Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 1:7

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

7. But I will send a fire &c. ] The verse is framed exactly as Amo 1:4. Wall, with allusion to Gaza’s being a stronghold.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

But – Literally, and. Thus had Gaza done, and thus would God do; I will send a fire upon Gaza. The sentence on Gaza stands out, probably in that it was first in power and in sin. It was the merchant-city of the five; the caravans parted from it or passed through it; and so this sale of the Jewish captives was ultimately effected through them. First in sin, first in punishment. Gaza was strong by nature and by art. The access to it also, Arrian notices , lay through deep sand. We do not hear of its being taken, except in the first times of Israel under the special protection of God Jdg 1:1-2, Jdg 1:18, or by great conquerors. All Philistia, probably, submitted to David; we hear of no special conquest of its towns 2Sa 8:1. Its siege cost Alexander 2 months , with all the aid of the engines with which he had taken Tyre, and the experience which he had there gained. The Egyptian accounts state, that when besieged by Tothmosis III it capitulated . Thenceforth, it had submitted neither to Egypt nor Assyria. Yet Amos declared absolutely, that Gaza should be destroyed by fire, and it was so. Sennacherib first, then, after Jeremiah had foretold anew the destruction of Gaza, Ashkelon, and the Philistines, Pharaoh Necho smote Gaza Jer 47:1. Yet who, with human foresight only, would undertake to pronounce the destruction of a city so strong?

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

I will send a fire; see Amo 1:4; desolating judgments, expressed here by fire.

On the wall; which was strong, and a mighty defence to the city; this only mentioned, but all the power and strength of Gaza, and of whole Palestina, is here included, and the judgment denounced is here intended against all the munitions of that people: Gaza: see Amo 1:6.

Devour: see Amo 1:4.

The palaces thereof: see Amo 1:4. What is here foretold was fulfilled partly by Uzziah, 2Ch 26:6-8, and partly by Hezekiah, 2Ki 18:8, and partly by Sennacherib, Isa 20:1.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

7. firethat is, the flame ofwar (Num 21:28; Isa 26:11).Hezekiah fulfilled the prophecy, smiting the Philistines unto Gaza(2Ki 18:8). Foretold also byIsa 14:29; Isa 14:31.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,…. An enemy that shall pull down and destroy the walls of it: this was fulfilled in the times of Uzziah, under whom Amos prophesied; and very likely in a very short time after this prophecy, who went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gaza, 2Ch 26:6; or else in the times of Hezekiah, who smote the Philistines unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, 2Ki 18:8; or however in the times of Nebuchadnezzar, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 25:20; as also in the times of Alexander the great, who, after he had taken Tyre, besieged Gaza, and after two months’ siege took it, as Diodorus Siculus relates p; the wall being undermined and thrown down, he entered in at the ruins of it, as Curtius q says; in the times of the Maccabees the suburbs of it were burnt by Jonathan, and the place taken:

“61 From whence he went to Gaza, but they of Gaza shut him out; wherefore he laid siege unto it, and burned the suburbs thereof with fire, and spoiled them. 62 Afterward, when they of Gaza made supplication unto Jonathan, he made peace with them, and took the sons of their chief men for hostages, and sent them to Jerusalem, and passed through the country unto Damascus.” (1 Maccabees 11)

which shall devour the palaces thereof; the palaces of the governor, and of other great men in it; (the governor of it, when Alexander took it, was Batis;) and the stately towers of it, of which there were many. This city was about fifteen miles south of Askelon, and about four or five north of the river Bezor, and at a small distance from the Mediterranean. It was situated on an eminence, surrounded with the most beautiful and fertile valleys, watered by the above mentioned river, and a number of other springs; and at a further distance encompassed on the inland side with hills, all planted with variety of fine fruit trees. The city itself was strong, both by its situation, and by the stout “walls” and stately “bowers” that surrounded it, and built after the Philistine manner r Arrian also says s, it was a great city built on high ground, and encompassed with a strong wall, and was distant from the sea at least two and a half miles; [See comments on Ac 8:26].

