Wednesday, July 31, 2024

William M. Schniedewind on Amos 7:14

  

I just cannot take Amos seriously. Amos claims, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet” (7:14). Oh really? That seems like a pretty disingenuous claim given that his book is included in the biblical canon of the “Prophets.” What did he mean by such a disclaimer? One thing we can learn from this is that there was something about Amos’ understanding of the title Prophet that he did not want to be associated with. And the Book of Amos respects Amos’ objection inasmuch as it never calls him a naḇîʾ, that is, the biblical Hebrew word for “prophet.” Amos also objects to the institutionalization of prophets in his rejection of the title “Son of a Prophet.” In rejecting the moniker and the description as a son of a prophet, Amos both acknowledges and rejects prophetic apprenticeship. Amos does not conceive of the prophet as a solitary figure called by God to speak for God; rather, he sees the prophet as an institutional position that can be learned through apprenticeship. Amos’ objections will make more sense in this chapter as we look at the title Prophet in biblical literature and ancient Hebrew inscriptions.

 

Amos’ rejection of prophetic titles is related to the context of his pronouncements. The story is set at the royal shrine of Bethel, in the northern kingdom, with Amos criticizing its leadership. The local priest, Amaziah, tells Amos to leave and go to Judah but not to “prophesy at Bethel, for it is a royal sanctuary and a royal house” (Amos 7:13). The town of Bethel was one of the towns where the first king of the northern kingdom, Jeroboam I (r. 931–910 BCE), set up a rival temple to Jerusalem (see 1 Kgs 12:25–33). One story in the Book of Kings even mentions “the sons of the prophets that were in Bethel” (2 Kgs 2:3). Amos seems to be distancing himself from them and their royal patron. He equates them with state-sponsored religious and political power, and he sees himself as independent—something he does not equate with the title “Prophet.” Amos treats the titles Prophet and Son of a Prophet as something associated with official political and religious power. He wants none of that.

 

As I discussed in chapter 1, the Hebrew term ben or “son” can be used in the familial relationships created by apprenticeship. The relationship does not have to be biological kinship, but it can be a fictive kinship created by apprenticeship. Amos seems to be thinking of just such a community in his rejection of the label Son of a Prophet. (William M. Schniedewind, Who Really Wrote the Bible: The Story of the Scribes [Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2024], 111-12; see the entire chapter [pp. 111-34] for a fuller discussion)

  

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