The Prophetic Voice of Amos on Contemporary Social Justice

Patrick Kofi Amissah, PhD (2016), King’s College London, is an Associate Lecturer at Cardiff University and Cardiff Baptist College, United Kingdom, and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Ghana. He has published on the Bible and social justice.

Contents


Forewords


 Walter J. Houston, Nimi Wariboko and J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu





Preface


Acknowledgements


List of Figures and Tables


Abbreviations





1 Introduction


 1 Motivation


 2 Background


 3 The Gap


 4 What to Expect


 5 The Centrality of Social Justice in the Prophecy of Amos


 6 Hermeneutical Challenges





2 Methodological Considerations


 1 Introduction


 2 Hermeneutical Challenges: the Starting Point


 3 Transpositional Hermeneutics: the Foundation


 4 Departing from Transpositional Hermeneutics


 5 Active Transpositional Hermeneutics


 6 Advantages of Active Transpositional Hermeneutics


 7 African Biblical Hermeneutics


 8 Synthesis





3 Social Justice in the Context of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Texts


 1 Introduction


 2 Expressing Social Justice in the Hebrew Bible


 3 Ancient Near Eastern Expression of Social Justice


 4 Agents for Delivering Social Justice in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Tradition


 5 Approaches to Social Justice in Biblical and ANE Traditions


 6 Working Definition of Social Justice


 7 Summary





4 The Prophecy of Amos as a Model of Social Justice


 1 Introduction


 2 Background to the Prophecy of Amos


 3 The Message of the Book of Amos


 4 Social Justice in the Prophecy of Amos: the Prey, the Predator and the Protector


 5 Conclusion





5 Social Justice Themes in the Prophecy of Amos


 1 Introduction


 2 Lack of Human Dignity in the Treatment of the Vulnerable (Amos 2:6–7)


 3 Extortion (Amos 2:8)


 4 Oppression (Amos 3:9–10; 4:1)


 5 Bribery, Corruption and Miscarriage of Justice (Amos 5:7, 10, 12; 6:12)


 6 Excessive Taxation of the Poor (Amos 5:11)


 7 Carefree Extravagant Opulence amidst Abject Poverty (Amos 6:1–7)


 8 Unjust Trade (Amos 8:4–6)


 9 Ecological Injustice


 10 Gender Abuse and Insensitivity


 11 Positive Call for Social Justice (Amos 5:24)


 12 Conclusion





6 Ghanaian Reading of Social Justice Themes in the Prophecy of Amos


 1 Introduction


 2 Choice of Ghanaian Bible Translations


 3 Social Justice Themes in Amos in Mother Tongue Biblical Translations


 4 Implications for Social Justice Awareness in Ghana





7 Issues of Contemporary Social Justice


 1 Introduction: Methodological Issues


 2 The Meaning of Social Justice


 3 Contemporary Issues of Social Injustice


 4 The Role of Some Churches in the Quest for Social Justice


 5 Conclusion





8 The Grazing Sheep and the Screaming Fowl: Contemporary Social Injustice in the Light of the Prophetic Voice of Amos


 1 Introduction


 2 The Grazing Sheep and the Screaming Fowl


 3 Social Justice in Contemporary Ghana and the Prophetic Voice of Amos


 4 Conclusion


Appendix: Selected Texts from the Prophecy of Amos in Hebrew (BHS), Gã, Akan and Ewe


Bibliography


Index