Amos 1:14

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.

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: But I will kindle a fire in

I will kindle a fire in the wall: see , 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, , &c., which see. Rabbah; the chief city of the kingdom of Ammon, 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 . 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.

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:Ver. 14. But I will kindle a fire, &c.] With mine own hands (not only send a fire, as before, Amos 1:10; Amos 1:12); as Charles V Emperor of Germany (when it was told him how that Farnesius, the Pope’ s general, had ravished certain ladies), brake out into these hot words: If I had the villain here I would kill him with mine own hands; neither was he ever heard to speak anything with so great anger in all his days. With shooting in the day of battle] Cum clangore, vel ululatu, with noise of trumpets and soldiers, so terrible, haply, as that in the bloody fight beween the great Turk, Amurath III, and Lazarus, despot of Servia; where the noise was so great that the wild beasts in the mountains stood astonished, and the birds fell to the earth amazed thereat. With a tempest] i.e. with incredible swiftness, and all on the sudden; and so the more terrible, because impetuous.

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

Verse 14. With shouting in the day of battle] They shall be totally subdued. This was done by Nebuchadnezzar. See Jeremiah 27:3; Jeremiah 27:6.

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, Judges 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.

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.

13-15. The sin and punishment of Ammon. Children of Ammon — Ammonites (compare “Children of Israel” — Israelites). The Ammonites, like the Moabites and Edomites, were closely related to the Hebrews.