There are many prophets and important figures in the Bible who stand out as influential and necessary when it comes to the words God has given them. For example, the prophet Amos is unique for his honest and brutal delivery of Yahweh's message to the Israelites. The main theme of this prophecy was aimed at the northern kingdom of Israel. Yahweh directly gave Amos this message for Amos to inform the rich of their sins of moral injustice towards the poor. For this reason, it is important to understand who Amos was and the context of his book that spread Yahweh's message. To begin with, the prophet Amos is believed to have prophesied at the time when Jeroboam II was the leader of Israel and Uzziah was the king of Judah. Jeroboam died in 747 BCE and Uzziah died in 733 BCE. Besides that, to better understand the historical period of Amos, he is said to have preached 2 years before the earthquake, based on archaeological evidence. Therefore, Amos was most likely preaching around 750 BC and did so for nearly a decade. Furthermore, Amos was from Tekoa in Judah, a community 10 miles south of Jerusalem.1 This is known because Amos is described as working with sycamore figs, a type native only to Tekoa. Because of what Amos spoke about, it can be said that he was prophesying mainly towards the Northern kingdom. His dialect was Judean Hebrew and thus he was seen as a Southerner.1 At times, while Amos was giving a speech in the North, he was accused of conspiring to overthrow the Northern monarchy because of his “Southern” origins. 2 This happened because the North was a society of rich people who used the poor to increase their own status. They were morally and ethically unjust and therefore saw Amo...... middle of paper...... their sins. The historical context of Amos and his time helps explain the reasons for Yahweh's punishment of Israel. The north and other parts of Israel have progressed towards societies of injustice and madness. For this reason, Yahweh's punishments are designed to improve the quality of the people of Israel and strengthen those who are actually in charge, in hopes of reinstalling the idea that God is omnipotent. Works Cited Coogan, Michael D., ed., The New Oxford Annotated Bible : New Revised Standard Version (4th ed., Oxford, 2010).Coogan, Michael D., The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures (2nd ed.; Oxford, 2011).Hayes, John . Amos: The Eighth Century Prophet: His Times and Preaching. Nashville: Parthenon Press, 1988. Print.Mays, James. Amos: a comment. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1969. Print.