Amos is largely concerned with judgment oracles against the nations, particularly Judah and Israel. Memorable for the numerical parallelisms that begin a series of speeches against various nations (“For three sins of X . . . , even for four . . . [1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6]), the book also concludes with a powerful anticipation of the restoration of Israel and “David’s fallen tent,” which the NT understands to point to Jesus, David’s greater son.

Historical Background

The superscription pinpoints Amos’s prophecy to a time “two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel” (1:1). The precise date of the earthquake is unknown, but we can approximately date the reign of Uzziah to 769–733 BC and of Jeroboam II to 784–748 BC, so it appears that Amos operated sometime in the confluence of Uzziah’s reign with Jeroboam’s (769–748 BC).

The era of these two kings was a time of great material prosperity (2 Kings 14:25–28; 2 Chron. 26:6–8). Assyria was relatively weak, though it had conquered one of Israel’s closer enemies, Syria, with its capital at Damascus. In the absence of these or other major rivals, Israel and Judah could grow. However, along with economic growth came spiritual confusion and ethical darkness, which Amos addresses.

Although Amos preaches during a period of prosperity for Israel, he foresees God’s coming judgment against their sins in the form of a powerful enemy (3:11; 5:3, 27; 6:6–14; 7:9, 17; 9:4). This enemy would turn out to be Assyria, which would begin its powerful westward expansion under Tiglath-pileser III (744–727 BC) and eventually incorporate Israel under Shalmaneser V and Sargon II in 722 BC. Judah would find itself under the shadow of this emergent superpower.

Amos came from Tekoa, a town just five miles south of Bethlehem, which itself is four miles south of Jerusalem. Although he was from Judah, his ministry was primarily directed toward the northern kingdom, prompting a northern priest, Amaziah, to tell him to go back to where he came from (7:10–17). Amos describes himself as a shepherd who tended flocks (1:1; 7:15) and as one who took care of sycamore-fig trees (7:14). Debate has been incessant about whether this points to his placement in the lower or upper classes of society.

Literary Considerations and Outline

The book of Amos contains a number of oracles, mostly judgment, but some salvation. These oracles are directed toward the surrounding nations (Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab) and then Judah and Israel, and in that order. The order, beginning with foreign nations and then moving to Judah and finally Israel, is intentional. The original audience that Amos addresses was located in Judah and especially in Israel. One can imagine a sympathetic audience to the declaration of violent judgment on the nations, but then Amos skillfully moves to God’s own people. As the following structure demonstrates, Israel was the main audience that received the most sustained chastisement:

I. Superscription (1:1)

II. Introduction to the Message (1:2)

III. The Prophetic Oracles (1:3–6:14)

A. Oracles of Judgment against the Surrounding Nations (1:3–2:5)

1. Syria (represented by Damascus; 1:3–5)

2. Philistia (represented by Gaza; 1:6–8)

3. Tyre (1:9–10)

4. Edom (1:11–12)

5. Ammon (1:13–15)

6. Moab (2:1–3)

7. Judah (2:4–5)

B. Oracles of Judgment against Israel (2:6–6:14)

IV. The Prophetic Visions (7:1–9:15)

Notable in the final section is the concluding oracle, which is one of the few salvation oracles in the book. Amos 9:11–15 in particular looks forward to the future restoration of Israel: the restoration of the house of David, which is pictured as a renewal of David’s fallen tent.

Theological Message

Amos has a message of divine judgment against God’s people, particularly those in the northern kingdom. God is sovereign and will see to the appropriate punishment. God controls the nations, so he can raise up an enemy to bring destruction on Israel as well as other offending nations. Although the nations are the tool of his anger, there should be no mistake that it is God himself who is behind their punishment (1:4; 3:2, 14; 9:4).

The punishment is for idolatry and ethical violations, particularly social injustice. God’s people worshiped false gods (2:8; 5:5, 26; 7:9–13; 8:14). Also, the wealthy classes indulged in sins and oppressed the lower classes (2:7–8; 5:12; 8:6).

Amos is also well known as the first to use the language of the “day of the Lord” (5:18–20). Although this appears to be the first mention of this day in Scripture, the way Amos refers to it indicates that it was already known in his society. The people thought that the day of the Lord would be good for them, but Amos says that because of their sins, it will be horrible. The day of the Lord is the day of God’s coming as a warrior to judge sinners.

New Testament Connections

The NT shares Amos’s concern for social justice (e.g., 1 Cor. 11:22; James 2:1–10). More specifically, Amos is quoted in the NT a number of times, showing that the NT authors believe that his expectations for the future are coming to fulfillment in their time (compare Amos 5:15 with Rom. 12:9; Amos 5:25 with Acts 7:24). Most interesting is the early church’s understanding of Amos 9:11–12, quoted by the Jerusalem council in Acts 15:16–17. Here one of the leaders, James, argues that the addition of the Gentiles into the people of God fulfills God’s promise to reunify Israel.