Amos 7:12
in Amos 7And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
KJV
Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
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This verse in Amos 7
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He judges of Amos by his own selfishness, as if regard to one's own safety and livelihood are the paramount considerations. So the false prophets (Eze 13:19) were ready to say whatever pleased their hearers, however false, for "handfuls of barley and pieces of bread."
This site's exposition
go, flee thee away into the land of Judah
on Amos 7:12-13
Amaziah orders Amos home to Judah to eat bread and prophesy there, naming Bethel the king's chapel and the king's court, language that puts the shrine under the crown rather than under God. The bench reads the order as an attempt to buy off a prophet with his own livelihood, treat prophecy as a trade Amos can practice for pay somewhere safer, which is exactly the assumption the next two verses answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 10 onwards) And Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, 'Amos has rebelled against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos says: 'Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive from their own land.'' Then Amaziah said to Amos 'You seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah. There eat bread, and prophesy there.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
That Bethel was not a proper place for him to exercise his ministry in, for it was the king's chapel, or sanctuary, where he had his idols and their altars and priests; and it was the king's court, or the house of the kingdom, where the royal family resided and where were set the thrones of judgment; and therefore prophesy not any more here.
Also Amaziah said unto Amos,.... Either at the same time; or, it may be, after he had waited for the king's answer, and received none; or what did not come up to his expectations and wishes.
He condemns Amaziah for the opposition he gave them, and denounces the judgments of God against him, not from any private resentment or revenge, but in the name of the Lord and by authority from him,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
O thou seer - He pretends kindness to the prophet, and counsels him to go into Judea, and prophesy there and be safe, even in the time that he had accused him of high treason against Jeroboam. Hireling priests of this kind have ever been the great enemies of the true prophets of God; and when they could bring no charge of false doctrine or immorality against them, have accused them of conspiring against the government; and because they have preached against sin, have held them up as exciting insurrection among the people.
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
Jeroboam apparently took no account of the false priest’s message. Perhaps the memory of the true prophecies of Elisha as to the successes of his father, and of Jonah as to his own, fulfilled in his own person and still recent, inspired him with a reverence for God’s prophets. To know his motive or motives, we must know his whole character, which we do not. Amaziah, failing of his purpose, uses his name as far as he dares. “Seer, go flee thee.” He probably uses the old title for a prophet, in reference to the visions which he had just related. Perhaps, he used it in irony also . “Thou who seest, as thou deemest, what others see not, “visionary! visionist!” flee thee,” that is, for thy good; (he acts the patron and the counselor;) “to the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and there prophesy.” Worldly people always think that those whose profession is religious make “a gain of godliness.” “He is paid for it,” they say. “Whose bread I eat, his song I sing.” Interested people cannot conceive of one disinterested; nor the worldly, of one unworldly; nor the insincere, of one sincere. Amaziah thought then that Amos, coming out of Judah, must he speaking in the interests of Judah; perhaps, that he was in the pay of her king. Anyhow, prophecies, such as his against Israel, would be acceptable there and be well paid. The words are courteous, like so much patronizing language now, as to God or His revelation, His prophets or His Apostles, or His divine word. The words are measured: the meaning blasphemy. Perhaps, like the Scribes and Pharisees afterward, “he feared the people” Mat 21:26; Act 5:26. : “Seeing that there were many among the people who beard him gladly, he dared not do him any open wrong, lest he should offend them.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Jeroboam shall die by the sword —But he did not say that, only, “And I will rise upon the house of Jeroboam,” and that refers to his son, Zechariah, who was assassinated by Shallum son of Jabesh (II Kings 15).
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
But do not continue to prophesy in Bethel —for here they mention only the name of the idols.
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. 4 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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲמַצְיָה֙ | ʾamatzyah | Amaziah | H558 → | 40 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עָמ֔וֹס | amos | Amos | H5986 → | 7 times |
| חֹזֶ֕ה | chozeh | O seer | H2374 → | |
| לֵ֥ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּרַח־ | berach- | flee | H1272 → | |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | <for> yourself | ||
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וֶאֱכָל־ | veekhol- | and eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| שָׁ֣ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| לֶ֔חֶם | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְשָׁ֖ם | vesham | and there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| תִּנָּבֵֽא׃ | tinave' | you will prophesy | H5012 → | 115 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲמַצְיָה֙Amaziah
ʾamatzyahH558 →40 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עָמ֔וֹסAmos
amosH5986 →7 times
חֹזֶ֕הO seer
chozehH2374 →
לֵ֥ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
בְּרַח־flee
berach-H1272 →
לְךָ֖<for> yourself
lekha
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וֶאֱכָל־and eat
veekhol-H398 →810 times
שָׁ֣םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
לֶ֔חֶםbread
lechemH3899 →298 times
וְשָׁ֖םand there
veshamH8033 →834 times
תִּנָּבֵֽא׃you will prophesy
tinave'H5012 →115 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
1 Corinthians 2:14The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- Romans 8:5–8
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- Matthew 13:11–17
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- 2 Corinthians 4:4–6
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- 1 John 2:27
And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all…
- 1 Corinthians 1:18
Through
Romans 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:4
I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.
- Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
- 1 Timothy 6:5
and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- Colossians 2:4
About Amos
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PersonDivided kingdom (Jeroboam II, c. 760 BC)AmosShepherd and dresser of sycomore trees from Tekoa (Amos 1:1; 7:14), sent from Judah to prophesy against Israel's prosperity-era in…
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.