9 10<\/strong>. Tyre<\/strong>, the great commercial city of the North, next receives her doom from the prophet’s lips. Tyre, as the most important of the Phoenician cities, is taken as representing Phoenicia generally. For defensive purposes Tyre was strongly fortified; but the Phoenicians were not an aggressive people: they were devoted to commerce: Tyre was a ‘mart of nations’ (Isa 23:3<\/span>), a centre of trade by land as well as by sea (see the striking picture of the variety and extent of Tyrian commerce in Ezekiel 27<\/span>); hence her relations with the Hebrews, as with her neighbours generally, were peaceful. The Tyrians were also celebrated for skill in artistic work: Hiram, king of Tyre, sent Tyrian workmen to build a palace for David; a formal treaty was concluded between Hiram and Solomon; Tyrian builders prepared timber and stones for the Temple; and a Tyrian artist designed and cast the chief ornaments and vessels of metal belonging to it (2Sa 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki 5:1-12<\/span>; 1Ki 5:18<\/span>; 1Ki 7:13-45<\/span>).<\/p>\n because they delivered up<\/em> entire populations<\/strong> to Edom<\/em> ] The charge is similar to that brought against the Philistines, Amo 1:6<\/em><\/span>; the Tyrians however are not accused of taking<\/em> captives, but only of delivering them to others, i.e. of acting as agents for those who actually took them. For the Tyrians taking part in the trade of slaves, cf. Eze 27:13<\/span>; and see on Joe 3:6<\/span>. What ‘exiled companies’ are alluded to does not appear; they need not necessarily have consisted of Israelites; the reference may be as well to gangs of slaves procured with violence from other nations.<\/p>\n and remembered not the brotherly covenant<\/em> ] lit. the covenant of<\/em> i.e. between<\/em> brothers:<\/em> this forgetfulness was an aggravation of the offence, which is not mentioned in the case of Gaza, Amo 1:6<\/em><\/span>. The allusion is commonly supposed to be to the league, or ‘covenant,’ concluded between Hiram and Solomon, 1Ki 5:12<\/span> (for ‘brother’ used figuratively of one joined in amity to another, see 1Ki 9:13<\/span>; 1Ki 20:32<\/span>); but it is scarcely likely that the crowning offence of Tyre should be forgetfulness of a treaty entered into nearly 300 years previously; more probably the reference is to the way in which, repudiating some alliance formed with other Phoenician towns, the Tyrians were the means of procuring slaves from them for Edom. As Amo 2:1<\/span> shews, Amos does not restrict his censure to wrongs perpetrated against Israel: it is the rights common to humanity at large, which he vindicates and defends.<\/p>\n Isaiah (ch. 23), Jeremiah, at least incidentally (Jer 25:22<\/span>), Ezekiel (ch. 26 28), Zechariah (Zec 9:3<\/span> f.), all foretell the ruin of Tyre; but it was long before it was accomplished. The Tyrians, it seems, escaped as a rule the hostility of the Assyrians by acquiescing in a condition of dependence and by timely payment of tribute. Thus Asshurnazirpal (b.c. 885 860) boasts of marching with his army as far as the “great sea of the West,” and receiving tribute from Tyre, Sidon, Gebal, and Arvd; but he claims no conquest by arms ( K.A.T<\/em> [121][122] , p. 157; R.P<\/em> [123][124] iii. 73 f.). Shalmaneser II. receives tribute in his 18th and 21st years (b.c. 842, 839) from Tyre and Sidon ( K.A.T<\/em> [125][126] , p. 207, 210; R.P<\/em> [127][128] iv. 44 f.), in the former year, together with that of Jehu<\/em>, Hiram, king of Tyre, pays tribute to Tiglath-pileser in 734 ( ib.<\/em> p. 253). Shalmaneser IV. besieged Tyre for five years, but it does not appear that he took it. Both Esarhaddon and Asshurbanipal name “Baal of Tyre” among their tributaries ( K.A.T<\/em> [129][130] , p. 356). Tyre sustained a long siege according to Josephus one of 13 years at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar; but it is not stated whether he captured it, Ezekiel, in his allusion (Eze 29:18<\/span>), implies that he did not. In the subsequent centuries the greatest blow which befel Tyre was its capture, after a seven months’ siege, by Alexander the Great, when 30,000 of its inhabitants were sold into slavery. It recovered itself, however, and continued for long afterwards to be an important naval and commercial city: Jerome (c. a.d. 400) describes it as Phoenices nobilissima et pulcherrima civitas<\/em>, and says that mercantile transactions of nearly all nations were carried on in it. The final blow was not given to Tyre till a.d. 1291, when it was taken by the Saracens; and since then the site of the once populous and thriving city has been little more than a barren strand.<\/p>\n [121] .A.T.