Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 5:3

For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave a hundred, and that which went forth [by] a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

3. The justification of the mournful anticipation of Amo 5:2: Jehovah has declared that the military strength of the nation will be reduced, by defeat or other causes, to one tenth of what it now is.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The city that went out by a thousand – (that is, probably that sent out a thousand fighting men, as the word went out is often used for, went out to fight,) shall have literally, shall retain, an hundred. She was to be decimated. Only, the tenth alone was to be reserved alive; the nine-tenths were to be destroyed. And this, alike in larger places and in the small. The city that went forth an hundred shall retain ten. Smaller places escape for their obscurity, the larger from their strength and situation. One common doom was to befall all. Out of all that multitude, one tithe alone was to he preserved , dedicated to God, that remnant which God always promised to reserve.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 3. The city that went out by a thousand] The city that could easily have furnished, on any emergency, a thousand fighting men, can now produce scarcely one hundred–one in ten of the former number; and now of the hundred scarcely ten remain: so reduced was Israel when Shalmaneser besieged and took Samaria, and carried the residue into captivity.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Thus saith the Lord God: this solemnly attesteth the certainty of the thing.

The city that went out by a thousand, that sent out one thousand soldiers as the quota they were assessed at to help against an invader,

shall leave a hundred; shall lose nine parts of ten, so great shall the slaughter be which the prevailing enemy shall make upon Israel; and here the prophet useth a certain number to express an uncertain; or proverbially, scarce a tenth man shall escape.

That which went forth by a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel; the kingdom of the ten tribes; and this perhaps may refer backward to Jehoahazs time, 2Ki 13; to be sure it is fulfilled in the wars of Shalmaneser and the taking Samaria.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. went out by a thousandthatis, “the city from which there used to go out a thousand”equipped for war. “City” is put for “the inhabitantsof the city,” as in Am 4:8.

shall leave . . .hundredshall have only a hundred left, the rest beingdestroyed by sword and pestilence (De28:62).

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

For thus saith the Lord God,…. This is a reason why there were none to raise her up: since

the city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave an hundred; that is, the city in which there were a thousand constantly going in and out; or which sent, caused to go out, or furnished, a thousand men upon occasion for war, had only a hundred persons left in it; or there remained but a hundred of the thousand they sent out, the rest being destroyed by one means or another:

and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel; where there were a hundred persons going out and coming in continually; or which sent out a hundred men to the army to fight their battles had now only ten remaining; to such a small number were they reduced all over the land, so that there were none, or not a number sufficient to raise up Israel to its former state and glory.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Prophet now expresses more clearly what he had before said, — that the kingdom would perish and yet so that the Lord would preserve some remnants. Then as to the body of the people, Israel had fallen; but as to a few remnants they were saved; but they were a small numbers such as the Prophet mentions. We hence see that some hope of mercy was given to God’s chosen people, and that in the meantime destruction was denounced on the whole nation. We have already seen that their wickedness was past hope; it was therefore necessary to announce to them the sentence of final ruin; but it was so done, as not to drive to despair the faithful few, who remained hid among the multitude.

The city then, from which a thousand went forth, shall have a hundred remaining; and the city from which went forth a hundred, shall have ten. Armies were wont formerly to be decimated, when any sedition had been made: but God threatens the Israelites here with a much heavier judgment, that only the tenth part would be saved from ruin. We now then perceive the design of the Prophet. Now this could not alleviate the grief of the people; but the hypocrites were more exasperated, on hearing that few would be saved, and that all hope of deliverance was cut off from them. When, therefore, they saw that God dealt with them with so much severity, envy increased their griefs and more embittered their minds; and this was what the Prophet designed; for it was of no use to apply any solace to the despisers of God: but as God knew that there were some seed remaining among the people, he intended to provide for the miserable, who would have been a hundred times swallowed up with grief, had no mitigation been offered them. The Prophet then directs his discourse to the few, when he says, “In the city from which a thousand had gone forth there will be a hundred; and in that from which a hundred went forth, ten will remain alive.” It now follows —

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(3) Shall leave an hundred.i.e., shall have an hundred only as a remnant of the thousand who went forth to war. The great cities were to be decimated in the coming struggle with Assyria.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Amo 5:3. The city that went out by a thousand “The city which was able to furnish out a thousand men for war, shall have only a hundred of them left. Only one in ten of them shall escape the sword, and other chances of war.” This was the exhausted state of Israel, when Salmaneser attacked and took Samaria, and carried them into captivity.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Amo 5:3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

Ver. 3. The city that went out by a thousand ] i.e. That had a thousand inhabitants passing to and fro through the gates, see Gen 34:24 ; Gen 23:10 , for men love not to be cooped up, or confined to a place, as the Duke of Venice is, but to be travelling and trading or that can send out a thousand fit to bear arms.

Shall leave an hundred ] Here is a woeful decimation, purporting a very great paucity of people; such as was threatened, Deu 28:62 , a tenth man only shall be left, if that. Behold the severity of God, and betray not the lives of others by an impenitent continuance in sin. Turn to God, if but for your poor brethren’s sake, that are in danger, or in durance. Hezekiah’s reason to repent is very remarkable, 2Ch 30:9 : “For if ye turn again to the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn his face from you, if ye return unto him.”

Shall leave ten ] Not take ten in a hundred and leave the rest, as the Roman generals used to do in the army, in case of a mutiny. This was fulfilled in that three years’ siege of Samaria, 2Ki 18:10 , as afterwards the like occured at Jerusalem, which could hardly be repeopled in Nehemiah’s time, and at this day is but thinly inhabited; there being not a hundred households of Jews to be found there. In our countries, of the abundance of people cometh dearth, which maketh many malcontents to mutter; but in many parts of Turkey, for want of men to till the ground; most of the poor being enforced with victuals and other necessaries to follow their great armies, in their long expeditions; of whom scarce one of ten (saith mine author) ever return home again, there by the way perishing, if not by the enemies’ sword, yet by the wants, intemperateness of the air, or immoderate painstaking.

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

the Lord GOD. Hebrew. Adonai Jehovah. App-4.

went out = goeth out [to war].

by a thousand = a thousand strong. Ref to Pentateuch (Deu 32:30). App-92.

by an hundred = a hundred strong.

to = [belonging] to.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

The city: Deu 4:27, Deu 28:62, Isa 1:9, Isa 10:22, Eze 12:16, Rom 9:27

Reciprocal: Isa 9:14 – will cut Amo 6:9 – if

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Amo 5:3, The nation was destined to be greatly reduced by the exile as Indicated by the contrasting terms thousand and hundred. It is a prediction of the remnant that was salvaged from the captivity, and the fulfillment is in Ezra 2: 1. 64.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

5:3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out [by] a thousand shall leave {b} an hundred, and that which went forth [by] an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

(b) Meaning, that the tenth part would hardly be saved.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Israelite cities that had sent 1,000 soldiers against Israel’s enemy saw only 100 survive, and smaller towns that sent out only 100 soldiers saw only 10 come home alive. No nation could survive such devastating defeat in war.

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