LIST OF BOOKS FOR STUDY.

THE foregoing pages attempt to convey, by a consecutive presentation of the book of Amos, some impression of the majestic personality of the man, and of the power and directness of his message. In an expository treatment of this kind, many important questions are necessarily ignored: with regard, for example, to the original order of the various oracles—whether they are continuous or fragmentary, and frequently displaced—with regard again to the authenticity of the references to Judah (e.g. ii. 4, 5), or of the doxologies (iv. 13, v. 8, 9, ix. 5, 6), or the epilogue (ix. 8-15), and various other disputed verses or paragraphs. Textual and metrical questions had also to be passed over. A few deviations from the text of the English Bible (Authorized or Revised) rest upon highly probable emendations which are almost universally accepted by scholars. It did not seem worth while to deal even incidentally or illusively with the critical problems raised by the book—the proper place for such discussion is a commentary; but those who can read between the lines will usually detect the conclusions which commend themselves to me. It is altogether probable that the criticism of the future will substantially restore to Amos verses whose authenticity has been widely questioned. But the controverted matters are relatively so few as not seriously to affect the broad and massive impression made by the first and surely one of the greatest of the literary prophets. There is probably no Old Testament writer whose mind, or at least whose personality, we know so intimately.

Fundamental to any thorough appreciation of the message of Amos is, of course, an intimate familiarity with the words of the book itself, which should, in the first instance, be read without extraneous helps of any kind, partly that the reader may get an independent impression of the book for himself, and partly because in this way he discovers its difficulties and perplexities at first hand, and thus learns exactly what his needs are, when he comes to consult other books.

He has not travelled far till he recognizes the importance of at least a rudimentary knowledge of the history of the times. The book of Kings affords him little help, as the reign of Jeroboam n., into which Amos's prophecy falls, is there disposed of in a few verses, which tell us very little (2 Kings xiv. 23-29). The prophets themselves constitute our most important Hebrew source for a knowledge of the life and history of the times. This has been in recent years greatly augmented by the evidence of the Assyrian inscriptions. The intelligent student of Hebrew prophecy must furnish himself with some modern history of Israel, which gathers up the evidence from these various sources. A very clear, readable, and reliable volume is C. F. Kent's History of the Hebrew People, "The Divided Kingdom" (Charles Scribner's Sons). Brief, but competent, is the treatment in R. L. Ottley's Short History of the Hebrews (Cambridge University Press). Equally good, and somewhat fuller, is F. J. Foakes Jackson's Biblical History of the Hebrews (Cambridge: Heffer), which has been recently adapted as Biblical History for Junior Forms (25. 6d.). C. F. Kent's Historical Bible, in 6 volumes (Charles Scribner's Sons; $1.00 net each), "makes it possible to study the character, work, and message of each great prophet, sage, or apostle in the full light of the events and conditions amidst which he lived and laboured." The period of Amos is covered by vol. iii., The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah. A very attractive, inexpensive, and properly written volume, with important and valuable illustrations, entitled The Story of Israel and Judah, is from the pen of H. J. Chaytor (Blackie & Son). Wellhausen's brilliant sketch, which originally appeared as the art. "Israel," in the Encyclopedia Britannica, is published in book form as Sketch of the History of Israel and Judah, by A. & C. Black. H. P. Smith's Old Testament History, in the International Theological Library series (Charles Scribner's Sons), is more elaborate than any of these.

Besides an acquaintance with the history, it is well to have some general conception of prophecy before entering on this special study. Unusually interesting and suggestive is the volume on The Hebrew Prophet, by L. W. Batten (Macmillan), which deals, for example, with the prophet's credentials and call, his relation to the State, the Church, etc. The development of Hebrew religion as a conflict of prophetic with natural and ceremonial religion has been skilfully depicted by Westphal in The Law and the Prophets, translated by Du Pontet (Macmillan; 8s. 6d. net). For one who wishes to discover the facts inductively for himself and to reach his own conclusions, there could be no better guide than the late W. R. Harper's Prophetic Element in the Old Testament (Chicago University Press; $1.00). It includes an inductive study of Amos on pp. 98-111. A useful book, designed to simplify the study of prophecy, is The Hebrew Prophets, or Patriots and Leaders of Israel, by G. L. Chamberlin (University 143

