The Boundaries Of The Focus Passage Theology Religion Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Identify a text and verify the boundaries of the focus passage

Outlines

Section of my text

Historical situation surrounding the text

Historical background- what is the specific time and place of my passage

Cultural background - Language, cultural or social values

Literary background - What is the genre or literary category of my passage?

Verse by verse reading /exegesis

What are the tense of the verbs in my passage, arrangement of the words in my passage, transition in the arguments in my passage

compare different translations

Word study (Hebrew). List words

What are the important words, statements or expressions in my texts

How does this passage fit into Amos’ overall goals and themes - Superscription

Interpretation: "What did the author mean?"

a. What is the audience's and author's situation (Socio-historical context)?

b. What are the issues addresses by the passage?

Literary context:

a. should the passage be interpreted figuratively or literally?

Rhetorical context:

a. what is the significance of the progression in the thought pattern?

Theological context:

a. what do I know about the author's theological perspective?

Hermeneutical issues:

a. Are there any blinder(s) that might have prevented me from seeing things in the

text

Bible commentaries:

converse with at least 3 biblical scholars commentaries

Journal articles: Consult scholarly Biblical Journal for references

Synthesize my research and interpretation based on my passage

Life Application

Bibliography

Stuart, Douglas Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors 4th Edition Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky (2009)

Fee, Gordon D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. Philadelphia: Westminster (1983).

Hayes, John H. and Carl R. Holladay Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner’s Handbook. Atlanta: John

Knox (1982).

Soulen, Richard N. Handbook of Biblical Criticism Second Edition, Atlanta: John Knox (198).

Stewart, Douglas. Old Testament Exegesis: A Primer for Students and Pastors. Second Edition, Philadelphia: Westminster (1984).

Wald, Oletta. The Joy of Discovery in Bible Study. Minneapolis: Fortress (1975).

Taken from http://post.queensu.ca/~rsa/Exegesis_Guide.htm

Recordings of my Exegesis of Amos 8:1-11

INTRODUCTION

The initial prophet to have a book named after him was Amos. Though Amos message to Israel was clear, yet it was ignored. This exegetical recording will examine Amos 8:1-11, beginning with my own translation and continuing with a look at the context of the passage in relation to the historical setting and the book of Amos as a whole, including the genres of the passage. Then the literary form will be examined briefly, followed by an outline. The main part of the paper deals with each verse, or pairs of verses, examining translation difficulties; identifying similarities within the text, the book, and the Old Testament; analyzing the message; and exploring the views of some commentators. Even though this passage contains more than can be examined, I will strive to covered the main points.

TRANSLATION

1 This is what the Lord God1 showed me—a basket of summer fruit.

2 He said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by.

3 The songs (Fruit of Worship) of the temple2 shall become wailings in that day," says the Lord God; "the dead bodies shall be many, cast out in every place. Be silent!"

4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land,

5 saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale?3 We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, (Fruit of Stewardship)

6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the wholesale4 of the wheat."

7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who lives in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?

9 On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight.

10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.

11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. (Fruit of the Word)

CONTEXT

Amos' ministry took place in the Northern Kingdom of Israel about 760-750 BC, at a time of military and economic success. The long reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC) was the golden age of Israel. Territorial expansion was initially possible because Syria and Assyria were relatively weak and, once accomplished, it resulted in increased revenue from taxes. Israel was politically powerful and many of its citizens were wealthy. In the midst of this prosperity, Amos' messages condemning social injustice and religious superficiality, and predicting judgment from God because of them, flew in the face of the evidence all around. However, Amos was revealed as a true prophet when his predictions of judgment came to pass, beginning in 733 BC when the

Northern and eastern parts of the kingdom were annexed by Assyria, and concluding in 721 BC with the fall of the capital, Samaria, to Sargon, the exile of the people to Assyria, and the forced immigration into Israel of people from other nations.5

