Amos 3:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

We contend that there is no contradiction in referring to either Azotians or Assyrians, as the divinely inspired Scriptures hold truth in both instances, which we will clarify by discussing the relevant narrative.

The accounts we draw upon are similar to those found in the Fourth Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles. To avoid verbosity for those familiar with the tale, I will summarize briefly. Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, ruled in Jerusalem but was very different from his father and lacked his piety. Manasseh was morally corrupt, engaged in shameful conduct, idol worship, and was notably devoted to demonic influences. He constructed altars for Baal, worshipped the hosts of heaven, and even sacrificed his own children. He surrounded himself with deceitful individuals who claimed to possess wisdom on vital matters, yet they spoke only from their misguided hearts and participated in extreme depravity.

During his reign, God expressed through the prophet that He would bring calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, declaring, "I will bring upon this people evil things, for everyone that heareth these things shall make a noise in both his ears" (4 Kings 21:12). Following Manasseh's death, his son Amon, who inherited his father's moral degradation, ruled for only two years before his demise. Subsequently, his son Josiah rose to the throne, known for his wisdom and deep reverence for God. His prophetic destiny was proclaimed by a man of God who arrived in Bethel during Jeroboam’s era, stating, "Behold, a son is born to the house of David, Josiah is his name, and he shall devour the heifers upon thee" (3 Kings 13:2).

When Josiah reigned, he undertook significant reforms, demolishing idolatrous shrines, destroying altars, dismantling wooden images, and purging the land of false priests. He enacted the commandments of Moses in Israel, sought counsel from the prophetess Huldah, desiring to learn whether God’s anger would relent and if Israel might experience restoration. The reply from Huldah was forthright: "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I will bring evil upon this place... because they have forsaken Me and made other gods to provoke Me to anger with the works of their hands" (4 Sam. 22:15-20). However, due to Josiah's humility and sincere mourning before the Lord, a promise was made that he would be gathered to his ancestors in peace, shielded from the impending calamities.

This promise came to fruition, as the Lord delayed His wrath until the close of Josiah’s thirty-one years of reign. Eventually, Pharaoh Necho of Egypt engaged in warfare against Babylon and, as Josiah, fearing possible ravaging of Judah, confronted him, imploring him to retreat as he was heading towards the Euphrates and the land of the Assyrians. However, in a rash act, Josiah entered into battle, resulting in his death, after which his son Joahaz was anointed but quickly imprisoned by Pharaoh, who imposed heavy taxation on the land.

Under Joahaz, oppression escalated as he extracted taxes from all, leading to the time of Jehoiakim’s reign when Nebuchadnezzar seized Jerusalem, making Eliakim a vassal king and ravaging the city further. The calamities were not confined to Nebuchadnezzar’s assault; marauding bands from neighboring regions, such as Syria, Tyre, Azotus, Idumea, and Moab, plundered Judah. The records indicate, “the land began to be subject, to give silver according to the word of Pharaoh,” and Jehoiakim ruled wickedly for ten years (2 Chronicles 36:4-5).

These incidents befell Israel due to their arrogant belittling of God's glory and descent into sin, distorting knowledge of divine will. Will their suffering be limited to foreign invasions? The Lord declared, "Tyre, thy land shall be desolate... when the bands of robbers shall raid upon it." Thus, both versions—the Hebrew's Azoteh and the seventy's Assyrians—validly reflect the truth, as both the Assyrians and Tyrians laid waste to Israel, conducting frequent raids and sowing desolation.

We clarify that the prophet Amos has a specific message for the ten tribes known as Israel, Ephraim, and Samaria, which is primarily the focus of his book. Now, he has been instructed to deliver this message to Azotus and Egypt. For some reason, the seventy interpreters replaced Azotus with Assyrians, though in Hebrew Azotus is referred to as ‘Esdod’ and Assyrians as ‘Assur’. Furthermore, instead of translating ‘halls’—designated ‘Armanoth’—they have inaccurately used the term ‘countries,’ known in Hebrew as ‘sadoth,’ despite no resemblance in their meanings.

He instructs all surrounding nations to come together and reflect on the sins of Israel, that they may not perceive God's judgment as unjust. It is as if He is saying, observe their actions first, and then you will understand the validity of My decree. He beautifully adds, "upon the mountains of Samaria," referring to the city now known as Sebastia, previously called Samaria, or the entire region characterized by its hilly terrain.

"See the many follies within her": they worship calves instead of the true God, even sacrificing their children to these idols. Fully absorbed in their wrongdoing, they perpetrate injustices against the poor within their inner sanctums and fail to act rightly, amassing not gold and silver, which sometimes is gained through hard work, but sin and theft in their households. Because they have abandoned the service of God and turned to idol worship, God has allowed them to fall into a depraved mind (Romans 1), leading them to perform unrighteous acts.

In a symbolic sense, Samaria represents heretics who falsely claim to uphold God's commandments. Hence, the Word of God calls for a declaration to the nations—who know nothing of God, whose teachings are tormented by disaster and tribulation—to be wary of this false Samaria, to climb the mountains of its pride, and witness the myriad of foolishness within the city, where everyone creates their own idols and worships upon their own devising.

Thus, Marcion constructed an idle god; Valentinus proposed thirty aeons, denoting the last as Christ, whom he calls ἐκτρῶμα, meaning one who appears too soon (abortive); and Basilides referred to the Almighty as ᾿Αβρἀξας, arguing that according to the Greek characters and the numerical value of a year, calculated through the sun's circular path, he is the same deity that pagans name Mithra, though with different letters. They also bow down to absurdities concerning Balsam and Barbel. Is it not folly, and are these not absurdities in multitude when each individual fabricates whatever they can conceive?

The simple-hearted believers are also captivated and oppressed within her chambers, serving falsehood under the guise of truth, failing to act justly as they have lost their way, failing to believe in Him who proclaims, "I am the truth" (John 14:6). Consequently, they gather within themselves doctrines of iniquity, kidnapping and holding captive those they could have led astray by lies and deceit. Yet, if we wish to interpret ‘Assyrians’ (though this is not in the Hebrew text), we might consider them as those described in "I will bring upon the arrogance of the prince of Assyria, who declared, I will act by my own strength," suggesting that the heretics will be taken captive by an Assyrian and confined in Egypt, from which they had previously been liberated upon entering the Church.

It is appropriate to refer to this as ‘treasure’, signifying that nothing we have done will be overlooked. Just as a treasury holds memories, so too will both our good deeds and transgressions be preserved in the remembrance of God.