<\/em> Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T.<\/em>, ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T<\/em>. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.<\/p>\n [122] Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T.<\/em>, ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T<\/em>. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.<\/p>\n [123] .P.<\/em> Records of the Past<\/em>, first and second series, respectively.<\/p>\n [124] Records of the Past<\/em>, first and second series, respectively.<\/p>\n [125] .A.T.<\/em> Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T.<\/em>, ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T<\/em>. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.<\/p>\n [126] Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T.<\/em>, ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T<\/em>. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.<\/p>\n [127] .P.<\/em> Records of the Past<\/em>, first and second series, respectively.<\/p>\n [128] Records of the Past<\/em>, first and second series, respectively.<\/p>\n [129] .A.T.<\/em> Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T.<\/em>, ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T<\/em>. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.<\/p>\n [130] Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T.<\/em>, ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T<\/em>. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.<\/p>\n The last crowning sin, for which judgment is pronounced on Tyre, is the same as that of Philistia, and probably was enacted in concert with it. In Tyre, there was this aggravation, that it was a violation of a previous treaty and friendship. It was not a covenant only, nor previous friendliness only; but a specific covenant, founded on friendship which they forgat and brake. If they retained the memory of Hirams contact with David and Solomon, it was a sin against light too. After David had expelled the Jebusites from Jerusalem, Hiram King of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees and carpenters and masons; and they built David a house 2Sa 5:11<\/span>. The Philistines contrariwise invaded him 2Sa 5:17<\/span>. This recognition of him by Hiram was to David a proof, that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that He had exalted his kingdom for His people, Israels sake 2Sa 5:12<\/span>.<\/P> Hiram seems, then, to have recognized something super-human in the exaltation of David. Hiram was ever a lover of David 1Ki 5:1<\/span>. This friendship he continued to Solomon, and recognized his God as the God. Scripture embodies the letter of Hiram; Because the Lord hath loved his people, He hath made thee king over them. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David a wise son – that he might build are house for the Lord . He must have known then the value which the pious Israelites attached to the going up to that temple. A later treaty, offered by Demetrius Nicator to Jonathan, makes detailed provision that the Jews should have the feasts and sabbaths and new moons and the solemn days and the three days before the feast and the three days after the feast, as days of immunity and freedom.<\/P> The three days before the feast were given, that they might go up to the feast. Other treaties guarantee to the Jews religious privileges . A treaty between Solomon and Hiram, which should not secure any religious privileges needed by Jews in Hirams dominion, is inconceivable. But Jews were living among the Zidonians (see the note at Joe 3:6<\/span>). The treaty also, made between Hiram and Solomon, was subsequent to the arrangement by which Hiram was to supply cedars to Solomon, and Solomon to furnish the grain of which Hiram stood in need 1Ki 5:7-11<\/span>. The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him 1Ki 5:12<\/span>; and, as a fruit of that wisdom, there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a covenant. The terms of that covenant are not there mentioned; but a covenant involves conditions. it was not a mere peace; but a distinct covenant, sanctioned by religious rites and by sacrifice.<\/P> This brotherly covenant Tyre remembered not, when they delivered up to Edom a complete captivity, all the Jews who came into their hands. It seems then, that that covenant had an special provision against selling them away from their own land. This same provision other people made for love of their country or their homes; the Jews, for love of their religion. This covenant Tyre remembered not, but brake. They knew doubtless why Edom sought to possess the Israelites; but the covetousness of Tyre fed the cruelty of Edom, and God punished the broken appeal to Himself.