Texts in Conversation
Amos praises God with ancient Near Eastern cosmological language, especially as the one who formed the constellations Pleiades and Orion. Job 9 uses nearly the same language, listing the same stars to highlight cosmic power over creation and the special place those constellations had in ancient Near Eastern thought.
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Amos 5:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Seek the Lord so you can live! Otherwise he will break out like fire against Joseph’s family; the fire will consume, and no one will be able to quench it and save Bethel. 7 The Israelites turn justice into bitterness; they throw what is fair and right to the ground. 8 But there is one who made the constellations Pleiades and Orion; he can turn the darkness into morning and daylight into night. He summons the water of the seas and pours it out on the earth’s surface. The Lord is his name! 9 He flashes destruction down upon the strong so that destruction overwhelms the fortified places. 10 The Israelites hate anyone who arbitrates at the city gate; they despise anyone who speaks honestly.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Job 9:9
Hebrew Bible
7 he who commands the sun, and it does not shine and seals up the stars, 8 he alone spreads out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. 9 He makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky; 10 he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number. 11 If he passes by me, I cannot see him; if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Whatever the origin of Amos’ text may be, the parallel texts in Job 9:9 and 38:3 stress the
wisdom and power of God. They are the only other texts mentioningִ כּהָמי andְ כּליִס in the Hebrew Bible. In addition, there is a striking parallel between the vocabulary and themes of Job 5:8-17, 9:5-9 and those of the three doxologies of Amos, even though the tone and scope of the two books differ considerably ..."
Comte, Cyprian
From the Pleiades to 'Apocalypse Now': Amos 5:8-9, A Hymn to the Transforming God
(pp. 1-23) The Irish Biblical Association, 2021
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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