Amos 3:14 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Amos 3:14
That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
visit
פָּקְדִ֥יpa.ke.Di
H6485
to visit (with friendly or hostile intent) · verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix
transgressions
פִשְׁעֵֽיfish.'ei-
H6588
a revolt (national · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
visit
וּפָֽקַדְתִּי֙u.fa.kad.Ti
H6485
to visit (with friendly or hostile intent) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
altars
מִזְבְּח֣וֹתmiz.be.Chot
H4196
an altar · noun, common feminine plural construct
Beth-el
בֵּֽיתbeit-
H1008
Beth-El · proper noun, a place name
horns
קַרְנ֣וֹתkar.Not
H7161
a horn (as projecting) · noun, common feminine plural construct
altar
הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַha.miz.Be.ach
H4196
an altar · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
off
וְנִגְדְּעוּ֙ve.nig.de.'U
H1438
to fell a tree · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
fall
וְנָפְל֖וּve.na.fe.Lu
H5307
to fall · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
ground
לָאָֽרֶץla.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine 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
2 Kings 23:15 Moreover the altar that was at Beth-el, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that alta…
Hosea 10:5-8 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereo…
2 Chronicles 34:6-7 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
Hosea 10:14-15 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle…
Amos 5:5-6 But seek not Beth-el, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Beth-el shall come t…
Exodus 32:34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in…
1 Kings 13:2-5 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto th…
2 Chronicles 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down t…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Amos 3:9–end
The Israelites are here again convicted and condemned, and particular notice given of the crimes they are convicted of and the punishment they are condemned to.
1. Notice is given of it to their neighbours. The prophet is ordered to publish it in the palaces of Ashdod, one of the chief cities of the Philistines; nay, the summons must go further, even to the palaces in the land of Egypt. "The great men of both those nations, that dwell in the palaces, that are inquisitive concerning the affairs of the neighboring nations, and are conversant with the public intelligence, let them assemble themselves upon the mountains of Samaria," Amo 3:9. There, upon a throne high and lifted up, the judgment…
That--rather, "since," or "for." This verse is not, as English Version translates, the thing which the witnesses cited are to "testify" (Amo 3:13), but the reason why God calls on the heathen to witness Samaria's guilt; namely, in order to justify the punishment which He declares He will inflict.
I will also visit . . . Beth-el--the golden calves which were the source of all "the transgressions of Israel" (Kg1 12:32; Kg1 13:2; Kg2 23:15-16), though Israel thought that by them their transgressions were atoned for and God's favor secured.
horns of the altar--which used to be sprinkled with the blood of victims. They were horn-like projecting points at the corners of ancient altars. The sin…
In the day that I shall visit - When Josiah made a reformation in the land he destroyed idolatry, pulled down the temples and altars that had been consecrated to idol worship, and even burnt the bones of the priests of Baal and the golden calves upon their own altars. See Kg2 23:15, Kg2 23:16, etc.
John Gill on Amos 3:14
That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him,.... The three or four mentioned in the preceding chapter, the great multitude of them, their profaneness, uncleanness, and luxury, their injustice and oppression of the poor; when he should visit and punish for these sins, as he would by the hand of the Assyrian, he would not forget their idolatry; though no notice is taken of this before, in the appeal to the Heathen princes, who were likewise guilty of it:
I will also visit the altars of Bethel; where one of the calves Jeroboam made was set up and worshipped; and where was an altar erected, and sacrifice offered on it, 1 Kings 12:28; and here the plural number is pu…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 14, 15.) Listen and testify in the house of Jacob, says the Lord God of hosts, because on the day when I begin to visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground: and I will strike the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish: and many houses shall be destroyed, says the Lord. LXX: O priests, listen: testify in the house of Jacob, says the Lord God Almighty: because on the day when I will avenge the iniquities of Israel upon him, I will also avenge upon the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be undermined, and shall fall upon the ground. I will confuse and strike the house with wings over the summer house, and the ivory houses will perish, and many other houses will be added, says the Lord. What is written at the beginning of the chapter according to the Septuagint is not found in Hebrew, but instead the word Ares () is read for this, which Aquila interpreted as bed; and I think the Septuagint used this Hebrew word, which some who did not understand read as ἱερεῖς, that is, priests. But the prophetic word commands that they first listen, and then respond in the house of Jacob, that is, in the ten tribes that the Lord has spoken about. 'When I begin,' he says, 'to punish the transgressions or impieties of the house of Israel, and to give them what they deserve, and the time of captivity comes, then the altars of Bethel, where the golden calves were, will be destroyed, and the horns of the altar, which was also broken by Jeroboam's hand, will be cut off (3 Kings 13); and they will fall to the ground, shattered by the invading Assyrians.' And I will strike, he said, the winter house with the summer house, which we can simply understand literally: they had such great wealth that they had two houses, a winter house and a summer house, and some of them faced the North, while others faced the South, so that they could provide for the variations in weather, cold and heat, and the temperate climate. We can call the winter house the kingdom of Israel, where there was the cold of religion and worship of God, and the fierce storms of various winds; and the summer house, Judah and Jerusalem, where the temple was, and morning and evening burnt offerings were made, and the fervor of religion thrived. And they…
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
Beth-El · .Prophecies against the idolatrous altars at — .Prophecies against the idolatrous altars at
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 3:13-14
13. Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
13. Audite et testificamini in domo Jacob, dicit Dominus Jehova, Deus exercituum,
14. That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
14. Quia die quo visitabo scelera Israel super ipsum, etiam visitabo super altaria Bethel: et scindentur cornua altaris et cadent ad terram.
Amos, I have no doubt, added this passage, to show that the superstitions, in which he knew the Israelites falsely trusted, would be so far from being of any help to them, that they would…
This feature in the threat is brought out into peculiar prominence by a fresh introduction. Amo 3:13. "Hear ye, and testify it to the house of Jacob, is the utterance of the Lord, Jehovah, the God of hosts: Amo 3:14. That in the day when I visit the transgressions of the house of Israel upon it, I shall visit it upon the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground. Amo 3:15. And I smite the winter-house over the summer-house, and the houses of ivory perish, and many houses vanish, is the saying of Jehovah." The words "Hear ye" cannot be addressed to the Israelites, fore they could not bear witness against the house of Israel, but must either refer to…
pagan altars at Bethel: The shrine at Bethel, built by Jeroboam I shortly after his inauguration (1 Kgs 12:26-33), continued through the dynasty of Jehu (2 Kgs 10:29), from whom Jeroboam II descended. This shrine merged worship of Yahweh (the Lord) with the pagan symbol of a bull. When the altars were destroyed, the Bethel shrine, the king’s official sanctuary (Amos 7:13), and the northern kingdom would also be ruined.
Rashi on Amos 3:12
As the shepherd saves—I.e, he saves little.
the cartilage of an ear Heb. בְּדַל. [from Jonathan]
so will the children of Israel... be saved I.e, very few people.
in the corner of a bed or in the corner of a couch Heb. בִּפְאַת מִטָּה וּבִדְמֶשֶׁק עֶרֶשׂ. Jonathan renders: with the strength of rule and trusting in Damascus. I say that the interpretation of the Targum is as follows: Since, in the days of Jehoahaz son of Jehu it is written. (II Kings 13:7) “For the king of Aram had destroyed them,” and Jeroboam his grandson saved them partially, as it is said. (ibid. 14:27) “And the Lord did not speak to eradicate the name of Israel from under the heavens, and He saved them through Jeroboam…
