(ט) וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא נְאֻם֙ אדושם יקוק וְהֵבֵאתִ֥י הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ בַּֽצָּהֳרָ֑יִם וְהַחֲשַׁכְתִּ֥י לָאָ֖רֶץ בְּי֥וֹם אֽוֹר׃
And in that day —declares my Lord GOD— I will make the sun set at noon, I will darken the earth on a sunny day.
Amos 8:9, Source: Sefaria
“I have reflected, Sir King. For a lesson, I will let this darkness proceed, and spread night in the world; but whether I blot out the sun for good, or restore it, shall rest with you.
A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, Ch. 6
A total solar cclipse is an awe inspiring event. For the ancients who had no way to predict or explain such an event, it was nothing short of miraculous or magical depending on one's point of view.
A total solar eclipses happens "when the New Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra, on Earth. A full solar eclipse, known as totality, is almost as dark as night" (timeanddate.com). Total solar eclipses are fairly common throughout the world occurring once every 18 months but one happening in a particular place is rare, maybe once every four centuries. This is why those living in the United States are highly anticipating the total solar eclipse which will take place in North America on August 21, 2017. You can view a map of its projected path below. The entire continent will experience a partial eclipse with the line of the total eclipse some 70 miles wide occurring over the shaded path.
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| The 2017 Eclipse Across America Through the Eyes of NASA, Source: https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/eclipse_full_map.jpg |
The prophet Amos has a number of references seeming to describe a solar eclipse.
Besides the one quoted above see the following.(יג) כִּ֡י הִנֵּה֩ יוֹצֵ֨ר הָרִ֜ים וּבֹרֵ֣א ר֗וּחַ וּמַגִּ֤יד לְאָדָם֙ מַה־שֵּׂח֔וֹ עֹשֵׂ֥ה שַׁ֙חַר֙ עֵיפָ֔ה וְדֹרֵ֖ךְ עַל־בָּ֣מֳתֵי אָ֑רֶץ יקוק אֱלֹקי־צְבָא֖וֹת שְׁמֽוֹ׃ (ס)
(13) Behold, He who formed the mountains, And created the wind, And has told man what His wish is, Who turns daybreak into blackness, And treads upon the high places of the earth— His name is the LORD, the God of Hosts.
Amos 4:13, Source: Sefaria
(ח) עֹשֵׂ֨ה כִימָ֜ה וּכְסִ֗יל וְהֹפֵ֤ךְ לַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ צַלְמָ֔וֶת וְי֖וֹם לַ֣יְלָה הֶחְשִׁ֑יךְ הַקּוֹרֵ֣א לְמֵֽי־הַיָּ֗ם וַֽיִּשְׁפְּכֵ֛ם עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאָ֖רֶץ יקוק שְׁמֽוֹ׃ (ס)
(8) Who made the Pleiades and Orion, Who turns deep darkness into dawn And darkens day into night, Who summons the waters of the sea And pours them out upon the earth— His name is the LORD!
Amos 5:8, Source: Sefaria
(יח) ה֥וֹי הַמִּתְאַוִּ֖ים אֶת־י֣וֹם יקוק לָמָּה־זֶּ֥ה לָכֶ֛ם י֥וֹם יקוק הוּא־חֹ֥שֶׁךְ וְלֹא־אֽוֹר׃ (יט) כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יָנ֥וּס אִישׁ֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הָאֲרִ֔י וּפְגָע֖וֹ הַדֹּ֑ב וּבָ֣א הַבַּ֔יִת וְסָמַ֤ךְ יָדוֹ֙ עַל־הַקִּ֔יר וּנְשָׁכ֖וֹ הַנָּחָֽשׁ׃ (כ) הֲלֹא־חֹ֛שֶׁךְ י֥וֹם יקוק וְלֹא־א֑וֹר וְאָפֵ֖ל וְלֹא־נֹ֥גַֽהּ לֽוֹ׃
(18) Ah, you who wish For the day of the LORD! Why should you want The day of the LORD? It shall be darkness, not light!— (19) As if a man should run from a lion And be attacked by a bear; Or if he got indoors, Should lean his hand on the wall And be bitten by a snake! (20) Surely the day of the LORD shall be Not light, but darkness, Blackest night without a glimmer.
Amos 8:9, Source: Sefaria
There is a similar reference in Isaiah.
(ט) הִנֵּ֤ה יוֹם־יקוק בָּ֔א אַכְזָרִ֥י וְעֶבְרָ֖ה וַחֲר֣וֹן אָ֑ף לָשׂ֤וּם הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ לְשַׁמָּ֔ה וְחַטָּאֶ֖יהָ יַשְׁמִ֥יד מִמֶּֽנָּה׃ (י) כִּֽי־כוֹכְבֵ֤י הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וּכְסִ֣ילֵיהֶ֔ם לֹ֥א יָהֵ֖לּוּ אוֹרָ֑ם חָשַׁ֤ךְ הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ בְּצֵאת֔וֹ וְיָרֵ֖חַ לֹֽא־יַגִּ֥יהַ אוֹרֽוֹ׃׃
(9) Lo! The day of the LORD is coming With pitiless fury and wrath, To make the earth a desolation, To wipe out the sinners upon it. (10) The stars and constellations of heaven Shall not give off their light; The sun shall be dark when it rises, And the moon shall diffuse no glow.
Isaiah 13:9-10, Source: Sefaria
Each of these references can be interpreted metaphorically but taken together, they appear to describe an actual event. Only one such total eclipse occured over the Middle East during the time period of Amos and Isaiah, the first half of the eighth century BCE. This eclipse which happened on June 15, 763 BCE is known as the Assyrian Eclipse since it is recorded in the Assyrian Eponym List, an ancient Assyrian timeline of important events.
