Amos 6:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Amos 6:2
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
to cross over · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
Calneh
כַֽלְנֵה֙khal.Neh
H3641
Calneh or Calno · proper noun, a place name
see
וּרְא֔וּu.re.'U
H7200
to see · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
go
יָלַךְyâlak
H3212
to walk (literally or figuratively)
Hamath
חֲמָתChămâth
H2574
Chamath
great
רַ֥בrav
H7227
abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine singular absolute
down
וּרְד֣וּu.re.Du
H3381
to descend (literally · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine plural
Gath
גַתgat-
H1661
Gath · proper noun, a place name
Philistines
פְּלִשְׁתּ֗יםpe.lish.Tm
H6430
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
better
הֲטוֹבִים֙ha.to.Vim
H2896
good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · interrogative particle + adjective, masculine plural absolute
kingdoms
הַמַּמְלָכ֣וֹתha.mam.la.Khot
H4467
dominion · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
border
גְּבוּלָ֖םge.vu.Lam
H1366
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
greater
רַבrab
H7227
abundant (in quantity
border
מִגְּבֻלְכֶֽםmi.ge.vul.Khem
H1366
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine plural
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
Nahum 3:8 Art thou better than populous No, that was situate among the rivers, that had the waters round about it, whose rampart was the sea, and her…
Genesis 10:10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
2 Kings 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
2 Chronicles 26:6 And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and b…
1 Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
Isaiah 10:9-11 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
1 Samuel 17:23 And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistine…
1 Kings 8:65 And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Amos 6:1-7
The first words of the chapter are the contents of these verses; but they sound very strangely, and contrary to the sentiments of a vain world: Woe to those that are at ease! We are ready to say, Happy are those that are at ease, that neither feel any trouble nor fear any, that lie soft and warm, and lay nothing to heart; and wise we think are those that do so, that bathe themselves in the delights of sense and care not how the world goes. Those are looked upon as doing well for themselves that do well for their bodies and make much of them; but against them this woe is denounced, and we are here told what their ease is, and what the woe is.
I. Here is a description of their pride, security,…
Calneh--on the east bank of the Tigris. Once powerful, but recently subjugated by Assyria (Isa 10:9; about 794 B.C.).
Hameth--subjugated by Jeroboam II (Kg2 14:25). Also by Assyria subsequently (Kg2 18:34). Compare Amo 6:14.
Gath--subjugated by Uzziah (Ch2 26:6).
be they better--no. Their so recent subjugation renders it needless for Me to tell you they are not. And yet they once were; still they could not defend themselves against the enemy. How vain, then, your secure confidence in the strength of Mounts Zion and Samaria! He takes cities respectively east, north, south, and west of Israel (compare Nah 3:8).
Adam Clarke on Amos 6:2
Pass ye unto Calneh - This is, says Calmet, the Ctesiphon on the river Tigris.
Hamath - The same as Emesa. Hamath was a city on the Orontes, in Syria.
Gath - A well-known town, and head of one of the five seignories of the Philistines.
Be they better - You have no more reason to expect exemption from the consequences of your sins than they had. They have been punished; so shall you. Why then will ye trust in their gods, that could not save their own cities?
