Department of Old and New Testament

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Browsing Department of Old and New Testament by Subject "Amos -- (Biblical prophet)"

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    Social injustice and the prophet Amos
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1996-03) Strijdom, Petrus D. F.; Olivier, J. P. J.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Theology. Dept. of Old and New Testament.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The central concern in the Amos text, namely that God terminates social injustice by way of national downfall, is conspiciously absent in South African research, in spite of significant interpretive possibilities from this perspective. The topic of the project is multifaceted by definition, and called for vigorous interdisciplinary investigation. A cursory reading investigation of the entire text of Amos revealed the centrality of social injustice in the original utterances as well as in possible later reworking of the text. There is a strong possibility that Deuteronomistic editor(s) censured the text in order to render Amos' original maledictions of historical annihilation uttered against Judah and Israel, applicable to the northern kingdom of Israel only. This probably resulted in Amos being presented as almost exclusively acting against Israel. In view of known Deuteronomistic ideology and sentiment concerning the royal house of David in Jerusalem, this caused suspicion that affected the outcome of other parts of the investigation. Amos' heimat in Tekoa in the Judaean hill country cannot be doubted. The village played a significant role as military outpost on the border of the Judaean desert, both with respect to checking insurgents poised against the Jerusalem regime, and external attacks into the heartland of Judah. Amos' agricultural pursuits as sheep breeder and sycamore farmer makes good sense in the area of Tekoa, given the clever use of minimal natural resources in typical symbiotic farming ways on the desert fringe. The possibility that Amos could have been connected to Uzziah's agricultural crown enterprises in the Judaean hill country is strong. The language, and particularly the metaphors and images contained in the entire text of Amos, supports this agricultural background in Tekoa. Amos should not be dated merely in terms of Jeroboam II, but if 6:2 is interpreted unbiasedly and linked with the western campaigns of Tiglath-Pileser III, a much later date than the traditional 760-750 BCE emerges. Various references in the text come to light in view of such a later dating, and point to the possibility that Amos uttered prophecies about Samaria shortly before the final assault on that city by the Assyrians. This interpretation also affected other parts of the investigation. The many theories about the gist of the societal conflict in Amos were reviewed. A synthesis of many opposing viewpoints is possible and congruent with the textual evidence. The cultural conflict (tribal versus city background) and the economic exploitation model should not be made mutually exclusive. The role of the state and its heart of power must be re-evaluated as the prime mover of activity in subsystems such as the economy, jurisprudence and religion. Amos was a revolutionary prophet who called down the wrath of God on the diabolic system of, particularly, economic exploitation. He must be interpreted against the backdrop of prophetic figures in Judah mentioned in the Chronicler as well as in the light of political assassinations and removals of Jerusalem rulers before him. The circumstances surrounding the removal of Uzziah, makes it a possibility that Amos as member of the 'ām hǎ āres’ played a role therein. Amos' prophetic career moved him beyond the point where he still thought it possible to reform his society. It is not impossible that he called on Tiglath-Pileser III to assist in the overthrow of the two states of Israel and Judah.