Amos comes across in the Old Testament as a reluctant prophet. He was a proprietor of flocks and the keeper of sycamore-fig trees who became a prophet during Uzziah's rule as king of Judah, and Jeroboam II's rule of Israel. Amos lived as a simple shepherd in a rural area of the Southern Kingdom. His prophecy was directed at the rulers of Judah and Israel, and the rich and powerful, to keep their religion pure and pursue a course of right action in the name of God, or risk having Israel destroyed (Amos 5:1–15). He was deeply concerned about the plight of the poor and the well-being of the common people.

Amos had a conversation with a priest loyal to Jeroboam II after the latter came to power. The conversation took a prophetic turn when the priest, Amaziah, accused Amos of stirring up dissent against Jeroboam, and told him to stop prophesying. In fact, Amaziah told King Jeroboam that Amos was conspiring against him with the Israelites. Amos told a new prophecy to Amaziah: “Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land…” (Amos 7:17).

Amos also said that the Israelites would leave their indigenous land and go into exile. Since Amos made a prophecy about an earthquake that proved true, there was a likelihood that the priest lived to regret his actions. No more mentions are made of the daughters of Amaziah in the Old Testament.