Commentaire sur Amos 5:33

The virgin of Israel—When they are exiled in the days of Hoshea son of Elah (II Kings 17:1-6), a king will never again rise from the ten tribes.

she is spread out on her soil Heb. נִטְּשָׁה. Anything that is cast, lying, and spread out upon the field is called נְטִישָה.

that gives forth a thousand Heb. הַיֹּצֵאת, that gives forth a thousand men.

Seek Me and live—Perform the pilgrimage to pay your vows in Jerusalem.

But seek not Bethel etc. nor pass Beersheba—Here it does not say, “You shall not come,” or “You shall not seek,” but, “You shall not pass.” This teaches us that there was no idol worship there, but as long as one of the members of the ten tribes would go out to seek and did not yet pass Beersheba, he could still turn to the Temple, to Jerusalem, and once he passed Beersheba, that is the way to the calf in Bethel or to the calf in Dan. And so Scripture states: (infra 8:14) “As your god, O Dan, lives, and as the way of Beersheba lives.” And you should know [that this is so], for Scripture pronounced decrees of retribution on Gilgal and Bethel, and did not decree upon Beersheba.

for Gilgal shall be exiled—According to its name is its curse. And, similarly, there is a city near Bethel named Beth-aven in the Book of Joshua (7:2).

shall become nought Heb. לְאָוֶן. [Jonathan renders:] לִלְמָא, which is the Aramaic translation of הֶבֶל, vanity, and this is a similarity to (Hosea 12: 12) “If Gilead is nought, it is because they are but futility.”

lest He break out like fire Heb. יִצְלַח. Lest His anger ascend as fire to the house of Joseph.

the house of Joseph—Like לְבֵית יוֹסֵף, to the house of Joseph.

Those who turn justice to wormwood—and they do not remember My conversions, that I turn etc.

and turns darkness into morning—There are some who live now in darkness, for whom I made it light.

and day He darkens as night—There is one for whom the time is favorable as the light of day, and I darken it as the night.

He Who calls the water of the sea—Jonathan renders: He Who said to gather camps as numerous as the water of the sea, and scatter them upon the face of the earth. And our Sages explained it as a reference to the generation of Enosh, when He caused the water of the ocean to inundate them. [from Mid. Psalms 88:2, Gen. Rabbah 23:7]

the Lord is His Name—They should have worshipped Him, and He would have given them power over their enemies.

Who strengthens Heb. הַמַּבְלִיג, Who strengthens. Like (Job 10:20) “And I will gain strength (וְאַבְלִיגָה) a little while”; (Jer. 8:18) “Were I to suppress (מַבְלִיגִיתִי) my grief.”

the robbed Heb. וְשֹׁד. A person who was robbed and weak [Jonathan renders:] Who strengthens the weak over the strong, and the robbed He gives rule over strong walled cities.

They hated him who reproves them in the gate—You do not fear Him or His prophets, and you hated those who reprove you in the gates of the courts.

you have trodden Heb. בּוֹשַׁסְכֶם, like בּוֹסַסְכֶם, you have trodden on the poor, that you trample and tread on his head. Like (Jer. 12:10) “They have trampled (בּוֹסְסוּ) My field.”

and the burden of grain you take—The settling of the balance as a loan, that you raised the market price for them immediately to sell them grain with interest, in order to take their estate from them. Therefore, houses and vineyards that you have built and planted on those estates shall not remain in your hands. and the burden Heb. מַשְׂאֵת, an expression of מַשָּׂא, a burden, which they make heavy upon them.

precious vineyards Heb. כַּרְמֵי חֶמֶד.

you who oppress the just—[Jonathan renders:] who oppress the innocent.

turning aside... in the gate—In the gates of your courts, they turned aside the judgment of the needy.

the prudent—Whoever is wise shall keep silent when the evil comes, and he shall not criticize the Divine standard of justice, for they did all these.

for it is a time of evil—[I.e.] a time destined [for them] to receive their evil.

and so... shall be etc.—If you do this, the Omnipresent shall be with you as you said in your heart, that you will keep your greatness.

the remnant of Joseph—All Israel are called by his name because he sustained them.

Alas! Alas! Heb. הוֹ הוֹ, an expression of a cry.

and they shall meet the plowman with mourning Heb. וְקָרְאוּ. They shall meet companies of plowmen, plowing in the fields, with the voice of the lamentation of the mourners crying in the streets.

and lamentation with those who know to wail—[Jonathan renders:] And the one who makes a lamentation shall meet one who makes a wailing. And this is only a repetitious expression. Cf. (Ps. 9:5) “My right and my cause (מִשְׁפָּטִי וְדִינִי).”

Woe to those who desire etc.—“Those who say, ‘Let Him hurry; let Him hasten His deed.’” (Isa. 5: 19)

Why would you have etc.—There is a parable concerning a rooster and a bat that were awaiting the dawn, as appears in the chapter entitled “Chelek.”

[the sacrifices of] your assemblies—[Jonathan renders:] The sacrifice of your assemblies; i.e, when you call an assembly.

and the peace offerings of your fattened cattle Heb. שֶׁלֶם מְרִיאֵיכֶם, the peace offerings of your fatlings, i.e, fattened cattle.

Take away from Me the din of your songs—that the Levites sing on the platform, since you are robbers and perverters of justice.

And justice shall be revealed like water Heb. וְיִגַּל. And you shall do this, and I will accept you. The justice that you have hidden and concealed shall be revealed and stream among you like water. [after Jonathan]

and righteousness—shall be revealed like a mighty stream. [after Jonathan]

Did... sacrifices and meal offerings—Is My desire for sacrifices and meal offerings? Is it not so that in the desert I did not speak with your forefathers to offer up sacrifices to Me? I said: (Lev. 1: 2) “Should a man sacrifice,” when he wishes to sacrifice. And Scripture states: (Num. 9:2) “And the children of Israel shall make the Passover sacrifice in its time.” This tells us that Israel made only that Passover sacrifice. [based on Sifre to Num. 9:2]

And you shall carry Siccuth your king—He returns to the matter of the retribution [mentioned] above. The day of the Lord is darkness for you, and not light, and you shall carry your idols into exile with you. The enemies shall load them on your necks to carry them with you into exile.

Siccuth... Chiun... Kochav—They are names of pagan deities.

And I will exile you beyond Damascus—I.e, you shall not be exiled to your neighbors as heretofore, that you were delivered into the hands of the kings of Aram [In Nach Lublin-Edom, an obvious error] and they did not take you in captivity to a distant place, but to Damascus. From now on, I will deliver you into the hands of Sennacherib, and he shall exile you far away.