Enfoque y Metodología

wә’îš wә’āḇîw yēlḵû ’el-hanna‛ărā(h)lәma‛an ḥallēl ’eṯ-šēm qoḏšî “and a man and his father go to the samegirl in order to defile my holy name”. If a sexual relationship is implied by the phrase “go to the same girl”, the verb used here for it is hālak and not the usual Hebrew verb bô’. Now, hālak is used nowhere else in the Bible to denote sexual intercourse. Nonetheless, the context here and the usage of this root in other Semitic languages, especially Akkadian, with the same meaning can justify the interpretation as referring to sexual intercourse.122 The noun with the article hanna‛ărā(h) presumably indicates that it is the same

117 _{According to S.M. Paul, the closest literal parallel to Am 2,7b is Job 24,4a: yaṭṭû ’eḇyônîm middāreḵ}

“They push the needy off the roads”. And he finds no juridical context in this phrase. Cf. S.M. Paul, Amos, p. 81.

118 _{“The ways of justice” is talked about in Prov 17,23 and it is said that “The wicked accept a concealed}

bribe to pervert the ways of justice (’orḥôṯ mišpāṭ)” (NRSV) cf. also Isa 40,14. But ’ōraḥ is not a synonym of

derek because they can stand in construct relationship to each other as in Isa 3,12: wәḏereḵ ’ōrḥōṯêḵā “and the course of your paths” (NRSV). Cf. K. Koch / J. Bergman / H. Ringgren, ךְ ֶרֶד derekh”, TDOT III (1974; English trans. 1997), p. 281.

119 _{K. Koch / J. Bergman / H. Ringgren, “ךְ ֶר ֶד derekh”, p. 271.} 120 _{KB, p. 219.}

121

S.M. Paul, Amos, p. 81.

122 _{Cf. S.M. Paul, “Two Cognate Semitic Terms for Mating and Copulation,” VT 32 (1982), p. 493.}

girl with whom the man and his father have a sexual relationship.123 A man and his father both exploiting the same girl sexually points to the “lack of shame and promiscuity involved”, as S.M. Paul puts it.124

It is often thought that the reference here is to having sexual relations with a temple prostitute, under the influence of the religion of the Canaanites. It was a primitive belief that the performance of sexual acts in a shrine with a woman dedicated to the service of the Canaanite Goddess Astarte increased the fertility of the land. hanna‛ărā(h) is then taken for “young women who devoted themselves to immorality in the temples”.125

But this understanding is challenged by many126 because nowhere else in the Bible is the term

na‛ărā(h) used to refer to a temple prostitute, for which another word qәḏēšā(h), literally meaning “holy”, is used (cf. Gen 38,21ff.; Hos 4,14 et al). Some have argued that Amos hesitates to call these women “holy” because they did something immoral and prohibited by the Israelite religion,127 but this argument is only inferential and lacks any textual support. The general meaning of na‛ărā(h) in the Bible is “a marriageable girl” (cf. Gen 24,14.16; 34,3.12; Deut 22,23-29; Judg 21,12; 1 Sam 9,11; Ru 2,5 et al)128 or “a maid servant” (cf. Gen 24,61; Exod 2,5; Ru 2,8.22-23; 3,2; 1Sam 25,42; Esth 2,9; 4,4.16; Prov 9,3; 27,27; 31,15 et al).

Like other accusations, here too the lack of mention of any context makes interpretation difficult. One may assume the following contexts based on the similar inner- biblical references:

i. A violation of the law prescribed in Exod 21,9, where a father betroths to his son a female slave whom he himself had intended to marry.

ii. An illegal affair of a man with the wife of his father, which is prohibited by Lev 18,8. iii. An illegal affair of a man with his daughter-in-law, which is prohibited in Lev 18,15. iv. Sexual exploitation of a maid servant129, who is not a slave (’āmā(h)).130

hālak ’el, has the identical idiomatic meaning, “to have sexual intercourse”. He also finds the same semantic development also attested in Aramaic, “in which the expression לַע/לֶא, לַזאָ (= Heb לֶא ךְַלָה) is employed in Talmudic and Geonic literature for sexual intercourse”. Cf. S.M. Paul, Amos, p. 82. Against Andersen and Freedman, who attribute the meaning “religious pilgrimage” to the verb hālak here. F.I. Andersen / D.N. Freedman, Amos, p. 318.

123 _{Cf. J.H. Hayes, Amos, p. 111.} 124 _{S.M. Paul, Amos, p. 82.} 125

E. Hammerschaimb, The Book of Amos, p. 48; Cf. R.S. Cripps, A Critical & Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Amos,p. 142.

