Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 156:623 (Jul 1999)
Article: The Structure of Amos 9:7-15
Author: Stephen J. Bramer

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BSac 156:623 (July 99) p. 272

The Structure of Amos 9:7-15 *

Stephen J. Bramer

The last nine verses in the Book of Amos are distinct from the previous section with its visions of judgment (7:1–9:6). These final verses follow the hymn in 9:5–6, which strategically serves as a conclusion to the previous section. Verses 7–15 themselves include two related units: The first (vv. 7–10) is a message of judgment, and the second (vv. 11–15) is the concluding eschatological message of hope.

Many, while agreeing that 9:7–10 is transitional in nature, would attach these verses to 9:1–6.1 It is true that verses 7–10 expand on the preceding vision of judgment and that the end of the previous unit might be thought of as occurring in verse 10, since 11 asserts the promise of salvation. Yet verses 7–10 anticipate the concluding eschatological message by alluding to the preservation of a remnant (vv. 8b–9), and they have other close connections with what follows. Transitional features of verses 7–10 and other elements prominent in the book demonstrate that verses 11–15 are not a later interpolation and that they are literarily related to their context.

Judgment Announcement in Amos 9:7-10

Amos 9:7–10 is a short judgment announcement that begins with two rhetorical questions in verse 7. They stand in stark contrast to the absolute statement in the hymn (vv. 5–6) that closes the preceding section. The two questions were designed to show the Israelites that they should not somehow imagine that they would escape Yahweh’s coming judgment. At the same time the questions

*This is article three in the three-part series “Studies in the Structure of the Book of Amos.”

Stephen J. Bramer is Associate Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas.

BSac 156:623 (July 99) p. 273

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