Amos 1:4

Amo 1:4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

Ver. 4. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael] Sin doth as naturally draw judgments to it as the lodestone doth iron or turpentine fire; and heinous sins, heaviest judgments, devouring plagues. Such as are the fire of war, Psa 78:62; pestilence, Lev 26:25; foreign enemies, Num 21:28 Jer 48:45; homebred conspiracies, Jdg 9:15; Jdg 9:20; besides the fire of hell, whereof all miseries here are but typical. Let men kiss the Son therefore, lest God’s anger be kindled; and get the spirit of judgment, and of burning, that they may dwell with everlasting burnings. For even "our God is a consuming fire," Heb 12:29.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will send a fire on the house of Hazael - The fire is probably at once material fire, whereby cities are burned in war, since he adds, “it shall devour the palaces of Benhadad,” and also stands as a symbol of all other severity in war as in the ancient proverb, “a fire is gone out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it hath consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of Arnon” Num 21:28; and again of the displeasure of Almighty God, as when He says, “a fire is kindled in Mine anger, and it shall burn unto the lowest hell” Deu 32:22. For the fire destroys not the natural buildings only, but “the house of Hazael,” that is, his whole family. In these prophecies, a sevenfold vengeance by fire is denounced against the seven people, an image of the eternal fire into which all iniquity shall be cast.

The palaces of Benhadad - Hazael, having murdered Benhadad his master and ascended his throne, called Iris son after his murdered master, probably in order to connect his own house with the ancient dynasty. Benhadad, that is, son or worshiper of the idol “Hadad,” or “the sun,” had been the name of two of the kings of the old dynasty. Benhadad III was at this time reigning. The prophet foretells the entire destruction of the dynasty founded in blood. The prophecy may have had a fulfillment in the destruction of the house of Hazael, with whose family Rezin, the king of Syria in the time of Ahaz, stands in no known relation. Defeats, such as those of Benhadad III by Jeroboam II who took Damascus itself, are often the close of an usurping dynasty. Having no claim to regard except success, failure vitiates its only title. The name Hazael, “whom God looked upon,” implies a sort of owning of the One God, like Tab-el, “God is good,” El-iada’, “whom God knoweth,” even amid the idolatry in the names, Tab-Rimmon, “good is Rimmon;” Hadad-ezer, “Hadad is help;” and Hadad, or Benhadad. Bad men abuse every creature, or ordinance, or appointment of God. It may be then that, as Sennacherib boasted, “am I now come up without the Lord against this land” to destroy it? the Lord said unto me, Go up against this land and destroy it” Isa 36:10; so Hazael made use of the prophecy of Elisha, to give himself out as the scourge of God, and thought of himself as one “on whom God looked.”

Knowledge of futurity is an awful gift. As “Omniscience alone can wield Omnipotence,” so superhuman knowledge needs superhuman gifts of wisdom and holiness. Hazael seemingly hardened himself in sin by aid of the knowledge which should have been his warning. Probably he came to Elisha, with the intent to murder his master already formed, in case he should not die a natural death; and Elisha read him to himself. But he very probably justified himself to himself in what he had already purposed to do, on the ground that Elisha had foretold to him that he should be king over 2Ki 8:13, and, in his massacres of God’s people, gave himself out as being, what he was, the instrument of God. “Scourges of God” have known themselves to be what they were, although they themselves were not the less sinful, in sinfully accomplishing the Will of God (see the note at Hos 1:4). We have heard of a Christian Emperor, who has often spoken of his “mission,” although his “mission” has already cost the shedding of much Christian blood.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Amo 1:4-5. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael — God’s judgments are often compared to fire. But perhaps the expression may here signify, that the fine palaces of Hazael, and his son and successor Ben- hadad, should be burned down, as they probably were in the taking of Damascus by Tiglath-pileser. I will break also the bar of Damascus — The gates and fortifications thereof, in which its strength consists, shall be broken down: and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven — Or, Bikath-aven. The word signifies, the plain of vanity; from whence some conjecture it was a place in Syria remarkable for idolatry, as Beth-el was called Beth-aven for the idolatry practised there. And him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden — That is, the house of pleasure. Probably one of the pleasant palaces of the kings of Syria is intended. But Eden was likewise a country bordering on Syria, mentioned 2Ki 19:12; Eze 27:23. And the people of Syria shall go into captivity — All this was fulfilled when Tiglath-pileser took Damascus, and carried the people captive to Kir, and slew Rezin their king: see the margin.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:4 I will send down fire: In ancient times conquered cities were burned by invading armies (see also 1:7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5). The conquest of Damascus would be God’s judgment on them. • Hazael reigned as king of Damascus (about 843–802 BC) after he seized the throne by assassination. Ben-hadad was Hazael’s son and successor (about 802–792 BC).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The antiquity of their buildings shall not avoid my judgments, read Jer. 49:27.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Hazael . . . Ben-hadad--A black marble obelisk found in the central palace of Nimroud, and now in the British Museum, is inscribed with the names of Hazael and Ben-hadad of Syria, as well as Jehu of Israel, mentioned as tributaries of "Shalmanubar," king of Assyria. The kind of tribute from Jehu is mentioned: gold, pearls, precious oil, &c. [G. V. SMITH]. The Ben-hadad here is the son of Hazael (Kg2 13:3), not the Ben-hadad supplanted and slain by Hazael (Kg2 8:7, Kg2 8:15). The phrase, "I will send a fire," that is, the flame of war (Psa 78:63), occurs also in Amo 1:7, Amo 1:10, Amo 1:12, Amo 1:14, and Amo 2:2, Amo 2:5; Jer 49:27; Hos 8:14.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Ben-hadad.] He was son and successor of Hazael. See the cruelties which they exercised upon the Israelites, 2Kg 10:32; 2Kg 13:7, c., and see especially 2Kg 8:12, where these cruelties are predicted.

