John Calvin Commentary Amos 6:10

"And when a man`s uncle shall take him up, even he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is in the innermost parts of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No; then shall he say, Hold thy peace; for we may not make mention of the name of Jehovah." — Amos 6:10 (ASV)

In the beginning of the verse, the Prophet expresses more clearly what he had just said—that the pestilence would be so severe as to consume the whole family. For when he speaks of an uncle coming to bury the dead, he shows that unless neighbors performed their duty, bodies would remain without the honor of a burial. But this never happened except during extreme devastation; for though the pestilence destroyed many in the same city, there were still always some who buried the dead.

Therefore, when it was necessary for uncles to perform this office, it was evident how great the calamity would be. This the Prophet meant to express in these words, His uncle shall take him away; that is, his uncle shall take away each of the dead. But this office, being servile, as I have said, was usually committed to mercenaries; and when a father or an uncle was compelled to do this, it was a proof of great confusion.

An uncle then shall come and take him away. שרף, shireph, means to burn; it is written here with ס, but the change of ש into ס is well known. Hence, many render the words, and shall burn him in order to take away his bones; and this interpretation seems to suit this passage.

Then it is, “he will burn him, that he may carry his bones out of the house.” Dead bodies, as is well known, were usually carried out and burned publicly. But as one man could not carry out a dead body, especially an old man, and Amos mentions an uncle, he says that another plan would be necessary: the uncle would burn his nephews at home so that he might have only the bones to carry out, as he could not carry out their dead bodies.

This seems to me to be the real meaning of the Prophet. For those who explain this as a maternal uncle have no good reason; it was enough to mention only one when men were so few. If indeed a maternal uncle is added to the paternal one, a great number of men would seem to have still been remaining. But when mention is made of only one uncle, this circumstance agrees best with what I have stated.

An uncle shall come, he shall take him; and then, he will burn him that he may carry out his bones. The bones could be more easily carried out when the body was burned, for the burden was not so heavy. We now perceive the meaning of the words.

It follows, And he will say to him who shall be at the sides of the house. By 'the sides of the house,' understand the next dwellings. He will then inquire, Is there yet any one with you? That is, is any one of your neighbors alive?

We cannot indeed explain 'the sides of the house' as meaning the inner parts of the house, unless one understands a reference to be made to strangers or lodgers, as though the Prophet said, “If there will be any lodger, he will seek retreat in some corner of the house.” Then the uncle, when the whole house had become desolate, should he by chance meet a guest, says, “Is there any one with you?”

And he shall say, “There is an end,” or a decay. Though there is some ambiguity in the words, we still see what the Prophet meant and what he had in view. He indeed confirms what he had previously declared in the person of God, which was—that though ten remained alive in one house, yet all of them would die together, so that there would not be even one survivor. For the uncle, on inquiring about his nephews, whether any remained, would hear that there was an end, that all had perished together.

Now, the design of these words was to strike men with terror, for we know how great their stupidity is as long as God spares them. But when they feel His hand, they then dread, though they are not moved by any threats. This, then, is the reason why the Prophet denounces here at length to the Israelites the dreadful judgment, which they would not dread, being, as we have seen, extremely secure and thoughtless.

It follows, And he will say; Be silent; for it is not proper to mention the name of Jehovah. This passage is differently explained. Some think that their extreme wickedness is noted here, that those who died, even in their last moments, would not mention the name of God. They thus expound the words— “Be silent,” as though it were the expression of one indignant or of one who denied God.

Be silent, then; for they did not remember the name of God, that is, those whom God would have humbled did not repent of their perverseness; even death itself could not bring them to the right way. Others give this exposition: Be silent, for it is not proper to mention the name of God; that is, “What can God’s name do to us? For we abhor it as a bad and an unhappy omen, because God brings us no joy.”

The wicked dread the name of God and wish it to be wholly obliterated. But it seems to me that the Prophet’s design is different, which interpreters have not sufficiently weighed. We first find that the hypocrites, whom he reproves, boasted of God’s name; for they said in adversity that it was the day of the Lord, as though they expected a change for the better.

The Prophet now says that the time would come when this boasting would cease, for they would perceive that God was offended with them, and they would no longer falsely pretend His name, as they were accustomed to do. There is then a contrast to be understood between what is said here and what is said in a former verse.

The Prophet had previously inveighed against their rash vaunting, when they pretended the name of God without any shame: “O! We are God’s people, we are a holy nation, we are God’s heritage.” Since, then, they had become so arrogant, and yet had cast away God far from them, the Prophet now says, “These delusions shall then cease, by which you now deceive yourselves; God will not allow you to wickedly abuse His name, as we have ever until now done; and you still go on in this iniquity. You shall at that time,” he says, “be silent respecting God’s name; yes, it will be a dread to you.”

We now understand the Prophet’s purpose: he means that such would be the severity of this last calamity that the Israelites would really find that God was an enemy incensed against them, so that they would cast aside the false glorying which filled them with pride. Yes, they would dread the very name of God, for they would know that nothing would be better for them than to be hidden from His presence. As it is said of the reprobate,

‘They will say to the mountains, Cover us;
and to the hills, Bury us,’ (Revelation 6:16)

So also in this place, the Prophet says that when hypocrites are struck and seriously frightened by God’s judgments, their false vauntings will continue no longer, for they would find that to be near God is to be near destruction. Be silent, then, for there is no reason for us to remember the name of Jehovah.