Feast upon the Word - User contributions [en]

Amos 9:1-15

2012-05-21T01:37:23Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 9:1-15 | Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 8:1-14 | Previous page: Verses 8:1-14]] ||            ||This is the last page for [[Amos]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 9:1-15 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9| Amos 7-9]]. Verses 9:1-15 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Vision #5 of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared (9:1-15)'''

::a. vision of the Lord in judgment at the altar: none spared (1-4)
:::b. hymn: Lord is omnipotent sovereign (5-6)
::::c. Lord will destroy all sinners but save a remnant (7-10)
:::::d. in that day restored, bless with plenty (11-15)

In this final vision Amos sees the Lord himself standing upon the altar. It is not clear whether this occurs at Bethel or at the Jerusalem temple ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1?lang=eng 9:1]). A lintel is the beam across the top of a doorway. The shaking of supporting posts suggests the earthquake that occurred two years after Amos’ ministry ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.2?lang=eng#1 9:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1?lang=eng 1:1]).

Here the Lord does not say that he will spare ''no longer'', but that he will spare ''no one''. Those taken captive will be killed. Those that escape will be hunted down, whether they flee to heaven, hell, the bottom of the sea, or the top of Mount Carmel in the wilderness ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1-4?lang=eng 9:1-4]). None shall escape.

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 Verses 5-6] are a hymn, again describing the Lord’s omnipotence (compare the hymns at [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.13?lang=eng#12 4:13] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.8-9?lang=eng#7 5:8-9]) and again invoking the imagery of a flood (compare [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.8?lang=eng#7 8:8] following the previous vision). The sovereign Lord God is free to judge Israel as he will.

But though the Lord will thoroughly destroy the sinful kingdom, yet “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.” A remnant will be preserved and sifted among the nations. “But all ''the sinners of'' my people shall die by the sword” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.7-10?lang=eng#6 9:7-10]). Again the scattering of Israel is a purging process that leaves a purified remnant worthy of blessing and restoration.

In that day, when Israel is purified, the Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt and converted gentiles will seek there after the Lord (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/15.13-21?lang=eng#12 Acts 15:13-21] where Paul's opponents did not complain that he was misquoting). The days come that those taken captive will return, the waste cities will again be inhabited, the land will be fruitful, and “they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-15?lang=eng#10 9:11-15]).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 1: That the posts may shake ===

A connection between door posts and speaking is made here and in [[Isa 6:4]] where the moving posts are also evidence of the Lord's presence. Here the Lord tells Amos to smite the lintel (top) of the door wheras in [[Isa 6:4]] "the posts of the door moved at the voice of [a seraph] that cried." The movement of these posts might be taken as a "parting of the veil" in which case the ''shaking'' of the posts here, in contrast to the more subdued term ''move'' in Isa 6:4, may suggest God's wrath. (Cf. ''shake'' in [[Isa 13:13]], [[Isa 14:16|14:16]], and [[Isa 24:18|24:18]].)

== Questions for further thought and study ==

* What is the Lord telling Amos to cut in 9:1, and what might this mean?

* Climbing to heaven is a familiar image, but what about digging to hell in 9:2? Where does this come from?

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 9:1-15 | Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 8:1-14 | Previous page: Verses 8:1-14]] ||            ||This is the last page for [[Amos]]
|}

Amos 8:1-14

2012-05-21T01:36:23Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 8:1-14 | Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:7-17 | Previous page: Verses 7:7-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 9:1-15 | Next page: Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 8:1-14 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9]]. Verses 8:1-14 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Vision #4 of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)'''

::a. vision of the basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared (1-3)
:::b. deceitful merchants not care for Lord nor fellow Israelites (4-6)
::::c. the land will tremble and be overrun as by a flood (7-8)
:::::d. in that day scattered, famine of Lord’s word (9-14)

Again the Lord says that he will no more pass by his people Israel any more. Summer is now at an end. The [http://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Am8 NIV translation] renders this passage: “A basket of ripe fruit, I answered. Then the Lord said to me, The time is ripe for my people Israel, I will spare them no longer.” Israel is ripe in iniquity and the time of forbearance is over ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.1-2?lang=eng 8:1-2]). In that day there will be many dead bodies, and the songs at the temple will be howlings of mourning ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.3?lang=eng#2 8:3]).

Israel’s merchant class is singled out. They drive hard bargains with the poor. They observe religious limits on commerce with grudging and without religious feeling. They employ false balances for dishonest gain. They place the poor in servitude. And they pass off product of poor quality ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.4-6?lang=eng#3 8:4-6]). Their practices consist of what the market will tolerate, not what is just.

The Lord therefore swears that he will rise up against Israel as an overwhelming flood ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.7-8?lang=eng#6 8:7-8]).

In that day there will be only darkness and bitter mourning in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.9-10?lang=eng#8 8:9-10]). And the days come that the prophets will no longer prophesy (as requested by the king’s priest Amaziah), and the people will be scattered and will wander to and fro seeking in vain for the word of the Lord ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.11-12?lang=eng#10 8:11-12]). Though painful, this will purge Israel of idolaters so that scattered Israel becomes purified ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.13-14?lang=eng#12 8:13-14]).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verses 1-3 ===

''Summer fruit.'' The ''Word Biblical Commentary'' notes that the Hebrew word for "summer fruit" sounds very similar to the Hebrew word for end. This is similar to "tin" sounding like "moan" in Hebrew in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.7-9?lang=eng#6 Amos 7:7-9], thus there seems to be a pattern where Amos moves from what is seen to what the pronunciation of the object sounds like.

== Questions for further thought and study ==

* What might be the "famine...of hearing the words of the LORD" (8:11)?

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 8:1-14 | Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:7-17 | Previous page: Verses 7:7-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 9:1-15 | Next page: Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

Amos 7:7-17

2012-05-21T01:35:30Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:7-17 | Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Previous page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 8:1-14 | Next page: Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 7:7-17 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9]]. Verses 7:7-17 can be outlined as follows:

::* '''Vision #3 of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)'''

:::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
::::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
:::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)

This is the third of five visions in chapters 7-9. Beginning with this third vision, the Lord says “I will not pass ''by'' them [Israel] any more,” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8?lang=eng#7 7:8]) but will instead pass ''through'' them ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.17?lang=eng#16 5:17]).

Plumblines were used for construction and surveying to measure out lines on land (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.17?lang=eng#16 7:17]). Israel’s land will be divided up by a conqueror, its sanctuaries will be laid waste, and the house of the current king Jeroboam II will be smitten with the sword ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8-9?lang=eng#7 7:8-9]).

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/bethel?lang=eng&letter=b Bethel] was the principal religious sanctuary in the Northern Kingdom of Israel and was “the king’s chapel.” The resident priest at Bethel, Amaziah, dislikes Amos' prophecy of doom. He sends a report to King Jeroboam II that Amos is preaching against both king and country ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.10-11?lang=eng#9 7:10-11]). He also personally tells Amos not to prophesy against the country, the king and the king’s chapel - at the king’s chapel. He tells Amos to go back home to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and earn his living as a prophet there ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.12-13?lang=eng#11 7:12-13]).

Amos responds that he is not a professional prophet, he earns his living in agriculture, and he preaches only because the Lord called him ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-15?lang=eng#13 7:14-15]). Further, in response to this request by the official priest that he not prophesy the word given to him by the Lord, he prophesies yet more: not only will Israel go into captivity, but Amaziah’s his children will die by the sword and his wife will become a harlot ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.16-17?lang=eng#15 7:16-17]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:7-17 | Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Previous page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 8:1-14 | Next page: Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

Amos 7:1-6

2012-05-21T01:34:42Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:1-6 | Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7-9 | Previous page: Chapters 7-9]] ||            ||[[Amos 7:7-17 | Next page: Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 7:1-6 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9| Chapters 7-9]]. Verse 7:1-6 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Vision #1 of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)'''

:* '''Vision #2 of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)'''

In these two visions the Lord threatens Israel’s food supply with locusts (most often a threat in spring) and fire (possibly drought, most often a threat in summer). In each case Amos pleads on behalf of Israel: Israel is small, and if such punishment is inflicted, who will be left as a remnant to arise? In each case the Lord withdraws the threatened punishment.

Although Amos threatens Israel in his prophecies, he does so only because that is the word given to him by the Lord. “The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.8?lang=eng#7 3:8]). The prophet is really on the side of the people as their advocate before the Lord. This is a type of Christ’s role as judge at the final judgment.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:1-6 | Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7-9 | Previous page: Chapters 7-9]] ||            ||[[Amos 7:7-17 | Next page: Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

Amos 6:8-14

2012-05-21T01:33:32Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:8-14 | Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 6:1-7 | Previous page: Verses 6:1-7]] ||            ||[[Amos 7-9 | Next page: Chapters 7-9]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 6:8-14 to the rest of chapters 5b-6 is discussed at [[Amos 5-6| Amos 5b-6]]. Verses 6:8-14 can be outlined as follows:

:*'''Lord has sworn: destruction upon Israel (6:8-14)'''

::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
:::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

Rather than starting with “Woe to ...” this section begins with the Lord swearing by himself, the strongest oath possible ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.8?lang=eng#7 6:8]). The lament in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.1-3?lang=eng 5:1-3] was that Israel would lose nine tenths of her children. But here, out of ten, none will be left ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.9-10?lang=eng#8 6:9-10]). Israel will finally fear the name of the Lord ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng#10 6:11]). One does not run horses on rocks for fear of slipping, and one does not plow on rocks. But Israel has done the equivalent, will reap nothing good, and has itself become a rocky field devoid of fruit unto the Lord. Injustice rules, the fruit of righteousness has been turned into poison, and the people rejoice in their own strength ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.12-13?lang=eng#11 6:12-13]). The Lord will therefore raise up a nation against Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.14?lang=eng#13 6:14]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:8-14 | Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 6:1-7 | Previous page: Verses 6:1-7]] ||            ||[[Amos 7-9 | Next page: Chapters 7-9]]
|}

Amos 6:1-7

2012-05-21T01:32:44Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:1-7 | Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Previous page: Verses 5:18-27]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:8-14 | Next page: Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 6:1-7 to the rest of chapters 5b-6 is discussed at [[Amos 5-6| Amos 5b-6]]. Verses 6:1-7 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)'''

::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
:::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
:::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)

This section pronounces woe upon those who are at ease in Zion, which includes also the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and who trust in the strength and recent military success of [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/samaria?lang=eng&letter=s Samaria], capitol of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng 6:1]).

The reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calneh Calneh], [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/hamath?lang=eng&letter=h Hamath] (now [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamath Hama]), and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/gath?lang=eng&letter=g Gath] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.2?lang=eng#1 6:2]) could be interpreted as a statement that the Northern Kingdom is greater than they, and yet it will still be brought down into captivity. Or it is possible that those cities had been recently conquered and that Amos is saying the Northern Kingdom will be conquered just as they were. There is not a definitive interpretation for this verse.

In either case, those who now enjoy the fruits of the Northern Kingdom’s outward success ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.3-6?lang=eng#2 6:3-6a]) while oblivious to its underlying moral sickness ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.6?lang=eng#5 6:6b]) will be the first to go into captivity when the Northern Kingdom falls ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.7?lang=eng#6 6:7]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:1-7 | Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Previous page: Verses 5:18-27]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:8-14 | Next page: Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

Amos 5:18-27

2012-05-21T01:31:48Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 5:18-27 | Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5-6 | Previous page: Chapter 5b-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:1-7 | Next page: Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 5:18-27 to the rest of chapters 5b-6 is discussed at [[Amos 5-6| Amos 5b-6]]. Verses 5:18-27 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)'''

::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
:::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
:::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)

It appears that Israelites were already familiar with the term "Day of the Lord" and saw it as a day in which the Lord would come out in judgment for Israel. Here Amos explains that even for Israel that day will be unpleasant if Israel is not righteous ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.18-20?lang=eng#17 5:18-20]). In [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-15?lang=eng#10 Amos 9:11-15] "that day" will be a day of light only to a cleansed remnant – and to righteous gentiles.

The Lord accepts religious ceremony only from those who “let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.24?lang=eng#23 5:24]). [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/molech?lang=eng&letter=m Moloch] and Chiun were pagan gods. A nation "beyond Damascus" ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.27?lang=eng#26 5:27]) easily describes Assyria which carried off the Northern Kingdom forty years later, or Babylon which carried off the Southern Kingdom another century after that. ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-9?lang=eng Map]). Because Israel has not been just and righteous, but has instead worshipped pagan gods, it will be carried off into captivity beyond Syria.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 5:18-27 | Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5-6 | Previous page: Chapter 5b-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:1-7 | Next page: Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

Amos 5:1-17

2012-05-21T01:30:28Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 5:1-17 | Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 4:1-13 | Previous page: Verses 4:1-13]] ||            ||[[Amos 5-6 | Next page: Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 5:1-17 to the rest of chapters 3-5a is discussed at [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]]. Verses 5:1-17 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Hear this word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)'''

::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
:::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
:::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

In the previous section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.1-13?lang=eng 4:1-13]) the Lord explained that his alternatives for Israel are exhausted. In this section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.1-17?lang=eng 5:1-17]) he states that his love for Israel, in contrast, is not exhausted. This section contains the only call to repentance in the entire book of Amos. But the placement of this call to seek the Lord and live at the center of Amos - to the extent that there is a center - gives great weight to this invitation. This invitation is the pivot point of the book as the emphasis will now shift from what Israel has done in the past to what will occur in the future if she fails to seek the Lord and live after the Lord has roared within sight of his prey.

This section can be read as a chiasm from the outside edges toward the middle. The virgin of Israel will lament that she is fallen and has lost nine-tenths of her children ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.1-3?lang=eng 5:1-3]). So seek good and not evil that ye may live, or else lament that a only a remnant survives ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.14-17?lang=eng#13 5:14-17]). Israel is to do this by abandoning empty religious ceremony and social injustice. Seek ye me and ye shall live, not at the major religious sanctuaries, but impliedly through righteous living ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.4-5?lang=eng#3 5:4-5]). Seek him who is omnipotent, you who enrich yourselves upon the poor and the just, or lose the fruits of your iniquity ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.7-13?lang=eng#6 5:7-13]). And at the middle of this section, and of the entire book of Amos, seek the Lord and ye shall live, or else the house of Joseph that rules the Northern Kingdom will be devoured in spite of anything done at the Bethel sanctuary ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]).

Until here the train of thought has been: wicked nations deserve punishment (Amos 1-2); the Lord has been loyal to Israel and has loved only Israel (Amos 2-3); but Israel will not walk with the Lord because it oppresses the poor (Amos 2-3); the Lord has chastised Israel, but Israel responds only through empty religious ceremonies (Amos 4); and the Lord still invites Israel to seek him, not at religious sanctuaries, but through righteous daily living (Amos 5a). From here the emphasis shifts to what will happen if Israel does not accept the Lord’s invitation to seek him.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 5:1-17 | Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 4:1-13 | Previous page: Verses 4:1-13]] ||            ||[[Amos 5-6 | Next page: Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

Amos 4:1-13

2012-05-21T01:29:23Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 4:1-13 | Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Previous page: Verses 3:1-15]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:1-17 | Next page: Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 4:1-13 to the rest of chapters 3-5a is discussed at [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]]. Verses 4:1-13 can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Hear this word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)'''

::* Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
::* Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4:4-5)
::* past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (4:6-12)
::* hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)

The substantive “why” reasons for the woes pronounced on Israel are social injustice and idolatry. The procedural "why now" reason for pronouncing these woes is that past chastisement has failed to cure those reasons.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 4:1-13 | Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Previous page: Verses 3:1-15]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:1-17 | Next page: Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

Amos 3:1-15

2012-05-21T01:28:13Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 3:1-15 | Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3-5 | Previous page: Chapters 3-5a]] ||            ||[[Amos 4:1-13 | Next page: Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 3:1-15 to the rest of chapters 3-5a is discussed at [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]]. Verses 3:1-15 chapter can be outlined as follows:

:* '''Hear this word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)'''

::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
:::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
:::b. gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)

In Amos the Lord is never the Lord of only Israel, he is the Lord God, the Lord of the entire earth. The title Lord God appears 20 times in Amos, which is a lot. But though he is Lord of all, he has loved only Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.9-11?lang=eng#8 2:9-11]). He cannot walk with Israel, however, unless they are both agreed, and Israel is not. Lions roar before taking prey, and all take heed. The book of Amos begins with the statement “the Lord will roar from Zion” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.2?lang=eng#1 1:2]]). Here Amos says that the Lord has roared through his prophets, with his prey in sight, and Israel should take heed as it would to the roaring of a lion ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3?lang=eng#2 3:3-8]).

In fact, Israel is so wicked that the heathen gentile nations are called as witnesses against the oppression within Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.9-10?lang=eng#8 3:9-10]). The palaces built upon social injustice will be torn down by an adversary. The official religious capital of the Northern Kingdom at Bethel will be destroyed. The Northern Kingdom of Israel will be killed and consumed, and only a remnant will remain to be found ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.11-15?lang=eng#10 3:11-15]).

== Detailed discussion ==

===Verses 3-6===
Seven questions are asked in these four verses, all preparatory to the logical conclusion Amos draws in verse 7. The questions are all carefully worded, and each deserves some detailed attention (see below). But perhaps they might all be considered broadly together first. It is of some importance that the series begins with a single question, and then this first is followed by three parallelisms, three sets of two closely-related questions. The first question, somehow separate from the others, seems as if it is to set the tone and work out a preliminary interpretation of the others. Taking the first as a guide, there is a clear theme that runs through all of the questions together: the question being asked is a question of "causality." But the situation is more complex: Amos seems to be working within a sort of Kantian logic. In other words, he is asking: what is necessary for the possibility of a given reality? If two simply ''are'' walking together (this is the reality), they must (this is the necessity) have set up a meeting place to start from, for otherwise it could not be that they are walking together (this is the possibility). All seven questions work with this sort of logic: if the lion roars (reality), it must (necessity) be the case that it has captured (for the possibility of the reality), etc. The logical pattern Amos is trying to make sure his listeners have down quite well is this question of the necessary conditions for a possible state of affairs: if the Lord GOD is doing something (verse 7), then He must have revealed His council (''swd'' means "council," not "secret") to His prophets.

===Verse 3===
The first question in verse 3 refers to the fact that most people travel alone, unless they have met and have arranged to travel together. This first question may be reminding Israel of the covenant they have entered into with God.

===Verse 4===
* ''Lion and young lion.'' "Lion" and "young lion" seem to be used as a standard pair in poetry (cf. [[Gen 49:9]]; [[Num 23:24]]; [[Job 4:10]]; [[Job 38:39]]; [[Ps 17:12]]; [[Ps 91:13]]; [[Isa 5:29]]; [[Isa 31:4]]; [[Jer 51:38]]; [[Hosea 5:14]]; [[Micah 5:8]]; [[Nahum 2:11]]). This is likely related to the covenant curses associated with harm from wild animals in [[Deut 32:24]] and [[Deut 28:26]] (cf. [[Hosea 13:7]].)

* ''Will a lion roar?'' In [[Ps 104:21]], "the young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God." It does not seem clear in either of these contexts whether lions roar before, during, or after they obtain their food, though it does seem the capturing of prey and roaring seem connected. In other contexts, the roaring of lion seems related to a lion that is hungry and on the prowl before devouring its prey (cf. [[Ps 22:13]]; [[Hosea 11:10]]; [[Zeph 3:3]]; [[1 Pet 5:8]]; ). The roaring of the lion seems to be concurrent to devouring its prey in [[Prov 28:15]]; [[Isa 5:29]]; [[Isa 31:4]]; [[Ezek 21:25]]; [[Jer 2:15]]; [[2 Ne 15:29]]. The roaring of lions seems more like a lament in [[Zech 11:3]].

The two rhetorical questions have to do with the idea that a lion will stalk its prey quietly and then roars only after capturing its prey. The reason this particular question is chosen is difficult to discern. The entire passage seems to be leading up to verse 7 where the prophetic call of Amos (and prophets in general) is justified. It may be then that the Lord has "caught" Israel in its sin and is now having the prophet function as the roar of the lion indicating this capture.

===Verse 5===
* ''Shall one take up a snare.'' Most translations interpret the "take up" in this verse as an action that the snare does rather than the setter of the snare as the KJV renders it. For example, the NRSV translates this "Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing?"

