SUMMARY
The introduction to the book contextualizes the prophet AmosProphet to the northern kingdom who condemned Israel's oppression of the poor, calling for justice to "roll down like waters." More in terms of geography, skillset, origin, and time.
ANALYSIS
Amos repeats at least a few times that he is not a professional prophet or a member of one of the prophetic bands who resided in either urban areas or the wilderness places. Instead, Amos’ background is in agriculture. He is one of the sheepherders from Tekoa (Amos 1:1). In addition to his shepherding, he seems to have provided seasonal labor, harvesting the late summer fruit (Amos 7:14). Amos uses his skills and background to great effect warning against what is to befall the Northern KingdomThe Northern Kingdom consisted of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel and lasted for 200 years until it was destroyed by Assyria in 721 B.C.E. In the northern kingdom the kings were evil. Prophets like Elijah and Amos railed against them and their evildoing. More of Israel, especially. Amos compares the future remnant of Israel to a piece of a sheep – a leg or an ear – as the only part rescued from a lion’s mouth by the shepherd (Amos 3:12). Another time, God gave Amos a vision of the summer fruit (kayitz) that Amos harvested yearly to illustrate how God would bring about the end (ha-ketz) of the people. These agricultural images and puns ground the book deeply in the personal experiences of the prophet.
Moreover, Amos is a subject of the Southern KingdomThe Southern Kingdom consisted of two tribes of Israel, Judah and Benjamin. Jerusalem was its capital, and the kingdom lasted from 931-586 B.C.E. As with the Northern Kingdom many of the kings were wicked, and prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel spoke their often judgmental... More of JudahJudah was the name of Jacob's fourth son and one of the 12 tribes. More who prophesies in another kingdom. Tekoa is south of Jerusalem, on the Bethlehem road, nestled in the last row of hills before the Dead Sea valley. He would have journeyed past Jerusalem to immigrate to Bethel, one of the cultic sites of the Kingdom of Israel. Once there, Amos’ primary task was to focus on the coming destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, while certainly reserving notable judgment for other kingdoms as well, including Judah. His interlocutors in the north certainly noted his foreign status, and insisted that he return to his own kingdom, and prophesy in Judah rather than in Bethel in Israel (7:12-13).
Finally, Amos’ prophetic activities are located in time “two years before the earthquake…” (1:1). Zechariah, written hundreds of years later, recalls the devastating earthquake that happened during the 8th century BCE reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam IIThe king of Israel (786-746) during a time when Israel increased in prosperity and power. More (Zechariah 14:5). Archeology and other textual sources (the 1st century CE Jewish historian Josephus, among them) give clues to narrow down the timeframe, but exact dating remains elusive. For ancient hearers and readers, however, proximity to the great earthquake that left a layer of destruction in most of the kingdoms that Amos alluded to would have been profoundly effective dating. Unrepaired earthquake damage is still visible in many of these sites today.
