the authors of the dispersion, having raged against their benefactor. But we, who in their stead have been called to the place of the bride, let us continue to love fervently the bridegroom who has loved us and counted us worthy of the greatest gifts, lest we fall away from the eternal promises, which would that we might all obtain by the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ: with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRUS, COMMENTARY UPON THE PROPHET AMOS. — ARGUMENT.
B He who fashioned our hearts individually, and understands all our works, as the divine Scripture says, having a clear view of the hard and rebellious heart of Israel, does not dispute with it through one prophet only; but, employing many and excellent men as ministers, He both offers admonitions and predicts the future, showing by the agreement of many predictions the truthfulness of the pronouncements. One of these is the inspired Amos; for he lived at the same time as those wonderful men, Hosea and Joel, and he predicted the same things regarding the Assyrians and the Babylonians, and the return from them, and the things that would come to pass after the return. Having first predicted a few things against the surrounding nations, he thus began the prophecy concerning Israel. He brought very great benefit to the Jews through this proclamation also; for he taught them that the Lord of all is able to show mercy not only to them, and to discipline them, but also to all the nations, inasmuch as He is the Creator and Maker of all. Moreover, he has shown C what great care He takes of them, by punishing those who attempt to harm them. This, then, is the subject of the prophecy in hand; but from the explanation of the individual parts, we shall learn the meaning of the divine oracles more accurately.
[alt-version omitted]
CAPUT I
A VERS. 1. « The words of Amos, which were in Cariathiarim, of Thecua, which he saw concerning Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. » The prophet has made it clear to us that he who originated from Thecua received the divine revelation in Cariathiarim, and that he was commanded to speak words concerning Jerusalem. He also teaches the time of the prophecy; for this reason he has made mention of the kings, Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, king of Israel. It is clear that he is making predictions not only concerning Jerusalem, but also concerning the ten tribes; for this reason he also mentioned Jeroboam, who was king of those tribes at that time.
Since both of them reigned for a long time (for Uzziah held the helm of state for fifty-two years, and Jeroboam for forty-one), he rightly points out the time of the earthquake, and says that it occurred two years after the prophecy, in order to show clearly at what times he delivered the divine words to the people. But some, not having attended to the chronology with sufficient care, supposed that this earthquake happened when the great Isaiah, after the death of Uzziah, saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, when the lintels were shaken by the voice of the Seraphim. I, however, upon examining the times, have found this to be false. For if the earthquake happened after the death of Uzziah, and the blessed Amos began his prophecy two years before, the fiftieth year of Uzziah's reign would have been passing; for he reigned for fifty-two years. But Jeroboam was not alive at this time; for Uzziah accepted the helm of his kingdom in the twenty-seventh year of his [Jeroboam's] reign. It is clear, therefore, from the chronology, that the predictions of the divine Amos were made at the beginning of the reign of Uzziah, since he says that he received the gift of prophecy while Jeroboam was still alive and reigning. Having thus indicated the time of the prophecy, he also teaches what preambles he used.
D VERS. 2. « And he said: The Lord has spoken from Zion, and from Jerusalem has given forth his voice, and the pastures of the shepherds have mourned, and the top of Carmel has withered. » For since he is about to prophesy sorrowful things to the neighboring nations, he necessarily teaches from where the decrees against them are issued; for from Jerusalem, he says, and from Mount Zion, God the Lord of all having spoken, and having pronounced the sentences of punishment, the shepherds will mourn, as they indeed find no food for the flocks pastured by them; and the whole of Mount
A Carmel, even to its very summit, shall be deprived of the abundance of its fruits. These things, as described, did in fact occur through the failure of rain, and by the locust, and the caterpillar, and the other scourges which the just Judge visited upon them. But through these things He signifies other matters too; He calls Israel the summit of Carmel, for it was a portion of the promised land. "For I brought you," He says, "into Carmel, to eat its fruits and its good things." He calls the kings of the neighboring nations shepherds, and their subjects pastures, not only because they brought them tribute and tax as a kind of forage, but because they themselves continued to be fed by them. He says, therefore, that the God of the universe, from Mount Sion and the city of Jerusalem, will cast the other neighboring nations into infinite calamities according to His divine decree. Then, part by part, He explains the offenses of the nations and teaches the punishments brought upon them.
B VERSE 3. "And the Lord said: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn them away; for they sawed with iron saws the pregnant women of the Galaadites." When God turns away, He does not seem to see the offenses of men, for which reason the blessed David also prays, saying: "Turn Your face away from my sins." But when He punishes, the Lord Himself says: "And I will fix My face upon you, and I will look upon your iniquities." Therefore, "I will not turn away" is equivalent to "I will no longer exercise patience, nor will I turn My face away from your sins; but I will look upon that which, through patience, I did not seem to see before." The expression "for three, and for four" signifies a multitude. He says, therefore, that since Damascus has sinned many times and I have endured it for the longest time, now I will no longer be patient, nor will I turn away, so as not to see their unspeakable lawlessness; and especially that which they have dared against the Galaadites, using against them such cruelty and savagery, as even to saw asunder the pregnant women. Symmachus explained this more clearly, saying: "For that they threshed Galaad with iron wheels." Aquila and Theodotion also translated it with the same meaning. We learn, therefore, that casting the aforementioned women into a threshing floor, they cruelly threshed them with saw-like wheels just as one does with ears of corn. Galaad, moreover, was a city of Israel, against which the inhabitants of Damascus dared to commit these deeds. Having thus revealed the lawlessness, He brings on the C punishment.
VERSE 4. "And I will send fire into the house of Azael." This man had been a king of Damascus. "And it shall devour the foundations of the son of Ader." Some supposed this Ader to be the father of Azael, dividing the name in two, and understanding the son separately and Ader separately.
But it is one name: for Baradad has been called that in the Hebrew and Syrian language, and he is not the father, but the son of Azael, as the fourth book of Kingdoms teaches. Under him, Damascus also underwent destruction; wherefore the prophecy says: "And it will devour the foundations of the son of Ader," that is, I shall pluck up his kingdom by the roots.