* ''Snares.'' Bird traps (snares) seem to be common metaphors for calamities. The mobility, swiftness and general freedom that birds enjoy from the perspective of earth-bound humans may be the reason that snares for birds was commonly used as a powerful poetic metaphor. Cf. [[Josh 23:13]]; [[Job 18:9]]; [[Job 22:10]]; [[Ps 69:22]]; [[Ps 119:110]]; [[Ps 140:5]]; [[Ps 141:9]]; [[Ps 142:3]]; [[Prov 22:5]]; [[Eccl 9:12]]; [[Isa 8:14]]; [[Isa 24:17]]-18; [[Jer 18:22]]; [[Jer 48:43]]-44; [[Hosea 5:1]]; [[Hosea 9:8]].

The point of the two questions here regarding a bird being trapped also seems cryptic. It may be that the bird represents Israel and the gin (bait) represents the sins of Israel. On this reading, the judgment which the prophet is declaring on Israel is being related to the sins that Israel has committed—the judgment is not being declared against Israel for no reason, but has been precipitated by their springing of the trap, that is by their sins.

===Verse 6===
* ''Evil.'' The KJV of this verse appears problematic because its rendering suggests that God has caused the evil in the city. The JST retains the word "evil" but emends the word ''done'' to ''known''. Most other translations render the word ''evil'' as ''calamity'' or ''disaster'', thus the Lord is not the cause of the evil, but the cause of the destruction which comes upon the people (presumably as a result of their evil acts).

The trumpet in this verse seems analogous to the voice of warning that Amos is declaring. The people should be afraid because the prophet is raising a warning voice, and the Lord's judgment against Israel is why the prophet is declaring this warning.

===Verse 7===
* ''Nothing'' The word translated here as "nothing" is from the Hebrew [http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=01697&version=kjv ''dabar''] which means both "word" and "thing". In Old English, ''thing'' originally meant an assembly, meeting, or council.
* ''Secret'' The word translated here as "secret" is the Hebrew [http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=05475&version=kjv ''cowd''], which refers to a council or assembly.

This verse states that the LORD will not do/make/prepare any word/thing without revealing/uncovering/showing his council/assembly to or with his prophets. The NIV translation renders this verse as "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets." This is a reference to the Divine Assembly/Council in Heaven, which may be seen as more than a one-time meeting, but the ongoing business/doing/counseling/relating of the LORD.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* See "Does God Commit Evil? Some Quick Notes on Amos 3" from [http://www.mormonmonastery.org/?p=272 MormonMonastery.org]

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 3:1-15 | Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3-5 | Previous page: Chapters 3-5a]] ||            ||[[Amos 4:1-13 | Next page: Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

Amos 3:1-5:17

2012-05-21T01:27:23Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 3-5a to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 3-5a can be outlined as follows:

:'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (Amos 3-5a)'''

::* '''[[Amos 3:1-15|Hear this word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''

:::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
::::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
::::b. gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
:::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)

::* '''[[Amos 4:1-13|Hear this word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''

:::* Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
:::* Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4:4-5)
:::* past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (4:6-12)
:::* hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)

::* '''[[Amos 5:1-17|Hear this word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''

:::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
::::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
:::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
::::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
:::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

There is general scholarly consensus that Amos 1-2 and Amos 7-9 each constitute a major division in Amos. There is not much consensus, however, about the organization or structure of the chapters in between, Amos 3-6. The three speeches discussed here (3:1-15; 4:1-13; 5:1-17) can be seen as forming a second major division in Amos since they are tied together with the repeated introduction “Hear this word” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.1?lang=eng 3:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4?lang=eng 4:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng 5:1]]) and since the first refers to the religious sanctuary at Bethel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.14?lang=eng#13 3:14]), the second to the sanctuaries at Bethel and Gilgal ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.4?lang=eng#3 4:4]), and the third to the sanctuaries at Bethel, Gilgal and Bersheeba ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng#3 5:4-5]).

Each of these sections is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 3:1-15 | Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

Amos 1:1-2:16

2012-05-21T01:25:01Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits to use *'s

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Chapters 1-2]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos | Previous page: Amos]] ||            ||[[Amos 3-5 | Next page: Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapters 1-2 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 1-2 can be outlined as follows:

:'''I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (Amos 1-2)'''

::* '''Woe to unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)'''

:::* Damascus (Syria) for threshing Gilead (3-5)
:::* Gaza (Philistia) for delivering captivity to Edom (6-8)
:::* Tyre (Phoenicia) for delivering captivity to Edom (9-10)

::*''' Woe to related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)'''

:::* Edom (Esau) for pursuing brother Jacob with the sword (1:11-12)
:::* Ammon (Lot) for seeking to conquer Gilead (1:13-15)
:::* Moab (Lot) for mistreating Edom (2:1-3)

::*''' Woe to Israel & Judah for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)'''

:::* Judah for not keeping the law of the Lord (4-5)
:::* Israel for social injustice and idolatry despite past blessing (6-16)
::::* mistreating the poor (6b-7a)
::::* sexual immorality, including at pagan altars (7b-8)
::::* Lord gave Israel Canaan (9-10)
::::* Lord gave Israel prophets and Nazarites (11)
::::* Israel rejected the gift of Nazarites and prophets (12)
::::* Israel will lose the gift of Canaan when it is overcome(13-16)

The first two chapters of Amos consist of eight announcements of punishment, each introduced by the formula: “Thus saith the Lord: For three transgressions of [city] and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have [transgressed], but I will [punish].” There is broad consensus that this repeated pattern indicates these eight prophecies are to be read together as a group.

The numbers three and four are probably not significant as specific quantities, but simply to convey the idea of enough to merit punishment, and yet even more.

Amos begins by recounting the bad conduct of nations unrelated to Israel and the punishments that will therefore be poured out upon them (1:3-10). An audience in the Northern Kingdom of Israel would likely be receptive to such a message and agree with the underlying principle that guilty nations deserve punishment. But Amos moves steadily closer to home by next talking about nations that are also descended from Abraham (1:11-2:3), about the Southern Kingdom of Judah where Amos lives (2:4-5), and finally about the Northern Kingdom of Israel where he is preaching (2:6-16). But by this point he has already committed his audience to the general principle that guilty nations deserve punishment.

The other main point of these two chapters is that the Northern Kingdom has in fact committed sins sufficient to cause its destruction. Amos identifies the same specific sins commonly pointed out by other prophets: social injustice and disrespect of the Lord (2:6-16).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1-2?lang=eng Verses 1:1-2] - Introduction ===

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.3-5?lang=eng#2 Verses 1:3-5] - Woe to Damascus ===

The first three prophecies announce punishments to be poured out upon Israel’s three unrelated neighbors to the north and west: the Syrians, the Philistines and the Phoenicians.

The first prophecy (1:3-5) is against the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/syria?lang=eng&letter=s Syrian] capitol [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/damascus?lang=eng&letter=d Damascus] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Hazael and Ben-hadad were kings of Syria. A logical target of Syrian expansion is Gilead, the inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River of the Israelite tribes Reuben, Gad and Manasseh ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-3?lang=eng Map]). King Hazael of Syria conquered and treated Gilead harshly ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/10.32-33?lang=eng#31 2 Kings 10:32-33]). The protective gate-bar of Damascus will therefore be broken, and the inhabitants and rulers alike will go into captivity.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.6-8?lang=eng#5 Verses 1:6-8] - Woe to Gaza ===

The second prophecy (1:6-8) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/gaza?lang=eng&letter=g Gaza], one of the five principle cities of the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/philistines?lang=eng&letter=p Philistines] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). In fact Amos names all the principal Philistine cities except Gath. The Philistines raided Judah under King Joram and sold the captives to Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/21.16-17?lang=eng#15 2 Chronicles 21:16-17]). Therefore the Philistines will also perish.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.9-10?lang=eng#8 Verses 1:9-10] - Woe to Tyre ===

The third prophecy (1:9-10) is against the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/phoenicia?lang=eng&letter=p Phoenician] city of Tyre ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]), which also engaged in slave trading and will therefore suffer war.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.11-12?lang=eng#10 Verses 1:11-12] - Woe to Edom ===

The second set of three prophecies announces punishments upon Israel’s three related neighbors to the east and southeast: Edom, Ammon and Moab.

The first prophecy in this second set of three (1:11-12) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/edom?lang=eng&letter=e Edom] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Edom descended from Jacob’s brother Esau. Edom maintained a persistent hatred of its brother Jacob. Teman and Bozrah are the two principal cities of Edom. Like Tyre, Edom is threatened with war but not with perishing or captivity.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.13-15?lang=eng#12 Verses 1:13-15] - Woe to Ammon ===

The second prophecy in this second set of three (1:13-15) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/ammon?lang=eng&letter=a Ammon] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Ammon descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through the younger of his two daughters. Ammon consistently disputed Israel’s claim to Gilead. This passage indicates that during one invasion of Gilead, Ammon apparently killed both the men and the pregnant women who might give birth to Israelite males. Only the leaders and not the common people are threatened with captivity.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.1-3?lang=eng Verses 2:1-3] - Woe to Moab ===

The last prophecy in this second set of three (2:1-3) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/moab?lang=eng&letter=m Moab] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Moab descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through Lot’s older daughter. Jewish tradition is that after Israel, Judah and Edom jointly attacked Moab (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/3.9-10?lang=eng 2 Kings 3]), Moab dug up the bones of an earlier Edomite king and burned them as an intentional desecration and national insult. Therefore Moab will die and its princes will be cut off.

Foreign nations are usually rebuked by the prophets for their treatment either of Israel or of other nations in general. It is noteworthy that here Moab is instead rebuked for its treatment of Edom.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.4-5?lang=eng#3 Verses 2:4-5] - Woe to Southern Kingdom of Judah ===

Prophecies of judgment against other nations usually precede prophecies of Israel’s deliverance. But Amos instead uses his prophecies against other nations to reinforce his prophecies of judgment against Israel. Like the gentile nations, Israel is guilty. And like the gentile nations, it will also be punished.

The gentile nations are rebuked for mistreating Israel. The Israelites, on the other hand, are rebuked for disloyalty to the Lord and for social injustice or mistreatment of fellow Israelites.

Here (2:4-5) punishment is announced upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah for despising the law of the Lord and not keeping his commandments.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.6-16?lang=eng#5 Verses 2:6-16] - Woe to Northern Kingdom of Israel ===

Finally in this last prophecy (2:6-16) Amos arrives at his real target, the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The list of offenses here is much longer than in the previous prophecies. Those previous prophecies were intended in part merely to establish the principle of national punishment for national guilt. But now that Amos is talking to the Northern Kingdom of Israel about the behavior of the Northern Kingdom, it becomes much more important to identify the specific conduct of which the Northern Kingdom needs to repent.

In the opening verses of this last prophecy ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.6-8?lang=eng#5 2:6-8]) the Northern Kingdom of Israel is accused of mistreating the poor, idolatry, and sexual immorality. Foreign nations will be punished for mistreating the Israelites. The Northern Kingdom will likewise be punished for mistreating its own Israelite citizens, as well as for disloyal idolatry.

In the middle verses ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.9-11?lang=eng#8 2:9-11]) the Lord recounts his loyalty to Israel, providing both a homeland and divine guidance.

But in the closing portion of this prophecy Northern Israel is accused of expressly rejecting that divine guidance, telling the prophets not to prophesy and inducing the Nazarites to break their vows ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.12?lang=eng#11 2:12]). The homeland will therefore be lost when all its inhabitants are overcome, even the swift and the mighty ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.14-16?lang=eng#13 2:14-16]).

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Chapters 1-2]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos | Previous page: Amos]] ||            ||[[Amos 3-5 | Next page: Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

Amos

2012-05-20T14:22:50Z

Kurt Elieson: minor edits

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Subpages >> Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5 | • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6 | • Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9 | • Chapters 7-9]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Next page: Chapters 1-2]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

The prophet Amos was a shepherd and gatherer of sycamore fruit at Tekoa, a small town 5 miles southeast of Bethlehem in the Southern Kingdom of Judah ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-15?lang=eng#13 7:14-15]). But two years before a large earthquake occurred, while Uzziah ruled in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1?lang=eng# 1:1]; also [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/zech/14.5?lang=eng#4 Zechariah 14:5]), Amos received the word of the Lord and went on a preaching trip to the Northern Kingdom, probably to the capital Samaria (Amos 3-6) and the principal religious sanctuary at Bethel (Amos 7) ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]), probably during 765-760 BC.

Jeroboam II was a wicked king. But the great powers of the region, Egypt and Assyria, were occupied with problems in other directions. Syria, Israel's larger neighbor to the north, was also recovering from a recent invasion by Assyria. Because these larger powers were otherwise occupied, Jeroboam II enjoyed military success and was able to expand the Northern Kingdom’s borders. The kingdom appeared prosperous, secure and ascendant. The destruction that Amos prophesied could thus be easily dismissed by his audience in the Northern Kingdom. But Assyria did eventually move southward again. In 723 BC Assyria conquered Syria. Two years later in 721 BC, forty years after Amos' ministry, Assyria also conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Unable to invoke the Lord’s protection, the Northern Kingdom was destroyed and its people were carried off to become the Lost Ten Tribes.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The book of Amos can be outlined as follows:

:[[Amos 1:1-2:16|'''I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1-2)''']]

::* Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)
::* Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)
::* Woe to: Judah & Israel for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)

:[[Amos 3-5|'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3-5a)''']]

::* Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)
::* Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)
::* Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)

:[[Amos 5-6|'''III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5b-6)''']]

::* Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)
::* Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)
::* Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)

:[[Amos 7-9|'''IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)''']]

::* Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)
::* Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)
::* Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)
::* Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)
::* Vision of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)

In the first major division (Amos 1-2), Amos teaches that guilty nations get punished, whether those nations are the enemies of Israel or are Israel itself. And the Northern Kingdom of Israel is guilty of social injustice and empty religious ceremony.

In the second division (Amos 3-5a), Amos reiterates the Lord’s loyalty to Israel and recounts the chastisements that have failed to bring Israel back to him. In the pivotal final speech of this division (Amos 5:1-17) Israel is invited to seek the Lord and live. And in the climactic central verse of that speech Amos states that the Northern Kingdom must either seek the Lord or fall ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]).

The central question presented by Amos is whether the Northern Kingdom of Israel will seek the Lord and live. If not, then as stated in the third and fourth divisions, Israel will be destroyed (Amos 5b-9) except for a remnant that will eventually be restored ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.11-12?lang=eng#10 3:11-12]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.7-15?lang=eng#6 9:7-15]).

Amos does not merely predict that the Northern Kingdom will be afflicted, but that it will completely disappear ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1-4?lang=eng 9:1-4]). This is a significant statement: that after hundreds of years in the promised land, God’s covenant protection is about to end for most of the tribes of Israel. Amos takes care to explain that it is not the Lord’s power or loyalty that have changed, but rather Israel’s claim upon that power and loyalty. The Lord has been loyal (Amos 2-3). He has tried repeatedly to bring Israel back (Amos 4). He would still welcome Israel back today (Amos 5a). And in the future, after Israel is sifted and cleansed, it will again be established in the Promised Land (Amos 9).

Amos also teaches that the forms of religious ceremony are worthless unless accompanied by righteous living ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.4-27?lang=eng#5 5:4-13, 21-27]).

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 1:1-2:16| Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5| • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6|• Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9|• Chapters 7-9]].

== Detailed discussion ==

Amos favors Israel over foreign nations, but less than most other prophets. Moab is punished for mistreating not Israel, but Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.1-3?lang=eng 2:1-3]). The prophecies against the foreign nations have nothing to do with Israel’s deliverance, but emphasize the punishment that likewise awaits Israel (Amos 1-2). And the foreign nations are called as witnesses against Israel’s iniquity ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.9-10?lang=eng#8 3:9-10]).

There are three hymns in Amos ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.13?lang=eng#12 4:13]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.8-9?lang=eng#7 5:8-9]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 9:5-6]).

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Amos.

::::::'''[[Amos]]'''
'''[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1-2)]]'''
:* '''Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)'''
::* Damascus (Syria) for threshing Gilead (3-5)
::* Gaza (Philistia) for delivering captivity to Edom (6-8)
::* Tyre (Phoenicia) for delivering captivity to Edom (9-10)
:* '''Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)'''
::* Edom (Esau) for pursuing brother Jacob with the sword (1:11-12)
::* Ammon (Lot) for seeking to conquer Gilead (1:13-15)
::* Moab (Lot) for mistreating Edom (2:1-3)
:* '''Woe to: Israel and Judah for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)'''
::* Judah for not keeping the law of the Lord (4-5)
::* Israel for social injustice and idolatry despite past blessing (6-16)
:::* mistreating the poor (6b-7a)
:::* sexual immorality, including at pagan altars (7b-8)
:::* Lord gave Israel Canaan (9-10)
:::* Lord gave Israel prophets and Nazarites (11)
:::* Israel rejected the gift of Nazarites and prophets (12)
:::* Israel will lose the gift of Canaan when it is overcome (13-16)

'''[[Amos 3-5 | II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3-5a)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 3:1-15 | Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''
::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
:::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
:::b. Gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)
:* '''[[Amos 4:1-13 | Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''
::* Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
::* Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4-5)
::* past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (6-12)
::* hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)
:* '''[[Amos 5:1-17 | Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''
::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
:::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
:::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

'''[[Amos 5-6 | III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5b-6)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 5:18-27 | Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)]]'''
::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
:::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
:::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)
:* '''[[Amos 6:1-7 | Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)]]'''
::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
:::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
:::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)
:* '''[[Amos 6:8-14 | Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)]]'''
::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
:::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

'''[[Amos 7-9 | IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 7:1-6 | Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 7:1-6 | Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 7:7-17 | Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)]]'''
::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
:::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)
:* '''[[Amos 8:1-14 | Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)]]'''
::a. vision of the basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared (1-3)
:::b. deceitful merchants not care for Lord nor fellow Israelites (4-6)
::::c. the land will tremble and be overrun as by a flood (7-8)
:::::d. in that day scattered, famine of Lord’s word (9-14)
:* '''[[Amos 9:1-15 | Vision of Lord in Judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)]]'''
::a. vision of the Lord in judgment at the altar: none spared (1-4)
:::b. hymn: Lord is omnipotent sovereign (5-6)
::::c. Lord will destroy all sinners but save a remnant (7-10)
:::::d. in that day restore David, bless with plenty (11-15)

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.15?lang=eng#14 Amos 5:15] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/12.9?lang=eng#8 Romans 12:9] (possible allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.25-27?lang=eng#24 Amos 5:25-27] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/7.42-43?lang=eng#41 Acts 7:42-43] (clear quotation)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng Amos 6:1] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/6.24?lang=eng#23 Luke 6:24] (possible allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-12?lang=eng#10 Amos 9:11-12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/15.16-17?lang=eng#15 Acts 15:16-17] (clear quotation)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* Finley, Thomas J. ''Joel, Amos, Obadiah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary''. Chicago: Moody Press, 1990. (ISBN 0802492622) BS1575.3 .F56 1990

:* Guenther, Allen R. ''Hosea, Amos: Believers Church Bible Commentary''. Scottdale, Pennsylvania; Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press, 1997. (ISBN 0836190726) BS1565.3 .G84 1997.

:* LDS Church Education System. [http://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-8?lang=eng ''Amos: The Lord Reveals His Secrets to His Servants the Prophets'']. In LDS Institute ''Old Testament Student Manual'', Vol. 2, p. 89-96. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

:* Nyman, Monte S. ''The Twelve Prophets Testify of Christ'', p. 207. In ''A Witness of Jesus Christ: the 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Old Testament'', p. 200-222. Richard D. Draper, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990. (ISBN 0875793622) BS1171.2 .S67 1989

:* Ogden, D. Kelly. ''The Book of Amos''. In ''Studies in Scripture'', Vol. 4, p. 52-60. Kent P. Jackson, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983. (ISBN 087579789X) BS1171.2 .A15 1993

:* Smith, Billy K. and Frank S Page. ''Amos, Obadiah, Jonah: The New American Commentary'', Vol. 19B. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995. (ISBN 0805401423) BS1585.3 .S64 1995

:* Smith, Gary V. ''Amos: A Mentor Commentary''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1989. Revised edition, Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, IV20 ITW, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1998. (ISBN 1857922530) BS1585.3 .S63 1998

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Subpages >> Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5 | • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6 | • Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9 | • Chapters 7-9]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Next page: Chapters 1-2]]
|}

Amos

2012-05-20T14:21:18Z

Kurt Elieson: lots of minor tweaks

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Subpages >> Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5 | • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6 | • Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9 | • Chapters 7-9]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Next page: Chapters 1-2]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

The prophet Amos was a shepherd and gatherer of sycamore fruit at Tekoa, a small town 5 miles southeast of Bethlehem in the Southern Kingdom of Judah ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-15?lang=eng#13 7:14-15]). But two years before a large earthquake occurred, while Uzziah ruled in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1?lang=eng# 1:1]; also [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/zech/14.5?lang=eng#4 Zechariah 14:5]), Amos received the word of the Lord and went on a preaching trip to the Northern Kingdom, probably to the capital Samaria (Amos 3-6) and the principal religious sanctuary at Bethel (Amos 7) ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]), probably during 765-760 BC.

