Глава 3

1–8. The prophet has the right to denounce the people. 9–13. Convicting Israel. 14–15. Announcement of punishment to Israel. Am.3:1. Hear this word which the Lord spoke against you, O children of Israel, against all the tribe that I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying: From ch. III begins the second part of the book. Amos. This contains the prophet's speeches against Israel, denouncing the crimes of the people and, then, announcing the fall of the kingdom of Israel. Am.3:2. Only you have I recognized from all the tribes of the earth, therefore I will exact from you for all your iniquities. Contrary to the view of his contemporaries that Israel, as Jehovah’s people, cannot be subject to God’s judgment, the prophet makes it seem like the inevitability of this judgment: Jehovah recognized only Israel; therefore, the iniquities of Israel are, as it were, especially known to Him, and Israel, more than any other people, must be held accountable (cf. Lk 12.48). Ch. jadah ("recognized") signifies not only the simple knowledge of the people, but also the special care of Jehovah for them. Am.3:3. Will two people go together without agreeing with each other? In a number of images the prophet explains his preaching. - “Will two people go together without agreeing with each other?” - the prophet wants to say that he would not have made a speech on behalf of God if he had not had God’s command to do so (St. Ephraim the Syrian). Am.3:4. Does a lion roar in the forest when there is no prey in front of him? Does a lion cub raise his voice from his den when he has not caught anything? The meaning of the images is this: just as a lion roars only when there is prey in front of him, so the prophet speaks with menacing speeches about the judgment of God because he sees the onset of this judgment, when Israel will appear, as it were, the prey of Divine Justice. Just as a lion cub (glorified lion's cub) begins to roar when it torments its prey, so the prophet makes speeches because the judgment of Israel is already ready to begin. Am.3:5. Will a bird get caught in a snare on the ground when there is no snare for it? Will the noose rise from the ground when nothing has hit it? The prophet wants to say that just as a bird caught in a noose is caught, so the people of Israel must inevitably be punished for their sins and, as it were, caught by the judgment of God. At the same time, God’s judgment will not end without destroying Israel, just as a noose does not rise from the earth without catching a bird (Yungerov, p. 51). Am.3:6. Is there a trumpet blowing in the city, and the people would not be afraid? Is there a disaster in a city that the Lord would not allow? Art. 6 expresses the idea that prophetic preaching, like the sound of a trumpet announcing danger, should remind the people of an approaching disaster, and, moreover, a terrible disaster, inevitable by human means, because this disaster is sent by God Himself. Am.3:7. For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secrets to His servants, the prophets. Am.3:8. The lion began to roar - who wouldn’t shudder? The Lord God said, “Who will not prophesy?” In Art. 7–8 the prophet explains the images he used. The prophet makes it clear that he is announcing a disaster that is revealed to him by the Lord, that he cannot help but proclaim when the Lord speaks, just as a person cannot help but be afraid when a lion roars. Am.3:9. Proclaim on the housetops of Ashdod and on the housetops in the land of Egypt and say: Gather yourselves to the mountains of Samaria and see the great disorder in it and the oppression in its midst. From 9th century Am 4.3 contains the prophet’s denunciations directed against the nobles of Samaritan. To give more force to his denunciations, the prophet invites the inhabitants of Azoth and the land of Egypt to witness the atrocities happening in Samaria. Instead of the words beaschdod (“in Azoth”) the LXX read εν᾿ ᾿Ασσυριος (slav. “in the Assyrians”); The reading of the LXX does not contradict the context, but it is easier to assume that aschur arose from aschdod than vice versa. – “To the mountains of Samaria”: at LXX ἐπὶ το ᾿ορος Σ, to Mount Samaria; since the prophet further speaks only about the inhabitants of the city of Samaria, some commentators prefer reading LXX (Gonaker). - “To great outrage” (mehumoth): the last word, the meaning of which is not entirely clear, is conveyed in the LXX θαυμαστά, (glorified “wonderful”), in Aquila - ἀχορτασίαν - gluttony, insatiability. Am.3:10. They do not know how to do justice, says the Lord: they store up treasures for their palaces through violence and robbery. The crime of the Samarian nobles reached such a degree that they seemed to have lost the concept of justice. The second half of the verse in Russian. conveyed freely; from euros It should be: “they fill their palaces with violence and robbery”, according to Blessed Jerome: thesavrisantes iniquitatem et rapinas. Am.3:11. Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Behold the enemy, and around the whole earth! he will overthrow your power, and your palaces will be plundered. The prophet announces the punishment of Samaria for her crime. – “Here is the enemy, and, moreover, around the whole earth”: the translation is conjectural. Heb. zaar useviv haarez is not clear. LXX understood zar (Russian enemy) in the sense of their own. name Tire and the whole expression was attributed to Tire, as in glory. “Tire, around your land will be desolate.” In the Targum, Theodotion and Symmachus and some new commentators, zur is taken to mean: constraint (Targ. aka), courage (F. fortitudo), siege (S. πολιορκία), disaster (Hitzig). To the words of our text and, moreover, around in Hebrew. t. corresponds to useviv. But seviv without i is nowhere used in the sense of a preposition; moreover, in sir. in the text there is a verb instead of seviv. Therefore, the newest commentators (Novak, Goonaker) not without reason believe that the original text read jesovev surround or, as in Isa 23.16; 1 Samuel 7.16; Ps 49.7, 15; will pass (Goonaker). The whole expression in this case will take the form of an exclamation: “the enemy surrounds the earth.” The Prophet no doubt means the Assyrians. - “He will destroy your power” (ussecha): by ussecha the prophet probably means the walls and towers that defended Samaria. – Instead of the words thy palaces, the LXX translates χῶραι