עמוס, פרק ד׳, פסוק ו׳

God brings targeted punishments upon the people to serve as warnings, aiming to wake them up and encourage them to repent before total destruction arrives. However, despite these heavy hardships, the people remain stubborn and refuse to learn from their experiences [אברבנאל, מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This punishment operates on a strict principle of measure for measure. The primary approach among commentators is that because the Israelites stopped bringing sacrifices and tithes, leaving God's altar empty and clean, God repays them in the exact same manner by leaving their teeth perfectly clean of food [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].

This resulting cleanness of teeth is understood in a few different ways. The primary approach among commentators is that it points to a specific lack of meat. Since meat naturally gets stuck between the teeth during a meal, its absolute absence leaves them completely clean. Another perspective suggests that this condition describes the physical dullness of the teeth that occurs when a person stops chewing food for an extended period [רש״י, רד״ק].

There are varying views on how this specific detail relates to the broader hunger experienced by the nation. Some view the clean teeth and the general lack of bread as a poetic duplication, with both ideas expressing the exact same famine [רד״ק]. Others draw a sharp distinction between the two conditions based on location. In this view, the clean teeth represent a more severe reality in the large cities, where there is an absolute absence of all types of food. Meanwhile, the lack of bread describes the situation in the rural villages; although the villagers lack the grain needed to bake bread, they can still find a small amount of fruit to survive [מלבי״ם].

The cause of this severe hunger is not necessarily a drought. Instead, it is the result of repeated enemy invasions year after year. These foreign forces constantly rob the livestock and consume the crops of the fields [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. Yet, despite all these torments, the people refuse to accept the discipline. Even in the face of such severe distress, they do not turn back and return to God [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].