Amos

Amos is the herdsman from Tekoa whose words to Israel are gathered in the book that bears his name. The brief notices about him within his own book give his trade, the timing of his ministry, his commission, his clash with the priest at Beth-el, and the visions he saw.

A Herdsman of Tekoa

The book opens by naming and dating him: "The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel 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" (Am 1:1). The setting is the northern kingdom under Jeroboam II, with the message coming from a southerner.

The Confrontation at Beth-el

The most extended biographical scene is the encounter with Amaziah, the priest at the royal sanctuary, who reports him to Jeroboam and orders him out of the kingdom:

"Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos says, Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land. Also Amaziah said to Amos, O you seer, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there: but don't prophesy again anymore at Beth-el; for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a royal house" (Am 7:10-13).

The reply gives his self-description as a layman called from his work, and turns the rebuke back as a personal word against Amaziah:

"Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees: and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now therefore hear the word of Yahweh: You say, Don't prophesy against Israel, and don't drop [your word] against the house of Isaac; therefore thus says Yahweh: Your wife will whore in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be divided by line; and you yourself will die in a land that is unclean, and Israel will surely be led away captive out of his land" (Am 7:14-17).

The Vision of the Summer Fruit

A visionary exchange with Yahweh follows: "And he said, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then Yahweh said to me, The end has come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them anymore" (Am 8:2). The basket of ripe summer fruit becomes the announcement that Israel's end has come.