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Introduction
to Amos
INTRODUCTION TO AMOS
This
book in the Hebrew Bibles is called "Sepher Amos"
the Book of Amos;
and
in the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions
the Prophecy of Amos. This is
not the same person with the father of Isaiah
as some have ignorantly
confounded them; for their names are wrote with different letters; besides
the
father of Isaiah is thought to have been of the royal family
and a courtier;
whereas this man was a country farmer and herdsman. His name signifies
"burdened": the JewsF1Vajikra Rabba
sect. 10. fol. 153.
3. Abarbinel Praefat. in Ezek. fol. 253. 3. say he was so called
because
burdened in his tongue
or had an impediment in his speech
and stammered; but
rather because his prophecies were burdens to the people
such as they could
not bear
being full of reproofs and threatenings; however
his prophecy in
this respect agrees with his name. What time he lived may be learned from Amos 1:1; by which
it appears that he was
contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea; but whether he
lived and prophesied so long as they did is not certain. The author of Seder
Olam ZutaF2P. 104
105. Ed. Meyer. makes him to prophesy in the
reigns of Uzziah
Jotham
Ahaz
and Hezekiah. R. Abraham ZacutF3Juchasin
fol. 12. 1.
and R. David GanzF4Tzemach David
fol. 13. 1. 2.
place
him later than Hosea
and prior to Isaiah; they say that Amos received the law
from Hosea
and Isaiah from Amos. Mr. WhistonF5Chronological Table
cent. 8. makes him to begin to prophesy in the year of the world 3231 A.M. or
773 B.C.; and Mr. BedfordF6Scripture Chronology
B. 6. c. 2. p. 647.
earlier
in 802 B.C.; and
from some passages in his prophecy
he appears to be
of the land of Judah; see Amos 1:1; though he
prophesied in the land of Israel
and against the ten tribes chiefly; the
occasion of which was
Jeroboam had been very successful and victorious
and
the people under him enjoyed great plenty and prosperity
and upon this grew
wanton
luxurious
and very sinful; wherefore this prophet was sent to reprove
them for their sins
to exhort them to repentance
and threaten them with
captivity
in case of impenitence; and to comfort the truly godly with promises
of the Messiah's coming and kingdom. The authenticity of this book is not to be
questioned
since many passages out of it were taken by following prophets
as
the words in Amos 1:2
by Joel
Joel 3:16
and by
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 25:30; Amos 4:9
by
Haggai
Haggai 2:17; Amos 9:13
by Joel
Joel 3:18; and
others are quoted by the writers of the New Testament as divinely inspired
as Amos 5:25
in Acts 7:42; nor is
there any room to doubt of his being the writer of this book
as is manifest of
his speaking of himself as the first person in it; though HobbesF7Leviathan
c. 33. says it does not appear. Some have thought that his language is rustic
suitable to his former character and employment; but certain it is there are
masterly strokes and great beauties of eloquence in it; and which shows that it
is more than human. According to some writers
he was often beat and buffeted
by Amaziah
the priest of Bethel; and at last the son of the priest drove a
nail into his temples
upon which he was carried alive into his own country
and there died
and was buried in the sepulchre of his ancestors at TekoaF8Pseudo-Epiphan.
de Prophet. Vit. c. 12. Isidor. de Vit. Sanct. c. 43. Jerom. de locis Hebr. in
voce Elthei
fol. 91. B. .
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a sermon
from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called unto
Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible
NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church leaders
and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
" and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.