Commentary: On Amos

And so shall the Israelites be saved, who dwell in Samaria (Amos 3:12) complacent and secure and lying on ivory beds with [only] an edge of a bed and lolling upon their couches (Amos 6:4) with [only] a head/leg of a couch. And nothing shall be saved except for these least parts. And out of all their wealth and all of their pleasure-goods, they shall save nothing except for the edge of a long bed and two legs. And similarly with regard to the head/leg of a couch, since both a bed and a couch are each types of beds, and according to their differentiation in construct and purpose, what [Scripture] calls with regard to bed—edge, it calls with regard to couch—head/leg. You are compelled [to interpret] that since bed and couch are parallel to one another, and since edge is juxtaposed to bed, and head/leg is juxtaposed to couch, that their juxtaposition and their parallelism testify to their meaning. And you have no rule in [interpreting] Torah greater than “a matter learned from its context.” And the prophet saw this in that he rebukes the inhabitants of Samaria about their palaces and their beds and their couches, and that is the language that he chooses here. And [the phrase] the edge of a bed . . . harkens back to [so shall the Israelites] be saved.