Bible Dictionary
Mowing
Mowing refers to cutting grass or gathering an early crop. The “king’s mowings” probably concerned a royal right to the first pasture or hay for the king’s animals and cavalry.
Definition
Mowing refers to cutting grass or gathering an early crop. In the expression “the king’s mowings,” it probably denotes a royal right to the first pasture or first crop of grass.
Biblical Usage
The phrase appears in Amos’s vision of the king’s mowings and is associated with the provision of early pasture for royal cavalry.
Historical Background
Because the heat of Palestine soon dries the herbage, hay-making in the modern sense was not customary. Early pasturage was therefore an important royal privilege.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. gez), rendered in Ps. 72:6 “mown grass.” The expression “king’s mowings” (Amos 7:1) refers to some royal right of early pasturage, the first crop of grass for the cavalry (comp. 1 Kings 18:5).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
As the great heat of the climate in Palestine and other similarly situated countries soon dries up the herbage itself, hay-making in our sense of the term is not in use. The “king’s mowings,” (Amos 7:1) may perhaps refer to some royal right of early pasturage for the use of the cavalry.