<\/P> <\/p>\n Amo 1:9-10<\/span><\/p>\n I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Divine judgment on Tyre<\/strong><\/p>\n To follow out the accomplishment of the prophecies respecting Tyre, under the conduct of so good a guide as Bishop Newton, is a most interesting occupation. He gives the following quotation from Maundrell. This city, standing in the sea, upon a peninsula, promises at a distance something very magnificent. But when you come to it, you find no similitude of that glory for which it was so renowned in ancient times. On the north side, it was an old Turkish, ungarrisoned castle; besides which you see nothing here but a mere Babel of broken walls, pillars, vaults, etc., there being not so much as one entire house left; its present inhabitants are only a few poor wretches, harbouring themselves in the vaults, and subsisting chiefly upon fishing, who seem to be preserved in this place by Divine providence, as a visible evidence, how God has fulfilled His word concerning Tyre, namely, that it should be as a top of a rock, a place for fishers to dry their nets on. Newton himself says:<\/strong> Such hath been the fate of this city, once the most famous in the world for trade and commerce. But trade is a fluctuating thing:<\/strong> it passed from Tyre to Alexandria, from Alexandria to Venice, from Venice to Antwerp, from Antwerp to Amsterdam and London, the English rivalling the Dutch, as <\/strong>the French are now rivalling both. All nations almost are now wisely applying themselves to trade; and it behoves those who are in possession of it to take the greatest care they do not lose it. It is a plant of tender growth, and requires sun and soil and fine seasons to make it thrive and flourish. It will not grow like the palm tree, which, with the more weight and pressure, rises the more. Liberty is a friend to that, as that is a friend to liberty. But the greatest enemy to both is licentiousness, which tramples upon all law and lawful authority, encourages riots and tumults, promotes drunkenness and debauchery, sticks at nothing to supply its extravagance, practises every art of illicit gain, ruins credit, ruins trade, and will, in the end, ruin liberty itself. Neither kingdoms nor commonwealths, neither public companies nor private persons, can long carry on a beneficial, flourishing trade without virtue and what virtue teacheth, sobriety, industry, frugality, modesty, honesty, punctuality, humanity, charity, the love of our country, and the fear of God. The prophets will inform us how the Tyrians lost it; and the like causes will always produce the like effects. (Vincent W. Ryan, M. A.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 9<\/span>. Tyrus<\/B><\/I>] See an ample description of this place, and of its desolation and final ruin, in the notes on Eze 26:1-28:19<\/span>.<\/P> <\/P> The brotherly covenant<\/B><\/I>] This possibly refers to the very friendly league made between Solomon and Hiram, king of Tyre, 1Kg 5:12<\/span>; but some contend that the brotherly covenant refers to the consanguinity<\/I> between the Jews<\/I> and Edomites<\/I>. The Tyrians, in exercising cruelties upon these, did it, in effect, on the Jews, with whom they were connected by the most intimate ties of kindred; the two people having descended from the two brothers, Jacob and Esau. See Calmet<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n The prophet having foretold the destruction of the Syrians and the Philistines, for their inhumanity and barbarous cruelty against the Jews, he doth now in the same manner and words foretell the destruction of the Tyrians. See Amo 1:3<\/span>. <\/P> Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom:<\/B> see Amo 1:6<\/span>, where these passages are already explained. <\/P> And remembered not the brotherly covenant,<\/B> which was between Hiram on the one part, and David and Solomon on the other part, on account whereof these Tyrians ought to have befriended the Jews, and not betrayed them; so some: others thus, The nearness of blood between Israel and Edom should have been remembered by the Tyrians, and they should therefore have persuaded Edom to carry it as became a brother, and by their mediation the Tyrians should have made peace between Israel and Edom; but they did not so, they took advantage of times, and made merchandise of Israel, sold such as either fled for refuge from other enemies, or such as fell into the hands of the Tyrians, joining with Hazael and Ben-hadad in their wars against Israel. What other sins Tyre added to this between this time and Nebuchadnezzars besieging and subduing Tyre were then punished, when after thirteen years siege it was taken, of which see Eze 26<\/span>; 27<\/span>; 28<\/span>;, where