The Book of Amos in Emergent Judah.

Rodas, M. Daniel Carroll

The Book of Amos in Emergent Judah. By JASON RADINE. Forschungen zum Alten Testament, 2. Reihe, vol. 45. Tiibingen: MOHR SIEBECK, 2010. Pp. xii + 270. [euro]59 (paper).

The Book of Amos in Resurgent Judah is a slightly revised doctoral dissertation completed at the University of Michigan in 2007 under the supervision of Brian Schmidt. It is a creative attempt to offer a new historical reconstruction of the composition of the book of Amos. The first paragraph of the introduction states Radine's thesis. In his view, the initial form of the book of Amos was composed in Judah soon after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in the last quarter of the eighth century B.C.E. It is not a "prophecy," he says, but rather a document of Judahite propaganda that acknowledged the judgment of Israel by Yahweh as deserved and legitimized Judah as God's true kingdom.

Chapter one surveys the book of Amos to sort out what Radine believes would have been its earliest layer. The criteria of authenticity are both literary and historical. For instance, he defends the authenticity of 5:1-17 and 6:1-14, because their chiastic structure suggests that they were an intact unit from the start. This first composition, he contends, consisted of 1:1-2; 2:6-7:9; 8:1-9:10, with doubts about 3:1-2 and the doxologies (4:14; 5:8-9; 9:5-6). With the content of the earliest layer established, the second chapter attempts to determine its date. The author reviews historical evidence that might confirm the reigns of Uzziah and Jeroboam II, but he finds it less than substantial. He then argues that the referents in 6:2, 5:26, and 8:14 should not be dated earlier than 722. His premise is that the descriptions of disaster in Amos are retrospective and that predictions of invasion and exile are vaticinium ex eventu.

The third chapter is the first of three that try to categorize the first version of Amos within ancient Near Eastern literature. While reflecting some literary characteristics of prophecy elsewhere, Radine says, biblical prophetic literature cannot be equated with it. Prophetic texts from Mesopotamia are anthologies of brief oracles, not lengthy literary works, and do not emphasize social critique. Chapter four argues that Amos is more akin to "literary predictive texts" (a term coined by M. D. Ellis). Like the Akkadian prophecies, Egyptian material, and the Deir 'Alla inscription, the book of Amos is not linked to an historical prophet and from the beginning was a written product.

Chapter five begins with the author's understanding of the rise of Judah, which assumes that the United Monarchy never existed and that Judah did not become a full-fledged state until after Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. Only then did the Southern Kingdom experience substantial growth with the influx of refugees from the north. This is coupled with the view of minimal literacy at that time. Accordingly, Amos was composed by an elite for two audiences: other Judahites and the new immigrants. Its purpose was to endorse the judgment of Israel as deserved and to commend Judah as the people of God. Radine connects this literary effort with Mesopotamian city laments. Like them, but in a distinct style, Amos expressed Judah's nationalistic agenda by explaining Israel's losses and its abandonment by Yahweh.

Chapter six offers proposals for dating the remaining material in the book of Amos. The descriptions of destruction in the judgments in Oracles against the Nations are related to the Babylonian incursions into the Levant between 553-538. The keys to Radine's explanation of the Amaziah narrative (7:10-17) are a supposed rivalry between the sanctuary at Bethel and the Jerusalem Temple in the postexilic period and 7:14, where Amos refuses prophetic status. This denial is coupled with Zechariah 12:3-6 and the idea that at that time prophets were viewed negatively. In 9:11-15, the term sukkah is related to the Sukkoth festival, not the Davidic dynasty or the Jerusalem Temple as is commonly done, and to the future participation of the nations in that feast that is foretold in Zechariah 14. The concluding chapter summarizes the author's argument.

There is much to commend in The Book of Amos in Resurgent Judah. The volume is well organized. so it is easy to follow the logic of its arguments. Each chapter begins by stating its goal and closes with a good review of the points made. Radine is well acquainted with Amos research and archaeological studies and provides synopses of diverse views as he develops his own. This is particularly helpful where he distinguishes his position from others that, at first glance, may appear similar. For example. although Radine considers Amos to be a Judahite tract, he disagrees with those who see it as a call for the restoration of a Davidic monarchy (pp. 4-5); his reconstruction also differs from others who date the initial composition of the book to just after the fall of the Northern Kingdom (pp. 72-78).

The surveys of ancient Near Eastern prophetic material, "literary predictive" texts, and city laments are handy, and the discussions of their resemblances to biblical prophetic literature suggestive. Radine is correct to contend that the biblical material is unlike other prophetic literature, and this reviewer fully agrees that the literariness of the book of Amos strongly suggests that it was a written work from the beginning.

In any reconstruction of the composition of the book of Amos, of which there are many, the success of the model depends on how convincing the reader finds the arguments. For this reviewer, the stance that much of the book can be dated to the eighth century is a salutary counterproposal to those who date the entire work to the postexilic period, although there would be disagreement with Radine's presuppositions about the history of the monarchy. Of course, this is a topic of heated debate. Also, though he says Amos is not a prophecy, neither is it totally like the alternative genres that are put forward. It remains sin generis.

At times, data are interpreted to fit Radine's hypotheses. Three examples illustrate this observation. First, 6:2 is linked to the Assyrian campaigns after the reign of Jeroboam II, and recent excavations that indicate otherwise are too easily set aside (pp. 56-60). Aren Maeir is the prime figure for the work at Tell Es-Safi (Gath) and has made a strong case for a ninth-century referent. In fact, he has just published (with Shira Gur-Arieh) "Comparative Aspects of the Aramean Siege System at Tell Es-Safi/ Gath" (in The Fire Signals of Lachish, Festschrift for D. Ussishkin, ed. I. Finkelstein and N. Na'aman I Eisenbrauns, 2011]) to respond to Ussishkin's critique of his view, which Radine follows. The other examples come from chapter six. While conceding that several of the Oracles against the Nations can fit the eighth century, Radine pushes to date all to later Babylonian activity. Some suggestions are less than convincing. The greatest degree of speculation is exemplified in relationship to 7:10-17. As is the case in any historical reconstruction, possible scenarios--with their varying levels of supportive arguments--can be less than probable.

The Book of Amos in Resurgent Judah is a welcome addition to Amos studies. Readers may not agree with all of Radine's proposals, but there are stimulating ideas in this work that will generate good conversations and spur further research.

M. DANIEL CARROLL RODAS DENVER SEMINARY