Editing Bethel (section)

===Books of Amos, Hosea and Jeremiah===
The shrine is mentioned with disapproval by the prophet [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]] (c. 750):

{{Blockquote|text=Do not seek Bethel, do not go to Gilgal, do not journey to Beersheba. For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.|title=[[Book of Amos|Amos]]|source=5:5}}

[[Amaziah (Book of Amos)|Amaziah]], a priest of Bethel, expels Amos from the shrine:
{{Blockquote|text=Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.|title=[[Book of Amos|Amos]]|source=7:13}}

A few years later, the prophet [[Hosea]] (8th century BC) speaks (at least according to modern translations) of the "wickedness" of Bethel ({{bibleverse|Hosea|10:15}}) and [[Jeremiah]] (6th century BC) speaks of the "shame" which it brought on Israel ({{bibleverse|Jeremiah|48:13}}). {{bibleverse|Hosea|13:1–3}} describes how the Israelites are abandoning [[Adonai]] for the worship of Baal, and accuses them of making or using images for 'idol' worship. Chief among these, it appears, was the image of the bull at Bethel, which by the time of Hosea was being worshipped as an image of Baal.<ref>{{Cite book |title= The Social Roots of Biblical Yahwism, Part 2 |author= Stephen L. Cook |publisher= Society of Biblical Literature |year=2004 |page= 90}}</ref>