Amos 7:4
Konteks7:4 The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw 1 the sovereign Lord summoning a shower of fire. 2 It consumed the great deep and devoured the fields.
Amos 9:12
Konteks9:12 As a result they 3 will conquer those left in Edom 4
and all the nations subject to my rule.” 5
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
[7:4] 1 tn Heb “behold” or “look.”
[7:4] 2 tc The Hebrew appears to read, “summoning to contend with fire,” or “summoning fire to contend,” but both are problematic syntactically (H. W. Wolff, Joel and Amos [Hermeneia], 292; S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 230-31). Many emend the text to לרבב אשׁ, “(calling) for a shower of fire,” though this interpretation is also problematic (see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Amos [AB], 746-47).
[9:12] 3 sn They probably refers to the Israelites or to the Davidic rulers of the future.
[9:12] 4 tn Heb “take possession of the remnant of Edom”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “possess the remnant of Edom.”
[9:12] 5 tn Heb “nations over whom my name is proclaimed.” The Hebrew idiom indicates ownership, sometimes as a result of conquest. See 2 Sam 12:28.
[9:12] sn This verse envisions a new era of Israelite rule, perhaps patterned after David’s imperialistic successes (see 2 Sam 8-10). At the same time, however, the verse does not specify how this rule is to be accomplished. Note that the book ends with a description of peace and abundance, and its final reference to God (v. 15) does not include the epithet “the Lord who commands armies,” which has militaristic overtones. This is quite a different scene than what the book began with: nations at war and standing under the judgment of God.