James next begins a more lengthy quotation of Amos
9:11–12, which is part of an oracle of the scattering of the ten northern
tribes of Israel. When Amos wrote in 760 B.C., the southern kingdom of Judah
had not yet fallen. Nevertheless, Amos foretells a restoration of the kingdom
of David: “I will rebuild the dwelling [skenèn]
of David, which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins” (Acts 15:16; cf. Amos
9:11). The word “dwelling” (skené) is
used in the Septuagint for the tabernacle and God’s dwelling therein (cf. Ex.
25:9, Septuagint). Because the tabernacle was incorporated into Solomon’s
Temple (cf. 1 Kings 8:3–6), the term skené
is also used of the latter by extension (e.g., Tobit 13:10, Septuagint).
Constructed by the son of David, the Temple was uniquely associated with the
house or dynasty of David (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–13). Thus, when Amos writes that God
will rebuild the skené of David,
James interprets this rebuilding with reference to the new temple made up of
all those united to the Messiah within the restored kingdom of David. A
messianic understanding of Amos 9:11 was prevalent within first century
Judaism; the Targum (or Aramaic paraphrase) to Amos 9:11, for example, reads,
“At that time I will reestablish the fallen kingdom of David.” However, the
apostles teach more distinctly that the Davidic restoration has been
inaugurated by Jesus’ Ascension to the throne of David, as Peter explains in
his Pentecost sermon (cf. Acts 2:30, 34). (Stephen Pimentel, Witnesses of
the Messiah: On Acts of the Apostles 1–15 [Steubenville, Ohio: Emmaus Road
Publishing, 2002], 134–35)
Further Reading:
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