Thus saith the Lord: As if a shepherd should get out of the lion’s mouth two legs, or the tip of the ear: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in a piece of a bed, and in the couch of Damascus.

“If, then, any hope of salvation is still left to you, if any slight remembrance of God, if any desire for future rewards, if any fear of the punishments reserved for the unrepentant come back quickly to sobriety; raise your eyes to the heavens; return to your senses; cease your wickedness; shake off the drunkenness that has drenched you; stand up against him who has overthrown you. Have the strength to rise up from the earth. Remember the good Shepherd, how he will pursue and deliver you. And if there are but "two legs, or the tip of an ear," leap back from him who has wounded you. Remember the compassion of God, how he heals with olive oil and wine. Do not despair of salvation. Recall the memory of what has been written, how he that falls rises again, and he that is turned away turns again, he that has been smitten is healed, he that is caught by wild beasts escapes, and he that confesses is not rejected. The Lord does not wish the death of the sinner, but that he return and live. Do not be contemptuous as one who has fallen into the depths of sins.”

“As the shepherd saves—I.e, he saves little. the cartilage of an ear Heb. בְּדַל. [from Jonathan] so will the children of Israel... be saved I.e, very few people. in the corner of a bed or in the corner of a couch Heb. בִּפְאַת מִטָּה וּבִדְמֶשֶׁק עֶרֶשׂ. Jonathan renders: with the strength of rule and trusting in Damascus. I say that the interpretation of the Targum is as follows: Since, in the days of Jehoahaz son of Jehu it is written. (II Kings 13:7) “For the king of Aram had destroyed them,” and Jeroboam his grandson saved them partially, as it is said. (ibid. 14:27) “And the Lord did not speak to eradicate the name of Israel from under the heavens, and He saved them through Jeroboam the son of Joash.” (ibid. verse 25) “He restored the boundary of Israel.” And that is the meaning of ‘in the corner of a bed.’ The corner of a house is the strongest part of the house. Therefore, he translates. ‘with the strength of rule’ of Jeroboam, and Amos prophesied in the days of Jeroboam. He further prophesied that they would eventually rely on the kings of Aram, and so they did in the days of Pekah son of Remaliah. This is the meaning of וּבִדְמֶשֶׁק עֶרֶשׂ, and their couch will be Damascus. Their rest and trust will be on Damascus. And our Sages said in Seder Olam (ch. 22) Rabbi Nehorai said in the name of Rabbi Joshua: These are the ten tribes, which relied on Hezekiah, and on Judah, and escaped with them. in the corner of a bed—This teaches us that only one eighth of them was left. And the rest of the couch -where was it? In Damascus, to fulfill what is stated: (below 5:27) “And I will exile you beyond Damascus.” And I heard in the name of Rabbi Menahem of blessed memory, that he explained. This is one eighth, since it is not stated. “the corner of;” but “in the corner of a bed,” in part of it, in one of the two ends of a corner. That is an eighth of the bed, for it has four corners, and two ends of each corner. [This is Rabbi Menahem’s explanation of Seder Olam ch. 22. This is probably Rabbi Menahem ben Helbo, the author of Pithronim.] Another explanation I found in the words of Rabbi Meir of blessed memory, as follows: In the corner of a bed—Because of the sin of Ahaziah son of Ahab, who sent to inquire “of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this illness” (I Kings 1:2). and in Damascus is the couch—Ben-hadad, king of Aram, sent to inquire of the God of Israel (ibid. ch. 8).”

“Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob,.... The prophets and priests, whose business it was to speak to the people from the Lord, and declare his will to them, and to admonish them of their sin and danger, are here called upon to hearken to what the Lord was about to say, and to testify and publish it to the people of Israel, the posterity of Jacob, though sadly degenerated: saith the Lord God, the God of hosts; the eternal Jehovah, the Being of beings, the God of the whole earth, the God of the armies above and below; and, being so great, ought to be heard with the greatest attention and reverence in what follows.”