B Ver. 5. "And I will shatter the bars of Damascus." I will destroy its former security. "And I will destroy those who dwell in the plain of On, and I will cut down the tribe from the men of Charran. And the people of Syria will be led away as captives, says the Lord." Not only the metropolis, but all its neighbors, and those who migrated from Charran and dwell there, and those who dwell near the idol On, I will cause to be taken as prisoners, and I will utterly destroy what was once the famous kingdom of Syria. For he called "famous" that which was noteworthy.
And regarding Gaza he also says that, having been patient three and four times, I will no longer endure them for the longest time as they commit lawless acts. Moreover, what they dared to do against my people compels me to be more severe against them. "For," he says, "because they led away the captivity of Solomon, to enclose it in Idumea." Some have understood this as follows: that since Solomon once took Idumean captives and confined them in Judea, and these, while warring against the Jews, deemed them worthy of freedom and restored the Idumeans. But this seems to me to be far from the truth: for ten kings existed from Solomon until the present prophecy, and a very long time has passed between. But I believe the passage before us has this meaning: The foreigners bordering on the tribe of Judea, and frequently waging war against them, would not sell those whom they took captive to any others, but to the Idumeans, who were their bitterest enemies and most hostile. Therefore, he called the captivity of the Jews taken C prisoner the "captivity of Solomon," demonstrating the splendor and prominence of the people from that illustrious and renowned king. Because of this cruelty, therefore, God, being angry, threatens to deliver Gaza to fire, and with it the other cities of the foreigners. He makes the same accusation against Tyre, and, increasing the crime, added: "And they did not remember the covenant of the brothers." For since Solomon and Chiram the king of Tyre demonstrated a brotherly disposition toward one another, and the one supplied cedar wood for the building of the divine temple, while the other in turn provided wheat; but the Tyrians had come to a forgetfulness of this friendship, and committed the same sins against Israel as the Gazaeans, he justly pronounced the same sentence against them as well. And because he had spoken concerning the Idumeans, "Three and four times," and having used patience toward them more often, I will no longer tolerate them, considering especially his fury against his brother (for it is not the same thing to consider the nature...)
nor that they dwelt in one and the same womb, but he continued to manifest a murderous intent against him); he threatens to deliver them also to fire, as he did the Syrians, and the foreigners, and the Tyrians. By fire, he means the army of the Assyrians, which consumes everything like fire. And since it is likely that they made use of fire, they were burning villages, setting cities ablaze, and utterly destroying everything. And the phrase, "He violated the womb," A indicates the madness against nature, that being a brother and a womb-fellow, and having dwelt in the same womb (for he was a twin), he continues to rage against him, bringing ruin as it were upon the very womb which both inhabited. And the phrase, "He snatched up fury as a testimony to himself," is instead of saying, "He has dared to act in a manner full of fury, leaving behind such a testimony against himself." Having said these things also regarding the Ammonites, that after B having used much patience over the many sins they have committed often, he will now inflict punishment, he makes mention of the iniquity which they committed against Israel: "For this reason," he says, "they ripped open the pregnant women of the Gileadites, so that they might widen their borders." For indeed these people, being neighbors to the Gileadites, exercising cruelty and inhumanity against them, not only slew the men, but also destroyed those not yet born, not fearing to slaughter the women carrying a womb, so that, with the number of the Israelites diminished, they themselves might harvest the land worked by them. For this reason,
VERS. 14, 15. "I will kindle a fire upon the walls of Rabaath, and it shall devour its foundations with a shout in the day of battle, and it shall be shaken in the day of its consummation. And Melchom shall go into captivity, his priests and his princes C together, says the Lord." Here he clearly taught what kind of fire he alluded to in the other cases. For he added, "in the day of battle." He threatens, moreover, that the idol which he worshipped would be led off captive along with him. For Melchom was the false god of the Ammonites, who was able to help neither his priests and princes, nor even himself, when he was being taken prisoner. He calls Rabaath the metropolis of the Ammonites, which is now in Arabia, and is called Philadelphia in the Greek tongue, but Amman in the language of the Syrians.
CHAP. II.
[1-3] He threatens also to Moab that same martial fire, and says that he will deliver both the princes and the people to destruction, because, in addition to the many other examples of their impiety, they showed great bestiality against the king of the Edomites. D For him, who had once come to the aid of the king of the Israelites, they later ambushed, and having taken him captive, they sacrificed him to their own idols, and for so long
A a pyre they ignited, until all the bones were completely consumed by the fire. And thus, having concluded the predictions concerning the foreigners, he transfers the prophetic discourse against the people; and, first of all, he brings the iniquity of the tribe of Judah into the middle.
Vers. 4, 5. «Thus says the Lord: For three impieties of the sons of Judah, and for four, I will not turn back from them, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and His precepts which they have not kept; and led astray were they by their vanities which they made, which their fathers followed after them. And I will send fire upon Judah, and it will devour the foundations of Jerusalem.» By the fire of war, he says, I will deliver even Judah and Jerusalem, because they utterly despised My laws, and, following the perverse mind of their fathers, persisted in serving idols made by hand (for these he calls vanities). This recklessness I have endured for a very long time, but I shall no longer use my customary forbearance. B Then, turning from these to the ten tribes, he declares that he will no longer be patient with them either.
«For the reason that they sold the just for silver, and the needy for the sake of sandals, (v. 7) who trample upon the dust of the earth; and they buffeted at the heads of the poor, and turned aside the way of the humble.» These also, he says, looking toward gain, used to sell the just; and, serving sordid greed, they would not refuse to profit even by sandals, which provide the lowest use to men. Leaving those who were wronged, they mistreated the poorer ones, and did not admit the just causes of the lowly. In addition to these things, being given over to incontinence, they would mingle with one another's wives after the manner of beasts, so that C neither did a son refrain from the concubine of his father, nor did a father keep the bed of his son undefiled; so that from this the rights of nature were confounded, and the names of kinship were no longer discernible. And these things, he says, they did, «so that they might profane the name of their God.» For the neighboring foreigners, hearing these things, moved their tongues against the God of all, either as if He commanded such things, or as if He tolerated a people committing such things. In addition to these things, he adds:
Vers. 8. «And their garments tying with ropes, they made hanging covers near the altar; and wine from oppressions they drank in the house of their God.» For they did not render the due reverence to the divine temple, but even within it, making tents out of garments, they drank wine obtained from injustice; and they did not wish to bring to mind that D which
Vers. 9. «I destroyed the Amorite from their face, whose height was as the height of the cedar,
and he was as strong as an oak, and I removed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.» A This He spoke figuratively, teaching the greatness of the men who were there then, and their strength. And the spies sent by the great Moses said that Anak was there, and the descendants of the giants, and men very tall, and we were before them as locusts. God, the Lord of all, says that, «You did not gain the victory over such tall and strong men by your own strength. For how would you have conquered, when you were terrified even by the report of them, and tried to return to Egypt? But I myself tore that one up from the roots.» He calls the fathers the roots, and the children the fruit. B Indeed, He says, it is necessary to remind you also of the benefits conferred upon you before. For I delivered you from the Egyptian servitude, and for forty years nourished you in the desert, and bestowed upon some of you the prophetic grace, and made others priests.
