The Ethics of Amos in Light of Its Ancient near Eastern Context

236 Pages·2017·1.57 MB·English

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MSU Graduate Theses
Spring 2012
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Mark D. Arnold
[email protected]
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THE ETHICS OF AMOS IN LIGHT OF ITS ANCIENT
NEAR EASTERN CONTEXT

A Masters Thesis
Presented to
The Graduate College of
Missouri State University

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts, Religious Studies

By
Mark D. Arnold
May 2012
Copyright 2012 by Mark D. Arnold
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THE ETHICS OF AMOS IN LIGHT OF ITS ANCIENT
NEAR EASTERN CONTEXT
Religious Studies
Missouri State University, May 2012
Master of Arts
Mark D. Arnold

ABSTRACT
The book of Amos, in a fashion almost preternaturally relevant to contemporary
conditions, discusses issues of war and welfare. Amos condemns several foreign nations
for various war crimes and then turns to Israel, excoriating it for its mistreatment of the
poor. Specifically he indicts the wealthy for enacting policies that created new poor while
preventing the old poor from regaining their rightful positions in society. Israel’s elite
used economic and judicial methods to enrich themselves at the expense of the vast
majority of the population. As a result, Amos predicts the destruction of Israel just as he
predicted the destruction of the foreign nations. The nature of Amos’ prophecy as well as
the crimes with which he indicted Israel may potentially create some consternation to
members of modern society. Amos provides no standard by which the nations were
judged. Further, the punishments he announces seem suspiciously similar to the actions
for which the nations were first condemned. Nor do all of the crimes for which Israel was
condemned seem to have any basis in Hebrew law. Yet Amos announces that Israel will
share in the punishment of the foreign nations. It is my thesis that the book of Amos can
be best understood when read in the light of its ancient Near Eastern context. Three basic
Near Eastern concepts help provide clarity: an understanding of international customary
law; ancient customary treatment of the poor; and the concept of retributive punishment.
Finally, retributive punishment, especially as subsumed under the concept of virtuous
vengeance, is applied to the book.

KEYWORDS: Hebrew prophesy, book of Amos, eighth century BCE, retributive justice,
ancient international law, treatment of the poor, ancient Near Eastern customs, vengeance

This abstract is approved as to form and content

Dr. Victor Matthews
Chairperson, Advisory Committee
Missouri State University
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THE ETHICS OF AMOS IN LIGHT OF ITS ANCIENT
NEAR EASTERN CONTEXT
By
Mark D. Arnold

A Masters Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate College
Of Missouri State University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Master of Arts, Religious Studies

May 2012

Approved:

Dr. Victor Matthews

Dr. Leslie Baynes

Dr. John Schmalzbauer

_______________________________________
Dr. Pawan Kahol, Interim Graduate College
Dean

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The members of my thesis committee were an invaluable resource and I want to
begin by thanking them for their input. Dr. Leslie Baynes and Dr. John Schmalzbauer
provided thoughtful questions and suggestions that vastly improved the final product. I
would especially like to thank by advisor, Dr. Victor Matthews, for his extreme patience
while shepherding this thesis to completion. It has taken far longer than either of us ever
expected. Nevertheless he has always been gentle in his suggestions and quick to offer a
relevant reference (and more often than not the use of a resource).
I also want to thank my grandkids; Isaiah, Eva, and Noah, for putting up with the
frequent Sunday afternoon excursions away from the house while Papa studied.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the influence of my parents, Dallas and
Alice Arnold. By training and example, they taught me the importance of justice and the
proper treatment of others, regardless of social or economic station. They have also
allowed me the freedom to seek my own way while gently (well, most of the time)
nudging me in the right direction.

I dedicate this thesis to my wife, Leslie Arnold. Our family circumstances
changed dramatically over the course of this adventure and, as a result, she has borne the
brunt of several years of labor which should have been shared while I chased down
another reference or made “one last change” to a paragraph. Yet she has always
encouraged me to continue (and threatened me a few times as well). It is perhaps cliché,
but it is nevertheless true that I could not have completed this thesis without her support.
This endeavor is as much hers as it is mine. Thank you, Leslie, for your love and
patience. Now, how many makeup chores did you say I have to do…?
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BOOK OF AMOS .........4
II. ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN LAWS PERTAINING TO AMOS ..............................27
International Customary Law ................................................................................27
The Law of the Oppressed .....................................................................................41
The Law of Retribution ..........................................................................................62
III. AMOS AND THE ORACLES AGAINST THE NATIONS ......................................73
The International Situation in Amos’ Day .............................................................75
The Form of the Oracles ........................................................................................77
The Standard of the Oracles ...................................................................................85
The Content of the Oracles ....................................................................................92
IV. AMOS AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE ............................................................................98
Eighth Century Israel .............................................................................................98
A Catalog of Israel’s Crimes................................................................................114
The Identity of the Offenders ...............................................................................149
Summary ..............................................................................................................155
V. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT ...................................................................................159
The Nature of Israel’s Punishment ......................................................................159
The Target of Yahweh’s Punishment ..................................................................172
Summary ..............................................................................................................175
VI. AMOS AND MODERN ETHICS .............................................................................177
Retributive Justice ................................................................................................180
“Wild Justice” ......................................................................................................199
Conclusions ..........................................................................................................211
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................215

