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AmoriteAid to Bible Understanding
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of Phoenicia (Lebanon). Whether such connection exists or not, it is of interest to note that on the Egyptian monuments “the Amorites are depicted as a tall race, with fair skins, light (also black) hair, and blue eyes . . . They thus resembled the Libyans (the Berbers of today), . . . ” (Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. I, pp. 84, 85) The Libyans of North Africa were also apparently descended from Ham, probably through the Lehabim (descendants of Ham’s son Mizraim).—Gen. 10:13.
Thus, it can be seen that the term Amurru was early used in a very broad and general way and later came to apply to a specific political region or state. In view of this flexibility, there can be no real certainty as to whether it applied, even in the later periods, to the Biblical Amorites.
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AmosAid to Bible Understanding
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AMOS
(Aʹmos) [being a load; carrying a load].
1. A prophet of Jehovah and writer of the book bearing his name who lived in the ninth century B.C.E. (See AMOS, BOOK OF.) He was not, however, born as the son of a prophet, nor did he belong to that organized society known as “the sons of the prophets.” (1 Ki. 20:35; 2 Ki. 2:3; 4:1; Amos 7:14) His home was the town of Tekoa, some ten miles S of Jerusalem, at an elevation of 2,700 feet. To the E, and sloping toward the Dead Sea, which lay about 4,000 feet below, was the bleak wilderness of Judea where, in his early life, the prophet found employment as a humble sheep raiser. (Amos 1:1) The Hebrew word noq·dhimʹ here translated “sheep raisers” occurs in only one other place in the Bible (2 Ki. 3:4), and denotes a special breed of sheep called naqad by the Arabs, rather unattractive but highly valued for its fleece. Out in that wild country Amos also engaged in menial seasonal work as a nipper of sycamore figs, a variety considered food only for the poor. The practice of pinching or puncturing the figs was to hasten the ripening and increase the size and sweetness of the fruit.—Amos 7:14.
Like the shepherd David, who was called to public service by God, so also “Jehovah proceeded to take [Amos] from following the flock” and made him a prophet.—Amos 7:15.
From the solitude in the wilderness of the south, Amos was sent to the idolatrous ten-tribe kingdom in the north with its capital Samaria.
Amos began his prophetical career two years before the great earthquake that occurred during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah. At the same time Jeroboam II, son of Joash, was king of Israel. (Amos 1:1) Amos’ prophecy is, therefore, placed sometime within the twenty-six-year period from 829-803 B.C.E., when the reigns of these two kings of Judah and Israel overlapped. The great earthquake that occurred two years after Amos was commissioned to be a prophet was of such magnitude that nearly 300 years later Zechariah made particular mention of it.—Zech. 14:5.
How long Amos served as a prophet in the northern kingdom is uncertain. Amaziah, the wicked calf-worshiping priest of the state religion centered at Bethel, attempted to have him thrown out of the country on the grounds he was a threat to the security of the state. (Amos 7:10-13) Whether Amaziah succeeded is not disclosed. At any rate, when Amos’ prophetic mission to Israel was completed, he presumably returned to his native tribal territory of Judah. Jerome and Eusebius report that the prophet’s sepulcher was located at Tekoa in their day. It also seems that after returning to Judah, Amos wrote down the prophecy, which at first had been delivered orally. He is often called one of the twelve “minor” prophets (his book is catalogued third among the twelve), yet the message he delivered is by no means of minor significance.
2. One of Jesus’ ancestors, the eighth generation before Mary.—Luke 3:25.
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Amos, Book ofAid to Bible Understanding
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AMOS, BOOK OF
The prophecy of this Hebrew book of the Bible was directed primarily to the northern kingdom of Israel. Apparently it was first delivered orally during the reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah, kings of Israel and of Judah respectively, whose periods of kingship overlapped between 829 and 803 B.C.E. (Amos 1:1) By about 803 it was committed to writing, presumably after the prophet returned to Judah. For details about the prophet himself, see AMOS No. 1.
The canonicity of this book or its claim to a rightful place in the Bible has never been questioned. From early times it has been accepted by the Jews, and it appears in the earliest Christian catalogues. Justin Martyr of the second century C.E. quoted from Amos in his Dialogue with Trypho. The book itself is in complete agreement with the rest of the Bible, as shown by the writer’s many references to Bible history and the laws of Moses. (Amos 1:11; 2:8-10; 4:11; 5:22, 25; 8:5) Christians of the first century accepted the writings of Amos as inspired Scripture, as, for example, the martyr Stephen (Acts 7:42, 43; Amos 5:25-27), and James the half brother of Jesus (Acts 15:13-19; Amos 9:11, 12), who pointed to fulfillment of some of the prophecies.
Other historical events likewise attest to the truthfulness of the prophet. It is a matter of history that all the heathen nations condemned by Amos were in due time devoured by the fire of destruction. The highly fortified city of Samaria itself was besieged and fell in 740 B.C.E., and the conquering Assyrian army took the inhabitants “into exile beyond Damascus,” as foretold by Amos. (Amos 5:27; 2 Ki. 17:5, 6) Judah to the south likewise received her due punishment when she was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. (Amos 2:5) And true to Jehovah’s word through Amos, captive descendants of both Israel and Judah returned in 537 to rebuild their homeland.—Amos 9:14; Ezra 3:1.
Biblical archaeology also confirms Amos as a truthful historian of his time, when, in describing the ostentatious luxury of the rich, he referred to their “houses of ivory” and “couches of ivory.” (Amos 3:15; 6:4) Commenting on some of these findings, one authority says: “It is of much interest that numerous ivories were found in excavation of Samaria. These are mostly in the form of plaques or small panels in relief and presumably were once attached to furniture and inlaid in wall paneling.” (Light from the Ancient Past, Finegan, 1959, pp. 187, 188) Another authority says “The famous Samaria ivories include thousands of fragments. . . . These small objects, fashioned in the 9th or 8th centuries B.C., put moderns in touch with what . . . the protesting prophet Amos knew of the ‘ivory houses’ and the ivory-trimmed furnishings and paneled palaces of King Ahab (Amos 3:15; 6:4). These ivory fragments, among the most valuable finds in the costly excavations in Samaria, once formed borders and inlay for couches, thrones, and stools.”—Harper’s Bible Dictionary, 1952, p. 295.
Jehovah’s spirit moved Amos to employ simple, direct, picturesque language in a dignified manner befitting a prophet of God. Simple words, powerful words, words full of meaning, were chosen so both the high and the low could understand and get the sense of what he said. He used a variety of illustrations, some with rural flavor, to give vitality and force to his message. (Amos 2:13; 4:2; 9:9) Historical events are accurately recalled. (1:9, 11, 13; 4:11) Allusions are made to familiar practices and customs of the people. (2:8; 6:4-6) The whole is a well-ordered composition with definite form and purpose.
As one of Jehovah’s servants Amos magnified the Word and Name, the righteousness and sovereignty of the Almighty. Twenty-one times he refers to “Lord Jehovah,” in addition to the sixty-four other times he uses the Divine Name. He describes how “the Sovereign Lord, Jehovah of the armies” is infinitely great, that nothing is beyond His reach or power. (Amos 9:2-5) Even the sun, moon, constellations and the elements are subject to Jehovah’s commands.
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