Introduction: The Book of Amos
We begin the Book of Amos, the third book of Trei Asar (the Twelve Minor Prophets). Amos was a prophet whose recorded prophecies were not numerous, leaving us with only nine chapters. In the opening verse, the prophet lays out his time and place, and through these details we learn who Amos was, why he specifically was chosen for this mission, and how he came to be accepted by the people as a true prophet.
דִּבְרֵי עָמוֹס אֲשֶׁר־הָיָה בַנֹּקְדִים מִתְּקוֹעַ אֲשֶׁר חָזָה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּימֵי עֻזִּיָּה מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה וּבִימֵי יָרָבְעָם בֶּן־יוֹאָשׁ מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁנָתַיִם לִפְנֵי הָרָעַשׁ׃ - "The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he envisioned concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."
Why "The Words of Amos" and Not "A Vision"?
Radak, Rashi, and Chazal note that the opening is not phrased in terms of vision or prophecy, but rather as "the words of Amos." Chazal explain that when a prophet begins with the phrasing "the words of...", it signifies that he is also speaking words of his own. Thus Amaziah, the priest of Beit-El, claimed that Amos was speaking on his own authority, and we find similar phrasing in "the words of Jeremiah" and "the words of Kohelet." Our Sages stated that there were three prophets whose words were harsh rebukes (divrei kantorim), and therefore their prophecies were attributed to themselves - meaning, because they also added words of their own, their prophecies opened with the formula "the words of."
Simply understood, this does not mean they did not deliver prophecies from Hashem, for it was by virtue of prophecy that they were prophets, and they certainly delivered Hashem's words. Rather, they were not content with that alone, and added their own ethical rebuke. This ethical rebuke is what is referred to as "words of their own," and because these were sharp, piercing words that provoked the people, they were termed "words of rebuke" (divrei kantorim). Thus, the prophecy here consists partly of divine prophecy and partly of words spoken by the prophet on his own authority.
"Who Was Among the Herdsmen of Tekoa"
He was a shepherd in Tekoa. Anyone who deals with livestock is called a noked (herdsman), as we find: "Now Mesha king of Moab was a noked." Why is a herdsman called by this term? Radak brings one explanation: because most livestock have black or white spots, related to the expression nakod vetalu ("speckled and spotted"). And why does the verse say "he was among the herdsmen" (banokedim) rather than simply "he was a herdsman" (noked)? To teach that he was the greatest among the herdsmen, meaning he owned vast herds of sheep and cattle.
Malbim offers an additional explanation regarding the term nokedim: they may have been called this because they would mark the sheep with dots so that they would not get mixed up. The shepherd "dots" (noked) his flock, placing identifying marks on them, so that each owner could recognize his own animals and they would not become mingled with those of his neighbor.
"Which He Envisioned Concerning Israel"
Radak notes: We have already mentioned at the beginning of Trei Asar that Jeroboam and Uzziah reigned concurrently, whereas Hosea son of Beeri lived longer than both of them, which is why it is said of him that he prophesied also in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. But why is the emphasis here "concerning Israel"? After all, "Israel" refers to the kingdom of Samaria and the Ten Tribes, while "Judah" refers to Judah and Benjamin, namely Jerusalem, since the kingdom was divided. Rather, most of Amos's prophecies were directed toward Israel and Samaria, mentioning Judah only briefly; therefore, the verse specifically emphasizes "which he envisioned concerning Israel."
Midrash: "Whom Shall I Send, and Who Will Go for Us?"
The Midrash states: When the Holy One, Blessed be He, said, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" (Yeshayahu 6:8), He sought to send a prophet to rebuke the people, and Yeshayahu replied, "Here am I; send me." And what was the meaning of the question, "Whom shall I send?" Chazal explain: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said, "I sent Michah, and they struck him on the cheek - 'Michah' being related to 'makkah' (a blow), as it is written, 'With a rod they shall strike the cheek of the judge of Israel' (Michah 4:14). I sent Amos, and they called him 'psilis', saying: 'Could the Holy One, Blessed be He, find no one upon whom to rest His Shechinah other than this psilis?'"
