Commentary for Amos 1:5

from Bik’ath-Aven—That is a place in Aram.

And after the prophet mentions that destruction of the kings and their palaces, he mentions the destruction of the land when he says "I will break the gates of Damascus..." The meaning of this is that even if its gates are big and strong, Gd will break them. Meaning that even the strongest gates will be unable to withstand the enemy. And Gd said, "I will remove the inhabitants from Bikat Aven and grasp the scepter from Beis Aden ." The commentaries generally define Bikas Aven and Beis Aden as large cities in Aram. But I will explain the truth of the matter that actually Bikas Aven is the valley next to Damascus and it is the most fertile and praiseworthy valley in the world full of fruits and produce. And in the valley in every vineyard and orchard and field there is a house and a tower and there they store the food for the inhabitants of Damascus. And the enemy will come and destroy the valley after the inhabitants flee from them. And because of the wickedness of the people of Damascus, it is called "Bikas Avon" (Avon meaning sin). And the meaning of Beis Aden is that it is a name for Damascus itself that it is a city that is "aden" pleasant and luxurious to no end. To the point that the Ishmaelites saw the city from afar on a mountaintop and they saw the valley of Aven also and they feared to enter it because they thought it was literally the Garden of Eden. And they thought if they entered the Garden of Eden on Earth they would give up their place in the Garden of Eden in heaven since a person can't merit two Gardens of Eden. And they therefore left and didn't enter Damascus. And then the Assyrian king came and attacked it and killed all the descendants of the king and destroyed the city and the valley. Therefore the prophet says "I will grasp the scepter from Beis Aven" because the king/ruler holds a scepter in his hand to rule over the people. And he will lose his leadership when the enemy attacks. And after mentioning killing the kings and the destruction of the land, the prophet expounds on the exile of the people by saying "all of Aram will be exiled to Kira" and Kira is a city in Assyria as we know from Malachim 2 16:9) where we told that the Assyrian King attacks Damascus and conquers it, exiles them to Kira and kills the leaders. And it is explained here that the sin that caused Damascus's cup to overflow was the wicked way they treated Israel when they shamed and humbled the residents of Gilad.

and one who holds the scepter—[Jonathan renders:] and one who exercises sovereignty. Cf. (Gen. 49:10) “The scepter shall not turn away from Judah,” since the ruler castigates the people with sticks.

from Beth-Eden—A place name.

to Kir—A place name, where Sennacherib exiled them during the time of Ahaz, as it is stated: “And he went up to Damascus and seized it, and exiled Aram to Kir.” [see II Kings 16:9, where the wording differs.] All the retribution that the prophets of Israel prophesied concerning the nations - the prophets who preceded Sennacherib, e.g. Isaiah and Amos, prophesied concerning the sword of Sennacherib, and Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied concerning the sword of Nebuchadnezzar.