Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Amos 7:7
Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall [made] by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
7. upon ] or leaning over (cf. Amo 9:1), i.e. (R.V.) beside. The prophet sees Jehovah stationed (Gen 28:13; Isa 3:13 a , Isa 21:8 b ), nib, implying a rather more set and formal attitude than ‘md, ‘standing,’ beside a plummet-wall (i.e. a wall built to the plummet), and holding a plummet in his hand: the design of the vision is thus to represent Him as a builder, whose aim is to secure that everything with which he has to do is built true. The application of the figure follows in Amo 7:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
7 9. The third vision. The plumb-line. Here Amos does not see the calamity itself, but only the symbol that it is decreed (cf. the almond-tree, and the seething pot, in Jer 1:11; Jer 1:13).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Stood upon – (Rather over a wall made by a plumbline; lit. a wall of a plumbline, that is, (as ours has it) made straight, perpendicular, by it. The wall had been made by a lead or plumbline; by it, that is, according to it, it should e destroyed. God had made it upright, He had given to it an undeviating rule of right, He had watched over it, to keep it, as He made it. Now He stood over it, fixed in His purpose, to destroy it. He marked its inequalities. Yet this too in judgment. He destroys it by that same rule of right wherewith He had built it. By that law, that right, those providential leadings, that grace, which we have received, by the same we are judged.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Amo 7:7-8
The Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in His hand.
God in relation to human work
All men are workers, the world is full of labour. The words suggest two facts in relation to it.
I. God has a commanding view of it. He stands upon the wall high up, so that every portion comes within His glance. He observes–
1. Its quality, good or bad.
2. Its variety, overt or occult.
3. Its influence, useful or pernicious.
Solemn thought, that Gods eye is on us in all our activities, and that the most, secret act eludes not His glance.
II. God tests the character of it. A plumbline in His hand. The mason uses the plumbline to determine the straightness of the wall, and thus God tests the character of human actions. What is Gods plumbline?
1. His law as inscribed upon the human conscience. By this He tries all men, heathen, etc.
2. Gods law as written in the Scriptures. By this He tries all who possess the revelation.
3. Gods law as embodied in Christ. By this He tries all who have the Gospel. (Homilist.)
Mans moral character
I. There is a kind of masonry in the formation of mans character. Mans character may be compared to masonry in several respects.
1. It has one foundation. Walls are built, not upon two, but upon one foundation. So is every mans character. There is some one principle on which it is organised. That principle is the paramount affection of the man. Whatever he loves most, governs him. If he loves pleasure most, his character is sensual; if he loves money most, his character is worldly. If he loves wisdom most, his character is philosophic; if he loves God most, his character is Divine, etc.
2. It has a variety of materials. In a building there are earth, lime, stones, bricks, wood, iron, etc. etc. These are brought together into a whole. Character is not formed of one set of actions, thoughts, impulses, volitions. All kinds of acts enter into it, mental, moral, muscular, personal, political, religious–all are materials in the building.
3. It is a gradual advancement.
II. There is a divine standard by which to test mans character. What is the Divine plumbline by which to test character? Here it is. Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them. Or, perhaps more intelligibly, the moral character of Christ. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.
III. There is a terrible ruin for those whose characters will not bear the test of this plumbline. Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of My people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more: and the high places of Israel shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword (Mat 25:31-46). (Homilist.)
A test for uprightness
Italy is a land of volcanoes, and earthquakes, and other shaking things of the sort, so that it is not easy to build tall and slender towers and yet keep them true to the plummet: There comes a shake, or the foundation yields a little, and the towers tilts–like the leaning tower of Pisa, and the two leaning towers of Turin. It is natural then that builders who have taken pains to do their work thoroughly should seek for some way to prove it, so as to show that what they have done is both upright and downright. The builders of the cathedral in Florence took a very ingenious way of proving tiffs. High up, in the centre of that beautiful building, is a lofty dome, like that of St. Pauls, with stained windows all round. On the casement of one of these windows is a small iron ring, and it is by this the uprightness of the tower is tested every year. For, on a certain day in June, at a certain hour, the sun shines through that ring, and its light falls on a brass plate let into the marble floor far beneath. So long as the sunbeam falls on a spot there, on that day and at that moment, it proves that the building is as erect as on the day it was finished; if it had tilted over so little to the one side or the other, that long ray of light would have proved it, for then it could not have fallen exactly on the right spot. (J. Reid Howatt.)