And what is a "psilis"? One who is halting of speech ("ketiya lishna"), whose words did not flow smoothly and whose tongue was hindered: either he stuttered, or his tongue lacked fluency and his speech was indistinct. Rabbi Pinchas said: Why was he called Amos? Because he was "amus bilshono" - burdened in his tongue, like a person speaking with a full mouth, bearing a heavy load upon his tongue. This is another expression indicating that his speech was unrefined. This connects to the fact that he was among the "nokdim" (herdsmen), for the term "noked", as we will see in the Malbim's commentary, does not imply a person of high station and spiritual refinement, but rather someone bound to earthly matters. His heavy tongue likewise demonstrated that he was not viewed as a man of the spirit.
"Two Years Before the Earthquake"
In the language of Chazal, "ra'ash" refers to an earthquake, and there was indeed an earthquake in the days of Uzziah. We find this in the prophecy of Zechariah describing the war of Gog and Magog: "And you shall flee as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah" (Zechariah 14:5). Here, Scripture notes that Amos's prophecy took place two years prior to that earthquake.
And what brought about that earthquake? The verses do not explicitly tell us, but Chazal teach that it took place on the very day Uzziah entered the Sanctuary to offer incense. The Kohanim told him: Uzziah, you are a king, but this is not your task; leave this role that Hashem assigned to the Kohanim. Yet Uzziah, in his immense pride, insisted on burning the incense, and tzara'at broke out on his forehead - he was immediately stricken with tzara'at, and in the wake of this, the earthquake occurred. The Radak asks: Why is Amos mentioned here in connection to that earthquake? Because Amos prophesied about it. We will see the broader explanation of this in the words of the Malbim.
The Dispute Between the Rambam and the Abarbanel Regarding Prophecy
The Malbim opens the book with a profound clarification. From the phrase "who was among the herdsmen" ("asher hayah vanokdim"), the Abarbanel challenged the position of the Rambam in the Guide for the Perplexed (Part II, Chapter 32). The Rambam established a fundamental principle: Prophecy cannot rest upon anyone unless he is prepared for it, whether through natural preparation according to the temperament of his body, mind, and imaginative faculty, or through the study of wisdom and the perfection of character traits. In other words, according to his view, dual preparation is required - physical and spiritual. Not every person is physically suited for prophecy, and spiritually one must also prepare through the study of wisdom and character refinement.
The Abarbanel argues: This opinion is rooted in the view of the philosopher, who maintains that prophecy is a natural phenomenon that comes to man like all other natural forms, which do not take hold of their subjects except after the appropriate preparations. But this is not the view of our Torah, for prophecy is not a natural matter and does not require such preparation, since prophecy is necessarily miraculous. In simple terms: To attain prophecy requires a miracle, and if it is a miracle, it makes no difference upon whom it rests. One cannot speak of a person as being "a prophet by nature." Furthermore, the human soul has no intrinsic proportion or standing relative to the Divine order that would allow it to receive prophecy in a natural way, for the Divine emanation is so transcendent and elevated that one cannot say, "I am naturally prepared for it." Therefore, if one receives prophecy, it is not because his body and temperament are structured for it, but by virtue of a miracle, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, performs this miracle for whomever He wishes.
The Abarbanel's proof, the Malbim notes, comes from Amos himself: Amos was among the herdsmen of sheep, a laborer among shepherds; he had not studied wisdom, nor did he possess honor or wealth, yet he attained prophecy - which stands in direct contradiction to the Rambam's position.
The Malbim's Resolution: A Prophet for Himself and a Prophet for the Public
The Malbim offers a resolution to this dispute. In his view, there is a distinction between a prophet who prophesies for his own sake, to achieve perfection and draw close to the Creator, and a prophet who serves as an emissary to the public. As noted on many occasions, there were 1,200,000 prophets, yet the prophets known to us are only forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses - a tiny fraction of that vast number.
