brother with the sword” (Amos 1:11), he lost compassion, and forever retained his anger, forever retained his hatred. From this it is clear that the pagan nations handed over all the captive Israelites to the Edomites, either to make their captivity more painful, or because the Edomites gave a high price for them, and not with the intention of freeing their brothers, but to subject their uncle’s sons to a more severe slavery. And that this was the intention of the Edomites the prophet shows when he says that the Edomites pursued their brother with sword and hatred. “And I will send fire to Teman, and destroy the foundations of Batzarah (Bosor)” (Amos 1:12), that is, I will send the same Assyrians and Babylonians. The prophet calls them fire because they destroy them to the ground. Teman and Batzara are two of the most noble cities of the Edomites. “For three wickednesses of the sons of Ammoni, and for four, I will not turn them away from them, even though they were in the womb of the Gileadites” (Am. 1:13). The prophet also adds to the Edomites the Ammonites, who were filled with hatred, like the Syrians, and cut into pieces pregnant women in Gilead. “And I will kindle a fire on the fence of Rabbath, and will lay down the foundations,.. - I will send the same Assyrians and Babylonians to destroy the Ammonites, - with a cry on the day of battle” (Am. 1:14), that is, with the cry of the peoples who came to battle, and “in the day of darkness,” that is, crying and lamentation, when, like thick darkness, it suddenly overtakes and captivity will cover them. “And Molech, that is, the idol of the Ammonites, their priests and their princes together, will go into captivity, says the Lord” (Am. 1:15). This refers to the pagan veneration of Ashtoreth, or the moon (Jer. 7:16–19). Beht-Eden – “house of sweets”. You might be interested in: