The third among the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament is
called, in the Hebrew Text, "'Ams." The spelling of his name is
different from that of the name of Isaias's father, Amoç; whence
Christian tradition has, for the most part, rightly
distinguished between the two. The prophet's name, Amos, has
been variously explained, and its exact meaning is still a
matter of conjecture. According to the heading of his book (i,1)
Amos was a herdsman of Thecua, a village in the Southern
Kingdom, twelve miles south of Jerusalem. Besides this humble
avocation, he is also spoken of in vii, 14, as a simple dresser
of sycamore-trees. Hence, as far as we know, there is no
sufficient ground for the view of most Jewish interpreters that
Amos was a wealthy man. Thecua was apparently a shepherd's town,
and it was while following his flock in the wilderness of Juda,
that, in the reigns of Ozias and Jeroboam, God called him for a
special mission: "Go, prophesy to My people Israel" (vii, 15).
In the eyes of the humble shepherd this