Amos (prophet)

Amos

Russian icon of the prophet Amos

An 18th-century Russian icon of the prophet Amos (Iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia).
Prophet
Born Tekoa
Died 745 B.C.E.
Venerated in Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Feast June 15 (Orthodox)
Major works Book of Amos

Amos (/ˈeɪməs/; Hebrew: עָמוֹס , Modern Amos, Tiberian ʻāmōs) was one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. An older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, Amos was active c. 760-755[1] BC during the reign of Jeroboam II, (786–746 BC). He was from the southern Kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of Yaweh's laws. He spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. His major themes of social justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The Book of Amos is attributed to him.

Life

Before becoming a prophet, Amos was a sheep herder and a sycamore fig farmer.[2] Amos' prior professions and his claim "I am not a prophet nor a son of a prophet" (7:14) indicate that Amos was not from the school of prophets, which Amos claims makes him a true prophet. Amos' declaration marks a turning-point in the development of Old Testament prophecy. It is not mere chance that Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and almost all of the prophets who are more than unknown personages to whom a few prophetical speeches are ascribed, give first of all the story of their special calling. All of them thereby seek to protest against the suspicion that they are professional prophets, because the latter discredited themselves by flattering national vanities and ignoring the misdeeds of prominent men.[3]

The Bible speaks of his ministry and prophecies concluding around 762, two years before the earthquake that is spoken of in Amos 1:1, "...two years before the earthquake."[4] The prophet Zechariah likely was referencing this same earthquake several centuries later. From Zechariah 14:5, "And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah."[4]

Despite being from the southern kingdom of Judah Amos' prophetic message was aimed at the Northern Kingdom of Israel, particularly the cities of Samaria and Bethel.[5]

Jeroboam II (c. 781-741 B.C.), ruler of the Northern kingdom, had rapidly conquered Syria, Moab, and Ammon, and thereby extended his dominions from the source of the Orontes on the north to the Dead Sea on the south. The whole northern empire of Solomon thus practically restored had enjoyed a long period of peace and security marked by a revival of artistic and commercial development. Social corruption and the oppression of the poor and helpless were prevalent. Many availed themselves of the throngs which attended the sacred festivals to indulge in immoderate enjoyment and tumultuous revelry. Others, carried away by the free association with heathen peoples which resulted from conquest or commercial contact, went so far as to fuse with the Lord's worship that of pagan deities.[6]

Amos is the first of the prophets to write down the messages he has received. He has always been admired for the purity of his language, his beauty of diction, and his poetic art. In all these respects he is Isaiah's spiritual progenitor.[3] What we know of Amos derives solely from the book that he himself authored.[7] This makes it hard to know who the historical Amos truly was.

Amos felt himself called to preach in Bethel, where there was a royal sanctuary (vii. 13), and there to announce the fall of the reigning dynasty and of the northern kingdom. But he is denounced by the head priest Amaziah to King Jeroboam II and is advised to leave the kingdom. There is no reason to doubt that he was actually forced to leave the northern kingdom and to return to his native country. Being thus prevented from bringing his message to an end, and from reaching the ear of those to whom he was sent, he had recourse to writing. If they could not hear his messages, they could read them, and if his contemporaries refused to do so, following generations might still profit by them. No earlier instance of a literary prophet is known; but the example he gave was followed by others in an almost unbroken succession. It can not be proved that Hosea knew the book of Amos, though there is no reason to doubt that he was acquainted with the latter's work and experiences. It is certain that Isaiah knew his book, for he follows and even imitates him in his early speeches (compare Amos, v. 21-24, iv. 6 et seq., v. 18 with Isa. i. 11-15; Amos, iv. 7 et seq. with Isa., etc., ix. 7 et seq., ii. 12). Cheyne concludes that Amos wrote the record of his prophetical work at Jerusalem, after his expulsion from the northern kingdom, and that he committed it to a circle of faithful followers residing there.[3]

The apocryphal work The Lives of the Prophets records that Amos was killed by the son of Amaziah, priest of Bethel. It further states that before he died, Amos made his way back to his homeland and was buried there.[8]

Themes

God's omnipotence and divine judgement

Teachings

Some of his main teachings are:

Social justice

Ancient interpretations

The ancient exhortation to what in modern times would be considered social justice is expressed by the voice of God in Amos' teachings. Amos is told by God that the Israelites are going to face divine intervention as institutionalized oppression was running rampant in Israel. God expressed this institutionalized oppression by saying that the Israelites were practicing religiosity without righteousness. By oppressing the poor and failing to practice justice the Israelites were behaving unrighteously; social justice was to be enacted as a core of God's message in Amos' prophetic teachings.[12]

Modern interpretations

Influences of or references to Amos' teachings can be found in certain modern political and civil rights speeches. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream", King states "we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream", which is an allusion to Amos 5:24: "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!".[13] Bernie Sanders also referenced Amos 5:24 in a speech during his 2016 presidential campaign.[14]

Feast days/religious veneration

Within Roman, Byzantine, and other high liturgical churches saints are regularly celebrated and venerated on Feast days throughout the calendar year. This practice honors Christian martyrs on the traditional day of their death with facts about their life and insights attributed to them meant to edify the faithful.

On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, Amos' feast day is celebrated on June 15[15] (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, June 15 currently falls on June 28th of the modern Gregorian Calendar). He is commemorated along with the other minor prophets in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 31.

In the Eastern Church the Troparion of Amos is sung:

"Celebrating the memory / Of Your Prophet Amos, O Lord, / For his sake, we entreat You, save our souls."

Reflecting Amos' sense of urgency and social justice, the Kontakion of Amos is sung:

"Purifying your fervent heart by the Spirit, / O glorious Prophet Amos, / And receiving the gift of prophecy from on high, / You cry with a loud voice to the nations: / This is our God, and there is none beside Him."[16]

References

  1. ↑ "For Amos' ministry, then, a date between 760 and 755 BC seems to have gained almost unanimous support among scholars." Hubbard, David Allan. Joel and Amos. InterVarsity Press, 2015. p.92
  2. ↑ Coogan, Michael. A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament. Page 257. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 "Amos", Jewish Encyclopedia
  4. 1 2 The Bible, English Standard Version.
  5. ↑ Dearman, J Andrew. Amos. Harper Collins Study Bible. Edited by Meeks, Wayne A. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2006.
  6. ↑ Gigot, Francis. "Amos." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 11 Feb. 2014
  7. ↑ Mays, James Luther (1969). The Old Testament Library Collection. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press. pp. 1–7.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Francis I., and David Noel Freedman, Amos, The Anchor Yale Bible, vol. 24A, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. Page 24.
  9. 1 2 3 Escobar, David (September 2011). "Amos & Postmodernity: A Contemporary Critical & Reflective Perspective on the Interdependency of Ethics & Spirituality in the Latino-Hispanic American Reality". Journal of Business Ethics. JSTOR 41476011.
  10. 1 2 3 Waterman, Leroy (September 1945). "The Ethical clarity of the Prophets". Journal of Biblical Literature. Society of Biblical Literature. JSTOR 3262384.
  11. 1 2 Hastings, James (1908). Dictionary of the Bible. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  12. ↑ Escobar, Donoso S. (1995). "Social Justice in the Book of Amos". Review and Expsoitor.
  13. ↑ Rau, Andy. "Bible References in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" Speech". Bible Getaway Blog.
  14. ↑ Taylor, Florence. "How Bernie Sanders used the Bible to try and win over Evangelical students". christianitytoday.com.
  15. ↑ "Prophet Amos". The Orthodox Church in America. The Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 12/4/2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  16. ↑ "Prophet Amos - Troparion & Kontakion". Orthodox Church in America. Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 12/4/2015. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

Sources

Further reading

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