The explanation is this: Attaining prophecy is not fundamentally a means of becoming a mouthpiece to the nation. A prophet is someone who climbed the entire ladder of Mesillat Yesharim - watchfulness, zeal, cleanliness, and so on - until reaching Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration) and cleaving to the Divine. Once a person cleaves to the Divine and perceives the Holy One, Blessed be He, with perfection in this world, that itself is an exalted stature. It also includes something further: the Holy One, Blessed be He, establishes a bond with him, and through this guides and directs him in his divine service. This is the true goal of prophecy, and for this a person seeks it. There were those with whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, also utilized this bond to convey messages - and these are the prophets known to us. There were prophets whose messages were not needed for future generations, and therefore were not recorded, whereas those needed for future generations were committed to writing. But the majority of the prophets and the disciples of the prophets, who trained in the ways of prophecy, did not intend to serve as mouthpieces to the people, but to attain godliness: to cleave to the Creator and thereby merit Divine influence and guidance to ascend in the service of Hashem.
From this perspective, says the Malbim, it is very possible for the Holy One, blessed be He, to grant prophecy to a person who is not naturally prepared for it, needing to create that capacity within him almost from nothing - when? When there is a need to send a prophet to the people, when it is imperative to give someone a shofar to make the word of Hashem known to the nation. He makes a precise distinction: all the miracles that the Holy One, blessed be He, performs are something from something (yesh miyesh), defined as the "transformation of forms" - a rock turns into water. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not perform miracles of ex nihilo (yesh me'ayin). Therefore, He does not bestow the spirit of prophecy upon someone completely unworthy of it, but rather to someone who possesses some degree of preparation He grants the strength to add might and power so that he becomes capable of prophecy.
In the ordinary course, then, to receive prophecy one must be prepared for it - in terms of nature, temperament, and the study of wisdom - and this is the prophecy a person receives for his own spiritual elevation. Sometimes, however, the Holy One, blessed be He, needs to dispatch a messenger to the generation, and no one is found who is fitting and worthy, neither by nature nor through the study of wisdom. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He chooses the person closest to it, and even though that person is relatively inferior and on his own would not be worthy, He nevertheless appoints him as a messenger to convey the word of Hashem to the people. Here a great miracle occurs: Hashem rests His Shechinah upon a person who lacks the basic preparation. And of this kind, says the Malbim, was Amos, who did not prophesy for his own sake, but solely for the sake of the collective.
And Why Was Amos Specifically Needed?
And if you ask: Why create a new conduit when there were other channels in that generation - Hoshea, Michah, and Yeshayahu? What need was there to perform a miracle for a person who, on his own, had not attained the capacity for prophecy? The Malbim explains: It is true that there were other prophets, but the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted two prophets who would prophesy specifically to the Ten Tribes, namely Hoshea and Amos, as distinct from Michah and Yeshayahu who prophesied to Yehudah and Binyamin - that is, Jerusalem and Judah. Hoshea was from the tribe of Reuven, and Amos was from Tekoa, in the portion of Asher. And at that time, no one was found who was adequately fitting and worthy for prophecy to rest upon him; therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, added blessing and holy bounty upon the slight preparation Amos did possess, and poured out His spirit upon him.
To summarize this point: A prophet who prophesies for his own personal elevation attains this only if he is prepared, as the Rambam maintains. But when there is a necessity to send a prophet to the community, Hashem may perform a miracle with him and bestow the bounty of prophecy even though he is not fully prepared, for the sake of the collective, so that they receive the word of Hashem.
The Abarbanel's Question: Why Is There No Prophecy in Our Days?
The Abarbanel raised a difficulty against the Rambam: According to your view, why do we have no prophets today? Would you say that in all these generations, not a single person was found who was naturally prepared for prophecy? Furthermore, prophecy is not found among the nations of the world, nor in Israel after the destruction of the Temple, and it is impossible that throughout all these times and peoples not one person was prepared for it. It is proven, therefore, that prophecy does not depend on natural preparation, but solely upon a miracle and a bestowal from Hashem.