Outline of Amos :1-12

Israel is ripe for Judgment (Amos’ fourth vision)

A. (8:1-3).

1. Amos is showed a fourth vision.

2. The nation is thereby ripe for the outpouring of God’s wrath.

3. The time of the people’s joyful singing in the temple has come to an end.

4. Assyria would violently take over Israel

B. (8:4-6).

1. Israel’s ill treatment of the poor and needy of the land

2. Israel’s state of mind is revealed in these verses.

3. Israel overcharged of the poor in that their balances were corrupt.

C. (8:7-8).

1. Israel was blinded by their quest for riches.

2. Their wickedness had brought upon them God’s judgments

3. The Assyrian flood would be likened unto the Nile River that had a reputation and

history of severe flooding and drought.

D. (8:9-10).

1. Amos was the mouth piece for God and thereby the Lord’s words were his

conviction.

2. The dark days of God’s judgment would come upon Israel.

3. Israel will lament as they look out upon the dead body of brethren & loved ones.

E. (8:11-12).

1. Jehovah would cause a famine of divine revelation upon His people.

2. Though they seek God’s counsel, they will not find it.

Amos 2:4-16 begins with the warning of inpending judgement upon Israel’s neighbors that follows three previous judgment with the fall of the capital, Samaria, to Sargon, the exile of the people to Assyria, and the forced immigration into Israel of people from other nations.5

Amos 8:1-10 begins with a vision of judgment that follows three previous judgment

visions (7:1-3,4-6, and 7-9) and precedes a fifth (9:1). The vision in this passage is the parallel

of 7:7-9 and the climactic conclusion of the first four. The vision in 8:1-2 is followed by an

eschatological oracle in verse 3, which both explains the vision of verses 1-2 and goes beyond it.

It is the first of four eschatological oracles: 8:3,9-10,13-14; and 9:11-12. Verses 4-6 give social

and religious criticism similar to other passages in the book. The themes of religious

superficiality and exploitation of the poor are continued. Verses 7-8 are a judgment oracle in

which God swears in similar fashion to 4:2-3 and 6:8. A second eschatological oracle occurs in

verses 9-10. The exchange of festivals for mourning in verse 10 is reminiscent of verse 3. The

book of Amos includes three hymns, or three stanzas of the same hymn, in 4:13,5:8-9, and 9:5-

6.6 The literary unity of book receives support in the fact that one of those hymn sections, 9:5b,

is quite similar to part of the passage under study here, 8:8b: Thus the passage under question, 8:1-10, takes its place in the book of Amos as a continuation of themes seen earlier and an introduction of themes to follow.

COMMENTARY

Vss. 1-2 - These verses are matter-of-fact, and their translation is assisted by parallels to

7:7-9. The vision of judgment begins with words identical to those in 7:1 and 4 and similar to

those in 7:7: "This is what the Lord GOD [he] showed me." The visions are obviously meant to

be a group, despite the interruption in the text of 7:10-17. Furthermore, both the vision in 7:7-9

and the vision of 8:1 -3 use everyday objects @ a plumb line and wall in 7:7 and a basket and

summer fruit in 8:1, so that they form a pair in contrast to the first two visions. Other similarities

between the third and fourth visions include repetition of the question, "What do you see,

Amos?" (7:8 and 8:2); God's transforming explanation of the everyday objects in question so

that they have a spiritual meaning; repetition of the divine sentence of doom, "I will not again

pass them [Israel] by any more" (7:8 and 8:3); and a concluding description of the devastation

that the declared judgment will bring. Amos sees exactly what God shows him - a basket of summer fruit - and the only question is what meaning this vision has.

Vs. 3 - God applies a special meaning to the basket of summer fruit with His explanation, without going into the Hebrew words in question, this meaning is obscure in English, relying on conjectures. For instance, just as fruit is picked at the end of a season, so it is the end for Israel. Or, just as fruit is harvested, and just as harvest can mean judgment elsewhere in Scripture,8 so the end/harvest/judgment has come for Israel.

