Daleth
“Bashan withers.
Carmel withers.
The bloom
Of Lebanon
Fades.”
In this Hebrew letter of Daleth, the lush fertile grazing area of Bashan would wither and dry up. The same goes for the lush mountainous area of Carmel and the rich forests of Lebanon, since they would all fade and dry up also.
“Hear this word!
You cows of Bashan!
You are on Mount Samaria!
You oppress the poor!
You crush the needy!
You say
To your husbands.
‘Bring something to drink!’
Yahweh God
Has sworn
By his holiness.
The time is surely coming
Upon you,
When they shall take you away
With hooks,
Even the last of you,
With fishhooks.
Through breaches
In the wall,
Shall your leave.
Each one will go
Straight ahead.
You shall be flung out
Into Harmon.’
Says Yahweh.”
Amos has another oracle of Yahweh against the rich women of the mountains of Samaria. Yahweh compared them to the rich lazy cows grazing on the wonderful pastures in Bashan, on the other side of the Jordan River, where the best cows were raised. These rich women had oppressed the poor and crushed the needy. They wanted their husbands to bring them something to drink. Yahweh said that the time was coming when they would be taken away with fish hooks. They would leave their city through the holes in the walls. They would all march out to be thrown into Harmon, some unknown place where they would have to live as exiles.
“‘You shall eat
The flesh
Of the mighty!
You shall drink
The blood
Of the princes
Of the earth!
You shall eat
Rams,
Lambs,
Goats,
Bulls,
All of them fatlings
Of Bashan.
You shall eat fat
Until you are filled.
You shall drink blood
Until you are drunk.
I am preparing
This sacrificial feast
For you.
You shall be filled
At my table
With horses,
With charioteers,
With warriors,
With all kinds of soldiers.’
Says Yahweh God.”
What were they going to do at this great festival? Yahweh God said that they were going to eat the flesh of the mighty and drink the blood of the earthly princes in some symbolic way. However, they were also going to have some real food with rams, lambs, goats, and bulls from the great grazing land on the east side of the Jordan River in Bashan. They were going to eat until they were full and drink until they were drunk. Gluttony and drunkenness was not a problem since Yahweh was preparing this sacrificial feast for them. With them at the table would be horses, charioteers, warriors, and all kinds of soldiers. However, I don’t know why.
“They made
All your planks
Of fir trees
From Senir.
To make a mast
For you,
They took a cedar
From Lebanon.
They made your oars
From oaks
Of Bashan.
They made your deck
Of pines
From the coasts of Cyprus,
Inlaid with ivory.”
The people of Tyre got their wood for their ships from a variety of places. The planks for their ships came from the fir trees of Senir or Mount Hermon, between Syria and Lebanon. Of course, the cedar used for the mast of the ships came from Lebanon, as did all good cedar. The oars for the ships came from the oaks of Bashan, on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. Their decks were made of pine from the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea. Somehow their decks of pine were inlaid with ivory.
“Listen!
The valiant cry in the streets!
The envoys of peace weep bitterly!
The highways are deserted!
The travelers have quit the road!
The treaty is broken!
Its cities are despised!
Its obligations are disregarded!
The land mourns.
The land languishes.
Lebanon is confounded.
Lebanon withers away.
Sharon is like a desert.
Bashan shakes off their leaves.
Carmel shakes off their leaves.”
Now we have a lamentation. Things are in bad shape. Once again, there is the continual plea to listen. The valiant ones are crying in the streets. The peace envoys are also weeping. The highways are deserted, since no travelers are going any place. The treaties have been broken. The city is despised since no one keeps their obligations. The land itself mourns and languishes. Even the northern neighbor Lebanon is confused and withering away. Sharon and Carmel on the west and Bashan on the southeast are like dying trees in a desert. Everybody is having troubles.
“Yahweh led his people through the wilderness.
His steadfast love endures forever.
He struck down great kings.
His steadfast love endures forever.
He killed famous kings.
His steadfast love endures forever.
He killed Sihon,
King of the Amorites.
His steadfast love endures forever.
He killed Og,
King of Bashan.
His steadfast love endures forever.
He gave their land as a heritage.
His steadfast love endures forever.
He gave it as a heritage to Israel his servant,
His steadfast love endures forever.”
Once again, the congregational refrain, “His steadfast love endures forever” is repeated after every verse. This is once again a repetition of the previous psalm, Psalm 135, about the trip to the Promised Land. In order to take the Promised Land, they had to defeat a number of nations and countries. Yahweh helped them to strike down these fellow humans because his steadfast love endures forever. They and Yahweh killed many kings. The two most prominent as found in Numbers, chapter 21, was King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan, on the borders of Canaan. They also killed the kings and people in Canaan as found in Joshua, chapters 5-12. Thus Yahweh gave Israel the land of Canaan as a heritage because of his enduring steadfast love.
“Yahweh struck down many nations.
He killed mighty kings.
He killed Sihon,
King of the Amorites.
He killed Og,
King of Bashan.
He killed all in the kingdoms of Canaan.
He gave their land as a heritage.
This was a heritage to his people Israel.”
Yahweh was their protector as they entered the Promised Land. In order to take the Promised Land, they had to defeat a number of nations and countries. Yahweh helped them to kill their fellow humans. They and Yahweh killed many kings. The two most prominent as found in Numbers, chapter 21, was King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan, on the borders of Canaan. They also killed the kings and people in Canaan as found in Joshua, chapters 5-12. Thus Yahweh gave Israel the land of Canaan as a heritage.
“God will shatter the heads of his enemies.
God will shatter the hairy crown
Of those who walk in their guilty ways.
Yahweh said.
‘I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea.
Thus you may bathe your feet in blood.
The tongues of your dogs
May have their share from the foe.’”
After the rousing praise for God, now we turn to the action of God. He was going to shatter the heads of his enemies. He would smash the hairy crowns of the guilty ones. He would bring them back from the mountains of Bashan, the Golan Heights, and from the depths of sea. Why would he bring his foes? Then the Israelites could bathe their feet in the blood of their enemies. After that the dogs could have a portion of their bodies. This was a gruesome description of the guilty enemies of God.
“Many bulls encircle me.
Strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
They open wide their mouths at me,
They are like a ravening and roaring lion.”
Bashan was on the northern plains. The first Israelite settlers under Moses had attacked the king of Bashan, King Og, in Numbers, chapter 21. This must have been a great place for bulls to graze. Apparently, they were famous at the time of this biblical writing. Somehow bulls that were like these Bashan bulls surrounded David or the psalmist. With their mouths wide open, they were like roaring lions. Perhaps this is an indication of those who were against him. This may be the source of the term bullying.
“You gave them kingdoms and peoples.
You allotted to them every corner.
They took possession of the land of King Sihon of Heshbon.
They took possession of the land of King Og of Bashan.
You multiplied their descendants like the stars of heaven.
You brought them into the land
That you had told their ancestors to enter and possess.
The descendants went in and possessed the land.
You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites.
You gave them into their hands,
With their kings and the peoples of the land.
Thus they might do with them as they pleased.
They captured fortified cities and a rich land.
They took possession of houses filled with all sorts of goods.
They took possession of hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive orchards
And fruit trees in abundance.
They ate.
They were filled.
They became fat.
They delighted themselves in your great goodness.”
Our ancestors got to the Promised Land. They took possession of the kingdoms of Heshbon and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan. Their descendents became as numerous as the stars. They took over the land and the people inhabited by the Canaanites. They captured the fortified cities and the rich land. They took possession of the cisterns, the vineyards, and the olive trees already there. They ate and became fat. They delighted themselves with the great goodness that they had received.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 