Amos Earthquake: A Mountain of Evidence

“The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, who he saw about Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake” (Amos). 1: 1).

Amos is one of the first prophets in the Bible to have a book named after him. Any direct evidence of the man himself is elusive (as is the case with most Bible prophets, and this is understandable). But what became known as the Amos earthquake? There is, in the literal sense of the word, piles of evidence explaining why such an event is in such disrepair – under the name “earthquake”.

lets take alook.

Amos’s Bible Book (Jan Snellenck, 1579)

Rijksmuseum

According to the biblical chronology, this earthquake occurred sometime during the first half of the eighth century B.C. Amos 1: 1 and Zechariah 14: 5 reveal that it occurred during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah – two kings whose reigns overlapped for a short 14-year period (Jeroboam the previous king And Uzziah the last; 2 Kings 15: 1). Moreover, historian Josephus wrote that the earthquake occurred around the time Uzziah became afflicted with leprosy, reducing the time frame to the end of that 14-year period (2 Chronicles 26). Thus, depending on the chronology, the earthquake must have occurred during the 1970s or 1960s of the 7th century BC, towards the end of Jeroboam’s reign.

Besides the first verse of Amos (and many other references in his book relating to earthquake-like devastation), the prophet Zechariah mentions the event in Zechariah 5: 14: “Yes, you will flee as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah …”

The fact that Zacharias was a second prophet of the temple, written about 250 years after the event, indicates how much shame it took place in him. Here, he compares the earthquake to another event predicted, before the coming of Christ.

Archaeological account

In several eighth century BC sites across the Levant, archaeologists have found massive amounts of earthquake damage. Combined, with concurrent dating, the remains relate to a precisely identifiable event around 760 BC, and evidence at the sites include inclined or collapsed walls, crooked and sunken floors, and separate masonry and stones. (Besides parallel dating, these types of rubble are easily distinguishable from war damage, as there is no corresponding burn layer or weapon remnants, etc.)

Haaretz archaeologist Ruth Schuster summarized the evidence in her article Verifying the Authenticity of Amos’s Book: A Massive Earthquake Happened in the Eighth Century BC:

Evidence for a catastrophe in the eighth century BC in northern Israel is abundant. The class of destruction at Hazor is dated by Israel Finkelstein and Yigal Yadin to 760 BC, a fitting time frame for Amos. In Lachish, David Ussishkin found a level of destruction from the same time. Acre also has a similar caste that dates back to the mid-8th century B.C …

[At Megiddo], Archaeologists describe “leaning walls and columns, curved and deformed walls, broken building stones, drenched floors, liquefied sand, collapsing mud bricks and burning remains.” …

[Tel Abu Hawam] It was destroyed after the earthquake and was never rebuilt. The damage found at Tel Dan also fits the Bible earthquake timeline. … [Tel Shafi] It has a wall 4 meters (13 feet) thick that has fallen off its side….

Ruins at Ain Haziva, southern Judah. The heavy tilt in the great central wall, attributed to the Amos earthquake, is clearly visible.

Dan McClearan | The Journal of Popular Archeology

The list of various sites with earthquake guides can be continued. Deir Alla in Jordan. Samaria is in the heart of Israel. Tell new. Tell Gezer in the west. En Haseva is in the far south. Core samples extracted from Ain Gedi, Ain Fashkha, and Nehl Taslim revealed distorted sedimentary layers of carbon 14 dating back to the same time period.

As Dr. Stephen Austin wrote regarding the outer city wall of Hill Geiser:[H]Cones weighing a ton [were] Cracked and displaced several inches from their foundation. The lower part of the wall has been shifted outward (away from the city), while the upper part of the wall has fallen inward (towards the city) still lying in its path. This indicates that the wall has suddenly collapsed. “

A map showing the epicenter and earthquake-affected cities

Public domain

The amount of evidence spread throughout the Levant is very large, in fact, scientists have determined that the epicenter was most likely in Lebanon and that its magnitude was most likely around 8.2 (at least 7.8), with a modified Mercali intensity in Israel 9. Dr. Stephen Austin continues : “[This event] It appears to be the largest area documented so far in the Dead Sea diversion rift zone over the past 4,000 years. The Dead Sea Diversion Fault likely ruptured along more than 400 kilometers as the Earth shook violently for more than 90 seconds! The urban panic triggered by this earthquake was legendary. “

The long duration of the earthquake – 90 seconds – helps explain the Prophet Zakaria’s statement that people were “fleeing” while the earth was still wasting.

The Bible does not provide a death count, but can we understand the potential human cost?

Historical account

We already have data from subsequent earthquakes that struck the region – although their intensity has decreased somewhat. Two earthquakes of magnitude 8 are known to have occurred on the Dead Sea diversion fault in ancient times – one in CE 749, killing 100,000 people. And one, in 526, killed 255,000. The Amos earthquake is estimated to have another, higher intensity level!

