AMOS (Biblical prophet)

Tuqu', Palestine

All recorded activities of Amos were in the northern sanctuaries of Bethel and (probably) Samaria. He lived in the reigns of Uzziah of Judah (c. 783-c. 742 BCE) and Jeroboam of Israel (c. 782-c. 743 BCE). Amos was the earliest of the literary prophets; his moral prophecies were uttered in his later years and reflect conditions in the last period of the rule of Jeroboam. Living in a period of prosperity, he was obviously closely acquainted with the life of the country’s money- and property-grabbing elite, whose way of life he thunderously denounced, threatening dire calamities if they did not mend their ways. One of his warnings was the possibility of exile from the land (presumably based on his knowledge of the Assyrian policy of deporting subject nations) and he was the first of the ancient Israelites to raise such a possibility.

AMOS (Biblical prophet)

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Biblical prophet

Background

He was a herdsman and sycamore gatherer in Tekoa, traditionally in the kingdom of Judah, south of Bethlehem, but some scholars have suggested that Tekoa should be located in the northern kingdom of Israel, where he prophesied.

Career

All recorded activities of Amos were in the northern sanctuaries of Bethel and (probably) Samaria. He lived in the reigns of Uzziah of Judah (c. 783-c. 742 BCE) and Jeroboam of Israel (c. 782-c. 743 BCE).

Amos was the earliest of the literary prophets; his moral prophecies were uttered in his later years and reflect conditions in the last period of the rule of Jeroboam.

Living in a period of prosperity, he was obviously closely acquainted with the life of the country’s money- and property-grabbing elite, whose way of life he thunderously denounced, threatening dire calamities if they did not mend their ways.

One of his warnings was the possibility of exile from the land (presumably based on his knowledge of the Assyrian policy of deporting subject nations) and he was the first of the ancient Israelites to raise such a possibility.

Views

Amos’s warnings were directed not only to his fellow countrymen, but to pagan nations and to neighboring countries for the wrongs inflicted on Israel. God, he said, was responsible for the fate of all nations and in this way his message of social justice was of universal relevance. He foresaw the Day of the Lord when Israel would be saved and its enemies judged, but also warned that Israel itself would be judged and punishment would be inevitable, except for the righteous and the repentant. His wrath was primarily directed against the social and moral evils of society, such as the oppression of the poor, cheating in commerce, and the pampered life of luxury of the noble and wealthy. Amos spoke with contempt of rituals and sacrifices offered by those whose way of life is corrupt and stressed that sacrifice has no meaning unless linked to morality. He was a pioneer in emphasizing the supremacy of ethical and moral values by which Israel would be judged.

Quotations: When Jeroboam’s priest, Amaziah, ordered him to leave the country and continue his mission in Judah where he could prophecy freely, Amos angrily replied that he was not a prophet by choice but a messenger of God who could not desist.

References

The Prophets (Perennial Classics) Abraham Heschel is a seminal name in religious studies and the author of Man Is Not Alone and God in Search of Man. When The Prophets was first published in 1962, it was immediately recognized as a masterpiece of biblical scholarship. The Prophets provides a unique opportunity for readers of the Old Testament, both Christian and Jewish, to gain fresh and deep knowledge of Israel's prophetic movement. The author's profound understanding of the prophets also opens the door to new insight into the philosophy of religion.
2001

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