The Pulpit Commentary — Amos — Section 115

into captfrity. St. Jerome," Vos qui primi and burn it. Though the Jews generally CBtis divitiis, primi ooptivitatis eustinebitie buried dead bodies, creme.tiou we.a some- jugnm, secundum illud quod in Ezechiele times used, both in honour or emergency ecriptum est : • a eanctne.rio meo incipite'" (1 Se.m. xxxi. 12) nud in punishment (Lev. (Ezek. ix. 6). With the first; literally, at xx. 14; xxi. 9). The bon-es; i.e. the corpse. the 1'ea.d. with reference doubtless to ver. 1. e.s in Exod. xiii. 19: Josh. xxiv. 82; a.nd 2 The banquet (mirzakh); the scJ"eech of re- Kings xiii. 21; Keil. The kiusman te.kes it vellers. The word ie used of the screom of up to bring it out of the house to bum it. monrnere in J er. xvi. 5; here of the cries Him the.t is by the aides of the house; kim aud shouts of feasters at a banquet. Them that is in tl1e innermost parts of the house; qui that stretohed themselves on couches, as in penetralibus dolllUB e.,t (Vulgate). This is ver. ¼. The Septuagint, reading differently, the last living person, who ho.d hidden him- has," 'they shall depart iuto captivity from self in the most remote chambers: or it may the dominion of princes, and the neighing he e. messenger whom the kin.sme.n had sent ufhorsesshall be taken away from Ephraim." to search the house. He a.sks him-Is there From this passage of Amos St. Augustine yet any with thee 1 Is there a.ny one left takes ocaasion to show that the most un- a.live to succour, or dead to bury? And he tn.ined of the prophets po.sse~sed eloquence she.ll se.y, No; Vulgate, et respon.debit, Finis and lit.erary skill (' De Doctr. Christ.,' eat. Then he (the kinsman) ahe.ll say, Hold i~. 7). thy tongue (Has!); Hueh I He ste.ys the Yer. 8.-Ha.th swom byhim.self(nepkesh); man in the inner che.mber ,from ,spee.king; in anima sua (Vnlgate), "by his soul;" a and why? For we ma.y not make mention oonoession to hume.n la.ngnage (comp. eh. iv. of the name of the Lord; Vulgate, et non 2; J er. li. 14; Heh. vi 13, 17, 18). God recorderia 11ominia Domini. Some, as Pusey, thus shows that the threat proceeds from Schegg, and Gandell, see here the voice of him, e.nd is immutable. The excellenoy; despair. It is too le.te to ce.11 upon God the pride (li/3pw, Septuagint; supl'Tbiam, now; it is the time of vengennce. We re- Vulgate); that of which Ja.cob is proud jected him in life; we may not cry to him (Hos. v. 5), e.s, for instance, hie pale.ces, iu death. St. Jtrome refers the prohibition built by exactiun, maintained in voluptuous to the he.rdness of heart a.nd unbelief of the luxury. W"ill deliver up to the enemy for people, who even in all this misery will not destrnction (Deut. xxxii. 30 ; Obad. 14). confess the no.me of the Lord. Keil sa.ys, "It Ver. 9.-If there remain ten men in one indicates a. fee.r lest, by the invoce.tion of houe. If these escape death in we.r, they the no.me of God, his eye should he drawn l!hall die of fa.mine and pestilence in the towards this last remaining one, and he e.lso three yee.rH' siege of Se.me.rie. (2 Kings xvii. should fe.11 a. victim to tue judgment of 5). If the prophet is still referring to the death." Others a.gain think that the notion rich chiefta.ina, ten would be only a. poor in the mind of the impious speaker is that :remne.nt of the inhabitants of their pe.le.ces. Jehovah is the Author of a.ll their calamities, The LXX. e.dds, very unnecessarily, K,d e.nd that he is impatient a.t the very mention vroA.£1tp811uo,,.,-a., oi 1<a.,-&A.o,1ro1, "And those of his name. The simplest explanation is :remaining shall be left behind." the first, or a. modification of it. The person Ver. 10.-The prophet gives a.n instance addressed is a.bout to pray or to call on God ef the terror and misery in the.t common in his distress. "Be silent," sa.ys the speaker; e&la.mity. He depicts a BCCne where the " we ce.n no longer 11ppea.l to J ehqvo.h a.s the nee.rest surviving kinsman comes into the covenant God; by naming him we call to holl8e to perform the funeral rites for e. dead his remembrance how we rune broken the Jll&n. And a man'• uncle; better, and when covene.nt, violated our rele.tion to him ; a man'8 kinB111an; the apodosis being a.t therefore provoke him not further by the end of the verse, "Then she.11 he say." making mention of his name." Dod is sometimes rendered " beloved," but Ver. 11.-The prophet confirms the judg- usue.lly " father's brother," but it may mee.n ment denounced iu ver. 8. The Lord com- any near relation upon w horn, in default ma.ndeth, and he will smite. ,The expression, vf father e.nd brethren, would devolve the thus taken, implies that God executes his duty of burying the corpse. Septuagint, ol commands through .the ministers of his .J,«701 alrriiJ,; propi11quus suua (Vulgate). judgment ; but it me.y well be rendered, And he that burneth him; literally, and hi8 "and men shall smite" (comp.. eh. ix. !I). l>urmr. This is the ea.me person a.a the kius- Breaches , , . olefta. The great pa.la.ce rt1- man, the burier; but for some reason, either q uires a. brea.ch to briug it to the ground ; from the number of deaths, or from the pesti- the little hut is ruined by a small rent or lence, or from the distance of the burying- cleft. All houses, great and smnll, shall Le J>lace, which would be out of the city and smitten. Possibly Israel and Jude.h nre in11CCessible in the blockade, he cannot lay siguitled respectively by "the great house" &he liudy iu the grave, and iB forced to take a.nd "the little house" (comp. eh. ix. 11); <JR, VI, 1-14,] TllE BOOK OF AMOS. 115