Amos 1 Study Notes: Judgment on the Surrounding Nations
Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa, announces the LORD's judgment on Israel's neighbors. Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon are each condemned for a specific act of cruelty, from crushing Gilead and selling captives to relentless war on a brother nation, and each will be punished by fire.
General
True or False: Amos 1:13 says the Ammonites committed their atrocities in Gilead so as to gain more land.
Answer: True
This is true. The Ammonites, a people living east of the Jordan near Gilead, are charged with brutally killing Gilead's expectant mothers, and the verse names their purpose: to push out their borders (1:13). For such cruelty the LORD will kindle fire on Rabbah's walls, their capital city, amid the shouts and storm of battle, and their king and his officials will be carried off as captives together (1:14-15). Ammon's hunger for Gilead's land shows up elsewhere: an Ammonite king once demanded the land between the Arnon and the Jabbok (Judges 11:12-13), and Jeremiah condemns Ammon for taking over the territory of Gad and announces ruin for Rabbah (Jeremiah 49:1-2).
- Amos 1:13-15 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory. So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest. Their king will go into exile—he and his princes together,” says the LORD.”Ammon is judged for violence against Gilead done for the sake of land, with fire on Rabbah and exile for its king.
- Judges 11:12-13 (BSB)“Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?” The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.””An earlier Ammonite king claimed Israel's land east of the Jordan, showing Ammon's long desire for that territory.
- Jeremiah 49:1-2 (BSB)“Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities? Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.”Jeremiah also condemns Ammon for seizing Israelite land and foretells the ruin of Rabbah.
Theological
True or False: The motive given in 1:13 for the Ammonites' brutality in Gilead is territorial expansion.
Answer: True
This is true. Ammon's indictment combines the atrocity against Gilead's pregnant women with its stated motive, the enlargement of their borders (1:13); the sentence is fire on Rabbah's walls in the tumult of battle and the exile of the king with his princes (1:14-15). Ammon's long-running designs on Gilead appear in the king's claim to the land between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers in Jephthah's day (Judges 11:12-13) and in Jeremiah's oracle against Ammon's seizure of Gad and the coming ruin of Rabbah (Jeremiah 49:1-2).
- Amos 1:13-15 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory. So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest. Their king will go into exile—he and his princes together,” says the LORD.”Ammon is judged for violence against Gilead done for the sake of land, with fire on Rabbah and exile for its king.
- Judges 11:12-13 (BSB)“Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?” The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.””An earlier Ammonite king claimed Israel's land east of the Jordan, showing Ammon's long desire for that territory.
- Jeremiah 49:1-2 (BSB)“Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: “Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Milcom taken possession of Gad? Why have his people settled in their cities? Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned. Then Israel will drive out their dispossessors, says the LORD.”Jeremiah also condemns Ammon for seizing Israelite land and foretells the ruin of Rabbah.
General
What specific charge does the LORD bring against Damascus in 1:3?
Answer: They crushed Gilead like grain under iron threshing tools
Damascus was the capital of Aram (Syria), the kingdom northeast of Israel. The LORD charges it with threshing Gilead, the Israelite land east of the Jordan River, with iron sledges, the heavy boards used to crush grain, a picture of crushing a people without mercy (1:3). In judgment He will send fire on the dynasty of Hazael and the strongholds of Ben-hadad, break down the city's gates, remove its rulers, and send Aram's people into exile to Kir (1:4-5). The other charges belong to other nations: handing captives to Edom (Gaza and Tyre), brutality against Gilead's expectant mothers (Ammon), and burning the bones of Edom's king (Moab). The books of Kings record that Hazael struck Israel throughout Gilead (2 Kings 10:32-33) and that Aram's king left Israel's army like threshed dust (2 Kings 13:7). Later Assyria's king captured Damascus and carried its people off to Kir (2 Kings 16:9).
- Amos 1:3-5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron. So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.”The LORD indicts Damascus for brutality against Gilead and announces fire, broken gates, and exile to Kir.
- 2 Kings 10:32-33 (BSB)“In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory from the Jordan eastward through all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.”Hazael's campaigns against Israel east of the Jordan show the background of the charge.
