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Easton's Bible Dictionary
borne; a burden,
One of the twelve minor prophets. He was a native of Tekota, the modern Tekua,
a town about 12 miles south-east of Bethlehem. He was a man of humble birth, neither
a "prophet nor a prophet's son," but "an herdman and a dresser of sycomore trees,"
RSV He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and was contemporary with
Isaiah and Hosea ( Amos
1:1 ; 7:14
, 7:15
; Zechariah
14:5 ), who survived him a few years. Under Jeroboam II. the kingdom of Israel
rose to the zenith of its prosperity; but that was followed by the prevalence
of luxury and vice and idolatry. At this period Amos was called from his obscurity
to remind the people of the law of God's retributive justice, and to call them
to repentance.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
loading;
weighty
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(burden)
Native of Tekoa in Judah, about six miles south of Bethlehem, originally a shepherd
and dresser of sycamore trees, who was called by God s Spirit to be a prophet,
although not trained in any of the regular prophetic schools. ( Amos
1:1 ; 7:14
, 7:15
) He travelled from Judah into the northern kingdom of Israel or Ephraim, and
there exercised his ministry, apparently not for any long time. (His date cannot
be later than B.C. 808 for he lived in the reigns of Uzziah king of Judah and
Jeroboam king of Israel; but his ministry probably took place at an earlier date,
perhaps about the middle of Jeroboams reign Nothing is known of the time or manner
of his death.--ED.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The
Prophet.
1.
Name: Amos is the prophet whose book stands third among the "Twelve" in the Hebrew
canon. No other person bearing the same name is mentioned in the Old Testament,
the name of the father of the prophet Isaiah being written differently ('amots).
There is an Amos mentioned in the genealogical series Luke
3:25, but he is otherwise unknown, and we do not know how his name would have
been written in Hebrew. Of the signification of the prophet's name all that can
be said is that a verb with the same root letters, in the sense of to load or
to carry a load, is not uncommon in the language.
2. Native Place: Tekoa, the native place of Amos, was situated at a distance of
5 miles South from Bethlehem, from which it is visible, and 10 miles from Jerusalem,
on a hill 2,700 ft. high, overlooking the wilderness of Judah. It was made a "city
for defense" by Rehoboam (2
Chronicles 11:6), and may have in fact received its name from its remote and
exposed position, for the stem of which the word is a derivative is of frequent
occurrence in the sense of sounding an alarm with the trumpet:
| e.
g. "Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem" (Jeremiah
6:1 the King James Version). The same word is also used to signify the setting
up of a tent by striking in the tent- pegs; and Jerome states that there was no
village beyond Tekoa in his time. The name has survived, and the neighborhood
is at the present day the pasture-ground for large flocks of sheep and goats.
From the high ground on which the modern village stands one looks down on the
bare undulating hills of one of the bleakest districts of Palestine, "the waste
howling wilderness," which must have suggested some of the startling imagery of
the prophet's addresses. The place may have had--as is not seldom the case with
towns or villages--a reputation for a special quality of its inhabitants; for
it was from Tekoa that Joab fetched the "wise woman" who by a feigned story effected
the reconciliation of David with his banished son Absalom (2
Samuel 14). There are traces in the Book of Am of a shrewdness and mother-wit
which are not so conspicuous in other prophetical books. |
3.
Personal History: The particulars of a personal kind which are noted in the book
are few but suggestive. Amos was not a prophet or the son of a prophet, he tells
us (Amos
7:14), i.e. he did not belong to the professional class which frequented the
so-called schools of the prophets. He was "among the herdsmen of Tekoa" (Amos
1:1), the word here used being found only once in another place (2
Kings 3:4) and applied to Mesha, king of Moab. It seems to refer to a special
breed of sheep, somewhat ungainly in appearance but producing, an abundant fleece.
In Amos
7:14 the word rendered "herdman"
is different, and denotes an owner of cattle, though some, from the Septuagint
rendering, think that the word should be the same as in Amos
1:1. He was also "a dresser of sycomore-trees" (Amos
7:14). The word rendered
"dresser" (Revised Version) or "gatherer" (the King James Version) occurs only
here, and from the rendering of the Septuagint (knizon) it is conjectured that
there is reference to a squeezing or nipping of the sycamore fig to make it more
palatable or to accelerate its ripening, though such a usage is not known in Palestine
at the present day.
4. His Preparation: Nothing is said as to any special preparation of the prophet
for his work: "The Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said unto
me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel" (Amos
7:15, the English Revised Version). In these words he puts himself in line
with all the prophets who, in various modes of expression, claim a direct revelation
from God. But the mention of the prophetic call in association with the mention
of his worldly calling is significant. There was no period interposed between
the one and the other, no cessation of husbandry to prepare for the work of prophesying.
The husbandman was prepared for this task, and when God's time came he took it
up. What was that preparation? Even if we suppose that the call was a momentary
event, the man must have been ready to receive it, equipped for its performance.
And, looking at the way in which he accomplished it, as exhibited in his book,
we can see that there was a preparation, both internal and external, of a very
thorough and effective character.
(1) Knowledge of God. First of all, he has no doubt or uncertainty
as to the character of the God in whose name he is called to speak. The God of
Amos is one whose sway is boundless (Amos
9:2), whose power is infinite (Amos
8:9), not only controlling the forces of Nature (Amos
4 ; 5:8)
but guiding the movements and destinies of nations (Amos
6:1 , 14
; 9:7).
Moreover, He is righteous in all His ways, dealing with nations on moral principles
(Amos
1:3 ; 2:1);
and, though particularly favorable to Israel, yet making that very choice of them
as a people a ground for visiting them with sterner retribution for their sins
(Amos
3:2). In common with all the prophets, Amos gives no explanation of how he
came to know God and to form this conception of His character. It was not by searching
that they found out God. It is assumed that God is and that He is such a Being;
and this knowledge, as it could come only from God, is regarded as undisputed
and undisputable. The call to speak in God's name may have come suddenly, but
the prophet's conception of the character of the God who called him is no new
or sudden revelation but a firm and well-established conviction.
(2) Acquaintance with History of His People. Then his book shows not only that
he was well acquainted with the history and traditions of his nation, which he
takes for granted as well known to his hearers, but that he had reflected upon
these things and realized their significance. We infer that he had breathed an
atmosphere of religion, as there is nothing to indicate that, in his acquaintance
with the religious facts of his nation, he differed from those among whom he dwelt,
although the call to go forth and enforce them came to him in a special way.
(3) Personal Travel. It has been conjectured that Amos had acquired by personal
travel the accurate acquaintance which he shows in his graphic delineations of
contemporary life and conditions; and it may have been the case that, as a wool-merchant
or flock-master, he had visited the towns mentioned and frequented the various
markets to which the people were attracted.
(4) Scenery of His Home. Nor must we overlook another factor in his preparation:
the scenery in which he had his home and the occupations of his daily life. The
landscape was one to make a solemn impression on a reflective mind: the extensive
desert, the shimmering waters of the Dead Sea, the high wall of the distant hills
of Moab, over all which were thrown the varying light and shade. The silent life
of the desert, as with such scenes ever before him, he tended his flock or defended
them from the ravages of wild beasts, would to one whose thoughts were full of
God nourish that exalted view of the Divine Majesty which we find in his book,
and furnish the imagery in which his thoughts are set (Amos
1:2 ; 3:4
; 4:13
; 5:8
; 9:5).
As he is taken from following the flock, he comes before us using the language
and figures of his daily life (Amos
3:12), but there runs through all the note of one who has seen God's working
in all Nature and His presence in every phenomenon. Rustic he may be, but there
is no rudeness or rusticity in his style, which is one of natural and impassioned
eloquence, ordered and regular as coming from a mind which was responsive to the
orderly working of God in Nature around him. There is an aroma of the free air
of the desert about his words; but the prophet lives in an ampler ether and breathes
a purer air; all things in Nature and on the field of history are seen in a Divine
light and measured by a Divine standard. |
5. His Mission: Thus, prepared in the solitudes of the extreme south of Judah,
he was called to go and prophesy unto the people of Israel, and appears at Bethel
the capital of the Northern Kingdom. It may be that, in the prosecution of his
worldly calling, he had seen and been impressed by the conditions of life and
religion in those parts. No reason is given for his mission to the northern capital,
but the reason is not far to seek. It is the manner of the prophets to appear
where they are most needed; and the Northern Kingdom about that time had come
victorious out of war, and had reached its culmination of wealth and power, with
the attendant results of luxury and excess, while the Southern Kingdom had been
enjoying a period of outward tranquillity and domestic content.
6. Date: The date of the prophet Amos can approximately be fixed from the statement
in the first verse that his activity fell "in the days of Uzziah king of Judah,
and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before
the earthquake." Both these monarchs had long reigns, that of Uzziah extending
from 779 to 740 BC and that of Jeroboam II from 783 to 743 BC. If we look at the
years when they were concurrently reigning, and bear in mind that, toward the
end of Uzziah's reign, Jotham acted as co-regent, we may safely place the date
of Amos at about the year 760 BC. In a country in which earthquakes are not uncommon
the one here mentioned must have been of unusual severity, for the memory of it
was long preserved (Zechariah
14:5). How long he exercised
his ministry we are not told. In all probability the book is the deposit of a
series of addresses delivered from time to time till his plain speaking drew upon
him the resentment of the authorities, and he was ordered to leave the country
(Amos
7:10). We can only conjecture that, some time afterward, he withdrew to his
native place and put down in writing a condensed record of the discourses he had
delivered.
James Robertson
Tags:
amos, bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, book of amos (author), define, prophet, shepherd, sycamore trees (dresser of)
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