Amos 9:3

“And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, etc.] One of the highest mountains in the land of Israel; in the woods upon it, and caves in it: I will search and take them out from thence: by directing their enemies where to find them: so the Targum, “if they think to be hid in the tops of the towers of castles, thither will I command the searchers, and they shall search them:” and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea; get into ships, going by sea to distant parts; or make their escape to isles upon the sea afar off, where they may think themselves safe: thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them; the dragon that is in the sea, (<232701>Isaiah…”

“Carmel--where the forests, and, on the west side, the caves, furnished hiding-places (Amo 1:2; Jdg 6:2; Sa1 13:6). the sea--the Mediterranean, which flows at the foot of Mount Carmel; forming a strong antithesis to it. command the serpent--the sea-serpent, a term used for any great water monster (Isa 27:1). The symbol of cruel and oppressive kings (Psa 74:13-14).”

“He had contrasted heaven and hell, as places impossible for man to reach; as I David says, “If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there: If l make my bed in hell, behold Thee” Psalms 139:8. Now, of places in a manner accessible, he contrasts Mount Carmel, which rises abruptly out of the sea, with depths of that ocean which it overhangs. Carmel was in two ways a hiding place. 1) Through its caves (some say 1,000 , some 2,000) with which it is perforated, whose entrance sometimes scarcely admits a single man; so close to each other, that a pursuer would not discern into which the fugitive had vanished; so serpentine within, that, “10 steps apart,” says a traveler , “we could hear each others’…”

“The serpent - The crocodile or shark. Amos 9:4”

“9:3 Though Mount Carmel is not the highest mountain in the region, its lofty grandeur often represents the beauty and richness of the land. • sea serpent: In the ancient Near East, the sea was a symbol of chaos, often pitted against the national god (cp. Pss 74:14; 89:10; 104:26). However, the biblical text does not grant divine status to the sea monster (“Leviathan,” also called “Rahab”; Ps 89:9-10) but sees it as subject to the Lord’s command and judgment (Isa 27:1). Here, Amos portrays God’s sovereign power to summon the sea serpent to his service.”

“hide: Job 34:22; Jer 23:23, Jer 23:24 hid: Psa 139:9-11; Jer 16:16 the serpent: Isa 27:1 Amos 9:4”