The earliest of the literary prophets, those whose words are found in books bearing their names, Amos was a mid-eighth century B.C.E. Judean rancher and farmer, raising livestock and growing fruit trees in Tekoa (Amos 7:14). Called by God to leave Judea for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Amos verbally attacks the sacrificial cult of Beth-El with its self-assured magic, and offers instead a universal vision of the Divine, rooted in justice. He calls the priests, the politicians, and the general populace to a new way of life before their old ways force them into exile.
“Your offerings disgust Me, and I am not flattered by your gatherings … Disperse your choirs and musicians; I am deaf to them all. Rather, let justice bubble up like a fresh spring, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:21-24). Humanity’s task, Amos teaches, is to “despise evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate” (Amos 5:15).
Troubled by this reformer, Amaziah, a priest of Beth-El, denounces Amos to King Jeroboam II. While prophesying the death of the king, Amos returns to the Southern Kingdom of Judea, where his book is most likely written.
