Amos says, 'The habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither,' in the time of the threatened judgment, and this implies that its pastures were not ordinarily liable to wither. It was a glorious mountain, however, and a prominent landmark according to Jeremiah ( Jeremiah 46:18), Carmel was a resort of herdsmen. Its name, Kurmul, or Kerm-el, signifies 'the vineyard of God ' but its vineyards have all disappeared. There is no special excellency in Carmel at the present day, whatever may be said of Sharon. It is steep and lofty where it overhangs the Mediterranean above Haifa, and on that face which overlooks the Plain of Acre on the north, and that of Esdraelon towards the southeast. Thomson, 'The Land and the Book ' writes thus about it: "The celebrated ridge, called in the Bible Merest Carmel, and by the Arabs Jebel Kurmul, or Mar Elyas, in honour of Elijah, is an extension of the hills of Samaria, in a northwesterly direction, for a distance of about eighteen miles, terminating in the bold promontory of Carmel, which descends almost literally into the sea. This is the Mount Carmel, which stretches boldly into the sea on the south of the Bay of Acre, and is remarkable for its extreme fertility, its rich pastures, its vines, olives, fruits, and flowers. Shall mourn explained by the following term, shall wither i.e. It is only natural that Amos, the shepherd, should use such terms to express the idea that the whole land, from Jerusalem on the south to Carmel on the north, should feel the vengeance of the Lord. Not from Dan and Bethel, the seats of idolatrous worship, but from Jerusalem, the abode of his presence. The thunder is the voice of God announcing his coming to judge. To the nations denounced by Joel, Amos adds others of Israel's enemies, viz. The following clause is a repetition of Joel 3:16 and Amos thus connects his prophecy with that of his predscessor, to show the unity of prophetic mission, and to warn the Jews that God's punishments are not directed exclusively on heathen nations. 1) and herein the prophet gives a short summary of the judgment which he has to pronounce. This is the commencement of "the words" of Amos (ver. 4) attributes this earthquake to God's displeasure at Uzziah's usurpation of the priest's office ( 2 Chronicles 26:16). It was remembered in after years (see Zechariah 14:5), and Amos alludes to it as a token of the judgment which he foretold, such catastrophes being regarded as signs of the majesty of God and his vengeance on sinners (comp. No mention is made of this event in the historical books. (For the date of the prophecy, see above, Introduction, § III.) Earthquake. ![]() Concerning Israel chiefly, mention of Judah being introduced only incidentally and as connected with the destinies of Israel The Septuagint reads, by some mistake, "concerning Jerusalem." In the days. A small town of Judah (see above in the account of the author, Introduction, § II.). His own words, however ( Amos 7:14, 15), decide his position as that of a poor labouring man. The Hebrew word noked used here is found in 2 Kings 3:4, applied to Mesha King of Moab, a great "sheepmaster " hence some have considered that Amos was not a mere mercenary, but a rich possessor of flocks. That the words am not those of Amos, but of Jehovah, is shown by the succeeding clause, "which he saw." Herdmen. ![]() So Jeremiah begins his prophecy ( Jeremiah 1:1), and the writer of Ecclesiastes ( Ecclesiastes 1:1).
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