The Old Testament Book of Amos

The Book of Amos is one of the twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament. Amos was a shepherd and farmer called by God to prophesy to the northern kingdom of…

Amos was a sheepbreeder of Tekoa in Judah, who delivered his oracles in the Northern Kingdom during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (786–746 B.C.). He prophesied in Israel at the great cult center of Bethel, from which he was finally expelled by the priest in charge of this royal sanctuary (Am 7:10–17). The poetry of Amos, who denounces the hollow prosperity of the Northern Kingdom, is filled with imagery and language taken from his own pastoral background. The book is an anthology of his oracles and was compiled either by the prophet or by some of his disciples. The prophecy begins with a…