The Book of Amos

Daniel Carroll’s Amos maintains the high academic quality of the NICOT series, bringing authenticity, compassion, and insight to his study of this eighth-century prophet. This commentary is a helpful model of serious engagement with the biblical text in the light of recent developments in poetics and rhetoric. It will be useful for scholars, pastors, rabbis, and students who seek a deeper knowledge of the text and message of Amos, and of God. [Full Review]

M. Daniel Carroll R. dates Amos’ ministry in the latter years during the second quarter of the eighth century BC. The Biblical book that bears the prophet’s name was his message that heralded Yahweh’s sovereign judgment against the nations, and repudiated the distorted piety and societal injustice of Jeroboam II’s Israel. Carroll demonstrates particular sensitivity to the book’s literary design, thereby argues convincingly for the authenticity of the canonical text. The commentary is preceded by 100-plus pages of introduction, itself an invaluable primer to understand the book and related latest research. Every verse of the text is given careful, even prodigious, exegetical and expository treatments. Different approaches and viewpoints are presented, and the preferred interpretations are judiciously elucidated. The theological imports of Amos’ message are reinforced throughout. Another helpful feature of this commentary is the copious bibliographic notes. There, Carroll scrupulously tabulates works of scholars, from the reformers to those of modern time, that represent different perspectives on almost every pericope. Consummate knowledge of available literature is apparent, a feat not unexpected from a scholar who has devoted close to 30 years to Amos research. Carroll’s commentary on the book of Amos sits amongst the pinnacle of modern Biblical scholarship. What lies behind the exemplary erudition is a punctilious intellectual enterprise, one for which researchers, teachers, and students of generations to come should be grateful.