גָּזָם (ga.zam)
ga.zam
locust
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 3 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun gazam refers specifically to locusts, appearing in the Old Testament as a collective term for these swarming insects. It occurs only three times in Scripture, primarily within the prophetic books of Joel and Amos, where it serves as a central image for divine judgment.
Unlike other Hebrew words for grasshoppers or crickets that might describe solitary pests, gazam emphasizes the destructive, consuming nature of the swarm. In Joel 1:4, the prophet lists gazam alongside other stages of locust development to illustrate a total devastation of the land. The word captures the overwhelming force of these creatures, which strip fields bare and leave agricultural ruin in their wake.
Translators consistently render gazam as "locusts" because its meaning is narrow and concrete. It does not carry metaphorical weight beyond the physical reality of the insect itself; rather, it functions as a literal agent of destruction that signals God’s warning to Israel. The rarity of the word highlights how specific and severe the calamity described in these texts was.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word gazam appears only three times in Scripture, always describing a swarm of locusts that strips fields bare. In Joel and Amos, these insects are not just pests but agents of divine warning, showing how quickly abundance can vanish when people turn away from God. The imagery is stark: one wave of destruction follows another until nothing remains.
Yet even in this judgment, there is a thread of hope. Joel 2:25 promises restoration, where God Himself will return what the swarm has consumed. This reminds us that no loss is beyond His power to redeem. When life feels stripped bare, we can trust that He sees the ruin and offers renewal.
For your faith, gazam teaches humility about security. Our crops, savings, or plans can be swept away, but God’s promise to restore remains firm. It invites us to look beyond immediate loss to His long-term faithfulness, knowing that He alone sustains what we cannot protect.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 3 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ locust[s]1×
- the/ locust1×
- and/ the/ locust[s]1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/הַ/גָּזָ֑ם1×
- הַ/גָּזָם֙1×
- הַ/גָּזָ֑ם1×
Key Verses
-
Joel 1:4
What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
This verse lists gazam as the first stage of a multi-layered devastation, showing how total the destruction becomes when judgment is complete.
-
Joel 2:25
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.
Here gazam is part of God’s own army sent for judgment, yet He promises to personally restore what was eaten, linking destruction with divine redemption.
-
Amos 4:9
“I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards, and the swarming locusts have devoured your fig trees and your olive trees; yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.
The swarming locusts are mentioned alongside blight and mildew as repeated warnings that Israel ignored, highlighting the seriousness of unrepentance.