AMON

(Aʹmon) [master workman or builder].

1. A chief of the city of Samaria when Ahab, king of Israel, was ruling. (940-919 B.C.E.) The prophet Micaiah was put in his care while Ahab warred against Ramoth-gilead.—1 Ki. 22:10, 26; 2 Chron. 18:25.

2. A king of Judah and son of wicked King Manasseh. He began to rule at the age of twenty-two years (661 B.C.E.) and followed the idolatrous course of his father’s earlier years. The bad conditions described at Zephaniah 1:4; 3:2-4 doubtless were developing at this time. After two years on the throne he was murdered by his own servants (659 B.C.E.). The “people of the land [ʽam ha-ʼaʹrets]” put the conspirators to death, placed his son Josiah on the throne, and buried Amon in “the garden of Uzza.” (2 Ki. 21:19-26; 2 Chron. 33:20-25) The genealogy of Jesus bears his name.—Matt. 1:10.

3. The family head of certain returned exiles included among the “sons of the servants of Solomon.” (Neh. 7:57-59) He is referred to as “Ami” in Ezra 2:57.

4. A local god of Thebes or No-Amon who rose to the position of “king of the gods” under the name Amon-Ra and whose high priest became head of all the Egyptian priesthoods. The Egyptian name of this god apparently means “the hidden one.” Amon is generally represented as a man wearing a crown surmounted by two tall parallel plumes. Like many of the other Egyptian deities, he is frequently shown holding the crux ansata, the “sign of life.” Amon, his wife Mut and Khonsu (his son by her) made up the Theban triad.

In addition to many gifts, a large part of Egypt’s spoils of war found its way into the treasury of Amon (Amon-Ra) the “king of the gods.” The priests devoted to the service of this deity, therefore, became very powerful and wealthy. Since they benefited from Egypt’s warfare, it may very well be that they encouraged it. This is suggested by the English archaeologist E. A. Wallis Budge in his work The Gods of the Egyptians, Vol. II, p. 12: “There is reason to think that many of the great Egyptian raids in Syria and Nubia were made as much for the purpose of supplying funds for the maintenance of the temples, and services, and priests of Amen-Ra as for the glory and prestige of Egypt. The slavish homage which the Thothmes kings, and the Amen-heteps, and the Ramessids paid to Amen-Ra, and their lavish gifts to his sanctuaries suggest that it was his priests who were, in reality, the makers of war and peace.” According to ancient Egyptian records, in the time of Ramses III the estate and revenue of Amon were second only to those of Pharaoh himself.

In time the high priests of Amon, whose office had become hereditary, exercised even greater power than the pharaohs. One of them, Hrihor, succeeded the last of the Ramses to the throne. Concerning the extent to which governmental affairs were determined by the oracle of Amon during the rule of Hrihor; James H. Breasted, in A History of the Ancient Egyptians, pp. 357, 358, writes: “Whatever the High Priest wished legally to effect could be sanctioned by special oracle of the god [Amon] at any time, and by prearrangement the cultus image before which the High Priest made known his desires invariably responded favourably by violent nodding of the head, or even by speech. All wills and property conveyances of members of the High Priest’s family were oracles of Amon, and civil documents thus became divine decrees. Banished political exiles were recalled by oracle of the god, criminal cases were tried before him, and by his decision the convicted were put to death. Priestly jugglery, ruling if necessary in utter disregard of law and justice, thus enabled the High Priest to cloak with the divine sanction all that he wished to effect.”

However, a number of adversities came to Thebes and her god Amon. Two of these are mentioned in the Scriptures. In the seventh century B.C.E., the conquering Assyrians under the command of Ashurbanipal razed Thebes to the ground, stripping her of all her wealth. The prophet Nahum refers to this event, using it as an illustration of Nineveh’s coming destruction. (Nah. 3:8) Thebes recovered somewhat from the blow meted out to her by Assyria, regaining a measure of prosperity, but even this was to be short-lived. Jeremiah indicated that Jehovah’s judgment was against Egypt and her gods, including Thebes and her god Amon. Into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar Egypt would be given, bringing shame to her and to her gods, especially to Amon from No (Thebes).—Jer. 46:25, 26; see No, NO-AMON.

[Picture on page 69]

Amon-Ra, as depicted on temple pillar in Thebes