JBL 106/2 (2987) 217-222

SEVENFOLD STRUCTURES
IN THE BOOK OF AMOS
JAMES LIMBURG
Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, MN 55108

The number seven appears to play a significant role both in the structure
of the book of Amos and in the makeup of certain of the sayings. The purpose
of this paper is to point out some of these sevenfold sequences and then to
ask about their importance for understanding the book as a whole.

I. Divine Speech Formulas and the Structure of the Book of Amos

By "divine speech formulas" we mean those stereotyped expressions that
introduce or conclude sayings identifying them as words of the Lord. In the
book of Amos these may be divided into 'amar formulas, në'um formulas, and
the dibber formula.1
The first unit in Amos is the introduction (1:1-2), which identifies the
prophet and introduces his message.
The next unit is the series of oracles against the nations and against
Israel (1:3-2:16). This section contains eight introductory 'amar formulas (1:3,
6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6), three concluding 'amar formulas (1:5, 8, 15) and two
në'um formulas (2:11,16). The total number of divine speech formulas is thus
fourteen.
The "hear this word" formulas of 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1 introduce the next
three units in the Amos collection. In chap. 3 there are two introductory
'amar formulas (w 11,12) and three në'um formulas (w 10,13,15). The initial
divine saying in the chapter (v 2) is doubly introduced, with a dibber formula,
"which Yahweh has spoken," and also with an 'amar formula, lè'mor (3:1).2 The
total number of divine speech formulas in this section is thus seven.

1
'amar formulas: köh 'amar YHWH (12 times: 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6; 3:12; 5:4, 16; 7:17);
'amar YHWH (6 times: 1:5, 15; 2:4; 5:17, 27; 7:3); 'ämar 'ädönäy YHWH (1:8; 7:6); wayyö'mer
YHWH 'êhy (7:8; 8:2); köh 'ämar 'ädönäy YHWH (3:11; 5:3); wayyö'mer 'ëlay YHWH (7:15);
'ämar YHWH elöhekä (9:15); lê'môr (3:1); total - 27. në'um formulas: në'um YHWH (14 times:
2:11, 16; 3:10, 15; 4:3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11; 9:7, 8, 12, 13); në'um 'ädönäy YHWH (4 times: 4:5; 8:3, 9,
11); në'um 'ädönäy YHWH 'ëlohê hassëba'ôt (3 times: 3:13; 6:8, 14); në'um YHWH 'ëlohê sëba'ôt
(6:8); në'um YHWH 'ëlohê hassëba'ôt (6:14); total = 21. dibber formula: dibber YHWH (3:1).
2
The formula 'ädönäy YHWH dibber is found in 3:8, but it is not in the framework of direct
speech.