A look at the Hebrew clarifies the meaning considerably. The Hebrew word for summer fruit is qayis. The Hebrew word for end is qes. God uses a play on words to communicate the meaning of the vision- The technical name for this is paronomasia - a rhetorical device "designed to engage the attention of an audience"9.

Robert Ellis points out that some people interpret qayis and qes as interchangeably meaning harvest (thus the basket of harvest is a sign of harvest), or they think that the ripeness of the fruit suggests that the time for judgment was also ripe. He also points out the probability that qes and qayis were pronounced the same in the Northern Kingdom, so that the pun makes more sense11 Al Wolters modifies this last assertion, suggesting that the differences in pronunciation between Judah and Israel are exactly the point.12 When Amos tells God he sees qayis, he says it as a Judean (he was from Tekoa,13

12 miles south of Jerusalem). But God replies in an Israelite accent, both repeating qayis as someone from the Northern Kingdom would say it, and saying qes as they said it. "The basketful of freshly picked figs, symbol of plenty and prosperity, when given its name in the northern dialect sounds likes its opposite: death and disaster."14 While acknowledging the various interpretations, I think this is one biblical passage where a less-literal translation is justified, so that the play on words can be communicated.

Beyond the word play, the word qes is used to relate to judgment in Genesis 6:13 and

Ezekiel 7, among others. So perhaps the meaning of God's pun was not entirely unexpected.

However, in case the meaning was not clear, the word play is followed by a repetition of 7:8, "I

will not again pass them by any more." Literal translation of this part of the verse into smooth

English is difficult because there are two words with similar meanings, rendered here as "again"

and "any more." The NIV and NASB say "I will spare them no longer" which is smoother but

less literal. In addition to "pass by" and "spare," other more interpretive meanings include

"overlook" (NJB) and "pardon" (REB). It is clear that the consequences of sin must be faced.

The final part of verse 3 is a contrast between current conditions and judgment conditions

and a description of the results of that judgment. Where there used to be leisure to sing, those

songs will turn into wails, howls, or lamentations. I chose "wails" as possibly clearest to

contemporary readers. The translation of "palace" is problematic, since it is literally temple. A

translation in this direction is supported by Leslie Alien when he points out that the Hebrew

form, stra, usually means religious songs.15 However, the English translations are divided on the

issue and in any case the temple and the palace formed one large complex of buildings, so

perhaps either translation is acceptable. The words "in that day" identify this as an eschatological

verse, with meaning for both an initial and subsequent fulfillments. The horror of the coming

judgment is made plain by the reference to corpses strewn about, unburied. One thinks of

pictures from any of several holocausts or genocides of the past 50 years. The last word of the

verse thus fits the scene. In the face of such devastation, a hushed silence is the best response.

The Hebrew word has, translated here by the remarkably similar English hush, is also

used in Amos 6:10. Once again the subject is dealing with dead bodies and the only appropriate response is deemed, "Hush!" Not only does this double use of has shown the connection of the pericope under study with the rest of the book of Amos, but it also illustrates the book's emotional qualities. Amos is not unaware that a judgment affects the whole person.

Vs. 4 - Amos' social and religious criticism in this passage begins with a phrase with which he begins other passages: "Hear this" it is a call to attention. His indictment of those who "trample the poor in the land" is similar to 2:6-8; 4:1; and 5:11-12. Throughout the book Amos uses four different Hebrew words for "poor," three of them in 8:4-6. They are essentially synonymous and the connotation for each is the dependence of the poor person on someone who can protect them and provide for them. The exploitation of the poor by the rich involves not just money but shame makes the crimes against which Amos prophesies the more heinous.