The fire threatened here is the war so successfully carried on against the Syrians by Jeroboam II., in which he took Damascus and Hamath, and reconquered all the ancient possessions of Israel. See 2Kg 14:25-26; 2Kg 14:28.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Now the Prophet subjoins, I will send fire unto the house of Hazael, which will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. The Prophet speaks still of the kingdom of Syria; for we know that both Ben-hadad and Hazael were kings of Syria. But Jerome is much mistaken, who thinks that Ben-hadad was here put in the second place, as if he had been the successor of Hazael, while sacred history relates that Hazael came to Elisha when Ben-hadad was ill in his bed, (2 Kings 8:9;) and he was sent to request an answer. Now the Prophet declared that Hazael would be the king of Syria, and declared this not without tears; for he pitied his own people, of which this Syrian would be the destroyer. After he returned home, he strangled Ben-hadad, and took to himself the royal dignity. But it is common enough in Scripture to speak of a thing present, and then, as in this place, to add what has past, I will send fire into the house of Hazael, and this fire will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad; as though he said, “I will destroy the kingdom of Syria, I will consume it as with burning.” But he first names the house of Hazael, and then the palaces of Ben-hadad; as though he said, “No ancientness shall preserve that kingdom from being destroyed.” For, metaphorically, under the word fire, he designates every kind of consumption; and we know how great is the violence of fire. It is then as though he said, that no wealth, no strength, no fortifications, would stand in the way to prevent the kingdom of Syria from being destroyed.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4) I will send a fire . . .—Compare Jer_49:27, where this language is repeated at a time when punishment had fallen for a while on Damascus, and she had become, as Isaiah predicted, “a ruinous heap” (Isa_17:1).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad] The same refrain (only the names being varied), Amo_1:7; Amo_1:10; Amo_1:12, Amo_2:2; Amo_2:5, and (with kindle for send) Amo_1:14. Hosea (Hos_8:14) adopts it from Amos (“And I will send a fire into his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof”); and it recurs also (with kindle for send, as Amo_1:14) in Jer_17:27; Jer_21:14; Jer_49:27; Jer_50:32. By fire is meant the flame of war, which, partly by literal conflagrations, partly by other destructive operations, works devastation far and near: cf. Num_21:28. The house of Hazael is the family or dynasty founded by him (2Ki_8:15): ‘Ben-hadad’ stands in the parallel clause either as the name of Hazael’s successor, who would still be remembered as the second of Israel’s recent oppressors, or, possibly, as the name of the monarch reigning when Amos wrote.

