Later text
Amos 2:7BSB
They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.
Intertextuality Pair
Amos 2:7 → Leviticus 18:7-8
Allusion
Earlier text
You must not expose the nakedness of your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have sexual relations with her. You must not have sexual relations with your father's wife; it would dishonor your father.
Significance
Amos 2:7 condemns Israel because "a man and his father have relations with the same girl," an act that directly violates the incest prohibitions of Leviticus 18:7-8, which forbid uncovering the nakedness (עֶרְוָה, ervah) of one's father or his wife. Amos frames this as profaning God's "holy name" (שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי, shem qodshi), linking sexual violation to sacrilege against Yahweh Himself. The prophet's charge demonstrates that Levitical holiness law was not merely ceremonial but embedded in Israel's covenantal identity, and its violation constituted grounds for national judgment.
- Found via
- Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
- Reference Type
- Allusion
- Connection Method(s)
- Longitudinal Theme — the Levitical family-holiness boundaries (Lev 18:7-8) function as the covenant standard of Amos's indictment that "a man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name": the holiness legislation runs forward as the measure by which Israel's corruption is prosecuted.