Reappraising the historical context of Amos

 

 

Petrus D. F. Strijdom

University Of Fort Hare

Correspondence

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

The dominant communis opinio dating of Amos' prophetic activity in 760-750 B.C.E.-which is often entirely based on the reference in the Amos text to king Jeroboam II's reign (Amos 1:1 and 7:10-11)-is critically questioned by linking a fresh interpretation of the seemingly obscure, but significant evidence in Amos 6:2 with the western campaigns of Tiglath-Pileser III and with other historically pointed allusions in the text. This leads to the conclusion that several recorded prophetic words of Amos become lucid and more intelligible at a significantly later date between 738-732 B.C.E..

---

 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Albright, William F. The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra. New York: Harper & Row, 1963.         [ Links ]

Anderson, Bernhard W. The Living World of the Old Testament. London: Longman, 1988.         [ Links ]

Andersen, Francis I. & David N. Freedman. Hosea: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible 24. New York: Doubleday, 1980.         [ Links ]

_____. Amos: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible 24a. New York: Doubleday, 1989.         [ Links ]

Auld, Graeme. Amos. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1986.         [ Links ]

Beebe, Keith. The Old Testament: An Introduction to its Literary, Historical, and Religious Traditions. Belmont: California-Dickenson, 1970.         [ Links ]

Blenkinsopp, Joseph. A History of Prophecy in Israel: From the Settlement in the Land to the Hellenistic Period. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983.         [ Links ]

Bright, John. A History of Israel. London: SCM, 1980.         [ Links ]

Bulkeley, Tim. Amos: Hypertext Bible Commentary. Auckland: Hypertext Bible, 2005.         [ Links ]

Childs, Brevard S. Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture. London: SCM, 1979.         [ Links ]

Cogan, Mordechai. Imperialism and Religion: Assyria, Judah and Israel in the 8^th and 7^th Centuries B.C.E.. SBL Monograph Series, 19. Missoula: Scholars, 1974.         [ Links ]

Cohen, Simon. "The Political Background of the Words of Amos." HUCA 36 (1965): 153-160.         [ Links ]

Coote, Robert B. Amos among the Prophets: Composition and Theology. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981.         [ Links ]

Crenshaw, James L. Story and Faith: A Guide to the Old Testament. New York: Macmillan, 1986.         [ Links ]

Cripps, Richard S. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Amos. London: SPCK, 1960.         [ Links ]

Cross, Frank M. "The Epic Traditions of Early Israel: Epic Narrative and the Restruction of Early Israelite Institutions." Pages 13-39 in The Poet and the Historian: Essays in Literary and Historical Biblical Criticism. Edited by Richard E. Friedman. Chicago: Scholars Press, 1983.         [ Links ]

Donner, Herbert. "The Separate States of Israel and Judah." Pages 381-434 in Israelite and Judaean History. Edited by John H. Hayes and Max Miller. London: SCM, 1977.         [ Links ]

_____. Geschichte des Volkes Israel und seiner Nachbarn in Grundzügen. Grundrisse zum Alten Testament 4. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1987.         [ Links ]

Edel, Reiner-Friedemann. Hebräisch-Deutsche Präparation zu den "Kleinen Propheten" 1 (Hosea bis Jona). Sprachliche Hilfen zur Bibel im Urtext. Marburg: Ökumenischer Verlag Dr R. F. Edel, 1968.         [ Links ]

Ferrill, Arthur. The Origins of War: From the Stone Age to Alexander the Great. London: Thames and Hudson, 1985.         [ Links ]

Finkelstein, Israel & Neil A. Silberman. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. New York: The Free Press, 2001.         [ Links ]

Frank, Harry T. An Archaeological Companion to the Bible. London: SCM, 1972.         [ Links ]

Gerstenberger, Erhardt. "The Woe-Oracles of the Prophets." JBL 81 (1962): 249-263.         [ Links ]

Gese, Hartmut. "Komposition bei Amos." Pages 74-95 in Congress Volume, Vienna 1980. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 32, 1981.         [ Links ]

Gottwald, Norman K. All the Kingdoms of the Earth: Israelite Prophecy and International Relations in the Ancient Near East. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.         [ Links ]

_____. The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985.         [ Links ]

Hallo, William W. "From Qarqar to Carchemish: Assyria and Israel in the Light of New Discoveries." BA 23/2 (1960): 34-61.         [ Links ]

Hammershaimb, Erling. The Book of Amos: A Commentary. London: Basil Blackwell, 1967.         [ Links ]

Haran, Menahem. "Observations on the Historical Background of Amos 1:2-2:16." IEJ 18 (1968): 201-212.         [ Links ]

Hardmeier, Christoph. "Old Testament Exegesis and Linguistic Narrative Research." Poetics 15 (1986): 89-109.         [ Links ]

Harper, William R. Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Amos and Hosea. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1979 (earlier edition 1905).         [ Links ]

Hayes, John H. Amos the Eighth-Century Prophet: His Times and his Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988.         [ Links ]

Hayes, John H. & Max Miller, eds. Israelite and Judaean History. London: SCM, 1977.         [ Links ]

Herrmann, Siegfried. A History of Israel in Old Testament Times. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981.         [ Links ]

Jagersma, Henk. A History of Israel in the Old Testament Period. London: SCM, 1982.         [ Links ]

Janzen, Waldemar. Review of Christoph Hardmeier, Texttheorie und biblische Exegese: Zur rhetorischen Funktion der Trauermetaphorik in der Prohetie, JBL 98 (1979): 592-594.         [ Links ]

Jaruzelska, Izabela. Amos and the Officialdom in the Kingdom of Israel: The SocioEconomic Position of the Officials in the Light of the Biblical, the Epigraphic and Archaeological Evidence. Seria Socjologia 25. Poznan, Poland: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwesytetu im Adama Mickiewicza, 1998.         [ Links ]

Jeremias, Jörg. Der Prophet Amos. ATD 24, 2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1995.         [ Links ]

Kaiser, Otto. Introduction to the Old Testament: A Presentation of its Results and Problems. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1973.         [ Links ]

_____. ed. Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments (TUAT). Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1982-1985.         [ Links ]

King, Philip J. Amos, Hosea, Micah-An Archaeological Commentary. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1988.         [ Links ]

Koch, Klaus & Mitarbeidern. Amos: Untersucht mit den Methoden einer strukturalen Formgeschichte. AOAT 30. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1976.         [ Links ]

Kugel, James L. The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and its History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981.         [ Links ]

Lambert, Wilfred G. "Assyrien und Israel." In vol. 4 of Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE). Berlin-New York: de Gruyter, 1979.         [ Links ]

Linville, James R. Amos and the Cosmic Imagination. Society for Old Testament Study Monograph Series. Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2008.         [ Links ]

Liverani, Mario. "The Ideology of the Assyrian Empire." Pages 297-343 in Power and Propaganda: A Symposium on Ancient Empires. Edited by Mogens T. Larsen. Mesopotamia: Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology 7. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1979.         [ Links ]

Lods, Adolphe. The Prophets and the Rise of Judaism. Third English Impression. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1950 (1^st French edition 1935).         [ Links ]

Maag, Victor. Text, Wortschatz und Begriffswelt des Buches Amos. Leiden: EJ Brill, 1951.         [ Links ]

Markert, Ludwig. "Amos/Amosbuch." Pages 471-487 in vol. 2 of Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE). Berlin-New York: de Gruyter, 1978.         [ Links ]

Martin-Achard, Robert and Paul Re'emi. Amos and Lamentations: God's People in Crisis. International Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.         [ Links ]

Mays, James L. Amos. Old Testament Library. London: SCM, 1969.         [ Links ]

Meyer, Eduard. Der Orient vom zwölften bis zur Mitte des achten Jahrhunderts. Geschichte des Altertums 2/2. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1975.         [ Links ]

Möller, Karl. A Prophet in Debate: The Rhetoric of Persuasion in the Book of Amos. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2003.         [ Links ]

Morgenstern, Julius. Amos Studies: Parts I, II and III. Cincinatti: Hebrew Union College Press, 1941.         [ Links ]

Noth, Martin. The History of Israel. London: A & C Black, 1960.         [ Links ]

_____. Aufsätze zur biblischen Landes- und Altertumskunde. Edited by Hans W. Wolff. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1971.         [ Links ]

Oded, Bustany. "The Phoenician Cities and the Assyrian Empire in the time of Tiglath-Pileser III." ZDPV 90 (1974): 38-49.         [ Links ]

Oppenheim, Leo. Ancient Near Eastern Texts relating to the Old Testament (ANET). 3 vols. 2^nd edition. Princeton: JB Pritchard, 1955.         [ Links ]

Otzen, Benedict. "Israel under the Assyrians." Pages 251-261 in Power and Propaganda: A Symposium on Ancient Empires. Edited by Mogens T. Larsen. Mesopotamia: Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology 7. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1979.         [ Links ]

Parker, Simon B. "Revolutions in Northern Israel." Pages 311-321 in Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Seminar Papers. Chicago: Scholars Press, 1976.         [ Links ]

Pleins, David. The Social Visions of the Hebrew Bible: A Theological Introduction. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001.         [ Links ]

Rendtorff, Rolf. The Old Testament: An Introduction. London: SCM, 1985.         [ Links ]

Reviv, Hanoch. "History." Pages 570-615 in vol. 8 of Encyclopedia Judaica (EJ).         [ Links ]

Roberts, Jim J.M. "Amos 6.1-7." Pages 155-166 in Understanding the Word: Essays in Honor of Bernhard W. Anderson. Edited by James T. Butler, Edgar W. Conrad and Ben C. Ollenburger. Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1985.         [ Links ]

