Amos 2:1

Footnotes

1. 1 Traditionally, “transgressions” (, , , ) or “sins” (). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5–7, see the note on the word “violations” in .
2. 2 Heb “Because of three violations of Moab, even because of four.” On the three … four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1–2 see the note on the word “four” in .
3. 3 Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in .
4. 4 The Moabites apparently desecrated the tomb of an Edomite king and burned his bones into a calcined substance which they then used as plaster (cf. Deut 27:2, 4). See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), . Receiving a proper burial was very important in this culture. Desecrating a tomb or a deceased individual’s bones was considered an especially heinous act.