[762/763] During the eponymy of Bur-Saggile, governor of Guzana, revolt in Libbi-ali; in Simanu eclipse of the sun [15 June 763].This eclipse reached totality over the Assyrian empire including its capital, Nineveh which is located near the modern city of Mosul. You can view a map of the Assyrian Eclipse courtesy of NASA below together with details about when it reached totality over Nineveh and explore an interactive map of its path here.
Source: http://www.livius.org/articles/concept/limmu/limmu-list-858-699-bce/
While Nineveh experienced a total eclipse, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah saw a partial eclipse with a magnitude of over 90%, still an impressive event. This is likely the eclipse mentioned by Amos and Isaiah. (It is also the answer to a great trivia question. What is the only event mentioned in Tanach whose time of occurrence can be verified scientifically to the second?)
But what purpose does it serve for a prophet like Amos or Isaiah to reference the solar eclipse?
To answer this, we must explore the historical background of Amos's prophetic career. The prophet Amos begins with a historical marker, referencing an event even more traumatic and certainly more damaging than an eclipse, the great earthquake.
This earthquake is mentioned even more often in Tanach than the eclipse with references in Amos 3:14-15, Amos 4:10-13, Isaiah 2:19-21, and provides the setting for Isaiah's inaugural prophecy in Isaiah 6:1-4. Archeological evidence of the earthquake has been uncovered by Yigal Yadin at Hazor.(א) דִּבְרֵ֣י עָמ֔וֹס אֲשֶׁר־הָיָ֥ה בַנֹּקְדִ֖ים מִתְּק֑וֹעַ אֲשֶׁר֩ חָזָ֨ה עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל בִּימֵ֣י ׀ עֻזִיָּ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֗ה וּבִימֵ֞י יָרָבְעָ֤ם בֶּן־יוֹאָשׁ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל שְׁנָתַ֖יִם לִפְנֵ֥י הָרָֽעַשׁ׃
(1) The words of Amos, a sheepbreeder from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Israel in the reigns of Kings Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
Amos 1:1, Source: Sefaria
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| Source: Amos, Hosea, Micah: An Archaeological Commentary by Philip J. King |
Evidence to this earthquake has also been uncovered at five other sites spread throughout Israel, Deir 'Alla, Gezer, Lachish, Tell Judeideh, and 'En Haseva, and the magnitude of this earthquake has been estimated at between 7.8 and 8.2 on the Richter scale.
To the prophets, events like earthquakes or eclipses were not just natural phenomena but portents of even worse calamities to come if the people did not take heed and repent.
The earthquake for example is viewed as a direct result of the arrogance of King Uzziah. The Tanach describes in Chronicles II 26:16-21 how at the height of his reign, Uzziah chose to burn incense in the Holy of Holies in the Temple, something only the High Priest was allowed to do. As a result, Uzziah was stricken by leprosy and had to live the rest of his days in solitude as his son Jotham took over as prince regent. Rashi comments that Uzziah did not just suffer a personal punishment for his arrogant act but at the moment Uzziah brought the incense into the Holy of Holies, the entire country was stricken by the great earthquake.
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| The King Uzziah Stricken with Leprosy Image Source: Rembrandt [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons |
The first half of the 8th century BCE was a time of peace and prosperity for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. King Jeroboam II expanded Israel to its largest borders since the time of David and Solomon and Israel was also at its most prosperous. The Kingdom of Judah under King Uzziah experienced similar prosperity.
The prophets saw beyond the affluence to the many people still suffering on the fringes of society.
The challenge of prophets like Amos was to help the people realize that this period of peace could be short-lived. Israel and Judah needed to utilize their prosperity to help those who were not as well off as them or else they would be punished. The primary tool they had to convince the people was their use of language. Some of the most beautiful prophecies about social justice, including much of the source material for Martin Luther King's famous I Have a Dream Speech, come from the prophets of this time, Amos and Isaiah.
The prophets had another tool at their disposal. They could make predictions of future events. When these events came true exactly as described they would add conviction to their further warnings. This is where the earthquake and eclipse played a key role. Amos began his career two years prior to the great earthquake. He spent much of his beginning prophecies warning the people about this event. When the earthquake occurred, it gave credence to Amos' words of rebuke. But the people still did not listen and change their ways.
So Amos made another prediction, this one of an event that would terrify the people, but unlike the earthquake, would have no lasting negative effect on them. He predicted that the sun would grow dark in the middle of the day, what we know as a total solar eclipse.
According to historians who date the earthquake as occurring in approximately 762 BCE, Amos' prophecies would be even more terrifying for the people. His two predictions, the ground shaking event causing much physical damage in Israel and the sun apparently blotting out for a short time, happening within a year of each other.
The total solar eclipse occurred exactly as predicted on June 15, 763 BCE, 40 years prior to the predicted exile of the 10 tribes. Israel still had 40 years to repent prior to the impending ultimate doom. 40 years is a significant number in Judaism starting with the Israelites 40 year sojourn in the desert. A few generations later, Jeremiah would similarly begin his prophetic career 40 years prior to the destruction of the First Temple with predictions of doom and gloom unless the people did Teshuva.
The solar eclipse came exactly as predicted but the Kingdom of Israel still did not change their ways. So ultimately, they were exiled by the Assyrians, the epicenter of the total solar eclipse, in 722 BCE. Ironically, it was the Kingdom of Judah under King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah who seeing what happened to their Israelite brothers and sisters to the north, took heed to the warnings of Amos and Isaiah, repented their ways and were miraculously saved from Assyrian conquest.
You can read a source sheet of this post here and view a video I created on this topic below.