Jeroboam II was a wicked king. But the great powers of the region, Egypt and Assyria, were occupied with problems in other directions. Syria, Israel's larger neighbor to the north, was also recovering from a recent invasion by Assyria. Because these larger powers were otherwise occupied, Jeroboam II enjoyed military success and was able to expand the Northern Kingdom’s borders. The kingdom appeared prosperous, secure and ascendant. The destruction that Amos prophesied could thus be easily dismissed by his audience in the Northern Kingdom. But Assyria did eventually move southward again. In 723 BC Assyria conquered Syria. Two years later in 721 BC, forty years after Amos' ministry, Assyria also conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Unable to invoke the Lord’s protection, the Northern Kingdom was destroyed and its people were carried off to become the Lost Ten Tribes.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The book of Amos can be outlined as follows:

:[[Amos 1:1-2:16|'''I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1-2)''']]

::* Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)
::* Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)
::* Woe to: Judah & Israel for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)

:[[Amos 3-5|'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3-5a)''']]

::* Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)
::* Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)
::* Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)

:[[Amos 5-6|'''III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5b-6)''']]

::* Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)
::* Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)
::* Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)

:[[Amos 7-9|'''IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)''']]

::* Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)
::* Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)
::* Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)
::* Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)
::* Vision of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)

In the first major division (Amos 1-2), Amos teaches that guilty nations get punished, whether those nations are the enemies of Israel or are Israel itself. And the Northern Kingdom of Israel is guilty of social injustice and empty religious ceremony.

In the second division (Amos 3-5a), Amos reiterates the Lord’s loyalty to Israel and recounts the chastisements that have failed to bring Israel back to him. In the pivotal final speech of this division (Amos 5:1-17) Israel is invited to seek the Lord and live. And in the climactic central verse of that speech Amos states that the Northern Kingdom must either seek the Lord or fall ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]).

The central question presented by Amos is whether the Northern Kingdom of Israel will seek the Lord and live. If not, then as stated in the third and fourth divisions, Israel will be destroyed (Amos 5b-9) except for a remnant that will eventually be restored ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.11-12?lang=eng#10 3:11-12]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.7-15?lang=eng#6 9:7-15]).

Amos does not merely predict that the Northern Kingdom will be afflicted, but that it will completely disappear ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1-4?lang=eng 9:1-4]). This is a significant statement: that after hundreds of years in the promised land, God’s covenant protection is about to end for most of the tribes of Israel. Amos takes care to explain that it is not the Lord’s power or loyalty that have changed, but rather Israel’s claim upon that power and loyalty. The Lord has been loyal (Amos 2-3). He has tried repeatedly to bring Israel back (Amos 4). He would still welcome Israel back today (Amos 5a). And in the future, after Israel is sifted and cleansed, it will again be established in the Promised Land (Amos 9).

Amos also teaches that the forms of religious ceremony are worthless unless accompanied by righteous living ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.4-27?lang=eng#5 5:4-13, 21-27]).

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 1:1-2:16| Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5| • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6|• Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9|• Chapters 7-9]].

== Detailed discussion ==

Amos favors Israel over foreign nations, but less than most other prophets. Moab is punished for mistreating not Israel, but Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.1-3?lang=eng 2:1-3]). The prophecies against the foreign nations have nothing to do with Israel’s deliverance, but emphasize the punishment that likewise awaits Israel (Amos 1-2). And the foreign nations are called as witnesses against Israel’s iniquity ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.9-10?lang=eng#8 3:9-10]).

There are three hymns in Amos ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.13?lang=eng#12 4:13]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.8-9?lang=eng#7 5:8-9]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 9:5-6]).

== Complete outline and page map ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Amos.

::::::'''[[Amos]]'''
'''[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1-2)]]'''
:* '''Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)'''
::* Damascus (Syria) for threshing Gilead (3-5)
::* Gaza (Philistia) for delivering captivity to Edom (6-8)
::* Tyre (Phoenicia) for delivering captivity to Edom (9-10)
:* '''Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)'''
::* Edom (Esau) for pursuing brother Jacob with the sword (1:11-12)
::* Ammon (Lot) for seeking to conquer Gilead (1:13-15)
::* Moab (Lot) for mistreating Edom (2:1-3)
:* '''Woe to: Israel and Judah for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)'''
::* Judah for not keeping the law of the Lord (4-5)
::* Israel for social injustice and idolatry despite past blessing (6-16)
:::* mistreating the poor (6b-7a)
:::* sexual immorality, including at pagan altars (7b-8)
:::* the Lord gave them Canaan (9-10)
:::* the Lord gave them prophets and Nazarites (11)
:::* Israel rejected the gift of Nazarites and prophets (12)
:::* Israel will lose the gift of Canaan when it is overcome (13-16)

'''[[Amos 3-5 | II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3-5a)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 3:1-15 | Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''
::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
:::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
:::b. Gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)
:* '''[[Amos 4:1-13 | Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''
::* Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
::* Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4-5)
::* past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (6-12)
::* hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)
:* '''[[Amos 5:1-17 | Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''
::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
:::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
:::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

'''[[Amos 5-6 | III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5b-6)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 5:18-27 | Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)]]'''
::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
:::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
:::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)
:* '''[[Amos 6:1-7 | Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)]]'''
::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
:::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
:::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)
:* '''[[Amos 6:8-14 | Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)]]'''
::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
:::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

'''[[Amos 7-9 | IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 7:1-6 | Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 7:1-6 | Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)]]'''
:* '''[[Amos 7:7-17 | Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)]]'''
::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
:::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)
:* '''[[Amos 8:1-14 | Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)]]'''
::a. vision of the basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared (1-3)
:::b. deceitful merchants not care for Lord nor fellow Israelites (4-6)
::::c. the land will tremble and be overrun as by a flood (7-8)
:::::d. in that day scattered, famine of Lord’s word (9-14)
:* '''[[Amos 9:1-15 | Vision of Lord in Judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)]]'''
::a. vision of the Lord in judgment at the altar: none spared (1-4)
:::b. hymn: Lord is omnipotent sovereign (5-6)
::::c. Lord will destroy all sinners but save a remnant (7-10)
:::::d. in that day restore David, bless with plenty (11-15)

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.15?lang=eng#14 Amos 5:15] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/12.9?lang=eng#8 Romans 12:9] (possible allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.25-27?lang=eng#24 Amos 5:25-27] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/7.42-43?lang=eng#41 Acts 7:42-43] (clear quotation)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng Amos 6:1] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/6.24?lang=eng#23 Luke 6:24] (possible allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-12?lang=eng#10 Amos 9:11-12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/15.16-17?lang=eng#15 Acts 15:16-17] (clear quotation)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* Finley, Thomas J. ''Joel, Amos, Obadiah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary''. Chicago: Moody Press, 1990. (ISBN 0802492622) BS1575.3 .F56 1990

:* Guenther, Allen R. ''Hosea, Amos: Believers Church Bible Commentary''. Scottdale, Pennsylvania; Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press, 1997. (ISBN 0836190726) BS1565.3 .G84 1997.

:* LDS Church Education System. [http://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-8?lang=eng ''Amos: The Lord Reveals His Secrets to His Servants the Prophets'']. In LDS Institute ''Old Testament Student Manual'', Vol. 2, p. 89-96. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

:* Nyman, Monte S. ''The Twelve Prophets Testify of Christ'', p. 207. In ''A Witness of Jesus Christ: the 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Old Testament'', p. 200-222. Richard D. Draper, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990. (ISBN 0875793622) BS1171.2 .S67 1989

:* Ogden, D. Kelly. ''The Book of Amos''. In ''Studies in Scripture'', Vol. 4, p. 52-60. Kent P. Jackson, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983. (ISBN 087579789X) BS1171.2 .A15 1993

:* Smith, Billy K. and Frank S Page. ''Amos, Obadiah, Jonah: The New American Commentary'', Vol. 19B. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995. (ISBN 0805401423) BS1585.3 .S64 1995

:* Smith, Gary V. ''Amos: A Mentor Commentary''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1989. Revised edition, Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, IV20 ITW, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1998. (ISBN 1857922530) BS1585.3 .S63 1998

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Subpages >> Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5 | • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6 | • Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9 | • Chapters 7-9]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Next page: Chapters 1-2]]
|}

Obad 1:1-21

2012-05-20T06:39:39Z

Kurt Elieson: typo

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Obad 1:1-21 | Obadiah]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

Edom was descended from Jacob’s brother Esau and was therefore the nation most closely related to Israel. But the two nations were not friendly. Although Israel was forbidden to destroy Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/2.2-6?lang=eng#5 Deut 2:2-6]), Israel often brought Edom into submission, fulfilling the prophecy to Isaac and Rebekah that their older son Esau would serve the younger Jacob but break free ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/25.23?lang=eng#22 Gen 25:23]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/27.27-40?lang=eng#26 Gen 27:27-40]).

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered and carried off by the Assyrians in 721 BC.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon in 597 BC. Continuing Jewish resistance led to two more invasions over the following decade. During the third invasion in 586 BC the Babylonians destroyed the Temple of Solomon.

Obadiah’s prophecy refers to Edom’s conduct when Judah was invaded, probably by Babylon. This would place Obadiah either during or soon after the Babylonian Captivity.

Israel felt betrayed by the failure of its brother and ally Edom to jointly defend against an obvious common threat. Despite the conquest of Judah, Obadiah prophesies that Israel will ultimately be restored. Edom, though still independent for the moment, will be conquered and erased.

== Outline and summary ==

:'''A. Judgment against Edom by the nations (1-7)'''
:::a. the Lord calls upon the nations to rise up against Edom (1)
::::b. Edom’s heart is exalted and over-confident,
:::::but the Lord will bring Edom down and make it small (2-4)
::::b. even thieves and harvesters leave gleanings behind,
:::::but Edom will be plundered thoroughly (5-6)
:::a. Edom will be betrayed and brought down by its allies (7)

::'''B. In that day Edom will receive violence for violence (8-10)'''
:::a. in that day Edom will be confused and slaughtered (8-9)
::::b. Edom will be destroyed for violence against its brother Israel (10)

:::'''C. Edom should not have acted as a stranger and: (11-14)'''
:::::• failed to aid its ally Israel in the day that Jerusalem fell (11)
:::::• rejoiced in the affliction of its brother Israel (12)
:::::• plundered Jerusalem’s gleanings after others already plundered (13)
:::::• and prevented those of Israel who fled for safety (14)

::'''B. In the day of the Lord the nations will receive as they dealt (15-16)'''
::::b. as the nations have done to Israel, so will it be done to them (15)
:::a. they have drunk the cup of Lord’s wrath and will be destroyed (16)

:'''A. Israel will be restored and consume the nations (17-21)'''
:::a. Mt Zion will be restored as a place of deliverance and holiness (17)
::::b. Jacob will be as a fire that consumes the stubble of Edom (18)
::::b. Israel will possess surrounding lands including Mt Esau (19-20)
:::a. saviors on Mt Zion will judge Mt Esau in the day of Lord’s kingdom (21)

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, consisting of only 21 verses in a single chapter.

The middle section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.11-14?lang=eng#10 11-14]) is the indictment, an itemization of the evil conduct that justifies Obadiah's prophecy of woe against Edom. This middle section can be seen to more broadly include all of verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.8-16?lang=eng#7 8-16]. Verses 10, 15-16 explicitly state that Edom and other nations will receive back from the Lord as they have measured out to the Lord’s people Israel, and that the woe prophesied against them is therefore just. This is the central message of Obadiah.

The opening section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-7?lang=eng 1-7]) refers to Edom’s capitol Sela (later Petra), which was built high on Mount Seir in an excellent defensive position. Edom securely asks “Who can bring me down to the ground?” “I will bring thee down,” saith the Lord. And when brought down, Edom will be picked more thoroughly clean than if it had been robbed or harvested of fruit, just as when Edom followed behind the original invaders of Jerusalem and plundered the gleanings that remained. “Gleanings” are the stray stalks of wheat left behind as farmers move through a field at harvest time. This opening section can be seen to more broadly include all of verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-10?lang=eng 1-10], which are similar to the prophecy against Edom found in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/49.7-22?lang=eng#6 Jer 49:7-22]. This opening section likely refers to the fall of Edom in ancient times.

The ancient destruction of Edom foretold in the first half of Obadiah ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-10?lang=eng 1-10]) is a type of the destruction that will befall all heathen nations in the last days as foretold in the second half ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.15-21?lang=eng#14 15-21]).

The closing section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.17-21?lang=eng#16 17-21]) describes Israel being restored to its possessions and consuming the heathen nations in the latter days. It is clear from verses 15-16, 21 that this restoration occurs in the Day of the Lord when the kingdom is the Lord's.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== '''Verses 17, 21''' ===

In Biblical prophecy, mountains often represent kingdoms. Verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.17,21?lang=eng#16 17, 21] both refer to mountains in this way, and the two verses can be read as a pair. Together they state that deliverance shall be only upon Mount Zion, not upon Mount Esau or any of the other heathen nations that are to be judged. The phrase “Saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.21?lang=eng#20 KJV]) is rendered in several other translations as “deliverers" who will go up on Mount Zion to "govern, rule and/or judge" Mount Esau ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=obadiah%201:21&version=AMP Amplified], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=obadiah%201:21&version=NIV NIV], [http://biblia.com/books/nasb95/Ob21 NASB], [http://biblia.com/books/rsv/Ob21 RSV]). The clearest meaning of this verse in Obadiah thus refers to those who will participate in restoring Israel or Zion, the Lord’s latter-day kingdom.

Mountaintops also represent places to commune with God, and the reference to holiness upon Mount Zion ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.17?lang=eng#16 17]) is suggestive of temples. So it is understandable that Joseph Smith, while discussing proxy temple work, would refer to those who perform that work as “saviors on Mount Zion.” There at least four accounts of Joseph Smith using this phrase (TPJS 189, 191, 223, 330 quoting [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90168 HC 4:360]; [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90174 4:424-25]; [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90175 4:599]; [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90257 6:184]). In two of these accounts he is reported to have said that the Latter-day Saints can become saviors on Mount Zion only by performing temple work. In the other two he is reported to have used the term while speaking more broadly on the duty of the priesthood toward their living relatives or the world at large. In [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/103.9?lang=eng#8 D&C 103:9], after the Saints were expelled by mobs from Jackson County, Missouri, the Lord used the term "saviors of men" in the same breath as being a light unto the world. So the application of the phrase "saviors on Mount Zion" to vicarious temple work need not prevent it also being applied to those who build up Zion.

== Parallel passages quoted from or in other scriptures ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-10?lang=eng Obadiah 1:1-10] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/49.7-22?lang=eng#6 Jeremiah 49:7-22] (very similar prophecy)

== Questions for further thought and study ==

=== '''Verse 18''' ===

The prominence given in verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.18?lang=eng#17 18] to the house of Joseph is interesting since Ephraim, Manasseh and the other Northern tribes had already been carried off by Assyria.

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* LDS Church Education System. [http://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-25?lang=eng ''Jeremiah, Obadiah: Prophecies of a Latter-day Gathering'']. In LDS Institute ''Old Testament Student Manual'', Vol. 2, ch. 25, p. 253-59. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Obad 1:1-21 | Obadiah]]
|}

Obad 1:1-21

2012-05-20T06:38:41Z

Kurt Elieson: adding parallel passage

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Obad 1:1-21 | Obadiah]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

Edom was descended from Jacob’s brother Esau and was therefore the nation most closely related to Israel. But the two nations were not friendly. Although Israel was forbidden to destroy Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/2.2-6?lang=eng#5 Deut 2:2-6]), Israel often brought Edom into submission, fulfilling the prophecy to Isaac and Rebekah that their older son Esau would serve the younger Jacob but break free ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/25.23?lang=eng#22 Gen 25:23]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/27.27-40?lang=eng#26 Gen 27:27-40]).

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered and carried off by the Assyrians in 721 BC.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was conquered by Babylon in 597 BC. Continuing Jewish resistance led to two more invasions over the following decade. During the third invasion in 586 BC the Babylonians destroyed the Temple of Solomon.

Obadiah’s prophecy refers to Edom’s conduct when Judah was invaded, probably by Babylon. This would place Obadiah either during or soon after the Babylonian Captivity.

Israel felt betrayed by the failure of its brother and ally Edom to jointly defend against an obvious common threat. Despite the conquest of Judah, Obadiah prophesies that Israel will ultimately be restored. Edom, though still independent for the moment, will be conquered and erased.

== Outline and summary ==

:'''A. Judgment against Edom by the nations (1-7)'''
:::a. the Lord calls upon the nations to rise up against Edom (1)
::::b. Edom’s heart is exalted and over-confident,
:::::but the Lord will bring Edom down and make it small (2-4)
::::b. even thieves and harvesters leave gleanings behind,
:::::but Edom will be plundered thoroughly (5-6)
:::a. Edom will be betrayed and brought down by its allies (7)

::'''B. In that day Edom will receive violence for violence (8-10)'''
:::a. in that day Edom will be confused and slaughtered (8-9)
::::b. Edom will be destroyed for violence against its brother Israel (10)

:::'''C. Edom should not have acted as a stranger and: (11-14)'''
:::::• failed to aid its ally Israel in the day that Jerusalem fell (11)
:::::• rejoiced in the affliction of its brother Israel (12)
:::::• plundered Jerusalem’s gleanings after others already plundered (13)
:::::• and prevented those of Israel who fled for safety (14)

::'''B. In the day of the Lord the nations will receive as they dealt (15-16)'''
::::b. as the nations have done to Israel, so will it be done to them (15)
:::a. they have drunk the cup of Lord’s wrath and will be destroyed (16)

:'''A. Israel will be restored and consume the nations (17-21)'''
:::a. Mt Zion will be restored as a place of deliverance and holiness (17)
::::b. Jacob will be as a fire that consumes the stubble of Edom (18)
::::b. Israel will possess surrounding lands including Mt Esau (19-20)
:::a. saviors on Mt Zion will judge Mt Esau in the day of Lord’s kingdom (21)

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament, consisting of only 21 verses in a single chapter.

The middle section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.11-14?lang=eng#10 11-14]) is the indictment, an itemization of the evil conduct that justifies Obadiah's prophecy of woe against Edom. This middle section can be seen to more broadly include all of verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.8-16?lang=eng#7 8-16]. Verses 10, 15-16 explicitly state that Edom and other nations will receive back from the Lord as they have measured out to the Lord’s people Israel, and that the woe prophesied against them is therefore just. This is the central message of Obadiah.

The opening section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-7?lang=eng 1-7]) refers to Edom’s capitol Sela (later Petra), which was built high on Mount Seir in an excellent defensive position. Edom securely asks “Who can bring me down to the ground?” “I will bring thee down,” saith the Lord. And when brought down, Edom will be picked more thoroughly clean than if it had been robbed or harvested of fruit, just as when Edom followed behind the original invaders of Jerusalem and plundered the gleanings that remained. “Gleanings” are the stray stalks of wheat left behind as farmers move through a field at harvest time. This opening section can be seen to more broadly include all of verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-10?lang=eng 1-10], which are similar to the prophecy against Edom found in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/49.7-22?lang=eng#6 Jer 49:7-22]. This opening section likely refers to the fall of Edom in ancient times.

The ancient destruction of Edom foretold in the first half of Obadiah ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-10?lang=eng 1-10]) is a type of the destruction that will befall all heathen nations in the last days as foretold in the second half ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.15-21?lang=eng#14 15-21]).

