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Amos 1:1-15
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdman of Tekoa, which he saw
concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days
of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the
earthquake.
Why did YHVH feel the need for Amos to include this dating,
"two
years before the earthquake"?
Does this date hold any significance for this final earthly flesh
generation?
We have need to keep in mind:
Eccl 1:9-11
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is
done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the
sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath
been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any
remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
KJV
Yes, this date is significant.
On December 26th, 2004, there was an earthquake so great that it caused
a change in 'time' on this earth. This change in 'time' has had an
effect upon the dimensional status of this earth age, as well.
The resulting Tsunami, created by this great earthquake, had a direct
effect upon 11 of 12 nations. (The 12th was mostly unihabited land.)
And, that which occurred unto these 11 nations, indirectly affected the
world as a whole.
{The number '12' has reference to "Governmental Perfection".
[This can be in reference to that which is either 'good' or 'bad'.]}
{The number '11' refers to "Judgement and Disorder".}
What were the major "religions" and "practices"of
these nations directly affected?
Indonesia: Islam
88%, Protestant 5%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 2%, Buddhist 1%, other 1%
Sri
Lanka: Buddhist
70%, Hindu 15%, Christian 8%, Islam 7% (1999)
India:
Hindu 81.3%, Islam 12%, Christian 2.3%, Sikh 1.9%, other (including
Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis) 2.5%
Thailand:
Buddhist 95%, Islam 3.8%,
Christian 0.5%, Hindu 0.1%, other 0.6% (1991)
Somalia: Islam
(Sunni)
Myanmar: Buddhist
89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%),
Islam 4%,
Animist 1%, other 2%
Maldives: Islam
(Sunni)
Malaysia:
Muslim, Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Christian, Sikh;
Shamanism (East
Malaysia)
Tanzania: mainland: Christian 30%, Islam 35%, indigenous 35%; Zanzibar:
more than 99% Islam
Bangladesh: Islam
83%, Hindu 16%, other 1%
Kenya:
Protestant 45%, Roman
Catholic 33%, indigenous beliefs 10%, Islam 10%, others 2% (note:
estimates vary widely)
---------
Therefore, if we were to look at the history which is written in the
Book of Amos, we might then begin to see the same types of events,
warnings, and 'prophecy for these last days' beginning 2 years before
December 26th, 2005.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary for Amos 1:1.
The earthquake referred to was intended as a chronological note. It must
have been unusually severe to be mentioned thus, since earthquakes are
very common in the area.
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c)
1962 by Moody Press)
Barnes' Notes on Amos 1:1
[Two years before the earthquake] This earthquake must plainly have been
one of the greatest, since it was vividly in people's memories in the
time of Zechariah, and Amos speaks of it as "the earthquake."
The earthquakes of the east, like that of Lisbon, destroy whole cities.
In one, a little before the birth of our Lord (NOTE: Josephus, Ant. xv.
5. 2), "some ten thousand were buried under the ruined
houses." This terrific earthquake (for as such Zechariah describes
it) was one of the preludes of that displeasure of God, which Amos
foretold. A warning of two years, and time for repentance,
were given, "before the earthquake" should come, the
token and beginning of a further shaking of both kingdoms, unless they
should repent. In effect, it was the first flash of the lightning
which consumed them.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by
Biblesoft)
YHVH is not pleased with these particular children because of their
"false religions".
And, as angry as HE is with these of HIS children, HE is even more
angry, displeased, and disappointed with those of HIS children who have
had the opportunity to know HIM. The 12 tribes of Israel, who have been
so very blessed, have gone the way of the heathen. They have allowed
idol worship and heathen practices to distort or replace YHVH'S Law and
Way.
They have allowed the things of the world to be more important than
YHVH, their CREATOR.
Please note that Amos was an ordinary man.
In chapter 7, we shall see that which Amos said of himself: "I
was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and
a gatherer of sycomore fruit:"
"And the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said
unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary on Amos 7.
The sycomore produces a lowgrade fig, which has to be opened with a
special instrument to release the excess juice within before it will
ripen.
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c)
1962 by Moody Press)
He was not what we would refer to as "rich", monetarily. We
can begin to see this in that he had to put a lot of effort and work
into causing these lowgrade figs to open so that they could ripen. But,
Amos was "rich" in YHVH'S HOLY Word, HIS Truth, and was
willing to do all that YHVH required of him.
----
The sheep that Amos kept were an unusual (peculiar) breed.
The
Wycliffe Bible Commentary on Amos 1:1.
"who was among the herdman of Tekoa"
The Hebrew word for "herdmen"
is not the ordinary word for shepherd, ro'eh, but noqed, which means
that Amos' sheep were not of the common variety. The word refers to one
who cares for dwarfed sheep, with short legs. It helps to account for
the Arabic expression, "viler than a naqqad."
This breed of sheep is prized for its fine, abundant wool. Aside from
this reference in Amos, noqed,
is found only in 2 Kings 3:4, where it refers to Mesha, king of Moab,
and is translated "sheepmaster."
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c)
1962 by Moody Press)
Although these sheep were short in stature, the wool they produced was
abundant, fine, and exceptionally desirable.
FATHER often has used "sheep" ("flocks"
and "herds") as analogies for HIS children.
Although, we are short in stature (status, power, etc...we are just
ordinary people), we are prized by Our FATHER 'when and as' we do HIS
Will and Work, according to HIS HOLY Plan.
1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a
peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people
of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. KJV
Deut 26:16-19
16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes
and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul.
17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in
his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his
judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:
18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people,
as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his
commandments;
19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in
praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy
people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken. KJV
Before we go any further, please remember that there are those who have
been grafted into The Tree of Life.
There are others of YHVH'S children who work also for YHVH, and love
HIM, doing HIS Will.
Rom 11:17
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive
tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root
and fatness of the olive tree; KJV
YHVH holds the natural branches of Israel and those who have been
grafted into The Tree, at a higher level of responsibility than HE does
those who have not been so abundantly blessed.
If FATHER gives unto you the riches of HIS HOLY Word, and you bury them
in the earth or refuse to use them according to HIS Will and Way, then
HE can and will remove them from you. And, HE will give them unto those
goodly servants who have caused the riches of HIS HOLY Word to prosper
others of HIS children.
Amos 1:
2
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.
Lion.
The lion was the most awesome and dangerous wild beast in Palestine. His
tawny hide blended into the golden fields and sandy wastes. Lions hid in
forests and sometimes pounced from the thickets near the Jordan River
(Jer 49:19).
The Bible contains many references to lions. Daniel miraculously
survived a night in a lions' den (Dan 6). Samson and David killed lions
singlehandedly (Judg 14:5-6; 1 Sam 17:34-37). Kings hunted lions for
sport. According to Ezek 19:1-9, lions were also captured with pits and
nets.
The lion's majestic appearance and fearsome roar prompted many
comparisons. The prophet Joel declared, "The Lord also will roar
from Zion" (Joel 3:16). The apostle Peter wrote: "Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a
roaring lion." The prophet Hosea foretold that God would be like
a protective lion for the nation of Israel (Hos 5:14; panther, NEB).
Largest and grandest of cats, the lion is filled with power. A swat of
his paw can kill. His massive body forces him to rely on strength
instead of speed in his hunting.
A lion looks and sounds so imposing that he symbolizes royalty and
courage. The highest compliment which biblical writers could give was to
indicate that a person had the face or heart of a lion. Ari, the most
common term for lion, means "the strong one." In Isa 29:1
Jerusalem is called "Ariel," implying that the capital of the
Jewish nation is "the strong [lion-like] city of God." In some
translations of the Bible, a young lion is called a cub (Gen 49:9, NIV),
while other translations use the word whelp (Gen 49:9).
The Israelite tribes of Judah, Dan, and Gad-and also the nation of
Babylon-adopted the lion as their symbol. Jesus is called "the lion
of Judah" (Rev 5:5). Isaiah the prophet foretold that at the end of
time, the Prince of Peace would tame even the fierce heart of the lion
(Isa 9:6-7; 11:1-9).
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas
Nelson Publishers)
These things, which are described in Amos 1:2, are only a part of
that which YHVH shall cause to happen; and, these things shall occur
before the fallen angels arrive in the sight of man.
Can we liken these announcements (pronouncements) as being types for
"lightning" and it's subsequent "thunders"?
"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."
A lion does not "roar" until it has caught what it was going
after.
Therefore, when this speaks of "The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter
his voice from Jerusalem", then, we can know that HE will have
already accomplished these things by the time we hear the report.
Like unto the "thunders", the "lighting" is long
passed by the time that the resulting "thunder clap" occurs.
"and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn"
This speaks of "land". The "land" shall be in mourning.
The land which had supported so many sheep, feeding them very well, and
in safety, will no longer provide so much for the sheep.
What has been done to the "land" which had fed them so
abundantly, and in safety?
The words "the shepherds",
in this case, is "haaro`iym" from "ra`
ah".
(This is not in reference to the "peculiar sheep".)
OT:7462
ra` ah (raw-aw'); a primitive root; to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it;
intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively); generally to rule;
by extension, to associate with (as a friend):
KJV - break, companion, keep company with, devour, eat up,
evil entreat, feed, use as a friend, make friendship with,
herdman, keep [sheeper]-), pastor, shearing house, shepherd, wander,
waste.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Is FATHER happy when we keep company with those who are against HIM?
"and the top of Carmel shall wither"
This has reference to a "drought"
which occurs upon this place which had been so very "fruitful".
FATHER has warned us.
Did HIS children take heed?
Do HIS children think so highly of themselves, that they do not think
that there is anyway that they could have done anything to displease Our
FATHER? And, because of their high-mindedness, they will not understand
'when' and 'why' YHVH brings these things about. They will only look for
someone to blame for their problems.
These things speak of a great famine in the land (the world).
Yes, there could be literal applications and examples seen in the world,
but the greatest famine is and shall be for YHVH'S Truth.
Selah. {Think upon these things for a bit before you continue.}
------------
"For three transgressions of ..., and for four"
The word "transgressions" may more aptly be translated as
"rebellions".
OT:6588
pesha` (peh'-shah); from OT:6586; a revolt (national, moral or
religious):
KJV - rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.
OT:6586
pasha` (paw-shah'); a primitive root [identical with OT:6585 through the
idea of expansion]; to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass,
apostatize, quarrel:
KJV - offend, rebel, revolt, transgress (-ion, -or).
OT:6585
pasa` (paw-sah'); a primitive root; to stride (from spreading the legs),
i.e. rush upon:
KJV - go.
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with
Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and
International Bible Translators, Inc.)
YHVH is the Creator, therefore, HE has a right and an obligation
to correct and/or punish all who have need to be.
HE loves HIS children enough to make use of "tough love".
Amos 1:
3
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four,
I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed
Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour
the palaces of Ben-hadad.
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from
the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of
Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith
the LORD.
Damascus was the capitol of Syria.
Damascus
, Arabic Dimashq or ash-Sham,
city (1995 est. pop. 1,500,000), capital of Syria and of its Damascus
governorate, SW Syria, on the eastern edge of the Anti-Lebanon Mts. It
is Syria's largest city and its administrative, financial, and
communications center. Damascus stands in the oasis of Ghouta on the
margins of the Syrian Desert, and is bisected by the Barada River.
Manufactures include textiles, metalware, refined sugar, glass,
furniture, cement, leather goods, preserves, confections, and matches.
The city is served by a railroad, highways, and an international
airport.
The Columbia Electronic
Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University
Press. All rights reserved.
2 Kings 8:12-15
12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I
know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their
strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou
slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip
up their women with child.
13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do
this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou
shalt be king over Syria.
14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him,
What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou
shouldest surely recover.
15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and
dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and
Hazael reigned in his stead. KJV
BEN-HADAD
[ben HAY dad] (son of [the god] Hadad) - the name of two or three kings
of Damascus in Syria during the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. Because
more than one king had this name, it is not always possible to be
certain which king is indicated by a given reference in the Old
Testament.
1. Ben-Hadad I (900-860? B.C.), "the son of Tabrimmon, the son of
Hezion, king of Syria" (1 Kings 15:18). Ben-Hadad I was king of
Damascus during the reign of Israel's King BAASHA (909 BC - 886 BC).
These two kings joined in an alliance to invade Judah, but King Asa of
Judah persuaded BenHadad to change sides by paying him to invade Israel
instead (1 Kings 15:19-20; 2 Chron 16:1-4). This forced Baasha to
withdraw from Judah to protect his own interests. This Ben-Hadad is also
known from the famous stone monument which he erected after making a
treaty with King Pygmalion of Tyre about 860 BC.
2. Ben-Hadad II (860-843? B.C.), the son of Ben-Hadad I. Ben-Hadad I may
have reigned as long as 57 years (900 BC - 843 BC). If so, the
information given here about Ben-Hadad II would properly refer to
Ben-Hadad I. However, it is likely that Ben-Hadad I died sometime during
the reign of King Ahab of Israel (874 BC - 852 BC) and was succeeded by
a son, Ben-Hadad II. The Bible does not mention this transition, but
Assyrian records from 853 BC do mention HADADEZER as king of Damascus.
This was probably the throne name used by a new king, Ben-Hadad II.
This Ben-Hadad also continued to invade and oppress the northern kingdom
of Israel each year during the reign of King Ahab. Finally, Ahab
defeated the Syrians in two successive years and captured Ben-Hadad (1
Kings 20:1-33). As a price for releasing Ben-Hadad, Ahab received the
right for Israelite merchants to trade in the marketplaces of Damascus
(1 Kings 20:34).
In 853 BC Ben-Hadad II led a coalition of neighboring nations, including
Israel, in a major battle in QARQAR in Syria against the forces of
Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria. Shalmaneser, who had been exacting
tribute from Syria and Palestine under the threat of military
destruction, was driven out of Palestine. Some time later, Ahab of
Israel and King JEHOSHAPHAT of Judah joined forces to attack Ben-Hadad
II. Their object was to regain RAMOTH GILEAD, originally part of Israel.
Ahab and Jehoshaphat ignored the unpleasant warning of defeat spoken by
MICAIAH, a true prophet of the Lord, and were defeated by Ben-Hadad II.
Ahab also lost his life in the battle (1 Kings 22:1-38).
Ben-Hadad II is probably the unnamed "king of Syria" whose
officer Naaman was healed of leprosy by the prophet Elisha (2 Kings
5:1-19). Ben-Hadad himself also sent a servant, HAZAEL, to inquire of
Elisha concerning his own illness (2 Kings 8:7-10). Hazael later
murdered Ben-Hadad and became King of Damascus (Syria), just as Elisha
had prophesied (2 Kings 8:12-15). Hazael also oppressed Israel during
his reign (2 Kings 10:32; 13:22). Hazael reigned as king of Syria from
about 843 BC to about 798 BC
3. Ben-Hadad III, the son of Hazael. He succeeded his father as king of
Damascus about 798 BC and reigned until about 722 BC When the Israelite
king JOASH (798 BC - 782 BC) came to power, he won back Israelite
territory from Ben-Hadad III, defeating him in battle three times (2
Kings 13:25). Joash's son, King JEROBOAM II, also was successful in
battle against Ben-Hadad III and expanded Israel to its full borders (2
Kings 14:13-28).
Having failed in his battles against Israel, BenHadad III led a
coalition of Syrian kings against Zakir, the king of Hamath, who had
attempted to expand his kingdom at the expense of the other kings.
Ben-Hadad lost this war also. An Aramaic stone monument mentions
Ben-Hadad III by name. Eventually, "the palaces of Ben-hadad"
(Amos 1:4) in Damascus were destroyed by invading Assyrian armies, just
as the prophet Amos had predicted.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas
Nelson Publishers)
History of Damascus
Located
in a strategic gap commanding the Barada River and transdesert routes,
Damascus has been inhabited since prehistoric times and is reputedly the
oldest continuously occupied city in the world. There was a city on its
site even before the time (c.2000 B.C.) of Abraham.
Damascus was probably held by the Egyptians before the Hittite period
(2d millennium B.C.) and was later ruled by
the Israelites and Aram.
Tiglathpileser
III made it (732 B.C.) a part of
the Assyrian Empire. From the 6th to the 4th cent. B.C.
it was a provincial capital of the Persian Empire until it passed (332 B.C.)
without a struggle to the armies of Alexander the Great.
After
Alexander's death the Seleucids (see Seleucia)
gained control of the city, although the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt
tried to wrest it from them. When Seleucid power waned, Tigranes
of Armenia took Damascus; but after his surrender to the Romans,
Damascus passed (64 B.C.) into the Roman
Empire under Pompey. One of the cities of the Decapolis
confederacy, it was generally under Roman influence until the breakup of
the empire.
Damascus
became a thriving commercial city, noted for its woolen cloth and grain,
and was early converted to Christianity. It was on the road to Damascus
that Paul
(d. 67) experienced his dramatic conversion, and it was from Damascus
that he escaped persecution by being lowered down the wall in a basket.
The Roman emperor Theodosius
I had a Christian church built there (A.D.
379) on the foundations of the Roman temple of Zeus (1st cent. A.D.).
After
the permanent split (395) of the Roman Empire, Damascus became a
provincial capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Arabs, who had attacked
and sporadically held the city since before the time of Paul, occupied
it permanently in 635. The city was then gradually converted to Islam,
and the Christian church built by Theodosius was rebuilt (705) as the
Great Mosque. Damascus was the seat of the caliphate under the Umayyads
from 661 until 750, when the Abbasids made Baghdad the center of the
Muslim world. Damascus thereafter fell prey to new conquerors—the
Egyptians, the Karmathians, and the Seljuk Turks (1076).
Although
the Christian Crusaders failed in several attempts to annex the city,
they ravaged the rich alluvial plain several times while the Saracen
rulers, notably
Nur
ad-Din
(1118–74) and Saladin
(1137?–1193), were absent on campaigns. Damascus continued to prosper
under the Saracens; its bazaars sold brocades (damask), wool, furniture
inlaid with mother of pearl, and the famous swords and other ware of the
Damascene metalsmiths. In 1260 the city fell to the Mongols under Hulagu
Khan, and it was sacked c.1400 by Timur,
who took away the swordmakers and armorers.
In
1516, Damascus passed to the Ottoman Turks, and for 400 years it
remained in the Ottoman Empire. There was a massacre of Christians by
Muslims in 1860, and in 1893 a disastrous fire damaged the Great Mosque.
In World War I, Col. T. E. Lawrence
helped to prepare the British capture of Damascus; it was entered (1918)
by British Field Marshal Allenby
and Emir Faisal (later King Faisal
I of Iraq).
Britain
had promised that Arab lands would revert back to the Arabs if the Turks
were defeated. However, once in Damascus, the British reneged on the
promise. After the war the city became the capital of one of the French
Levant States mandated under the League of Nations. Owing to broken
promises about Arab control, Damascus in 1925–26 joined with the Druze
in revolt against the French, who shelled and badly damaged the city.
During
World War II, Free French and British forces entered Damascus, which
became capital of independent Syria in 1941. When Syria and Egypt joined
to form the United
Arab Republic in 1958, Cairo was made the capital, with
Damascus the capital of the Syrian region. Syria withdrew from the
United Arab Republic in 1961.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright
© 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Syria
Geography
Slightly larger than North Dakota, Syria lies at the
eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Lebanon and
Israel on the west, Turkey on the north, Iraq on the east, and Jordan on
the south. Coastal Syria is a narrow plain, in back of which is a range
of coastal mountains, and still farther inland a steppe area. In the
east is the Syrian Desert, and in the south is the Jebel Druze Range.
The highest point in Syria is Mount Hermon (9,232 ft; 2,814 m) on the
Lebanese border.
Government
Republic under a military regime since March 1963.
History
Ancient
Syria was conquered by Egypt about 1500 B.C.,
and after that by Hebrews, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Persians, and Alexander
the Great of Macedonia. >From 64 B.C.
until the Arab conquest in A.D. 636, it was
part of the Roman Empire except during brief periods. The Arabs made it
a trade center for their extensive empire, but it suffered severely from
the Mongol invasion in 1260 and fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1516. Syria
remained a Turkish province until World War I.
A secret Anglo-French pact of 1916 put Syria in the French
zone of influence. The League of Nations gave France a mandate over
Syria after World War I, but the French were forced to put down several
nationalist uprisings. In 1930, France recognized Syria as an
independent republic but still subject to the mandate. After nationalist
demonstrations in 1939, the French high commissioner suspended the
Syrian constitution. In 1941, British and Free French forces invaded
Syria to eliminate Vichy control. During the rest of World War II, Syria
was an Allied base. Again in 1945, nationalist demonstrations broke into
actual fighting, and British troops had to restore order. Syrian forces
met a series of reverses while participating in the Arab invasion of
Palestine in 1948. In 1958, Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab
Republic, with Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt as president. However, Syria
became independent again on Sept. 29, 1961, following a revolution.
In the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, Israel quickly vanquished
the Syrian army. Before acceding to the UN cease-fire, the Israeli
forces took control of the fortified Golan Heights. Syria joined Egypt
in attacking Israel in Oct. 1973 in the fourth Arab-Israeli war, but was
pushed back from initial successes on the Golan Heights and ended up
losing more land. However, in the settlement worked out by U.S.
secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger in 1974, the Syrians recovered all
the territory lost in 1973.
In the mid-1970s Syria sent some 20,000 troops to support
Muslim Lebanese in their armed conflict with Christian militants
supported by Israel during the civil war in Lebanon. Syrian troops
frequently clashed with Israeli troops during Israel's 1982 invasion of
Lebanon and remained thereafter as occupiers of large portions of
Lebanon.
In 1990, President Assad ruled out any possibility of
legalizing opposition political parties. In Dec. 1991 voters approved a
fourth term for Assad, giving him 99.98% of the vote.
In the 1990s, the slowdown in the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process was echoed in the lack of progress in Israeli-Syrian
relations. Confronted with a steadily strengthening strategic
partnership between Israel and Turkey, Syria took steps to construct a
countervailing alliance by improving relations with Iraq, strengthening
ties with Iran, and collaborating more closely with Saudi Arabia. In
Dec. 1999, Israeli-Syrian talks resumed after a nearly four-year hiatus,
but soon broke down over discussions about the Golan Heights.
On June 10, 2000, President Hafez
al-Assad died. He had
ruled with an iron fist since taking power in a military coup in 1970.
His son, Bashar al-Assad, an ophthalmologist by training, succeeded him.
He has emulated his father's autocratic rule.
In the summer of 2001, Syria withdrew nearly all of its
25,000 troops from Beirut. Syrian soldiers, however, remain in the
Lebanese countryside.
In April 2003, shortly after the Iraq war seemed to be
winding down, the Bush administration turned its ire on Syria, calling
the country a rogue nation that harbored members of Saddam Hussein's
regime and possessed chemical weapons.
In March 2004, Syrian Kurds rioted and clashed with police
for several days after a brawl at a soccer game. It was Syria's worst
unrest in decades.
The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on the country in May,
accusing it of continuing to support terrorism.
In Sept. 2004, a UN Security Council resolution asked
Syria to withdraw its 15,000 remaining troops from Lebanon. Syria
responded by moving about 3,000 troops from the vicinity of Beirut to
eastern Lebanon, a gesture viewed by many as merely cosmetic.
After Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a
popular and independent leader who was never friendly with Syria, was
assassinated on Feb. 14, 2004, huge Lebanese protests ensued calling for
Syria's withdrawal from the country. The U.S., EU, and UN also called
for Syria's withdrawal. In early March, President Assad agreed in vague
terms to a pullout of the 14,000 Syrian troops currently in Lebanon. But
on March 8, the militant group Hezbollah sponsored a massive pro-Syrian
rally, primarily made up of Shiites, that greatly outnumbered previous
anti-Syrian protests. Hundreds of thousands gathered to thank Syria for
its involvement in Lebanon. The pro-Syrian demonstrations led to
President Lahoud's reappointment of Karami as prime minister on March 9.
