ABSTRACT
Like Amos’s other oracles against the nations, the oracle against Damascus begins with the formula “for three crimes of X, and for four”. is is the standard “n; n+1” formulation used in Proverbs 30:15-29 (Kassis 1999: 234-40). It denotes multiplicity (Stuart 1987: 310) and here indicates that the sin could be forgiven three times, but became unforgivable the fourth time (Andersen & Freedman 1989: 230-31). e word ʲˇʴ, rendered as “transgression” in the NRSV, designates an “act of rebellion”. It belongs to the vocabulary of treaties and designates the rebellion of a vassal against his suzerain (ibid.: 231).
