Original Word: דוּגָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: duwgah
Pronunciation: doo-gah'
Phonetic Spelling: (doo-gaw')
KJV: fish (hook)
NASB: fish
Word Origin: [feminine from the same as H1728 (דַּוָּג - fishermen)]

1. (properly) fishery, i.e. a hook for fishing

fish hook

Feminine from the same as davvag; properly, fishery, i.e. A hook for fishing -- fish (hook).

see HEBREW davvag

Word Origin
from dag
Definition
fishing, fishery
NASB Translation
fish (1).

דּוּגָה noun feminine fishing, fishery, only in וְנִשָּׂא בְּסִירוֺת דּוּגָה Amos 4:2 ("" בְּצִנּוֺת) of ׳י, metaphor for dragging Israel captive (compare for practice referred to, in case of fish, Ezekiel 29:4 & Job 40:26 scornful summons to do it with crocodile, if possible ! see Herod^{ii. 70 on mode of capturing crocodiles}).

Usage and Occurrence

The noun appears once in the Old Testament, in Amos 4:2, where it forms part of the compound expression translated in the Berean Standard Bible as “fishhooks.” The prophet warns Israel’s elite women—the “cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1)—that they and their posterity will be dragged away like fish pulled from the water, a shocking image of humiliation and captivity.

Historical Background

Amos delivered this oracle during the reign of Jeroboam II (circa 760 BC), a period of economic prosperity and social injustice in the Northern Kingdom. Assyrian reliefs from the era depict prisoners led by cords fastened to hooks pierced through noses or lips, corroborating the prophet’s metaphor. The single word therefore evokes a specific, terrifying military technique that would soon become Israel’s fate when Assyria swept through the land (2 Kings 15:29; 17:6).

Imagery of Hooks and Fish in Scripture

Although the Hebrew term in Amos 4:2 is unique, the wider motif of “hooking” recurs:
• Ezekiel 29:4 – Pharaoh is drawn from the Nile with hooks.
• Ezekiel 38:4 – Gog is compelled by hooks in his jaws.
• Job 41:2 – A rhetorical question about piercing Leviathan with a hook.

These passages employ various Hebrew nouns, yet together they form a consistent prophetic vocabulary: God can seize nations as effortlessly as a fisherman hauls his catch.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Holiness and Judgment. Amos prefaces the warning with an oath: “The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness” (Amos 4:2). The impending punishment issues from divine moral perfection; the offense is Israel’s unrepentant oppression of the poor (Amos 4:1).
2. Reversal of Privilege. Those luxuriating in Samaria’s palaces will experience the degradation normally reserved for the lowliest of creatures.
3. Certainty of Prophecy. The single occurrence of the term underscores the specificity of God’s revelation. Every word spoken through the prophets proves true (Isaiah 55:11).

Ministry Application

a. Call to Repentance. The image exhorts contemporary readers to examine societal and personal injustice. If covenant people persist in sin, God retains both the power and the right to discipline.

b. Evangelistic Contrast. While Amos depicts captives taken “with fishhooks,” Jesus calls disciples to become “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). The gospel transforms an emblem of destruction into a mission of rescue.

c. Pastoral Warning. Leaders who exploit their position must heed Amos’s vision lest they suffer analogous loss of honor and freedom (James 5:1–5).

Related Scriptures

Amos 4:2; Ezekiel 29:4; Ezekiel 38:4; Job 41:2; Jeremiah 16:16; Matthew 4:19; Mark 1:17; Luke 5:10; 2 Kings 15:29; 2 Kings 17:6

דּוּגָֽה׃ דוגה׃ dū·ḡāh duGah dūḡāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts