In modern times Amos has come to be considered one of the most important prophets, mainly for his uncompromising message about social justice. This book provides a detailed exploration of this theme and other important elements of the theology underlying the book of Amos. It also includes chapters on the text itself, providing a critical assessment of how the book came to be, the original message of Amos and his circle, which parts of the book may have been added by later scribes, and the finished form of the book. The author also considers the book's reception in ancient and modern times by interpreters as varied as rabbis, the Church Fathers, the Reformers and liberation theologians. Throughout, the focus is on how to read the book of Amos holistically to understand the organic development of the prophet's message through the many stages of the book's development and interpretation.

Makes extensive use of ancient Near Eastern sources, and employs medieval Jewish exegesis along with modern Israeli biblical scholarship.

Read of Gods calling to Amos Sent out from the south to bring the Lord's message to Samaria Be reminded of the importance of the Word of God in our lives

In this volume, Jeremias suggests that the book of Amos was produced through various stages over time. While he does write from a critical perspective, his creativity offers a sensitivity to literary issues within the text that is often missing from critical work. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

Annotation The essays contained in this book are preliminary studies directed toward a new synthesis of the history of the religion of Israel. Each study is addressed to a special and, in the authors view, unsolved problem in the description of Israel's religious development.

Robert Coote describes the stages of growth of the book of Amos, discussing the process of the book's gradual formation. Chapter One introduces Coote's approach, rationale, and method for his analysis. Chapter Two deals with the oracles of doom, basically the oral legacy of the prophet himself. Chapter Three shows how the words of Amos were reactualized and composed in their seventh century setting. Chapter Four comes to grips with the book of Amos as a theological whole, as it now stands in the biblical canon. This book also serves as a useful resource for understanding pre-exilic prophecy because of the many similarities between Amos's message and other prophetic traditions which Coote highlights.