- 2 Kings 13:7 (BSB)“Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.”Aram's ruin of Israel's army is described with the same threshing picture Amos uses.
- 2 Kings 16:9 (BSB)“So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.”Assyria's capture of Damascus and exile of its population to Kir carried out the sentence of 1:5.
Theological
Which crime is named as the ground of judgment on Damascus in 1:3?
Answer: They crushed Gilead like grain under iron threshing tools
The first oracle indicts Damascus, capital of Aram, for threshing Gilead with iron sledges, an agricultural image for the merciless crushing of Israel's Transjordanian territory (1:3). The sentence falls on Hazael's dynasty and the strongholds of Ben-hadad, the gates and rulers of Damascus, and ends with Aram's deportation to Kir (1:4-5). Each nation's indictment is specific: Gaza and Tyre trafficked captives to Edom, Ammon savaged Gilead's pregnant women for land, and Moab desecrated the bones of Edom's king. Kings confirms Hazael's campaigns through Gilead (2 Kings 10:32-33) and Aram's grinding down of Israel's army like threshed dust (2 Kings 13:7), and records Assyria's later deportation of Damascus to Kir (2 Kings 16:9), the very sentence Amos announced.
- Amos 1:3-5 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron. So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.”The LORD indicts Damascus for brutality against Gilead and announces fire, broken gates, and exile to Kir.
- 2 Kings 10:32-33 (BSB)“In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory from the Jordan eastward through all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.”Hazael's campaigns against Israel east of the Jordan show the background of the charge.
- 2 Kings 13:7 (BSB)“Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.”Aram's ruin of Israel's army is described with the same threshing picture Amos uses.
- 2 Kings 16:9 (BSB)“So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.”Assyria's capture of Damascus and exile of its population to Kir carried out the sentence of 1:5.
General
What does the LORD charge Edom with in 1:11?
Answer: Attacking its own brother nation with merciless, endless rage
Edom, the nation descended from Esau, Jacob's brother, is charged with chasing down his brother in war, smothering all compassion, and letting his anger and fury burn on without end (1:11). The brother is Israel, the nation descended from Jacob. So the LORD will send fire on Teman and on the strongholds of Bozrah, two of Edom's chief places (1:12). Moses had once appealed to Edom as Israel's brother (Numbers 20:14), and the Law told Israel not to despise an Edomite because he is a brother (Deuteronomy 23:7). Obadiah also condemns Edom for violence against his brother Jacob and for gloating over Judah's distress (Obadiah 1:10-12).
- Amos 1:11-12 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly. So I will send fire upon Teman to consume the citadels of Bozrah.””Edom is condemned for relentless, pitiless hostility toward his brother, and fire is decreed on Teman and Bozrah.
- Numbers 20:14 (BSB)“From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,”Moses' message to Edom's king calls Israel Edom's brother, the relationship Edom violated.
- Deuteronomy 23:7 (BSB)“Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.”The Law names the Edomite as Israel's brother, showing that the bond ran both ways.
- Obadiah 1:10-12 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.”Obadiah condemns Edom for the same violence against his brother Jacob.
Theological
What is the substance of the indictment against Edom in 1:11?
Answer: Attacking its own brother nation with merciless, endless rage
Edom is indicted for hunting his brother down in war, suppressing all compassion, and nursing an unceasing, flaming anger (1:11), with fire decreed on Teman and Bozrah (1:12). The brother is Jacob, that is, Israel, since Edom descends from Esau. The kinship aggravates the guilt: Moses had addressed Edom as Israel's brother (Numbers 20:14), the Law forbade Israel to despise an Edomite because he is a brother (Deuteronomy 23:7), and Obadiah's whole oracle condemns Edom's violence and gloating over his brother Jacob (Obadiah 1:10-12).
- Amos 1:11-12 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly. So I will send fire upon Teman to consume the citadels of Bozrah.””Edom is condemned for relentless, pitiless hostility toward his brother, and fire is decreed on Teman and Bozrah.
- Numbers 20:14 (BSB)“From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,”Moses' message to Edom's king calls Israel Edom's brother, the relationship Edom violated.
- Deuteronomy 23:7 (BSB)“Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.”The Law names the Edomite as Israel's brother, showing that the bond ran both ways.