217
218 Journal of Biblical Literature

Chap. 4 contains seven në'um formulas, six of them in the në'um YHWH
form (4:3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11), one of them expanded (4:5).
The "hear this word" formula introduces the unit beginning with 5:1, but
where does the unit end? We have noted that 1:3-2:16 contains fourteen
divine speech formulas and 3:1-15 and 4:1-13 each contain seven. If we count
out the next seven divine speech formulas, the next unit ends with 6:14.
There are three initial 'amar formulas (5:3, 4, 16), two final 'ämar formulas
(5:17, 27), and two në'um formulas (6:8, 14). This division fits well with the
content, since the series of vision reports begins with 7:1.
It is clear that a new unit begins with 7:1, but where does the unit end?
Again, we count the next seven divine speech formulas, which take us
through 8:3. This section contains six 'ämar formulas (7:3, 6, 8, 15, 17, 8:2)
and one në'um formula (8:3). Once more, this division fits well with the
contents, since 7:1-8:3 contains four vision reports and the narrative section
in 7:10-17. The "hear this" of 8:4 then begins a new unit, just as the same
imperative was used to signal new units in 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1.
We are left, then, with the material in 8:4-9:15. How should it be divided?
Once again, we count out seven divine speech formulas and discover that
there are seven such formulas in 8:4-9:15: six në'um formulas (8:9, 11; 9:7, 8,
12, 13) and one 'ämar formula (9:15).
The following table summarizes the distribution of divine speech for-
mulas in the book of Amos; the në'um formulas are in italics; the dibber for-
mula is marked with an asterisk; and the remaining are 'ämar formulas:
Distribution of Divine Speech Formulas in Amos
1:3-2:16 3:1-15 4:1-13 5:1-6:14 7:1-8:3 8:4-9:15
1:3,5 3:1* 4:3 5:3 7:3 8:9
1:6,8 3:1 4:5 5:4 7:6 8:11
1:901 3:10 4:6 5:16 7:8 9:7
1:13, 15 3:11 4:8 5:17 7:15 9:8
2:1,3 3:12 4:9 5:27 7:17 9:12
2:4,6 3:13 4:10 6:5 8:2 9:13
2:11, 16 3:15 4:11 6:14 8:3 9:15
The table indicates a total of twenty-seven 'ämar formulas, twenty-one
në'um formulas, and one dibber formula, for a grand total of forty-nine, or
seven times seven.
The bold numerals at the heads of the columns indicate the major
divisions of the book of Amos. If we count the introduction in 1:1-2 as the
first section, then the book falls into seven parts, with seven or a multiple of
seven divine speech formulas in each of the major parts.
What conclusions may be drawn from the distribution of these formulas
in the book of Amos? First, the distribution of these formulas in sevens or
a multiple of seven in each major segment of the book is so striking that it
 Limburg: Sevenfold Structures in Amos 219

would seem to be intentional rather than coincidental. We assume that the

distributing was the work of the editor of the book. But why should an editor
choose to do this? Perhaps it is simply a stylistic device. It is well known,
however, that the number seven in the Bible symbolizes completeness and
may in fact even represent it.3 Was the redactor indicating that each of these
sections is certified as wholly, completely a message from the Lord? Does the
fact that the book as a whole contains seven-squared formulas certify the
entire book as an authentic message from the Lord?
Now to a further question: Is this favoring of sevens a predilection of the
editor, or does it reach back further into the Amos tradition itself?

II. Seven, and Seven-plus-one in the Sayings of Amos

There are a few sayings in the book of Amos that group items in seven.
In the initial accusation against Israel, which follows after the series of
sayings against foreign nations, the prophet lists seven transgressions: (1)
selling the righteous; (2) (selling) the needy; (3) trampling the poor; (4)
turning away the afflicted; (5) sexually exploiting a young woman; (6) keeping
garments taken in pledge; (7) drinking wine taken in payment of fines
(2:6-7).4 In this same oracle, the consequences of the announced punishment
are also sevenfold: (1) the swift will not be able to flee; (2) the strong will be
weak; (3) the mighty will not escape; (4) the bowman will fall; (5) the fast
runner will not escape; (6) the horseman will not escape; (7) the stout
hearted will flee naked (2:14-16). The first oracle against Israel thus contains
a sevenfold accusation and a sevenfold announcement of the consequences
of Israel's punishment.5
Next we note the hymn fragment in 5:8-9, which describes the activity
of the Lord with a series of seven verbs: (1) making the Pleiades6 and Orion;
(2) turning deep darkness into morning; (3) darkens the day into night; (4)
calling for the waters of the sea; (5) pours them out upon the surface of the
earth; (6) making destruction to flash against the strong; (7) so that destruc-
tion comes upon the fortress.

3
See Meir Weiss, T h e Pattern of Numerical Sequence in Amos 1-2," JBL 86 (1967) 420, and
the work by Johannes [sic] Hehn cited there, "Zur Bedeutung der Siebenzahl," in Karl Marti zum
Siebzigsten Geburtstage (BZAW 41; ed. Karl Budde; Giessen: Töpelmann, 1925) 128-36. Hehn
gives some examples where leba* "nicht mit 'sieben, sondern mit 'Fülle* o. ä. zu übersetzen ist"
(130). Among them is the name Elisheba in Exod 6:23, which he argues means "Mein Gott ist
die Fülle" (131); so also KB (3d ed) 1. 55. On the significance of seven in the Bible, see M. H.
Pope, "Seven, Seventh, Seventyf IDB, 4. 294-95, which concludes: "Perhaps the simplest and
most comprehensive generalization that can be made is that seven denotes completeness,
perfection, consummation."
4
On the listing of seven distinct transgressions here, see Wilhelm Rudolph, Joel-Amos-
Obadja-Jona (Gütersloh: Mohn, 1971) 140-45; see also Weiss, "Pattern," 420, and n. 7 below.
5
See Weiss, "Pattern," 420.
β
We may recall that Pleiades is a constellation with seven stars, also known as "seven sisters."
220 Journal of Biblical Literature

It is possible to see a listing of seven in the accusation against the

merchants in 8:4-87 The prophet accuses the merchants by quoting seven
things that they say: (1) When will the new moon be over, that we may sell
grain? (2) And the sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale? (3) to make the
ephah small; (4) to make the shekel great; (5) to deal deceitfully with false
balances; (6) to buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals;
(7) that we may sell the refuse of the wheat.
Why these listings of seven? Is this a stylistic device, or does the prophet
mean that Israel is totally accused and the effects of her punishment will be
total? Does the hymn fragment intend to describe the totality of the Lord's
work? Does the sevenfold accusation against the merchants signify the total
wrongness of their attitude and actions?
We turn next to a number of instances in Amos where seven items are
listed and then, after this listing of seven, comes a climactic statement. We
could call this a "seven-plus-climax" sequence or, for simplicity, "seven-plus-
»
one.
The controversy saying in 3:3-8 begins with seven rhetorical questions:
(1) Do two walk together . . . ? (2) Does a lion roar . . . ? (3) Does a young lion
cry o u t . . . ? (4) Does a bird fall... ? (5) Does a snare spring up . . . ? (6) Is
a trumpet blown . . . ? (7) Does evil befall a city . . . ? After the parenthetical
comment in ν 7 comes the climax in ν 8, "The Lion has roared, who will not
fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?"
The imitation of a call to worship in 4:4-5 lists a series of seven verbs
in the imperative or its equivalent: come, transgress, multiply, bring, offer,
proclaim, publish. After this list of seven comes the punch line of the saying,
"for so you love to do, O people of Israel."
The seven-plus-one sequence is not immediately apparent in 4:6-12,
which is grouped in a series of five stanzas. There are, however, seven vebs
in the first person with -kern suffix forms, recalling the warnings that the Lord
had given his people: I gave you (v 6), I withheld from you (v 7), I smote you
(v 9), I sent among you (v 10), I slew . . . your young men (v 10), I made a
stench go up in your camp (v 10), I overthrew some of you (v 11). After this
listing of seven comes the climax of the saying, "Therefore, thus I will do to
you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O
Israel!"
The famous call for justice in 5:21-24 lists seven things the Lord does
not like: feasts, solemn assemblies, burnt offerings, cereal offerings, peace
offerings, noise of songs, melody of harps. After this listing comes the climax,
indicating what the Lord does desire: "But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

7
We count seven by taking the seven verbs, as indicated below. One might object that there
are two items in (6), comparing Amos 2:6, but the parallels here are poor/needy, thus synon­
ymous; in 2:6, they are righteous/needy, two related but not identical classes.
 Limburg: Sevenfold Structures in Amos 221

In 6:4-6, part of the unit 6:1-7, the actions of the people upon whom
a woe is pronounced are described with seven verbs: lie, stretch, eat, sing,
invent, drink, anoint. After this listing of seven comes the climactic state­
ment, "but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph."8
The vision report in 9:1-4 lists a series of seven punishing acts of the
Lord, using the first-person pronoun or, in one case, "my hand": I will slay,
my hand shall take, I will bring them down, I will search out, I will take them,
I will command, I will command. After these seven comes a climactic general
statement: "I will set my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."9
Finally, we call attention to the most striking instance of the seven-plus-
one sequence. The Amos book opens with a speech of the prophet that
begins by denouncing seven nations outside Israel and reaches its climax in
the lengthy oracle against Israel itself (1:3-2:16).10

