Texts in Conversation
Amos condemns the same manipulation of measurements that Hammurabi regulates in lending. A small change to the scale can take food from poor customers, exposing how an ordinary transaction can conceal theft by the merchant.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Code of Hammurabi 1:105
Babylonian Legal Text
Ancient Near East
82 If a merchant lends grain or silver at interest, and when he makes the loan he pays out the silver by the small weight or the grain by the small measure, but when he is repaid he takes the silver by the large weight or the grain by the large measure, that merchant forfeits whatever he lent. 83 If a merchant lends ... at interest, ... he forfeits whatever he gave. 84 If a man borrows grain or silver from a merchant and has no grain or silver with which to repay, but does have other goods, he shall give his merchant whatever he has on hand, before witnesses, according to its value; the merchant shall not object, and he shall accept it.
Amos 8:5
Hebrew Bible
5 You say, “When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We’re eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales! 6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy. We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!” 7 The Lord confirms this oath by the arrogance of Jacob: “I swear I will never forget all you have done! 8 Because of this the earth will quake, and all who live in it will mourn. The whole earth will rise like the Nile River; it will surge upward and then grow calm, like the Nile in Egypt.
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Notes and References
“... 8:5. clash between economic and religious concerns. As Nehemiah discovered several centuries later in Persian-period Jerusalem, the desire of merchants to conduct business sometimes makes their compliance with religious law and Sabbath regulations a matter for complaint or even circumvention (see comment on Neh 10:31). There were religious festivals in surrounding cultures (see comment on Ex 20:8-11), but only Israel was commanded to obey the sabbath law and cease all work (see comment on Ex 31:12-17). This restriction on trade caused friction and apparently contributed to corrupt business practices as a way of “making up” the losses. ...”
Walton, John H.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
(p. 773) InterVarsity Press, 2000
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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