“As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion - Scarcely any of you shall escape; and those that do shall do so with extreme difficulty, just as a shepherd, of a whole sheep carried away by a lion, can recover no more than two of its legs, or a piece of its ear, just enough to prove by the marks on those parts, that they belonged to a sheep which was his own. So shall the children of Israel be taken out - Those of them that escape these judgments shall escape with as great difficulty, and be of as little worth, as the two legs and piece of an ear that shall be snatched out of the lion's mouth. We know that when the Babylonians carried away the people into Chaldea they left behind only a few, and those the refuse of the land. In the corner of a bed - As the corner is the most honorable place in the East, and a couch in the corner of a room is the place of the greatest distinction; so the words in the text may mean, that even the metropolitan cities, which are in the corner - in the most honorable place - of the land, whether Samaria in Israel, or Damascus in Syria, shall not escape these judgments; and if any of the distinguished persons who dwell in them escape, it must be with as great difficulty as the fragments above-mentioned have been recovered from a lion. The passage is obscure. Mr. Harmer has taken great pains to illustrate it; but I fear with but little success. A general sense is all we can arrive at.”

“Ear: things of small value. Thus few even of the poor will escape the Assyrians. (Menochius) — Damascus. Some render “couch side.” But there is no proof of this being accurate. Jeroboam II subdued Damascus, and reigned in prosperity. Who would then have thought that Israel should so soon be removed into Media? (Calmet) — Septuagint, “over-against the tribe of Juda, and in Damascus, priests hear,” &c. They probably left hares, (Haydock) “couches,” (Aquila) untranslated, and some person has substituted “priests.” (St. Jerome) — Only the miserable (Menochius) or fugitives escape the enemy. (Haydock)”

“P. "An adversary there shall be even round about the land." The phrase la elliptical. The inva- sion of an enemy is predicted, who is to spread desolation. St. Jerome explains it of the Assyrian army. u " He borrows an example from what he had often seen, and states that the slight remains of the ten tribes shall be rescued from the hands of the Assyrians, as a shepherd rescues from the lion's Jaws two legs or the tip of the ear, the rest of the sheep being devoured." St Jerome. The shepherd was liable to be called on to make restitution of the lost sheep, unless he could show bow the animal had perished, by exhibiting at least some small piece of its remains. Kxod. 22 : 13.”

“shepherd--a pastoral image, appropriately used by Amos, a shepherd himself. piece of . . . ear--brought by the shepherd to the owner of the sheep, so as not to have to pay for the loss (Gen 31:39; Exo 22:13). So if aught of Israel escapes, it shall be a miracle of God's goodness. It shall be but a scanty remnant. There is a kind of goat in the East the ears of which are a foot long, and proportionally broad. Perhaps the reference is to this. Compare on the image Sa1 17:34-35; Ti2 4:17. that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed--that is, that live luxuriously in Samaria (compare Amo 6:1, Amo 6:4). "A bed" means here the Oriental divan, a raised part of the room covered with cushions. in Damascus in a couch--Jeroboam II had lately restored Damascus to Israel (Kg2 14:25, Kg2 14:28). So the Israelites are represented as not merely in "the corner of a bed," as in Samaria, but "in a (whole) couch," at Damascus, living in luxurious ease. Of these, now so luxurious, soon but a remnant shall be left by the foe. The destruction of Damascus and that of Samaria shall be conjoined; as here their luxurious lives, and subsequently under Pekah and Rezin their inroads on Judah, were combined (Isa 7:1-8; Isa 8:4, Isa 8:9; Isa 17:3). The parallelism of "Samaria" to "Damascus," and the Septuagint favor English Version rather than GESENIUS: "on a damask couch." The Hebrew pointing, though generally expressing damask, may express the city "Damascus"; and many manuscripts point it so. Compare for Israel's overthrow, Kg2 17:5-6; Kg2 18:9-12.”