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INTRODUCTION
The opening chapters of the book of Amos chronicle the war crimes of six non-
Hebrew nations. The Hebrew nations of Judah and Israel fall under Amos’ condemnation
as well for various crimes in the domestic sphere. For their wrongs, Yahweh promises
punishment by fire, by exile, and/or by extermination. The book continues with a series
of oracles and visions which are directed primarily towards Israel (and possibly Judah)
while the rest of the nations mainly fade from the scene. Amos describes Israel’s sins
more fully, accusing them of economic, judicial, and religious crimes. For its crimes,
Amos predicts a punishment that matches in severity that reserved for the foreign nations.
In the eyes of Amos, Israel’s wrongs, though of a different nature, were of the same
degree as the war crimes of the nations.
The nature of Amos’ accusations and his condemnations potentially presents
several questions to the modern reader. Amos condemns the nations, predicting military
destruction while never providing an explicit standard by which these non-Hebrew
nations were judged. Are we to assume that the nations were condemned because Israel
was the target of their depredations? Yet Israel was not the only target of the nations’
actions. And why would the nations have been condemned for their interference in
Israel’s affairs when, in the final analysis, Amos predicts the ultimate destruction of
Israel by warfare? Or were the nations perhaps condemned for committing crimes against
Yahweh? Following this line of reasoning creates questions of its own. Did Amos
condemn the nations for violating some Hebrew-centric standard which they would have
neither recognized nor accepted? And how do we make sense of the condemnation of the
nations for war crimes when Amos then predicts that the nations, as well as Israel, will
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fall victim to the ravagings of an unnamed nation or nations? Why was this nation
exempt from Yahweh’s punishment?
Many of the crimes for which Israel was condemned seem to have little or no
basis in Hebrew law. Despite this the nation falls under the same condemnation as that
reserved for the nations. It also does not require a deep reading of Amos to recognize that
his attacks are aimed primarily at Israel’s wealthy. Yet the entire nation will apparently
be destroyed. Were there no innocents in Israel? There is a deep irony in the notion that
Amos, often called the “prophet of justice”, might be guilty of predicting what seems
such a gross injustice on a kindred nation.
If we are to acquit Amos of unfairness, our investigation must begin by looking
beyond the borders of Israel. It can be demonstrated, for example, that there existed a
nascent form of international law throughout the ancient Near East. The nations violated
provisions of this law. Israel’s crimes may also been seen as violations of contemporary
standards. Peoples of the ancient Near East widely recognized that the weakest among
them were to be protected. It was especially the duty of the king to defend the rights of
the poor. Yet Israel and her leaders openly flouted this law of the oppressed. While Amos
could have condemned Israel’s actions on the basis of her own laws, it is my thesis that
he instead drew on contemporary cultural standards to indict her activities.
Yahweh’s reaction to the crimes enumerated within the book of Amos can also be
explained by reference to a broader cultural principle. The concept of retribution served
as the basis for many of the law codes extant throughout the ancient Near East. As such,
it would have been clearly understood to Amos’ contemporaries that punishment should
be administered in a manner comparable to the harm which had been done.
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In the chapters that follow, each of these broader cultural principles will be
explored and applied to the book of Amos. In chapter one, modern literature relevant to
our study will be briefly surveyed. Chapter two will examine the three laws—
international law, the law of the oppressed, and the law of retribution—from within the
broader ancient Near Eastern context of which Israel was a part. Chapter three will
explore the opening chapters of Amos, the so-called oracles against the nations, from an
ancient international law perspective. A detailed examination of Israel’s crimes will be
the subject of chapter four. Comparisons with relevant ancient Near Eastern literature
will be utilized to gain an understanding of Amos’ accusations in the light of ancient
Near Eastern standards. Reference to other eighth-century prophetic literature will help
round out the unflattering picture of life in Amos’ day. Chapter five will survey the
various forms of punishment that Amos incorporates into his predictions for the nation of
Israel. Once again these predictions will be seen to easily fit within the broader cultural
context in which Amos lived. Finally, in chapter six Amos’ use of the law of retribution
will be compared to modern theories of punishment in an attempt to understand his
pronouncements in the light of modern ethics.

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