A diachronic analysis attempts to uncover earlier literary-redactional layers based on a set of controlled criteria characterized by literary "uniqueness." The second part is a study on Nachleben (living tradition) and employs Comparative Midrash in sensu lato. This book draws the reader's attention to many differing voices documented among the various believing communities in antiquity."--BOOK JACKET.

Said to contain the words of the earliest of the biblical prophets (8th century BCE), the book of Amos is reinterpreted by the author in light of new and sometimes controversial historical approaches to the Bible. Amos is read as the literary product of the Persian-era community in Judah. Its representations of divine-human communication are investigated in the context of the ancient writers' own role as transmitters and shapers of religious traditions. Amos's extraordinary poetry expresses mythical conceptions of divine manifestation and a process of destruction and recreation of the cosmos which reveals that behind the appearances of the natural world is a heavenly, cosmic temple.

This Oxford dissertation offers a fresh redactional analysis of the Book of Amos. It starts with a critical survey of existing approaches and an examination of the methodological issues involved and proceeds with a detailed exegetical analysis of the prophetic text which forms the basis for the redactional conclusions. It steers a middle course between extreme conservative treatments which trace all the material back to the prophet Amos and more radical sceptical approaches which attribute most of the prophetic oracles to the work of later redactors. The composition of the book began with two collections: the Polemical scroll written not long after the end of Amos’ ministry and the Repentance scroll composed shortly before 722 BC. The Repentance scroll was reworked in Judah towards the end of the 8th century BC and the two scrolls were combined to form a single work sometime during the 7th century BC. The Book underwent only one redaction during the exilic period which sought to actualise its message in a new historical context. The study pays special attention to the literary structure, aim and probable historical circumstances of the various collections which gradually evolved into the present Book of Amos and seeks to show how the prophetic message lived on and spoke to the various communities which preserved and transmitted it.

In this commentary on the book of Amos, Daniel Carroll combines a detailed reading of the Hebrew text with attention to its historical background and current relevance. What makes this volume unique is its special attention to Amos’s literary features and what they reveal about the book’s theology and composition. Instead of reconstructing a hypothetical redactional history, this commentary offers a close reading of the canonical form against the backdrop of the eighth century BCE.

What, according to the Book of Amos, does it mean to be the people of God? In this book, Andrew M. King employs a Social Identity Approach (SIA), comprised of Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorization Theory, to explore the relationship between identity formation and the biblical text. Specifically, he examines the identity-forming strategies embedded in the Book of Amos. King begins by outlining the Social Identity Approach, especially its use in Hebrew Bible scholarship. Turning to the Book of Amos, he analyzes group dynamics and intergroup conflicts (national and interpersonal), as well as Amos's presentation of Israel's history and Israel's future. King provides extensive insight into the rhetorical strategies in Amos that shape the trans-temporal audience's sense of self. To live as the people of God, according to Amos, readers and hearers must adopt norms defined by a proper relationship to God that results in the proper treatment of others.

Notes -- Comments -- Reinterpretations of the Words of Amos (8:4-14) -- Introduction to 8:4-14 -- Notes -- Comments -- A Vision of Inescapable Destruction (9:1-4) -- Introduction to 9:1-4, the So-Called Fifth Vision -- Notes -- Comments -- The Last Doxology (9:5-6) -- Introduction to 9:5-6 -- Notes -- Comments -- The Turning Point (9:7-10) -- Introduction to 9:7-10 -- Notes -- Comments -- A Hopeful Epilogue (9:11-15) -- Introduction to 9:11-15 -- Notes -- Comments -- Notes -- Index of Subjects -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Index of Authors -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Index of Ancient Sources

This book offers a thorough analysis of the translation technique and theology of LXX-Amos, which will be valuable for those studying LXX-Amos and for those doing textual criticism in the Hebrew text of Amos. It analyzes the literalness of the translation, the rendering of difficult and unknown words, and the rendering of visually ambiguous phenomena, like homonyms, homographs, and word divisions. The evidence suggests the translator worked from a text very similar to the MT. He reveals his biases as he struggles with the difficult and obscure sections of his source text. He exhibits an anti-Syrian and anti-Samaritan bias as well as interest in Gentiles, eschatology, and messianism.

In this commentary W. Edward Glenny provides a careful analysis of the Greek text and literary features of Amos based on its witness in the fourth century codex Vaticanus. The commentary begins with an introduction to Amos in Vaticanus, and it contains an uncorrected copy of Amos from Vaticanus with textual notes and a literal translation of that text. In keeping with the purpose of Brill’s Septuagint Commentary Series Glenny seeks to interpret the Greek text of Amos as an artifact in its own right in order to determine how early Greek readers who were unfamiliar with the Hebrew would have understood it.

In the book of Amos the language about land is used extensively, including terms and ideas such as Zion, YHWH’s bringing of Israel into the land, references to various sanctuaries and places, harvest and famine, the relationship between the northern kingdom and Judah, and references to the land of other nations. However this subject of the land has never been studied as a theological topic in its own right, but only as part of other themes. This work follows a synchronic reading of Amos and employing textual, literary and historical criticism the author carries out a careful theological analysis of the land. Although the findings are set in the context of the entire book of Amos, the study focuses on chapters 7-9 to explore the topic with closer detail.

Father Udoekpo's work offers a thorough review of the theology of worship in the work of Amos of Tekoa, one of Israel's foundational prophets. It critically examines Amos 5 in its socio-historical and literary context and theologically reevaluates the application of Amos's message of ethical worship, judgment, and hope to two contemporary cultures: Nigeria and the United States of America. While intentionally down to earth and engaging in society and religion, this work discusses in a thoughtful and detailed exegetical manner the various sub-units of lamentation (vv. 1-3), the motifs of the remnant, the exhortation to the seek the Lord, justice and righteousness (vv. 4-6; 14-15, 24), judgment, and the notion of the Day of the Lord (vv. 18-20) as they relate to the theology of worship (vv. 21-27) in Amos 5. The author pastorally draws the reader's attention to Amos' view that worship must not be restricted to hypocritical offerings, empty rituals, and songs at sanctuaries, but needs to incorporate ethics of justice, peace, and righteousness practiced in marketplaces and plazas.