VERS. 11. «For I took, He says, from your sons for prophets, and from your young men for sanctification.» C Then by interrogation, as things said that are certain and indubitable: «Is it not so, O children of Israel? says the Lord.» Convict, He says, if you find any falsehood in the things said — but this is impossible. For you yourselves also know that the catalog of benefits is true, against which you have consistently acted. For not only did you audaciously violate My laws, but you also gave wine to those consecrated to Me (He calls the Nazarites this), teaching that their observance toward Me was useless; and you prevented the prophets sent by Me from foretelling what I had commanded, as it seems, finding My voice grave and troublesome.
VERS. 13-14. «Therefore, behold, I roll under you, as a cart full of stubble rolls, and flight will perish from the runner.» D For I will load you with such a burden of punishment, He says, that you will lament and groan, just as a cart loaded and weighed down creaks while it is being dragged. When these evils are brought upon you, neither will the swiftest gain salvation by flight, nor will the noble have a manly spirit, nor will the archer be confident in his art, nor will the horseman obtain salvation by the help of his swift horse. «But only the bare will escape in that day, says the Lord.» For teaching you, I bring this destruction upon you; those who excel in the excellence of their nature, or trust in their art, I will deliver to the slaughter, but I will cause those who are stripped of all these things, and have neither wealth, nor art, nor strength, but are naked of all, to escape safe and sound.
ON AMOS CHAP. III.
A VERS. 1, 2. "Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O house of Israel, and against every tribe which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying: You only have I known out of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities." It is fitting, he says, for you to hear briefly what is said, calling to mind that benefit, that I, who am the Creator of all and Lord, have pursued you with a certain singular providence; whence also I delivered you from the servitude of the Egyptians. This, however, "against every tribe which I brought up out of the land of Egypt," does not designate others, but since he mentioned Israel, and after the division, ten tribes were named Israel, he invites both Judah and Benjamin to hear what is said. B Afterward, showing that by his permission the enemy's army arrives, he gives credence to his word by certain comparisons:
VERS. 6-8. "Shall two walk together, unless they have agreed? Will a lion roar from his thicket when he has no prey? Will a young lion give his voice from his den, if he has taken nothing? Will a bird fall upon the earth without a fowler? Shall a snare be taken up from the earth before it has taken anything? Shall the trumpet sound in a city, and the people not fear? Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord has not done?" Just as, he says, it is impossible that two should walk the same way together without communicating with one another as to where and why they are setting out, nor that a lion should roar when there is no prey, or a bird should fall without a hunter, or all the other things mentioned should take place, so it is impossible for any vengeance to be inflicted unless God wills it. For he called vengeance "evil," using common parlance. C For we are accustomed to call diseases, and chastisements, and untimely death, and plagues, and wars, and such like, "evils"—not because these things are evil by nature, but because they afflict men with evils, and bring sorrow and mourning. The prophet Jonah teaches us this more clearly: "And God repented," he says, "of the evil that he had spoken," that is, of the threatened evils: for he called the threats of punishment "evil" there. But that these things are so, he says, and that it is impossible for punishment to be inflicted upon anyone against the will of God, learn from the things themselves. For through the prophets he foretells what evils he is about to bring upon sinners.
VERS. 7, 8. "For the Lord God does nothing, unless he reveals his instruction to his servants the prophets. The lion will roar, and who will not fear?" Therefore, knowing this clearly, as if accepting them as true D
we offer these to you; for if a roaring lion strikes fear into all who hear, much more do we prophesy with fear, at God’s command. For he revealed this: "The Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophecy?" (Vers. 9.) "Proclaim to the regions in Assyria, and to the regions in the land of Egypt, and say: Gather yourselves upon the mountain of Samaria." Since you do not believe the prophetic words, I shall openly point out the lawless deeds committed against the Assyrians and Egyptians within the borders of Samaria. For the clause, "And see many wonders in her midst," he has spoken out of irony; therefore, making the matter clearer, he added:
B "Oppression is in her. (Vers. 10.) And she did not know what things shall be against her, says the Lord: who treasure up iniquity and misery in their regions." For since they dared to commit the greatest injustice and enslaved the poorer, they did not wish to discern what fruits that lawlessness sprouts, but they treasured up iniquity, reaping from this misery and captivity. He very aptly used the word "treasured up," teaching that nothing of what is done by you is given over to oblivion, but, as in some treasury, both what is done well and what is done correctly C and the reverse are preserved in the memory of God.
(Vers. 11.) "Therefore thus says the Lord God: Tyre and your land round about shall be desolate, and he shall take from you your strength, and your regions shall be plundered." From what happens to your neighbors, learn what shall happen to you; for not only Tyre, but also the nations round about you shall be given over to desolation together with you.
(Vers. 12.) "Thus says the Lord: As when a shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the sons of Israel be snatched, they who dwell in Samaria D opposite a tribe, and in Damascus he shall lie." For just as, he says, a lion having snatched a sheep and eaten the whole thing, goes away leaving behind only the parts useless for food, which the shepherd is forced to take and show to the owners of the sheep, that it has been taken by a wild beast; so the ten tribes shall be given over to the Assyrians. But those only shall escape the enslavement who, on account of their extreme worthlessness or weakness, shall be overlooked by them. These things, he says, shall happen also to Damascus; for it too shall suffer this destruction. And the phrase "opposite a tribe" being in the midst, indicates that the tribe of Judah shall remain for the time being untouched by these evils. For Sennacherib, having come upon Jerusalem, returned with shame after losing his army. Having heard these things, then, he says, O priest, "Bear witness to the house of Israel, says the Lord God Almighty. (14, 15.) Because in the day when I avenge the impieties of Israel upon him, I will also take vengeance upon the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be broken, and shall fall to the ground.
