Amos 2

The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 16 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008).[6]

Fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q78 (4QXII^c; 75–50 BCE) with extant verses 11–16;[7][8][9] 4Q82 (4QXII^g; 25 BCE) with extant verses 1, 7–9, 15–16;[7][8][10] and Wadi Murabba'at (MurXII; 75–100 CE) with extant verse 1.[8]

POxy VI 846: Amos 2 (LXX)

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century), Codex Marchalianus (Q; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^Q; 6th century)[11][lower-alpha 1] and Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 846 (~550 CE; with extant verses 6–12).[13]

As Moab is related in some way to the Israel (cf. Genesis 19:30–37), despite the literaty closures, this part with the others seem to form a larger pattern ('sound', verse 2, is qol, cf. 1:2). The crime of Moab probably is more about sacrilege (cf. Jeremiah 8:1–3; cf. 2 Kings 23:16–20), with bones figure mentioned also in 6:9–10; verse 2b echoing 1:14b; and the trumpet reappears in 3:6, in a similar context (cf. Exodus 19:13, 16,19).[14]

Thus says the Lord:

"For three transgressions of Judah,

and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,

because they have rejected the law of the Lord,

and have not kept his statutes,

but their lies have led them astray,

those after which their fathers walked."[17]

• "For three transgressions of Judah": There is no difference in the treatment of Jews and Gentiles (cf. Romans 2:12. "...as many as have signed in the law, shall be judged by the law", as Jerome notes "those other nations, Damascus and the rest, he upbraids not for having cast away the law of God, and despised His commandments, for they had not the written law, but that of nature only. So then of them he says, that "they corrupted all their compassions" ... but Judah ... had the worship of God and the temple and its rites, and had received the law and commandments ... is rebuked and convicted by the Lord, for that it had "cast aside His law and not kept His commandments;" wherefore it should be punished as it deserved".[18]

Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

and led you forty years through the wilderness,

to possess the land of the Amorite.[19]

• "Also I": (literally, "And I") Used by God to remind the people of the good things he did as a motive to obedience (cf. Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6; Deuteronomy 6:12).[18]
• "Forty years through the wilderness": During those "forty years" the law was rehearsed and the people were daily supplied with the manna, the water from the rock, as well as the deliverance from the serpents and other dangers, so the journey through the wilderness was not just a punishment but also a blend of kindness (cf. Deuteronomy 1:31; 29:4–5, 32:10,12).[18]
• "The land of the Amorite": refers to the whole land of Canaan as the Amorites were the principal nation of it in the past.[20]

• Related Bible parts: Amos 1, Amos 7

• Collins, John J. (2014). Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1451469233.
• Dines, Jennifer M. (2007). "29. Amos". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary (first (paperback) ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 581–590. ISBN 978-0199277186. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
• Fitzmyer, Joseph A. (2008). A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0802862419.
• Hayes, Christine (2015). Introduction to the Bible. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300188271.
• Ulrich, Eugene, ed. (2010). The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants. Brill.
• Würthwein, Ernst (1995). The Text of the Old Testament. Translated by Rhodes, Erroll F. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0-8028-0788-7. Retrieved January 26, 2019.