The closing section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.17-21?lang=eng#16 17-21]) describes Israel being restored to its possessions and consuming the heathen nations in the latter days. It is clear from verses 15-16, 21 that this restoration occurs in the Day of the Lord when the kingdom is the Lord's.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== '''Verses 17, 21''' ===

In Biblical prophecy, mountains often represent kingdoms. Verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.17,21?lang=eng#16 17, 21] both refer to mountains in this way, and the two verses can be read as a pair. Together they state that deliverance shall be only upon Mount Zion, not upon Mount Esau or any of the other heathen nations that are to be judged. The phrase “Saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.21?lang=eng#20 KJV]) is rendered in several other translations as “deliverers" who will go up on Mount Zion to "govern, rule and/or judge" Mount Esau ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=obadiah%201:21&version=AMP Amplified], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=obadiah%201:21&version=NIV NIV], [http://biblia.com/books/nasb95/Ob21 NASB], [http://biblia.com/books/rsv/Ob21 RSV]). The clearest meaning of this verse in Obadiah thus refers to those who will participate in restoring Israel or Zion, the Lord’s latter-day kingdom.

Mountaintops also represent places to commune with God, and the reference to holiness upon Mount Zion ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.17?lang=eng#16 17]) is suggestive of temples. So it is understandable that Joseph Smith, while discussing proxy temple work, would refer to those who perform that work as “saviors on Mount Zion.” There at least four accounts of Joseph Smith using this phrase (TPJS 189, 191, 223, 330 quoting [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90168 HC 4:360]; [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90174 4:424-25]; [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90175 4:599]; [http://www.kristus.dk/jkk/text.php?id=90257 6:184]). In two of these accounts he is reported to have said that the Latter-day Saints can become saviors on Mount Zion only by performing temple work. In the other two he is reported to have used the term while speaking more broadly on the duty of the priesthood toward their living relatives or the world at large. In [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/103.9?lang=eng#8 D&C 103:9], after the Saints were expelled by mobs from Jackson County, Missouri, the Lord used the term "saviors of men" in the same breath as being a light unto the world. So the application of the phrase "saviors on Mount Zion" to vicarious temple work need not prevent it also being applied to those who build up Zion.

== Parallel passages quoted from or in other scriptures ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.1-10?lang=eng Obadiah 1:1-10] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/jer/49.7-22?lang=eng#6 Jer 49:7-22] (very similar prophecy)

== Questions for further thought and study ==

=== '''Verse 18''' ===

The prominence given in verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/obad/1.18?lang=eng#17 18] to the house of Joseph is interesting since Ephraim, Manasseh and the other Northern tribes had already been carried off by Assyria.

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* LDS Church Education System. [http://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-25?lang=eng ''Jeremiah, Obadiah: Prophecies of a Latter-day Gathering'']. In LDS Institute ''Old Testament Student Manual'', Vol. 2, ch. 25, p. 253-59. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Obad 1:1-21 | Obadiah]]
|}

D&C 2:1-3

2012-05-20T06:20:37Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 2|'''Section 2''']]

== Lexical notes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Exegesis ==
''Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis''

== Related links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 2|'''Section 2''']]

D&C 1:34-39

2012-05-20T06:18:50Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 34-39'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:24-33 |Previous page: Verses 24-33]] ||            || This is the last page for [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 | Section 1]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add summary''

== Detailed discussion ==
''Click the edit link above and to the right to add discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 34-39'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:24-33 |Previous page: Verses 24-33]] ||            || This is the last page for [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 | Section 1]]
|}

D&C 1:24-33

2012-05-20T06:16:42Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 24-33'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:17-23 |Previous page: Verses 17-23]] ||            || [[D&C 1:34-39 |Next page: Verses 34-39]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add summary''

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 30 ===
* ''Only true and living church.'' Although it may be possible to read this as meaning "the only true church" and "the only living church," this reading seems strained because of the fact that the word church is only used once. Instead, a more natural way of reading this phrase seems to be that the church is being described as the only one which is both true and living.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==

=== Verse 30 ===
* ''Only true and living church.'' See Edje's blog post: [http://sciolisticnarc.blogspot.com/2006/04/only-adj-in-modern-scripture-part-1-of.html Only (adj) in Modern Scripture, Part 1 of ?.]

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 24-33'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:17-23 |Previous page: Verses 17-23]] ||            || [[D&C 1:34-39 |Next page: Verses 34-39]]
|}

D&C 1:17-23

2012-05-20T06:14:39Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 17-23'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:11-16 |Previous page: Verses 11-16]] ||            || [[D&C 1:24-33 |Next page: Verses 24-33]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==
''Click the edit link above and to the right to add summary''

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 18 ===

This verse introduces a most curious moment of divine logic, a moment in which the Lord Himself provides reasons for doing His work. Though other moments in scripture present the Lord offering reasons for a particular action, this might be the only occasion in all of scripture where the Lord simply lays out all the reasons He has for getting a plan of salvation under way, for sending messengers to bring further light and knowledge. The list of reasons is surprisingly long (several verses, at any rate), and all of these reasons present vital points of understanding. Each might be considered in turn.

The first of the Lord's reasons for putting together in the first place a plan of salvation is offered in this first verse, but the anticipatory sense that characterizes the first reason complicates it from the beginning. The first reason, quite clearly, is that "all this" is done so "that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets." The point seems quite clear: the prophets are to be fulfilled, and all of this is to that fulfillment. The Lord gets the work of salvation underway precisely so that the prophets are not ashamed, so that their word is confirmed by historical completion. But then there seems to be some difficulty here, because the next verse goes on as if it were quoted quite specifically the word of the prophets. It must be pointed out--even if a little early here--that verse 19 does not quote any known prophecy. It is closest, perhaps, to [[1 Cor 1:27]], but there is still something of an important gap between the phrasing of verse 19 and that saying by Paul. All in all, though the prophets are here cited, there does not seem to be any particular saying the Lord has in mind: one is to read verse 19 (and the verses that follow it) as a sort of summary of the prophetic message over all. A first--and a major--consequence: the great majority of the weight of the "reasons" the Lord offers to justify His saving activity in the last days is to be felt in this first mention of things, since the following verses are collectively a sort of explanation of the ancient prophet message. Hence, detailed attention must first be paid to this initiating verse 18.

The difficulty, however, of working out the meaning of verse 18 from the start is that the following verses, precisely because they summarize the prophetic work of so many millennia, seem to be the undergirding of why the Lord would desire to confirm the prophets at all. For present purposes, the work must begin, unfortunately, somewhat blindly.

The question to be asked, then, is this: is the whole plan of salvation, as issued through the Prophet Joseph and according to this "last dispensation," entirely motivated by a desire to confirm the ancient prophets? Or perhaps the question to ask is this: if the Lord feels to undertake a justification of sorts, is He here justifying Himself or the prophets? In the end, however the question is asked, the thrust of the difficulty here is bound up with the intertwined roles of the prophet and his God. One must interpret the relation between God and His messengers from the very beginning. The question is perhaps all the more important in the first part of the twenty-first century, because of the radical reinterpretation of the prophetic role that is underway in biblical criticism. If the prophet has been decided now to be a rather political figure, one attuned to contemporary events and one, hence, without the extra-temporal visions that allow his/her words to transcend her/his age, why on earth or in heaven would the Lord feel to justify words one might quite simply bury in the historical melieux of the past? A necessary answer emerges precisely here: the prophets are being misunderstood if they are completely swallowed up in their own history.

What verse 18, especially as it opens the following few verses, accomplishes is this: God is stripped, as it were, of His absoluteness. One must be careful in stating the point, but it seems quite clear. God is, according to the relativization at work in verse 18, not one to offer absolute reasons for things. The opening of a last dispensation is not simply to bring about "new things," unknown before, but also to hark back to the "former things," to bring the former things out in the new things, just as "Second Isaiah" works out and reinterprets "First Isaiah." In short, if Joseph is a prophet, he ''cannot''--absolutely ''must not''--be separated from the former prophets: the message is the same, and the sender of the messengers is the same. If only a few verses after this, the Lord will quite explicitly introduce the necessity of recognizing the historical context into which the modern prophetic activity falls, He quite explicitly introduces here the necessity of recognizing also that these same prophets transcend their historical context because they are fulfilling ancient prophecies. And with that, the Lord can turn to specifications in the next few verses.

=== A chiasm ===

As soon as one turns to the passage in which the Lord lays out His very broad interpretation of what has been prophesied all along, one notices that there is a specific structure at work in these verses:
And also gave ''commandments'' to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world;
and all this ''that'' it ''might'' be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets--
The ''weak'' things of the world shall come forth and break down the ''mighty and strong'' ones...
But that every man might ''speak in the name of God the Lord'', even the Savior of the world;
That faith also might increase in the earth;
That mine everlasting ''covenant'' might be established;
That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the ''weak'' and the ''simple''... before ''kings and rulers''.
Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these ''commandments'' are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness,
after the manner of their language, ''that'' they ''might'' come to understanding.
The chiastic structure highlights the fact that this is the Lord's voice in this revelation, but it also accomplishes a couple of interesting poetic things: verse 21 is set at the center of things, and the whole passage is wrapped about with the Lord's clear statement of purpose. Moreover, the everlasting covenant is set parallel to every man's speaking in the name of God the Lord, which is certainly suggestive. Also, the doubling of the word "commandments" seems to highlight the nature of what the Doctrine and Covenants (perhaps more strictly, the ''Book of Commandments'') is all about. At any rate, the structure opens the possibility of considering the passage as a whole.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 17-23'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:11-16 |Previous page: Verses 11-16]] ||            || [[D&C 1:24-33 |Next page: Verses 24-33]]
|}

D&C 1:11-16

2012-05-20T06:12:46Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 11-16'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:1-10 |Previous page: Verses 1-10]] ||            || [[D&C 1:17-23 |Next page: Verses 17-23]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add summary''

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 16 ===

* ''Idolatry.'' Idolatry seems only to be mentioned one other time in the Doctrine and Covenants ([[D&C 52:39]]), although it is a prominent theme of earlier prophets (see the [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/i/2 Bible Dictionary] and [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/i/3 Topical Guide] entries). One reason the otherwise infrequent reference to idolatry may be given here is that in the subsequent verses Joseph's call as a prophet is given and explained. Idolatry then serves as a rhetorical device linking Joseph's prophetic calling to the common theme of idolatry spoken against by many former prophets. Related themes, such as worldliness, riches, vanity, pride, etc. are discussed at length in the Doctrine and Covenants, but in terms other than idolatry per se, thus making the occurrence here notable.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 11-16'''
|}

{|
|| [[D&C 1:1-10 |Previous page: Verses 1-10]] ||            || [[D&C 1:17-23 |Next page: Verses 17-23]]
|}

D&C 1:1-10

2012-05-20T06:10:24Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 1-10'''
|}

{|
|| [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Previous page: Section 1]] ||            || [[D&C 1:11-16 |Next page: Verses 11-16]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add summary''

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 2 ===

''The penetrating voice of the Lord.'' The mention here of the eye, the ear, and the heart is clearly reminiscent of [[Isa 6:9|Isa 6:9-10]]. The question here is, not the prophetic mission of Isaiah, but the "voice of the Lord" Himself. However, if one considers the implications of Isaiah's prophetic call (see the commentary for Isaiah 6 at [[Isa 6:1]]ff), there is little apparent difference between the message in this passage and the message there: the "voice of the Lord" in Isaiah 6 is a voice of silence that only becomes spoken when taken into the mouth of the prophet (cf. [[2 Ne 32:3]], etc.), and something similar seems to be at work here in this revealed preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. Perhaps most significant in the phrasing of this issue as it appears in this verse is the concluding "be penetrated." Whereas "see" and "hear" match up perfectly with Isaiah's wording, "penetrate" is unique here. At the same time, however, it beautifully expresses the same spirit that permeates Isaiah: the violence of "penetrate" matches the (necessary) violence of the message, and the saturation implied in Isaiah's babbling manner of delivering the message is powerfully embodied in "penetrate." In short, the voice comes to all just to penetrate, to find its way to the ''penetralis'', the inner shrine or the Holy of Holies.

''None shall escape.'' Curiously doubling this is the phrase in the first half of the verse: "there is none to escape." Rather than the more common "there is none that shall not hear," etc., the Lord phrases this concept in terms of ''escape''. Those who hear the voice are without means of ''escaping'', without means of getting out of the hold of this "voice of the Lord." Doubling the penetration, which works its way to the inner recesses of one's person, is a hold (a "cape") out ("es" or "ex") of which none can get, an outward seizure accomplished by the freezing voice of the Lord. It might be well to parallel this hold to the "eye" and "ear" of the second part of the verse: this voice will take hold on the eye and on the ear, will take up a hold that cannot be undone by those thereby held. The voice will come in such complete saturation that those hearing and those seeing will be frozen and held.

Escape seems an interesting word choice here also because it is almost always used in scriptures to describe how the righteous will escape judgment in contrast to the wicked who will not. For example, a righteous remnant is described as ''escaping'' the judgment that will befall the wicked majority of Israel (e.g. [[Isa 37:31]]-32; [[Isa 45:20|45:20]]; [[Jer 44:28]]; [[Ezek 6:8]]-9; see also [[[[Rom 2:3]] for specific mention of escaping judgment and [[D&C 97:22]], 25 for the question-answer form "vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly . . . and who shall escape it? . . . Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsover I have commanded her." Thus, the choice of the word escape here which includes the righteous and the wicked, read in light of the more conventional use of the term ''escape'', seems to highlight—by way of analogy with the judgment of the wicked—the violent nature of the heart being penetrated. That is, the conspicuous lack of qualification here for the righteous suggests the violent effect the word of God has on everyone's heart. This seems to echo other scriptural phrase that use violent/dramatic terms for the repentance process, e.g. abase, submit, subject, etc. The lack of qualification for the righteous here also brings the story of Jonah to mind which stands out amongst scriptural texts in that the messenger who tries to escape cannot.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Section 1]] > '''Verses 1-10'''
|}

{|
|| [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 |Previous page: Section 1]] ||            || [[D&C 1:11-16 |Next page: Verses 11-16]]
|}

Doctrine & Covenants 1

2012-05-20T06:06:09Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 | Section 1]]
|}

:{|
[[D&C_1:1-10 | Subpages >> Verses  1-10 ]] [[D&C_1:11-16 | •  11-16 ]] [[D&C_1:17-23 | •  17-23 ]] [[D&C_1:24-33 | •  24-33 ]] [[D&C 1:34-39 | •  34-39]]
|}

{|
|[[D&C 1:1-10 | Next page: Verses 1-10]]
|}

== Brief outline and summary ==

Section 1 falls into five sections:

:* Lord’s word will go forth and be fulfilled (1-10)
::* Lord's anger is kindled against the world and wicked will be cut off (11-16)
::* Lord's servants preach to the world so weak break down strong (17-23)
::* Lord teaches his servants who repent so come to understanding (24-33)
:* Lord’s word will be fulfilled (34-39)

D&C 1 opens and closes with statements that the Lord’s word is unstoppable. It will go forth and it will be fulfilled, whether spoken by himself or his servants.

In between the Lord gives three lists: (1) reasons why the Lord's anger is kindled against the world, (2) reasons why the Lord's servants are to preach these commandments to the world, and (3) reasons why these commandments have been given to his servants.

== Historical setting ==

<<Add link to list of Doctrine & Covenants sections in chronological order>>

The immediate setting of D&C 1 was a conference at Hiram, Ohio attended by ten elders including Joseph Smith. The conference was held on November 1-2, 1831, a year and a half after the organization of the Church. The purpose of the conference was to make plans for publishing Joseph Smith’s revelations for the first time. The conference determined to print several thousand copies of the revelations in book form under the name Book of Commandments. D&C 1 was received on the first day of this conference. William McLellin later recalled that:

:''A committee had been appointed to draft a preface [to the Book of Commandments], consisting of himself [William McLellin], [Oliver] Cowdery and [probably] Sidney Rigdon, but when they made their report the conference picked it all to pieces. The conference then requested Joseph to inquire of the Lord about it, and he said that he would if the people would bow in prayer with him. This they did, and Joseph prayed. When they arose, Joseph dictated by the Spirit the Preface found in the book of Doctrine & Covenants [D&C 1] while sitting by a window of the room in which the conference was sitting, and Sidney Rigdon wrote it down.'' <ref>Kelly, William H. Interview with William McLellin, 13 September 1881. In “Letter from Elder W.H Kelly.” In ''The Saints’ Herald'' (1 March 1882) 29/5:66-68. Plano, Illinois, Lamoni, Iowa and Independence, Missouri: Reorganized Church of Latter-day Saints (now Community of Christ), 1860-present.</ref>

In Revelation Book 1 the following explanation introduces D&C 1:

:''A Preface or instructions upon the Book of Commandments which were given of the Lord unto his Church through him who he appointed to this work by the voice of his Saints through the prayer of faith.'' [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#111 Revelation Book 1]

From this background we learn that D&C 1 is the Preface or Introduction to the Doctrine & Covenants, the book of the Lord’s commandments to the inhabitants of the earth. It is thus intended to orient the reader to the content and purpose of the entire Doctrine & Covenants.

During this conference D&C 1 was soon followed by [[D&C 67]] and [[D&C 68]]. Two days later Joseph Smith also received [[D&C 133]], which was placed at the end of the Doctrine & Covenants as the other bookend to the Doctrine & Covenants.

== Text transmission ==

D&C 1 was written down by Sidney Rigdon as it was received during the conference. The oldest surviving copy is the one copied by John Whitmer into [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1#111 Revelation Book 1] soon after its receipt.

D&C 1 was first published in the March 1833 issue of the Evening & Morning Star newspaper printed by William Phelps in Jackson County Missouri. D&C 1 was also included as Chapter 1 in the [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833#7 1833 Book of Commandments], the earliest edition of what we now call the Doctrine & Covenants.

D&C 1 has appeared as the first section in each subsequent edition of the Doctrine & Covenants. Significant editions can be found here: the [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835#83 1835 edition], the [http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1844#89 1844 edition], the 1876 edition, the 1921 edition, and the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures?lang=eng current 1981 edition].

There are few changes of any significance to the text of D&C 1.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add content''

== Complete outline ==

:* Lord’s word will go forth and be fulfilled (1-10)
::* Lord's anger is kindled against the world and wicked will be cut off (11-16)
::* Lord's servants preach to the world so weak break down strong (17-23)
::* Lord teaches his servants who repent so come to understanding (24-33)
:* Lord’s word will be fulfilled (34-39)

== Parallel passages in other scriptures ==

* 1:1 – Isa 51:4; Isa 49:1
* 1:3 – 1 Tim 6:10
* 1:3 – Lk 12:3; Morm 5:8
* 1:5 – Dan 4:35; Morm 8:26
* 1:6 – Isa 18:3; Dan 4:35; Jer 25:29-30; 2 Ne 2:8; 28:26-27; Joel 1:2

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==

{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add links''

{|
|[[Doctrine & Covenants]] > [[Doctrine & Covenants 1 | Section 1]]
|}

:{|
[[D&C_1:1-10 | Subpages >> Verses  1-10 ]] [[D&C_1:11-16 | •  11-16 ]] [[D&C_1:17-23 | •  17-23 ]] [[D&C_1:24-33 | •  24-33 ]] [[D&C 1:34-39 | •  34-39]]
|}

{|
|[[D&C 1:1-10 | Next page: Verses 1-10]]
|}

Nahum 1:1-3:19

2012-05-20T05:49:09Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]]
|}

:{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 | Subpages >> Verses 1:1-10]] [[Nahum 1:11-15 | • Verses 1:11-15]] [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | • Verses 2:1-3:17]] [[Nahum 3:18-19 | • Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Next page: Verses 1:1-10]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

Nahum could have been written at any time between the Assyrian conquest of Thebes in Egypt in 663 BC and the fall of the Assyrian capitol Ninevah in 612 BC to an army of Babylonians and Medes.

The Assyrians were brutal and very much feared. During the 700's BC Jonah had unwillingly warned Ninevah to repent in order to avoid destruction, which it did. Then in 721 BC the Assyrian empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and carried off the Ten Tribes that were scattered and became lost to us. Now sometime between 663-612 BC Nahum does not warn Ninevah to repent, he simply announces that it will be destroyed.

