Amos 1:7

7 So I will send fire upon the city walls of Gaza and burn down its fortresses.

Amos 1:7 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 1:7

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza
An enemy that shall pull down and destroy the walls of it: this was fulfilled in the times of Uzziah, under whom Amos prophesied; and very likely in a very short time after this prophecy, who went out and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gaza, ( 2 Chronicles 26:6 ) ; or else in the times of Hezekiah, who smote the Philistines unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, ( 2 Kings 18:8 ) ; or however in the times of Nebuchadnezzar, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, ( Jeremiah 25:20 ) ; as also in the times of Alexander the great, who, after he had taken Tyre, besieged Gaza, and after two months' siege took it, as Diodorus Siculus relates ^F16; the wall being undermined and thrown down, he entered in at the ruins of it, as Curtius ^F17 says; in the times of the Maccabees the suburbs of it were burnt by Jonathan, and the place taken:

``61 From whence he went to Gaza, but they of Gaza shut him out; wherefore he laid siege unto it, and burned the suburbs thereof with fire, and spoiled them. 62 Afterward, when they of Gaza made supplication unto Jonathan, he made peace with them, and took the sons of their chief men for hostages, and sent them to Jerusalem, and passed through the country unto Damascus.'' (1 Maccabees 11)

which shall devour the palaces thereof;
the palaces of the governor, and of other great men in it; (the governor of it, when Alexander took it, was Batis;) and the stately towers of it, of which there were many. This city was about fifteen miles south of Askelon, and about four or five north of the river Bezor, and at a small distance from the Mediterranean. It was situated on an eminence, surrounded with the most beautiful and fertile valleys, watered by the above mentioned river, and a number of other springs; and at a further distance encompassed on the inland side with hills, all planted with variety of fine fruit trees. The city itself was strong, both by its situation, and by the stout "walls" and stately "bowers" that surrounded it, and built after the Philistine manner ^F18 Arrian also says ^F19, it was a great city built on high ground, and encompassed with a strong wall, and was distant from the sea at least two and a half miles; (See Gill on Acts 8:26).

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Bibliothec. tom. 2. l. 17. p. 526.
F17 Hist. l. 4. c. 5, 6.
F18 Universal History, vol. 2. p. 490.
F19 De Expeditione Alex. l. 2. p. 150.

Amos 1:7 In-Context

5 I will smash the city gates of Damascus and remove the inhabitants of Aven Valley and the ruler of Betheden. The people of Syria will be taken away as prisoners to the land of Kir."

6 The Lord says, "The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation and sold them as slaves to the people of Edom.

7 So I will send fire upon the city walls of Gaza and burn down its fortresses.

8 I will remove the rulers of the cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon. I will punish the city of Ekron, and all the Philistines who are left will die."

9 The Lord says, "The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation into exile in the land of Edom, and did not keep the treaty of friendship they had made.