What seest thou? And I said, A plumbline.—
Straight up and down religion
Bricklayers, and stone masons, and carpenters, in the building of walls, use an instrument made of a cord, at the end of which a lump of lead is fastened. They drop it over the side of the wall, and, as the plummet naturally seeks the centre of gravity in the earth, the workman discovers where the wall recedes and where it bulges out, and just what is the perpendicular. Our text represents God as standing on the wall of character, which the Israelites had built, and in that way testing it. What the world wants is a straight up and down religion. Much of the so-called piety of the day tends this way and that to suit the times. We have all been building a wall of character, and it is glaringly imperfect, and needs reconstruction. How shall it be brought into perpendicular? Only by the Divine measurement. The whole tendency of the times is to make us act by the standard of what others do. There are ten thousand plumblines in use, but only one is true and exact, and that is the line of Gods eternal righteousness. Nothing would make times so good, and the earning a livelihood so easy, as the universal adoption of the law of right. Suspicion strikes through all bargain-making. In the same way we need to measure our theologies. All sorts of religions are putting forth their pretensions. All religions but one begin at the wrong end, and in the wrong place. The Bible religion demands that we first get right with God My text gives me a grand opportunity of saying a useful word to all young men who are now forming habits for a lifetime. A young man is in danger of getting a defect in his wall of character that may never be corrected. Oh, this plumbline of the everlasting right! God will throw it over all our lives to show us our moral deflections. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
The plumbline
Builders could not build our houses as they ought without a plumbline. Israel had been built up as a people, so to speak, with a plumbline; everything was right; God approved of them. But now Israel had become a very different people from what they were at the beginning. Very early Jeroboam began to introduce calf worship. The people thus became very wicked, and departed from the way of the Lord more and more. Amos went to warn Jeroboam the Second. But all his warnings were in vain. Amaziah the high priest told him to go away, for they did not want his services there. God comforted Amos by showing him a plumbline, and in effect saying, I have noticed how Israel, like a wall which was once upright, has been gradually giving way, and yet I have passed it by, but I cannot do so any more. This is what God says at last to every kingdom or nation that ceases to be upright and true. How many nations there have been that have begun fairly, but have got worse as time passed by! God is always with His plumbline trying our lives. What is His plumbline? The grand old Book. By this, too, we ought all to be trying ourselves. You are building up a life. Every thought you cherish, every word you utter, and every deed you perform is the building up of character and life. Bricklayers are not foolish enough to think that if they build a wall out of perpendicular it Will stand. If a man will grow up crooked, or dishonest, or untruthful, he is bound to come down sooner or later. If Jesus comes to us, He is sure to find something or other in our character that is not right, and very likely He will find a good many bulging defects. It may be selfishness, untruthfulness, unkindness, or some other sin. We must build up our life according to His law. We cannot do anything ourselves without His help; but that help He is ever ready to give. (David Davies.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. With a plumbline in his hand.] This appears to be intended as an emblem of strict justice, and intimated that God would now visit them according to their iniquities.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thus he shewed me: and, behold: see Amo 7:1.
The Lord; the great God, who had long tried Israel, and often spared.
Stood upon a wall; possibly it may denote his fixed purpose now to proceed to demolish this state.
Made by a plumbline; strongly, regularly, and beautifully built, as art could build it.
