Abstract

The core of Am 5,18–20 goes back to an oral prophecy of doom announced during the final period of the kingdom of Israel. Its motifs are related to the New Year's festival during which Yahweh's triumph over chaotic powers was celebrated. Parallels both inside and outside of the Old Testament indicate that the phrase ›day of Yahweh‹ denoted a festival day; the motif of darkness points to the tradition of theophany with its Sitz im Leben in the cult. The complete darkness however is sign of a cosmic catastrophe; it shows that the divine battle has been given the opposite meaning: Yahweh himself is destroying the order of the world.

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