Amos 1:12
in Amos 1So I will send fire upon Teman to consume the citadels of Bozrah.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
KJV
But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
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This verse in Amos 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBut I will send a fire upon Teman,.... A principal city of Edom or Idumea, so called from Teman a grandson of Esau, Gen 36:11. Jerom (x) says there was in his time a village called Theman, five miles distant from the city Petra, and had a Roman garrison; and so says Eusebius (y); who places it in Arabia Petraea; it is put for the whole country; it signifies the south.
This site's exposition
For three transgressions of Edom
on Amos 1:11-12
Edom's charge is family betrayal named as such, he did pursue his brother with the sword, the brother being Jacob, Edom's own ancestor Esau's kin, and did cast off all pity. His anger did tear perpetually and he kept his wrath for ever describes not a single act but a settled national temperament, a grudge nursed across generations rather than a war ended and forgiven. Fire falls on Teman and Bozrah, Edom's chief cities, and the bench sets this oracle beside Obadiah's whole burden as the fuller statement of the same charge against the same brother nation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 11 and following) Thus says the Lord: For three crimes of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke my judgment; Because he pursued his brother with the sword, and violated all pity, and his anger tore at them constantly, and he kept his wrath to the end. I will send fire into Teman, and it will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), which was intimate that Hiram called Solomon his brother, 1 Kings ix. Note, It is a great aggravation of enmity and malice when it is the violation of friendship and of a brotherly covenant.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Teman - The metropolis of Idumea, so called from Esau's grandson of that name. Bozrah - This was a very strong city, and one of the chief in the whole kingdom, so that in the menace against Bozrah and Teman, the strength and glory of Edom is threatened with an utter overthrow.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But - (And I, in My turn and as a consequence of these sins) will send a fire upon Teman “Teman,” say Eusebius and Jerome , “was a country of the princes of Edom, which had its name from Teman son of Eliphaz, son of Esau Gen 36:11, Gen 36:
Teman - Bozrah - Principal cities of Idumea.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
the palaces of Bozrah —It is between Moab and Edom, and it belonged to the land of Moab, but it was attracted to Edom.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
for pursuing their brother with a sword —As it is said: (Num.:18) “Lest I go forth against you with the sword.” And he still clings to his anger, keeps his wrath, and has not retracted it.
they ripped up the pregnant woman of Gilead —They destroyed it and also ripped up their pregnant women so that no heir would remain who would contest the inheritance. And so does Scripture state: (Jer.:1) “Concerning the children of Ammon. So said the Lord: Has Israel no sons?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשִׁלַּ֥חְתִּי | veshilachti | and I will send forth | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵ֖שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| בְּתֵימָ֑ן | beteiman | on Teman | H8487 → | |
| וְאָכְלָ֖ה | veakhelah | and it will consume | H398 → | 810 times |
| אַרְמְנ֥וֹת | ʾarmenot | [the] fortresses of | H759 → | 32 times |
| בָּצְרָֽה׃ פ | botzrah | Bozrah | H1224 → |
וְשִׁלַּ֥חְתִּיand I will send forth
veshilachtiH7971 →845 times
אֵ֖שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
בְּתֵימָ֑ןon Teman
beteimanH8487 →
וְאָכְלָ֖הand it will consume
veakhelahH398 →810 times
אַרְמְנ֥וֹת[the] fortresses of
ʾarmenotH759 →32 times
בָּצְרָֽה׃ פBozrah
botzrahH1224 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 49:20Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away;…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:45
Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged…
- Malachi 1:3–4
but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
- Jeremiah 50:45
Through
Jeremiah 49:7Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
it leads to
- Amos 1:11–12
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged…
- Ezekiel 25:12–14
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,
- Jeremiah 49:20
Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away;…
- Genesis 25:30
He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)
- Amos 1:11–12
Through
Jeremiah 49:22Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:40–41
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
- Hosea 8:1
Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.
- Jeremiah 48:40–41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Amos
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.