With a plumbline in his hand; ready, as an artist, to take the measures of this wall, to discover all the defects of it, and how much it was varied from what it was at first built. This shall be the last measuring it, and on this measuring, whatever is faulty shall be pulled down, though to the very foundation. This was visionally represented to the prophet.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. wall made by a plumb-linenamely,perpendicular.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thus he showed me,…. A third vision, which was in the following manner:
and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall [made] by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand: this “wall” was the people of Israel, who were built up as a wall, firm and strong; and so stood against their enemies, while supported by the Lord, and he stood by them. The Septuagint version is, “an adamantine wall”. In their constitution, both civil and ecclesiastic, they were formed according to the good and righteous laws of God, which may be signified by the plumbline; and so the Targum renders it, “the wall of judgment”. And now the Lord appears standing upon this wall, to trample it down, and not to support it; and with a plumbline in his hand, to examine and try whether this wall was as it was first erected; whether it did not bulge out, and vary from its former structure, and was not according to the line and rule of his divine word, which was a rule of righteousness.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Third Vision. – Amo 7:7. “Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made with a plumb-line, and a plumb-line in His hand. Amo 7:8. And Jehovah said to me, What seest thou, Amos? And I said, A plumb-line. And the Lord said, Behold, I put a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel: I shall pass by it no more. Amo 7:9. And the sacrificial heights of Isaac are laid waste, and the holy things of Israel destroyed; and I rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” The word , which only occurs here, denotes, according to the dialects and the Rabbins, tin or lead, here a plumb-line. Chomath ‘anakh is a wall built with a plumb-line, i.e., a perpendicular wall, a wall built with mechanical correctness and solidity. Upon this wall Amos sees the Lord standing. The wall built with a plumb-line is a figurative representation of the kingdom of God in Israel, as a firm and well-constructed building. He holds in His hand a plumb-line. The question addressed to the prophet, “What does he see?” is asked for the simple purpose of following up his answer with an explanation of the symbol, as in Jer 1:11, Jer 1:13, since the plumb-line was used for different purposes, – namely, not only for building, but partly also for pulling buildings down (compare 2Ki 21:13; Isa 34:11). Jehovah will lay it b e qerebh amm , to the midst of His people, and not merely to an outward portion of it, in order to destroy this building. He will no longer spare as He has done hitherto. , to pass by any one without taking any notice of him, without looking upon his guilt or punishing him; hence, to spare, – the opposite of in Amo 5:17. The destruction will fall upon the idolatrous sanctuaries of the land, the bamoth (see at 1Ki 3:2), i.e., the altars of the high places, and the temples at Bethel, at Daniel (see at 1Ki 12:29), and at Gilgal (see Amo 4:4). Isaac ( , a softened form for , used here and at v. 16, as in Jer 33:26) is mentioned here instead of Jacob, and the name is used as a synonym for Israel of the ten tribes. Even the house of Jeroboam, the reigning royal family, is to perish with the sword ( as in Isa 31:2). Jeroboam is mentioned as the existing representative of the monarchy, and the words are not to be restricted to the overthrow of his dynasty, but announce the destruction of the Israelitish monarchy, which actually was annihilated when this dynasty was overthrown. The destruction of the sacred places and the overthrow of the monarchy involve the dissolution of the kingdom. Thus does Amos himself interpret his own words in Amo 7:11 and Amo 7:17.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
This vision opens more clearly to us what the Prophet meant before, and what was the object of his doctrine: his intention was to show the people that what they had gained by their obstinacy was only to render God implacable, and to cause him not to spare them any longer, as he had hitherto done. The meaning is, — “God has hitherto borne with you according to his own goodness, promise not to yourselves that he will ever deal in the same manner with you; for your contumacy and waywardness has provoked him. As he sees you to be beyond measure obstinate, he must now necessarily execute on you final vengeance. There is therefore now no forgiveness provided for you; but as ye are incurable, so the Lord on his part will remain unchangeable in the rigor of his judgment, and will by no means turn to mercy.”
Interpreters explain this vision in various ways, and refinedly philosophize on the word, plumbline; and yet frigid are almost all their refinements. Were I disposed plausibly to handle this passage, I would say, that the plumbline is the law of God; for it prescribed to his people a regular order of things, which might serve as a plumbline; inasmuch as all things were directed according to the best rule. I might speak thus; but I am not disposed to refine in this manner; for I doubt not but that God meant only that this would be the last measuring; for he would punish his people without any remission and without any delay. We now apprehend the Prophet’s meaning: but all this will become more evident from the words of the passage.
