May 30, 2009
Amos, an Analysis of its Original Theological Message, Historical and Textual Context
Luke R. Dyer
SS 902 Summer 2009
Biblical Prophets and Social Justice
Professor Jonathan Lawrence
Christ the King Seminary
Introduction
Amos was selected because I have a strong interest in social justice. It bluntly castigates the Israelites for their failure to act justly. “... he speaks directly to the issue of social justice, with a vigor unparalleled anywhere in the Bible.” (Clifford, page 351) Amos boldly challenges the status quo using strong, even insulting, language. The text is clearly crafted to discomfort the comfortable. “Over and over he announces to the people of Israel that, because of their social injustice and religious arrogance, the Lord will punish them by means of a total military disaster.” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1217)
Historical Setting
The events chronicled in the Book of Amos “place Amos in the last decade or so of the reign of Jeroboam II, about 760 BCE.” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1216) Phillips closely agrees with this date. “Amos is the earliest of the four prophets; his was a short sharp ministry, exercised in about 755 B.C.” (Phillips, page 3) “Amos is the earliest of the prophets who have books in their names.” (Clifford, page 351) It was a period of relative peace and prosperity, at least for the upper class.
”The reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah were long and relatively peaceful. … peace seems to have been accompanied by prosperity, at least for a few and – according to Amos – at the expense of many. There seems to have been a breakdown in the old tribal and family systems of land ownership and the emergence of a wealthy class at the top of society.” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1216)
The book of Amos refers to the evil deeds of the nations of Judah and Israel, as well as their neighboring nations of Damascus, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon and Moab. It refers to the Exodus as proof that the Israelites were the chosen people of God. This implies a higher duty for the chosen people than for other nations. It foretells the doom of Samaria, Bethel and the house of Jacob.
It is important to remember that these accusations were made during the best of times for Israel and Judah. This period of peace and prosperity was soon to end. Assyria came under new leadership in 745 BCE.
“Samaria, the capital city, (of the Northern Kingdom) fell to the Assyrian kings Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722/21 BCE (2 Kings 17.1-6), and the history of Israel came to an end. The prophecies of Amos thus were fulfilled some forty years after he uttered them.” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1216)
Textual Context
The book of Amos is very bleak. “... he is not introducing any new moral or legal expectations, but draws disturbing implications from them in holding the people accountable for their transgressions.” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1217) Amos attacks injustice bluntly, saying that injustice will be punished. This is very harsh and direct, compared to most of the Bible.
Amos 3:1 says “... O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1220) This appears to reference the liberation described in the Book of Exodus. It shows that Amos knew the story of liberation and used it in his prophecy.
There appear to be two quotations of Amos in the New Testament. (Faussett, paragraph 7)
Acts 7:42-43 appears to quote Amos 5:25-26:
Acts 7:42-43 reads:
“But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
'Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? No; you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.'” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1868)
Amos 5:25-26 reads:
“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you make for yourselves; therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1224)
Acts 15:16-17 appears to quote Amos 9:11-12:
Acts 15:16-17 reads:
“'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up, so that all other peoples may seek the Lord--- even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things known from long ago.'” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1884)
Amos 9:11-12 reads:
“On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old; in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, says the LORD who does this.” (Attridge, Meeks, page 1227, 1228)
These quotations are very close, and probably represent translation and replication variations inevitable over the centuries. They clearly show that Amos was considered part of the prophetic literature at the time Acts was set down and support it being part of sacred Scripture.
Reflection
The primary message of Amos is that denying justice is wrong and will be punished. Amos rants against deceptive business practices, corrupt and abusive use of power and treating the powerless unjustly. Reading a newspaper, watching TV news, or listening to radio news will demonstrate that the same problems exist today.
I am a member of the most advanced, prosperous and powerful society in the history of the world. This necessarily colors my perceptions. Nonetheless, study of the Book of Amos gives me several insights into the period it is set in. I think the people who Amos was addressing thought he was crazy. All they had to do was look around them to support their world view. Their nations had been at peace, and had not lost a war in a long time. The people Amos was talking to were prosperous, and better off than their ancestors. Their history and sacred scriptures told them God was on their side. God had delivered their ancestors out of bondage in Egypt and helped them defeat an arguably stronger enemy to give them their land. This causes me to be queasy. I remember growing up hearing “We've never lost a war” and learning about manifest destiny and the superiority of the American cultural mosaic in school. If the purpose of a homily is to comfort the distressed and distress the comfortable, Amos probably succeeded in his time. He certainly is relevant today.
Discussion of Sources
All sources were textbooks or library books from Christ the King seminary with one exception. I used Biblos.com's concordance to find quotations included in Amos and quotations from Amos used elsewhere. I cited the quotations and then verified and directly quoted the study Bible recommended for the course for verification.
Bibliography
Attridge, Harold W. General Editor, Revised Edition, Meeks, Wayne A., General Editor, Original Edition, Bassler, Jouette M., Lemke, Werner E., Miditch, Susan, Schuller, Eileen M., Associate Editors, With the Society of Biblical Literature, (2006) The HarperCollins Study Bible, Fully Revised and Updated, New Revised Standard Version, With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, Student Edition, San Francisco, CA, Harper One.
Clifford, Richard J., “The Major Prophets, Baruch, and Lamentations”, an article in Senior, Donald, Collins, John Joseph, Editors, (2006), The Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition, New American Bible, including the Revised New Testament and Psalms Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of All the Ancient Sources, New York, NY, Oxford University Press.
Faussett, A. R., “The Book of Amos Commentary”, http://jfb.biblecommenter.com/amos/1.htm accessed May 30, 2009
Phillips, J. B., (1963) Four Prophets, Amos ~ Hosea ~ First Isaiah ~ Micah, A Modern Translation from the Hebrew, New York, NY, The MacMillan Company.
Senior, Donald, Collins, John Joseph, Editors, (2006), The Catholic Study Bible, Second Edition, New American Bible, including the Revised New Testament and Psalms Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of All the Ancient Sources, New York, NY, Oxford University Press.
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