at large Tyre is spoken of. <\/P> <\/p>\n 9. Tyrus . . . delivered up the . .. captivity to Edom<\/B>the same charge as against the Philistines(Am 1:6<\/span>). <\/P> remembered not the brotherlycovenant<\/B>the league of Hiram of Tyre with David and Solomon,the former supplying cedars for the building of the temple and king’shouse in return for oil and corn (2Sa 5:11<\/span>;1Ki 5:2-6<\/span>; 1Ki 9:11-14<\/span>;1Ki 9:27<\/span>; 1Ki 9:10-22<\/span>;1Ch 14:1<\/span>; 2Ch 8:18<\/span>;2Ch 9:10<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Tyrus<\/strong>,…. Or Tyre, a very ancient city in Palestine; of which<\/p>\n [See comments on Isa 23:1]<\/span>;<\/p>\n and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof<\/strong>;<\/p>\n [See comments on Am 1:3]<\/span>;<\/p>\n because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom<\/strong>: such of the Israelites that fell into their hands, or fled to them for shelter, they delivered up to the Edomites, their implacable adversaries, or sold them to them, as they did to the Grecians, Joe 3:6<\/span>;<\/p>\n and remembered not the brotherly covenant<\/strong>; either the covenant and agreement that should be among brethren, as the Jews and Edomites were which the Tyrians should have remembered, and persuaded them to live peaceably; and not have delivered the one into the hands of the other, to be used in a cruel manner as slaves: or else the covenant made between Hiram king of Tyre, and David king of Israel, and which was renewed between Hiram and Solomon, on account of which they called each other brethren, 2Sa 5:11<\/span>. The Phoenicians, of whom, the Tyrians were the principal, are noted for being faithless and treacherous f. “Punica fides” g was the same as “French faith” now; the perfidy of Hannibal is well known h. Cicero i says the Carthaginians, which were a colony of the Tyrians, were a deceitful and lying people; and Virgil k calls the Tyrians themselves “Tyrios bilingues”, “double tongued Tyrians”, which, Servius interprets deceitful, as referring more to the mind than to the tongue; and observes from Livy the perfidy of the Phoenicians in general, that they have nothing true nor sacred among them; no fear of God, no regard to an oath, nor any religion; and which are the three or four transgressions for which they are said here they should be punished; for, besides their ill usage of the Jews, their idolatry no doubt came into the account: the god that was worshipped at Tyre was Hercules, by whom was meant the sun, as Macrobius l observes; and as there were several Heathen gods of this name, he whom the Tyrians worshipped is the fourth of the name with Cicero m; the same is the Melicarthus of Sanchoniatho n, which signifies the king of the city, by which Bochart o thinks Tyre is intended. To be a priest of Hercules was the second honour to that of king, as Justin p observes; and so careful were the Tyrians of this deity, that they used to chain him, that he might not depart from them; see Jer 10:4<\/span>; and a most magnificent temple they had in honour of him, and which, they pretended, was exceeding ancient, as old as the city itself, the antiquity of which they speak extravagantly of Herodotus q says he saw this temple, and which was greatly ornamented, and particularly had two pillars, one of gold, and another of emerald; and inquiring of the priests, they told; him it was built when their city was, ten thousand three hundred years before that time; but according to their own historians r, Hiram, who lived in the days of Solomon, built the temple of Hercules, as well as that of Astarte; for though she is called the goddess of the Sidonians, she was also worshipped by the Tyrians; as he also ornamented the temple of Jupiter Olympius, and annexed it to the city, which deity also it seems had worship paid it in this place.<\/p>\n f Alex. ab Alex. Genial Dier. l. 5. c. 10. g Vid. Reinesiura de Ling. Punic. c. 2. sect. 12. h Vid. Valer. Maxim. l. 9. c. 6. i Contra Rullum, Orat. 16. k Aeneid. l. 1. l Saturnal. l. 1. c. 20. m De Naturn Deorum, l. 3. n Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 2. p. 38. o Canaan, l. 2. col. 709. p E Trogo, l. 18. c. 4. q Euterp, sive l. 2. c. 44. r Meander & Dius apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 8. c. 5. sect. 3.