Thus he showed to me; and, behold, the Lord stood on a wall of a plumbline. The wall of a plumbline he calls that which had been formed by rule, as though he had said that it was a wall by a plumbline. God then stood on a plumbline-wall, and a plumbline, he says, was in his hand False then is what some interpreters say, that a plumbline was cast away by God, because he would no more perform the office of a mason in ruling his people. This is frivolous; for the Prophet testifies here expressly that a plumbline was in the hand of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) Wall made by a plumblinei.e., a perpendicular wall, the stability of the kingdom being represented by the closely-fitting well-jointed stones of a lofty wall. Right in the heart of this strong-built city, the Lord Himself marks the extent of the desolation, the plumb-line being used in dismantling buildings, as well as erecting them (2Ki. 21:13; Isa. 34:11).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7-9. The master builder with the plumb line. The third vision differs from the preceding two in that it does not bring to view the judgment itself but Jehovah decreeing the same. Amos sees him as a master builder with plumb line in hand testing a city wall a figure of Israel as to its straightness. It is found crooked, and the decree goes forth that it must be torn down.
Upon R.V., “beside.”
A wall made by a plumb line Literally, a wall of a plumb line. The fact that the wall is now condemned cannot be used as an objection to the correctness of the reading. A wall may be built straight by the aid of a plummet, yet in time it may settle and become crooked. This is what happened to this wall; and if the latter represents Israel it is an accurate picture of the facts of Hebrew history (Hos 9:10; Hos 11:1, etc.).
With a plumb line He seeks to determine whether it is still straight and may be allowed to stand.
This time it is Jehovah who breaks the silence. To understand the lesson it was necessary that the prophet should not lose sight of any feature of the picture. To assure himself on this point and to prepare the way for the explanation Jehovah asks the question,
What seest thou? Compare Amo 8:2; Jer 1:11; Jer 1:13. The answer being satisfactory, Jehovah proceeds with the explanation, retaining the figure of the plumb line but interpreting that of the wall.
I will Or, I am about to (Amo 2:13).
Set a plumb line The plumb line serves as a standard by which both to build and to tear down (2Ki 13:13; Isa 34:11). Whatever cannot stand the test of the plummet is condemned to destruction. What was the result of the test in this instance is not definitely stated, but the fact that an announcement of judgment immediately follows indicates that Israel was found wanting.
Pass by them Without noticing and punishing their guilt (compare Amo 5:17). Jehovah gives no opportunity for intercession; and the prophet, recognizing the justice of the proceedings, has nothing more to say.
Amo 7:9 describes the character of the judgment. It will strike with special force the religious centers and the ruling dynasty.
High places See on Hos 4:13; Mic 1:5.
Isaac A poetic synonym of Israel (next clause; compare Amo 7:16).
Sanctuaries See on Amo 4:4; Amo 5:4; Amo 8:14. They will be utterly destroyed (Amo 3:14).
House of Jeroboam The ruling dynasty (Introduction, p.195). Whether the judgment will come during the lifetime of Jeroboam or later is not stated (compare Amo 7:11). Hosea also announces the doom of the same dynasty (Amo 1:4). On the fulfillment of the threat see p. 18.
Sword Of the invader (Amo 6:14).
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Third Vision. The Vision Of The Plumb-line And The Resulting Response ( Amo 7:7-17 ).
In this third vision YHWH carried some kind of measuring device as He stood beside a wall, presumably with the purpose of measuring it. He wanted to demonstrate to Amos that He was not acting without reason in what He was doing. Then He explained that this was also what He intended to do with Israel. He intended to measure them and not pass by them any more. It is a theme of Scripture that when YHWH measures something in one way or another divine action results (compare Isa 28:17; Jer 31:39; Zec 2:1). The result in this case would be that the high places of Isaac would be desolate and the sanctuaries of Israel would be laid waste, and He would rise against the house of Jeroboam (who were responsible for not having righted the false religion set up by Jeroboam I) with the sword.
It was bad enough threatening the sanctuaries, but the reference to judgment on the king’s house could hardly have failed to produce a response, and sure enough Amaziah, the priest of the high place in Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam about what Amos had prophesied concerning him. It says much for the status of genuine prophets in Israel and Judah that Amos was not immediately arrested. But even in their deteriorated state Israel recognised that they had to handle YHWH’ prophets carefully. Their history was full of examples of what happened to those who did not (consider Moses, Elijah, Elisha, the man of God who went to Jeroboam I; and so on). So Amaziah simply told him to go back to Judah, where he had come from, to which Amos replied that that was not possible because it was YHWH Who had sent him to prophesy against Israel. And he then declared what punishment would come, both on Amaziah personally, and on Israel.
