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Amos

About this book
Chapter 2

1 This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. 2 So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn. 3 I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The Lord has spoken! 4 This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray. 5 So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 6 This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.⁠ 7 They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.⁠ 8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;⁠ they do so right beside every altar!⁠ They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!⁠ 9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks,⁠ but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground. 10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for 40 years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own. 11 I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking. 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;⁠ you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’ 13 Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. 14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives. 15 Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses. 16 Bravehearted warriors will run away naked⁠ in that day.” The Lord is speaking.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 22:26 and Amos 2:8

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Exodus commands that a garment taken as a pledge for a loan must be returned by night, since it may be a person’s only clothing. Amos recalls this rule to condemn those who keep such garments, using it as an example of unjust behavior.

Passages

Exodus 22:26

Hebrew Bible
24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless. 25 “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge him interest. 26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 27 for it is his only covering—it is his garment for his body. What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious. 28 “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Amos 2:8

Hebrew Bible
6 This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity. 8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar! They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

References

"... Another ostracon, known as the Mesad Hashavyahu Letter, also speaks to the spread of writing and literacy in the late Judean monarchy. The ostracon was found in a guardroom of the small military fortress, Mesad Hashavyahu, which apparently also served as an agricultural administrative center at the time. The letter comes from an agricultural worker who is complaining that his garment was unjustly confiscated ... In this rather redundant letter, a worker entreats the governor to intervene and see that the garment is returned to him. This letter is especially noteworthy because it recalls the biblical law of a garment taken in pledge. Exodus 22:26–27, for example, enjoins a creditor (also see Deuteronomy 24:10–15; Amos 2:8) ... The issue of a garment taken in pledge was apparently a well-known legal issue ..."
William M. Schniedewind, How the Bible Became a Book: The Textualization of Ancient Israel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 103.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Exodus 22:26 and Amos 2:8

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