- Obadiah 1:10-12 (BSB)“Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them. But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress.”Obadiah condemns Edom for the same violence against his brother Jacob.
General
In the opening announcement of 1:2, what is the effect of the LORD's roar from Zion?
Answer: The shepherds' grazing lands mourn and Carmel's peak dries up
Amos was one of the sheepherders from the town of Tekoa, and he received his message about Israel while Uzziah ruled Judah and Jeroboam ruled Israel, two years prior to the earthquake (1:1). His first words picture the LORD roaring like a lion from Zion, the hill of Jerusalem where the temple stood, so that the grazing land of the shepherds mourns and the top of Mount Carmel dries up (1:2). The picture sets the tone for the book: the LORD's voice of judgment goes out from the place where He dwells, and even the land withers under it. Joel uses the same image of the LORD roaring from Zion (Joel 3:16), Jeremiah pictures Him roaring over His pasture against everyone on earth (Jeremiah 25:30), and Amos later says that when the lion roars, the prophet has to speak (3:8).
- Amos 1:1-2 (BSB)“These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.””Amos is introduced, and his first message pictures the LORD's voice from Jerusalem withering the land.
- Joel 3:16 (BSB)“The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”Joel uses the same picture of the LORD thundering from Zion, adding that He shelters His own people.
- Jeremiah 25:30 (BSB)“So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth.”Jeremiah also pictures the LORD roaring from on high, His shout of judgment reaching the whole earth.
- Amos 3:8 (BSB)“The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?”Amos later links the LORD's roar to the prophet's duty to speak His message.
Theological
According to 1:2, what results when the LORD utters His voice from Zion and Jerusalem?
Answer: The shepherds' grazing lands mourn and Carmel's peak dries up
The superscription identifies Amos as a sheepherder from Tekoa who received his message concerning Israel while Uzziah reigned in Judah and Jeroboam in Israel, two years prior to the earthquake (1:1). The keynote of 1:2 then presents the LORD as a lion whose roar from Zion, His chosen dwelling in Jerusalem, makes the shepherds' grazing land mourn and Carmel's summit dry up. Judgment proceeds from the LORD's own presence, and creation itself registers it. Joel 3:16 uses the same roar from Zion, Jeremiah 25:30 pictures the LORD roaring from on high against all the earth, and Amos 3:8 ties the LORD's roar directly to the compulsion of the prophetic word.
- Amos 1:1-2 (BSB)“These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.””Amos is introduced, and his first message pictures the LORD's voice from Jerusalem withering the land.
- Joel 3:16 (BSB)“The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.”Joel uses the same picture of the LORD thundering from Zion, adding that He shelters His own people.
- Jeremiah 25:30 (BSB)“So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly over His pasture; like those who tread the grapes, He will call out with a shout against all the inhabitants of the earth.”Jeremiah also pictures the LORD roaring from on high, His shout of judgment reaching the whole earth.
- Amos 3:8 (BSB)“The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?”Amos later links the LORD's roar to the prophet's duty to speak His message.
General
Each oracle in 1:3-2:6 begins with the same formula about three sins and then four. What does that formula express?
Answer: Their sins have piled up, and the LORD won't recall His sentence
Each oracle opens with the LORD saying that for three sins of the nation, and then four, He will not take back His judgment (1:3). The counting is a way of saying that sin has been added to sin until the measure is more than full; then one example of the nation's guilt is named. The LORD had long been patient, as when He waited for the sin of the Amorites to reach its full measure before judging them (Genesis 15:16), but His patience never means leaving the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1:3). The foreign nations in these oracles had not received the Law of Moses, yet the LORD still holds them responsible for cruelty, because what His law requires is inscribed on human hearts and consciences (Romans 2:14-15).
- Amos 1:3 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.”The formula first appears in the oracle against Damascus, followed by one specific crime.
- Genesis 15:16 (BSB)“In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””God delayed judging the Amorites until their sin was complete, the same idea of accumulated guilt.
- Nahum 1:3 (BSB)“The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”The LORD's patience never means that the guilty go unpunished.
- Romans 2:14-15 (BSB)“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them”Paul explains why nations without the written law are still accountable to God for wrongdoing.