Worldwide, the deadliest earthquake in history was the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake in China. The death toll reached just under a million. This was an 8.0-magnitude earthquake (compared to the 8.2-magnitude Amos earthquake).

The second is the 1976 Tangshan earthquake (again, in China) – a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, and the death toll varied widely (around 250,000 to 700,000).

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The magnitude was 7.9, the maximum magnitude was 11. The earthquake destroyed more than 80 percent of San Francisco.

Public domain

You may remember the 2010 Haiti earthquake on the media (and some of our readers may remember Tangshan above); The 7.07 Haiti earthquake is in seventh place, killing more than 300,000 people.

Of course, the death tolls depend on the population density, the quality of the structures, etc.- so a direct comparison cannot be made. However, it does help illustrate just how frightening the much more powerful Amos earthquake was.

Josephus provided additional details, writing that the earthquake occurred while Uzziah was attempting (contrary to God’s instructions) to offer incense in the temple in place of the priests. “[A] The temple was torn apart, and the bright rays of the sun fell through it, and fell on the king’s face, to the point that leprosy struck him at once “(Al-Athar 4, 9.10; referring to the leprosy that Uzziah had at that time). For a moment, which failed him for the rest of his rule – 2 Chronicles 26: 16-21) Josephus also claimed that a nearby mountain slope had collapsed, causing a massive landslide that destroyed the king’s precious roads and gardens – again, consistent with Zacharias’ statement that people “fled” from the earthquake damage.

The history and general data of this earthquake strongly illustrate the narratives in Amos and Zechariah – “the earthquake.”

Anticipate the destruction

The most cited book of Amos in relation to the earthquake is the first verse. This refers to the contents of the book as “two years before the earthquake,” a line that may have been added as a subsequent introductory addition to the text, to aid in its dating – but also to show the dramatic fulfillment of some of Amos’ shaky prophecies. Throughout the book. Prophecies such as the following:

“The Lord roars from Zion… the head of Carmel is withering” (1: 2) “I will strike the winter house in the summer house .. the great houses will have an end” (3:15) “Strike the capitals. Shake the leaflets; and break them …” (9 : 1)

Amos predicted more than just earthquake-type devastation – his prophecies ultimately describe the ultimate fiery destruction of Israel itself. Two years after his message, an earthquake struck – so says verse 1. It would have served as a strong, intermittent warning at the time of the fulfillment of the rest of Amos’ prophecies.

Of course, two years are not a thing in the past 2,800 years: despite the verse of the introduction, many readers simply consider the entire book of Amos to have been written after the earthquake – even after Israel itself was destroyed – as the pretext of “prophetic” calculation.

But along those lines, I’m introducing you to something strange and interesting – something in recent history.

A recent earthquake predicted?

Watch Jerusalem editor-in-chief Gerald Fleury has written a lot about the prophetic nature of Amos’s book today – and it is aimed primarily at the end times. (In fact, Bible comments indicate that some of the events predicted by Amos are unknown to ancient history.) I want to narrate here some of the dramatic statements he made about a recent earthquake, based on some of Amos’s prophecies. On December 21, 1991, he made the following statement in a lecture (emphasis added all the time): “I would not be surprised even if during the next two years I saw … a massive earthquake in this world, maybe even in Pasadena, California.”

In an October 1993 letter, he went even further, saying, “Could God strike an earthquake … Maybe even on January 16, 1994? Could something like this happen?” Well, yes, I would say that It is possible, especially in California. “

He compounded his warning in an article published in December 1993 in Trumpet magazine: “God also says that He will punish Israel with an earthquake. Will the earthquake be the next calamity in California?”

An earthquake happened on or near January 16, 1994 in or around Pasadena, California – he warned about two years ago. silly.

On January 17, 1994, at 4:31 am, a massive earthquake of magnitude 6.7 shook Los Angeles County, California – the same county as Pasadena, with the epicenter located only 20 miles away. This event is known as the Northridge earthquake and remains, to this day, the costliest earthquake disaster in US history.

Remains of mobile homes after the Northridge earthquake

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The scenes were horrific. Dramatic images show collapsed highways, collapsed apartment buildings, and caravans evaporated. Estimates of damage ranged from $ 13 billion to $ 50 billion ($ 23 to $ 87 billion in today’s value). More than 70 people were killed, 9,000 injured, and 20,000 displaced. Besides the enormous cost, this monstrous earthquake broke other records – including the fastest ground acceleration ever recorded in a metropolitan area in the United States and the fastest ground speed. The devastating earthquake has lived in shame, with references in music and cinema. It also led to the formation of the California Earthquakes Body.

Take it whenever you want. Many people reject Bible prophecies or claim that the days of the prophets are over. But based on this example (among many), I wouldn’t be sure.

As Amos 3: 7 (King James Version) says: “Certainly the Lord God does nothing, but He reveals his secret to his servants, the prophets.”

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