Amos

Biblical prophet associated with the Book of Amos

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Lived -814–-740, aged 74

Wikipedia
48 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
-814–-740
Aged 74

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

An 8th-century BC prophet who left his flocks in Judah to deliver warnings in Israel's northern kingdom, calling out the gap between rich and poor at a time when both kingdoms were prosperous and comfortable.

Biography

About

Amos was active around 760–755 BC, during the reigns of Jeroboam II in Israel and Uzziah in Judah. Though he came from the southern Kingdom of Judah, he preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel, known as Samaria. His message centered on justice and divine judgment, particularly condemning the growing divide between wealthy and poor. He was an older contemporary of the prophets Hosea and Isaiah, and his words were preserved in the Book of Amos, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Modern scholars increasingly question whether the book's account of his life and origins reflects historical fact.

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Amos

Amos

saidundated

Seek good and not evil so that you may survive, and Yahweh, God Sabaoth, be with you as you claim he is.

— NRSV, 5:14-15

Amos

saidundated

Will not the Day of Yahweh be darkness, not light, totally dark, without a ray of light?

— NRSV, 5:20

Amos

saidundated

I hate, I scorn your festivals, I take no pleasure in your solemn assemblies. When you bring me burnt offerings . . .

— NRSV, 5:21-24

Amos

saidundated

I despise your religious festivals;your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.

— NIV, 5:21-24

Amos

saidundated

This is what he showed me: the Lord standing by a wall, with a plumb-line in his hand. 'What do you see, Amos?' Yahweh asked me. 'A plumb-line,' I said.

— NRSV, 7:7-8

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

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