Amos 6:2
in Amos 6Cross over to Calneh and see; go from there to the great Hamath; then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are you better than these kingdoms? Is their territory larger than yours?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great; then go down to Gath of the Philistines: are they better than these kingdoms? or is their border greater than your border?
KJV
Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
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This verse in Amos 6
Commentary
8 notes on this versePass ye unto Calneh, and see,.... What is become of that city, which was in the land of Shinar, an ancient city, as early as the days of Nimrod, and built by him, and was with others the beginning of his kingdom, Gen 10:10; it belonged to Babylon, and is by Jarchi here interpreted by it, being put for Babel, as he supposes.
This site's exposition
at ease in Zion
on Amos 6:1-3
The woe names both capitals in one breath, at ease in Zion and trusting in the mountain of Samaria, the two kingdoms sharing one complacency though their borders had long since split. The tour of Calneh, Hamath and Gath asks the leaders to compare their own defenses against three cities already broken by Assyria, be they better than these kingdoms, a rhetorical challenge the bench reads as exposing a false confidence built on nothing but untested peace. Ye that put far away the evil day names the denial itself, judgment postponed in the mind while the seat of violence is invited nearer in practice.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 2 seqq.) Go through Chalane, and see: and from there go to great Emath, and descend to Geth of the Philistines: to the best of their kingdoms, if their boundary is wider than your boundary. You who are separated on the day of evil, and approach the throne of wickedness.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"Go to Calneh (which was an ancient city built by Nimrod, Gen. x. 10 ), and see what has become of that, it is now in ruins; so is Hamath the great, one of the chief cities of Syria.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Pass ye - Run over the history of that great and ancient city. Hemath - Head of the Syrian kingdom, lately overthrown by Tiglath-Pilneser, and a fresh instance of God's just indignation against secure sinners.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Pass ye unto Calneh - This is, says Calmet, the Ctesiphon on the river Tigris. Hamath - The same as Emesa. Hamath was a city on the Orontes, in Syria. Gath - A well-known town, and head of one of the five seignories of the Philistines. Be they better - You have no more reason to expect exemption from the consequences of your sins than they had. They have been punished; so shall you. Why then will ye trust in their gods, that could not save their own cities?
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Also by Assyria subsequently (2Ki 18:34). Gath--subjugated by Uzziah (2Ch 26:6). be they better--no. Their so recent subjugation renders it needless for Me to tell you they are not.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Pass over to Calneh - He bids them behold, east, north, and west, survey three neighboring kingdoms, and see whether God had not, even in the gifts of this world, dealt better with Israel. Why then so requite Him? “Calneh” (which Isaiah calls “Calno” Isa 10:9, Ezekiel, “Canneh Eze 27:23), was one of the four cities, built by Nimrod “in the land of Shinar Gen 10:10, the beginning of his kingdom.” From that time, until this of Amos, no mention of it occurs. It, probably, was more than once conquered by the Assyrians , lying, as it did, on the Tigris, some 40 miles perhaps from Babylon. Hence, it was said, under its new name Ctesiphon , to have been built, that is, rebuilt, by the Macedonians , and again by the Parthians, , whose “kings made it their winter residence on account of its good air.” It was anew destroyed by Severus , rebuilt by Sapor II in the 4th Century . Julian’s generals held it impregnable , being built on a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the Tigris . It became the scene of repeated persecutions of Christianity ; Nestorianism was favored . A center of Persian luxury, it tell at once and forever before Omar , and the Persian empire perished with it. It was replaced by the neighboring Bagdad. The history illustrates the tenacity of life in those well-chosen sites, and the character of the place, of whose conquest Sennacherib boasted, with which Amos compared the land of Israel. Go thence to Hamath the great - Originally, a Canaanite kingdom Gen 10:18. “The entrance to” it was assigned as the northern border of Israel Num 34:7-8; Jos 13:5. In David’s time its king was at war with the king of Zobah 2Sa 8:9-10, and made presents to David on his subdual. In Solomon’s time it had fallen under the power of the king of Zobah, from where it was called Hamath-zobah. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
those called the first of the nations —You were called the most praiseworthy of the nations.
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. 2 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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עִבְר֤וּ | ʾivru | pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| כַֽלְנֵה֙ | khalneh | Calneh | H3641 → | |
| וּרְא֔וּ | ureu | and see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וּלְכ֥וּ | ulekhu | and go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| מִשָּׁ֖ם | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| חֲמַ֣ת | chamat | Hamath- | H2579 → | |
| רַבָּ֑ה | rabah | Rabbah | H2579 → | |
| וּרְד֣וּ | uredu | and go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| גַת־ | gat- | Gath | H1661 → | |
| פְּלִשְׁתּ֗ים | pelishtm | of [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| הֲטוֹבִים֙ | hatovim | ¿ [are they] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| מִן־ | min- | more than | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמַּמְלָכ֣וֹת | hamamlakhot | the kingdoms | H4467 → | 117 times |
| הָאֵ֔לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| רַ֥ב | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| גְּבוּלָ֖ם | gevulam | [is] territory their | H1366 → | 240 times |
| מִגְּבֻלְכֶֽם׃ | migevulkhem | more than territory your | H1366 → | 240 times |
עִבְר֤וּpass over
ʾivruH5674 →556 times
כַֽלְנֵה֙Calneh
khalnehH3641 →
וּרְא֔וּand see
ureuH7200 →1300 times
וּלְכ֥וּand go
ulekhuH1980 →1546 times
מִשָּׁ֖םfrom there
mishamH8033 →834 times
חֲמַ֣תHamath-
chamatH2579 →
רַבָּ֑הRabbah
rabahH2579 →
וּרְד֣וּand go down
ureduH3381 →381 times
גַת־Gath
gat-H1661 →
פְּלִשְׁתּ֗יםof [the] Philistines
pelishtmH6430 →287 times
הֲטוֹבִים֙¿ [are they] good
hatovimH2896 →538 times
מִן־more than
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמַּמְלָכ֣וֹתthe kingdoms
hamamlakhotH4467 →117 times
הָאֵ֔לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
רַ֥בgreat
ravH7227 →454 times
גְּבוּלָ֖ם[is] territory their
gevulamH1366 →240 times
מִגְּבֻלְכֶֽם׃more than territory your
migevulkhemH1366 →240 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
Genesis 10:10His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
it leads to
- Genesis 11:9
That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
- Genesis 11:2
And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Genesis 14:1
In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim
- Micah 4:10
Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor. For now you will leave the city and camp in the open fields. You will go to Babylon; there you will be…
- Genesis 11:9
Through
2 Chronicles 26:6Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
it leads to
- 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.
- Isaiah 14:29
Through
2 Kings 18:34Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:9
“Is not Calno like Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria like Damascus?
- 2 Kings 17:6
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the…
- Isaiah 10:9
Through
Nahum 3:8Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 30:14–16
I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.
- Ezekiel 30:14–16
About Amos
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; 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.