And I will crush and strike the winged house upon the winter house, and the ivory houses shall perish, and many other houses shall be destroyed, saith the Lord. A For He says: I will destroy not only the splendid houses, but also the humble ones, and I will deliver them to the fire; and together with those prepared for winter, I will burn those that are open and made for summer. Now, Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion have translated "winged" as "winter [house]." For such houses provide warmth to their inhabitants, just as if with wings, by the walls that surround them on every side. And I will demolish, He says, the altars of Bethel, the incentives to impiety; and because not only men, but women also were practicing the greatest impiety, He rightly accuses them as well, and threatens them with destruction.
CHAPTER IV
B 1. "Hear this word, ye heifers of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, ye who oppress the poor and tread upon the needy, who say to your lords: 'Give us that we may drink.'" C He calls them the heifers of Bashan, as being soft-living and wallowing in every kind of luxury; for such were the heifers of Bashan, leaping about because of the abundance of pasture. Because of this, they would seize the goods of those who were inferior, and they were not ashamed to command their husbands, to whom they had been subjected by divine law, and they ordered them to be in the position of servants. Such was Jezebel, who treated her husband as a slave. Because of this iniquity of yours:
2. "The Lord swears by His holy ones, that behold, days are coming upon you, and they shall take you with weapons, and those who are with you shall be cast into burning, fiery cauldrons." D And interpreting what was said, He added:
3. "And ye shall be brought forth naked, woman and man, over against one another, and ye shall be cast into the mountain of Harmana, saith the Lord." D I will bring upon you, He says, the punishment becoming the time, and I will deliver you to your enemies, so that your men—for these are the ones He means by "those who are with you"—may be like cauldrons under which fire is set, being jealous and watching the shamelessness brought upon you. For, as if blazing with a certain flame, with fury...
A against your men and with lust toward you, they will drive off men and women alike, stripped of all their clothing, and lead them away to the mountain of Harmana. Symmachus, however, translated "Harmana" as "Armenia," while Theodotion translated it as "a high mountain." As for the phrase, "The Lord hath sworn by His saints," Symmachus rendered it as "by His holiness." He placed the oath before what had been said to confirm that the prophecy is true. "You will endure these things," He says, "just as you have practiced impiety in Bethel and in Gilgal, and have dared to celebrate three-day festivals in honor of idols, and have brought the tithes which I ordained to be offered to My priests unto the ministers of impiety, and have made certain covenants and agreements with the idols so as to follow their laws." For He has indicated this by saying:
VERS. 5. "They have read the law outside, and have called upon a confession." B He does not call the divine law [the law here cited], but the one imposed by those who serve idols. Then He instructs the prophet to say: "Announce that the children of Israel have loved these things, saith the Lord God." For they did not commit such impiety in passing, but were carried away into it with fervent zeal and affection.
VERS. 6. "And I also will give you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, and you have not returned to Me, saith the Lord." Symmachus and Theodotion C interpreted "cleanness of teeth" as meaning a cleansing; but it signifies famine. For those who eat nothing have not even a remnant of food sticking to their teeth. Therefore, when famine and poverty seize you—because, due to the abundance of good things, you leapt against the Dispenser of gifts—your teeth will also suffer a "cleanness," no longer being able to consume food, but having become like those whom a sour grape or some other, more astringent thing has struck, and [who] are unable to chew their food. (7, 8.) And yet, even with this correction applied to you, you persist in your former evils. Nevertheless, not even thus will I cease to treat you; D for I will bring upon you another correction, and by withholding the late rain (for this is what it signifies when He says, "three months before the harvest"), I will render the land barren. Then, showing mercy and demonstrating that these things do not happen by chance, but by My command, I will grant rain to this city, but to that one I will not grant a similar irrigation, so that one land may wither completely and the other may be moistened by a private rain. And such will be the scarcity of water, that two or three cities will run together to the city that has water, seeking drink, and not even in this way will their thirst be satisfied to the full. And yet, even so, you will continue to labor under an incurable disease,
A and having already fallen into other evils; for I, as a physician of souls, have applied yet another cauterization, bringing upon you various diseases—now inflammations, now jaundice—but you have not forgotten your impiety. And after this correction, you received the blight, and everything pleasant in your vineyards, or olive groves, or gardens has perished. And not even this has persuaded you to acknowledge Him who inflicts these corrections. To these He adds that even those fleeing the Assyrian and hastening to reach Egypt, I have delivered to the sword of the Assyrian, having used My wrath as a sort of fire; and not even from this were they willing to perceive what was necessary. Therefore He says:
11. “I have overthrown you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” B He is not pointing to another who did those things, but speaking as if of Himself. “And you became,” He says, “as a brand plucked from the fire, and not even so did you return to Me, says the Lord.” For just as a brand that has become half-burnt reveals the power of the fire but is useless for anything else, and is useful only for the fire, so you, with most having been slain, and being led away into captivity, will be stripped of all power and will appear fit only for slavery.
12. “Therefore so will I do to you, O Israel; yet thus I will do to you.” But nevertheless, though you labor under incurable diseases, I shall bring upon you the healing that is appropriate for you. C
“Prepare to call upon your God, O Israel. (13.) For behold, forming thunder, and creating wind, and announcing to men His Christ; making morning and darkness, and treading upon the high places of the earth, the Lord God, the Almighty is His name.” Therefore, being delivered from this insensibility, O Israel, seek the God who is called yours, who changes the thin and yielding air into the dreadful sound of thunder, setting it in motion and whirling it through the winds created by Him. He also reveals to you the king chosen to liberate you; and He means Cyrus. It is easy for Him both to bring forth the dawn after deep night, and in the daytime to shroud the light with mist. Just as, therefore, when you were established in broad daylight (for to this peace is likened), He brought upon you the mist of captivity; so, bringing the night of slavery to an end, He commands the sweetest dawn of liberty to rise. D “For He treads upon the high places of the earth;” that is, He is the highest of all, and He fills the whole inhabited world, as He is Lord and God, holding dominion over all things. Thus, having revealed prosperous and favorable things, He turns the discourse to the contrary, terrifying with the former, but comforting with the latter, and causing them to apply themselves eagerly to repentance.
