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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