Christine Hayes teaches this lecture from Yale's Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) course, covering the literary prophets of the northern and southern kingdoms with focus on the eighth-century prophet Amos. She walks through the structure and literary features of the book of Amos, then its major themes: the denunciation of moral decay and false piety as the direct cause of the social injustice that provokes divine judgment. Hayes contrasts the Deuteronomistic historian's view, which blames national misfortune on idolatry, with the prophetic emphasis on everyday ethical failures as the true grounds for punishment. She also traces how the prophets balance warnings of doom with messages of hope and consolation. The lecture is organized in four chapters, moving from an overview of literary prophecy to close reading of Amos and a comparative analysis of biblical historiography.