Amos 8:2

2 And Hashem said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of kayitz (summer fruit). Then said Hashem unto me, The ketz (end) is come upon My people Yisroel; I will not again pass by them [and spare them] anymore.

Amos 8:2 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 8:2

And he said, Amos, what seest thou?
&c.] To quicken his attention, who might disregard it as a common thing; and in order to lead him into the design of it, and show him what it was an emblem of: and I said, a basket of summer fruit;
some render it "a hook" ^F23, such as they pull down branches with to gather the fruit; and the word so signifies in the Arabic language ^F24; but the other is the more received sense of the word: then said the Lord unto me;
by way of explanation of the vision: the end is come upon my people Israel: the end of the kingdom of Israel; of their commonwealth and church state; of all their outward happiness and glory; their "summer [was] ended", and they "not saved", ( Jeremiah 8:20 ) ; all their prosperity was over; and, as the Targum, their

``final punishment was come,''

the last destruction threatened them ^F25: I will not again pass by them any more;
pass by their offences, and forgive their sins; or pass by their persons, without taking notice of them, so as to afflict and punish them for their iniquities: or, "pass through them and more" ^F26 now making an utter end of them; (See Gill on Amos 7:8).

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (bwlk) "unicuus", V. L.
F24 <arabic> "ferramentum incurvum, seu uncus ex quo de sella commeatum suspendit viator", Giggeius apud Golium, col. 2055.
F25 There is an elegant play on words in the words (Uyq) , "summer", and (Uq) , "the end".
F26 So Mercerus, Grotius.

Amos 8:2 In-Context

1 Thus hath Adonoi Hashem showed unto me: and hinei a basket of kayitz (summer fruit).

2 And Hashem said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of kayitz (summer fruit). Then said Hashem unto me, The ketz (end) is come upon My people Yisroel; I will not again pass by them [and spare them] anymore.

3 And the shirot of the heikhal shall turn to wailings in that Yom, saith Adonoi Hashem; there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth. Silence!

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

5 Saying, When will the Rosh Chodesh be over, that we may sell grain? And Shabbos, that we may market wheat, making the eifah (bushel) small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by mirmah (deceit)?