But thereafter an anti-Syrian protest–twice the size of the Hezbollah
protest—followed. In mid-March, Syria withdrew 4,000 troops, and
redeployed the remaining 10,000 to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which borders
Syria. On April 26, Syria withdrew the remainder of its troops,
stationed in Lebanon for the past 29 years.
See also Encyclopedia: Syria.
Information Please® Database, © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All
rights reserved.
As we continue with these pronouncements, given in The Book of Amos
against these peoples and lands, please consider the information given
on the early and latter day history of each.
"There is no new thing under the
sun...."
Amos 1:
6
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I
will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away
captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the
palaces thereof:
8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth
the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and
the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.
Gaza
Gaza,
Ghazzah , or Ghuzzeh
[gŭz'u] , town (2003 est. pop. 380,000), principal city and
administrative center of the Gaza Strip, SW Asia, on the Philistia plain
between the Mediterranean Sea and W Israel. In ancient times, Gaza was
an Egyptian garrison town (it is mentioned in the Tell el Amarna
letters); later, it was one of the chief cities of the Philistines.
There Samson brought down the temple on his captors and himself. Gaza
was besieged for five months by Alexander the Great and during the wars
of the Maccabees and in the Crusades. The town has long been of
commercial importance, the meeting place of caravans between Egypt and
Syria. The site of modern Gaza dates from the building programs of Herod
the Great. Opinions differ on the site of ancient Gaza.
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Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
The Gaza Strip
The
Gaza Strip (2003 est. pop. 1,330,000) is a rectangular coastal area
(c.140 sq mi/370 sq km) on the Mediterranean Sea adjoining Egypt and
Israel, in what was formerly SW Palestine. It is a densely populated and
impoverished region inhabited primarily by Palestinian refugees; the
majority live in large, overcrowded refugee camps. There are about 7,000
Israeli settlers living in semimunicipal developments in the Gaza Strip.
The number of inhabitants has fluctuated with tensions in the Middle
East, increasing greatly due to the Arab-Israeli
Wars.
The
Gaza Strip has a small construction industry, some farming, a modest
citrus fruit industry, olive crops, and livestock grazing. However, Gaza
depends on Israel for nearly 90% of its imports (largely food, consumer
goods, and construction materials) and exports (mainly citrus fruit and
other agricultural products), as well as employment, and the economy,
such as it is, has been devastated by recent fighting.
Between
1917 and 1948 the region was part of Great Britain's Palestine mandate
from the League of Nations. After the armistice agreement of 1949 until
the 1967 war (with the exception of the Israeli occupation from Nov.,
1956, to Mar., 1957), the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian administration.
However, the Arab residents were never given Egyptian citizenship,
thereby remaining stateless. After the 1967 war, Israel occupied the
region, but autonomy for the area was promised by the 1978 Camp
David accords.
With
the inception of the Palestinian uprising (Intifada)
in Gaza in 1987, the city became a major center of political unrest and
violence, and the Gaza Strip remained under frequent military curfew,
imposed by Israeli troops sent to quell violence and maintain order.
High unemployment and low wages have been chronic problems. As a result
of the Persian
Gulf War (1991),
masses of Palestinian workers in that area fled back to their families
in the Gaza Strip, creating a dire economic crisis and greater
unemployment.
In
1993 an accord between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) called for limited self-rule in
the area. Under a May, 1994, agreement, Israel's occupying forces left
much of the Gaza Strip and a Palestinian police force was deployed.
Israel retained frontier areas and buffer zones around Israeli
settlements. The breakdown in peace talks in 2000 and the subsequent
resumption of violence hurt the local economy. Although the Gaza Strip
has seen less fighting with Israelis than the West Bank, in 2003 the
Israeli army moved more aggressively to control sections of the Gaza
Strip in response to Palestinian attacks. The Israelis have also
launched attacks against leaders of Hamas,
which has many supporters in Gaza and has carried out many suicide
attacks; in 2004 Hamas's spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, killed
in an Israeli strike. The area also has been the scene of fighting
between Palestinian Authority forces and Hamas.
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Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Ashdod
Ashdod [Heb.,=stronghold], city (1994 pop. 120,100), SW Israel,
on the Mediterranean Sea. It is Israel's leading port after Haifa.
Construction is Ashdod's main industry; its manufactures include
synthetic fibers, woolen yarn, and knitted goods. Nearby is the site of
ancient Ashdod, which was settled as early as the Bronze Age. Conquered
by the Philistines
in the 12th cent. B.C., it became an
important city of the Philistine Pentapolis and a center for the worship
of Dagon.
The city was later ruled by Judah, Egypt, and Assyria. The Jews of
Ashdod had been considered idolatrous by other Jews since the time of
the return to Jerusalem (6th cent. B.C.), but
they were cleansed by Judas Maccabeus in 163 B.C.
Jonathan, the brother of Judas Maccabeus, took the city in 148 B.C.
and destroyed the temple of Dagon. Ashdod was revived by the Romans and
was an early Christian center. The first modern Israeli settlement in
Ashdod was made in 1955, and in 1965 the deepwater port was completed.
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Ashkelon
Ashqelon , city (1994 pop. 80,100), SW Israel, on the
Mediterranean Sea. It is a beach resort in an area of citrus groves and
cotton plantations. Ashqelon's industries process agricultural products
and manufacture cement, plastics, electronic equipment, and watches.
Nearby is the site of ancient Ashqelon, or Ashkelon, whose history dates
back to the 3d millennium B.C. It was a trade
center and port and a seat of worship of the goddess Astarte.
