Amos (Hebrew origin: Burdensome)
(Amos 1:1) 18th century b.c.e.
The prophet Amos was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit, not a member of a professional prophetic guild. Amos received the divine call to go and preach to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and
Jeroboam II, king of Israel. Although the historical period during which Amos lived was apparently a time of great economic prosperity, religious piety, and security, prosperity
was limited to the wealthy, and it was based on injustice and on the oppression of the poor, and religious observance was insincere. Amos and Isaiah shared the same lines of thought; Amos addressed the northern kingdom of Israel, while Isaiah preached in Judah. The Book of Amos, a collection of individual sayings and reports of visions, is basically a message of doom. The prophet condemned Israel for having defected from the worship of God to the worship of Canaanite idols. He attacked the rich for their self-indulgence,
their injustice, and their oppression of the poor. He preached that God would punish the nation with exile, but he ended his book with a prophecy of comfort for Israel.
Read more biographies from Who's Who in the Jewish Bible.
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