== Brief outline and summary ==

Nahum can be outlined as follows:

:A1. To Judah and Assyria: God is mighty (1:2-10)
::B1. To Judah: God will deliver you from Assyria (1:11-15)
::B2. To Assyria: Suffer as you have oppressed others (2:1-3:17)
:A2. To the Assyrian king: You are weak (3:18-19)

The first section, which is addressed to both Judah and Assyria jointly, uses masculine plural forms of address. The two middle sections, addressed individually to Judah and then to Assyria, each use feminine singular forms of address (except in 1:14). The last section addressed to the Assyrian king uses masculine singular forms of address. These shifts help to identify where each major section ends and the next begins.

The message of Nahum is that: (A1) God is powerful and just, (B1) he will deliver Judah, and (B2-A2) he will punish the Assyrian capitol Ninevah and its king for their harsh treatment of other nations including Israel.

Nahum ends with a pronouncement of woe upon Assyria. This differs from the usual pattern in which the promise of Israel's deliverance comes last.

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately on the following pages • [[Nahum 1:1-10 | Verses 1:1-10]] • [[Nahum 1:11-15 | Verses 1:11-15]] • [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | Verses 2:1-3:17]] • [[Nahum 3:18-19 | Verses 3:18-19]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Complete outline and page list ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Nahum.

::::::'''[[Nahum]]'''
:[[Nahum 1:1-10 | '''A1. To Judah and Assyria: God is mighty (1:2-10)''']]

::[[Nahum 1:11-15 | '''B1. To Judah: God will deliver you from Assyria (1:11-15)''']]
:::a. Judah has imagined wicked counsel about the Lord (11)
::::b. Lord says to Judah: no more afflicted, oppressors cut down (12-13)
::::b. Lord says to the Assyrian king: you shall be cut off (14)
:::a. Judah should celebrate, wickedness shall not return (15)

::[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | '''B2. To Assyria: Suffer as you have oppressed others (2:1-3:17)''']]
:::a. Description of Ninevah's fall (2:1-13)
::::b. Behold I am against thee (2:13)
:::::c. announcement of woe and reasons for Ninevah's fall (3:1-4)
::::b. Behold I am against thee (3:5)
:::a. Ninevah shall be conquered as it once conquered Thebes (3:5-17)

:[[Nahum 3:18-19 | '''A2. To the Assyrian king: You are weak (3:18-19)''']]

== Parallel passages quoted from or in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.15?lang=eng#14 Nahum 1:15] • [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/10.15?lang=eng#14 Romans 10:15] (allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.4?lang=eng#3 Nahum 3:4] • [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/18.3?lang=eng#2 Revelation 18:3] (allusion)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* Patterson, Richard D. ''Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary''. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. (ISBN 0737500190) BS__

:* Sweeney, Marvin A. ''The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry, Vol. 2''. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000. (ISBN 0814650910) BS__

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]]
|}

:{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 | Subpages >> Verses 1:1-10]] [[Nahum 1:11-15 | • Verses 1:11-15]] [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | • Verses 2:1-3:17]] [[Nahum 3:18-19 | • Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Next page: Verses 1:1-10]]
|}

Amos 9:1-15

2012-05-20T05:46:36Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 9:1-15 | Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 8:1-14 | Previous page: Verses 8:1-14]] ||            ||This is the last page for [[Amos]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 9:1-15 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9| Amos 7-9]]. Verses 9:1-15 can be outlined as follows:

:'''Vision #5 of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared (9:1-15)'''

::a. vision of the Lord in judgment at the altar: none spared (1-4)
:::b. hymn: Lord is omnipotent sovereign (5-6)
::::c. Lord will destroy all sinners but save a remnant (7-10)
:::::d. in that day restored, bless with plenty (11-15)

In this final vision Amos sees the Lord himself standing upon the altar. It is not clear whether this occurs at Bethel or at the Jerusalem temple ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1?lang=eng 9:1]). A lintel is the beam across the top of a doorway. The shaking of supporting posts suggests the earthquake that occurred two years after Amos’ ministry ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.2?lang=eng#1 9:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1?lang=eng 1:1]).

Here the Lord does not say that he will spare ''no longer'', but that he will spare ''no one''. Those taken captive will be killed. Those that escape will be hunted down, whether they flee to heaven, hell, the bottom of the sea, or the top of Mount Carmel in the wilderness ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1-4?lang=eng 9:1-4]). None shall escape.

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 Verses 5-6] are a hymn, again describing the Lord’s omnipotence (compare the hymns at [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.13?lang=eng#12 4:13] and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.8-9?lang=eng#7 5:8-9]) and again invoking the imagery of a flood (compare [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.8?lang=eng#7 8:8] following the previous vision). The sovereign Lord God is free to judge Israel as he will.

But though the Lord will thoroughly destroy the sinful kingdom, yet “I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.” A remnant will be preserved and sifted among the nations. “But all ''the sinners of'' my people shall die by the sword” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.7-10?lang=eng#6 9:7-10]). Again the scattering of Israel is a purging process that leaves a purified remnant worthy of blessing and restoration.

In that day, when Israel is purified, the Jerusalem temple will be rebuilt and converted gentiles will seek there after the Lord (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/15.13-21?lang=eng#12 Acts 15:13-21] where Paul's opponents did not complain that he was misquoting). The days come that those taken captive will return, the waste cities will again be inhabited, the land will be fruitful, and “they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-15?lang=eng#10 9:11-15]).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 1: That the posts may shake ===

A connection between door posts and speaking is made here and in [[Isa 6:4]] where the moving posts are also evidence of the Lord's presence. Here the Lord tells Amos to smite the lintel (top) of the door wheras in [[Isa 6:4]] "the posts of the door moved at the voice of [a seraph] that cried." The movement of these posts might be taken as a "parting of the veil" in which case the ''shaking'' of the posts here, in contrast to the more subdued term ''move'' in Isa 6:4, may suggest God's wrath. (Cf. ''shake'' in [[Isa 13:13]], [[Isa 14:16|14:16]], and [[Isa 24:18|24:18]].)

== Questions for further thought and study ==

* What is the Lord telling Amos to cut in 9:1, and what might this mean?

* Climbing to heaven is a familiar image, but what about digging to hell in 9:2? Where does this come from?

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 9:1-15 | Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 8:1-14 | Previous page: Verses 8:1-14]] ||            ||This is the last page for [[Amos]]
|}

Amos 7:7-17

2012-05-20T05:44:24Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:7-17 | Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Previous page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 8:1-14 | Next page: Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 7:7-17 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9]]. Verses 7:7-17 can be outlined as follows:

::'''• Vision #3 of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)'''

:::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
::::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
:::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)

This is the third of five visions in chapters 7-9. Beginning with this third vision, the Lord says “I will not pass ''by'' them [Israel] any more,” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8?lang=eng#7 7:8]) but will instead pass ''through'' them ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.17?lang=eng#16 5:17]).

Plumblines were used for construction and surveying to measure out lines on land (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.17?lang=eng#16 7:17]). Israel’s land will be divided up by a conqueror, its sanctuaries will be laid waste, and the house of the current king Jeroboam II will be smitten with the sword ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8-9?lang=eng#7 7:8-9]).

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/bethel?lang=eng&letter=b Bethel] was the principal religious sanctuary in the Northern Kingdom of Israel and was “the king’s chapel.” The resident priest at Bethel, Amaziah, dislikes Amos' prophecy of doom. He sends a report to King Jeroboam II that Amos is preaching against both king and country ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.10-11?lang=eng#9 7:10-11]). He also personally tells Amos not to prophesy against the country, the king and the king’s chapel - at the king’s chapel. He tells Amos to go back home to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and earn his living as a prophet there ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.12-13?lang=eng#11 7:12-13]).

Amos responds that he is not a professional prophet, he earns his living in agriculture, and he preaches only because the Lord called him ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-15?lang=eng#13 7:14-15]). Further, in response to this request by the official priest that he not prophesy the word given to him by the Lord, he prophesies yet more: not only will Israel go into captivity, but Amaziah’s his children will die by the sword and his wife will become a harlot ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.16-17?lang=eng#15 7:16-17]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:7-17 | Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Previous page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 8:1-14 | Next page: Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

Amos 8:1-14

2012-05-20T05:43:23Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 8:1-14 | Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:7-17 | Previous page: Verses 7:7-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 9:1-15 | Next page: Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 8:1-14 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9]]. Verses 8:1-14 can be outlined as follows:

:'''• Vision #4 of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)'''

::a. vision of the basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared (1-3)
:::b. deceitful merchants not care for Lord nor fellow Israelites (4-6)
::::c. the land will tremble and be overrun as by a flood (7-8)
:::::d. in that day scattered, famine of Lord’s word (9-14)

Again the Lord says that he will no more pass by his people Israel any more. Summer is now at an end. The [http://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Am8 NIV translation] renders this passage: “A basket of ripe fruit, I answered. Then the Lord said to me, The time is ripe for my people Israel, I will spare them no longer.” Israel is ripe in iniquity and the time of forbearance is over ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.1-2?lang=eng 8:1-2]). In that day there will be many dead bodies, and the songs at the temple will be howlings of mourning ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.3?lang=eng#2 8:3]).

Israel’s merchant class is singled out. They drive hard bargains with the poor. They observe religious limits on commerce with grudging and without religious feeling. They employ false balances for dishonest gain. They place the poor in servitude. And they pass off product of poor quality ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.4-6?lang=eng#3 8:4-6]). Their practices consist of what the market will tolerate, not what is just.

The Lord therefore swears that he will rise up against Israel as an overwhelming flood ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.7-8?lang=eng#6 8:7-8]).

In that day there will be only darkness and bitter mourning in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.9-10?lang=eng#8 8:9-10]). And the days come that the prophets will no longer prophesy (as requested by the king’s priest Amaziah), and the people will be scattered and will wander to and fro seeking in vain for the word of the Lord ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.11-12?lang=eng#10 8:11-12]). Though painful, this will purge Israel of idolaters so that scattered Israel becomes purified ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.13-14?lang=eng#12 8:13-14]).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verses 1-3 ===

''Summer fruit.'' The ''Word Biblical Commentary'' notes that the Hebrew word for "summer fruit" sounds very similar to the Hebrew word for end. This is similar to "tin" sounding like "moan" in Hebrew in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.7-9?lang=eng#6 Amos 7:7-9], thus there seems to be a pattern where Amos moves from what is seen to what the pronunciation of the object sounds like.

== Questions for further thought and study ==

* What might be the "famine...of hearing the words of the LORD" (8:11)?

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 8:1-14 | Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:7-17 | Previous page: Verses 7:7-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 9:1-15 | Next page: Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

Amos 7:7-17

2012-05-20T05:41:53Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:7-17 | Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Previous page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 8:1-14 | Next page: Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 7:7-17 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9| chapters 7-9]]. Verses 7:7-17 can be outlined as follows:

::'''• Vision #3 of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)'''

:::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
::::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
:::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)

This is the third of five visions in chapters 7-9. Beginning with this third vision, the Lord says “I will not pass ''by'' them [Israel] any more,” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8?lang=eng#7 7:8]) but will instead pass ''through'' them ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.17?lang=eng#16 5:17]).

Plumblines were used for construction and surveying to measure out lines on land (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.17?lang=eng#16 7:17]). Israel’s land will be divided up by a conqueror, its sanctuaries will be laid waste, and the house of the current king Jeroboam II will be smitten with the sword ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8-9?lang=eng#7 7:8-9]).

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/bethel?lang=eng&letter=b Bethel] was the principal religious sanctuary in the Northern Kingdom of Israel and was “the king’s chapel.” The resident priest at Bethel, Amaziah, dislikes Amos' prophecy of doom. He sends a report to King Jeroboam II that Amos is preaching against both king and country ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.10-11?lang=eng#9 7:10-11]). He also personally tells Amos not to prophesy against the country, the king and the king’s chapel - at the king’s chapel. He tells Amos to go back home to the Southern Kingdom of Judah and earn his living as a prophet there ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.12-13?lang=eng#11 7:12-13]).

Amos responds that he is not a professional prophet, he earns his living in agriculture, and he preaches only because the Lord called him ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-15?lang=eng#13 7:14-15]). Further, in response to this request by the official priest that he not prophesy the word given to him by the Lord, he prophesies yet more: not only will Israel go into captivity, but Amaziah’s his children will die by the sword and his wife will become a harlot ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.16-17?lang=eng#15 7:16-17]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:7-17 | Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Previous page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 8:1-14 | Next page: Verses 8:1-14]]
|}

Amos 7:1-6

2012-05-20T05:39:53Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:1-6 | Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7-9 | Previous page: Chapters 7-9]] ||            ||[[Amos 7:7-17 | Next page: Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 7:1-6 to the rest of chapters 7-9 is discussed at [[Amos 7-9| Chapters 7-9]]. Verse 7:1-6 can be outlined as follows:

:'''• Vision #1 of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)'''

:'''• Vision #2 of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)'''

In these two visions the Lord threatens Israel’s food supply with locusts (most often a threat in spring) and fire (possibly drought, most often a threat in summer). In each case Amos pleads on behalf of Israel: Israel is small, and if such punishment is inflicted, who will be left as a remnant to arise? In each case the Lord withdraws the threatened punishment.

Although Amos threatens Israel in his prophecies, he does so only because that is the word given to him by the Lord. “The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.8?lang=eng#7 3:8]). The prophet is really on the side of the people as their advocate before the Lord. This is a type of Christ’s role as judge at the final judgment.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]] > [[Amos 7:1-6 | Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 7-9 | Previous page: Chapters 7-9]] ||            ||[[Amos 7:7-17 | Next page: Verses 7:7-17]]
|}

Amos 7:1-9:15

2012-05-20T05:38:16Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Subpages >> Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] [[Amos 7:7-17 | • Verses 7:7-17]] [[Amos 8:1-14 | • Verses 8:1-14]] [[Amos 9:1-15 | • Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5-6 | Previous page: Verses 6:8-14]] ||            ||[[Amos 7:1-6 | Next page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of Amos 7-9 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 7-9 can be outlined as follows:

:'''IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)'''

::'''[[Amos 7:1-6|• Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)]]'''

::'''[[Amos 7:1-6|• Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)]]'''

::'''[[Amos 7:7-17|• Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)]]'''

:::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
::::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
:::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)

::'''[[Amos 8:1-14|• Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)]]'''

:::a. vision of the basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared (1-3)
::::b. deceitful merchants not care for Lord nor fellow Israelites (4-6)
:::::c. the land will tremble and be overrun as by a flood (7-8)
::::::d. in that day scattered, famine of Lord’s word (9-14)

::'''[[Amos 9:1-15|• Vision of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)]]'''

:::a. vision of the Lord in judgment at the altar: none spared (1-4)
::::b. hymn: Lord is omnipotent sovereign (5-6)
:::::c. Lord will destroy all sinners but save a remnant (7-10)
::::::d. in that day restored, bless with plenty (11-15)

The term “Lord God” emphasizes the Lord’s omnipotence and sovereignty over all the earth. Amos uses this term twenty times, twelve in just this last division. The Lord may impose judgment as he sees fit. But also in this last division, the Lord finally refers to Israel as “''my'' people” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.8?lang=eng#7 7:8], [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.15?lang=eng#14 7:15]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.2?lang=eng#1 8:2]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.10?lang=eng#9 9:10], [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.14?lang=eng#13 9:14]). And in the final prophecy of restoration, the last four words of Amos are, for the first time, “the Lord ''thy'' God” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.15?lang=eng#14 9:15]). Israel is the Lord’s people, but it will not receive special treatment unless it qualifies through righteous.

Each of the last three sections begins with a vision ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.7-9?lang=eng#6 7:7-9]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.1-3?lang=eng 8:1-3]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1-4?lang=eng 9:1-4]). This is followed in the first two sections by a description of wicked behavior, first disrespect for the Lord by attempting to make his prophet stop prophesying ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.10-13?lang=eng#9 7:10-13]), then social injustice by deceitful merchants who prey upon the poor ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.4-6?lang=eng#3 8:4-6]). This is contrasted in the final section with a hymn praising the omnipotent Lord God ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 9:5-6]). Each section then describes what the omnipotent Lord will do to the wicked. ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-17?lang=eng#13 7:14-17]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.7-8?lang=eng#6 8:7-8]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.7-10?lang=eng#6 9:7-10]). Many commentators treat the closing restoration prophecy at the close of the third section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-15?lang=eng#10 9:11-15]) as a tiny but separate major division of Amos. It is probably better to see it as parallel to the scattering prophecy at the close of the second section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/8.9-14?lang=eng#8 8:9-14]). When read together, they tell that the Lord is loyal to Israel, and the destruction that Amos spends so many words describing and justifying will be followed by the restoration of a remnant.

Each of these sections is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 7:1-6 | Verses 7:1-6]] [[Amos 7:7-17 | • Verses 7:7-17]] [[Amos 8:1-14 | • Verses 8:1-14]] [[Amos 9:1-15 | • Verses 9:1-15]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 7-9 | Chapters 7-9]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 7:1-6 | Subpages >> Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]] [[Amos 7:7-17 | • Verses 7:7-17]] [[Amos 8:1-14 | • Verses 8:1-14]] [[Amos 9:1-15 | • Verses 9:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5-6 | Previous page: Verses 6:8-14]] ||            ||[[Amos 7:1-6 | Next page: Verses 7:1-3, 4-6]]
|}

Amos 6:8-14

2012-05-20T05:33:44Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:8-14 | Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 6:1-7 | Previous page: Verses 6:1-7]] ||            ||[[Amos 7-9 | Next page: Chapters 7-9]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 6:8-14 to the rest of chapters 5b-6 is discussed at [[Amos 5-6| Amos 5b-6]]. Verses 6:8-14 can be outlined as follows:

:'''• Lord has sworn: destruction upon Israel (6:8-14)'''

::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
:::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

Rather than starting with “Woe to ...” this section begins with the Lord swearing by himself, the strongest oath possible ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.8?lang=eng#7 6:8]). The lament in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.1-3?lang=eng 5:1-3] was that Israel would lose nine tenths of her children. But here, out of ten, none will be left ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.9-10?lang=eng#8 6:9-10]). Israel will finally fear the name of the Lord ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng#10 6:11]). One does not run horses on rocks for fear of slipping, and one does not plow on rocks. But Israel has done the equivalent, will reap nothing good, and has itself become a rocky field devoid of fruit unto the Lord. Injustice rules, the fruit of righteousness has been turned into poison, and the people rejoice in their own strength ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.12-13?lang=eng#11 6:12-13]). The Lord will therefore raise up a nation against Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.14?lang=eng#13 6:14]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:8-14 | Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 6:1-7 | Previous page: Verses 6:1-7]] ||            ||[[Amos 7-9 | Next page: Chapters 7-9]]
|}

Amos 6:1-7

2012-05-20T05:32:21Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:1-7 | Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Previous page: Verses 5:18-27]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:8-14 | Next page: Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 6:1-7 to the rest of chapters 5b-6 is discussed at [[Amos 5-6| Amos 5b-6]]. Verses 6:1-7 can be outlined as follows:

:'''• Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)'''

::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
:::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
:::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)

This section pronounces woe upon those who are at ease in Zion, which includes also the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and who trust in the strength and recent military success of [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/samaria?lang=eng&letter=s Samaria], capitol of the Northern Kingdom of Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng 6:1]).

The reference to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calneh Calneh], [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/hamath?lang=eng&letter=h Hamath] (now [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamath Hama]), and [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/gath?lang=eng&letter=g Gath] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.2?lang=eng#1 6:2]) could be interpreted as a statement that the Northern Kingdom is greater than they, and yet it will still be brought down into captivity. Or it is possible that those cities had been recently conquered and that Amos is saying the Northern Kingdom will be conquered just as they were. There is not a definitive interpretation for this verse.

In either case, those who now enjoy the fruits of the Northern Kingdom’s outward success ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.3-6?lang=eng#2 6:3-6a]) while oblivious to its underlying moral sickness ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.6?lang=eng#5 6:6b]) will be the first to go into captivity when the Northern Kingdom falls ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.7?lang=eng#6 6:7]).

