Amos 2:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Amos 2:1
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
to say (used with great latitude) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
LORD
יְהוָ֔הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
three
שְׁלֹשָׁה֙she.lo.Shah
H7969
three · noun, common both genders singular absolute
transgressions
פִּשְׁעֵ֣יpish.'Ei
H6588
a revolt (national · noun, common masculine plural construct
Moab
מוֹאָ֔בmo.'Av
H4124
Moab · proper noun, a place name
four
אַרְבָּעָ֖ה'ar.ba.'Ah
H702
four · noun, common both genders singular absolute
away
אֲשִׁיבֶ֑נּוּ'a.shi.Ve.nu
H7725
to turn back (hence · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
burned
שָׂרְפ֛וֹsa.re.Fo
H8313
to be (causatively · verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
bones
עַצְמ֥וֹתatz.Mot
H6106
a bone (as strong) · noun, common feminine plural construct
king
מֶֽלֶךְMe.lekh-
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Edom
אֱד֖וֹם'e.Dom
H123
Edom · proper noun, a man's name
lime
לַשִּֽׂידla.Sid
H7875
lime (as boiling when slacked) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Zephaniah 2:8-9 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and magnified themsel…
Ezekiel 25:8-9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Moab and Seir do say, Behold, the house of Judah is like unto all the heathen;
Amos 1:3 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have thre…
2 Kings 3:26-27 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through ev…
Isaiah 15:1-9 The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, a…
Isaiah 25:10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghi…
Jeremiah 48:1-47 Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab i…
Amos 2:4 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despise…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Amos 2:1-8
Here is, I. The judgment of Moab, another of the nations that bordered upon Israel. They are reckoned with and shall be punished for three transgressions and for four, as those before. Now, 1. Moab's fourth transgression, as theirs who were before set to the bar, was cruelty. The instance given refers not to the people of God, but to a heathen like themselves: The king of Moab burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime. We find there was war between the Edomites and the Moabites, in which the king of Moab, in distress and rage, offered his own son for a burnt-offering, to appease his deity, Kg2 3:26, Kg2 3:27. And it should seem that afterwards he, or some of his successors, in revenge up…
For three transgressions of Moab and for four - See an explanation of this form Amo 1:2. The land of the Moabites lay to the east of the Dead Sea. For the origin of this people, see Gen 19:37.
He burned the bones on the king of Edom into lime - Possibly referring to some brutality; such as opening the grave of one of the Idumean kings, and calcining his bones. It is supposed by some to refer to the fact mentioned Kg2 3:26, when the kings of Judah, Israel, and Idumea, joined together to destroy Moab. The king of it, despairing to save his city, took seven hundred men, and made a desperate sortie on the quarter where the king of Edom was; and, though not successful, took prisoner the son of th…
Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Moab,.... Or the Moabites, who descended from the eldest son of Lot, by one of his daughters; and, though related, were great enemies to the Israelites; they sent for Balaam to curse them when on their borders, and greatly oppressed them in the times of the judges:
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; See Gill on Amos 1:3. Idolatry, as well as the sin next charged, must be one of these four transgressions: the idols of Moab were Chemosh and Baalpeor; of the former See Gill on Jeremiah 48:7; and of the latter See Gill on Hosea 9:10;
because he burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime; either like "to lime", or "for…
The Church Fathers
(Chapter 2, Verse 1 and following) Thus says the Lord: Concerning the three sins of Moab, and concerning four, I will not revoke my punishment, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to ashes. And I will send fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth, and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And I will cut off the judge from the midst of her, and will slay all her princes with him, says the Lord. LXX: Thus says the Lord: Concerning the three impious acts of Moab, and concerning four, I will not turn away from them, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to ashes. And I will send fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the foundations of its cities, and Moab shall die with affliction, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And I will cut off the judge from her, and will slay all her princes with him, says the Lord. Not only the sons of Ammon, but also Moab, was descended from Lot, who was the son of Abraham's brother. And in order to demonstrate that He is the Lord of all and that all souls belong to Him, who is their creator, He avenges the injustice of the king of Edom, indeed the crime that was perpetrated against him by the Moabites, that they burned his bones to ashes, and their cruelty and rage did not end even in death. The Hebrews tell that the bones of the king of Edom, who had gone up with the king of Israel, Joram, and the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, against Moab in revenge for a grievance, were later torn apart and burned by the Moabites (2 Kings 3). Therefore, they say, God declares that he will send fire upon Moab, or the capital city of the Moabites, from which the whole province is named, or the entire province, to devour the city of Carioth, which is the name of the city. Although the Seventy translated it as 'the cities of Moab', that is, Moab: and it will perish in the sound and wailing of the conquering army, of which one is called Saon in Hebrew, the other Therua; and in the blast of the trumpet or horn, for this is what Sophar means. And when Moab shall perish, the counsel of the princes and judges shall be in vain, with the cities and leaders being overthrown. However, it is necessary to transfer the perfect captivity, or Solomon's, and conclude it in Edom, so that it may make them humble and earthly from the high and heavenly, as Gaza and Tyre are said…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Furnace — (1.) Chald. attun, a large furnace with a wide open mouth, at the top of which materials were cast in (Dan. 3:22, 23; comp. Jer. 29:22). This furnace would be in constant requisition, for the…
Lime — The Hebrew word so rendered means “boiling” or “effervescing.” From Isa. 33:12 it appears that lime was made in a kiln lighted by thorn-bushes. In Amos 2:1 it is recorded that the king of Moab…
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Cremation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Edomites · Kings of — Kings of
Lime · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Amos 2:1-3
1. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
1. Sic dicit Jehova, Super tribus sceleribus Moab et super quatuor non convertam eum (vel, non convertam me, sicut prius diximus,) quia ipse combussitossa regis Edom in calcem:
2. But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
2. Et mittam ignem in Moab qui comedet palatia, (qryvt, alii vertunt urbium appellative: sed magis arbitror esse proprium nomen loci) et morietur in tumultu Moab, in st…
desecrated the bones: In some past skirmish, the Moabites had captured Edom’s king. Cremation was considered a form of desecration; if the ashes (literally lime) of the king were used in plaster, the insult would be compounded.
Rashi on Amos 2:1
For he burnt the bones etc.—Once the king of Edom fell into the hands of the king of Moab, and they burned his bones and plastered them on the walls of the house, and the Holy One, blessed be He, requited the injustice inflicted upon the king, for they treated him with disgrace.