CHAPTER V.
VERS. 1, 2. "Hear this word of the Lord, the lamentation which I take up concerning you: The house of Israel has fallen, it shall no more rise. But the virgin of Israel has been cast down upon her land; there is none to raise her up." A Being merciful, the Master does not refuse to weave a lament for those who are in a bad state and yet are unwilling to repent. The phrase, "It shall no more rise," is not contrary to the good news of liberty. It signifies that they shall no longer govern themselves, nor shall they have a king of their own. If one were to pay close attention, he would discover the fulfillment of these things after the madness they exercised against our Saviour; for it was then that they fell, and in that state they have remained even until this day. He calls her a virgin on account of her former piety, but cast down and corrupted on account of the worship which she later offered to idols. Furthermore, "There is none to raise her up" shows that she would not be assisted by any human aid; for since the God of all was opposed to them, neither the king of the Egyptians nor anyone else was able to assist them. He also foretells their future paucity.
VERS. 3. "For the city," He says, "from which a thousand went forth, shall have a hundred left, and from which a hundred went forth, ten shall be left." B [4, 5] "But at long last, leave Bethel and Galgala, and the worship of idols near the well of the oath, and seek My providence; for from thence you shall obtain life. But Bethel and Galgala, together with their idols, shall be delivered to the enemies." It was a manifest madness not only to fail to take any memory of the piety of Abraham from that well, but even to dare to commit impiety beside it.
VERS. 6. "Seek the Lord, and you shall live, lest the house of Joseph shine forth like fire, and devour it, and there be none to quench it for the house of Israel." From these things we learn clearly that sin kindles the flame of evils for us, but love and affection for God procure life for us.
VERS. 7. "The Lord who makes judgment on high, and has placed justice upon the earth." He decrees, He says, what He wills, being just, and His judgments are accomplished on the earth.
VERS. 8. "Who makes all things, and transforms, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and darkens the day as night; who calls for the water of the sea, and pours it out upon the face of the earth; the Lord God Almighty is His name." C Take courage, He says, in the power of God, and hold fast to this hope. For He both makes and transforms easily what He wills, and it is easy for Him to transfer even the greatest dangers into joy. For He called great dangers "the shadow of death." And He can also easily bring miseries upon those who are in prosperity. Moreover, lifting up the water of the sea by His nod into the air, D
He waters the earth through the clouds; for He is God, and the Lord of all things.
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VERS. 9. "Who divides destruction upon strength, and brings misery upon a fortification." With great ease, He brings back those who have become weak to their former strength, and delivers the strong over to misery.
VERS. 10. "They hated the one who reproves in the gates, and they abhorred the holy word." It was the custom among the ancients, as some say, to hold assemblies and councils by the gates. Where, therefore, they gathered, there the prophets also brought their reproofs. But those who were living unjustly and impiously neither gave heed to the reproofs of truth, nor accepted the word of the just. [11, 12] Since, therefore, you have done these things, and have furthermore treated the poor with insult both by hand and tongue, and, rejoicing in the corruption of gifts, have been eager to increase your wealth wickedly, know that you will not dwell in the houses which you have built and adorned beautifully and well, nor will you harvest the vineyards which you have planted with great care: for the immensity of your impiety and iniquity will deprive you of the enjoyment of these things. For you have trampled upon justice, taking gifts from the more powerful, and condemning the poor in your judgments.
VERS. 13. "Therefore, the one who understands will be silent in that time, for it is an evil time." For every man of prudence, and he who is able to perceive what is needful, seeing the cloud of evils B brought upon you, frightened and marveling at the truthfulness of the prophecy, will be able to say nothing out of despondency.
VERS. 14, 15. "Seek therefore the good, and not the evil, that you may live, and so the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you said: We have hated the evil, and we have loved the good; and restore judgment in the gates, that the Lord God Almighty may have mercy on the remnants of Joseph." Let deeds, he says, follow words; and you who profess to love what is good and to abhor wickedness, show the truth of your words by your deeds. For by doing this, you will obtain life from the God of all. But if this is not done by you, lamentations and wailings will take hold of the squares and the streets, so that even the farmers, having abandoned the cultivation of the fields, will be occupied with mourning. C These things, moreover, will come to pass with Me present and inflicting the punishments.
VERS. 18. "Woe to those who desire the day of the Lord! And why is this day of the Lord for you? And it is darkness, and not light." For since there were some brought up in audacity and stubbornness, who were contradicting the prophetic oracles, raging D against them, and calling the divine prophecies false, and...
demanding the fulfillment of the predictions, the Master declares them worthy of lamentation, as those who desire to see darkness instead of light. A They differ in nothing, he says, they who desire to see the end of the prophecy, from a man who, having fled from a lion coming toward him, has stumbled upon a bear, and then, having reached his house full of fear, and having thoughtlessly, due to the agitation holding his soul, pressed his hand against the wall, is bitten by a most bitter serpent. For just as that man sees gloom, and not the brightness of light, on that day: so these shall be delivered into deep darkness on the day of punishment.
Vers. 21-23. "I have hated, I have rejected your feasts, and I will not smell in your assemblies. For if you offer me your burnt offerings and sacrifices, I will not accept them, and I will not look upon the salvation of your presence. Remove from me the sound of your songs, and I will not hear the psalm of your instruments." B Such things also the Master God has said to them through Isaiah: "What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord. I am full of burnt offerings of rams; and the fat of lambs, and the blood of bulls and goats I do not want." 1 And next he enumerates everything that was offered to Him according to the law, saying that He likewise abominates it all. Thus also in this place He said that He hates their feast days, and that He will not accept the sacrifices offered at public festivals; for He has set "I will not smell" in place of "I will not accept." C So also regarding Noah, blessed Moses says: "The Lord God smelled an odor of sweetness," 2 which means, He approved the intention of those who brought the offerings. For God does not need these; nor indeed, He says, will I grant My own presence to those offering victims for the sake of their own salvation. Cease, therefore, to sing and to use musical instruments; for I take no pleasure in these, even if from the beginning I commanded these things to be done, so that I might lead you through pleasant things to serious matters.
