1318. bashas

Lexical Summary

bashas: To delay, to tarry

Original Word: בָּשַׁס
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: bashac
Pronunciation: bah-shash
Phonetic Spelling: (baw-shas')
KJV: tread
NASB: impose heavy rent
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to trample down

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

tread

A primitive root; to trample down -- tread.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to trample
NASB Translation
impose heavy rent (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[בשׁס] verb Po`el Infinitive suffix בּוֺשַׁסְכֶם Amos 5:11 probably your trampling (by dissimilation from בּוּס) followed by עַל.

בּשֶׁת see below בושׁ.

Topical Lexicon

Scriptural Setting

The verb בָּשַׁס appears once, in Amos 5:11, where Amos confronts the land-owning elite of the Northern Kingdom: “Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built; you will never drink the wine of the lush vineyards you have planted.”

Historical Context

• Date and Audience: Amos prophesied during the long, outwardly prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (circa 793–753 B.C.). Wealth increased through trade and military expansion, yet covenant fidelity eroded.
• Social Conditions: Prosperity created a class of land barons who acquired estates by foreclosure and heavy rents, pushing tenant farmers off ancestral allotments. Archaeological strata from eighth-century Samaria reveal luxurious ivory-inlaid furniture (cf. Amos 6:4), underscoring the prophet’s charges.
• Legal Backdrop: Mosaic legislation (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:8-17; Deuteronomy 24:14-15) protected smallholders and day-laborers. By “trampling,” the wealthy nullified these statutes, inviting covenant sanctions spelled out in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28.

Theological Emphasis

1. Sin against Imago Dei: Exploiting the poor desecrates persons made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27; Proverbs 14:31).
2. Violation of Stewardship: Land was Yahweh’s gift, entrusted, not possessed absolutely (Leviticus 25:23). Using it to strip others of dignity rebels against the Giver.
3. Certain Judgment: Amos links social oppression to impending exile (Amos 5:27). The causal connector “Therefore” highlights divine retribution as morally logical, not arbitrary.
4. Eschatological Overtones: Amos anticipates the Day of the Lord (Amos 5:18-20). Economic injustice becomes evidence that Israel will experience that day as darkness, prefiguring final judgment where Christ will “judge with justice” (Acts 17:31).

Inter-Canonical Parallels

• Prophetic: Isaiah 3:15; Micah 2:2; Habakkuk 2:9-12.
• Wisdom: Proverbs 22:22-23; 28:27.
• Gospel Witness: Luke 4:18; Luke 6:24-26—Jesus denounces wealth hoarded at others’ expense.
• Apostolic Teaching: James 5:1-6; 1 John 3:17—echo the moral trajectory set in Amos.

Applications for Ministry

• Preaching: Use Amos 5:11 to expose contemporary forms of exploitation—predatory lending, unjust labor practices, corruption. Ground application in the unchanging character of God, who “shows no partiality” (Romans 2:11).
• Pastoral Care: Encourage believers to practice neighbor-love through fair wages, generous giving, and advocacy for the vulnerable (Galatians 6:10).
• Discipleship: Teach stewardship as service, not self-indulgence; wealth is a trust to advance kingdom priorities (Matthew 6:19-21).
• Corporate Witness: Churches can model jubilee principles by debt relief initiatives, benevolence funds, and partnerships with local agencies combating poverty.

Homiletical Outline (Sample)

1. The Crime: Trampling on the poor (Amos 5:11a).
2. The Cost: Divine reversal of ill-gotten gains (5:11b).
3. The Cure: Seek the Lord and live (5:6, 14). Emphasize repentance that bears fruit in equitable practices.

Devotional Reflection

Meditating on Amos 5:11 challenges each believer to examine personal attitudes toward possessions. Christ, who “though He was rich, yet for your sake became poor” (2 Corinthians 8:9), empowers His people to live counter-culturally—lifting the lowly rather than trampling them.

Key Takeaways

• בָּשַׁס highlights a concrete act—crushing the disadvantaged—that violates covenant love.
• God’s judgment against such oppression is certain, comprehensive, and rooted in His righteous character.
• The gospel supplies both the motive and the means for transforming economic relationships, moving from exploitation to service in imitation of Christ.

Forms and Transliterations

בּוֹשַׁסְכֶ֞ם בושסכם bō·wō·šas·ḵem boshasChem bōwōšasḵem

Englishman's Concordance

Amos 5:11
HEB: לָ֠כֵן יַ֣עַן בּוֹשַׁסְכֶ֞ם עַל־ דָּ֗ל
NAS: because you impose heavy rent on the poor
KJV: Forasmuch therefore as your treading [is] upon the poor,
INT: Therefore because impose on the poor

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 1318
1 Occurrence

bō·wō·šas·ḵem — 1 Occ.