Amos 1:14

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:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(14) Jeremiah gives a vivid account of the impending doom of Ammon, quoting and expanding this very passage (Jeremiah 49:1-3).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:18-21 There shall be abundant Divine influences, and the gospel will spread speedily into the remotest corners of the earth. These events are predicted under significant emblems; there is a day coming, when every thing amiss shall be amended. The fountain of this plenty is in the house of God, whence the streams take rise. Christ is this Fountain; his sufferings, merit, and grace, cleanse, refresh, and make fruitful. Gospel grace, flowing from Christ, shall reach to the Gentile world, to the most remote regions, and make them abound in fruits of righteousness; and from the house of the Lord above, from his heavenly temple, flows all the good we daily taste, and hope to enjoy eternally.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will kindle afire in the wall of Rabbah - Rabbah, literally, "the great," called by Moses "Rabbah of the children of Ammon" Deuteronomy 3:11, and by later Greeks, "Rabathammana" , was a strong city with a yet stronger citadel. Ruins still exist, some of which probably date back to these times. The lower city "lay in a valley bordered on both sides by barren hills of flint," at 12 an hour from its entrance. It lay on a stream, still called by its name Moyet or Nahr Amman, "waters" or "river of Ammon," which ultimately falls into the Zurka (the Jabbok) . "On the top of the highest of the northern hills," where at the divergence of two valleys it abuts upon the ruins of the town, "stands the castle of Ammon, a very extensive rectangular building," following the shape of the hill and wholly occupying its crest. "Its walls are thick, and denote a remote antiquity; large blocks of stone are piled up without cement, and still hold together as well as if they had been recently placed; the greater part of the wall is entire. Within the castle are several deep cisterns."

There are remains of foundations of a wall of the lower city at its eastern extremity . This lower city, as lying on a river in a waterless district, was called the "city of waters" 2 Samuel 12:27, which Joab had taken when he sent to David to come and besiege the Upper City. In later times, that Upper City was resolutely defended against Antiochus the Great, and taken, not by force but by thirst . On a conspicuous place on this castle-hill, stood a large temple, some of its broken columns 3 12 feet in diameter , probably the Grecian successor of the temple of its idol Milchom. Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, cannot have escaped, when Nebuchadnezzar , "in the 5th year of his reign, led an army against Coele-Syria, and, having possessed himself of it, warred against the Ammonites and Moabites, and having made all these nations subject to him, invaded Egypt, to subdue it."

Afterward, it was tossed to and fro in the desolating wars between Syria and Egypt. Ptolemy II called it from his own surname Philadelphia , and so probably had had to restore it. It brought upon itself the attack of Antiochus III and its own capture, by its old habit of marauding against the Arabs in alliance with him. At the time of our Lord, it, with "Samaria, Galilee and Jericho," is said by a pagan to be "inhabited by a mingled race of Egyptians, Arabians and Phoenicians." It had probably already been given over to "the children of the East," the Arabs, as Ezekiel had foretold Ezekiel 25:4. In early Christian times Milchom was still worshiped there under its Greek name of Hercules . Trajan recovered it to the Roman empire , and in the 4th century it, with Bostra , was still accounted a "vast town most secured by strong walls," as a frontier fortress "to repel the incursions of neighboring nations." It was counted to belong to Arabia . An Arabic writer says that it perished before the times of Muhammed, and covered a large tract with its ruins . It became a station of pilgrims to Mecca, and then, until now, as Ezekiel foretold , a stable for camels and a couching place.

I will kindle a fire in the wall - It may be that the prophet means to speak of some conflagration from within, in that he says not, as elsewhere, "I will send afire upon," but, "I will kindle a fire in" Amos 1:4, Amos 1:7, Amos 1:10, Amos 1:12; Amos 2:2, Amos 2:5. But "the shouting" is the battle-cry (Job 39:25; Jeremiah 20:16; Zephaniah 1:16, etc.) of the victorious enemy, the cheer of exultation, anticipating its capture. That onslaught was to be resistless, sweeping, like a whirlwind, all before it. The fortress and walls of Rabbah were to yield before the onset of the enemy, as the tents of their caravans were whirled flat on the ground before the eddying of the whirlwinds from the desert, burying all beneath them.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

14. Rabbah—the capital of Ammon: meaning "the Great." Distinct from Rabbah of Moab. Called Philadelphia, afterwards, from Ptolemy Philadelphus.

tempest—that is, with an onset swift, sudden, and resistless as a hurricane.

day of the whirlwind—parallel to "the day of battle"; therefore meaning "the day of the foe's tumultuous assault."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

I will kindle a fire in the wall: see Amos 1:4, where the phrase is explained: as to the time when this prophecy was fulfilled, it was partly when the Assyrian kingdom flourished, and partly by Nebuchadnezzar, as was foretold by Ezekiel, Ezekiel 25:1-3, &c., which see.

Rabbah; the chief city of the kingdom of Ammon, 2 Samuel 11:1 12:26, which by a usual figure compriseth all the Ammonites, and all their strength, wealth, and glory, all which shall be devoured. It shall devour the palaces thereof: see Amos 1:4.

With shouting in the day of battle; a mixed and horrid noise of trumpets, and alarms of war, with howlings of the distressed, groans of the dying, and acclamations of the conquerors.

With a tempest in the day of the whirlwind, i.e. with irresistible force, and surprising swiftness, as the similitude imports.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,.... Which was the metropolis of the children of Ammon, and their royal city, 2 Samuel 12:26. This is to be understood of an enemy that should destroy it, perhaps Nebuchadnezzar; or of war being kindled and raised in their country; this place being put for the whole; See Gill on Jeremiah 49:2;

and it shall devour the palaces thereof; the palaces of the king, and his nobles:

with shouting in the day of battle; with the noise of soldiers when they make their onset, or have gained the victory; see Jeremiah 49:2;

with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind; denoting that this judgment should come suddenly, and at an unawares, with great force, irresistibly; and a tempest added to fire, if literally taken, must spread the desolation more abundantly, and make it more terrible.

Geneva Study Bible

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:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

14. But I will kindle a fire] Varied from I will send of the other cases: see on Amos 1:4.

in the wall of Rabbah] The capital city of the Ammonites, and indeed the only Ammonite city mentioned in the O.T.: named elsewhere, 2 Samuel 11:1; 2 Samuel 12:27; 2 Samuel 12:29 (1 Chronicles 20:1); Joshua 13:25; Jeremiah 49:3; Ezekiel 25:5; called more fully ‘Rabbah of the Ammonites,’ Deuteronomy 3:11; 2 Samuel 12:26; 2 Samuel 17:27; Jeremiah 49:2; Ezekiel 21:25 (Heb. 20). From Ptolemy Philadelphia (b.c. 287–245) it received the name of Philadelpheia: in the Middle Ages it was known as ‘Ammân, a name which it still bears. It was situated about 25 miles N.E. of the N. end of the Dead Sea, in the valley forming the upper course of the Jabbok, now called the Wâdy ‘Ammân. The stream is perennial, and is well-stocked with fish: one of its sources, the ‘Ain ‘Ammân, is a little above the city, to the W. The present remains are chiefly of the Roman period, comprising a fortress, theatre, odeum, baths, a street of columns and gate, mausolea, &c. The fortress stands upon a hill, which rises on a triangular piece of ground on the N. of the stream to a height of some 300–400 ft., the city lying in the valley to the South. This lower city, situated on the banks of the ‘Ammân, is probably the “city of the waters” stated to have been taken by Joab in 2 Samuel 12:27. There is a full description, with plan and views, of the existing ruins, in the Survey of Eastern Palestine (published by the Palestine Exploration Society) 19–64: see also D.B[138]1 s.v. (with a view).