<\/p>\n Tyre or Phoenicia. – Amo 1:9<\/span>. “Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I shall not reverse it, because they have delivered up prisoners in full number to Edom, and have not remembered the brotherly covenant,<\/em> Amo 1:10<\/span>. I send fire into the wall of Tyrus, and it will devour their palaces.” <\/em> In the case of Phoenicia, the capital only ( Tzor <\/em>, i.e., Tyrus; see at Jos 19:29<\/span>) is mentioned. The crime with which it is charged is similar to the one for which the Philistines were blamed, with this exception, that instead of (Amo 1:6<\/span>) we have simply . If, therefore, Tyre is only charged with delivering up the captives to Edom, and not with having carried them away, it must have bought the prisoners from an enemy of Israel, and then disposed of them to Edom. From what enemy they were purchased, it is impossible to determine with certainty. Probably from the Syrians, in the wars of Hazael and Benhadad with Israel; for there is nothing at variance with this in the fact that, when they purchased Israelitish captives in the time of Joram, they sold them to Javan. For a commercial nation, carrying on so extensive a trade as the Phoenicians did, would have purchased prisoners in more than one war, and would also have disposed of them as slaves to more nations than one. Tyre had contracted all the more guilt through this trade in Israelitish salves, from the fact that it had thereby been ummindful of the brotherly covenant, i.e., of the friendly relation existing between Israel and itself-for example, the friendly alliance into which David and Solomon had entered with the king of Tyre (2Sa 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki 5:15<\/span>.) – and also from the fact that no king of Israel or Judah had ever made war upon Phoenicia.<\/p>\n He uses nearly the same words respecting Tyrus which he did respecting Gaza, and charges it with the same sin, which was that of removing the Jews from their country, as refugees and exiles, into Idumea, and of selling them as captives to the Idumeans. As of all the rest, he declares the same of Tyrus, that they had not lightly sinned, and that therefore no moderate chastisement was sufficient; for they had for a long time abused God’s forbearance, and had become stubborn in their wickedness. <\/p>\n But what he says, that they had not been mindful of the covenant of brethren, some refer to Hiram and David; for we know that they had a brotherly intercourse, and called each other by the name of brothers; so great was the kindness between them. Some then think that the Tyrians are here condemned for having forgotten this covenant; for there ought to have remained among them some regard for the friendship which had existed between the two kings. But I know not whether this is too strained a view: I rather incline to another, and that is, that the Syrians delivered up the Jews and the Israelites to the Idumeans, when yet they knew them to be brethren: and they who implicate themselves in a matter of this kind are by no means excusable. When I see one conspiring for the ruin of his own brother, I see a detestable and a monstrous thing; if I abhor not a participation in the same crime, I am involved in the same guilt. When therefore the Syrians saw the Idumeans raging cruelly against their brethren, for they were descended from the same family, they ought doubtless to have shown to the Idumeans how alienated they were from all humanity and how perfidious they were against their own brethren and relatives. Now the Prophet says, that they had been unmindful of the covenant of brethren, because they made themselves assistants in so great and execrable a crime as that of carrying away Jews into Idumea, and of shutting them up there, when they knew that the Idumeans sought nothing else but the entire ruin of their own brethren. This seems to be the real meaning of the Prophet. <\/p>\n CRITICAL NOTES<\/strong>.] <\/strong><\/p>\n Amo. 1:9-10<\/span><\/strong>. Tyrus<\/strong>] The crime here is sale of prisoners, like the preceding, to Edom; a violation of the covenant of David and Solomon with the king of Tyre (2Sa. 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki. 5:1<\/span>; 1Ki. 9:11<\/span>). <\/p>\n THE JUDGMENT ON TYRE.Amo. 1:9-10<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n The third people spoken against are the inhabitants of Tyre.<\/p>\n I. The ground of the judgment<\/strong>. Like other nations they were guilty of many sins. <\/p>\n 1. They trafficked in human souls<\/em>. If they did not carry away, they delivered up the whole captivity to the mortal enemy of the Jews. They sold their captives to Grecians far away (Joe. 3:3<\/span>), and cared not for the hardships of those who fled to them for shelter. <\/p>\n 2. They violated the sacred covenant<\/em>. And remembered not the brotherly covenant. David and Solomon entered into a friendly alliance with the king of Tyre (2Sa. 