Appendix A: Hebrew and Greek Word Study

Gez: Mowing/Shearing --- gez (Strong’s H1488)

Hebrew: גֵּז Root: גזז (gazaz) --- “to shear, cut” Cognates: Akkadian gizzu (“fleece”) Semantic range: A cutting, mowing, shearing --- used for both sheep-shearing and mowing of grass

Usage in key passages:

Deuteronomy 18:4: “the first of the fleece (gez) of thy sheep, shalt thou give him” --- priestly portion
Psalm 72:6: “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass (gez): as showers that water the earth” --- messianic psalm
Job 31:20: “the fleece (gez) of my sheep” --- sheep-shearing context
Amos 7:1: gizzey hammelek (construct plural) --- “the king’s mowings”

Morphology: The construct plural gizzey (גִּזֵּי) is a standard formation. The gemination of the zayin and the tsere plural ending follow regular Hebrew morphological patterns (cf. Joüon-Muraoka, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, §88M on nominal patterns).

Translation comparison for Amos 7:1:

Translation	Rendering	Notes
KJV	”the king’s mowings”	Standard English rendering
ESV	”the king’s mowings”
NASB	”the king’s mowing”	Singular
NIV	”the king’s share had been harvested”	Interpretive
LSB	”the king’s mowing”	Singular

Significance for the study: If gizzey is the original reading, the phrase refers to a royal tax --- the king’s right to the first cutting of hay for his horses and livestock (cf. 1 Kings 18:5). The locusts devour the latter growth, which is all the common people have left.

Gog --- Gog (Strong’s H1463)

Hebrew: גּוֹג Etymology: Uncertain. Proposals include:

From Akkadian Gugu (Gyges of Lydia, c. 680-644 BCE)
From Sumerian gug (variously glossed as “cornelian,” “black spot,” or “darkness”); proposed by Van Hoonacker (1914) but generally considered implausible by modern scholars
From Hebrew root gag (גג, “roof, top”), suggesting “the high one”
An appellative rather than a personal name

Usage in key passages:

1 Chronicles 5:4: “The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son” --- a Reubenite; non-apocalyptic
Ezekiel 38:2-3: “Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal” --- apocalyptic enemy from the north
Ezekiel 39:1: “prophesy against Gog” --- continuation of the Gog oracle
Revelation 20:8: “Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle” --- final cosmic conflict

Historical identification: The most common proposal is Gyges of Lydia (Akkadian Gugu), a powerful king from the far north/west killed by Cimmerians (c. 644 BCE). Mentioned in Ashurbanipal’s annals as “Gugu, king of Luddi.” Phonetically close to Hebrew Gog.

Significance for the study: If the LXX reading “Gog the king” is original, Amos (c. 760 BCE) would be the earliest biblical reference to Gog as a hostile figure, predating Ezekiel by nearly two centuries. This would reshape understanding of the Gog tradition’s origins. However, the Gyges identification creates a chronological problem since Gyges postdates Amos.

Gobay: Locusts --- gobay (Strong’s H1462 / NAS H1373b)

Hebrew: גֹּבַי / גּוֹב Strong’s note: The base form gob is H1462; the specific form gobay as it appears in Amos 7:1 and Nahum 3:17 is cataloged as H1373b in the NAS Exhaustive Concordance. Semantic range: Locust, grasshopper --- specifically a swarming type Related terms: Hebrew has multiple words for locusts (‘arbeh, gazam, yeleq, hasil), each designating a different species or developmental stage

Usage in key passages:

Amos 7:1: “he formed locusts (gobay)”
Nahum 3:17: “thy crowned are as the locusts (gobay)”

Significance for the study: The MT describes a swarm (gobay, collective); the LXX singularizes to “one locust-larva” (brouchos heis). This singularization is part of the LXX’s transformation of the vision from agricultural to apocalyptic.

Brouchos: Locust-Larva --- brouchos (Greek)

Greek: βροῦχος Meaning: A wingless locust; a locust in its larval/nymph stage (before the wings develop) Usage in LXX: Translates various Hebrew locust terms

In LXX Amos 7:1: The phrase is brouchos heis Gog ho basileus --- “one locust-larva, Gog the king.” Key observations:

The numeral heis (“one”) is emphatic, singularizing the swarm
The article ho before basileus makes this a title: “THE king”
The personification transforms the vision from agricultural to apocalyptic

Significance for the study: The LXX does not simply swap “mowings” for “Gog” --- it coordinates multiple changes (singularization, personification, naming) that together create a coherent apocalyptic reading. This suggests something more than a simple scribal error.

Leqesh: Latter Growth --- leqesh (Strong’s H3954)

Hebrew: לֶקֶשׁ Meaning: The late growth, second crop --- the grass or grain that springs up after the first mowing Usage: Appears only in Amos 7:1 in the Hebrew Bible

Significance for the study: The timing is crucial to the MT reading. The laqesh is what remains for the common people after the king has taken the first cutting (gez). The locusts strike precisely when the people are most vulnerable. This agricultural specificity supports the MT reading and connects to Amos’s broader concern for the oppressed poor.

Gazaz: To Shear/Mow --- Root gazaz (Strong’s H1494)

Hebrew: גזז Meaning: To shear (sheep), to mow (grass), to cut off Related forms: gez (H1488, the product of shearing/mowing), gizzah (fleece), gizzey (construct plural, “mowings of”)

Usage in key passages:

Genesis 31:19: “Laban went to shear (gazaz) his sheep”
Genesis 38:12-13: Judah’s sheep-shearing
1 Samuel 25:2-4: Nabal shearing in Carmel
2 Samuel 13:23-24: Absalom’s sheep-shearing feast

Significance for the study: The root gazaz is well-attested in Hebrew and its derivative gez/gizzey is a natural, unremarkable word. This supports the MT reading as linguistically straightforward.

Summary Table: MT vs. LXX Key Terms

Feature	MT Reading	LXX Reading
Key phrase	גִּזֵּי הַמֶּלֶךְ (gizzey hammelek)	Γωγ ὁ βασιλεύς (Gog ho basileus)
Meaning	”the king’s mowings"	"Gog the king”
Locust form	גֹּבַי (gobay) --- collective swarm	βροῦχος εἷς (brouchos heis) --- one locust-larva
Genre signal	Agricultural/economic	Apocalyptic/eschatological
Consonants	g-z-y h-m-l-k	g-w-g h-m-l-k
Register	Mundane, concrete	Mythic, cosmic