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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.

 

¢w¢w¡mJohn Gill¡¦s Exposition of the Bible¡n

 

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 (YLT)

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.