Amos /ˈeməs/
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 Amos
      n 1: a Hebrew shepherd and minor prophet
      2: an Old Testament book telling Amos's prophecies [syn: {Book
         of Amos]


 Amos
    borne; a burden, one of the twelve minor prophets. He was a
    native of Tekota, the modern Tekua, a town about 12 miles
    south-east of Bethlehem. He was a man of humble birth, neither a
    "prophet nor a prophet's son," but "an herdman and a dresser of
    sycomore trees," R.V. He prophesied in the days of Uzziah, king
    of Judah, and was contemporary with Isaiah and Hosea (Amos 1:1;
    7:14, 15; Zech. 14:5), who survived him a few years. Under
    Jeroboam II. the kingdom of Israel rose to the zenith of its
    prosperity; but that was followed by the prevalence of luxury
    and vice and idolatry. At this period Amos was called from his
    obscurity to remind the people of the law of God's retributive
    justice, and to call them to repentance.

      The Book of Amos consists of three parts:

      (1.) The nations around are summoned to judgment because of
    their sins (1:1-2:3). He quotes Joel 3:16.

      (2.) The spiritual condition of Judah, and especially of
    Israel, is described (2:4-6:14).

      (3.) In 7:1-9:10 are recorded five prophetic visions. (a) The
    first two (7:1-6) refer to judgments against the guilty people.
    (b) The next two (7:7-9; 8:1-3) point out the ripeness of the
    people for the threatened judgements. 7:10-17 consists of a
    conversation between the prophet and the priest of Bethel. (c)
    The fifth describes the overthrow and ruin of Israel (9:1-10);
    to which is added the promise of the restoration of the kingdom
    and its final glory in the Messiah's kingdom.

      The style is peculiar in the number of the allusions made to
    natural objects and to agricultural occupations. Other allusions
    show also that Amos was a student of the law as well as a "child
    of nature." These phrases are peculiar to him: "Cleanness of
    teeth" [i.e., want of bread] (4:6); "The excellency of Jacob"
    (6:8; 8:7); "The high places of Isaac" (7:9); "The house of
    Isaac" (7:16); "He that createth the wind" (4:13). Quoted, Acts
    7:42.



 Amos, loading; weighty