σου, “thy countries”: LXX Heb. armon, palace, is translated differently, depending on the context - in Am 1.3 θεμέλιον (word foundation); in Jer 17.27 αμποδον, ατρον. Am.3:12. Thus says the Lord: As sometimes a shepherd plucks out of a lion’s mouth two legs or part of an ear, so the children of Israel who sit in Samaria in the corner of the bed and in Damascus on the bed will be saved. The prophet figuratively expresses the idea that only a pitiful remnant will survive God’s judgment. The image is taken from Exodus 22.12. - “They sit in Samaria in the corner of the bed and in Damascus on the bed,” reath mittach, the corner of the bed (bed), the most honorable place during the feast. LXX punctuated mittach (bed) as mateh knee, tribe, φυλη; from here to glory. instead of Russian in the corner of the bed it reads: “straight to the tribe.” Mention at the end of the article. On the 12th about Damascus (ubidemeschek ares, Russian “in Damascus on a bed”) arouses bewilderment. We are talking about the inhabitants of Samaria. Why are they called “those sitting in Damascus”? Due to the difficulty of keeping in Art. 12 the name of the city of Damascus, many commentators consider domeschek to be the name not of a city, but of a special matter (dama) or take it in the general sense - a skillful, fancy Damascus work (Junger). – End of Art. The 12th in this case takes the form: reclining in Samaria on the corner of the bed and on the Damascus bed (Jungerov) or: reclining - “on the lady of the beds” (Gonaker). But many commentators (Wellg., Novak, Driver) seem very doubtful that the well-known precious matter was already known to the Jews under the name demeschek even during the time of Amos. Therefore, they offer various proofs of the word demeschek: Graetz and Novak – bassemichah, on the carpet (bed); Doom and Marty – dabbescheth. Goonaker, understanding demeschek in the sense of the name of the city of Damascus, suggests reading the name Askalon instead of the name Samaria. According to Goonaker, speaking about the nobles of Samaria, the prophet would not have called them “sons of Israel,” a term denoting the entire people. Therefore, the words of those sitting in Samaria, etc., are not an explanation of the words of the sons of Israel, but begin a new thought, expressed in Art. 13. In art. 13, the prophet calls to “witness to the house of Jacob” - obviously, he invites, as in v. 9th, neighboring nations. Hence the reference to those sitting in Damascus (demeschek) is understandable; and instead of the name Samaria, it is natural to expect the name of some neighboring pagan city. According to Goonaker, with the ancient script the confusion of Samaria and Askalon is not unacceptable. Am.3:13. Hear and bear witness to the house of Jacob, says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts. The prophet turns to the pagan peoples (cf. v. 9) and asks to testify, that is, to approve, as it were, the divine decision to punish Israel, or to certify that this punishment is fair, and it was foretold in advance. To give more solemnity to his speech, the prophet in v. 13 calls God by the full name adonai jehovah elogej hazzebaoth, Lord God, God of hosts (cf. Am 6.14, 9.5). By calling God the God of the armies of heaven, the prophet wants to point out the omnipotence of God. According to the text gr. and glory the prophet's speech in v. 13 is addressed to the Samaritan priests (ιερεῖς ἀχουσατε, slav. “priests, listen”). The word ιερεῖς is believed to have erroneously originated from Hebrew. ares (bed, bed), standing at the end of Art. 12th. Initially this word was left without translation, and then the incomprehensible ares, written in Greek. letters, was corrected in ιερεῖς. Am.3:14. For in the day when I will punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also punish the altars at Bethel, and the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. Am.3:15. And I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and houses with ivory ornaments will disappear, and many houses will be destroyed, says the Lord. In Art. 14–15 sets forth what the prophet invites to hear in v. 13th The prophet announces the destruction of Israel's altars and dwellings. Some authors (Velg., Novak, Goonaker), due to the fact that the mention of the Bethel altar along with houses seems unexpected in a speech where the prophet denounces the nobles of Samaria for their luxury, suggest that the second half of Art. 14 represents a later addition or was transferred from the next chapter (cf. Am 4.9 et c.). But there are no solid grounds for such an assumption. - “And the horns of the altar will be cut off.” The four horns of the altar of burnt offering are spoken of in Exodus 27.2; about the horns of the altar of incense in Exodus 30.2. The horns formed an essential part of the altar (compare, however, Exodus 20.24; Joshua 8.30; 1 Sam. 14.33). During some sacrifices, they were anointed with the blood of the sacrificial animal (Exodus 29.12; Lev. 4:7, 18, 25). The purifying significance of the horns was expressed in the fact that they served as a place of refuge: Adonijah and Joab sought salvation at the altar, grasping its horns (1 Kings 1.50; 1 Kings 2.28). Due to the indicated importance of the horns, the prophet deliberately mentions the destruction of the horns of the altar. – “Winter house” and “summer house”: according to the explanation of Blessed Jerome, the rich inhabitants of Samaria could have special houses for winter - and for summer; the first ones were facing north, and the second ones were facing south. Other commentators believe that only different floors of the same houses were called winter and summer houses: the lower ones - for coolness from the summer heat (Judges 3.20), the upper ones, surrounded by galleries and equipped with braziers (Jer 36.22), - for winter (Harper, Yungerov). In glory i.e. a winter house is called a “prekleta house”, i.e. a house surrounded by a wall, fence or gallery for protection from the wind. - “And the houses with ivory ornaments will disappear” - Heb. beththej haschschen (cf. 1 Kings 10.18; 2 Chronicles 9.17; Ps 44.9) means either houses decorated with ivory, or, as St. explains. Ephraim the Syrian, houses filled with ivory utensils. The prophet speaks of the houses of the Samarian nobility and foretells their destruction either from the enemy, by which he means the Assyrians, or from an earthquake. You might be interested in: