When reading the Old Testament, particular attention must be paid to the context. Amos was a sheepherder and did not belong to a family of prophets, according to the book of his name. Yet, God called him to speak to Israel. He was one of the twelve Minor Prophets, active during the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel in the 8th century BCE. Therefore, an exegesis is important in order to distinguish what a particular passage meant to the people at the time it was first heard.
Amos is the thirtieth book in the Protestant Bible. Historically, Amos lived in Tekoa, Judah (twelve miles southeast of Jerusalem), during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. He began his ministry two years before an earthquake (later referenced by Zechariah), which places …show more content…
“The gate” was the place of court in ancient Israel, and it was there that justice should have been served. All of the adult male citizens of the town could participate; therefore, the state of justice in society could be determined by seeing how the legal parties responded to the widow, the orphan, or the sojourner (Eickmann 224). As Mays explains, in Amos’ time “the old institution of the court in the gate [was] being undermined to make way for the economic exploitation of the weak” (94). The material wealth gained by exploiting the weak will all be for naught, however; by harkening back to the covenant promise between himself and the Israelites, God warns that since the people are not obeying Him, He will take back His blessings (Smith and Page 102). The “stone mansions” and “lush vineyards” that they have created, as a consequence, won’t be lived in nor harvested (Amos 5:11). “Seek good, not evil,” Amos exhorts in verses fourteen; “hate evil, love good,” Amos continues in verse fifteen. The beginnings of both verses are exhortations followed by conditional promises, with the exhortations in the style of a priestly tōrā (the call to worship at the shrines to receive life) (Mays 99). The prophet ends his entreaty by recognizing that there is a possibility of redemption: “perhaps,” he says, “the Lord God Almighty will have mercy” (5:15). This is not based on Israel’s merits but God’s grace (Martin-Achard
Amos is the thirtieth book in the Protestant Bible. Historically, Amos lived in Tekoa, Judah (twelve miles southeast of Jerusalem), during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. He began his ministry two years before an earthquake (later referenced by Zechariah), which places …show more content…
“The gate” was the place of court in ancient Israel, and it was there that justice should have been served. All of the adult male citizens of the town could participate; therefore, the state of justice in society could be determined by seeing how the legal parties responded to the widow, the orphan, or the sojourner (Eickmann 224). As Mays explains, in Amos’ time “the old institution of the court in the gate [was] being undermined to make way for the economic exploitation of the weak” (94). The material wealth gained by exploiting the weak will all be for naught, however; by harkening back to the covenant promise between himself and the Israelites, God warns that since the people are not obeying Him, He will take back His blessings (Smith and Page 102). The “stone mansions” and “lush vineyards” that they have created, as a consequence, won’t be lived in nor harvested (Amos 5:11). “Seek good, not evil,” Amos exhorts in verses fourteen; “hate evil, love good,” Amos continues in verse fifteen. The beginnings of both verses are exhortations followed by conditional promises, with the exhortations in the style of a priestly tōrā (the call to worship at the shrines to receive life) (Mays 99). The prophet ends his entreaty by recognizing that there is a possibility of redemption: “perhaps,” he says, “the Lord God Almighty will have mercy” (5:15). This is not based on Israel’s merits but God’s grace (Martin-Achard