Vss. 5-6 - Here Amos uses the words and thoughts of the guilty to condemn them.17 This is a literary device he also uses in 2:1; 6:10,13; and 8:14. A religious element enters into the condemnation, because not only are the merchants greedy, but worship at the new moon festivals and Sabbaths is an outward show only, while inwardly the exploiters count the hours until they can return to their buying and selling. As J. Alberto Soggin puts it, "'religion' ruins their business."18 This kind of religious superficiality is also seen in 2:12 and 4:4-5. The translation here is made difficult because the Northern Kingdom in the 8th century BC was agrarian, but contemporary Western readers are usually unfamiliar with that milieu. Thus a literal rendering of "offer wheat for sale" might be "open the wheat" with the idea of grain sacks lined up in a market and "what falls from the wheat -when it is winnowed1'1 is literally "the sweepings of the wheat." In addition to the dishonesty of "fixing" the ephah, shekel, and scales, which is told in a straightforward manner, the premeditated collection of trivial debts by forcing

the debtor into indentured servitude or slavery is also mentioned. As Stephen J. Bramer points

out, these sins are in direct contradiction of the law as found in the Torah19 so that Israel is in violation of the covenant and the judgments pronounced on her follow the curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28."

Vss. 7-8 - God's makes other oaths in Amos 4:2 and 6:8, but in those locations He swears "by his holiness" and "by himself whereas here He swears "by the pride of Jacob." Before I studied the commentators, I concluded that this was God swearing by Himself using the title "Pride of Jacob." The judgment to follow (v.8) would surely come because God does not allow his glory to be sullied. However, Jorg Jeremias relates the term "pride of Jacob" to Israel's land and God's dominion of it, suggesting that there is a profound irony in God swearing by the very thing that is destined to be taken from Israel in judgment.22 This view is interesting, but it relies on technicalities in the Hebrew which were not easy for me to understand. Hubbard's view is that this is extreme sarcasm from God @ the pride of Jacob has grown so large, Yahweh himself can swear by it!23 While remaining open to alternate views, I find this last the most reasonable, since "pride" is not usually a good thing in Scripture.

The ominous thing that God swears is that He "will never forget all their works," an idea also found in Hosea 7:2 and 8:13. The Israelites cannot hope that judgment will be averted. The description of the earthquake is straightforward and made interesting by a comparison to the Nile River rising and falling as it does annually. However, while the flooding of the Nile was usually seen as a positive thing, since it replenished the soil, here the "flooding" is definitely negative.

As mentioned earlier, there is a parallel in 9:5b. Soggin suggests that this earthquake had already happened and that the text is accounting for the catastrophe.24 If so, it might explain the 1:1 superscription, "two years before the earthquake." However I think it more likely this is a prediction of future judgment in response to the enumerated sins.

Vss. 9-11 - The words "in that day" signal a return to the eschatological mode first seen

in verse 3. The predicted solar eclipse is described in foreboding terms. Both Hubbard and Soggin point out that we know from Assyrian records that a solar eclipse occurred 15 June 763,25 so that Amos likely speaks from first-land experience. The idea of a dark day is inextricably linked to the eschatological day of the Lord, as seen in numerous verses within Amos itself in 5:18 and 20. Following the solar eclipse there is a return to the ideas of verse 3: "festivals to mourning" and "songs into a dirge." This is an illustration of the great prophetic reversal - "that day" is not good news as the Israelites believe, but bad news. Sackcloth and baldness are the traditional signs of mourning, which word is repeated twice in verse 10 and found in a similar form in verse 8. The passage concludes with two horrible similes: "like the mourning for an only son" and "like a bitter day." The reader must use imagination to fill in the details, but as the situation is so universal, this is easily accomplished and the final impression is one of grief.

CONCLUSION

Amos 8:1-10 is a clear message of judgment for Israel. Beginning with a play on words that transformed ordinary summer fruit into a symbol for the end of "getting away with murder," the doom of divine retribution is clearly spelled out. Happy times will become times of grief because of injustice against the poor and religious superficiality. An oath from Yahweh makes it sure and certain that earthquake, eclipse, and mourning are on the way. The passage has meaning for the people of the Northern Kingdom, for the Southern Kingdom where Amos' messages ended up after the fall ofSamaria, and for everyone who thinks they are God's people but lives like they are their own people.