Robinson, Theodore H. Die Zwölf Kleinen Proheten. Hosea bis Micha. HAT 14. Tübingen: JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1954.         [ Links ]

Rudolph, Wilhelm. Joel-Amos-Obadja-Jona. KAT XIII, 2. Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1971.         [ Links ]

Saggs, Henry W.F. The Greatness that was Babylon: A Sketch of the Ancient Civilization of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1962.         [ Links ]

Sayce, Henry A. "The Book of Hosea in the light of Assyrian Research." JQR (s.a.): 162-172.         [ Links ]

Schoville, Keith N. "A Note on the Oracles of Amos against Gaza, Tyre and Edom." Pages 55-63 in Studies on Prophecy. Edited by Georg Fohrer. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 26. Leiden: EJ Brill, 1974.         [ Links ]

Schmidt, Werner H. "Die deuteronomistische Redaktion des Amosbuches." ZAW 77 (1965): 168-193.         [ Links ]

_____. Introduction to the Old Testament. London: SCM, 1984.         [ Links ]

Smalley, William A. "Recursion Patterns and the Sectioning of Amos." BT 30/1 (1979): 118-127.         [ Links ]

Smend, Rudolph. Die Entstehung des Alten Testaments. Zweite, durchgesehene und ergänzte Auflage. Theologische Wissenschaft 1. Stuttgart: W Kohlhammer, 1981.         [ Links ]

Smith, Sidney. "The Supremacy of Assyria." Vol. 3 of The Cambridge Ancient History. The Assyrian Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965.         [ Links ]

Soggin, Alberto. Introduction to the Old Testament: From its Origins to the Closing of the Alexandrian Canon. London: SCM, 1980.         [ Links ]

_____. A History of Israel: From the Beginnings to the Bar Kochba Revolt, AD 135. London: SCM, 1984.         [ Links ]

Strijdom, Petrus D. F. "Social Injustice and the Prophet Amos," DTh diss., University of Stellenbosch, 1996.         [ Links ]

_____. "What Tekoa did to Amos." OTE 9/2 (1996): 273-293.         [ Links ]

Tadmor, Hayim. "Assyria and the West: The Ninth Century and its Aftermath." Pages 36-48 in Unity and Diversity: Essays in the History, Literature and Religion of the Ancient Near East. Edited by Hans Goedicke and Jim J.M. Roberts. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1975.         [ Links ]

_____. "History and Ideology in the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions." Pages 13-33 in Assyrian Royal Inscriptions: New Horizons in Literary, Ideological and Historical Analysis. Edited by Frederick M. Fales. Orientis Antiqvi Collectio 17. Roma: Instituto Per L'Oriente, 1981.         [ Links ]

Translator's Old Testament. The Book of Amos. London: British & Foreign Bible Society, n.d.         [ Links ]

Van Leeuwen, Cornelis. Amos. De Prediking van het Oude Testament. Nijkerk: GF Callenbach, 1985.         [ Links ]

Vriezen, Theo C. & Adam S. Van der Woude. De Literatuur van Oud-Israel. Wassenaar: Servire, 1973.         [ Links ]

De Waard, Jan. "The Chiastic Structure of Amos V 1-17." VT 27/2 (1977): 170-177.         [ Links ]

De Waard, Jan & William A. Smalley. A Translator's Handbook on the Book of Amos. Stuttgart: United Bible Societies, 1979.         [ Links ]

Watts, John D.W. Vision and Prophecy in Amos. Michigan: Eerdmans, 1980.         [ Links ]

Weiser, Artur. Das Buch der zwölf kleinen Propheten 1: Die Propheten Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadja, Jona, Micha. ATD. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1963.         [ Links ]

Wellhausen, Julius. "Geschichte Israels." Pages 13-64 in Grundrisse zum Alten Testament. Edited by Rudolph Smend. Theologische Bücherei, Altes Testament 27. München: Chr Kaiser, 1965.         [ Links ] [original date 1892]

Wessels, Wilhelm J. "'n Verkenning van Tendense in Profetenavorsing." OTE 22/1 (2009): 205-227.         [ Links ]

Willi-Plein, Ina. Vorformen der Schriftexegese innerhalb des Alten Testaments:Untersuchungen zum literarischen Werden der auf Amos, Hosea, und Micha zurückgehenden Bücher im Hebräischen Zwölfprophetenbuch. BZAW 123. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1971.         [ Links ]

Wolff, Hans W. Joel and Amos: A Commentary on the Books of the Prophets Joeland Amos. Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977.         [ Links ]

Wood, Joyce R. Amos in Song and Book Culture. JSOT Supplement Series 337. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2002.         [ Links ]

 

 

Correspondence:
Dr. Petrus D. F. Strijdom
Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa, University of Fort Hare
Private Bag X1314, Alice, 5700
Email: pstrijdom@ufh.ac.za