Vers. 24. "Judgment shall roll like water, and righteousness like an impassable torrent." The just sentence pronounced against you, he says, like a torrent and violent water, shall bring punishment upon you, and you shall not be able to find a way out. [25, 26] Remember, however, you, who during forty years were wandering in the desert, that you did not worship me with sacrifices, D but even there you displayed the same impiety, having fashioned all kinds of images of idols, and rendering all manner of worship to these, and indeed even to certain stars.
Ioch and Rephan are the names of idols; as for Moloch, he had already made mention of him in the introduction to his prophecy. On account of these, then,—
Ver. 27. “I will transport you beyond Damascus, saith the Lord God, the Almighty is his name.” Since they were grieving heavily even at the servitude of their neighbors, the Syrians, he wishes to terrify them with his prediction, and therefore predicts one further away. He means the Assyrian. And the blessed Stephen, explaining this in the Acts, says: “I will transport you beyond Babylon.”
CHAPTER VI
A Ver. 1. “Woe to those who set at naught Sion, and trust in the mount of Samaria! They have reaped the first-fruits of the nations, and have entered in for themselves.” Miserable, he says, and thrice miserable are they who despise Sion, but trust in Samaria, and do not consider that the God who is worshipped in Sion brought them into the land of promise, having utterly destroyed those who formerly inhabited it, and having granted them a very wide dwelling place. But if you assume that these things are not so,—
Ver. 2. “Pass over to Chalane, and go from thence to Emath the great, and descend into Geth, the best of the strangers’ cities, from all these kingdoms, whether their boundaries are greater than your boundaries.” Go therefore to the aforementioned cities, which are the greatest, and the most notable of the kingdoms previously mentioned, and having gone, observe exactly that the land cultivated by you is not less than that which is held by them.
Ver. 3. “You who come to the evil day;” as having made yourselves worthy of punishment. For he calls the day of punishment, an evil day. “You who draw near and take hold of false sabbaths.” You who pretend to honor the sabbaths, but perform ten thousand lawless acts during them. B Furthermore, he reproaches them for their luxury, saying that they lie on ivory couches, and that all manner of delicate living is set before them: kids from the flocks, and calves from the herds being brought; and instruments that produce melody; and the clapping of hands occurring in time to the melody; and wine that is sweet-smelling, and this being served as choice wine; and fragrant myrrh fulfilling their debauchery.
Thus, he says, being pampered and having embraced a life of ease, and having judged these things to be permanent and lasting, they did not reason about the fleeting nature of them. For he indicated this, having said: “They reckoned them as stable, and not as fleeting.” They suffered nothing at the breaking of Joseph, but carried on insensibly, daring to commit such great lawlessness. For Joseph, he...
tentes. Joseph enim cos appellavit, quoniam Josephi filius fuit Ephraim, Ephraim autem appellat decem tribus. A Ephraim, however, he calls the ten tribes. For Ephraim was the son of Joseph.
VERS. 7, 8. "Therefore now they shall be captives from the rank of the mighty, and the neighing of horses shall be taken away from Ephraim. Because the Lord has sworn by himself, saying, The Lord God of hosts: Because I abhor all the pride of Jacob, and I hate his regions, and I will take away the city with its inhabitants." He says that princes, excelling in strength, will carry them away as captives, and at length the power of Ephraim shall be captured. For truth-telling and mighty is He who has brought this sentence against him. He has judged against him, detesting his arrogance and impiety. B
VERS. 9-11. "And it shall be, if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die, and the survivors shall remain. And their domestics shall take them, and shall compel them to carry their bones out of the house; and he shall say to those who are in charge of the house: Is there still any with you? And he shall say: No more; and he shall say: Be silent, lest you name the name of the Lord." So great, he says, will be the slaughter of the city's inhabitants that some houses will have all their residents dead, and neighbors or kinsmen by birth, coming from other houses, will take care to bury the corpses of the dead, then investigate and ask one another if there is any other unburied. And when those who are inside answer that there is nothing, he says that, struck with terror, they will go out in silence, urging one another to do this, as the God of all has brought forth this sentence.
VERS. 12. "Therefore behold the Lord commands, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the small house with fissures." For He will destroy the powerful just as He does those in poverty.
VERS. 13, 14. "Shall horses run upon the rocks? Shall they be silent at females? Because you have turned judgment into fury, and the fruit of justice into bitterness. You who rejoice in no good word, saying: Have we not had horns by our own strength?" Horses, he says, cannot run on rocks, but the enemies will march against you, having despised your former loftiness on account of the shameful deeds committed by you. And just as horses neigh when they have caught sight of females, so the enemies will attack you with a ready mind, because you have stirred up the Judge's wrath against you, and have compelled Him to bring forth a sentence both bitter and just. For you do not rejoice in honest things, but, ferocing in arrogance and pride, you attribute your former power to your own strength. [15] Therefore I, the Lord of all armies and power, will deliver you to a mighty nation. "That you might not enter into Emath, and unto the torrent of the West"; that is, out of all the land which
was previously cultivated by you. For Jeroboam, in whose time this prophecy was made, re-established, he says, the border of Israel from Emath unto the western sea, as the history of the Kingdoms teaches. He says, therefore, that "I will deliver all your borders to the enemies."
CHAPTER VII.
A Verses 1-3. "Thus He showed me, and behold a formation of locusts coming in the morning, and behold one bruchus [caterpillar], Gog the king. And it shall be if he shall finish eating the grass of the earth. And I said: Lord, be propitious; who shall raise up Jacob, for he is small? Repent, O Lord, for this. And this shall not be, saith the Lord." B Having seen, he says, that fearful sight, I besought God to be merciful and to cause the destruction to cease; but He did not assent, as is to be expected, because of the excess of iniquity. By a formation of locusts he called the Assyrian; by the bruchus, the Babylonian; and by "one Gog the king," he indicates the magnitude of the army. For just as, he says, Gog, the king of the Scythian nations, will gather a very great multitude against Jerusalem, so the Assyrians and the Babylonians will arrive with a great army. And He delivered their crops to the locust and the bruchus, and likewise to the palmerworm; for he predicted this above.
