Amos 1:1 f. Superscription and Motto. In the present form of the book we find prefixed to the oracles, probably by a post-exilic editor, some brief particulars as to the person of the prophet, the date of his ministry, and the key-note of his message. The prophet belonged to the Southern Kingdom. He was one of the shepherds of Tekoa (mod. Tekü- a), a high-lying town, 6 miles S. of Bethlehem (p. 31) certain shepherds (nô kל dî m) who bred or tended a peculiar kind of sheep having short legs and ugly faces but valued highly for their choice wool (cf. for their stunted growth the Arabian proverb viler than a nakad, and see Chenery, Assemblies of Al Harǐ? ri, i. 452f.). Mesha, king of Moab, is described as a breeder of this kind of sheep (2 Kings 3:4).
The prophet received his Divine messages, or rather beheld them (1) in prophetic vision (cf. Numbers 24:4; Numbers 24:16), in the reigns of Jeroboam II (782- 743 B.C.) and Uzziah (c. 782- 737 B.C). More precisely the period is said to have been two years before the earthquake. But neither here nor in Zechariah 14:5 (cf. Josephus, Ant. IX. x. 4) do the references to this earthquake help us to determine the precise date of the prophet's activity. Though he belonged to Judah, he was chiefly, if not entirely (so apparently Amos 1:1), concerned about the Northern Kingdom (concerning Israel).
What in a few words is the key-note of the prophet's utterances, the motto of his book? This is given in 2, words adopted and adapted by the post-exilic editor from Joel 3:16. When a lion roars, the sound portends a rush upon its prey; when the thunder peals, the crash heralds the havoc of a storm. So, when Yahweh, from His earthly abodes, roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem, the smiling pastures (cf. Joel 2:22; Psalms 65:12) of the shepherds will darken and fade (mourn) and the beautiful hills of Carmel (cf. Isaiah 35:2; Jeremiah 50:19, Ca. Amos 7:5) parch with fear.
Amos 1:1. Translate who was one of the shepherds of Tekoa.
Amos 1:2 a is subordinate to Amos 1:2 b. Translate, whenever Yahweh roars. the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, etc.