Ancient Ashqelon was conquered by the Philistines
in the late 12th cent. B.C. and completely
rebuilt. Ashkelon flourished under the Greeks and Romans: Herod,
believed to have been born there, greatly enlarged the city. It was
taken by the Arabs in A.D. 638, conquered by
the Crusaders in 1153 and occupied by Richard
I in 1191, and completely destroyed by Muslims in 1270. An
Israeli settlement was established there in 1948. In 1955 the modern
city of Ashqelon was founded when Afridar, a town established by South
African Jews in 1952, and Migdal, a former Arab town, were merged. A
national park in Ashqelon includes Greek and Roman ruins and the remains
of ancient synagogues. A Roman tomb (3d cent.) decorated with frescoes,
the ruins of a Byzantine church, and a wall built by Crusaders are also
in the city.
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Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Ekron
Ekron
, important Philistine city, SE of Jaffa, near the sea and bordering
Judah. According to accounts in the Bible, Ekron was in the hands of the
Philistines when it was the Ark of the Covenant's last resting place
before its restoration to Israel. It also appears as Accaron.
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Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Philistines
Philistines
, inhabitants of Philistia, a non-Semitic people who came to Palestine
from the Aegean (probably Crete), in the 12th cent. B.C.
Their control of iron supplies and their tight political organization of
cities made them a rival of the people of Israel for centuries.
Philistine has come to mean an uncultured, materialistic person.
See studies by T. Dothan (1982) and B. F. Griffin (1983).
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Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
Amos 1:
9
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I
will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the
whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the
palaces thereof.
Tyre
Tyre
, ancient city of Phoenicia,
S of Sidon. It is the present-day Sur in Lebanon, a small town on a
peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean from the mainland of Syria S of
Beirut. It was built on an island just off the mainland, but the
accumulation of sand around a mole built by Alexander the Great to
facilitate his siege of the city (333–332 B.C.)
has formed a causeway more than .5 mi (.8 km) wide. The date of the
founding of the city is extremely uncertain, but by 1400 B.C.
it was a flourishing city. The maritime supremacy of Tyre was
established by 1100 B.C., and by that date
its seamen seem to have sailed around the Mediterranean and to have
founded colonies in Spain, S Italy, and N Africa. Tyrians founded the
city of Carthage
in the 9th cent. B.C. Tyre was famous for its
industries, such as textile manufactures, and particularly for the
purple Tyrian dye. Throughout its long history Tyre frequently came
under foreign rule. It was besieged by the Assyrians and the Chaldaeans
and fell to the Persians. The city was sacked by Alexander the Great but
recovered quickly. In 64 B.C. it became a
part of the Roman Empire. In spite of competition offered by newer
cities such as Alexandria, it prospered and was able to retain varying
degrees of autonomy. Christianity was introduced early into Tyre, and a
splendid cathedral, of which there are remains, was built in the 4th
cent. After the rise of Islam, Tyre came under Muslim rule and later
under that of the Crusaders. It was destroyed by the Muslims in 1291 and
never recovered its former greatness. The principal ruins of the city
today are those of buildings erected by the Crusaders. There are some
Greco-Roman remains, but any left by the Phoenicians lie underneath the
present town. Tyre is mentioned frequently in the Bible.
The
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reserved.
Lebanon
Geography
Lebanon lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea
north of Israel and west of Syria. It is four-fifths the size of
Connecticut. The Lebanon Mountains, which parallel the coast on the
west, cover most of the country, while on the eastern border is the
Anti-Lebanon range. Between the two lies the Bekaa Valley, the principal
agricultural area.
Government
Republic.
History
After World War I, France was given a League of Nations
mandate over Lebanon and its neighbor Syria, which together had
previously been a single political unit in the Ottoman Empire. France
divided them in 1920 into separate colonial administrations, drawing a
border that separated predominantly Muslim Syria from the kaleidoscope
of religious communities in Lebanon, where Maronite Christians were then
dominant. After 20 years of the French mandate regime, Lebanon's
independence was proclaimed on Nov. 26, 1941, but full independence came
in stages. Under an agreement between representatives of Lebanon and the
French National Committee of Liberation, most of the powers exercised by
France were transferred to the Lebanese government on Jan. 1, 1944. The
evacuation of French troops was completed in 1946.
According to the National Pact, different religious
communities are represented in the government by having a Maronite
Christian president, a Sunni Muslim prime minister, and a Shiite
National Assembly speaker. The arrangement worked for two decades.
Civil war broke out in 1958, with Muslim factions led by
Kamal Jumblat and Saeb Salam rising in insurrection against the Lebanese
government headed by President Camille Chamoun, a Maronite Christian
favoring close ties to the West. At Chamoun's request, President
Eisenhower, on July 15, sent U.S. troops to reestablish the government's
authority.
Clan warfare between various religious factions in Lebanon
goes back centuries. The hodgepodge includes Maronite Christians, who
since independence have dominated the government; Sunni Muslims, who
have prospered in business and shared political power; the Druze, who
hold a faith incorporating aspects of Islam and Gnosticism; and Shiite
Muslims.
A new—and bloodier—Lebanese civil war that broke out
in 1975 resulted in the addition of still another ingredient in the
brew—the Syrians. In the fighting between Lebanese factions, 40,000
Lebanese were estimated to have been killed and 100,000 wounded between
March 1975 and Nov. 1976. At that point, Syrian troops intervened at the
request of the Lebanese and brought large-scale fighting to a halt. In
1977 the civil war again flared up, and would continue until 1990,
decimating the country.
Palestinian guerrillas staging raids on Israel from
Lebanese territory drew punitive Israeli raids on Lebanon and two
large-scale Israeli invasions, in 1978 and again in 1982. In the first
invasion, the Israelis entered the country in March 1978 and withdrew
that June, after the UN Security Council created a 6,000-man
peacekeeping force for the area, called UNIFIL. As they departed, the
Israelis turned their strongholds over to a Christian militia that they
had organized, instead of to the UN force.
The second Israeli invasion came on June 6, 1982, after an
assassination attempt by Palestinian terrorists on the Israeli
ambassador in London. As a base of the PLO, Lebanon became the Israelis'
target. Nearly 7,000 Palestinians were dispersed to other Arab nations.
