1 Samuel 10:5

10:5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials. ¹  When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

Amos 7:14

7:14 Amos replied ²  to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. ³  No, ⁴  I was a herdsman who also took care of ⁵  sycamore fig trees. ⁶ 

[10:5]  ¹ tn Or “sentries.” Some translate “outpost” (NIV) or “garrison” (NAB, NRSV, NLT) here (see 1 Sam 13:3). The noun is plural in the Hebrew text, but the LXX and other ancient witnesses read a singular noun here.

[7:14]  ² tn Heb “replied and said.” The phrase “and said” is pleonastic (redundant) and has not been included in the translation.

[7:14]  ³ tn Heb “I was not a prophet nor was I the son of a prophet.” The phrase “son of a prophet” refers to one who was trained in a prophetic guild. Since there is no equative verb present in the Hebrew text, another option is to translate with the present tense, “I am not a prophet by profession.” In this case Amos, though now carrying out a prophetic ministry (v. 15), denies any official or professional prophetic status. Modern English versions are divided about whether to understand the past (JB, NIV, NKJV) or present tense (NASB, NEB, NRSV, NJPS) here.

[7:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “for.”

[7:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “gashed”; or “pierced.”

[7:14]  sn For a discussion of the agricultural background, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 128-29.

[7:14]  ⁶ sn It is possible that herdsmen agreed to care for sycamore fig trees in exchange for grazing rights. See P. King, Amos, Hosea, Micah, 116-17. Since these trees do not grow around Tekoa but rather in the lowlands, another option is that Amos owned other property outside his hometown. In this case, this verse demonstrates his relative wealth and is his response to Amaziah; he did not depend on prophecy as a profession (v. 13).