The Malbim responds: In truth, this is not a valid objection. For what the Rambam wrote - that prophecy is found only in a person who is prepared for it - was not meant to say that if someone is prepared, prophecy will necessarily rest upon him; rather, it comes to negate the opposite: that if he is not prepared, it will not rest upon him. The necessity applies only in the negative - for Hashem to grant you prophecy, you must be prepared, but there is no guarantee that everyone who is prepared will prophesy. Therefore, there is no room to ask where the prepared individuals of recent generations are: such people do exist, but it is not necessary that one who is prepared will merit prophecy.
And the Malbim adds: Know that even in the case of a person prepared for prophecy, it is considered a miracle and a wonder, but it is a smaller miracle; whereas when someone is unprepared and Hashem grants him prophecy, that is a great miracle. This is comparable to the Holy One, blessed be He, sending a blessing into the soil so that it yields threefold: Can that be compared to the miracle of Elisha with the jug of oil? Certainly not. Trees and fruit may yield threefold, which is extraordinary, but it remains a miracle within the bounds of nature. Yet taking a single jug of oil and filling endless vessels from it - that is entirely supernatural. Both are miracles, but one is a small miracle and the other is far greater.
Questions on the Opening of the Prophecy
The Malbim continues in his explanation of the verse. The Abarbanel raised several questions: Amos also prophesied concerning Judah and other nations - concerning Damascus, the Philistines, and others - so why does it say, "which he foresaw concerning Israel"? Furthermore, what is the significance of mentioning "two years before the earthquake"? What difference does it make whether it was before or after the earthquake? Another difficulty: How does the prophecy open? "And he said: Hashem roars from Zion" - against whom is this directed, and why open with it? Yet in verse 3 it says, "Thus says Hashem: For three transgressions of Damascus" - has Hashem not been speaking until now? The whole prophecy opened with "And he said: Hashem roars from Zion", so the progression of the opening is difficult to understand.
וַיֹּאמַר ה' מִצִּיּוֹן יִשְׁאָג וּמִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם יִתֵּן קוֹלוֹ וְאָבְלוּ נְאוֹת הָרֹעִים וְיָבֵשׁ רֹאשׁ הַכַּרְמֶל׃ - And he said: Hashem roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.
The Second Verse - The Continuation of Amos's Descriptions
The Malbim explains: The phrase "And he said: Hashem will roar from Zion" is part of the characterization of Amos. In the first verse, we described Amos - who he was: he was among the herdsmen, from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. And now the description continues: Amos is the one who said, "Hashem will roar from Zion."
What does this mean? We have already explained that Amos had one disadvantage - by nature he was not naturally predisposed to prophecy. And an additional disadvantage: he was not known as a sage, but rather as a simple man who tended sheep and cattle. This inevitably caused people not to see him as the natural address for the word of Hashem: Who is this? He is from the herdsmen - is he going to tell us what Hashem says and what Hashem wants? He is not from the beit midrash, not from the Sanhedrin, not among the sages. It was difficult for them to accept his words because of his social standing, and this prevented him from being presumed a prophet in the eyes of the people, for he was among the herdsmen and a dresser of sycamore trees - one of his descriptions that we will see later, that he gathered sycamore figs for his animals' feed, and there are other interpretations of this that we will see in their proper place.
And what can be said regarding his location? After all, he was from Tekoa, and in Tekoa there were no disciples of the prophets (bnei nevi'im), nor was there a prophet there to ordain him, teach him, and tell the people, "This is a prophet." When one prophet testifies about another prophet, that is enough for us. But in Tekoa there were no prophets at all, so who would testify about him?
Even so, come and see that the people regarded him as a true prophet. On what basis? By virtue of the fact that he prophesied two years before the earthquake and said, "Hashem will roar from Zion." This is the reason Amos was accepted as a prophet by the entire nation. He prophesied about the earthquake that would strike Zion - that there would be a roar from the Holy One, blessed be He - and he also prophesied about a drought: "and the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn," meaning that the places where shepherds graze their flocks would mourn because no rain would fall. All of this he stated two years in advance, and after two years his prophecy was fulfilled; on this basis, Israel accepted him as a prophet.
Thus we find that the opening here is part of his credentials: the author of the book comes to tell us how Amos's prophecies came to be accepted. For this reason it does not say here, "Thus said Hashem," because the intention is not to convey the prophecy for its own sake, but rather to inform us that prior to the earthquake he foresaw the earthquake, and through this the people understood that here was a man delivering a message from Hashem.
Why Jeroboam the Son of Joash Is Mentioned
We have already seen at the beginning of Sefer Hoshea, says the Malbim, that two years before the earthquake, Uzziah was subjugated to the kings of Israel, and the monarchy was designated under the kingdom of Israel. Therefore, Scripture mentions Jeroboam here, since Jeroboam ruled during that period over Judah as well, two years before the earthquake, and for that reason he is mentioned in our verse.
An Explanation of "Will Roar from Zion"
Rashi explains: "Will roar from Zion" - the speech emanates from the Holy of Holies. And regarding "and the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn," Rashi explains following Targum Yonatan that this is a poetic expression: it does not refer to literal pastures of shepherds, but is an allegory for the dwelling places of kings and their fortified cities. And why are they called "the pastures of the shepherds"? Because a king is a shepherd, shepherding his flock, which is the nation he leads.
Radak explains: "Hashem will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem" - the roaring and the uttering of His voice are allegories for prophecy, as it is written: "A lion has roared, who will not fear? The Lord Hashem has spoken, who can but prophesy?" Hashem roars from Zion by delivering His words through the prophet. "And the pastures of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither" - that these places will mourn because of the drought, and "the top of Carmel" refers to the best and choicest part of Carmel. The Malbim explains that "carmel" is a term for moist, full, and lush grain fields, as Chazal say: carmel - rach v'mal (tender and clipped), rach u'malei (tender and full), when the grain is still tender and has not dried out, and is full and bountiful. That is to say: even the finest place will wither, and over this destruction and loss there will be mourning.
A Roar in Zion and a Voice in Jerusalem
Why did the prophet specifically use the expression of roaring from Zion? The Malbim explains: Because it was in Zion that the great roaring occurred. For what caused the earthquake? Uzziah burning incense, and Zion refers to the Beit HaMikdash. That is where the roar of the earthquake began, because that was where the sin took place, where Uzziah corrupted his way when he went to burn incense - an act that is not the role of the king, but of the Kohen.
"And from Jerusalem He shall utter His voice" - a voice is lesser than a roar. This teaches that at the site of the Temple itself there was a roar, and the earthquake there was like a magnitude nine on the Richter scale, whereas in the rest of Eretz Yisrael it was like a magnitude six. What went forth from Jerusalem outward to the other mountains of the land was merely a "voice", but in Jerusalem itself, in Zion, there was a roar, and there the earthquake was immense. Therefore, the milder expression is fitting there.
There was also an additional prophecy here: he informed them that there would be a year of drought, that the shepherds would mourn and there would be no pasture for the livestock, and the top of Carmel would wither - even the lush, moist produce would dry up. All of this was stated two years before the events occurred. From here on, the prophet continues with prophecies concerning the nations - regarding Damascus and its punishment, and the other nations - prophecies delivered well in advance, roughly twenty-five years before they came to pass.
In summary:
The opening of Sefer Amos is not merely a record of time and place, but the prophet's identity card: a shepherd from Tekoa, heavy of speech, who was not naturally prepared for prophecy and did not emerge from the Beit Midrash - and nevertheless, the Holy One, Blessed be He, chose him. The Malbim teaches us that when it is necessary to dispatch an emissary to the public, the Holy One, Blessed be He, bestows a flow of divine sanctity to supplement the person's meager preparation, and this is a great miracle. What granted Amos authority in the eyes of the people was the prophecy itself: two years before the earthquake, he foresaw the roar of Hashem from Zion and the withholding of rain, and when his words were fulfilled, Israel accepted him as a true prophet. From this point forward, the prophet begins the prophecies concerning the nations.