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 6:1-7 | Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Previous page: Verses 5:18-27]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:8-14 | Next page: Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

Amos 3:1-5:17

2012-05-20T05:31:23Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 3-5a to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 3-5a can be outlined as follows:

:'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (Amos 3-5a)'''

::'''[[Amos 3:1-15|A. Hear this word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''

:::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
::::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
::::b. gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
:::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)

::'''[[Amos 4:1-13|B. Hear this word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''

:::• Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
:::• Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4:4-5)
:::• past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (4:6-12)
:::• hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)

::'''[[Amos 5:1-17|C. Hear this word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''

:::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
::::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
:::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
::::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
:::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

There is general scholarly consensus that Amos 1-2 and Amos 7-9 each constitute a major division in Amos. There is not much consensus, however, about the organization or structure of the chapters in between, Amos 3-6. The three speeches discussed here (3:1-15; 4:1-13; 5:1-17) can be seen as forming a second major division in Amos since they are tied together with the repeated introduction “Hear this word” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.1?lang=eng 3:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4?lang=eng 4:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng 5:1]]) and since the first refers to the religious sanctuary at Bethel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.14?lang=eng#13 3:14]), the second to the sanctuaries at Bethel and Gilgal ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.4?lang=eng#3 4:4]), and the third to the sanctuaries at Bethel, Gilgal and Bersheeba ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng#3 5:4-5]).

Each of these sections is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 3:1-15 | Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

Amos 5:18-6:14

2012-05-20T05:30:29Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Subpages >> Verses 5:18-27]] [[Amos 6:1-7 | • Verses 6:1-7]] [[Amos 6:8-14 | • Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:1-17 | Previous page: Verses 5:1-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:18-27 | Next page: Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 5b-6 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 5b-6 can be outlined as follows:

:'''III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (Amos 5b-6)'''

::'''[[Amos 5:18-27|• Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)]]'''

:::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
::::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
::::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
:::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)

::'''[[Amos 6:1-7|• Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)]]'''

:::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
::::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
::::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
:::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)

::'''[[Amos 6:8-14|• Lord has sworn: destruction upon Israel (6:8-14)]]'''

:::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
:::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
::::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
:::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

There is general scholarly consensus that chapters 1-2 and 7-9 each constitute a major division in Amos. There is not much consensus, however, about the organization or structure of the chapters in between, chapters 3-6. The three speeches in chapters 3-5a appear to constitute another major division. By process of elimination, this leaves Amos 5b-6 as the other major division in Amos.

In this major division, the first and second sections each begin with “Woe to ....” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.18?lang=eng#17 5:18]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng 6:1]). In addition, the first section begins with the Lord despising empty religious ceremony ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.21-23?lang=eng#20 5:21-23]), while the third begins with the Lord abhorring concentrated wealth ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.8?lang=eng#7 6:8]). All three of these sections generally follow a common pattern:

:a. what the Lord will do
::b. how Israel got it wrong
::b. what the Lord wanted instead
:a. therefore Israel will go into captivity

Each of these sections is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 5:18-27 | Verses 5:18-27]] [[Amos 6:1-7 | • Verses 6:1-7]] [[Amos 6:8-14 | • Verses 6:8-14]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Addiitional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Subpages >> Verses 5:18-27]] [[Amos 6:1-7 | • Verses 6:1-7]] [[Amos 6:8-14 | • Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:1-17 | Previous page: Verses 5:1-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:18-27 | Next page: Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

Amos 3:1-5:17

2012-05-20T05:28:46Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 3-5a to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 3-5a can be outlined as follows:

:'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (Amos 3-5a)'''

::'''[[Amos 3:1-15|A. Hear this word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''

:::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
::::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
::::b. gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
:::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)

::'''[[Amos 4:1-13|B. Hear this word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''

:::• Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
:::• Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4:4-5)
:::• past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (4:6-12)
:::• hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)

::'''[[Amos 5:1-17|C. Hear this word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''

:::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
::::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
:::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
::::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
:::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

There is general scholarly consensus that Amos 1-2 and Amos 7-9 each constitute a major division in Amos. There is not much consensus, however, about the organization or structure of the chapters in between, Amos 3-6. The three speeches discussed here (3:1-15; 4:1-13; 5:1-17) can be seen as forming a second major division in Amos since they are tied together with the repeated introduction “Hear this word” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.1?lang=eng 3:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4?lang=eng 4:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng 5:1]]) and since the first refers to the religious sanctuary at Bethel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.14?lang=eng#13 3:14]), the second to the sanctuaries at Bethel and Gilgal ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.4?lang=eng#3 4:4]), and the third to the sanctuaries at Bethel, Gilgal and Bersheeba ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng#3 5:4-5]).

Each of these sections is discussed separately on the following subpages: [[Amos 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Amos 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Amos 5:1-17]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

Amos 5:18-27

2012-05-20T05:25:17Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 5:18-27 | Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5-6 | Previous page: Chapter 5b-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:1-7 | Next page: Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 5:18-27 to the rest of chapters 5b-6 is discussed at [[Amos 5-6| Amos 5b-6]]. Verses 5:18-27 can be outlined as follows:

:'''• Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)'''

::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
:::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
:::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)

It appears that Israelites were already familiar with the term "Day of the Lord" and saw it as a day in which the Lord would come out in judgment for Israel. Here Amos explains that even for Israel that day will be unpleasant if Israel is not righteous ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.18-20?lang=eng#17 5:18-20]). In [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-15?lang=eng#10 Amos 9:11-15] "that day" will be a day of light only to a cleansed remnant – and to righteous gentiles.

The Lord accepts religious ceremony only from those who “let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.24?lang=eng#23 5:24]). [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/molech?lang=eng&letter=m Moloch] and Chiun were pagan gods. A nation "beyond Damascus" ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.27?lang=eng#26 5:27]) easily describes Assyria which carried off the Northern Kingdom forty years later, or Babylon which carried off the Southern Kingdom another century after that. ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-9?lang=eng Map]). Because Israel has not been just and righteous, but has instead worshipped pagan gods, it will be carried off into captivity beyond Syria.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]] > [[Amos 5:18-27 | Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5-6 | Previous page: Chapter 5b-6]] ||            ||[[Amos 6:1-7 | Next page: Verses 6:1-7]]
|}

Amos 5:18-6:14

2012-05-20T05:24:04Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Subpages >> Verses 5:18-27]] [[Amos 6:1-7 | • Verses 6:1-7]] [[Amos 6:8-14 | • Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:1-17 | Previous page: Verses 5:1-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:18-27 | Next page: Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 5b-6 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 5b-6 can be outlined as follows:

:'''III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (Amos 5b-6)'''

::'''[[Amos 5:18-27|• Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)]]'''

:::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
::::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
::::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
:::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)

::'''[[Amos 6:1-7|• Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)]]'''

:::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
::::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
::::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
:::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)

::'''[[Amos 6:8-14|• Lord has sworn: destruction upon Israel (6:8-14)]]'''

:::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
:::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
::::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
:::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

There is general scholarly consensus that chapters 1-2 and 7-9 each constitute a major division in Amos. There is not much consensus, however, about the organization or structure of the chapters in between, chapters 3-6. The three speeches in chapters 3-5a appear to constitute another major division. By process of elimination, this leaves Amos 5b-6 as the other major division in Amos.

In this major division, the first and second sections each begin with “Woe to ....” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.18?lang=eng#17 5:18]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng 6:1]). In addition, the first section begins with the Lord despising empty religious ceremony ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.21-23?lang=eng#20 5:21-23]), while the third begins with the Lord abhorring concentrated wealth ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.8?lang=eng#7 6:8]). All three of these sections generally follow a common pattern:

:a. what the Lord will do
::b. how Israel got it wrong
::b. what the Lord wanted instead
:a. therefore Israel will go into captivity

Each of these sections are discussed separately on the following subpages • [[Amos 5:18-27]] • [[Amos 6:1-7]] • [[Amos 6:8-14]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Addiitional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 5-6 | Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 5:18-27 | Subpages >> Verses 5:18-27]] [[Amos 6:1-7 | • Verses 6:1-7]] [[Amos 6:8-14 | • Verses 6:8-14]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 5:1-17 | Previous page: Verses 5:1-17]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:18-27 | Next page: Verses 5:18-27]]
|}

Amos 5:1-17

2012-05-20T05:22:09Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 5:1-17 | Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 4:1-13 | Previous page: Verses 4:1-13]] ||            ||[[Amos 5-6 | Next page: Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 5:1-17 to the rest of chapters 3-5a is discussed at [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]]. Verses 5:1-17 can be outlined as follows:

:'''C. Hear this word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)'''

::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
:::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
:::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

In the previous section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.1-13?lang=eng 4:1-13]) the Lord explained that his alternatives for Israel are exhausted. In this section ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.1-17?lang=eng 5:1-17]) he states that his love for Israel, in contrast, is not exhausted. This section contains the only call to repentance in the entire book of Amos. But the placement of this call to seek the Lord and live at the center of Amos - to the extent that there is a center - gives great weight to this invitation. This invitation is the pivot point of the book as the emphasis will now shift from what Israel has done in the past to what will occur in the future if she fails to seek the Lord and live after the Lord has roared within sight of his prey.

This section can be read as a chiasm from the outside edges toward the middle. The virgin of Israel will lament that she is fallen and has lost nine-tenths of her children ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.1-3?lang=eng 5:1-3]). So seek good and not evil that ye may live, or else lament that a only a remnant survives ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.14-17?lang=eng#13 5:14-17]). Israel is to do this by abandoning empty religious ceremony and social injustice. Seek ye me and ye shall live, not at the major religious sanctuaries, but impliedly through righteous living ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.4-5?lang=eng#3 5:4-5]). Seek him who is omnipotent, you who enrich yourselves upon the poor and the just, or lose the fruits of your iniquity ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.7-13?lang=eng#6 5:7-13]). And at the middle of this section, and of the entire book of Amos, seek the Lord and ye shall live, or else the house of Joseph that rules the Northern Kingdom will be devoured in spite of anything done at the Bethel sanctuary ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]).

Until here the train of thought has been: wicked nations deserve punishment (Amos 1-2); the Lord has been loyal to Israel and has loved only Israel (Amos 2-3); but Israel will not walk with the Lord because it oppresses the poor (Amos 2-3); the Lord has chastised Israel, but Israel responds only through empty religious ceremonies (Amos 4); and the Lord still invites Israel to seek him, not at religious sanctuaries, but through righteous daily living (Amos 5a). From here the emphasis shifts to what will happen if Israel does not accept the Lord’s invitation to seek him.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 5:1-17 | Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 4:1-13 | Previous page: Verses 4:1-13]] ||            ||[[Amos 5-6 | Next page: Chapters 5b-6]]
|}

Amos 4:1-13

2012-05-20T05:20:49Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 4:1-13 | Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Previous page: Verses 3:1-15]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:1-17 | Next page: Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 4:1-13 to the rest of chapters 3-5a is discussed at [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]]. Verses 4:1-13 can be outlined as follows:

:'''B. Hear this word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)'''

::• Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
::• Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4:4-5)
::• past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (4:6-12)
::• hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)

The substantive “why” reasons for the woes pronounced on Israel are social injustice and idolatry. The procedural "why now" reason for pronouncing these woes is that past chastisement has failed to cure those reasons.

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 4:1-13 | Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Previous page: Verses 3:1-15]] ||            ||[[Amos 5:1-17 | Next page: Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

Amos 3:1-15

2012-05-20T05:19:41Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 3:1-15 | Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3-5 | Previous page: Chapters 3-5a]] ||            ||[[Amos 4:1-13 | Next page: Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of verses 3:1-15 to the rest of chapters 3-5a is discussed at [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]]. Verses 3:1-15 chapter can be outlined as follows:

:'''A. Hear this word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)'''

::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
:::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
:::b. gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)

In Amos the Lord is never the Lord of only Israel, he is the Lord God, the Lord of the entire earth. The title Lord God appears 20 times in Amos, which is a lot. But though he is Lord of all, he has loved only Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.9-11?lang=eng#8 2:9-11]). He cannot walk with Israel, however, unless they are both agreed, and Israel is not. Lions roar before taking prey, and all take heed. The book of Amos begins with the statement “the Lord will roar from Zion” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.2?lang=eng#1 1:2]]). Here Amos says that the Lord has roared through his prophets, with his prey in sight, and Israel should take heed as it would to the roaring of a lion ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3?lang=eng#2 3:3-8]).

In fact, Israel is so wicked that the heathen gentile nations are called as witnesses against the oppression within Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.9-10?lang=eng#8 3:9-10]). The palaces built upon social injustice will be torn down by an adversary. The official religious capital of the Northern Kingdom at Bethel will be destroyed. The Northern Kingdom of Israel will be killed and consumed, and only a remnant will remain to be found ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.11-15?lang=eng#10 3:11-15]).

== Detailed discussion ==

===Verses 3-6===
Seven questions are asked in these four verses, all preparatory to the logical conclusion Amos draws in verse 7. The questions are all carefully worded, and each deserves some detailed attention (see below). But perhaps they might all be considered broadly together first. It is of some importance that the series begins with a single question, and then this first is followed by three parallelisms, three sets of two closely-related questions. The first question, somehow separate from the others, seems as if it is to set the tone and work out a preliminary interpretation of the others. Taking the first as a guide, there is a clear theme that runs through all of the questions together: the question being asked is a question of "causality." But the situation is more complex: Amos seems to be working within a sort of Kantian logic. In other words, he is asking: what is necessary for the possibility of a given reality? If two simply ''are'' walking together (this is the reality), they must (this is the necessity) have set up a meeting place to start from, for otherwise it could not be that they are walking together (this is the possibility). All seven questions work with this sort of logic: if the lion roars (reality), it must (necessity) be the case that it has captured (for the possibility of the reality), etc. The logical pattern Amos is trying to make sure his listeners have down quite well is this question of the necessary conditions for a possible state of affairs: if the Lord GOD is doing something (verse 7), then He must have revealed His council (''swd'' means "council," not "secret") to His prophets.

===Verse 3===
The first question in verse 3 refers to the fact that most people travel alone, unless they have met and have arranged to travel together. This first question may be reminding Israel of the covenant they have entered into with God.

===Verse 4===
* ''Lion and young lion.'' "Lion" and "young lion" seem to be used as a standard pair in poetry (cf. [[Gen 49:9]]; [[Num 23:24]]; [[Job 4:10]]; [[Job 38:39]]; [[Ps 17:12]]; [[Ps 91:13]]; [[Isa 5:29]]; [[Isa 31:4]]; [[Jer 51:38]]; [[Hosea 5:14]]; [[Micah 5:8]]; [[Nahum 2:11]]). This is likely related to the covenant curses associated with harm from wild animals in [[Deut 32:24]] and [[Deut 28:26]] (cf. [[Hosea 13:7]].)

* ''Will a lion roar?'' In [[Ps 104:21]], "the young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God." It does not seem clear in either of these contexts whether lions roar before, during, or after they obtain their food, though it does seem the capturing of prey and roaring seem connected. In other contexts, the roaring of lion seems related to a lion that is hungry and on the prowl before devouring its prey (cf. [[Ps 22:13]]; [[Hosea 11:10]]; [[Zeph 3:3]]; [[1 Pet 5:8]]; ). The roaring of the lion seems to be concurrent to devouring its prey in [[Prov 28:15]]; [[Isa 5:29]]; [[Isa 31:4]]; [[Ezek 21:25]]; [[Jer 2:15]]; [[2 Ne 15:29]]. The roaring of lions seems more like a lament in [[Zech 11:3]].

The two rhetorical questions have to do with the idea that a lion will stalk its prey quietly and then roars only after capturing its prey. The reason this particular question is chosen is difficult to discern. The entire passage seems to be leading up to verse 7 where the prophetic call of Amos (and prophets in general) is justified. It may be then that the Lord has "caught" Israel in its sin and is now having the prophet function as the roar of the lion indicating this capture.

===Verse 5===
* ''Shall one take up a snare.'' Most translations interpret the "take up" in this verse as an action that the snare does rather than the setter of the snare as the KJV renders it. For example, the NRSV translates this "Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing?"

* ''Snares.'' Bird traps (snares) seem to be common metaphors for calamities. The mobility, swiftness and general freedom that birds enjoy from the perspective of earth-bound humans may be the reason that snares for birds was commonly used as a powerful poetic metaphor. Cf. [[Josh 23:13]]; [[Job 18:9]]; [[Job 22:10]]; [[Ps 69:22]]; [[Ps 119:110]]; [[Ps 140:5]]; [[Ps 141:9]]; [[Ps 142:3]]; [[Prov 22:5]]; [[Eccl 9:12]]; [[Isa 8:14]]; [[Isa 24:17]]-18; [[Jer 18:22]]; [[Jer 48:43]]-44; [[Hosea 5:1]]; [[Hosea 9:8]].

The point of the two questions here regarding a bird being trapped also seems cryptic. It may be that the bird represents Israel and the gin (bait) represents the sins of Israel. On this reading, the judgment which the prophet is declaring on Israel is being related to the sins that Israel has committed—the judgment is not being declared against Israel for no reason, but has been precipitated by their springing of the trap, that is by their sins.

===Verse 6===
* ''Evil.'' The KJV of this verse appears problematic because its rendering suggests that God has caused the evil in the city. The JST retains the word "evil" but emends the word ''done'' to ''known''. Most other translations render the word ''evil'' as ''calamity'' or ''disaster'', thus the Lord is not the cause of the evil, but the cause of the destruction which comes upon the people (presumably as a result of their evil acts).

The trumpet in this verse seems analogous to the voice of warning that Amos is declaring. The people should be afraid because the prophet is raising a warning voice, and the Lord's judgment against Israel is why the prophet is declaring this warning.

===Verse 7===
* ''Nothing'' The word translated here as "nothing" is from the Hebrew [http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=01697&version=kjv ''dabar''] which means both "word" and "thing". In Old English, ''thing'' originally meant an assembly, meeting, or council.
* ''Secret'' The word translated here as "secret" is the Hebrew [http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=05475&version=kjv ''cowd''], which refers to a council or assembly.

This verse states that the LORD will not do/make/prepare any word/thing without revealing/uncovering/showing his council/assembly to or with his prophets. The NIV translation renders this verse as "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets." This is a reference to the Divine Assembly/Council in Heaven, which may be seen as more than a one-time meeting, but the ongoing business/doing/counseling/relating of the LORD.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* See "Does God Commit Evil? Some Quick Notes on Amos 3" from [http://www.mormonmonastery.org/?p=272 MormonMonastery.org]

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]] > [[Amos 3:1-15 | Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 3-5 | Previous page: Chapters 3-5a]] ||            ||[[Amos 4:1-13 | Next page: Verses 4:1-13]]
|}

Amos 3:1-5:17

2012-05-20T05:17:51Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship of chapters 3-5a to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 3-5a can be outlined as follows:

:'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (Amos 3-5a)'''

::'''[[Amos 3:1-15|A. Hear this word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''

:::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
::::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
::::b. gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
:::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)

::'''[[Amos 4:1-13|B. Hear this word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''

:::• Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
:::• Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4:4-5)
:::• past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (4:6-12)
:::• hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)

::'''[[Amos 5:1-17|C. Hear this word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''

:::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
::::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
:::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
::::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
:::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

There is general scholarly consensus that Amos 1-2 and Amos 7-9 each constitute a major division in Amos. There is not much consensus, however, about the organization or structure of the chapters in between, Amos 3-6. The three speeches discussed here (3:1-15; 4:1-13; 5:1-17) can be seen as forming a second major division in Amos since they are tied together with the repeated introduction “Hear this word” ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.1?lang=eng 3:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4?lang=eng 4:1]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng 5:1]]) and since the first refers to the religious sanctuary at Bethel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.14?lang=eng#13 3:14]), the second to the sanctuaries at Bethel and Gilgal ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.4?lang=eng#3 4:4]), and the third to the sanctuaries at Bethel, Gilgal and Bersheeba ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5?lang=eng#3 5:4-5]).