[138] .B. … Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. 1, or (from A to J) ed. 2.

with shouting in the day of battle] The ‘shouting’ is the battle-cry of the advancing foe: cf. Job 39:25; Jeremiah 4:19; Jeremiah 49:2 (A.V., R.V., ‘alarm’), &c., and the corresponding verb, Jdg 7:21; 1 Samuel 17:52.

with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind] A figurative description of the onslaught of the foe: it will level all before it, like a destructive hurricane.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 14. - Rabbah, "the Great," or Rabbath-Ammon, the capital of Ammon, was situated on the southern arm of the Jabbok, and was a place of remarkable strength (see Deuteronomy 3:11; 2 Samuel 11:1; 2 Samuel 12:26, etc.; 1 Chronicles 20:1-3). "For picturesqueness of situation, I know of no ruins to compare with Ammon. The most striking feature is the citadel, which formerly contained not merely the garrison, but an upper town, and covered an extensive area. The lofty plateau on which it was situated is triangular in shape; two sides are formed by the valleys which diverge from the apex, where they are divided by a low neck, and thence separating, fall into the valley of the Jabbok, which forms the base of the triangle, and contained the lower town. Climbing up the citadel, we can trace the remains of the moat, and, crossing it, find ourselves in a maze of ruins. The massive walls - the lower parts of which still remain, and which, rising from the precipitous sides of the cliff, rendered any attempt at scaling impossible - were evidently Ammonite. As I leant over them and looked sheer down about three hundred feet into one wady, and four hundred feet into the other, I did not wonder at its having occurred to King David that the leader of a forlorn hope against these ramparts would meet with certain death, and consequently assigning the position to Uriah.... Joab afterwards took the lower city, which he called 'the city of waters,' indicating very probably that the Jabbok was dammed into a lake near the lower city, to which the conformation of the valley would lend itself" (Oliphant, 'Land of Gilead,' p. 259, etc.). There is a sketch of the citadel hill in the 'Dictionary of the Bible,' 2:985. The city was taken by Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27:3, 6; Jeremiah 49:2, 3), either at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, or in the course of his Egyptian campaign (Josephus, 'Ant.,' 10:09. 7). The expression, I will kindle a fire (not "send," as elsewhere), possibly implies, as Pusey suggests, a conflagration from within. The shouting is the battle cry of the opposing host, which adds to the horror of the scene (Job 39:25). With a tempest. The idea is that the walls should fall before the invaders, as if they were teats swept away in a whirlwind. Amos 1:14

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Ammon. - Amos 1:13. "Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon, and for four, I shall not reverse it, because they have ripped up the pregnant women of Gilead, to widen their border, Amos 1:14. I kindle fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with the war-cry on the day of slaughter, in the storm on the day of the tempest. Amos 1:15. And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes all at once, saith Jehovah." The occasion on which the Ammonites were guilty of such cruelty towards the Israelites as is here condemned, is not recorded in the historical books of the Old Testament; possibly during the wars of Hazael with Israel, when they availed themselves of the opportunity to widen their territory by conquering back the land which had been wrested from them by Sihon king of the Amorites, and was then taken possession of by the Israelites, when he was overcome by them, - a thing which they had attempted once before in the time of Jephthah the judge (Judges 11:12.). We may see from Jeremiah 49:1. that they had taken possession of the territory of the tribe of Gad, which lay nearest to them, though probably not till after the carrying away of the tribes beyond Jordan by the Assyrians (2 Kings 15:29). The ripping up of the women with child (see at 2 Kings 8:12) is singled out as the climax of the cruelties which the Ammonites inflicted upon the Israelites during the war. As a punishment for this, their capital was to be burned, and the king, with the princes, to wander into exile, and consequently their kingdom was to be destroyed. Rabbâh, i.e., the great one, is the abbreviated name of the capital; Rabbah of the children of Ammon, which has been preserved in the ruins of Aurân (see at Deuteronomy 3:11). The threat is sharpened by the clause בּתרוּעה וגו, at the war-cry on the field of battle, i.e., an actual fact, when the enemy shall take the city by storm. בּסער וגו is a figurative expression applied to the storming of a city carried by assault, like בּסוּפה in Numbers 21:14. The reading מלכּם, "their (the Ammonites') king," is confirmed by the lxx and the Chaldee, and required by ושׂריו (cf. Amos 2:3), whereas Μαλχόμ, Melchom, which is found in Aq., Symm., Jerome, and the Syriac, rests upon a false interpretation.