Amos
- Dates
- 814–740 BC
Name means "burden" or "to carry a load." He is one of 12 minor prophets sent by God to the northern kingdom of Israel during the time of Jerobaom II (northern kingdom) and Uzziah (southern kingdom). He is a shepherd by trade from Tekoa in Judah.
In detail
Amos, name means "to lift (a load)," "to carry (a load)". A prophet of the town of Tekoa, in Judah, whom God sent with a message to the northern kingdom, Israel. The book of Amos is a record of that message and of his experience in delivering it. Our knowledge concerning the prophet is meager and must be gleaned from his book.
His home was in Tekoa, a small town at the edge of the barren Wilderness of Judah that falls away in undulating hills to the Dead Sea, some 12 mi. (c. 19 km.) distant. Prior to his call to the prophetic office Amos was a shepherd who devoted a part of his time to tending sycamore trees and gathering their fruit, which resembles figs (ch 7:14). Although from one of the humbler walks of life, Amos was a man of natural intelligence, of a deeply religious bent, and with shrewd powers of observance.
He was unassuming, but bold and fearless when called to bear witness against the evils of his day. The message he bore was graphic and powerful. Some have concluded from his mention of five of the neighboring nations that he may have traveled as far as Damascus and Egypt (ch 1).
Bible passages
- Amos 1:1
The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen 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.
Text of the King James Version.
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