SUMMARY
God will first gather the people like a shepherd, and then help them break out of a besieged city.
ANALYSIS
In an oracleAn oracle is a divine utterance of guidance, promise, or judgment delivered to humans through an intermediary (who is often also called an oracle). In the Bible oracles are given by Balaam (in the book of Numbers) and by David (in 2 Samuel). A number... More of hope and consolation among threats of punishment, God promises to fulfill two roles for the exiled and displaced remnant of JacobThe son of Isaac and Rebekah, renamed Israel, became the father of the twelve tribal families. More. Probably both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms are in view here.
God first promises to personally act as shepherd and gather the remnant of Israel. After gathering them, God will put them as sheep into a fold or container in the middle of a pasture. Interpreters differ in opinion if the pen/fold here is within the HolyHoly is a term that originally meant set apart for the worship or service of God. While the term may refer to people, objects, time, or places, holiness in Judaism and Christianity primarily denotes the realm of the divine More Land – is it Jerusalem? Or, as the Hebrew text suggests, is God gathering the people in Bozrah or another foreign city? Most modern translations prefer to read with the SeptuagintThe Septuagint is a pre-Christian (third to first century BCE) Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures. It is believed that the term Septuagint derives from the number of scholars-seventy (or seventy-two)-who reputedly did the work of translation. More and other translations and understand “Bozrah” as “pen.” The King James preserves the specific name Bozrah (Genesis 36:33, AmosProphet to the northern kingdom who condemned Israel's oppression of the poor, calling for justice to "roll down like waters." More 1:12, JeremiahProphet who condemned Judah's infidelity to God, warned of Babylonian conquest, and promised a new covenant. More 48:24).
The place where God gathers the people being a foreign city outside the Holy Land probably makes more sense, given the context of the next verse. The prophet envisions God as “the one who breaks out” and goes before the people. The redeemed exiles will break through a gateGates are openings in walls or fences for entrance and departure. In the Bible (as in Ruth and the prophets) the city gate was a commercial center where business and social transactions took place. In Amos the gate is the location of the law court... More and go out, the LORD leading them at the head of a column. In this brief section, a complex theology presents God as both an ingathering shepherd and a warrior leading an escape.