4–5. The punishment.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,.... For so doing; into his family, his sons' sons, one of whom perhaps was Rezin, that Tiglathpileser king of Assyria slew, as Aben Ezra observes. This denotes the judgments of God upon his posterity for his cruel usage of the Israelites; and designs an enemy that should come into his country, and war made in the midst of it, by which it should be depopulated; and this being by the permission and providence of God, and according to his will, is said to be sent by him:

which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad; a name frequently given to the kings of Syria; there was one of this name the immediate predecessor of Hazael, whose servant he was; and he left a son of the same name that succeeded him, Kg2 7:7; these may denote the royal palaces of the kings of Syria, which should not be spared in this time of desolation; though rather by them may be intended the temples, which he and Hazael are said by Josephus (c) to build in the city of Damascus, whereby they greatly adorned it; and for these and other acts of beneficence they were deified by the Syrians, and worshipped as gods; and even to the times of Josephus, he says, their statues were carried in pomp every day in honour of them; and so, the house of Hazael, in the preceding clause, may signify a temple that was either built by him, or for the worship of him, since he was deified as well as Benhadad; and it may be observed, that as Adad was a common name of the kings of Syria; for, according to Nicholas of Damascus (d), ten kings that reigned in Damascus were all called Adad; so this is a name of the god they worshipped. Pliny speaks of a god worshipped by the Syrians, whose name must be Adad; since, according to him; the gem "adadunephros" had its name from him (e); and Macrobius (f) is express for it, that the chief god of the Assyrians was called Adad, which signifies one; See Gill on Isa 66:17.

(c) Antiqu. l. 9. c. 4. sect. 6. (d) Apud Joseph. Antiqu. l. 7. c. 5. sect. 8. (e) Nat. Hist. l. 27. c. 11. (f) Saturnal. l. 1. c. 23.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I the Lord, avenger of mine oppressed Israel, Jehovah, as Amo 1:3.

A fire; either literally understood, or figuratively, famine, pestilence, wars foreign or intestine, effects of God’s great but just displeasure, which destroys all like fire.

The house of Hazael; the family, or the material house in which he dwelt, or both; Hazael’s stately dwelling-place should be consumed by fire, and his whole family be cut off.

Devour; eat up, so as to leave nothing remaining of either.

The palaces; the royal palaces, or those that descended from Hazael, and dwelt in them.

Ben-hadad: whether this were some one of the Syrian kings before Hazael, or the Ben-hadad slain by Hazael, or son and successor to Hazael, is uncertain; nor can we know particularly who this was by this name Ben-hadad, which to the Syrian kings was a common name, as Pharaoh to the ancient Egyptian kings, Caesar to the Roman emperors, and Czar to the Muscovite at this day: three Ben-hadads are mentioned in the books of the Kings, as 1Ki 15:18; 2Ki 8:7; 13:3.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4, 5. Jehovah cannot endure the perpetration of such cruelties. The form which the announcement of judgment takes is practically the same in each case (Amo_1:7; Amo_1:10; Amo_1:12; Amo_1:14; Amo_2:2; Amo_2:5; compare Hos_8:14).

Fire — Symbol of war and its horrors.

House of Hazael — Not “dynasty,” but “palace” or “city” or “land” of Hazael (compare Hos_8:1; Hos_9:15). Hazael usurped the throne of Damascus about 843 B.C. (2Ki_8:7 ff.); he was the contemporary of Kings Joram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz, and inflicted heavy defeats upon all three. Since he was the founder of the then ruling dynasty, Amos calls Syria “the house of Hazael,” just as Israel is called in Assyrian inscriptions “the house of Omri.”

Ben-hadad — Three kings of Damascus by that name are definitely known, two preceding Hazael, the third his son and successor (2Ki_13:3; 2Ki_13:25). The allusion may be to the third, who in time was nearest to Amos, though it is not likely that he was then on the throne. However, it is not impossible that the reigning monarch bore the same name. Some suggest that Hazael and Ben-hadad are mentioned simply as typical, representative names of Syrian kings without reference to any particular monarch; still others think that Ben-hadad (that is, the son of the deity Hadad) was a title of the Syrian kings as Pharaoh was of the Egyptian rulers.

Bar — The bar of iron or bronze used to fasten the gates of ancient cities; here a symbol of defense in general. No human defenses can stand against the wrath of Jehovah.

Inhabitant — R.V. margin, “him that sitteth on the throne” (Isa_10:3) — the ruler; which is preferable, in view of the parallel, “him that holdeth the scepter” — the reigning monarch (Jdg_5:14). The rulers will be smitten; only in the last clause of Amo_1:5 is the fate of the people indicated.

