The Meaning of Amos 7:1 Explained

Amos 7:1

KJV: Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

YLT: Thus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and lo, He is forming locusts at the beginning of the ascending of the latter growth, and lo, the latter growth is after the mowings of the king;

Darby: Thus did the Lord Jehovah shew unto me; and behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

ASV: Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, he formed locusts in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thus hath the Lord  GOD  shewed  unto me; and, behold, he formed  grasshoppers  in the beginning  of the shooting up  of the latter growth;  and, lo, [it was] the latter growth  after  the king's  mowings. 

What does Amos 7:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Sovereign Yahweh showed Amos a mass of locusts swarming in the springtime after the first harvest and before the second. The Lord was forming this swarm of locusts. Ideally the very first crops harvested in the spring went to feed the king"s household and animals (cf. 1 Kings 18:5). The crops that the people harvested later in the spring fed their animals and themselves. If anything happened to prevent that second harvesting, the people would have little to eat until the next harvest in the fall. The summer months were very dry and the Israelites had nothing to harvest during that season of the year.
Locusts swarming indicated that they were about to sweep through an area and destroy all the crops. There was no way to prevent this in Amos" day. Locust invasions were a perennial threat, and they were a method of discipline that God had said He might use if His people proved unfaithful to His covenant with them ( Deuteronomy 28:38; Deuteronomy 28:42; cf. Joel 1:1-7; Amos 4:9).

Context Summary

Amos 7:1-17 - The Herdsman's Message
The king's mowings were the earliest yield of the grasslands, which were exacted by him. Our King also has His mowings, when He takes to Himself our dearest and best while the dew of youth is still upon them-but He is only claiming His own.
Three disasters threatened the guilty land-locusts, fire, and plague; but the prophet's intercessions warded off the blow. The Bible often tells a similar story of the power of intercession. If only the Church were united and prayed with one voice, she would be able to secure deliverance for the smitten earth. When God is said to repent, we must not attribute to Him changeableness of purpose, but He seems to repent, because man has changed his attitude. If you walk against the wind, it resists you; but if you turn and walk in the opposite direction, it helps you. The plumbline, Amos 7:7, is used to discover the extent of the mischief, before the order, for destruction is issued.
Amaziah, the chief priest of the national idolatry, found the stalwart witness of the herdsman-prophet extremely inconvenient and wanted to get rid of him. There was great simplicity and dignity in the reply. Like Luther in after years, Amos could "do no other." [source]

Chapter Summary: Amos 7

1  The judgments of the grasshoppers,
4  and of the fire are diverted by the prayer of Amos
7  By the wall of a plumb line is signified the rejection of Israel
10  Amaziah complains of Amos
14  Amos shows his calling
16  and Amaziah's judgment

What do the individual words in Amos 7:1 mean?

Thus showed me the Lord GOD and behold He formed locust [swarms] at the beginning of the crop late and indeed [it was] the late crop after mowings of the king
כֹּ֤ה הִרְאַ֙נִי֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה וְהִנֵּה֙ יוֹצֵ֣ר גֹּבַ֔י בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת עֲל֣וֹת הַלָּ֑קֶשׁ וְהִ֨נֵּה־ לֶ֔קֶשׁ אַחַ֖ר גִּזֵּ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ

כֹּ֤ה  Thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
הִרְאַ֙נִי֙  showed  me 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
אֲדֹנָ֣י  the  Lord 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲדֹנָי  
Sense: my lord, lord.
יְהוִ֔ה  GOD 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
וְהִנֵּה֙  and  behold 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
יוֹצֵ֣ר  He  formed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵר 
Sense: to form, fashion, frame.
גֹּבַ֔י  locust  [swarms] 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּבַי 
Sense: locusts.
בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת  at  the  beginning 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תְּחִלָּה  
Sense: beginning, first.
עֲל֣וֹת  of  the  crop 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
הַלָּ֑קֶשׁ  late 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶקֶשׁ  
Sense: after-growth, aftermath, spring-crop, late crop after-growth.
וְהִ֨נֵּה־  and  indeed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
לֶ֔קֶשׁ  [it  was]  the  late  crop 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶקֶשׁ  
Sense: after-growth, aftermath, spring-crop, late crop after-growth.
אַחַ֖ר  after 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
גִּזֵּ֥י  mowings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: גֵּז  
Sense: a shearing, mowing.
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ  of  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.