Amos 2:7

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor,.... Either were greedy after money, the dust of the earth, and even that small portion of it the poor were possessed of; they could not

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: That pant after the

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor; or swallow up, as the word is most frequently turned by our interpreters; and so perhaps more plainly is their cruelty and violence set forth, in that they make a prey of the poor, who walk with dust on their heads by reason of distresses that are upon them, and, without any compassion towards them, greedily, and as at once, swallow up and devour the poor, whom, by the law of God, and the office they bear as judges, they should deliver out of the hand of the oppressor. Turn aside the way of the meek; perversely and maliciously misinterpret the actions, words, and designs of the humble and meek, of the compassionate and merciful, who pity the poor in these straits and dangers. These corrupt judges and violent oppressors are also shameless adulterers and fornicators, they commit that lewdness which the better-tutored heathens abhor and forbear; a kind of incestuous pollution; the father and son keep the same harlot, and go in unto her. Thus they profanely dishonour me, by casting off my law, and doing that which is so shamefully indecent and unlawful; and giving heathens occasion to blaspheme my name, and either think, or say, Like people, like God.

Amos 2:7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the [same] maid, to profane my holy name:Ver. 7. That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor] Covetousness is craving and cruel; it rides without reins, as Balaam did after the wages of wickedness; and cares not whose head it rides over, to compass commodity. Yea it "panteth after the dust of the earth, on the head of the poor," as desirous not only to lay them in the dust, but to lay them a bleeding and a dying there. They gape over the head (or life) of the poor, in the dust of the earth (so some read the words), as devising to destroy them. A poor man’ s livelihood is his life, Mark 12:44 Luke 8:43, for a poor man in his house is like a snail in a shell; crush that and you kill him. These cormorants earnestly desired, and endeavoured to bring dust upon poor men’ s heads (the garb of those that were in heaviness, Job 2:12 Ezekiel 27:30 Lamentations 2:20), by their oppressions and injustice; yea, to bring them down to the dust of the earth, to set them as far underground as now they were above. Lo, this they do as greedily and as greatly desire, as serpents and other hot creatures covet the fresh air, to cool their scorched entrails. See Jeremiah 14:6 Job 5:5; Job 7:2. It is said of Saul the persecutor, that he "breathed out threatenings against the Church," Acts 9:1, as a tired wolf, that wearied with worrying the flock lieth panting for breath. So Bonner whipped the poor martyrs till he was breathless. Some interpreters note out of Joseph Ben Gorion, that there was an old custom that those that were accused before the judges, should be arrayed in black, and have their heads covered with dust. And hence they conceive the sense to be this: "That pant," i.e. that earnestly desire that such poor men may be accused by the rich, of whom they may receive gifts to pervert judgment. And this they think to be confirmed by the following words. They turn aside (or pervert) the way of the meek] That is, the cause, business, judgment of the modest and self-denying poor, the subject of rich men’ s injuries (for most part), the unreasonable oppressions, James 2:6. A crow will stand upon a sheep’ s back pulling off wool from her side; she dare not do so to a wolf or a mastiff. Even reasonless creatures know whom they may be bold with; so do wicked oppressors. The meek by pocketing up one wrong, invite another. ( Veterem ferendo iniuriam invitas novam.) "Ye have condemned and killed the just: and be doth not resist you," James 5:6.

(7) Dust of the earth on the head of the poor.—Can only mean, as Ewald and Keil interpret: they long to see the poor reduced to such distress that dust is thrown on their heads in token of grief. The meek are defrauded as being too weak to claim their own. The latter part of the verse points to the sensuality of the popular worship, the word “maid” being really the prostitute (Heb. k’dçshah) who was devoted to the lustful ritual of Ashera.[17] This obsccnity is regarded by the prophet as part of a deliberate act of desecration to the name of the Holy One of Israel. Moreover, the relation of “father” and “son” was thereby sullied and degraded. (Comp. Leviticus 18:8; Leviticus 18:15; Leviticus 20:11.) [17] Kuenen, Religion of Israel, vol. 1, pp. 92, 93.

Verse 7. See Clarke on Amos 2:6.

7. That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor] The expression is a singular one; but, if the text be sound, the meaning is probably (Hitzig, Pusey, Duhm), “who are so avaricious that they are eager even to secure the dust strewn upon their heads by the poor, in token of their distress,”—whether after an unjust condemnation, or any other misfortune. Dust on the head was a sign of grief or misfortune: see e.g. 2 Samuel 1:2; 2 Samuel 15:32; Lamentations 2:10. Others (Keil, Gunning) think the meaning is merely, Who are eager to see dust on the head of the poor, i.e. to see them reduced to a state of misery. The former explanation involves a thought which, it must he owned, is somewhat far-fetched; but it is more exact exegetically than the second. Jerome, pronouncing the verb differently (shβphξm, for shτ’γphξm), and not expressing the prep. on, renders; “Who crush (Genesis 3:15; Psalms 94:5, Targ.) the heads of the poor upon the dust of the earth,”—a forcible metaphor (cf. Isaiah’s ‘grind the faces of the poor,’ Amos 3:15), and Micah’s ‘strip the flesh off their bones,’ Amos 3:2-3) for oppression. This yields a good sense, and may be the original text. Wellh. also reads crush, omitting ‘upon the dust of the earth’ (cf. Amos 8:4, “Who pant after [or crush] die needy”); but if these words are not genuine, it is difficult to understand how they found their way into the text.—The word rendered poor (dal) is lit. thin (of kine, Genesis 41:19, of Amnon, 2 Samuel 13:4); fig. reduced in circumstances, poor, Exodus 23:3, and frequently. turn aside the way of the meek] place hindrances in their way, thwart their purposes, oblige them to turn aside from the path that they would naturally follow, to land them in difficulties. Cf. Job 24:4, “and turn aside the needy from the way” (mentioned among other acts of high-handed oppression). By the meek are meant the humble-minded servants of Jehovah, who by character, and often also by circumstances, were unable to protect themselves against the oppressions or persecutions of a worldly-minded aristocracy, and who, especially in the Psalms, are often alluded to as both deserving and receiving Jehovah’s care. In Isaiah 32:7 they are the victims of the unscrupulous intriguer; in Isaiah 29:19 they are described as able by the overthrow of injustice (Isaiah 29:20-21) to rejoice thankfully in their God; in Isaiah 11:4 the Messianic king judges their cause with righteousness. They are named, as here, in parallelism with the ‘poor’ (dal) in Isaiah 11:4, and with the ‘needy’ (ebhyτn) in Isaiah 29:19; Isaiah 32:7; Psalms 9:19; Job 24:4; see also Isaiah 61:1; Psalms 22:26; Psalms 34:2; Psalms 37:11; Psalms 76:9. will go in] go (R.V.) i.e. resort: the verb is not the one (bβ) used in Genesis 16:4, &c. ‘Will go’ means ‘are in the habit of going’: will having the same force as in Proverbs 19:6; Proverbs 19:24; Proverbs 20:6 &c.); but it is better omitted in translation.

That pant after the dust of the earth - Literally, “the panters!” with indignation.

6, 7a. Oppression of the poor. Sold the righteous for silver — This accusation is commonly interpreted as a separate count in the indictment, maladministration of justice.