Amo 7:7
‘Thus he showed me, and, behold, the Lord stood beside a wall made by a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand.’
There is a slight change in the opening phrase in that ‘the Lord YHWH’ is not mentioned. But as we already know Who ‘He’ is, and to have mentioned His name and title here would have been to conflict with the immediate mention of ‘the Lord’, it is not surprising. We know that ‘He’ is ‘the Lord’ Who will now measure Israel. Note that Amos has seen locusts, and then consuming fire, both symbols of YHWH’s judgment. But now he sees ‘the Lord’ Himself. YHWH’s direct intervention is now being made clear.
And ‘the Lord’ (adonai) stood beside a wall with ‘a measuring tool’ (literally ‘a tin’) in his hand. If it was not a plumb-line it was something similar to it. The word ’nk means ‘lead’ or ‘tin’ (compare Akkadian ‘anaku’) and clearly here indicated a builder’s measuring instrument of some kind. It is not, however, the usual word for plumb-line, although ’nk may have been used deliberately because it sounds very similar to words for ‘moaning, groaning’ (’nch, ’nq). It may on the other hand simply have been a recognised technical term for a kind of measuring instrument or tool. The point is that YHWH was about to ‘measure’ His people like a builder would measure a wall, probably in order to see if it was straight (thus the translation plumb-line).
Amo 7:8
‘And YHWH said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb-line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel. I will not again pass by them any more.” ’
YHWH then asked Amos what he saw (YHWH, the covenant name, is used on its own because He was talking to Amos). He wanted to ensure that Amos had observed what He was doing. And when Amos replied ‘a measuring instrument’, ‘the Lord’ (adonai – now acting over against the people) replied, ‘ See, I will set a measuring instrument in the midst of My people Israel.’ Amos could be assured that YHWH would not judge them without measuring them. Not for Him the unfair process which passed for justice in Israel. But once He had measured them He would not pass them by any more. He would ensure strict justice.
It will be noted that Amos was now silenced. He had realised that he could plead for Israel no more. Justice, tempered with mercy, must be allowed to run its course.
Amo 7:9
“And the high places of Isaac will be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel will be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
And the result was that ‘the high places of Isaac’ (the high places in Beersheba where Isaac had lived much of his adult life, compare Amo 5:5; Amo 8:14; Gen 27:23-25) would be desolate because they would receive no more worshippers, and the sanctuaries within Israel would be laid waste, and the ones responsible for the continuation of the false cult (the king and his house) would be put to the sword as a result of the direct intervention of YHWH. This judgment appears to very much have in mind Lev 26:31 where YHWH had warned, ‘and I will lay your cities waste, and will make your sanctuaries desolate’, and Lev 26:25 where the sword will ‘execute vengeance for the covenant’. The word of YHWH is thus seen as being fulfilled.
Alternatively ‘Isaac’ may simply be an alternative word for ‘Jacob’ and apply to all Israel’s sanctuaries (see Amo 7:16 where ‘the house of Isaac’ is paralleled with ‘Israel’).
So we see that central to YHWH’s judgment on Israel was that they had put other things before Him and had so diluted His worship and their view of Him, that they ignored His requirements concerning their behaviour towards others.
Amo 7:10
‘Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words.” ’
On hearing what Amos had said against the king, Amaziah immediately sent a messenger to the king to inform him of what Amos was saying, and made it sound as treasonable as possible. He claimed that Amos was ‘conspiring against’ the king, and was proclaiming treasonable words in order to stir up any disgruntled people of Israel against the king, so much so that the land could not stand his words, they overflowed too voluminously and were too horrible. (It was, of course, incumbent on any who heard about threats to the king’s person to report the fact, but he should have reported what was actually said. There is a warning to us all here not to believe anything that we are told until we have checked the facts. More trouble has been caused by the distortion of what people have said than by almost anything else in history. Such regular distortion is one of the proofs of the utter sinfulness of the world).
Amo 7:11
“For thus Amos says, ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land’.”
He claimed, slightly inaccurately, that Amos had said that Jeroboam would die by the sword (Amos had only said ‘the house of Jeroboam’), and that the people of Israel would be led away into exile as captives (which was true – Amo 6:7).