The violence seemed to have come to an end when, on Sept. 14, Bashir
Gemayel, the 34-year-old president-elect, was killed by a bomb that
destroyed the headquarters of his Christian Phalangist Party. Following
his assassination, Christian militiamen massacred about 1,000
Palestinians in the Israeli-controlled Sabra and Shatila refugee camps,
but Israel denied responsibility.
The massacre in the refugee camps prompted the return of a
multinational peacekeeping force. Its mandate was to support the central
Lebanese government, but it soon found itself drawn into the struggle
for power between different Lebanese factions. The country was engulfed
in chaos and instability. During their stay in Lebanon, 241 U.S. Marines
and about 60 French soldiers were killed, most of them in suicide
bombings of the Marine and French army compounds on Oct. 23, 1983. The
multinational force withdrew in the spring of 1984. In 1985, the
majority of Israeli troops withdrew from the country, but Israel left
some troops along a buffer zone on the southern Lebanese border, where
they engaged in ongoing skirmishes with Palestinian groups. The
Palestinian terrorist group Hezbollah or “Party of God,” was formed
in the 1980s during Israel's second invasion of Lebanon. With financial
backing from Iran, it has launched attacks against Israel for more than
20 years.
In July 1986, Syrian observers took a position in Beirut
to monitor a peacekeeping agreement. The agreement broke down and
fighting between Shiite and Druze militia in West Beirut became so
intense that Syrian troops mobilized in Feb. 1987, suppressing militia
resistance. In 1991 a treaty of friendship was signed with Syria, which
in effect gave Syria control over Lebanon's foreign relations. In early
1991, the Lebanese government, backed by Syria, regained control over
the south and disbanded various militias, thereby ending the 16-year
civil war, which had destroyed much of the infrastructure and industry
of Lebanon.
In June 1999, just before Israeli prime minister Benjamin
Netanyahu left office, Israel bombed Southern Lebanon, its most severe
attack on the country since 1996. In May 2000, Israel's new prime
minister, Ehud Barak, withdrew Israeli troops after 18 consecutive years
of occupation.
In the summer of 2001, Syria withdrew nearly all of its
25,000 troops from Beirut and surrounding areas. About 14,000 troops,
however, remained in the countryside. With the continuation of
Israeli-Palestinian violence in 2002, Hezbollah began again building up
forces along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
In Aug. 2004, in a stark reminder of Syria's continuing
iron grip in Lebanon, Syria insisted that Lebanon's pro-Syrian
president, Émile Lahoud, remain in office beyond the constitutional
limit of one six-year term. Despite outrage in the country, the Lebanese
parliament did Syria's bidding, permitting Lahoud to serve for three
more years.
A UN Security Council resolution in Sept. 2004 demanded
Syria remove the troops it had stationed in Lebanon for past 28 years.
Syria responded by moving about 3,000 troops from the vicinity of Beirut
to eastern Lebanon, a gesture that was viewed by many as merely
cosmetic. As a result of the crisis, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
(1992-98, 2000-04), largely responsible for Lebanon's economic rebirth
in the past decade, resigned. On Feb. 14, 2005, he was killed by a car
bomb. Many suspected Syria of involvement, and large protests ensued,
calling for Syria's withdrawal from the country. After two weeks of
protests by Sunni Muslim, Christian, and Druze parties, pro-Syrian prime
minister Omar Karami resigned on Feb. 28. Several days later, Syria made
a vague pledge to withdraw its troops, but failed to announce a
timetable. On March 8, the militant group Hezbollah sponsored a massive
pro-Syrian rally, primarily made up of Shiites, that greatly outnumbered
previous anti-Syrian protests. Hundreds of thousands gathered to thank
Syria for its involvement in Lebanon. The pro-Syrian demonstrations led
to President Lahoud's reappointment of Karami as prime minister on March
9. But thereafter an anti-Syrian protest–twice the size of the
Hezbollah protest—followed. In mid-March, Syria withdrew 4,000 troops,
and redeployed the remaining 10,000 to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, which
borders Syria. In April, Omar Karami resigned a second time after
failing to form a government. Lebanon's new prime minister, Najib
Mikati—a compromise candidate between the pro-Syrian and anti-Syrian
groups—announced that new elections will be held in May. On April 26,
after 29 years of occupation, Syria withdrew all of its troops.
See also Encyclopedia: Lebanon.
Central Administration for Statistics
See also Lebanon
Timeline.
Information Please® Database, © 2005 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
--------
Amos 1:
11
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I
will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his
brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did
tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of
Bozrah.
Edom
Edom
, Idumaea,or Idumea
[both: īdyOOmē'u] , mountainous country, called also
Mt. Seir. According to the Book of Genesis, it was given to Esau,
also called Edom, and his descendants. It extended along the eastern
border of the Arabah valley, from the Dead Sea to Elat. Edomite history
was marked by continuous hostility and warfare with Jews, Assyrians, and
Syrians. At the end of the 2d cent. B.C.,
they were subdued by Hasmonaean priest-king John Hyrcanus I, forcibly
circumcised, and merged with the Jews.
Herod
the Great was
Idumaean. The Romans grouped Idumaea with Judaea and
Samaria in one procuratorship. After the destruction of Jerusalem,
Idumaea was included in Arabia Petraea.
The
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reserved.
Petra
Petra
, ancient rock city, in present-day Jordan, known to the Arabs as Wadi
Musa for the stream that flows through it. A narrow, winding pass
between towering walls leads to the open plain upon which stood the
ancient city. The plain is surrounded by hills in which tombs have been
carved in the pink sandstone. The site includes some 800 structures, the
best known of which is the Khazneh el-Farun (or so-called Pharoah's
Treasury), a mausoleum, monument, or temple with a two-story facade and
Hellenistic split pediment.
Petra
was early occupied by the Edomites (see Edom)
and by the Nabataeans (an Arab tribe; see Nabataea),
who had their capital there from the 4th cent. B.C.
until the Roman occupation in A.D. 106. The
city is referred to as Sela in the Bible (2 Kings 14.7). It was for many
centuries the focal point of a vast caravan trade but declined with the
rise of Palmyra;
however, it remained a religious center of Arabia. Under the Romans in
the 2d and 3d cent. it was included in the province of Arabia Petraea.
