Read Amos 1.3-8. I 1.3-2.5: Judgments on Israel's neighbors. In typical two-part judgment speeches containing indictments and sentences, Amos announces divine judgment on seven of Israel's closest neighbors. The indictments in each case involve acts of brutality against neighboring people. The repetition of the tree transgressions ... and for four in each indictments a poetic convention meaning simply "several." The image of fire in each sentence predicts the violent destruction of the cities indicted. The phrase says the Lord, which begins and ends these speeches, identifies them as divine oracles and the prophet as a divine spokesperson. In verses 3-5: Damascus is the capital of the kingdom of Aram northeast of Israel, and Hazael and Ben-haddad are two of its kings. Gilead refers to Israelite territories east of the Jordan. The location of Kir, which Amos regarded as the original home of the Arameans (9.7), is uncertain. In verses 6-8: Gaza, Ashdod, Ash-kelon, and Ekron are major Philistine cities southwest of Israel on the Mediterranean coast. Edom, to which both Gaza and Tyre (1.9-10) deported people, is Israel's neighbor southeast of the Dead Sea. Comments or Questions..
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