Prophet Redux

Northern prophets  Hosea 8th C  and Amos 8th C coming fall of northern kingdom variously called Israel, Ephraim, Samaria

Early prophets 8th C  Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and Micah

Pre-exilic prophets who prophesied before and during the fall of Jerusalem   Jeremiah, Baruch, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Nahum,  Habbakuk and Zephaniah

Exilic prophets Daniel,  Jeremiah though he didn't go to Babylon, Deutero-Isaiah

Post exilic prophets   Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Obadiah, Trito-Isaiah  Re-read Ezra and Nehemiah as additional context for these prophets and re-read 2 Kings for a refresher on Elijah

Prophets who prophesied about the fall of Assyria (Nineveh) in 612 B.C.    Jonah

Obadiah might be considered post-exilic and Joel lacks sufficient information to be placed


Assyrian power  800s B.C.
Fall of Samaria at hands of the Assyrians  722 B.C.
Assyria falls, Nineveh  612 B.C.
Babylonions  700s B.C.
Rise of Babylonians 600s B.C.
Fall of Jerusalem 597 B.C.
Final Sacking of Jerusalem 587 B.C.

Amos

Book Written: Both Baker and HC say that Amos is the oldest of the books of the prophets though they give no exact dates.  Baker adds that Amos is the first prophet to have a book named after him.

Time Period/Setting:  The reign of Jeroboam II, 786 BC - 746 BC, the northern kingdom at Bethel.  Amos and Hosea are contemporaries.

Author:  Amos is a shepherd, not prophet by trade.  He hails from the southern kingdom but prophesies in the northern.  Along with Isaiah, Hosea and Micah, Amos is one of the four 8th century BC prophets.

Amos is the social justice prophet, speaking as much from his own experience as a laborer as opposed to any formal training in the matter of prophesy.  Per Baker, Amos is the first to introduce the "day of the Lord" although the notion more the theme of Joel than Amos

Joel

Book Written:  Unclear though Baker says around 400 BC.

Time Period/Setting:  Unclear though the book refers to an invasion but doesn't mention by what nation

Title:  The prophet's name which is a common one and means the same as the name Elijah--'My God is the Lord' - but in reverse order. 

The book begins with a colorful description of an enormous invading plague of locusts which I initially took to be a description of an enormous, invading army.  Joel introduces the theme of the day of the Lord or the coming of the Lord's Day.