The plain [“valley”] of Aven — R.V. margin, “of Vanity,” or Idolatry. LXX. reads “On” for “Aven,” which presupposes a different vocalization of the same Hebrew consonants. This reading, indecisive though it may be in view of the LXX. rendering of the same word in Hos_4:15; Hos_5:8; Hos_10:5; Hos_10:8, pointed the way to the now almost universally accepted explanation. The word translated “valley” is used even to-day as a proper noun, denoting the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon (Jos_11:17), in Arabic el-Buka’a. In this valley, about sixty miles north-northeast of Dan, are located the ruins of Baal-bek, the ancient Heliopolis, formerly, as its name indicates, a center of sun worship. According to two ancient authorities, Macrobius and Lucian, sun worship was introduced in the Syrian Heliopolis from Heliopolis in Egypt. The Egyptian name of Heliopolis in Egypt is Aunu, Hebrews On (Gen_41:45; Gen_41:50; Gen_46:20). This name may have been brought, with the sun worship, from Egypt to Syria, and at one time Heliopolis in Syria may have been known as On. If this is the correct interpretation, instead of “valley of Aven” we should read Buka’a-On, or “valley of On,” the valley around the city On. Intentionally the word was changed by Amos or a later copyist into “vanity” to express contempt for the worship practiced there.

The house of Eden — Margin, “Beth-eden,” making the two words the name of a locality. A village Edhen is located about twenty miles northwest of Baal-bek, which may have served as a summer residence to the Syrian kings. Though the place mentioned by Amos has often been identified with this village, it is more likely that he has in mind a district mentioned frequently in the Assyrian inscriptions and called Bit-adini. This district is about two hundred miles north-northeast of Damascus on both sides of the Euphrates (2Ki_19:12; Eze_27:23), and may have been at one time a vassal state of Damascus. If this is the correct interpretation, the prophet says that the chief ruler in Damascus as well as the vassal princes will be smitten by the divine judgment, while the people will be carried into exile.

Kir — Amo_9:7, makes Kir the original home of the Syrians. According to 2Ki_16:9, the prediction was fulfilled in less than a generation; but it is to be noted that LXX. in the passage in Kings omits “Kir.” Tiglath-pileser III states that he took Damascus (in 732), and that he carried a large proportion of its inhabitants into exile, but the place of exile is omitted. Kir is mentioned again in Isa_22:6. Concerning its location opinions vary. It has been identified most commonly with a district of Armenia, near the river Kur, which flows into the Caspian Sea; but this district does not appear to have been a part of Assyria in the days of Tiglath-pileser. At least ten other identifications have been proposed, not one of which can be considered entirely satisfactory.

Amos does not state by whom he expected the judgment to be executed; nevertheless, it is very probable that he was thinking of the Assyrians, the most powerful nation in his day. As a matter of history, after several unsuccessful attempts the Assyrians, under Tiglath-pileser, finally did overthrow the Syrian power in 732, captured Damascus, put to death King Rezin, and carried thousands of its inhabitants into exile.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Fire. Material fire, though elsewhere the term is used metaphorically for war and its evils. (comp. Num_21:28; Jer_48:45) This passage of Amos, combined with ver. 14, is quoted by Jeremiah, (Jer_49:27) where he is pronouncing the doom of Damascus. House of Hazael palaces of Benhadad. The two expressions are parallel, or they may signify the family of Hazael, and Damascus itself with its magnificent royal palaces. There were three kings of Syria named Benhadad. The first of the name made alliance with Asa, and fought successfully against Baasha; (1Ki_15:20) Benhadad II was the contemporary of Ahab, and carded on war for many years with the northern kingdom. (1Ki 20) He was murdered either by Hazael or his servants. (2Ki_8:15) Benhadad III, the son of Hazael, was a monarch of small ability, and Syria under his sway sank into insignificance. (2Ki_13:4, etc.; 2Ki_14:27 2Ki_15:17) All this happened before the time of Amos, who probably refers to all the kings of that name, Benhadad, "Son of the Sun," being the title of the dynasty.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ben-hadad - Ben-hadad was to the Syrian kings a common name, as Pharaoh to the Egyptian kings, and Caesar to the Roman emperors.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Hazael etc. Ben Hadad—The kings of Aram, and the head of Aram is Damascus.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.