Amos

AMOS (ā'mŏs, Heb. ‘āmôs, Gr. amos, burden-bearer). One of the colorful personalities in an era that saw the rise of several towering prophetic figures. His ministry occurred in the reign of [[Jeroboam II]] (c. 786-746 b.c.), son of King Jehoash of the Jehu dynasty of Israel. Due to the removal of Benhadad III of Syria as a military threat, the northern kingdom had been able to consolidate its hold on Damascus and extend its borders northward to the pass of Hamath. To the south and east, its territorial acquisitions equaled those of the early kingdom period under David and Solomon. While Assyria was becoming an increasingly serious political threat, its military might under Tiglath-Pileser III was still a distant prospect when Jeroboam II began to rule Israel.