Verses 4. "Thus He showed me, and behold the Lord God called judgment, and it devoured the deep and the great, and devoured the portion." C He calls judgment the just sentence of God; by fire, he means the enemies; by the great deep, the myriad nations reduced to servitude by them; and by the portion, he calls Israel. For thus also the blessed Moses said: "And the portion of the Lord became His people, Jacob." But even so, he says, having seen this, I offered the same supplication to the Master, but I did not persuade Him.
Verses 7, 8. "Thus He showed me, and behold a man standing upon an adamant wall, and in his hand an adamant. And the Lord said to me: What do you see, Amos? And I said: An adamant. And the Lord said to me: Behold, I place an adamant in the midst of my people Israel." D I will bring upon them, he says, a strong and very firm blow, and one resembling an adamant, which is more solid and stronger than all materials. For I will no longer endure to overlook the impiety dared by them, but along with them I will also cause the altars of the idols to vanish, and I will put an end to their feasts, and in a word, I will utterly dissolve their kingdom; for he called the house of Jeroboam "the kingdom." For not only to this one, but also after him, and six other kings, the prophecy reached its end.
A [10] When these things were being said by the prophet, and Amasias, the priest of Bethel, fearing that the people, terrified by the divine threats, would repent and turn from idolatrous worship, and that he himself would lose the occasions for profit, denounced the prophet to the king, mixing lies with true words.
VERS. 11. "For he says," says Amos, "Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and the people shall be led captive from their land." Now what he reported concerning the people and the kingdom was true; but what he said concerning the king was an obvious falsehood. But this, however, did not in the least stir up Jeroboam to mistreat the prophet, nor did it persuade Amasias to keep his peace. [12, 13] But he ordered the prophet to depart and live in Judea, and there to prophesy B of future events, because Bethel had been assigned and dedicated to the kingdom of Israel. But Amos openly declares his mission and reveals the grace given to him from God.
VERS. 14. "For I was not a prophet," he says, "nor a prophet's son, but I was a goat-herd, nipping sycamores." As for his saying "nipping sycamores," Aquila interpreted it as "scrutinizing sycamores," Theodotio as "piercing sycamores," and Symmachus as "possessing sycamores." The sycamore is a species of tree in Palestine; the blessed Luke the evangelist makes mention of it, saying that blessed Zacchaeus climbed into a sycamore tree. Moreover, I have heard from someone, when he was discussing this matter, that the fruit of these trees does not ripen unless it has first received a short incision. It is likely, therefore, that the Seventy understood this, and used "nipping" [vellicans] instead of "piercing" [fossa muniens], or "collecting." C [15, 16] "Being engaged, therefore," he says, "in agriculture and the tending of sheep, the Lord took me from the flocks and commanded me to prophesy. Receive, therefore, Amasias, this prediction against yourself, since you forbid me to prophesy to the people of Israel, so that I might not hinder your wicked profits. [17] Know therefore that you shall see the wife whom you now have publicly and openly violated by the enemies, because you too incited the people to the madness of idolatry. You shall see all those born of you killed; you, however, shall pass from life in a foreign land, and the whole people shall suffer these same punishments that you will; and when you have thus been afflicted, the land will be handed over and divided among others."
CHAPTER VIII
VERS. 1, 2. "So the Lord showed me, and behold, a hunter's basket. And He said to me: What do you see, Amos? And I said: A hunter's basket." This vision designates the swift hunting of Israel. For just as birds
are easily caught by birdlime, so the A people will be taken by the Assyrians. "For the Lord said to me: The end has come upon my people Israel; I will no longer pass them by." (v. 3) "And the laquearia (ceilings/panels) of the temple shall ululate. On that day, says the Lord, many shall fall, in every place I will cast silence." I will no longer be patient, but will bring the end upon my predictions. The fire of the enemy will even invade my temple. He called the clamor of those being slaughtered within and the crackling of burning wood the "ululation of the laquearia of the temple." But concerning the phrase, "Many shall fall, in every place I will cast silence," he indicates a great multitude of the slain, so that deep silence will occupy the cities, and the ways, and the villages, from the B scarcity of inhabitants. "Pay heed, therefore, to these things, you who oppress those afflicted by want and poverty, who observe the Kalends and the Sabbaths, and make unjust gains, using unjust weights and measures, and in many ways reducing those who are weaker into servitude, and making money from every kind of trade."
(v. 7, 8) "The Lord swears against the pride of Jacob. (I will not live) if all your works shall be forgotten forever. And shall not the earth be shaken at these things, and shall not every one who dwells in it mourn, and shall not it rise up like the river of Egypt?" By "pride," he means the injustice joined with arrogance which they practiced against the poor. He said the Lord "swears" to show the truth of his words. I will no longer, he says, allow your impious deeds to pass into oblivion, but I will stir up almost the whole earth against you and cover you with a multitude of enemies, just as the C river of Egypt covers the land. For they will take you and lead you away, leaving your land desolate; for he hinted at this by saying, "It shall descend like the river of Egypt." (v. 9, 10) Then also the sun, at midday, will seem to be turned into darkness to those who are pressed by calamities: "And I will turn your feast days into mourning, and your songs into lamentation; and all shall put on a mourning habit, shorn of their fair hair and clothed in sackcloth, as if they were mourning the loss of an only-begotten child." (v. 11, 12) "Furthermore, I will bring on a famine and a scarcity, not of fruit or of water, but of prophecy and divine doctrine. And like water, they will wander here and there, roaming about, seeking the word of God, but they will be frustrated in their desire." (v. 13) "But also the elegant virgins and the youths nourished with them, consumed by thirst, shall be delivered to death."
(v. 14) "Those who swear by the propitiation of Samaria." And teaching what this is, he immediately added, "As the Lord lives..." D
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CHAPTER IX.
(1, 2) After this, he said he saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He commanded him to strike the propitiatory, so that the vestibules might be shaken by the blow. By these things, He indicates that it is by His command, and not by his own power, that the Babylonian will conquer these. "And cut," he says, "into the heads of all." This is what the blessed Ezekiel also saw, for there too, invisible powers were commanded to run around the entire city, using axes, and to cut down everyone who did not have the mark. He ordered the same here: "Cut into the heads of all." And having thus shown their sudden death, He added: "And I will kill the rest of them with the sword; not one of them who flees shall escape, and not one of them who is saved shall deliver himself." For if they go down into Hades, says He, I will drag them out with My hand; if they go up to heaven, which is one of the impossible things, I will bring them down thence and deliver them to their enemies. And if they flee B to Carmel, I will easily take them even from there; or if they attempt to hide in the depths of the sea, I will command the monsters there to devour them. And if they attempt to flee to the enemies, not even so shall they enjoy their mercy. "For I will fix My eyes upon them for evil, and not for good." I, the God and Master of all, who makes the earth to shake with his touch alone, and for this reason causes its inhabitants to mourn.