Appendix

of Chicago Press; $1.00). The late A. B. Davidson's article on "Prophecy and Prophets," in Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, vol. iv. (Scribners), is very complete and admirable, indeed not less useful than his volume on Old Testament Prophecy (Scribners). There is a fine presentation of the nature and development of Hebrew prophecy in Kautzsch's great article on the "Religion of Israel," in the extra volume of Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, pp. 671-715. C. H. Cornill's The Prophets of Israel is a very able and illuminating sketch, scientific but popular (Chicago: Open Court Publishing Co.; $1.00). W. G. Jordan's Prophetic Ideas and Ideals (Revell Co.) is a particularly living and suggestive book. Farrar's The Minor Prophets, in the "Men of the Bible "series, is very satisfactory.

The text of Amos, arranged metrically, will be found, along with the other prophets, in C. F. Kent's Student's Old Testament, vol. iii. (Charles Scribner's Sons; $2.75 net). The study of the prophets is facilitated by Buchanan Blake's careful arrangement of the prophecy into brief paragraphs with appropriate titles, in his How to Read the Prophets, part i. (Scribners), which also contains a brief sketch of the prophecy and a glossary of difficult references. A suggestive English paraphrase (which has often the value of a commentary), with brief introductions, appears in Sanders and Kent's Messages of the Earlier Prophets (Charles Scribner's Sons; $1.25 net).

For a general introduction to Amos, S. R. Driver's Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament (Scribners; $2.50 net), or (briefer) J. E. McFadyen's Introduction to the Old Testament (Hodder & Stoughton; 6s.), may be consulted. A very complete and thorough discussion is presented in W. Robertson Smith's Prophets of Israel, Lecture iii. (A. & C. Black; 6s. net). There is a careful and sympathetic study of Amos on pp. 123-154 of the first vol. of G. G. Findlay's very useful series, The Books of the Prophets in their historical succession (London: Charles Kelly; 2s. 6d.); also in A. F. Kirkpatrick's Doctrine of the Prophets, Lecture iv. (Macmillan; 6s.). There is a penetrating study of "The Prophet Amos" in the late A. B. Davidson's Biblical and Literary Essays (pp. 105-138). In the chapter on Amos (iv.) in his Religion of Israel under the Kingdom, Kerr Lectures (Scribners; $3.00 net), Dr. A. C. Welch offers a fresh, profound, and powerful treatment of the prophet's mind and message.

Of detailed commentaries the most helpful to ordinary students will be S. R. Driver's "Joel and Amos," in the Cambridge Bible series: much more exhaustive and elaborate is W. R. Harper's vol. on "Amos and Hosea," in the International Critical Commentary series (Scribners). Other good commentaries are by H. G. Mitchell—"Amos, an Essay in Exegesis" (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.), and by R. F. Horton ("The Minor Prophets, Hosea—Micah") in the Century Bible (T. C. & E. C. Jack; 2s. 6d. net). A very useful treatment of Amos, arranged as short and simple daily studies, will be found in The Work and Teaching of the Earlier Prophets, by C. F. Kent and R. S. Smith (Young Men's Christian Association Press, New York); and on a smaller scale, in Studies in the Prophets of Israel, by R. H. Walker and R. B. Miller (Eaton & Mains, New York).

Louis Wallis, in his Sociological Study of the Bible (University of Chicago Press, $1.50; Cambridge University Press, 6s. net), presents a fresh and brilliant treatment of the rise and development of the social problem in Israel, which throws much incidental light on Amos. In The Book of the Twelve Prophets, vol. i. (Expositor's Bible; Hodder & Stoughton), Principal G. A. Smith has illuminated the prophet's times and message, in his own inimitable way, with a wealth of eloquence, insight, and imagination.

There is much important foreign literature on Amos: the previous list is strictly confined to English books and translations. Of these, the beginner should furnish himself at least with Driver's commentary, Kent's or Chaytor's history, and G. A. Smith's exposition.