BOOK OF AMOS IN 746 BC

The third of 12 Old Testament books that bear the names of the 12 minor Prophets.


Amos, a Judaean prophet from the village of Tekoa, was active in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC). Amos was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet; he was not a member of a professional prophetic guyild. His only credential to prophesy to Israel was a summons by Yahweh.


The book is a collection of individual sayings and reports of visions that, for the most part, were spoken in isolated moments. Wether Amos himself committed any of his sayings to writting is nor certain; his words may have been recorded by a scribe from Amo dictation or by a later writer who knew the sayings from oral tradition. In any case, the present arrangement of the sayings reflects the activity of someone other than the prophet.


Amo´s message is primarily a message of doom. Although Israel´s neighbours do not escape attention. Amo´s threats are directed primarily against Israel. His basic contention is that Israel has defected from the worship of Yahweh to the worship of Canaanite gods. This belief is the motivation that prompted his polemic against the feasts and solemn assemblies observed by Israel. His prophecies also pronounced judgment on the rich for their self-indulgence and for their oppression of the poor, on those who perverted justice, and on those who desired the day of Yahweh on which God will reveal his power, punish the wicked, an renew the righteous. That day, Amos warned, will be a day of darkness for Israel because of its defection from Yahweh.


The book unexpectedly ends with a promise of restoration for Israel. Because these verses so radically differ from the threatening nature of the rest of the book, many scholars believe them to be a later addition. It can also be argued that Amos held a promising view of Israel´s future after the people had suffered just punishment.