Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_400.lzh/6_477.TXT

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understands the Ishmaeiites, or the Tar.ks; and, by
Edom, Rome.. For the-violence of the children of Judah,
because they have shed innocent blood is their land ,.
either in the land of Judah; or rather in their own
!and, Egypt and Edom. This respects the violences and
outrages -committed by the antichristian states upon
the true professors.of the Christian religion, the Waif
densen and Aibigeuses, and others, whose innooent
blood, ,.in great quantities, has been spilled by them.
Antichrist is represented. as., drunk with the blood of
the martyrs of Jesus, and in whom-will be found the
blood of all the prophets and saints; and for this rea-
son ruin and destruction will come upon him and his
followers, ,and blood will be given them to drink, for
they are-worthy,, Rev. xvii. 6. and xv. iii. 24; and
xvi. 6, 7.-
Vet. 2O. But Judah shall dwell for ever, &c.] The
converted Jews shall dwell in their own land for ever,
to..the end .of the, world. and never more be carried
captive, Ezek. xxxvii. o.5. and the true professing peo-
ple of God,, as. Judah signifies, shall continue in a
chUrch-state, evermore, .and never more-be disturbed
by any enemies., they shall dwen safely and peaceably
to .the end of time: and Jerusalem .from. generation to
generalion; shall dwell so in .like manner, age after
age; that is,.the inhabitants ofJerusa4em, or the mem-
bers of the true church of Christ, who shall see and
enjoy peace and prosperity, both temporal. and spiritual,
as Jerusalem signifies.
Ver. 21. For I will cleanse. their blood which I have
not cleansed, &c.] Which some understand, as the
Targumo of the Lord's..,inflic.ting further punishments
on the, enemies of his people, for shedding their inno.
cent blood; and that he will not expiate their sins.
nor hold them. guiltless, or suffer them-to go un-
punished; but rather th,is is to be interpreted in a way
of grace and mercy, as a benefit bestowed on Judah and
Jerusalem, who are the i. mmedia;te antecedents to the
relative here; and in the words a reason is given why
they should dwell. safely and peaceably for ever, be-
cause the "Lord will justify them from their sins; for-
give their iniquities; cleanse them from all their pol-
lution, signified by blood; of which grace they will
have had no application made to them till this time;
but now all their guilt and filth will be. removed; and
particularly God will forgive, and declare to be for-
given. their sin of crucifying Christ; whose blood they
had imprecated upon themselves and their children,
and which has remained on them; but now will be re-
'moved, with all the sad effects of it. Though this
may also refer to the conversion of the Gen.tiles, and
the pard.on of their sins, and the sanctification of theix
persons, m such places and parts of the world, wher. e
such blessings of grace have not been bestowed in
times past for' many ages. ifever. For the Lord dwelleth
in Zion; and therefore will. diffuse his grace, and
spread the blessings of it. all around: or even the Lord
that dwelleth in Zion a; he will do what is before pro-
mised; being the Lord, he can do it ; and dwelling in
Zion his church, it may be believed he will dO it; ,and
this will be for ever, when his Shechinah shall return
thither in the days of the Messiah, as Kimchi .observes.

A M 0 S.

This book in the Hebrew Bibles is called Sepher
Amos, the Book' of Amos; and, m the Vulgate Latin
and Syriac versions,- the Prophecy of Amos.. This is
notthe-same person with the father of Isaiah, as some
have ignorantly.confounded them; for their. names are
wrote with different. letters ; besides, the father of
I,aiah is .thought to have been of the royal family, and
a courtier; ,whereas this man was a country farmer and
herdsman. His name signifies.burdened: the Jews {}
say he-was so called, because burdened in his tongue,
or had an impediment in his speech, and stammered;
but rather because his prophecies were burdens to the
people, such as they could not bear, being full of re-
proofs and threatenings; -however, his prophecy in this
respect agrees with his name. What time he. lived
may be learned from ch. i. 1. by which it appears that
he was ,cotemporary with .Isaiah .and Hoses; but
whether. he lived and prophesied so .long as they did
is not certain. The author. of Seder Olam Zuta {}
makes him to prophesy in the reigns of Uzziah, Jo-
tham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. R. AbrahaTn Zacut {}, and
R. David Ganza, place him tater. than Hoses, and prior
to Isaiah; they say that Amos received the law from
Hosea, and Isaiah from Amos. Mr. Whiston = makes
him to begin to prophesy in the year of the Julian
period 3941 and before Christ 7.73; and Mr. Bedford {f}
earlier, in the year 802; and, from some passages in
his prophecy, he appears to be of the land of Judah ';
see ch. i. 1. and vii. 12. though he prophesied in the
land of Israel, and against the ten tribes chiefiy; the
occasion of which was, JerOboam had been very suc-
cessful and victorious,. and the people under him en-
joyed great plenty and prosperity, and upon this grew
wanton, ]uxurious, and very sinful; wherefore this
prophet was sent to reprove them for their sins, to ex-
hort them to repentance, and threaten them with cap-

{d} \^hwhyw\^ even I the Lord, margin of our Bibles.
{a} Vajikra Rabba, sect. 10. fol. 153.3. Abarbinel Praefat. in Ezek. fol.
253.3.
{b} P. 104, 105. Ed. Meyer.
{c} Juchasin, fol. 12. 1.
{d} Tzemach David, fol. 13. 1.2.
{e} Chronological Tables, cent. 8.
{f} Scripture Chronology, B. 6, ch. 2. p. 647.