ABSTRACT
The field of biblical studies is in a period of great change and uncertainty. More optimistically, it is a period of great potential for exploring new directions of research. One broad generality that can be made about a good deal of historical-critical work on Amos is that there is a tendency to isolate the 'original' and 'authentic' layers of the text and to interpret these according to what might be called a 'transcript' model of interpretation. Julius Wellhausen's comments on this change of tone in Amos are often cited. He finds it striking that 'roses and lavender' should follow 'blood and iron'. Many scholars follow him in arguing that that the ending of Amos, along with a few other passages, is the work of later writers and editors. Park does maintain that the book of Amos was redacted after the time of Amos but his date for this final layer of composition of Amos is no more soundly argued.
