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Amos (prophet)

8th-century BCE Israelite biblical prophet, Christian saint, traditionally linked to the Book of Amos

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ213850
Source-derived summary

Amos (; Hebrew: עָמוֹס – ʿĀmōs) was one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. According to the Bible, Amos was the older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah and was active c. 760–755 BC during the rule of kings Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of the Kingdom of Judah and is portrayed as being from the southern Kingdom of Judah yet preaching in the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria). The prophet is characterized as speaking against an increased disparity between the wealthy and the poor with themes of justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment. The Book of Amos is attributed to him. In recent years, scholars have grown more skeptical of the Book of Amos's presentation of Amos's biography and background.

Life

Before becoming a prophet, Amos was a shepherd and a sycamore fig farmer from Teqoaʿ. Amos aimed his prophetic message at the northern kingdom of Israel, particularly the cities of Samaria and Bethel. Teqoaʿ is often identified with Teqoaʿ south of Jerusalem, but Gary Rendsburg notes that the Teqoaʿ in question was in Galilee in the Kingdom of Samaria.

Amos's prior professions and his claim "I am not a prophet nor a son of a prophet" (7:14) indicates that Amos was not from the school of prophets, which Amos claims would qualify him as a true prophet.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Amos (prophet)” as 8th-century BCE Israelite biblical prophet, Christian saint, traditionally linked to the Book of Amos. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current 226-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The linked authority record independently contributes the date -0814. The account is most persuasive where Amos, prophet and 8th-century can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 8th-century BCE Israelite biblical prophet, Christian saint, traditionally linked to the Book of Amos. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q213850. VIAF identifies the subject as 32787308. The Library of Congress control number is n50021898. 2 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Amos (prophet)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Amos (prophet) primary sources, Amos (prophet) archive and Amos research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Amos (prophet)”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Amos (prophet)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.