Amos 1:7
in Amos 1So I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza, to consume its citadels.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
KJV
But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:
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This verse in Amos 1
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 6 and following) Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment; because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom. So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza, fire which shall devour its strongholds. I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord.
This site's exposition
For three transgressions of Gaza
on Amos 1:6-8
Philistia's crime is named as a slave trade, carrying away the whole captivity to deliver up to Edom, treating a defeated people as merchandise rather than prisoners of war. Four of the five Philistine cities are named in judgment, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron, with Gath left out because Gath had already fallen before Amos wrote, a detail the older commentators note as an incidental mark of the book's accuracy. The remnant of the Philistines shall perish closes an oracle that gives no covenant reason as Israel's own oracle will, only the plain inhumanity of the trade itself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,....
Sin stirs up the fire of his jealousy, and that kindles other fires. Let us see what is mentioned, both by way of charge and by way of sentence, that is peculiar to each of them, that every one may take his portion. Concerning Damascus, the head-city of Syria, a kingdom that was often vexatious to Israel.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But - Literally, “and.” Thus had Gaza done, and thus would God do; “I will send a fire upon Gaza.” The sentence on Gaza stands out, probably in that it was first in power and in sin. It was the merchant-city of the five; the caravans parted from it or passed through it; and so this sale of the Jewish captives was ultimately effected through them. First in sin, first in punishment.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fire--that is, the flame of war (Nu 21:28; Hezekiah fulfilled the prophecy, smiting the Philistines unto Gaza (2Ki 18:8).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
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 |
| בְּחוֹמַ֣ת | bechomat | on [the] wall of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| עַזָּ֑ה | ʾazah | Gaza | H5804 → | |
| וְאָכְלָ֖ה | veakhelah | and it will consume | H398 → | 810 times |
| אַרְמְנֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | ʾarmenoteiha | fortresses its | H759 → | 32 times |
וְשִׁלַּ֥חְתִּיand I will send forth
veshilachtiH7971 →845 times
אֵ֖שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
בְּחוֹמַ֣תon [the] wall of
bechomatH2346 →133 times
עַזָּ֑הGaza
ʾazahH5804 →
וְאָכְלָ֖הand it will consume
veakhelahH398 →810 times
אַרְמְנֹתֶֽיהָ׃fortresses its
ʾarmenoteihaH759 →32 times
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
Zephaniah 2:4For Gaza will be abandoned, and Ashkelon left in ruins. Ashdod will be driven out at noon, and Ekron will be uprooted.
it leads to
- Zechariah 9:5–7
Ashkelon will see and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, as will Ekron, for her hope will wither. There will cease to be a king in Gaza, and Ashkelon will be uninhabited.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 1:6–8
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, delivering them up to Edom.
- Jeremiah 47:1–7
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
- Zechariah 9:5–7
Through
Jeremiah 47:1This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet about the Philistines before Pharaoh struck down Gaza.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:20
all the mixed tribes; all the kings of Uz; all the kings of the Philistines: Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 10:19
and the borders of Canaan extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
- Jeremiah 25:20
Through
2 Kings 18:8He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its borders, from watchtower to fortified city.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 17:9
The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities.
- Isaiah 14:29
Do not rejoice, all you Philistines, that the rod that struck you is broken. For a viper will spring from the root of the snake, and a flying serpent from its egg.
- 2 Kings 17:9
Through
Amos 1:4So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:27
“I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume the fortresses of Ben-hadad.”
- Jeremiah 49:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Amos
Who and where
1 name 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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.