Theological
What does the recurring numerical formula of the oracles (three transgressions, even four) convey?
Answer: Their sins have piled up, and the LORD won't recall His sentence
The graded numerical formula (three, even four) expresses sin heaped upon sin beyond the full measure, after which the LORD declares His sentence irrevocable (1:3); one representative crime then stands for the whole. The pattern matches God's long-suffering that waits until iniquity is complete (Genesis 15:16) but never clears the guilty (Nahum 1:3). The foreign nations here stand outside the Mosaic covenant, yet they are judged for atrocities because the law's demands are inscribed on their hearts, with conscience as witness (Romans 2:14-15), so they stand fully accountable before Him.
- Amos 1:3 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.”The formula first appears in the oracle against Damascus, followed by one specific crime.
- Genesis 15:16 (BSB)“In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””God delayed judging the Amorites until their sin was complete, the same idea of accumulated guilt.
- Nahum 1:3 (BSB)“The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.”The LORD's patience never means that the guilty go unpunished.
- Romans 2:14-15 (BSB)“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them”Paul explains why nations without the written law are still accountable to God for wrongdoing.
General
Gaza and Tyre are both charged with handing captives over to Edom. What further charge is added against Tyre in 1:9?
Answer: It broke a brotherly treaty it had made
Gaza, a Philistine city on the coast, is condemned for carrying off an entire population and handing them over to Edom, and the LORD's judgment reaches the other Philistine cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron too (1:6-8). Tyre, the great port city of Phoenicia, is charged with the same trade in captives, but with one thing more: it broke a brotherly covenant, a binding agreement of friendship (1:9). Amos does not name the other partner to that agreement. In Ezekiel's later lament over Tyre, distant trading partners exchange slaves for Tyre's merchandise (Ezekiel 27:13). Joel likewise accuses Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia of selling Judah's people to the Greeks (Joel 3:4-6). Crushing Gilead with iron tools, burning a king's bones, and rejecting the LORD's law are instead the charges against Damascus, Moab, and Judah.
- Amos 1:6-8 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom. So I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza, to consume its citadels. I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord GOD.”Gaza is judged for deporting a whole people to Edom, along with the other Philistine cities.
- Amos 1:9-10 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood. So I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre to consume its citadels.””Tyre is judged for the same trade in captives and for breaking a sworn bond of friendship.
- Joel 3:4-6 (BSB)“Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads. For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.”Joel charges Tyre and Philistia with selling Judah's people abroad, a trade in captives like the one Amos condemns.
- Ezekiel 27:13 (BSB)“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.”Ezekiel's lament over Tyre lists slaves among the goods its trading partners brought in exchange for its merchandise.
Theological
Beyond the slave trade it shared with Gaza, what additional offense is laid against Tyre in 1:9?
Answer: It broke a brotherly treaty it had made
Gaza's oracle condemns the deportation of a whole population sold on to Edom, with judgment extending to the Philistine cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Ekron (1:6-8). Tyre shares the same human trafficking but is further indicted for breaking a brotherly covenant, a sworn treaty bond (1:9-10). The treaty partner is not named. Ezekiel's lament over Tyre shows that its commerce included human beings, with slaves exchanged for its goods (Ezekiel 27:13). Joel brings a related charge against Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, that of selling Judeans to the Greeks (Joel 3:4-6). Threshing Gilead, desecrating a king's bones, and rejecting the law belong instead to the indictments of Damascus, Moab, and Judah.
- Amos 1:6-8 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom. So I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza, to consume its citadels. I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord GOD.”Gaza is judged for deporting a whole people to Edom, along with the other Philistine cities.
- Amos 1:9-10 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood. So I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre to consume its citadels.””Tyre is judged for the same trade in captives and for breaking a sworn bond of friendship.
- Joel 3:4-6 (BSB)“Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads. For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland.”Joel charges Tyre and Philistia with selling Judah's people abroad, a trade in captives like the one Amos condemns.
- Ezekiel 27:13 (BSB)“Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your merchants. They exchanged slaves and bronze utensils for your merchandise.”Ezekiel's lament over Tyre lists slaves among the goods its trading partners brought in exchange for its merchandise.