Adonai's Day יוֹם
יְהוָה
- Similar References
- Day of Reversal
- Eschatology, Worship or War?
- Adonai's Day Outside Amos
- Adonai's Day
and the Structure of the Book of Amos
Only one passage in Amos uses the phrase יוֹם
יְהוָה "Adonai's day" (5:18-20
), yet there are similar references in other places (see below),
which together with thematic and structural
links to other passages suggest this "day" is a
major theme of the book.
Similar references
The phrase "on that day" ( בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא bayom
hahu) occurs at 2:16 ;
8:3, 9, 13
; 9:11. Each time, a reversal
is described, and what happens (will happen) "on that day" is surprising. The
phrases "evil time" 5:13 ; "evil
day" 6:3 and "bitter day" 8:10
(notice the cotext, speaking as at
5:18ff . of darkness and light) also seem related. In
3:14 Adonai says: "on the day when I punish" (bayom).
Even a surface reading of the book shows that the notion of a day of reversal,
brought about by Adonai, upon his people and on the whole world is a regular
theme, as well as the passages cited above cf.
1:14.
When things are not what they seem: A Day of Reversal
Reversal dominates the one passage where the expression "Adonai's Day"
occurs. In Am 5:18-20 the reader
is made aware of a difference of perspective between the speaker and the audience.
18 Alas to you who desire Adonai's day!
What is Adonai's day to you?
It's darkness, not light!
Sunset over the Golan Heights by McMath
The question in the second stich already
suggests this. The construction "why/what | something | to someone" is used
also in Gen 25:32 where translations like "What benefit is a birthright to me?"
are offered. The prophet here suggests that Adonai's Day is worthless, or -
as we shall see - worse, yet in the preceding stich he addresses those who "desire"
or even "lust after" this day. The question does not remain open for long, it
is answered in the next stich: "It's darkness, not light!"
Whatever the exact connotation of "
darkness " and "light
" here, it is evident that Amos declares Adonai's Day to be the opposite of
what is expected. The parable in
v.19 confirms this:
19 Like someone escaping a lion,
who meets a bear;
and entering his house, leans a hand on the wall,
and a snake bites him.
The final verse of the piece repeats and intensifies the reversal.
20 Isn't Adonai's day darkness, not light,
gloom with no brightness in it?
Eschatology, Worship or War?: The Sitz
im Leben of Adonai's Day
Studies interested in the background from which talk of Adonai's Day comes
typically look in one of three directions:
- eschatological use of the
phrase in later texts can suggest that wider Near-Eastern ideas stand behind
OT use of this phrase,
- Mowinckel's notions of an Israelite autumn
festival are ancestor to views of this "day" as a
cultic celebration
- von Rad's claim that Holy War traditions provide the matrix from which prophetic
talk of Adonai's Day grows has influenced many.
That warfare alone provides the background for the use of the term seems unlikely.
Two of the biblical passages presumed to be oldest (Am 5 and Is 2) contain little
or no battle imagery. The cotext in
Amos is cultic and in Isaiah concerns judgment on the proud without explicit
reference to battle.
Yet, other passages do use military imagery. The use of the expression "Midian's
Day" (Is 9:4 [9:3 in Hebrew])
also points this way. Meir Weiss
suggested that the "day" was a theophany
, a proposal which fits much of the evidence and can link elements of the other
approaches.
The arguments for a cultic setting center around the cultic cotext of the earliest
passage, in Amos, and on the way in which talk of this day fits with our understanding
of the autumn festival in Ancient Israel. Talk of rain, sovereignty, storms
etc. all can be understood in this way. On this understanding war imagery where
it occurs is a byproduct of the thought of divine sovereignty.
This discussion is well summarized by Barstad
(89-110).
Adonai's Day Outside Amos
Though the expression "Adonai's day" יוֹם יְהוָה
is not frequent in the prophets, there are many other references which seem
to speak of the same concept suggesting its importance in their thought. If,
however, we begin looking only at the explicit uses, it is already clear that
this "day" involves:
Apparently also it is particularly directed against the "heathen" (Obad 15). However,
most of the prophets (like Amos) seem to turn this idea upside down, and suggest
Adonai pays special attention to punishing the chosen people!
This summary has only referred to texts using the expression "Adonai's day",
if one looks more widely at passages referring to such a "day" this picture
is confirmed and strengthened.
Thus Amos' use of the concept fits well with the later prophetic usage.
This page is part of the Hypertext Bible Commentary - Amos , if you have reached it as a standalone
page, to view it in context, go to www.bible.gen.nz
© Tim Bulkeley, 1996-2005, Tim
Bulkeley. All rights reserved.