Amós 4:7-8

7, 8. Drought.

The rain Hebrews geshem (see on Joel 2:23), here rain in general.

When there were yet three months to the harvest Since the harvest is in April and May, the drought must have set in during January or February. A drought at that time would be disastrous, and might completely destroy the prospects of harvest. A similar phenomenon occurred in Palestine in the winter of 1894-95. “After raining several times quite heavily in December, especially on the coast, the weather has been since before Christmas pleasant and mild, and if no more rain falls there will be great suffering, for up till now (February 16) no one has filled his cisterns.”

Caused it to rain The tenses in Amos 4:7-8 are frequentatives. Jehovah did the things mentioned again and again. To the ancients the phenomenon of a partial drought would be an even stronger proof of the presence of the supernatural than a universal withholding of rain. Partial rainfall such as is described here has been experienced in Palestine in more modern times. “There has been a smart shower here (Tiberias), while at Samakh the ground was baked hard, and the grain drooping sadly. The same was true on a former occasion when I came up the Jordan valley. The ground in the Ghor was like a parched desert. There had not been sufficient rain to bring up the grain,… while here at Tiberias the whole country was a paradise of herbs and flowers.” And again, “It was literally so about Samakh and ‘Abadiyeh, while their nearest neighbors were rejoicing in abundant showers” (Thomson, ii, p. 66).

Piece Field (Ruth 2:3; Ruth 4:3).

Two or three cities That had suffered from the drought. For the ascending enumeration see on Amos 1:3.

Wandered Literally, tottered, or, staggered. The people were so weak from thirst that they could not walk with a firm step.

One city One favored with rain. With reference to this passage Thomson says (on the same page): “A fact often repeated in this country. No longer ago than last autumn it had its exemplification complete in Belad Besharah, the ancient inheritance of Naphtali.” Since there are few springs throughout Palestine, people are dependent largely upon rain water stored in cisterns; when the rainfall is irregular the water supply soon becomes exhausted.

They were not satisfied The water was not sufficient to supply the needs of all. This judgment also was in vain.

9a. Blasting and mildew. 9b. Locusts.

You Your fields and crops.

Blasting and mildew The two words are frequently joined (Deuteronomy 28:22; 1 Kings 8:37; Haggai 2:17). The former, from a verb to burn, describes the disastrous effects of the scorching east wind or Sirocco (see on Hosea 12:1); the latter, literally, greenness, is “a blight in which the ears turn untimely a pale yellow, and have no grain.”

One word in the Hebrew makes the rest of Amos 4:9 awkward. With a very slight change, favored by most modern commentators, it may be translated, “I laid waste your gardens and your vineyards; and your fig trees and your olive trees hath the palmerworm devoured.”

I laid waste By some blow not specified by the prophet.

Fig trees See on Joel 1:7.

Olive trees See on Hosea 14:6; Joel 1:10.

Palmer-worm See on Joel 1:4, where reference is made to the frequency with which locusts visit Palestine.