Discovery BoxAmos 9:6 
Context9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace 1 in heaven
and sets its foundation supports 2 on the earth. 3
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
Amos 5:8
Context5:8 (But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion;
he can turn the darkness into morning
and daylight 4 into night.
He summons the water of the seas
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name!
1 tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).
2 tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.
3 sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.
4 tn Heb “darkens the day into night.”