Each of these sections are discussed separately on the following subpages • [[Amos 3:1-15]] • [[Amos 4:1-13]] • [[Amos 5:1-17]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add detailed discussion about this entire passage''

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 3-5 | Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 3:1-15 | Subpages >> Verses 3:1-15]] [[Amos 4:1-13 | • Verses 4:1-13]] [[Amos 5:1-17 | • Verses 5:1-17]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Previous page: Chapters 1-2]] ||            ||[[Amos 3:1-15 | Next page: Verses 3:1-15]]
|}

Amos 1:1-2:16

2012-05-20T05:15:56Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Chapters 1-2]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos | Previous page: Amos]] ||            ||[[Amos 3-5 | Next page: Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

The relationship chapters 1-2 to the rest of the book is discussed at [[Amos]]. Chapters 1-2 can be outlined as follows:

:'''I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (Amos 1-2)'''

::'''• Woe to unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)'''

:::• Damascus (Syria) for threshing Gilead (3-5)
:::• Gaza (Philistia) for delivering captivity to Edom (6-8)
:::• Tyre (Phoenicia) for delivering captivity to Edom (9-10)

::'''• Woe to related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)'''

:::• Edom (Esau) for pursuing brother Jacob with the sword (1:11-12)
:::• Ammon (Lot) for seeking to conquer Gilead (1:13-15)
:::• Moab (Lot) for mistreating Edom (2:1-3)

::'''• Woe to Israel & Judah for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)'''

:::• Judah for not keeping the law of the Lord (4-5)
:::• Israel for social injustice and idolatry despite past blessing (6-16)
::::• mistreating the poor (6b-7a)
::::• sexual immorality, including at pagan altars (7b-8)
:::::• the Lord gave them Canaan (9-10)
:::::• the Lord gave them prophets and Nazarites (11)
::::• rejecting this second gift of Nazarites and prophets (12)
::::• Israel will be overcome (and lose the first gift, Canaan) (13-16)

The first two chapters of Amos consist of eight announcements of punishment, each introduced by the formula: “Thus saith the Lord: For three transgressions of [city] and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof, because they have [transgressed], but I will [punish].” There is broad consensus that this repeated pattern indicates these eight prophecies are to be read together as a group.

The numbers three and four are probably not significant as specific quantities, but simply to convey the idea of enough to merit punishment, and yet even more.

Amos begins by recounting the bad conduct of nations unrelated to Israel and the punishments that will therefore be poured out upon them (1:3-10). An audience in the Northern Kingdom of Israel would likely be receptive to such a message and agree with the underlying principle that guilty nations deserve punishment. But Amos moves steadily closer to home by next talking about nations that are also descended from Abraham (1:11-2:3), about the Southern Kingdom of Judah where Amos lives (2:4-5), and finally about the Northern Kingdom of Israel where he is preaching (2:6-16). But by this point he has already committed his audience to the general principle that guilty nations deserve punishment.

The other main point of these two chapters is that the Northern Kingdom has in fact committed sins sufficient to cause its destruction. Amos identifies the same specific sins commonly pointed out by other prophets: social injustice and disrespect of the Lord (2:6-16).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1-2?lang=eng Amos 1:1-2] - Introduction ===

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.3-5?lang=eng#2 Amos 1:3-5] - Woe to Damascus ===

The first three prophecies announce punishments to be poured out upon Israel’s three unrelated neighbors to the north and west: the Syrians, the Philistines and the Phoenicians.

The first prophecy (1:3-5) is against the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/syria?lang=eng&letter=s Syrian] capitol [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/damascus?lang=eng&letter=d Damascus] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Hazael and Ben-hadad were kings of Syria. A logical target of Syrian expansion is Gilead, the inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River of the Israelite tribes Reuben, Gad and Manasseh ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-3?lang=eng Map]). King Hazael of Syria conquered and treated Gilead harshly ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/10.32-33?lang=eng#31 2 Kings 10:32-33]). The protective gate-bar of Damascus will therefore be broken, and the inhabitants and rulers alike will go into captivity.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.6-8?lang=eng#5 Amos 1:6-8] - Woe to Gaza ===

The second prophecy (1:6-8) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/gaza?lang=eng&letter=g Gaza], one of the five principle cities of the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/philistines?lang=eng&letter=p Philistines] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). In fact Amos names all the principal Philistine cities except Gath. The Philistines raided Judah under King Joram and sold the captives to Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-chr/21.16-17?lang=eng#15 2 Chronicles 21:16-17]). Therefore the Philistines will also perish.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.9-10?lang=eng#8 Amos 1:9-10] - Woe to Tyre ===

The third prophecy (1:9-10) is against the [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/phoenicia?lang=eng&letter=p Phoenician] city of Tyre ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]), which also engaged in slave trading and will therefore suffer war.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.11-12?lang=eng#10 Amos 1:11-12] - Woe to Edom ===

The second set of three prophecies announces punishments upon Israel’s three related neighbors to the east and southeast: Edom, Ammon and Moab.

The first prophecy in this second set of three (1:11-12) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/edom?lang=eng&letter=e Edom] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Edom descended from Jacob’s brother Esau. Edom maintained a persistent hatred of its brother Jacob. Teman and Bozrah are the two principal cities of Edom. Like Tyre, Edom is threatened with war but not with perishing or captivity.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.13-15?lang=eng#12 Amos 1:13-15] - Woe to Ammon ===

The second prophecy in this second set of three (1:13-15) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/ammon?lang=eng&letter=a Ammon] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Ammon descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through the younger of his two daughters. Ammon consistently disputed Israel’s claim to Gilead. This passage indicates that during one invasion of Gilead, Ammon apparently killed both the men and the pregnant women who might give birth to Israelite males. Only the leaders and not the common people are threatened with captivity.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.1-3?lang=eng Amos 2:1-3] - Woe to Moab ===

The last prophecy in this second set of three (2:1-3) is against [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/moab?lang=eng&letter=m Moab] ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]). Moab descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot through Lot’s older daughter. Jewish tradition is that after Israel, Judah and Edom jointly attacked Moab (see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/2-kgs/3.9-10?lang=eng 2 Kings 3]), Moab dug up the bones of an earlier Edomite king and burned them as an intentional desecration and national insult. Therefore Moab will die and its princes will be cut off.

Foreign nations are usually rebuked by the prophets for their treatment either of Israel or of other nations in general. It is noteworthy that here Moab is instead rebuked for its treatment of Edom.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.4-5?lang=eng#3 Amos 2:4-5] - Woe to Southern Kingdom of Judah ===

Prophecies of judgment against other nations usually precede prophecies of Israel’s deliverance. But Amos instead uses his prophecies against other nations to reinforce his prophecies of judgment against Israel. Like the gentile nations, Israel is guilty. And like the gentile nations, it will also be punished.

The gentile nations are rebuked for mistreating Israel. The Israelites, on the other hand, are rebuked for disloyalty to the Lord and for social injustice or mistreatment of fellow Israelites.

Here (2:4-5) punishment is announced upon the Southern Kingdom of Judah for despising the law of the Lord and not keeping his commandments.

=== [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.6-16?lang=eng#5 Amos 2:6-16] - Woe to Northern Kingdom of Israel ===

Finally in this last prophecy (2:6-16) Amos arrives at his real target, the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The list of offenses here is much longer than in the previous prophecies. Those previous prophecies were intended in part merely to establish the principle of national punishment for national guilt. But now that Amos is talking to the Northern Kingdom of Israel about the behavior of the Northern Kingdom, it becomes much more important to identify the specific conduct of which the Northern Kingdom needs to repent.

In the opening verses of this last prophecy ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.6-8?lang=eng#5 2:6-8]) the Northern Kingdom of Israel is accused of mistreating the poor, idolatry, and sexual immorality. Foreign nations will be punished for mistreating the Israelites. The Northern Kingdom will likewise be punished for mistreating its own Israelite citizens, as well as for disloyal idolatry.

In the middle verses ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.9-11?lang=eng#8 2:9-11]) the Lord recounts his loyalty to Israel, providing both a homeland and divine guidance.

But in the closing portion of this prophecy Northern Israel is accused of expressly rejecting that divine guidance, telling the prophets not to prophesy and inducing the Nazarites to break their vows ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.12?lang=eng#11 2:12]). The homeland will therefore be lost when all its inhabitants are overcome, even the swift and the mighty ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.14-16?lang=eng#13 2:14-16]).

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add additional sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]] > [[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Chapters 1-2]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos | Previous page: Amos]] ||            ||[[Amos 3-5 | Next page: Chapters 3-5a]]
|}

Amos

2012-05-20T05:13:23Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Subpages >> Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5 | • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6 | • Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9 | • Chapters 7-9]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Next page: Chapters 1-2]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

The prophet Amos was a shepherd and gatherer of sycamore fruit at Tekoa, a small town 5 miles southeast of Bethlehem in the Southern Kingdom of Judah ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/7.14-15?lang=eng#13 7:14-15]). But two years before a large earthquake occurred, while Uzziah ruled in Judah and Jeroboam II in Israel ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/1.1?lang=eng# 1:1]; also [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/zech/14.5?lang=eng#4 Zechariah 14:5]), Amos received the word of the Lord and went on a preaching trip to the Northern Kingdom, probably to the capital Samaria (Amos 3-6) and the principal religious sanctuary at Bethel (Amos 7) ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible-maps/map-10?lang=eng Map]), probably during 765-760 BC.

Jeroboam II was a wicked king. But the great powers of the region, Egypt and Assyria, were occupied with problems in other directions. Syria, Israel's larger neighbor to the north, was also recovering from a recent invasion by Assyria. Because these larger powers were otherwise occupied, Jeroboam II enjoyed military success and was able to expand the Northern Kingdom’s borders. The kingdom appeared prosperous, secure and ascendant. The destruction that Amos prophesied could thus be easily dismissed by his audience in the Northern Kingdom. But Assyria did eventually move southward again. In 723 BC Assyria conquered Syria. Two years later in 721 BC, forty years after Amos' ministry, Assyria also conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Unable to invoke the Lord’s protection, the Northern Kingdom was destroyed and its people were carried off to become the Lost Ten Tribes.

== Brief outline and summary ==

The book of Amos can be outlined as follows:

:[[Amos 1:1-2:16|'''I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1-2)''']]

::* Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)
::* Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)
::* Woe to: Judah & Israel for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)

:[[Amos 3-5|'''II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3-5a)''']]

::* Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)
::* Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)
::* Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)

:[[Amos 5-6|'''III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5b-6)''']]

::* Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)
::* Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)
::* Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)

:[[Amos 7-9|'''IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)''']]

::* Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)
::* Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)
::* Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)
::* Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)
::* Vision of Lord in judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)

In the first major division (Amos 1-2), Amos teaches that guilty nations get punished, whether those nations are the enemies of Israel or are Israel itself. And the Northern Kingdom of Israel is guilty of social injustice and empty religious ceremony.

In the second division (Amos 3-5a), Amos reiterates the Lord’s loyalty to Israel and recounts the chastisements that have failed to bring Israel back to him. In the pivotal final chapter of this division (Amos 5:1-17) Israel is invited to seek the Lord and live. And in the climactic middle verse of that chapter Amos states that the Northern Kingdom must either seek the Lord or fall ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]).

The central question presented by Amos is whether the Northern Kingdom of Israel will seek the Lord and live. If not, then as stated in the third and fourth divisions, Israel will be destroyed (Amos 5:18-9) except for a remnant that will eventually be restored ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.11-12?lang=eng#10 3:11-12]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.7-15?lang=eng#6 9:7-15]).

Amos does not merely predict that the Northern Kingdom will be afflicted, but that it will completely disappear ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.6?lang=eng#5 5:6]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.1-4?lang=eng 9:1-4]). This is a significant statement: that after hundreds of years in the promised land, God’s covenant protection is about to end for most of the tribes of Israel. Amos takes care to explain that it is not the Lord’s power or loyalty that have changed, but rather Israel’s claim upon that power and loyalty. The Lord has been loyal (Amos 2-3). He has tried repeatedly to bring Israel back (Amos 4). He would still welcome Israel back today (Amos 5:1-17). And in the future, after Israel is sifted and cleansed, it will again be established in the Promised Land (Amos 9:7-15).

Amos also teaches that the forms of religious ceremony are worthless unless accompanied by righteous living ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.4-27?lang=eng#5 5:4-13, 21-27]).

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately in more detail on these pages: [[Amos 1:1-2:16|Amos 1-2]], [[Amos 3-5| Amos 3-5a]], [[Amos 5-6|Amos 5b-6]], [[Amos 7-9|Amos 7-9]].

== Detailed discussion ==

Amos favors Israel over foreign nations, but less than most other prophets. Moab is punished for mistreating not Israel, but Edom ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/2.1-3?lang=eng 2:1-3]). The prophecies against the foreign nations have nothing to do with Israel’s deliverance, but emphasize the punishment that likewise awaits Israel (1-2). And the foreign nations are called as witnesses against Israel’s iniquity ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/3.9-10?lang=eng#8 3:9-10]).

There are three hymns in Amos ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/4.13?lang=eng#12 4:13]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.8-9?lang=eng#7 5:8-9]; [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.5-6?lang=eng#4 9:5-6]).

== Complete outline and page list ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Amos.

::::::'''[[Amos]]'''
'''[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | I. Woe to the nations, leading up to Israel (1-2)]]'''
:'''•Woe to: unrelated nations for treatment of Israel (1:3-10)'''
::• Damascus (Syria) for threshing Gilead (3-5)
::• Gaza (Philistia) for delivering captivity to Edom (6-8)
::• Tyre (Phoenicia) for delivering captivity to Edom (9-10)
:'''• Woe to: related nations for treatment of Israel (1:11-2:3)'''
::• Edom (Esau) for pursuing brother Jacob with the sword (1:11-12)
::• Ammon (Lot) for seeking to conquer Gilead (1:13-15)
::• Moab (Lot) for mistreating Edom (2:1-3)
:'''• Woe to: Israel and Judah for breaking the covenant (2:4-16)'''
::• Judah for not keeping the law of the Lord (4-5)
::• Israel for social injustice and idolatry despite past blessing (6-16)
:::• mistreating the poor (6b-7a)
:::• sexual immorality, including at pagan altars (7b-8)
::::• the Lord gave them Canaan (9-10)
::::• the Lord gave them prophets and Nazarites (11)
:::• rejecting this second gift of Nazarites and prophets (12)
:::• Israel will be overcome (and lose the first gift, Canaan) (13-16)

'''[[Amos 3-5 | II. The Lord’s longsuffering with Israel (3-5a)]]'''
:'''[[Amos 3:1-15 | • Hear word: Lord loved only Israel, but it was wayward (3:1-15)]]'''
::a. Lord has loved only Israel, so will punish (1-2)
:::b. Lord has roared through his prophets, take heed (3-8)
:::b. Gentiles called as witnesses of oppression in Israel (9-10)
::a. adversary will destroy Israel, all but a remnant (13-15)
:'''[[Amos 4:1-13 | • Hear word: Lord chastised Israel, but it did not return (4:1-13)]]'''
::• Lord will carry away those who glut on oppressing the poor (1-3)
::• Israel transgresses even in its religious ceremonies (4-5)
::• past chastisement has not caused Israel to return (6-12)
::• hymn: greatness and condescension of the Lord (13)
:'''[[Amos 5:1-17 | • Hear word: Lord still invites Israel to seek him, else destruction (5:1-17)]]'''
::a. funeral lament for the virgin of Israel (1-3)
:::b. seek the Lord, not idolatry (4-5)
::::c. seek the Lord, or the Northern Kingdom will fall (6)
:::b. seek the Lord, not social injustice (7-13)
::a. seek the Lord, or Israel will lament (14-17)

'''[[Amos 5-6 | III. Woes pronounced upon Israel (5b-6)]]'''
:'''[[Amos 5:18-27 | • Woe to: those who trust in religious ceremony (5:18–27)]]'''
::a. woe to those who seek Day of Lord, they will be hurt by it (18-20)
:::b. the Lord despises empty religious ceremony (21-23)
:::b. the Lord seeks righteousness but finds idolatry (24-26)
::a. therefore you will go into captivity beyond Syria (27)
:'''[[Amos 6:1-7 | • Woe to: those who trust in their own strength (6:1-7)]]'''
::a. woe to those who trust in the strength of Samaria (1-2)
:::b. who enjoy plenty but do not see Israel’s sickness (3-6a)
:::b. but do not recognize Israel’s moral sickness (6b)
::a. therefore you will be among the first to go captive (7)
:'''[[Amos 6:8-14 | • Lord has sworn destruction: upon Israel (6:8-14)]]'''
::a. the Lord hates and will deliver up the proud and their spoil (8)
::a. Israel shall be destroyed (9-11)
:::b. Israel has become a rocky, fruitless field (12-13)
::a. the Lord will raise up a nation against Israel (14)

'''[[Amos 7-9 | IV. Visions of Israel threatened, punished, then restored (7-9)]]'''
:'''[[Amos 7:1-6 | • Vision of locusts: Israel spared thus far (7:1-3)]]'''
:'''[[Amos 7:1-6 | • Vision of fire: Israel spared thus far (7:4-6)]]'''
:'''[[Amos 7:7-17 | • Vision of plumbline: Israel no longer spared, priests (7:7-17)]]'''
::a. vision of the plumbline: Israel no longer spared (7-9)
:::b. Amaziah tries to stop Amos prophesying (10-13)
::::c. Amos prophesies more woe on Amaziah and Israel (14-17)
:'''[[Amos 8:1-14 | • Vision of basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared, merchants (8:1-14)]]'''
::a. vision of the basket of summer fruit: Israel no longer spared (1-3)
:::b. deceitful merchants not care for Lord nor fellow Israelites (4-6)
::::c. the land will tremble and be overrun as by a flood (7-8)
:::::d. in that day scattered, famine of Lord’s word (9-14)
:'''[[Amos 9:1-15 | • Vision of Lord in Judgment: only a remnant spared and restored ( 9:1-15)]]'''
::a. vision of the Lord in judgment at the altar: none spared (1-4)
:::b. hymn: Lord is omnipotent sovereign (5-6)
::::c. Lord will destroy all sinners but save a remnant (7-10)
:::::d. in that day restore David, bless with plenty (11-15)

== Parallel passages quoted from or in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.15?lang=eng#14 Amos 5:15] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/12.9?lang=eng#8 Romans 12:9] (possible allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/5.25-27?lang=eng#24 Amos 5:25-27] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/7.42-43?lang=eng#41 Acts 7:42-43] (clear quotation)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/6.1?lang=eng Amos 6:1] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/luke/6.24?lang=eng#23 Luke 6:24] (possible allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/amos/9.11-12?lang=eng#10 Amos 9:11-12] - [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/acts/15.16-17?lang=eng#15 Acts 15:16-17] (clear quotation)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* Finley, Thomas J. ''Joel, Amos, Obadiah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary''. Chicago: Moody Press, 1990. (ISBN 0802492622) BS1575.3 .F56 1990

:* Guenther, Allen R. ''Hosea, Amos: Believers Church Bible Commentary''. Scottdale, Pennsylvania; Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press, 1997. (ISBN 0836190726) BS1565.3 .G84 1997.

:* LDS Church Education System. [http://www.lds.org/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-8?lang=eng ''Amos: The Lord Reveals His Secrets to His Servants the Prophets'']. In LDS Institute ''Old Testament Student Manual'', Vol. 2, p. 89-96. Salt Lake City: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1982.

:* Nyman, Monte S. ''The Twelve Prophets Testify of Christ'', p. 207. In ''A Witness of Jesus Christ: the 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Old Testament'', p. 200-222. Richard D. Draper, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990. (ISBN 0875793622) BS1171.2 .S67 1989

:* Ogden, D. Kelly. ''The Book of Amos''. In ''Studies in Scripture'', Vol. 4, p. 52-60. Kent P. Jackson, ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1983. (ISBN 087579789X) BS1171.2 .A15 1993

:* Smith, Billy K. and Frank S Page. ''Amos, Obadiah, Jonah: The New American Commentary'', Vol. 19B. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995. (ISBN 0805401423) BS1585.3 .S64 1995

:* Smith, Gary V. ''Amos: A Mentor Commentary''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 1989. Revised edition, Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, IV20 ITW, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1998. (ISBN 1857922530) BS1585.3 .S63 1998

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Amos]]
|}

:{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Subpages >> Chapters 1-2]] [[Amos 3-5 | • Chapters 3-5a]] [[Amos 5-6 | • Chapters 5b-6]] [[Amos 7-9 | • Chapters 7-9]]
|}

{|
|[[Amos 1:1-2:16 | Next page: Chapters 1-2]]
|}

Nahum 3:18-19

2012-05-20T05:05:55Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 3:18-19 | Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 |Previous page: Verses 2:1-3:17]] ||            ||This is the last page for [[Nahum]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.18-19?lang=eng#17 Nahum 3:18-19], the last two verses of the book, contain the last of the four addresses in Nahum. This concluding address is directed to the Assyrian king and makes the point that he is weak, in contrast to God's great strength as praised in the opening address of Nahum ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.2-10?lang=eng#1 1:2-10]).