126 _{Cf. W. Rudolph, Joel-Amos, 143. C.F. Keil / F. Delitzsch, Bibel Kommentar, p. 181; S.M. Paul,}

Amos, p. 81.

127 _{Cf. E. Hammerschaimb, The Book of Amos, p. 49.} 128

Cf. H.W. Wolff, Dodekapropheton 2, p. 202.

129 _{It is to be noted that sexual intercourse with a woman who was neither a virgin, nor married was not}

v. It can be just the promiscuity involved in a man and his son both courting the same young girl.

There is no apodictic law in the Bible which explicitly prohibits the promiscuous relationships mentioned in the last two cases, so this could be an instance where the prophet speaks for the dignity of a woman, even when there is no explicit Israelite law defending such a right. The prophets are moral teachers with different standards.

The noun na‛ărā(h) “young woman” is used many times in the sense of “young female servant” in the Hebrew Bible as mentioned above. She could be a household servant, in which case she had legal status higher than a female slave in Israel.131 She is in fact a defenceless victim who “belongs to the same category as that of the םיִלַד [dallîm] and םיִוָנֲע [‛ănāwîm] previously mentioned – just one more member of the defenceless and exploited human beings…”132

Even though one cannot be sure of the exact nature of the relationships that are discussed, it is certain that the accusation concerns decadence in the personal moral life of the Israelites, which has implications for their familial and social values. It results not only in deterioration of family values but also in the exploitation and humiliation of a weaker section in society, women. The irony is that such exploitation is carried out by the same persons who are supposed to protect them.

Amos goes a step further to condemn this practice as a defilement of the name of YHWH: lәma‛an ḥallēl’eṯ-šēm qoḏšî “in order to defile my holy name”. The conjunction

lәma‛an indicates the consequence of the action. The defilement or the profanation may not be intended but is an inevitable consequence. ḥll is a common Hebrew verb which means to profane something that is sacred. It is “a technical term in the Old Testament used to denote transgression or trespass directed against the Deity”.133

H.M. Barstad has pointed out that though the word ḥll is used not only in cultic/ritual contexts, the formula piel of ḥll + šēm +

130

A man and his son both having sexual relationship with a female slave is not prohibited in the apodictic law. cf. Exod 21,7-11. H.M. Barstad has noted that “In fact, the only case where an Old Testament law mentions intercourse with a slave woman as something offensive is in the case where the woman belongs to someone else. The act is then regarded as an offence against the right of ownership. The punishment, accordingly, is not the penalty of death as in the case of adultery (Lev 20, 10). All the transgressor has to do is to bring Yahweh a minor sacrifice (Lev 19, 20-22).” H.M. Barstad, The Religious Polemics of Amos, VT Sup. 39, Leiden: E.J. Brill: 1984, p.19.

131

The law assured protection even of a slave girl in similar circumstances (cf. Exod 21,9). The sexual abuse of a female servant in the same circumstances would have been much graver and shows the extent of the exploitation. In the words of G.V. Smith, “The faithful household employee is misused and treated as if she had no rights. She was not a slave without legal status, but she was inhumanly treated by the powerful men within the society.” G.V. Smith, Amos: A Commentary, Library of Biblical Interpretation, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989, p. 85.

132 _{S.M. Paul, Amos, pp. 82-83.} 133 _{J.H. Hayes, Amos, p. 111.}

reference to the deity Yahweh “almost exclusively appears in cultic contexts”.134

Conversely, I do not think that the offence condemned in Amos has anything to do with the cultic context. On the other hand, it can be attributed to the innovativeness of the prophet, that he equates the moral and ethical decadence of his community and the exploitation of a weaker section of the community with a profanation of the name of his God.135 The prophet wants thereby to emphasize the awfulness of the crime of exploiting a defenceless young woman.

Amos is not without support in the biblical traditions for his humanitarian stand: according to Lev 19,20-23, sexual intercourse with a “designated” female, even a slave, by a male other than the intended husband required a reparation offering as a penalty to the Deity. Sexual transgressions are prohibited also in Lev 19,29 and they are seen as profaning the name of YHWH also in Jer 34,16. G.V. Smith summarises the prophetic position in his own words:

The holy reputation of Yahweh is destroyed and his honour outraged because of Israel’s action. Although some may have considered these sins as acceptable practices, God, who defends the poor and the helpless, considers them an attack on himself and a repudiation of the holy traditions which the nation has inherited.136