Amos 6:4

That lie upon divans (Amos 3:12) of ivory i.e. divans, the frames of which were inlaid with ivory: cf. the "ivory couches," and "great ivory seats," which Sennacherib boasts that he received from Hezekiah (K.A.T[174][175] p. 293 bottom, referred to by Mitchell).

[174] .A.T.… Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.

[175] … Eb. Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das A. T., ed. 2, 1883 (translated under the title The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the O. T. 1885, 1888). The references are to the pagination of the German, which is given on the margin of the English translation.

and are stretched out upon their couches The older custom in Israel was to sitwhile eating (Genesis 27:19; Jdg 19:6; 1 Samuel 20:5; 1 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 13:20), whether upon a rug or carpet spread out on the floor, or (2 Kings 4:10) on a seat: the custom of reclining at table is first mentioned here; it was not impossibly a foreign fashion introduced from Syria, and is in any case viewed by the shepherd-prophet as a signal mark of effeminacy and luxury. Of course, in later times probably through Greek or Aramaic influence it became general (Sir 41:19; Matthew 9:10; Matthew 26:7, &c.).

lambs Heb. kârîm, not the usual word for lambs, and denoting apparently such as, from their age or kind, were a special delicacy (cf. Deuteronomy 32:14; 1 Samuel 15:9).

and calves out of the midst of the stall Brought directly from the place where they were tied up(such, as Arabic shews, is the meaning of the word) to be fatted. Cf. Luke 15:23.