One message of this address is to fear and trust in God, not the arm of flesh. Another is that God will bring the Assyrian king to justice by inflicting upon him what he has inflicted on others.

Also see [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.14?lang=eng#13 1:14] which, as explained in the [[Nahum 1:11-15| discussion of 1:11-15]], is likewise addressed to the Assyrian king and pronounces woes upon him.[1]

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verse 18 ===

In [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.18?lang=eng#17 verse 18] the Assyrian king's nobles are as dust and his people are scattered. The scattered and ungathered condition of the Assyrian king's people stands in contrast to the Lord's people, for whom the Lord is a strong hold ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.7?lang=eng#6 1:7]).

=== Verse 19 ===

In [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.19?lang=eng#18 verse 19] the Assyrian king himself is stricken, and those who hear of it will be glad. This again stands in contrast to the question posed in the opening address of who can stand before the indignation of the mighty Lord {[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.6?lang=eng#5 1:6]).

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{reflist}

[1] Sweeney, Marvin A. ''The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry'', Vol. 2, p. 422, 432. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000. (ISBN 0814650910) BS__

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 3:18-19 | Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 |Previous page: Verses 2:1-3:17]] ||            ||This is the last page for [[Nahum]]
|}

Nahum 2:1-3:17

2012-05-20T05:01:58Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | Verses 2:1-3:17]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:11-15 |Previous page: Verses 1:11-15]] ||            ||[[Nahum 3:18-19 |Next page: Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2?lang=eng Nahum 2:1-3:17] contains the third of the four addresses in Nahum. This address is directed to Assyria, a cruel and great power in Nahum's day.

This address can be outlined as a chiasm in which the main point is located at the middle. This address is also by far the longest in Nahum, taking up more than half the entire book. Whatever appears at the middle of this section is thus given the most prominent location in the entire book.

:a. description of Ninevah's fall (2:1-13)
::b. Behold I am against thee (2:13)
:::c. reasons for Ninevah's fall (3:1-4)
::b. Behold I am against thee (3:5)
:a. Ninevah shall be conquered as it once conquered Thebes (3:5-17)

The opening and closing sections of this address are prophetic descriptions of Ninevah's fall. The middle section explains the Lord's reasons why Ninevah will be overthrown. This address to Assyria can be summarized as: Suffer for your evil acts in the same way that you have made others to suffer.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Nahum 2:1-13 ===

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.1-13?lang=eng Nahum 2:1-13] is the opening section within this address to Assyria. Chapter 2 describes the fall of Assyria's capitol Ninevah, as does the closing section of this address, [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5-17?lang=eng#4 Nahum 3:5-17].

==== Verse 2:2 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.2?lang=eng#1 Verse 2:2] can be difficult to understand in the King James Version. Several translations state in this verse that the Lord will restore the excellency of Jacob to its former glory ([http://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Na2.2 NIV], [http://biblia.com/books/nasb95/Na2 NASB], [http://biblia.com/books/rsv/Na2 RSV] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=nahum%202:2&version=AMP Amplified]).

==== Verses 2:3-5 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.3-5?lang=eng#2 Verses 2:3-5] describe defensive preparations within Ninevah.

==== Verses 2:6-8 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.6-8?lang=eng#5 Verses 2:6-8] describe Ninevah being conquered as by an overflowing flood. One ancient account says the river was redirected against the walls of Ninevah, wearing away a hole through which Babylonian soldiers were then able to pass.

==== Verses 2:10-13 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.10-13?lang=eng#9 Verses 2:10-13] are known as the "lion taunt." Lions were often used to represent the strength of Assyria's royal house. Nahum describes Ninevah as empty of lions, with its young lions devoured by the sword.

This lion taunt ends with the Lord's challenge calling Assyria out to battle, "Behold, I am against thee." This challenge is repeated in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5?lang=eng#4 Nahum 3:5].

=== Nahum 3:1-4 ===

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.1-4?lang=eng Nahum 3:1-4] is the central section of the address to Assyria. The placement of this passage at the middle of the book's major section suggests that it is the most important passage in the entire book. In these verses the Lord announces woe upon the Assyrian capitol Ninevah, "the bloody city," because "it is all full of lies and robbery, ... there is a multitude of slain, ... [and] the multitude of the whoredoms ... [and] witchcrafts." These are the Lord's stated reasons for coming out in judgment against Ninevah.

The verses that immediately precede and follow this passage both begin with God's challenge ''Behold, I am against thee''.

=== Nahum 3:5-17 ===

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5-17?lang=eng#4 Nahum 3:5-17] is the closing section of the address to Assyria. The message here is not only that Ninevah will be destroyed, but also that poetic justice will be served as Assyria suffers in the same way it has oppressed others.

==== Verses 3:5-7 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5-7?lang=eng#4 Verses 3:5-7] are placed parallel to the lion taunt of [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.13?lang=eng 2:13] and begin with the repeated challenge "Behold, I am against thee." This time it is accompanied by a statement that the Assyrians will be naked, covered in filth, vile, alone, and uncomforted.

==== Verses 3:8-10 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.8-10?lang=eng#7 Verses 3:8-10] compare the future fall of Ninevah to the past fall of Thebes. During about 711-525 BC, Thebes (now Luxor) was the principal city of Egypt and was at times the capitol. Thebes was located about about 400 miles south of the Mediterranean Sea along the Nile River. At the height of Assyrian power, the Assyrians managed to conquer and hold Egypt for about a decade. Thebes fell in 663 BC. Another name for Thebes was No-Amon, or city of the god Amon. Here Nahum states that Ninevah will fare no better than Thebes (No), which fell despite its many allies.

==== Verses 3:11-17 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.11-17?lang=eng#10 Verses 3:11-17] employ several metaphors to describe Ninevah's defenseless condition (ripe figs, open gates) and its consequent desolation (fire, cankerworm). This section ends with the Assyrian locusts (army) fleeing at the rising sun (God's presence).

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | Verses 2:1-3:17]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:11-15 |Previous page: Verses 1:11-15]] ||            ||[[Nahum 3:18-19 |Next page: Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

Nahum 1:11-15

2012-05-20T05:00:14Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 1:11-15 | Verses 1:11-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Previous page: Verses 1:1-10]] ||            ||[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 |Next page: Verses 2:1-3:17]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.11-15?lang=eng#10 Nahum 1:11-15] contains the second of four addresses in Nahum. This address is directed to Judah and can be outlined as follows:

:a. Judah has imagined wicked counsel about the Lord (11)
::b. Lord says to Judah: no more afflicted, oppressors cut down (12-13)
::b. Lord says to the Assyrian king: you shall be cut off (14)
:a. Judah should celebrate, wickedness shall not return (15)

The message is that God will deliver Judah from Assyria.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verses 11, 15 ===

Verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.11,15?lang=eng#10 11, 15] both use the Hebrew word "belial," which means no-good, no-account, or worthless.

=== Verse 12 ===

Verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.12?lang=eng#11 12a] probably means that Judah's oppressors will be cut off.

=== Verse 14 ===

Most of Nahum 1:11-15 uses the feminine singular form of address in speaking to Judah. But the masculine form of address is used in verse 14, indicating that this verse is instead directed to someone else.[1] Like the last two verses of Nahum, in which masculine singular address is also used, verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.14?lang=eng#13 14] is probably addressed to the Assyrian king. It is the Assyrian king, not Judah, who will have no seed, who will die, and whose gods will be thrown down.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{reflist}

[1] Sweeney, Marvin A. ''The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry'', Vol. 2, p. 422, 432. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000.

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 1:11-15 | Verses 1:11-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Previous page: Verses 1:1-10]] ||            ||[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 |Next page: Verses 2:1-3:17]]
|}

Nahum 1:1-10

2012-05-20T04:59:18Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 1:1-10 | Verses 1:1-10]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum |Previous page: Nahum]] ||            ||[[Nahum 1:11-15 |Next page: Verses 1:11-15]]
|}

== Brief summary ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.2-10?lang=eng#1 Nahum 1:2-10] contains the first of four addresses in Nahum. This opening address is directed to both Judah and Assyria jointly.[1] The message here is simple. God is mightier than the elements ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.3-5?lang=eng#2 3b-5a]). He is mightier than his enemies ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.2-3,5-6,8-10?lang=eng#1 2-3a, 5b-6, 8-10]). And he is a strong hold or refuge for those who trust in him ([http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.7?lang=eng#6 7]).

== Detailed discussion ==

=== '''Verse 3''' ===

Verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.3?lang=eng#2 3] is a reference to [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/ex/34.6-7?lang=eng#5 Exodus 34:6-7], repeating the parts about God's justice but leaving out the parts about his mercy.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{reflist}

[1] Sweeney, Marvin A. ''The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry'', Vol. 2, p. 422. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000.

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add related links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 1:1-10 | Verses 1:1-10]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum |Previous page: Nahum]] ||            ||[[Nahum 1:11-15 |Next page: Verses 1:11-15]]
|}

Nahum 2:1-3:17

2012-05-20T04:57:51Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 2:1-3:17]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:11-15 |Previous page: Verses 1:11-15]] ||            ||[[Nahum 3:18-19 |Next page: Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2?lang=eng Nahum 2:1-3:17] contains the third of the four addresses in Nahum. This address is directed to Assyria, a cruel and great power in Nahum's day.

This address can be outlined as a chiasm in which the main point is located at the middle. This address is also by far the longest in Nahum, taking up more than half the entire book. Whatever appears at the middle of this section is thus given the most prominent location in the entire book.

:a. description of Ninevah's fall (2:1-13)
::b. Behold I am against thee (2:13)
:::c. reasons for Ninevah's fall (3:1-4)
::b. Behold I am against thee (3:5)
:a. Ninevah shall be conquered as it once conquered Thebes (3:5-17)

The opening and closing sections of this address are prophetic descriptions of Ninevah's fall. The middle section explains the Lord's reasons why Ninevah will be overthrown. This address to Assyria can be summarized as: Suffer for your evil acts in the same way that you have made others to suffer.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Nahum 2:1-13 ===

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.1-13?lang=eng Nahum 2:1-13] is the opening section within this address to Assyria. Chapter 2 describes the fall of Assyria's capitol Ninevah, as does the closing section of this address, [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5-17?lang=eng#4 Nahum 3:5-17].

==== Verse 2:2 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.2?lang=eng#1 Verse 2:2] can be difficult to understand in the King James Version. Several translations state in this verse that the Lord will restore the excellency of Jacob to its former glory ([http://biblia.com/books/niv2011/Na2.2 NIV], [http://biblia.com/books/nasb95/Na2 NASB], [http://biblia.com/books/rsv/Na2 RSV] [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=nahum%202:2&version=AMP Amplified]).

==== Verses 2:3-5 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.3-5?lang=eng#2 Verses 2:3-5] describe defensive preparations within Ninevah.

==== Verses 2:6-8 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.6-8?lang=eng#5 Verses 2:6-8] describe Ninevah being conquered as by an overflowing flood. One ancient account says the river was redirected against the walls of Ninevah, wearing away a hole through which Babylonian soldiers were then able to pass.

==== Verses 2:10-13 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.10-13?lang=eng#9 Verses 2:10-13] are known as the "lion taunt." Lions were often used to represent the strength of Assyria's royal house. Nahum describes Ninevah as empty of lions, with its young lions devoured by the sword.

This lion taunt ends with the Lord's challenge calling Assyria out to battle, "Behold, I am against thee." This challenge is repeated in [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5?lang=eng#4 Nahum 3:5].

=== Nahum 3:1-4 ===

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.1-4?lang=eng Nahum 3:1-4] is the central section of the address to Assyria. The placement of this passage at the middle of the book's major section suggests that it is the most important passage in the entire book. In these verses the Lord announces woe upon the Assyrian capitol Ninevah, "the bloody city," because "it is all full of lies and robbery, ... there is a multitude of slain, ... [and] the multitude of the whoredoms ... [and] witchcrafts." These are the Lord's stated reasons for coming out in judgment against Ninevah.

The verses that immediately precede and follow this passage both begin with God's challenge ''Behold, I am against thee''.

=== Nahum 3:5-17 ===

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5-17?lang=eng#4 Nahum 3:5-17] is the closing section of the address to Assyria. The message here is not only that Ninevah will be destroyed, but also that poetic justice will be served as Assyria suffers in the same way it has oppressed others.

==== Verses 3:5-7 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.5-7?lang=eng#4 Verses 3:5-7] are placed parallel to the lion taunt of [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/2.13?lang=eng 2:13] and begin with the repeated challenge "Behold, I am against thee." This time it is accompanied by a statement that the Assyrians will be naked, covered in filth, vile, alone, and uncomforted.

==== Verses 3:8-10 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.8-10?lang=eng#7 Verses 3:8-10] compare the future fall of Ninevah to the past fall of Thebes. During about 711-525 BC, Thebes (now Luxor) was the principal city of Egypt and was at times the capitol. Thebes was located about about 400 miles south of the Mediterranean Sea along the Nile River. At the height of Assyrian power, the Assyrians managed to conquer and hold Egypt for about a decade. Thebes fell in 663 BC. Another name for Thebes was No-Amon, or city of the god Amon. Here Nahum states that Ninevah will fare no better than Thebes (No), which fell despite its many allies.

==== Verses 3:11-17 ====

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.11-17?lang=eng#10 Verses 3:11-17] employ several metaphors to describe Ninevah's defenseless condition (ripe figs, open gates) and its consequent desolation (fire, cankerworm). This section ends with the Assyrian locusts (army) fleeing at the rising sun (God's presence).

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{reflist}

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 2:1-3:17]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:11-15 |Previous page: Verses 1:11-15]] ||            ||[[Nahum 3:18-19 |Next page: Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

Nahum 1:11-15

2012-05-20T04:56:51Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 1:11-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Previous page: Verses 1:1-10]] ||            ||[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 |Next page: Verses 2:1-3:17]]
|}

== Outline and brief summary ==

[http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.11-15?lang=eng#10 Nahum 1:11-15] contains the second of four addresses in Nahum. This address is directed to Judah and can be outlined as follows:

:a. Judah has imagined wicked counsel about the Lord (11)
::b. Lord says to Judah: no more afflicted, oppressors cut down (12-13)
::b. Lord says to the Assyrian king: you shall be cut off (14)
:a. Judah should celebrate, wickedness shall not return (15)

The message is that God will deliver Judah from Assyria.

== Detailed discussion ==

=== Verses 11, 15 ===

Verses [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.11,15?lang=eng#10 11, 15] both use the Hebrew word "belial," which means no-good, no-account, or worthless.

=== Verse 12 ===

Verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.12?lang=eng#11 12a] probably means that Judah's oppressors will be cut off.

=== Verse 14 ===

Most of Nahum 1:11-15 uses the feminine singular form of address in speaking to Judah. But the masculine form of address is used in verse 14, indicating that this verse is instead directed to someone else.[1] Like the last two verses of Nahum, in which masculine singular address is also used, verse [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.14?lang=eng#13 14] is probably addressed to the Assyrian king. It is the Assyrian king, not Judah, who will have no seed, who will die, and whose gods will be thrown down.

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{reflist}

[1] Sweeney, Marvin A. ''The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry'', Vol. 2, p. 422, 432. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000.

== Additional sources and links ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add sources and links''

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]] > [[Nahum 1:11-15]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Previous page: Verses 1:1-10]] ||            ||[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 |Next page: Verses 2:1-3:17]]
|}

Nahum 1:1-3:19

2012-05-20T04:55:21Z

Kurt Elieson: revised page link formats

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]]
|}

:{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 | Subpages >> Verses 1:1-10]] • [[Nahum 1:11-15 | Verses 1:11-15]] • [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | Verses 2:1-3:17]] • [[Nahum 3:18-19 | Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Next page: Verses 1:1-10]]
|}

== Historical setting ==

Nahum could have been written at any time between the Assyrian conquest of Thebes in Egypt in 663 BC and the fall of the Assyrian capitol Ninevah in 612 BC to an army of Babylonians and Medes.

The Assyrians were brutal and very much feared. During the 700's BC Jonah had unwillingly warned Ninevah to repent in order to avoid destruction, which it did. Then in 721 BC the Assyrian empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel and carried off the Ten Tribes that were scattered and became lost to us. Now sometime between 663-612 BC Nahum does not warn Ninevah to repent, he simply announces that it will be destroyed.

== Brief outline and summary ==

Nahum can be outlined as follows:

:A1. To Judah and Assyria: God is mighty (1:2-10)
::B1. To Judah: God will deliver you from Assyria (1:11-15)
::B2. To Assyria: Suffer as you have oppressed others (2:1-3:17)
:A2. To the Assyrian king: You are weak (3:18-19)

The first section, which is addressed to both Judah and Assyria jointly, uses masculine plural forms of address. The two middle sections, addressed individually to Judah and then to Assyria, each use feminine singular forms of address (except in 1:14). The last section addressed to the Assyrian king uses masculine singular forms of address. These shifts help to identify where each major section ends and the next begins.

The message of Nahum is that: (A1) God is powerful and just, (B1) he will deliver Judah, and (B2-A2) he will punish the Assyrian capitol Ninevah and its king for their harsh treatment of other nations including Israel.

Nahum ends with a pronouncement of woe upon Assyria. This differs from the usual pattern in which the promise of Israel's deliverance comes last.

Each of the major divisions of Amos is discussed separately on the following pages • [[Nahum 1:1-10 | Verses 1:1-10]] • [[Nahum 1:11-15 | Verses 1:11-15]] • [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | Verses 2:1-3:17]] • [[Nahum 3:18-19 | Verses 3:18-19]]

== Detailed discussion ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Complete outline and page list ==

Items in blue or purple text indicate hyperlinked pages that address specific portions of Nahum.

::::::'''[[Nahum]]'''
:[[Nahum 1:1-10 | '''A1. To Judah and Assyria: God is mighty (1:2-10)''']]

::[[Nahum 1:11-15 | '''B1. To Judah: God will deliver you from Assyria (1:11-15)''']]
:::a. Judah has imagined wicked counsel about the Lord (11)
::::b. Lord says to Judah: no more afflicted, oppressors cut down (12-13)
::::b. Lord says to the Assyrian king: you shall be cut off (14)
:::a. Judah should celebrate, wickedness shall not return (15)

::[[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | '''B2. To Assyria: Suffer as you have oppressed others (2:1-3:17)''']]
:::a. Description of Ninevah's fall (2:1-13)
::::b. Behold I am against thee (2:13)
:::::c. announcement of woe and reasons for Ninevah's fall (3:1-4)
::::b. Behold I am against thee (3:5)
:::a. Ninevah shall be conquered as it once conquered Thebes (3:5-17)

:[[Nahum 3:18-19 | '''A2. To the Assyrian king: You are weak (3:18-19)''']]

== Parallel passages quoted from or in other scriptures ==

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/1.15?lang=eng#14 Nahum 1:15] • [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rom/10.15?lang=eng#14 Romans 10:15] (allusion)

* [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/nahum/3.4?lang=eng#3 Nahum 3:4] • [http://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/rev/18.3?lang=eng#2 Revelation 18:3] (allusion)

== Questions for further thought and study ==
* ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add questions''

== Footnotes ==
{|
reflist
|}

== Additional sources and links ==

* '''Books'''

:* Patterson, Richard D. ''Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah: The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary''. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. (ISBN 0737500190) BS__

:* Sweeney, Marvin A. ''The Twelve Prophets: Berit Olam Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry, Vol. 2''. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press, 2000. (ISBN 0814650910) BS__

{|
|[[The Old Testament]] > [[Nahum]]
|}

:{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 | Subpages >> Verses 1:1-10]] • [[Nahum 1:11-15 | Verses 1:11-15]] • [[Nahum 2:1-3:17 | Verses 2:1-3:17]] • [[Nahum 3:18-19 | Verses 3:18-19]]
|}

{|
|[[Nahum 1:1-10 |Next page: Verses 1:1-10]]
|}