Amos 3

Abstract

" Amos 3 has been rarely treated as anything other than a heterogeneous collection of oracles proclaiming judgement on Israel. 2 Consequently, it is not surprising that many scholars believe that the chapter division is misleading. A minority claim that some of the initial verses of chapter 3 more properly belong to chapter 2 as the conclusion to the previous great speech against the nations.3 On the other hand, many others argue that although chapter 3 begins a new section of speeches, some of its oracles, if not its entirety, should more naturally be grouped with some of the speeches of chapter 4 which have as a theme the judgement of Samaria.4 The spate of fine, rece~t commentaries on Amos has offered essentially no new altefuatives to an understanding of the arrangement of the oracles of chapter 3"