Amos 9 Study Notes

9:1 The phrase knock them down on the heads of all the people could be translated as “sever them at the head—all of them!” The shrines, fortresses, and palaces will come down. Also, the leaders of the people are described here metaphorically as the pillars that will be cut down. The common people are called the rest of them. The point is that no one, whether of high or low status, will escape God’s judgment.

9:2-4 None of the Israelites will be able to hide from God (v. 3). The language here is hyperbole (exaggeration for rhetorical effect). Obviously no one can literally climb into heaven or hide at the bottom of the sea.

9:5-6 Rather than melts, a better translation might be “trembles.” Verse 5 essentially repeats 8:8. The language in these verses is theophanic.

9:7 The Cushites were people from Nubia, directly south of Egypt. Caphtor was either Crete or Cyprus, and it represented the Aegean Sea area from which the Philistines came. Kir was probably east of Mesopotamia, in the area of Elam. The point is that God had moved many nations, not just Israel, to their homelands. But it is astonishing that Yahweh would compare the exodus of Israel, the mighty act by which he claimed Israel for himself, to the movements of other nations. This seems to be a terrible demotion of Israel, implying that it was no different than any other nation (rather than being a “holy nation,” Ex 19:6). Yet there is a positive side; if Israel is demoted to the level of the Gentiles, the Gentiles will be promoted to equality with Israel, and they will be included among God’s people (Am 9:12; see also Eph 2:11-16).

9:8-10 The text moves abruptly from God’s destruction of Israel to his restoration of the nation. Although he will scatter his people among the nations, not one person will be lost to him, and one day he will bring them back.

9:11-12 The fallen shelter of David refers to the dynasty and empire of David (normally called the “house” of David but here a “shelter,” symbolic of the pathetic condition of this once-mighty line of kings). The restoration will take place first at the resurrection of Christ but after that in the eternal kingdom of the new heaven and new earth (Rv 21:1). Edom is representative of the Gentiles that hated and persecuted Israel. The point is that some day all nations, however hostile they have been, will submit either willingly or unwillingly. Paul likewise declared that some day every knee will bow to Jesus (Php 2:10). But clearly Amos did not envision simple domination of the Gentiles. Many will bear my name, implying that they will belong to Yahweh. This promise is fulfilled now, as Gentiles all over the world worship Israel’s God and Messiah. James understood the passage in this way and cited it as being fulfilled in the mission to the Gentiles (Ac 15:14-18). James’s citation of Am 9:12 in Ac 15:17 differs somewhat from the Hebrew because he seems to be loosely quoting from the Greek Septuagint translation of Amos. Also, the Hebrew word for “Edom” is similar to the word for “humanity” (adam), which explains why Amos has “Edom” but James has “humanity.”

9:13-15 Just as God had promised to bring famine to Israel and nearly to exterminate the nation, he promises in these verses to give them abundant crops and a large population. The statement that the plowman will overtake the reaper is hyperbole for fruitfulness and served to assure the people that they would enjoy eternal well-being.