The Book of Amos Chapters 1-3
Introduction
This prophet and the book that bears his name is the only man in the Biblical record named “Amos” and his name means “to bear” or “place a load upon”. He was a sheepherder from the city of Tekoa which was located six miles south of Bethlehem and twelve miles south of Jerusalem. The territory surrounding this city was rugged, about eighteen miles east of Tekoa lay the Dead Sea. Besides being a sheepherder, Amos also says that he was “a grower of sycamore trees” (7:14). “The sycamore tree was found at a lower altitude than Tekoa, which suggests that Amos roamed from Tekoa eastward toward the wilderness and toward the Dead Sea. The fruit borne by this tree is described as fig-like, slightly sweet and watery. It was eaten by the poorer people and had to be pinched or bruised before it would ripen” (Hailey pp. 82-83). The word rendered “sheepherder” is not the usual Hebrew word for shepherd, but a rare word, suggesting possibly, “sheep breeder”. In the first verse we are given a precise time period for the work of this prophet. Uzziah, the king of Judah reigned from 790-739 B.C., and Jeroboam II reigned over the northern kingdom of Israel from 793-753 B.C. Since the reigns coincide between 767-753 this might well define the limits of the prophecy. The “earthquake” mentioned in verse 1 is also mentioned in Zechariah 14:5-7 and must have been an earthquake of serious magnitude.
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