{"id":77517,"date":"2020-07-15T15:40:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=77517"},"modified":"2020-07-15T15:40:35","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:40:35","slug":"amos-and-the-sycamore-trees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/amos-and-the-sycamore-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Amos And The Sycamore Trees"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our chapter records the altercation between Amaziah, the priest of the sanctuary at Beth-El, and the prophet Amos. In preaching against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Amos prophecies: \u201c\u2026The sanctuaries of Israel will be reduced to ruins. And I will turn upon the House of Jeroboam with the sword\u201d (Amos 7:9). Amaziah reports to King Jeroboam that Amos is conspiring against him in predicting that the king will die by the sword and Israel will go into exile. Amaziah tells Amos to leave the Kingdom of Israel and to never again prophesy at the Temple in Bethel. The famous reply of Amos is: \u201cI am not a prophet, and I am not a prophet\u2019s disciple. I am a cattle breeder and a tender of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me away from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, \u2018Go, prophesy to My people Israel\u2019\u201d (verses 14-15). This interchange has been dramatically reconstructed by Shalom Spiegel, in his classic essay \u201cAmos vs. Amaziah\u201d (reprinted in <\/span>The Jewish Expression<\/span><\/i>, edited by Judah Goldin, 1976, pp. 38-65).<\/span><\/p>\n

But what exactly was Amos\u2019 occupation, \u201cTender of Sycamore Trees \u2013 <\/span>Boles Shiqmim<\/span><\/em>\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashi found this expression so puzzling that he suggested it be emended to <\/span>Bolesh Shiqmim<\/span><\/em> \u2013 \u201cInspector of Sycamore Trees\u201d to see which one\u2019s time has come to be nipped. For it is customary to nip immature sycamore trees. And <\/span>boles<\/span><\/em> should be read <\/span>bolesh<\/span><\/em>. For, Amos was tongue-tied as they said (in Leviticus Rabbah 10:2): Why was his name Amos? Because he was \u201claden of tongue\u201d (<\/span>amus bi-lshono<\/span><\/em>). And the Israelites would call him <\/span>psilos<\/span><\/em> (\u201cstammerer\u201d in Greek).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hebrew word <\/span>Shiqmim<\/em> <\/span>[singular <\/span>Shiqmah<\/span><\/em>] occurs seven times in the Hebrew Bible, referring to the sycamore tree and its fruit, similar to the fig. But the word <\/span>boles<\/span><\/em> occurs only here. The Ben-Yehudah\u00a0<\/span>Complete Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Hebrew<\/span><\/em>, finds no cognate in sister languages but, according to the context, defines <\/span>boles<\/span><\/em> as \u201cnipping the sycamore fig to cause it to finish ripening quickly\u201d. Indeed, this seems to be the correct meaning of <\/span>boles<\/span><\/i> as reflected in the Septuagint (2<\/span>nd<\/span> -3<\/span>rd<\/span> Century BCE Jewish Greek Translation): <\/span>Knizon Sycamina<\/span><\/em> “piercer of sycamore figs\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 1<\/span>st<\/span> century CE natural philosopher, Pliny the Elder, describes the cultivation of the sycamore fig in Ancient Egypt: \u201cIt bears fruit, not upon branches, but upon the trunk itself. The fig is remarkable for its extreme sweetness and has no seeds in it. This tree is also remarkable for its fruitfulness, which, however, can only be ensured by making incisions in the fruit with hooks of iron, for otherwise it will not come to maturity\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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