The Meaning of Amos 1:2 Explained

Amos 1:2

KJV: And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

YLT: and he saith: Jehovah from Zion doth roar, And from Jerusalem giveth forth His voice, And mourned have pastures of the shepherds, And withered hath the top of Carmel!

Darby: And he said, Jehovah roareth from Zion, and uttereth his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withereth.

ASV: And he said, Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he said,  The LORD  will roar  from Zion,  and utter  his voice  from Jerusalem;  and the habitations  of the shepherds  shall mourn,  and the top  of Carmel  shall wither. 

What does Amos 1:2 Mean?

Study Notes

roar
"Roar," etc. Cf. Isaiah 42:13 ; Jeremiah 25:30-33 ; Hosea 11:10 ; Hosea 11:11 ; Joel 3:16 . It will be found that wherever the phrase occurs it is connected with the destruction of Gentile dominion and the blessing of Israel in the kingdom. Without a doubt a near fulfilment upon Syria occurred 2 Kings 14:28 but the expression, "the Lord will roar," looks forward to a vaster fulfilment. See Scofield " Joel 1:4 ".
kings "Times of the Gentiles" Revelation 16:19 ; Luke 21:24 .
Babylon (See Scofield " Isaiah 13:1 ")
Babylon
Summary: The Times of the Gentiles is that long period beginning with the Babylonian captivity of Judah, under Nebuchadnezzar, and to be brought to an end by the destruction of Gentile world-power by the "stone cut out without hands" Daniel 2:34 ; Daniel 2:35 ; Daniel 2:44 i.e., the coming of the Lord in glory Revelation 19:11 ; Revelation 19:21 until which time Jerusalem is politically subject to Gentile rule. Luke 21:24 .
kings "Times of the Gentiles" Revelation 16:19 ; Luke 21:24 .
Babylon (See Scofield " Isaiah 13:1 ")

Verse Meaning

This verse summarizes the message that Amos received from the Lord. Amos reported that Yahweh roared from Zion, as a lion roars before it devours its prey or as thunder precedes a severe storm (cf. Amos 3:4; Amos 3:8; Jeremiah 25:30; Hosea 5:14; Hosea 11:10; Hosea 13:7). Yahweh was about to judge. "Yahweh" is the first word in the Hebrew sentence-usually a verb comes first-and so is emphatic by position. The Lord spoke from Zion (Jerusalem, also emphatic by position) because that is where He manifested Himself in a localized sense to the Israelites of Amos" day. In Israel, the primary worship centers were Dan and Bethel ( 1 Kings 12-13). All the land would mourn, from the shepherds" pastures in the lowland to the summit of Mt. Carmel (a merism), because the Lord would dry up the land. This was one of the promises of judgment if God"s people proved unfaithful to His covenant with them, the Mosaic Covenant ( Deuteronomy 28:20-24; cf. Leviticus 26:22; Deuteronomy 32:24). "Yahweh" was God"s covenant name, and it connotes holiness and power (cf. Exodus 3:5; Exodus 19:10-25). However, since oracles announcing judgment on neighbor nations, as well as on Israel, follow, the extent of God"s judgment would go beyond Israel"s territory and Israel"s covenant (cf. Isaiah 24:4-6; Isaiah 26:20-21). The mention of Mt. Carmel, nevertheless, fixes the primary site in Israel. Most of this book records messages of judgment against Israel. The theme of the book is practical righteousness (cf. James).

Context Summary

Amos 1:1-10 - Outside Nations Shall Suffer Judgment
Amos opens his prophecies with predictions against neighboring peoples, that Israel may be led to appreciate her guilt and to bear the approach of God's righteous judgment, Luke 12:47. The formula of three transgressions and for four, Amos 1:3, etc., means several or many. Compare Job 5:19.
The order followed is Syria, Amos 1:3; Philistia, Amos 1:6; Tyre, Amos 1:9; Edom, Amos 1:11; Ammon, Amos 1:13; Moab, Amos 1:1. Each of these neighboring kingdoms was successively overwhelmed by the invasion of the great countries that lay in the valley of the Euphrates. Tiglath-pileser began and ultimately Nebuchadnezzar finished the work of desolation. But in turn the conquerors, becoming enervated by uninterrupted success and prosperity, were also swept away. We may be sure that there is One who judges in the earth and that, although might may assert its claims to be right, it is but for a moment. The constitution of the universe is in harmony with Bethlehem, Nazareth, and Calvary: and only a Christian civilization can be permanent. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 1

1  The time when Amos prophesied
3  He shows God's judgment upon Syria,
6  upon the Philistines,
9  upon Tyrus,
11  upon Edom,
13  upon Ammon

What do the individual words in Amos 1:2 mean?

And he said Yahweh from Zion roars and from Jerusalem utters His voice and mourn the pastures of the shepherds and withers Top of the Carmel -
וַיֹּאמַ֓ר ׀ יְהוָה֙ מִצִיּ֣וֹן‪‬‪‬ יִשְׁאָ֔ג וּמִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם יִתֵּ֣ן קוֹל֑וֹ וְאָֽבְלוּ֙ נְא֣וֹת הָרֹעִ֔ים וְיָבֵ֖שׁ רֹ֥אשׁ הַכַּרְמֶֽל פ

וַיֹּאמַ֓ר ׀  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָה֙  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
מִצִיּ֣וֹן‪‬‪‬  from  Zion 
Parse: Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
יִשְׁאָ֔ג  roars 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁאַג  
Sense: (Qal) to roar.
וּמִירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם  and  from  Jerusalem 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
יִתֵּ֣ן  utters 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
קוֹל֑וֹ  His  voice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
וְאָֽבְלוּ֙  and  mourn 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָבַל 
Sense: to mourn, lament.
נְא֣וֹת  the  pastures  of 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: נָוָה  
Sense: .
הָרֹעִ֔ים  the  shepherds 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
וְיָבֵ֖שׁ  and  withers 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
רֹ֥אשׁ  Top 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
הַכַּרְמֶֽל  of  the  Carmel 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: כַּרְמֶל 
Sense: a mountain on the Mediterranean coast of northern Israel, just below Haifa.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation