The Prophets · Old Testament

Amos 8

Amos 8: the basket of summer fruit and a famine of hearing the words of the Lord

General context

The Lord God shows Amos "a basket of summer fruit" and asks, "Amos, what seest thou?" Amos answers, and the Lord says, "The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more." The songs of the temple will become howlings, with "many dead bodies in every place" cast forth "with silence." Those who "swallow up the needy" are told to hear. Their own words are quoted: they wait for the new moon and the sabbath to pass so they can sell, "making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit," to "buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes" and sell "the refuse of the wheat." The Lord swears by "the excellency of Jacob" never to forget their works. The land will tremble and rise "as by the flood of Egypt." In that day the sun goes down at noon, feasts turn to mourning and songs to lamentation, with sackcloth and baldness and "the mourning of an only son." A famine is announced, "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord"; they will wander "from sea to sea" and not find it. The fair virgins and young men faint for thirst, and those who swear by "the sin of Samaria" will fall and never rise.

Cited passages: Amos 8:1, Amos 8:2, Amos 8:3, Amos 8:4, Amos 8:5, Amos 8:6, Amos 8:7, Amos 8:8, Amos 8:9, Amos 8:10, Amos 8:11, Amos 8:12, Amos 8:13, Amos 8:14

Amos 8 (KJV)

¹Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

²And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

³And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.

⁴Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

⁵Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

⁶That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

⁷The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

⁸Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

⁹And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

¹⁰And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

¹¹Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

¹²And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

¹³In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

¹⁴They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.

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Historical context

This showing uses the same question and answer as the plumbline in 7:8, and the Lord's reply repeats a clause from there word for word, "I will not again pass by them any more." The charge is put in the merchants' own quoted speech, so the chapter reports what they say rather than describing their trade from outside. The new moon and the sabbath are named as times when selling stops, and nothing else is said about either. The ephah and the shekel are named as the measure and the weight being falsified, without further explanation. The phrase "the flood of Egypt" is used as a comparison here and again at 9:5. Dan and Beer-sheba are named at verse 14 beside "the sin of Samaria"; the text does not say what "The manner of Beer-sheba liveth" means, and Beer-sheba was earlier a place not to seek at 5:5. No king is named in this chapter, and the day announced is called only "that day."

Cited passages: Amos 7:8, Amos 8:2, Amos 8:5, Amos 8:8, Amos 9:5, Amos 8:14, Amos 5:5, Amos 8:9

Literary context

A basket of fruit is shown and named, and the Lord turns the picture into a sentence, "The end is come," exactly as he turned the plumbline into one. Sound organises the chapter. Temple songs become howlings, bodies are carried out "with silence," songs turn to lamentation, and the last loss is hearing itself, a famine "of hearing the words of the Lord." Thirst is used twice in opposite ways: the famine is "nor a thirst for water," and then the young faint "for thirst." The accused speak twice, at verse 5, where they ask when the holy days will be over, and at verse 14, where they swear by "the sin of Samaria." "In that day" and "the days come" mark the turns at verses 3, 9, 11 and 13. The searching at verse 12 covers every direction, "from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east," and still ends with "shall not find it."

Cited passages: Amos 8:2, Amos 7:8, Amos 8:3, Amos 8:10, Amos 8:11, Amos 8:13, Amos 8:5, Amos 8:9, Amos 8:12

Key moments

A basket of summer fruit (Amos 8:2). Amos names what he sees and the Lord says the end is come upon Israel.
Making the ephah small (Amos 8:5). The merchants wait for the new moon and sabbath to pass so they can sell with false measures.
The poor for silver (Amos 8:6). They plan to buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of shoes.
Sun down at noon (Amos 8:9). In that day the Lord will make the sun set at noon and darken the earth in daylight.
Feasts into mourning (Amos 8:10). Feasts become mourning and songs lamentation, like the mourning of an only son.
A famine of hearing (Amos 8:11). The famine sent will be of hearing the words of the Lord, not of bread or water.
They shall not find it (Amos 8:12). They will wander in every direction seeking the word of the Lord and not find it.

For reflection

The famine announced is "not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord," and earlier in the book the people told the prophets, "Prophesy not." What does the chapter set up by making the loss a loss of hearing?