III. Summary and Conclusions

1. In a few instances we find groupings of seven in the Amos collection:
2:6-8 (accusation) and 2:14-16 (announcement of punishment), 5:8-9 (hymn
fragment), possibly 8:4-6 (accusation). If these are intentional groupings of
seven, have they been so arranged for stylistic reasons, or do they indicate
completeness?
2. In certain sayings, seven statements are made or seven items are
listed, and then the climax of the saying is expressed. We have found this
seven-plus-one pattern in 3:3-8, 4:4-5, 4:6-12, 5:21-24, 6:4-6, and 9:1-4.
These are sayings that are central to the book of Amos, the essentials of which
may be assigned to the prophet himself. In each case it would appear that
the prophet is using a stylistic device to build up to a climactic declaration.
We shall comment on the seven-plus-one sequence in 1:3-2:16 below.
3. There are forty-nine divine speech formulas in Amos. These formulas
occur in such a way that there are seven or, in one case, fourteen of them in
each major section of the book. The distribution of these formulas is too close
to the natural divisions of the book to be coincidental. Why they have been
so distributed is a matter of conjecture. Could the distribution be explained
8
H. W. Wolff understands ν 6b as secondary (Joel and Amos [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977])
274, 277. But the break in style is precisely for the sake of the climax of the saying.
9
If the verbs "I will search out" and "I will take" are considered a hendiadys, then we have
here a listing of seven divine actions; see Weiss, "Pattern," 420.
10
Although I have not made a complete survey of the biblical material in search of the
"seven-plus one" sequence, I call attention to the following: In I Sam 16:10-12, Jesse has seven
of his sons pass before Samuel. When none of these is chosen, he brings forth David, who is
then anointed king. In Micah 3:6-7 the announcement of punishment lists seven evils that will
come: night, darkness, going down of the sun, blackening of the day, disgrace of seers, shame
of diviners, covering of lips. Then comes a general summarizing and climactic statement, "for
there is no answer from God." The accusation part of this oracle lists seven transgressions: hate,
love, tear, eat, flay, break, chop (3:2-3).
222 Journal of Biblical Literature

on the basis of seven as an indicator of completeness, certifying each section

of the book as well as the book as a whole as word from the Lord?
Counting the introduction in 1:1-2 as the first section, the book itself
may be divided into seven sections.
4. The following are offered as suggestions in connection with well-
known problems in the Amos book:
a. The formula "For three . . . and for four" in the first two chapters of
Amos is almost universally explained nowadays as related to the "x, x + 1"
formula that is well known in wisdom literature (Prov 6:16-19; 30:18-19,
21-23, 29-31, etc.).11 Meir Weiss has called this into question on literary-
poetic grounds and has suggested that what is meant here is simply three
plus four, or seven (an understanding, he points out, found in the commen-
taries of both Luther and Calvin).12 The Israel oracle actually lists seven
transgressions; what is meant by the "three and four" of the other oracles is
a totality of transgressions. In view of the role that the number seven plays
in both the sayings and the structure of the Amos material, this suggestion
would seem to be worth reconsidering.
b. There has been a good deal of scholarly discussion about the reasons
for the lack of a concluding "says the Lord" formula in the Tyre, Edom, and
Judah oracles of Amos 1:3-2:16. These formulas may be missing because the
editor was striving for seven or a multiple of seven divine speech formulas
in each section of the book. These oracles, which are the shortest, would be
least in need of both introductory and concluding formulas.
c. Most scholars today understand one, two, or all three of the Tyre,
Edom, and Judah oracles as later updatings of the prophetic message.13 The
present arrangement of sayings against seven nations, plus one against Israel,
may be the work of the final editor of the book. But in view of the fact that
sayings that may be traced with considerable confidence to Amos exhibit this
pattern, it may be that we should assign the entire speech, with its seven-plus
one parts, to the prophet himself.

11
See, e.g., Wolff, Joel and Amos, 137-38.
12
Weiss, "Pattern," 419.
13
See John Barton, Amos' Oracles Against the Nations (Cambridge: University Press, 1980)
chap. 3.
 ^ s
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