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki. 5:15<\/span>). Hiram supplied Solomon with timber and carpenters in return for oil and corn; recognized David as chosen of God, and was ever a lover of David (1Ki. 5:1<\/span>). The covenant no doubt recognized God as the true God, and guaranteed religious privileges, undisturbed peace and safety. No king of Israel or Judah had ever made war with Phnicia. Yet they forgot this friendly feeling, and remembered not the brotherly covenant. They sinned in helping Edom in their vile trade; in forgetting their solemn obligation, and in disregarding God for the sake of mercantile gain. A costlier object than man does not exist. He who seeks to enrich himself by the possession and traffic of his fellow-creatures will be branded as a pest to humanity.<\/p>\n God gave us over beast, fish, fowl, II. The nature of the punishment<\/strong>. I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. Many parts of Tyre were burnt by fiery missiles of the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. He took it after a thirteen eos siege. Alexander of Macedon subsequently overthrew it. Note, says one, that though the crime charged may have been immediately due to the greed of the merchants of Tyre, acting in their private capacity, the whole community is held responsible for their deeds. It is the duty of every State to restrain and punish the unjust aggressions of its citizens on other communities, and if it fails to do so, it must abide the consequences.<\/p>\n ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1<\/p>\n Amo. 1:9<\/span>. Brotherly covenant<\/em>. Be steadfast in thy covenant, and be conversant therein, and wax old in thy work (Sir. 11:20). Remember thy covenants, and bear no malice to thy neighbour (Sir. 28:7).<\/p>\n CURSE ON TYRUS.<\/strong><\/p>\n (9) The brotherly covenant.<\/strong>The covenant of brethren<\/em> (margin) was the league made between Hiram and David, and afterwards between Hiram and Solomon (2Sa. 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki. 5:1<\/span>; 1Ki. 5:12<\/span>). This ancient covenant was forgotten in Phnicias mercantile cupidity, and Tyre was tempted to sell Hebrew captives to Greeks and Idumeans. (Comp. Isaiah 23<\/span>; Ezekiel 26<\/span>, and the special excursus in the Speakers Commentary.<\/em>)<\/p>\n 9, 10<\/strong>. <\/strong> The sin and punishment of Phoenicia. <\/em> Tyrus <\/strong> [“Tyre”] The most important of the cities of Phoenicia, representing here the entire nation (see on Joe 3:4<\/span>; Zec 9:2<\/span>). The crime condemned is similar to that of Philistia. <\/p>\n They delivered up the whole captivity <\/strong> [“people”] See on Amo 1:6<\/span>. If the last clause of Amo 1:9<\/span> is a condemnation of a second crime, independent of the slave trade, it may be correct to say that “the Phoenicians are not charged with taking <\/em> captives, as are the Philistines (Amo 1:6<\/span>), but with delivering <\/em> them, that is, acting as agents for those who actually took them.” However, the last clause of Amo 1:9<\/span> may be a circumstantial clause, “without remembering the brotherly covenant.” If so, the two are brought into closer relation, and the crime condemned is most probably the taking and selling of slaves in violation of some sacred agreement. <\/p>\n The brotherly covenant <\/strong> Literally, and margin, “the covenant of brethren.” This is commonly interpreted of the covenant between Solomon and Hiram of Tyre (1Ki 5:1<\/span> ff.; compare Amo 9:13<\/span>). Against this interpretation Driver urges with some justice, “It is scarcely likely that the crowning offense of Tyre should be forgetfulness of a treaty entered into nearly three hundred years previously.” If the two clauses are connected, the breaking of the covenant and the taking or delivering of slaves sustain some relation to each other; when the slave raids were undertaken the breaking of a covenant was involved. It is nowhere stated that the slaves were Hebrews, or that the covenant was a covenant with Israel. Amo 2:1<\/span>, makes it certain that Amos’s denunciations were not limited to sins against the chosen nation. Hence it is not unreasonable to suppose that the slaves were taken from other Phoenician or from Canaanitish communities with which the Tyrians sustained treaty relations, the breaking of which constituted the breach of the “brotherly covenant.” Tyre, being a commercial city, would find it advantageous to maintain friendly relations with its neighbors, which might be sealed by treaties, as in the case of Israel. For selfish purposes these sacred treaties were broken, and this treachery called forth the severe denunciation of the prophet. It is mere assumption to say that the covenant between Hiram and Solomon “had an especial provision against selling them (that is, captured Jews) away from their own land.”