Hosea and Amos

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that both Amos and Hosea belong to the prophetic tradition of the Hebrews, which tells the story of the decline of the Jewish empire. The author points out that the prophecy of each book is symbolic and poetic and makes liberal use of metaphor. The author concludes that to be people of God is to be people of faith and to live both secular and religious life by morality and faith.

From the Paper:

"Hosea and Amos are prophetic in the moral sense. They offer a cosmic, universal explanation for the decline of the Jewish people. The cause of this decline, argue Amos and Hosea, is loss of religious faith. After a lengthy recitation of the myriad crimes of Israel, which come down to idolatry and paganism, the Hosea text explains how Israel will be punished and, finally, how it can be saved by rejecting the false gods and the moral values that they imply and returning to God. Hosea appears to be addressed chiefly to the Jewish kingdom of Israel, the northern part of the region, while the focus of Amos is on the southern kingdom of Judah. However, each book makes both Judah and Israel (Hos. 5.8; Amos 2.4-6) culpable in constructing an environment of social injustice and idolatry."

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• Comparison Essay # 138 : "Amos's and Hosea's Approaches to Covenant-al Fidelity"
• Research Paper # 101000 : "The Minor Prophets"

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