25, 26. Have ye offered? &c.--Yes: ye have. "But (all the time with
strange inconsistency) ye have borne
(aloft in solemn pomp) the
tabernacle (that is, the portable shrine, or model tabernacle: small
enough not to be detected by Moses; compare
Ac 19:24)
of your Molech" (that idol is "your" god; I am not, though ye go
through the form of presenting offerings to Me). The question, "Have
ye," is not a denial (for they did offer in the wilderness to
Jehovah sacrifices of the cattle which they took with them in their
nomad life there,
Ex 24:4;
Nu 7:1-89; 9:1,
&c.), but a strong affirmation (compare
1Sa 2:27, 28;
Jer 31:20;
Eze 20:4).
The sin of Israel in Amos' time is the very sin of their forefathers,
mocking God with worship, while at the same time worshipping idols
(compare
Eze 20:39).
It was clandestine in Moses' time, else he would have put it down; he
was aware generally of their unfaithfulness, though not knowing the
particulars
(De 31:21, 27).
Molech . . . Chiun--"Molech" means "king" answering to
Mars [BENGEL]; the Sun [JABLONSKI]; Saturn, the same as "Chiun" [MAURER]. The Septuagint translates "Chiun" into
Remphan, as Stephen quotes it
(Ac 7:42, 43).
The same god often had different names. Molech is the Ammonite
name; Chiun, the Arabic and Persian name, written also
Chevan. In an Arabic lexicon Chiun means "austere"; so
astrologers represented Saturn as a planet baleful in his
influence. Hence the Phœnicians offered human sacrifices to him,
children especially; so idolatrous Israel also. Rimmon was the
Syrian name
(2Ki 5:18);
pronounced as Remvan, or "Remphan," just as Chiun was
also Chevan. Molech had the form of a king; Chevan, or Chiun, of
a star [GROTIUS]. Remphan was the Egyptian name
for Saturn: hence the Septuagint translator of Amos gave
the Egyptian name for the Hebrew, being an Egyptian. [HODIUS II, De Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus.
4.115]. The same as the Nile, of which the Egyptians made the star
Saturn the representative [HARENBERG].
BENGEL considers Remphan or Rephan
akin to Teraphim and Remphis, the name of a king of
Egypt. The Hebrews became infected with Sabeanism, the oldest form of
idolatry, the worship of the Saba or starry hosts, in their stay
in the Arabian desert, where Job notices its prevalence
(Job 31:26);
in opposition, in
Am 5:27,
Jehovah declares Himself "the God of hosts."
the star of your god--R. ISAAC CARO says all the astrologers represented Saturn as
the star of Israel. Probably there was a figure of a star on the
head of the image of the idol, to represent the planet Saturn; hence
"images" correspond to "star" in the parallel clause. A star in
hieroglyphics represents God
(Nu 24:17).
"Images" are either a Hebraism for "image," or refer to the many images
made to represent Chiun.
JFB.
Picture Study Bible