Ver. 6. "He who builds his ascension unto heaven, and establishes his promise upon the earth." Similar to this is what the blessed David says, "He who dwells in the heights and looks upon the lowly." — "He who calls the water of the sea and pours it upon the face of the earth, the Lord God Almighty is His name." He shows acts of power, so that by these He might confirm the threats. C
Ver. 7. "Are you not as sons of the Ethiopians to me, O sons of Israel? says the Lord." Having, He says, the same nature that the Ethiopians and other men have, you have been deemed worthy of greater providence than all. And showing this, He added: "Did I not lead Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the foreigners from Cappadocia, and the Syrians from the pit?" For others also, he says, have migrated, and leaving their former fatherland have arrived at another; just as both the Syrians and the foreigners—but not in the same way as you. For no one brought them out from their... D
A migration, while all men speak of yours. And they, having moved, dwell together with others, living according to the laws of those others. But you, having become superior to the inhabitants and having utterly destroyed them all, became masters of the land held by them, since you relied upon my help.
Ver. 8. “For behold,” he says, “the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will take it away from the face of the earth; yet not into destruction will I destroy the house of Jacob, says the Lord.” B (9, 10.) For although they are covered with countless iniquities, I will not utterly destroy them; but now, indeed, I will disperse them into captivity, and like a husbandman I will separate the grain from the chaff, and I will preserve those worthy of salvation, but the rest I will deliver to the slaughter, who were unwilling to believe my words, but hoped to be able to escape my threats.
Ver. 11, 12. “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that has collapsed, and I will build up the things of it that have fallen, and the C things that have been dug up I will restore, and I will build it up as in the days of old. So that the rest of men may seek me, and all the nations upon whom my name has been called,” says the Lord who does all these things.
Some have understood these things as referring to Zerubbabel, thinking they fit him, as he traced his lineage from David. But they were unwilling to perceive that Zerubbabel, after ruling for a short time, succumbed to the limit of death; whereas the prophecy contains a promise of eternal goods, and that all nations D will know God—none of which we find to be happening in the events of Zerubbabel’s time. But our Lord Jesus Christ, tracing his lineage from David according to the flesh, fulfilled the promise made to David. “For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” having taken up the tabernacle from David. Fittingly, therefore, the prophetic word says that the tabernacle of David will be rebuilt, not for a short time, but for all the days of the age. For such were the promises made also to the blessed David by the God of all: “And I will place his seed unto the age of the age, and his throne as the days of heaven.” And again: “Unto the age I will prepare thy seed, and I will build thy throne unto generation and generation.” This promise the Lord of all also renews through the blessed Amos, and he also promises to the nations the gift of the knowledge of God. For with the Davidic tabernacle, he says, being rebuilt, the rest of men will seek me, and all the nations upon whom my name has been called. For those whom he foreknew,
A he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” And demonstrating the truth of what was said, he subjoined: “Says the Lord, who does all these things:” for indeed, he who accomplishes the realities foretold the words. Since, however, not everyone was able to attend to the spiritual promises, he also promises the granting of bodily goods; and he predicts such an abundance of these will exist that the harvest will be overtaken by the vintage, on account of the multitude of fruits—as is natural—the farmers not being able to reap and thresh the sheaves. Moreover, he says that even when the seeds have not yet been fully produced, they will pluck the now-ripened grape cluster, and the mountains will give forth fruits of every kind, and no hill will be left bare of plants. (14) And the B people, delivered from captivity, will rebuild the devastated cities, and dwelling in them, will securely cultivate the land, planting and sowing, and reaping the fruits of their labors; and they will inhabit the fatherland given to them for a very long time. For this is what he meant by saying this.
Ver. 15. “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be uprooted from their land which I have given them, says the Lord God almighty.” C It is necessary to know that the Lord of all often promises good things, but those who receive the promises, rejoicing in iniquities, do not allow the predictions to reach their fulfillment. For he also sometimes threatens harsh things; but those who change through the fear of the threats—those to whom these things were directed on account of their own crimes—do not experience the calamities in reality. Thus, the Jews, having raged against the Lord when he came into this world, deprived themselves of the promised goods. May we, however, relying on the prayers of the holy prophets and apostles, guide our own life according to the divine laws, D and cast out the filth of sins through repentance, so that we may experience no evils, but may attain the promised good things, by the grace of the Savior Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ages of ages. Amen.
OF THE BLESSED THEODORET, BISHOP OF CYRRHUS, COMMENTARY ON THE PROPHET OBADIAH
ARGUMENT
A The Idumeans, having as their progenitor Esau, from whom they derived their name (for he was called Edom, because he had bartered his birthright for a pottage of lentils), became heirs not only of his name but also of his malevolence. And just as he exerted the utmost wrath against Jacob, so that he plainly said, “Let the days of my father approach, that I may kill my brother,” so they, continually envying the descendants of Jacob, laid countless snares against them. And when they had been liberated from the Egyptian servitude, with Moses as their great leader and protector, and were journeying toward the promised land, they not only did not receive them kindly, but did not even allow them to pass through their territory—this although the great Moses entreated this of them through ambassadors, and pledged that they would turn aside neither to the right nor to the left, but would walk by the king’s highway, and would even purchase the water they needed. B And afterwards they frequently displayed their inherent hostility, at times attempting to make war upon them alone, at times willingly joining forces with those who were making war upon them. And when the Assyrians and Babylonians launched their attacks against them, they did them countless evils, not only by aiding the enemies, but also by laying ambushes, and by hunting down those who were attempting to flee, and partly killing them, and partly handing them over to their bitterest foes. For this reason the just Judge, filling the admirable Obadiah with the prophetic gift, predicts the evils that were to overtake the Idumeans. Having thus briefly explained the argument, let us, with God’s help, make the meaning of his words plain.