John Gill on Amos 6:2
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see,.... What is become of that city, which was in the land of Shinar, an ancient city, as early as the days of Nimrod, and built by him, and was with others the beginning of his kingdom, Genesis 10:10; it belonged to Babylon, and is by Jarchi here interpreted by it, being put for Babel, as he supposes. According to Jerom (g), it is the same city, sometimes called Seleucia, in his days Ctesiphon; very probably it had been lately taken by the king of Assyria, and therefore made mention of; see Isaiah 10:9; where it is called Calno;
and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; the same with Antiochia, as Jarchi and Jerom; called the great, to distinguish it from Hamath…
The Church Fathers
(Vers. 2 seqq.) Go through Chalane, and see: and from there go to great Emath, and descend to Geth of the Philistines: to the best of their kingdoms, if their boundary is wider than your boundary. You who are separated on the day of evil, and approach the throne of wickedness. You who sleep on ivory beds, and indulge in your own beds: you who eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the herd: you who sing to the sound of the harp. Just as David thought he had the vessels of a song, drinking wine in cups, and they were anointed with the finest oil, and they did not suffer from the sorrow of Joseph. LXX: House of Israel, all of you pass over and see in Chalane, and pass through there to Emath Rabba, and descend to the best of the foreign Geth in all these kingdoms, if their boundaries are greater than your boundaries, you who come on an evil day, who approach and touch the lies of the Sabbath. You who sleep on ivory beds, and overflow with delights in your couches, and eat young goats from the flocks, and suckle calves from the midst of the herds, who make noise at the sound of the organ: as if they considered themselves stable, and not fleeting; you who drink refined wine, and anoint yourselves with the finest ointments, and do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Pass over all of you to Chalane, which is now called Ctesiphon, and pass over all. Who are these people? Both of those mentioned above: the nobles, the leaders of the people, and those of you who are wealthy in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria. Therefore, go to the city of Persis, and pay close attention, and from there, go to the great city of Emath, which is now called Antioch. It is called great, to distinguish it from the smaller Emath, which is called Epiphania. And to this day, for those traveling to Mesopotamia, the first stop is called Emmas, although the name has been corrupted; but it retains traces of its original name, whose region is called Reblatha, in which, in the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Judah (or Judea), the sons were killed, and his eyes were blinded. And descend, he says, into Gath of the Philistines (2 Kings 25). You who dwell on Mount Zion and Mount Samaria, descend to the Philistines who dwell in the plains, and to the best of their kingdoms, which are subject to different cities: Gaza and Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. And see if…
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
Calneh — Fort, one of the four cities founded by Nimrod (Gen. 10:10). It is the modern Niffer, a lofty mound of earth and rubbish situated in the marshes on the left, i.e., the east, bank of the Euphrates,…
Gath — A wine-vat, one of the five royal cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3) on which the ark brought calamity (1 Sam. 5:8, 9; 6:17). It was famous also as being the birthplace or residence of Goliath (1…
Hamath — Fortress, the capital of one of the kingdoms of Upper Syria of the same name, on the Orontes, in the valley of Lebanon, at the northern boundary of Palestine (Num. 13:21; 34:8), at the foot of Hermon…
Hazael — Whom God beholds, an officer of Ben-hadad II., king of Syria, who ultimately came to the throne, according to the word of the Lord to Elijah (1 Kings 19:15), after he had put the king to death (2…
Amusements And Pleasures, Worldly · Lead to: Disregard of the judgments and works of God — Lead to: Disregard of the judgments and works of God
Amusements And Worldly Pleasures · Disregard of the — Disregard of the
Calneh · 10:10; — 10:10;
Confidence · FALSE — FALSE
Gath · 13:3; — 13:3;
Hamath · Prosperity of — Prosperity of
Philistines · Israel condemned for imitating — Israel condemned for imitating
Rich, The · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Amos 6:2
2. Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
2. Transite Chalneh et aspicite; ite illinc in Chamath magnam, et descendite in Gath Philistinorum; an meliores sint regnis istis? An terminus illorum major termino vestro?
By this representation Amos shows that there was no excuse for the Jews or the Israelites for sleeping in their sins, inasmuch as they could see, as it were in a mirror, the judgments which God brought on heathen nations. It is a singular favor, when God teaches us at the expense of others: for he could justly punish u…
Amo 6:2 states what the princes of Israel are to see in the cities mentioned, - namely, that they are not better off (טובים denoting outward success or earthly prosperity) than these two kingdoms, i.e., the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and that their territories are not larger than theirs. It is very evident that this does not apply to cities that have been destroyed. The double question ה ... אם requires a negative answer. Amo 6:3. assigns the reason for the woe pronounced upon the sinful security of the princes of Israel, by depicting the godless conduct of these princes; and this is appended in the manner peculiar to Amos, viz., in participles. These princes fancy that the evil day, i.e.…
Calneh and Hamath were Aramean city-states under Israelite influence (see 2 Kgs 14:28). Calneh fell to Assyria in 738 BC, and Hamath was forced to pay tribute shortly thereafter. Uzziah had broken down the wall of Gath (2 Chr 26:6), but it also fell to Assyria in 711 BC. • You are no better: Israel itself fell in 722 BC.
Rashi on Amos 6:2
Proceed to Calneh and see—Why have you rejected My Torah to cleave to the ordinances of the nations? Go over and see the prominent nations, whether they are better than these kingdoms which are in Samaria and in Jerusalem.
Calneh—Babylon.
Hamath—Antioch.
Gath of the Philistines—The most prominent of their five lords, called Metheg-ammah, ox-goad, since it ruled over all of them, and that was the “mother” of the kingdom.
or is their border greater than your border—So what wrong have you found in Me?
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).
