Olga01:
Okay, so what are misinterpretations I've made or my sources have made? To say the truth, it's of little interest to me, what Amos thought about these women. For me it's interesting that there were flourishing families in Samaria, where the women were appreciated SSBBWs and USSBBWs.
As for Amos himself, the idea that he wanted to condemn only the oppressive means by which these women got their sources for life, seems unacceptable for me because of the following consideration. Does really the fatness have anything in common with over exploitation? Do the lean women of elite really exploit the common people less, then the fat women of elite do? That is improbable. It is not food or fattening food of elite that can be a burden for the common people to supply for. It is various luxurious goods , large buildings and hordes of servants that can demand great labor for common people to provide all these things for elite, not food. So if Amos would have wanted to condemn greedy overexploitation of the commoners by the elite, he would not mention fatness or fat women at all.
Fatness was a status symbol back in the day. And having a fat wife was even more of a status symbol. It was a sign that you had more than enough money to spoil her excessively.
Something you are missing is that Israel was experiencing famine at this time. Amos 4:6-10 goes into great detail about how the average Hebrew fared at this time. Locusts, droughts, failed harvests, and people starving in the streets. Yet, somehow, the elites found plenty of food to keep their wives fat, spoiled, and happy.
And it's not like these women weren't aware of what was happening on some level. Verses 10 - 11 mention this period of extreme unrest and war. Amos warned the Hebrews for years before this point, especially to the Kings of Judah and Israel. They didn't care about anyone other than themselves.