An early seat of Christianity, it was conquered by the Muslims in the
7th cent. and in the 12th cent. was captured by the Crusaders, who built
a citadel there. Petra was unknown to the Western world until its ruins
were visited by Johann Burckhardt
in 1812.
See
M. I. Rostovtsev, Caravan Cities (1932, repr. 1971); I. Browning, Petra
(1974); M. G. Amadasi Guzzo and E. Equini Schneider, Petra (2002); J.
Taylor, Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans (2002).
The
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rights reserved.
Teman
Teman
, in the Bible, grandson of Esau and eponym of a tribe living in Edom,
SE of the Dead Sea. A member of the tribe was known as a Temani or a
Temanite.
The
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reserved.
Bozrah
Bozrah
, in the Bible. 1. Important city of Edom, probably the modern Busayra
(Jordan), SE of the Dead Sea. The prophets often linked the name Bozrah
with that of Edom. 2. City of Moab, perhaps identical with Bezer.
The
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reserved.
Bezer . Reubenite town, E of the Jordan. Bezer is mentioned in the
Moabite stone and several times in the Bible; it may be identical with Bozrah
2.
The
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reserved.
----
Amos 1:
13
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon,
and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they
have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge
their border:
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour
the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest
in the day of the whirlwind:
15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together,
saith the LORD. KJV
Ammon
Ammon
, in the Bible, people living E of the Dead Sea. Their capital was
Rabbath-Ammon, the present-day Amman (Jordan). Their god was Milcom, to
whom Solomon built an altar. A Semitic people, they flourished from the
13th cent. B.C. to the 8th cent. B.C.
and were then absorbed by the Arabs. Excavations in Jordan show that
they had a highly developed kingdom. They were hostile to the Hebrews,
to whom they were related. The ancestor for whom they were named was
Lot's son Ben-Ammi.
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reserved.
AMMON
[AM muhn] (kinsman or people) - the name of a man and an ancient kingdom
in the Old Testament:
1. The son of LOT by his younger daughter. He is the same person as
BEN-AMMI and is described as "the father [ancestor] of the people
of Ammon" (Gen 19:38).
2. The land of Ammon, settled by those who were descended from Ammon (or
Ben-Ammi), Lot's son. Ammon was born in a cave near Zoar (Gen 19:30-38),
a city near the southern end of the Dead Sea (see Map 2, D-1). The land
of the AMMONITES generally was located in the area north and east of
Moab, a region between the River Arnon and the River Jabbok. Its capital
city was Rabbah (Deut 3:11; 2 Sam 11:1). Amman, the name of the capital
of the modern kingdom of Jordan, is a continuing use of this ancient
name.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas
Nelson Publishers)
AMMONITES
[AM muhn ites] -- a nomadic race descended from AMMON, Lot's son,
who became enemies of the people of Israel during their later history.
During the days of the Exodus, the Israelites were instructed by God not
to associate with the Ammonites (Deut 23:3). No reason is given in the
Bible for such hostility, but the rift between the two peoples continued
across several centuries.
In the days of the judges, Eglon, king of Moab, enlisted the aid of the
Ammonites in taking Jericho from the Hebrew people (Judg 3:13). In
Saul's time, Nahash, the Ammonite king, attacked Jabesh Gilead. Saul
responded to the call for help and saved the people of Jabesh Gilead
from being captured by Nahash (1 Sam 11:1-11).
Later in the history of the Israelites, Ammonites were among the armies
allied against King Jehoshaphat; God caused confusion among them, and
they destroyed themselves (2 Chron 20:1-23). The prophets of the Old
Testament often pronounced God's judgment against the Ammonites (Jer
9:26; Amos 1:13-15). Archaeological evidence suggests that Ammonite
civilization continued from about 1200 BC to 600 BC
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas
Nelson Publishers)
RABBAH
[RAB uh] (great) - the name of two cities in the Old Testament:
1. The chief city of the Ammonites. Known as Rabbah of the people of
Ammon (Deut 3:11; 2 Sam 12:26), Rabbah is the only Ammonite city
mentioned in the Bible. Rabbah was at the headwaters of the Jabbok
River, 37 kilometers (23 miles) east of the Jordan.
Rabbah is first mentioned as the place where the giant King Og had his
massive iron bedstead (Deut 3:11; Rabbath, KJV). Rabbah remained the
capital of Ammon during David's reign, when the Ammonites and Arameans
joined forces to fight against Israel. While Joab and the Israelites
camped before the gate of Rabbah, the Arameans marched to MEDEBA (1
Chron 19:7). In the decisive battle the Israelite armies defeated both
the Arameans and the Ammonites, also subjecting the Ammonites to forced
labor (2 Sam 12:27-31; 1 Chron 20:1-3). During this conflict, Uriah the
Hittite was killed at David's orders (2 Sam 11:1,15). Later the
Ammonites recovered the city. Throughout its history Israel's prophets
denounced Rabbah (Jer 49:2-6; Ezek 21:20; Amos 1:14).
Sitting astride the King's Highway, Rabbah's strategic location put it
in the middle of most of the conflicts and wars of the biblical period.
Consequently, it repeatedly was destroyed and rebuilt. Under Ptolemy
Philadelphus (285 BC - 246 BC) the city became an important trading
center renamed Philadelphia. It was the southernmost of the ten cities
of the DECAPOLIS. During the Byzantine period of the fourth century
A.D., Rabbah ranked in importance with Gerasa (Jerash). Destroyed during
the Muslim conquest, Rabbah has once again gained its ancient splendor.
Today it is one of the most important Arab cities of the Middle
East-Amman, Jordan.
2.
A city in the Judaean hill
country mentioned with Kirjath Jearim (Josh 15:60). Although the exact
location is unknown, some archaeologists have equated it with Rubute of
the Amarna Letters and have identified it with Khirbet Bir el-Hilu,
eight kilometers (five miles) east of Gezer on the road to Jerusalem.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986,
Thomas Nelson Publishers)
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