Amo 7:12
‘Also Amaziah said to Amos, “O you seer, go, flee you away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there, but do not prophesy again any more at Beth-el, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a royal house.” ’
Amaziah then himself turned on Amos. It would be seen as his responsibility to preserve the public peace at Bethel and he would want it on record that he had tried to get rid of Amos without incurring the wrath of YHWH. Although accepting that he was ‘a seer’ (he may have meant it slightly insultingly indicating that he was but a small time prophet, or it may simply have indicated a prophet from Judah as opposed to Israel), he bade Amos to return to Judah, and make his living prophesying there. He clearly considered that Amos saw his position as a means of making a living. Let him then make his living in Judah, where people might be more willing to listen to him, rather than in Bethel at the sanctuary of the king of Israel. Note his emphasis on the high status of Bethel. It was the king’s sanctuary, and under the auspices of royalty. And Amaziah was proud of it. In his view therefore Amos, as a minor Judean prophet, was getting above himself and out of his depth.
Amo 7:14
‘Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor was I a prophet’s son, but I was a cattle breeder, and a dresser of sycomore-mulberry trees,”
Amos recognised the imputation and assured Amaziah firmly that he was not that kind of prophet, nor was he a novitiate (a son of a prophet), rather he had been a small-time cattle-breeder and dresser of sycomore-mulberry trees. he had thus had every opportunity of earning a living. Sycomore-mulberry trees did not tend to grow in the highlands (and thus around Tekoa) but in the Shephelah (the lower hills) in western Judah, nearer the Philistine border. Thus it suggests that he regularly moved from one place to the other. Such trees produced a mulberry fig which dressers would nick with a sharp instrument some time prior to its being picked in order that it might ripen into a sweeter and softer fruit. Without this process it was less pleasant when it ripened. That may well have been part of Amos’s task, which would suggest that he was not a wealthy cattle-breeder but had to subsidise his income by this kind of work. On the other hand it may indicate that he was a specialist consultant.
Amo 7:15
“And YHWH took me from following the flock, and YHWH said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’.”
And he emphasised that it was YHWH Who had called him from following the flock, and had told him to, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel’. Thus he was not to be seen as a professional prophet, but as a man constrained and called by YHWH. He had therefore had no choice where he served. He had simply done as YHWH had told him just as David had done before him (compare 2Sa 7:8).
Note how YHWH’s, ‘Go prophesy to my people Israel’ stands over against Amaziah’s ‘Go — into the land of Judah — and prophesy there.’ (It necessarily raised the question, which Amos answered, as to whether he should obey God rather than man. God does not always call the person that we think most appropriate.
Amo 7:16-17
“Now therefore hear you the word of YHWH, “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not go on preaching (literally ‘do not drop’) against the house of Isaac’. Therefore thus says YHWH. Your wife will be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be divided by line, and you yourself will die in a land which is unclean, and Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.”
Amaziah was now to discover why it was dangerous to mess around with a prophet of YHWH, for Amos responded with a message from YHWH. He first gave the charge against Amaziah, in that he had told Amos not to prophesy in Israel, and not ‘drop’ against the house of Isaac, (this clearly equates ‘Israel’ with ‘Isaac’ as a name for Israel), in spite of the fact that he had been commanded to do so by YHWH. The idea of ‘dropping’ is taken from Deu 32:2 where it says, ‘My teaching will drop as the rain’. Incipient in this was the later teaching concerning the work of the Spirit seen in terms of rain (Isa 44:1-5) and the power of the word of YHWH seen in the same terms (Isa 55:10-13).
Then he announced YHWH’s sentence, every word of which spelled invasion and exile. Amaziah’s wife would be a prostitute in the city, presumably because she had lost her male providers through the invasion and thus had to resort to prostitution in order to survive, no doubt after having been raped by the invaders. As a consequence she would become unfit to continue as a priest’s wife, bearing his children. Their children would die by the sword so that neither the family name nor the priesthood could be perpetuated in the family. Their land would be divided up systematically by use of a measuring line. And Amaziah himself would be carried away into an unclean land, i.e. a foreign land, something totally abhorrent to a priest of the sanctuary, and something which would render him unfit to serve because he would be unable to observe fully the rules regarding cleanness and uncleanness. It is clear from this that some Levitical rules were still in place at Bethel.
