The Meaning of Amos 2:7 Explained

Amos 2:7

KJV: That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

YLT: Who are panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy name.

Darby: panting after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turning aside the way of the meek; and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name.

ASV: they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the'same maiden, to profane my holy name:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

That pant  after the dust  of the earth  on the head  of the poor,  and turn aside  the way  of the meek:  and a man  and his father  will go  in unto the [same] maid,  to profane  my holy  name: 

What does Amos 2:7 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Second, the Israelites were perverting the legal system to exploit the poor. The courts were siding with creditors against their debtors; they were "stepping on" the poor. This was as painful and humiliating as having one trample on one"s head as it lay in the dust. The oppressors longed to see the poor reduced to extreme anguish. They may have been so greedy that they craved even the dust that the poor threw on their heads in mourning. The Mosaic Covenant called for justice in Israel"s courts ( Exodus 23:4; Deuteronomy 16:19).
Third, fathers and sons were having sexual intercourse with the same women. The women in view may be temple prostitutes, servant girls taken as concubines, or female relatives (cf. Exodus 21:7-11; Leviticus 18:8; Leviticus 18:15). This showed contempt for Yahweh"s holy character (cf. Exodus 3:13-15). The Law forbade fornication, including incest ( Leviticus 18:6-18; Leviticus 20:11; Leviticus 20:17-21).

Context Summary

Amos 2:6-16 - Neither Shall Israel Escape
First the prophet enumerates Israel's sins. They were unjust to the poor, carrying their extortions to such lengths as to goad the poor to desperation. They were unchaste. They held their idolatrous festivities in idol shrines while they unjustly detained and confiscated the pledges of the poor. They perpetrated shamelessly the enormous crimes for which the Amorites were dispossessed by Joshua and their fathers. But notice nothing is said of that great general and his valiant soldiers; our mind is carried beyond all human agency to the Eternal. I destroyed, etc. Amos 2:9.
The ripple of the ocean on the beach which you hear and see is due to the action of the sun or moon; so the changes that men attribute to political combinations must ultimately be traced back to the divine will in its permissive or decretive energy. One of the most graphic pictures is in Amos 2:13. We can almost see the heavily laden wagon dragged from the harvest field. The wheels creak and groan; the oxen advance with difficulty; the timbers threaten to succumb. So God bears up the world; and thus did Jesus stoop and sweat great drops of blood under the sins of the whole world. [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 2

1  God's judgments upon Moab,
4  upon Judah,
6  and upon Israel
9  God complains of their ingratitude

What do the individual words in Amos 2:7 mean?

they pant after the dust of the earth [which is] on the head of the poor and the way of the humble pervert and a man and his father go in to the [same] girl to defile - name My holy
הַשֹּׁאֲפִ֤ים עַל־ עֲפַר־ אֶ֙רֶץ֙ בְּרֹ֣אשׁ דַּלִּ֔ים וְדֶ֥רֶךְ עֲנָוִ֖ים יַטּ֑וּ וְאִ֣ישׁ וְאָבִ֗יו יֵֽלְכוּ֙ אֶל־ הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ה לְמַ֥עַן חַלֵּ֖ל אֶת־ שֵׁ֥ם קָדְשִֽׁי

הַשֹּׁאֲפִ֤ים  they  pant 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: שָׁאַף 
Sense: to gasp, pant, pant after, long for, breathe heavily.
עַל־  after 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
עֲפַר־  the  dust 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
אֶ֙רֶץ֙  of  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
בְּרֹ֣אשׁ  [which  is]  on  the  head 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
דַּלִּ֔ים  of  the  poor 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: דַּל  
Sense: low, poor, weak, thin, one who is low.
וְדֶ֥רֶךְ  and  the  way 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular construct
Root: דֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: way, road, distance, journey, manner.
עֲנָוִ֖ים  of  the  humble 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: עָנָו 
Sense: poor, humble, afflicted, meek.
יַטּ֑וּ  pervert 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
וְאִ֣ישׁ  and  a  man 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וְאָבִ֗יו  and  his  father 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
יֵֽלְכוּ֙  go  in 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
הַֽנַּעֲרָ֔ה  the  [same]  girl 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נַעֲרָה  
Sense: girl, damsel, female servant.
חַלֵּ֖ל  defile 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct
Root: חָלַל 
Sense: to profane, defile, pollute, desecrate, begin.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שֵׁ֥ם  name 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
קָדְשִֽׁי  My  holy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.