<\/p>\n Other prophets agree with Amos in foretelling the doom of Tyre (Isaiah 23<\/span>; Jer 25:22<\/span>; Ezekiel 26-28; Joe 3:4<\/span>; Zec 9:3-4<\/span>); but it was a long time before the ruin of Tyre was accomplished. The Tyrian policy, to purchase peace by the payment of heavy tribute rather than to encounter the Assyrian armies, postponed the disaster for centuries. This policy had its origin even before the time of Amos. Ashur-nasir-pal of Assyria (885-860) received tribute from Tyre and other Phoenician cities. Shalmaneser II (in 842, 839) and Tiglath-pileser III (in 734) also received tribute. Shalmaneser IV is said to have attacked the city; he was defeated on sea and a siege from the land side, after having been maintained for five years, had to be raised. Sennacherib and Esar-haddon appear to have been no more successful; but in 664 Ashur-banapal took the city by storm. It soon regained its prestige, and at a later time Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city; the siege continued for thirteen years, and its outcome is in doubt (Eze 29:18<\/span>). The heaviest blow fell in 332, when, after a siege of seven months, the city fell before Alexander the Great. In the taking of the city six thousand are said to have perished by the sword, two thousand to have been crucified, and thirty thousand women, children, and slaves to have been sold. It recovered rapidly and played an important role until 1291 A.D., when it fell permanently into the hands of the Saracens. Now its site is covered by an insignificant Arab village. “After having been the mother of colonies and the mistress of the seas, bearing her merchandise into otherwise unvisited lands and adjusting the supply and demand of the world, Tyre is now content, at the close of her career, to be a stagnant village in stagnant Turkey.” On the authenticity of this oracle see pp. 220ff.<\/p>\n 3). YHWH’s Judgment On Tyre ( Amo 1:9-10<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Israel’s third most dangerous enemy was Tyre. They had in the past had a close treaty relationship with Israel (e.g. under David, Solomon and Ahab. See 2Sa 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki 5:1 ; 1Ki 5:11<\/span>; 1Ki 16:31<\/span>), but this had broken down (possibly after Jehu slew Jezebel of Tyre) so that Tyre, like Philistia, had commenced raids over the border in order to seize whole towns for the purpose of selling them as slaves to Edom. It is clear that Edom had established a wholesale market in slaves, which was being fed by Philistia and Tyre. And they had each one chosen to do it to God’s people.<\/p>\n Amo 1:9-10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n “Thus says YHWH.<\/p>\n For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four,<\/p>\n I will not turn away their punishment,<\/p>\n Because they delivered up the whole people to Edom,<\/p>\n And did not remember the brotherly covenant.<\/p>\n But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,<\/p>\n And it will devour their palaces.”<\/p>\n So thirdly YHWH has spoken against Tyre. In Tyre’s case their continual seizing of slaves out of Israel was seen as especially heinous because of their former good treaty relationship. They had forgotten ‘the brotherly covenant’ and had continually transgressed, not once or twice but time and again. They too, therefore, would in the future suffer the fires of judgment as their territory was invaded and their cities conquered. Such trading in slaves would later become a hallmark of the evil of Tyre (Joe 3:6<\/span>; Eze 27:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n The omission of a final description of judgment and a concluding ‘word of YHWH’ here and in the case of Edom would appear to be in order to link Philistia, Tyre and Edom as combined together in the foul trade in human beings.<\/p>\n Prophecy Against Tyrus – Amo 1:9-12<\/span><\/strong> is a prophecy against the people of Tyre. The Hebrew proper noun ( ) is translated as both Tyrus and Tyre in the KJV<\/em>.<\/p>\n Amo 1:9<\/strong><\/span> Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:<\/p>\n Amo 1:10<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.<\/p>\n Amo 1:10<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> Of the eight oracles in Amo 1:1<\/span> to Amo 2:16<\/span>, the first seven oracles contain a similar statement about God sending fire upon the walls of the major city and devouring the palaces (Amo 1:4<\/span>; Amo 1:7<\/span>; Amo 1:10<\/span>; Amo 1:12<\/span>; Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Dominion absolute; that right we hold
By his donation; but man over man
He made not lord, such title to himself
Reservinghuman left for human free.<\/p>\nFuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n