The Divine Lamp

(Unless otherwise noted the translations of Amos are mine. Since I’m no expert on Hebrew, the reader is asked to consult a recognised translation)

Before beginning, you may wish to familiarize yourself with some background on Amos available on the web.  And you certainly should familiarize yourself with the historical and theological background as presented in the Old Testament.  See my “Introductory Readings and Discussion List HERE.

Verse 1: The Superscription.
Vs 1 The words of Amos, one among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw regarding Israel during the reign of Uzziah, the king of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, the king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

What is the focus and purpose of this superscription (vs 1)? At first sight it may seem that its primary purpose is to introduce the reader to the prophet and to the time period of his ministry; and this is not incorrect. However, notice that everything of importance that is told to us in this first verse is related to “The words”. We are told four things:

1. We are told who received the word-Amos.
2. We are told how he received it-in a vision.
3. We are told something of its content-it concerns Israel.
4. We are told when Amos’ vision concerning Israel and his subsequent ministry took place-During the reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam II, two years before and earthquake.

The fact that Amos is said to have received the word in a vision may sound odd to us at first; but it shouldn’t, since it’s a typical way of speaking. Do you see what I’m saying?

Words (the Hebrew term is dabar= “daw-baw”). The term usually refers to speech or words, whether spoken or written. It could however also refer to business, work or actions. Actions, like words, can be revelatory. This is why the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation states:

In his goodness and wisdom God chose to reveal himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of his will (Eph 1:9) by which through Christ, the Word made flesh, man might in the Holy Spirit have access to the Father and come to share in the divine nature (Eph 2:18; 2 Pet 1:4). Through this revelation, therefore, the invisible God (Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17) out ot the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (Ex 33:11; John 15:14-15) and lives among them (Bar 3:38), So that He might invite and take them into fellowship with himself. THIS PLAN OF REVELATION IS REALIZED BY DEEDS AND WORDS HAVING AN INNER UNITY: THE DEEDS WROUGHT BY GOD IN THE HISTORY OF SALVATION MANIFEST AND CONFIRM THE TEACHING AND REALITIES SIGNIFIED BY THE WORDS, WHILE THE WORDS PROCLAIM THE DEEDS AND CLARIFY THE MYSTERY CONTAINED IN THEM. (Dei Verbum 2)

God’s actions, and by extension the actions his prophets perform, are themselves as revelatory as spoken words. (See these “prophecy in action stories: Isaiah 20:1-6; Jer 19:1-15;). These actions dramatically reinforce oracles which accompany them. Other stories along similar lines can be found here (2 Kings 13:14-19; Ezek 4:1-8).

The words which Amos saw refers primarily to his visions narrated later in the Book.

Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa.

The name Amos means “one who carries a burden.” This is a fitting name for a prophet since one of the words for prophecy in Hebrew is massa (mas-saw), which is derived from the same root (amas) as Amos. Amos=one who carries a burden, is a prophet who carries the burden (massa) of the Lord. (Note: The word massa is usually translated into English as “oracle.”)

Shepherd. The word used here (noqed= no-kade) is very rare. It is used in only one other place in the bible, 2 kings 3:4, where it refers to King Mesha of Moab. The noqed sheep are a short-legged, ugly species of sheep which were highly prized for their fine wool. Only someone of wealth would own them. Does this mean that Amos was wealthy? According to Jewish tradition he was. Christian commentators are divided. Amos appears to be a rather cultured individual. His writing is in good Hebrew style and his poetry is exceeded in the bible only by that of the aristocratic Isaiah. His knowledge of the history of his own nation, along with his knowledge of the history of surrounding nations suggests he is a man of some education. Likewise he seems to have had some knowledge of astronomy. All of this suggests a man of some means.

On the other hand, in chapter 7 he identifies himself as a herdsman but uses a much more generic term that noqed. He also describes himself a a “dresser of sycamore trees.” This means he poked holes into the fig-like fruit of this tree just before it began to ripen. This slowed down the ripening process and made the generally bitter fruit a bit sweeter and more palatable. Such fruit was the diet of the poor. This suggests that Amos was not a man of means.

I would propose this solution. At the time of Amos’ ministry king Uzziah of Judah was involved in massive building projects and also a large military build up. This of course took money, and governments get money by taxation. The taxes in Judah had become so severe that it was becoming hard for even the wealthy to maintain the lifestyle they were used to. As a result of this, the rich began to devise various ways of cheating the poor to supplement their income.

Amos was from Judea but he preached in the Northern Kingdom of Israel where the very same problems existed. In his preaching Amos is unmerciful towards the rich for their treatment of the poor. All of this leads me to the following conclusion: Amos had been wealthy but had fallen on hard times do to the excessive taxation. Unwilling to supplement his dwindling income by taking advantage of the poor he may have sold off most of his noqed sheep and started raising other types of livestock. He may also have been forced to supplement his income as a “dresser of sycamore trees.” But all of this is, of course, speculation.

Tekoa. The name probably refers to a wilderness area (2 Chron 20:20) located south of Jerusalem. It could also refer to a town in this area.

The reign of Uzziah/Jeroboam. To find out more about Uzziah click here. To find out more about Jeroboam II click here