It is possibly significant that the same punishments, being sent into harlotry, execution of children and dividing of the land are found in Assyrian vassal treaties. It might indicate either that they were common to many treaties, or that there is in mind here the fact that Israel would at some time be subjugated to Assyria and would then rebel. Compare Deu 28:30, although harlotry of a wife and execution of children does not appear as a consequence of rebellion in either Deuteronomy 28 or Leviticus 26.
“And Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land.” His final words then boldly cited Amaziah’s charge to the king, ‘and Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land’ (Amo 7:11). In that at least Amaziah had correctly cited him and thus he boldly confirmed it in Amaziah’s own words. As both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 had made clear, failure to observe the covenant would involve being ‘scattered among the nations’. And within forty years, in two main stages, the cream of Israelite society would be so scattered (2Ki 15:29; 2Ki 17:6). Their day of YHWH had come.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Amo 7:7. Upon a wall made by a plumb-line Literally, Upon a wall of a plumb-line; or, erected by a plumb-line, in order to be perpendicular and firm. God is exhibited in this vision, as erecting, or as repairing Israel, like a wall, that it might not fall into ruin. For the kingdom of Israel had stood hitherto by the providence of God alone, though given to idolatry; and had been repaired under the reign of Jeroboam the second. Afterwards, in the next verse, the Lord denounces that he would let down, or give up the plumb-line in Israel; for so it should be translated; that is, that the kingdom of Israel should be given up by him to their own counsels and strength; and that he would no more pass by among them, to repair and re-establish them. See Houbigant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
We have here a third sermon of the Prophet in figure, and to the same amount as the former. The similitude of measuring is adopted, and probably it was here meant to shew the time limited thereby for the Lord’s forbearance, until the captivity commenced. But I beg the Reader to keep in view what ought never to be lost sight of, that the Lord still calls Israel his people. Amos sent to preach to them; and the whole sum and substance of’ his preaching tended to this point, the Lord’s covenant in Christ was before the Lord. Wretched and unworthy as they were in ‘themselves, there is an everlasting worthiness in the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Amo 7:7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall [made] by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
Ver. 7. This he showed me, and behold ] See Amo 7:4 .
The Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, &c.
With a plumbline in his hand
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Amo 7:7-9
7Thus He showed me, and behold, the Lord was standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. 8The LORD said to me, What do you see, Amos? And I said, A plumb line. Then the LORD said,
Behold I am about to put a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel.
I will spare them no longer.
9The high places of Isaac will be desolated
And the sanctuaries of Israel laid waste.
Then I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amo 7:7 the Lord was standing by a vertical wall This seems to imply a wall of loose stones removed from the fields. With time these stones shifted their positions and became unstable and unsafe.
a plumb line This is the only use of this particular term (BDB 59, KB 71) in the OT. It was a construction tool (cord with metal weight at the end) used to test the perpendicular alignment of buildings or walls. It is used metaphorically here to express judgment because mankind has deviated from the standard of God (cf. 2Ki 21:13; Isa 28:17; Isa 34:11; Lam 2:8).
Although most English translations accept plumb line as the implied contextual meaning, it is possible to argue for tin as the proper translation of this Akkadian loan word. If so, then the imagery would be that of a tin wall, thereby, a metaphor of apparent protection (i.e., a wall of weak metal, tin). Several prophets used metal imagery (cf. Jer 15:20; Eze 4:3).
Whichever it is, this is a vision of judgment. Israel thinks she is militarily secure and spiritually orthodox, but she is not!
Amo 7:8 I will spare them no longer Literally I will never (BDB 414, KB 418, Hiphil IMPERFECT) again pass by (BDB 716, KB 778, Qal INFINITIVE) them. Amos realizes the depth of Israel’s rebellion and ceases to intercede on her behalf.
