by Stephen Rodgers
AMOS IN 10 WORDS OR LESS
“Real religion isn’t just ritual, but treating people with justice.”
TITLE
Like almost all the other prophetic books, the book of Amos takes its name from the prophet responsible for its content (Amos 1:1).
Per the MSB:
Amos’ name means “burden” or “burden-bearer.” He is not to be confused with Amoz (“stout, strong”), the father of Isaiah (Is. 1:1).
AUTHOR & AUDIENCE
While he’s not as illuminated as someone like Daniel or Jeremiah, we know a lot more about Amos than we do someone like Joel.
Amos was from Tekoa, a small village 10 mi. S of Jerusalem. He was the only prophet to give his occupation before declaring his divine commission. He was not of priestly or noble descent, but worked as a “sheepbreeder” (1:1; cf. 2 Kin. 3:4) and a “tender of sycamore fruit” (7:14) and was a contemporary of Jonah (2 Kin. 14:25), Hosea (Hos. 1:1), and Isaiah (Is. 1:1). The date of writing is mid-eighth century B.C., during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah (ca. 790–739 B.C.) and Jeroboam II, king of Israel (ca. 793–753 B.C.), two years before a memorable earthquake (Amos 1:1; cf. Zech. 14:5, ca. 760 B.C.).
It’s worth noting Amos’ humble social status and blue-collar pedigree at this point, given the major themes and illustrations of the book. As far as prophets go, Amos is about as rough-and-tumble as they come.
The original audience of Amos was the northern kingdom of Israel (which is quite odd, given that Amos was from Judah).
DATE
Not to contrast Joel and Amos unnecessarily, but the controversy and confusion is dating Joel is nowhere to be found in Amos, which can be dated more or less exactly.
Per Constable:
Amos ministered during the reigns of King Jeroboam II of Israel (793-753 B.C.) and King Uzziah (Azariah) of Judah (792-740 B.C.), specifically two years before “the earthquake” (Amos 1:1). Zechariah also referred to a notable earthquake during the reign of Uzziah (Zech. 14:5). Josephus wrote that an earthquake occurred when Uzziah entered the temple and was struck with leprosy (2 Chron. 26:16-20).[Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 9:10:4.] However this may be simply Jewish tradition. Archaeological excavations at Hazor and Samaria point to evidence of a violent earthquake in Israel about 760 B.C.[Y. Yadin, et al., Hazor II: An Account of the Second Season of Excavations, 1956, pp. 24, 26, 36-37; and Philip J. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah—An Archaeological Commentary, p. 21.] So perhaps Amos ministered about 760 B.C. This date may account for the omission of the name of King Jotham who ruled as coregent with Uzziah from 750-740 B.C. Thus Amos was a contemporary of the other eighth-century prophets: Jonah, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah.
BACKGROUND & SETTING
As Charles Dickens wrote in an entirely different context: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Despite the time that Israel was experiencing great political and economic success, they were simultaneously in great spiritual and ethical distress. H.L. Ellison summarizes it brilliantly in The Prophets of Israel: “In other words the prosperity of Israel was merely a thin veneer over a mass of poverty and misery.”
Per the MSB:
Politically, it was a time of prosperity under the long and secure reign of Jeroboam II who, following the example of his father Joash (2 Kin. 13:25), significantly “restored the territory of Israel” (2 Kin. 14:25). It was also a time of peace with both Judah (cf. 5:5) and her more distant neighbors; the ever-present menace of Assyria was subdued earlier that century because of Nineveh’s repentance at the preaching of Jonah (Jon. 3:10). Spiritually, however, it was a time of rampant corruption and moral decay (Amos 4:1; 5:10–13; 2 Kin. 14:24).
HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES
There are two major themes that run through the book of Amos:
- Social Justice. Despite the fact that Israel was enjoying a period of great economic prosperity, Amos was quick to point out that material luxury can and does lead to spiritual complacency and ethical laxity (Amos 6:1-6). He rigorously condemned the “evil times” (Amos 5:13) and their representative sins: oppression of the poor (Amos 2:6-7a; 5:12; 8:4,6), injustice in the courts (Amos 2:7a; 5:7,12; 6:12), sexual immorality (Amos 2:7b), religious abuses (Amos 2:8), violence (Amos 3:10), idolatry (Amos 5:26), corrupt business practices (Amos 8:5). Sound like any culture that you know?
- Judgment. God warned repeatedly that judgment was coming and why: exploitation of the poor would be punished (Amos 2:13-16; 6:8,14; 8:9-9:10) and those who lived lavishly at the expense of others would lose everything (Amos 3:15-4:3; 5:16-17; 6:4-7). God would expose hypocrisy and false piety (Amos 4:4-5; 5:21-23) by He continued to call on them to turn to Him and live (Amos 5:4-6).
INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES
There are really no significant interpretive issues in Amos that I am aware of, although as with nearly any Biblical text, I’m sure that minor ones abound. However, Amos’ message of divine judgment as punishment for idolatry and social injustice is pretty straightforward.
LITERARY FEATURES
Per the ESVSB:
The umbrella under which everything in Amos fits is prophecy, with its attendant oracles of judgment and a concluding oracle of redemption. But the dominant literary form is satire, with the usual elements of objects of attack, a satiric vehicle (very multiple in this book, such as catalogs of “woe” formulas and brief vignettes of bad behavior), a satiric norm or standard by which the criticism is conducted, and a prevailing satiric tone (in this case, biting and sarcastic).
OBJECTIONS
There are no significant objections to Amos that I’m aware of. As Constable comments:
Almost all scholars agree that the Book of Amos was originally a single book that the prophet Amos wrote. Comparison with the writings of the other eighth-century prophets and the consistently vivid and forthright style of Amos make this conclusion virtually inescapable. [For further discussion, see the commentaries, especially T. E. McComiskey, “Amos,” in Daniel-Minor Prophets, vol. 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, pp. 270-74.]
NOTABLE QUOTABLES
- Amos 3:6 (a verse that flatly contradicts the popular cliche that God is somehow helpless in the face of evil)
- Amos 4:12
- Amos 5:14
- Amos 5:24
DID YOU KNOW?
- Even though Amos was a native of the southern kingdom of Judah, he was directed by God to prophecy in the northern kingdom of Israel. Some scholars have suggested that this suggests that even though the kingdom was divided politically, both Israel and Judah were still aware of their common identity as God’s people.
- The reference to “burning the bodies” in Amos 6:10 may actually be alluding to a memorial fire, as cremation was not generally practiced at this time.
Other Works Referenced
- Apologetics Study Bible, “Amos”
- Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Amos”
- ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Amos”
- MacArthur Study Bible, “Amos”
- NET Bible, Amos
- NIV Study Bible, Amos
- Reformation Study Bible, “Amos”
- The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Amos”
- Know Your Bible
- Dever, The Message of the Old Testament
- Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
- Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook