F.I.
Andersen & David Noel Freedman, Amos (Anchor Bible) Doubleday, 1989.
pp.977. [Compare CBD's Price] With 979 pages of smallish print this is probably the
biggest ever commentary on Amos. With full and thorough discussion of most of
the important issues. It majors on the ideas that Andersen and Freedman are
best known for promoting, giving for example lots of information about the use
of "prose particles" in different short units of the book. This is
a real reference work, with nearly complete reference to scholarly debate.
John
H. Hayes, Amos,
the Eighth-Century Prophet : His Time and His Preaching Abingdon,
1989 Hayes offers a short but distinctive reading
of Amos. Based on this detailed reconstruction of the history of (Northern Kingdom)
Israel's last years the book accurately reflects the prophet's preaching at
the New Year festival in 750BCE. The style is straightforward and Hayes provides
the reasons behind his conclusions. Though out of print it could well be worth
trying to get a copy from Amazon's "Out-of-Print" service.
Tyndale commentaries aim to provide the best of Evangelical
scholarship. Hubbard's on (Joel &) Amos arrives at conservative conclusions,
but shares the historical focus of the older style of biblical scholarship.
J.L.
Mays, Amos (Old Testament Library) Westminster, 1999. pp.176. [Compare
CBD's Price]
Slimmer, and easier to read, than most of the other "solid"
scholarly commentaries, Mays' Old Testament Library volume discusses questions
that many readers either ask, or ought to ask, about Amos.
Alan
Motyer, Amos: The Day of the Lion, new edn. (The Bible Speaks Today)
Leicester: IVP, 1984. pp.208. [Compare CBD's Price]
This series seeks to focus on the message of the biblical
book, rather than on its historical and literary features for their own sake.
Could be useful as stimulus to meditation and reflection, perhaps as a complement
to all that detailed study the most of the other tomes listed here will provide!
Shalom
M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia) Fortress, 1991. pp.409. [Compare CBD's
Price] The big pages of the Hermenia series contain a wealth
of well organised information and ideas. (Paul's "Amos" has 409 pages.)
Less strong on scholarly debate, but with an approach which by being more sensitive
to the literary feel of the book offers more balanced commentary than Wolff's
earlier classic in the same series.
H.W.
Wolff, Joel and Amos (Hermeneia) Fortress, 1977. pp.393. [Compare
CBD's Price] Translation of a magisterial German commentary, illustrates
the best and worst of biblical studies of that period, solid form-critical questioning
arrives at over skeptical conclusions about how the book came to be. The careful
and well-documented discussion of every issue is not out-dated. (Though "replaced"
by Paul's volume in the series.)
F.I.
Andersen & David Noel Freedman, Amos (Anchor Bible) Doubleday, 1989.
pp.977. [Compare CBD's Price]
Bruce
C. Birch Hosea, Joel, and Amos (Westminster Bible Companion)Westminster
John Knox, 1997. pp.280
Peter
C. Craigie, Twelve Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah (The
Daily Study Bible Series) Westminster John Knox, 1984. pp.252
D.A.
Hubbard, Joel and Amos (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) Leicester:
IVP, 1989. pp.245
Gary
V. Smith, Hosea/Amos/Micah (NIV Application Commentary) Zondervan, 2001. pp.608.