Amo 7:9 high places. . .sanctuaries The high places (BDB 119) refer to the local fertility worship sites (will be desolated, BDB 1030, KB 1053, Niphal PERFECT), while the sanctuaries (BDB 874) refer to the national shrines (will be laid waste, BDB 351, KB 349, Qal IMPERFECT) at the cities of Dan and Bethel, started by Jeroboam I (922 B.C.). See Special Topic: Fertility Worship of the Ancient Near East .
the house of Jeroboam This refers to Jeroboam I, who led the rebellion of the Northern Ten Tribes in 922 B.C. against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, over the issue of forced labor and taxation. The true issue was the king’s oppressive demands on the people in order to support his opulent Oriental court (cf. 1 Kings 11).
the sword The sword (i.e., war) is to be paralleled with the severity of the locust swarm of Amo 7:1. and the consuming fire of Amo 7:4.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the LORD. One of the 134 passages in which the Sopherim say they altered Jehovah of the primitive text to Adonai (App-32).
made, &c.: i. e [made perpendicular] by a plummet.
plumbline = plummet. Occurs only here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a wall: 2Sa 8:2, 2Ki 21:13, Isa 28:17, Isa 34:11, Lam 2:8, Eze 40:3, Zec 2:1, Zec 2:2, Rev 11:1, Rev 21:15
Reciprocal: 2Ki 8:10 – the Lord Jer 18:2 – and go Jer 24:1 – Lord Amo 7:1 – showed Amo 7:4 – showed Amo 8:1 – General Zec 4:10 – and shall Joh 7:7 – because
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Amo 7:7. The repeated acts of mercy that God. showed toward Israel were not appreciated, but they always slipped back, into their former way of sin. If they even ceased It at all. The pa-tience of the Lord finally was exhausted and He determined to use more severe measures against the unfaithful nation. It is Indicated by the use of the plumbiine w’hich will be explained with the comments on the next verse.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Amo 7:7-9. The Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumb-line A wall strongly and beautifully built. Gods judgments are sometimes represented in Scripture by a line and a plummet, to denote that they are measured out by the exactest rules of justice. Behold, I will set a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel I will exactly measure my people Israel; I will take a particular view of the whole kingdom of the ten tribes, and notice how far it is right, or how far it is out of order, and will judge and punish according to their sins. I will not again pass by them any more I will not any longer pass over their transgressions. The high places of Isaac shall be desolate The idolatrous altars and groves which they have erected at Beer-sheba, where their holy ancestor Jacob erected an altar to the true God, and devoutly worshipped him, shall be entirely spoiled and made desolate. And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste All the other places in Israel, set apart for idolatrous worship, shall also be entirely destroyed.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Amo 7:7-9. The Vision of the Wall.The third vision is more difficult. The prophet saw (Amo 7:7) and behold, Yahweh stood by a wall of anak, and in His hand anak. Anak is usually translated plummet. By a wall that had once been found perpendicular, a plummet-wall, Yahweh stood with a plummet in His hand. What exact significance (Amo 7:8) had this plummet? Yahweh is tired of relenting; He will simply apply the plummet to His people, and once for all destroy an edifice which is no longer worthy to stand. Kents omission of the first anak is an improvement: And behold the Lord was standing behind a wall, with a plumbline in His hand. Other Semitic languages seem to favour the view (so Marti) that anak may denote a hard or heavy kind of metal, possibly lead or steel. Marti translates, Thus the Lord showed me, and behold one standing on a wall of steel with steel in his hand. Amos beholds a man unconquerable, equipped with iron and sword (Amo 7:7), and Yahweh explains (Amo 7:8) that this man is about to turn his sword against Israel, because he cannot again spare her. In the utter devastation of the country, Israels places of worship will be laid low (Amo 7:9).
Amo 7:8. The plummet is usually explained as a crucial moral test (Driver). Ehrlich, however, explains it as a figure for the execution of judgment (cf. 2Ki 21:13, Lam 2:8).
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
7:7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall [made] by a plumbline, {e} with a plumbline in his hand.
(e) Signifying that this would be the last measuring of the people, and that he would defer his judgment no longer.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. The plumb line 7:7-9
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Amos saw a third vision. The Lord was standing beside a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand. The wall was probably a city wall rather than the wall of a house. [Note: George Adam Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets Commonly Called the Minor, 1:114; Ellison, p. 66.] Niehaus believed Amos saw a wall of tin, symbolic of Assyria’s power, and the Lord standing above the wall judging it. [Note: Niehaus, p. 456. See also Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., pp. 397-98.] A plumb line was a string with a weight on the end. People used it, and still use it, to determine if a vertical structure is completely straight. God was testing something by a true standard; His judgment is not arbitrary.