p Bibliothec. tom. 2. l. 17. p. 526. q Hist. l. 4. c. 5, 6. r Universal History, vol. 2. p. 490. s De Expeditione Alex. l. 2. p. 150.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Now follows a denunciation of punishment, — that God would send a fire on the wall of Gaza, to devour its palaces. And it hence appears that Gaza was a splendid town, and sumptuously built; and for this reason the Prophet speaks of its palaces. He shows, at the same time, that neither strength nor wealth would prevent God from executing the punishment which the Gazites deserved. He names also other cities of Palestine, even Ascalon and Azdod, or Azotus, and Ecron. These cities the Philistine then possessed. The Prophet then intimates, that wheresoever they might flee, there would be no safe place for them; for the Lord would expose as a prey to enemies, not only Gaza, but also all the other cities. We may conclude that Ascalon was the first city; for there was the royal residence, though Gaza was the capital of the whole nation; it might yet be that the pleasantness of its situation, and other attractions, might have induced the king to reside there, though it was not the metropolis; Him then who holds the scepter I will cut off from Ascalon. He at last concludes, that all the remnants of Palestine would be destroyed. Now, whenever God denounces destruction on the Jews, he ever gives some hope, and says that the remnant would be saved: but here the Prophet declares that whatever remained of that nation would be destroyed; for God purposed to destroy them altogether, and also their very name.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

Amo 1:7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

Ver. 7. But I will send a fire ] i.e. an enemy, saith Drusius, which, as a fire, shall consume all. This was fulfilled by Uzziah, 2Ch 26:6 , whence it was afterward called “Gaza, which is desert,” Act 8:26 .

Which shall devour the palaces thereof ] Built likely in the blood of the poor afflicted, and having sin at the bottom, which blew up all at length, as the voice from heaven said to Phocas, who likewise laid his foundation in blood. See Trapp on “ Amo 1:4 “

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

wall. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Part), App-6, for the whole city.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

I will: Deu 32:35, Deu 32:41-43, Psa 75:7, Psa 75:8, Psa 94:1-5, Zep 2:4, Rom 12:19

a fire: Amo 1:4, 2Ki 18:8, 2Ch 26:6, Jer 25:18-20, Jer 47:1, Zec 9:5-7

Reciprocal: Num 21:28 – a fire Jos 15:47 – Gaza 1Sa 6:17 – Gaza Jer 17:27 – then Jer 50:32 – kindle Eze 30:8 – when I Eze 39:6 – I will Amo 7:4 – called

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Amo 1:7. The Philistines were pun-ished for their cruelty, and 2 Kings 18 : S gives an account of one instance of it.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Fire (destruction) would overtake the cities of the Philistines and affect everyone from the ordinary citizens to the rulers. Ancient Near Eastern armies commonly used fire to burn and weaken a city wall. [Note: Niehaus, p. 345.] Amos mentioned four of the five major cities of Philistia, all except Gath, probably because it had already fallen to enemies (cf. Amo 6:2; 2Ki 12:17; 2Ch 26:6). Another writer argued that Gath had become more of a Canaanite city by this time than a Philistine city, and that is the reason Amos did not mention it. [Note: H. Kassis, "Gath and the Structure of ’Philistine’ Society," Journal of Biblical Literature 84 (1965):259-71.] Still another possibility is that Amos simply chose to refer to some but not all of the Philistine cities. Sovereign Yahweh promised to cut off even the remnant of Philistines that remained in Amos’ day. This title for God occurs 19 times in Amos but only five times in the other Minor Prophets. It stresses both His lordship and His covenant relationship with people. Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.) captured Ekron and killed its officials because of their disloyalty. [Note: Daniel D. Luckenbill, The Annals of Sennacherib, pp. 31-32.]

This prophecy was initially fulfilled when the Judean kings Uzziah and Hezekiah invaded Philistia (2Ch 26:6-7; 2Ki 18:8) and when a succession of Assyrian conquerors captured these towns. [Note: See James B. Pritchard, ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, pp. 282-88; and King, pp. 52-54.] It was completely fulfilled during the Maccabean period (169-134 B.C.) when the Philistines passed out of existence.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)