The passage is in keeping with the overall message of the book of Amos, as shown by the repetition of numerous themes either raised earlier in the book or continued after Amos 8:1-10,

or both; the literary integrity of the book is upheld. Additionally, the message agrees with that of the other 8th century prophet to the Northern Kingdom, Hosea. Prophets following Amos go on to give the same message to successive generations of the Southern Kingdom and Israel. The passage shows that God's grace or favor is not endless in the face of a prolonged pattern of sin, but that He will judge sin. It also demonstrates that religious superficiality - checking your watch five minutes into the sermon, as it were - has no place in the lives of true God-followers. Finally, Amos 8:1-10 stands as a warning to contemporary believers about our own "day of the Lord" to align our expectations with the Bible.

Bibliography

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1I have followed the convention used in several modem English translations of rendering Yahweh as GOD

when preceded by Hebrew ^donay and as LORD when used alone.

2 Although this word is literally "temple," it can also mean palace (since God is King and the temple is

where He dwells). The context here makes "palace" a better choice.

3 The word for sale is in italics to indicate it is not translated but added for clarity.

4 The word for sweeping is replace with wholesale (italics) to indicate it is not translated but added for clarity.

5 See 2 Kings 17 for a description of these events.

6 Glenn A. Camagey, Sr. and Glenn A. Camagey, Jr, -Anatomy Of An Oracle," Chafer Theological

Seminary Journal 7, no. 1 (January 2001), 53.

7 All quotations outside Amos 8:1-10 are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

Copyrighted 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the

United States of America.

8 See Joel 3:12-13; Matthew 13:30; Revelation 14:14fF.

9 Barry J. Beitzel, "Exodus 3:14 and The Divine Name: A Case of Biblical Paronomasia," Trinity Journal

I, no. I (Spring 1980), 5.

10 Beitzel, "Exodus 3:14 "6.

11 " Robert R. Ellis, "qayis," New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis

(NIDOTTE), ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1997), Electronic text hypertexted

and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 1.0.

12 Al Wolters, "Wordplay and dialect in Amos 8:1 -2," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 31,

no. 4 (December 1988): 409.

13 See Amos 1:1.

14 Wolters, "Wordplay in Amos 8:1-2," 411.

15 Leslie C. Alien, "sir," New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis (NIDOTTE),

ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1997), Electronic text hypertexted and prepared

by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 1.0.

16 Domeris, W. R. "'ebySn," New International Dictionary- of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis

(NIDOTTE), gen. ed. Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1997), Electronic text

hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 1.0.

17 David Allan Hubbard, Joel and Amos: an Introduction and (commentary. The Tyndale Old Testament

Commentaries, gen ed. D. J. Wiseman, (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-Varsity: Downers Grove, Illinois, 1989),

106.

18 J. Alberto Soggin, The Prophet Amos: A Translation and Commentary, (London: SCM Press, 1987), 35.

19 For the sin false weights and measures and scales, see Leviticus 19:36 and for the sin of oppressing me

poor, especially with regard to debt, see Deuteronomy 24: 14-15 and Leviticus 25:35-43.

20 Stephen J. Bramer, "The Literary Genre of the Book of Amos," Bibliotheca Sacra 156, no. 621 (Jan 99), 51.

21 Thomas Edward McComiskey, "Amos," The Expositor's Bible Commentary, gen. ed. Frank E. Gaebelein

(Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1990), Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc.

22 Jorg Jeremias, The Book of Amos: A Commentary, translated by Douglas W. Stott, The Old Testament

Library, (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1988), 148-149.

23 Hubbard, Joel and Amos, 105.

24 Soggin, Amos, 136.

25 Hubbard, Joel and Amos, 90. Soggin, Amos, p. 137.