Amos 7:14

I was no prophet. Unafraid, Amos denies Amaziah’s insinuation (see on v. 12) and declares that he is not a prophet by profession or to gain a livelihood, but simply because of God’s call.

A prophet’s son. Students reared in the schools of the prophets were called “sons of the prophets” (see 1 Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:5). Amos was not trained in any human institution. It is a common mistake to suppose that those who have not been educated according to generally accepted standards have not been educated at all. The Lord taught Amos in the solitude of the fields, of the valleys, and of the hills of Judea as he tended the sheep and as he gathered the fruit of the sycamore-fig tree (see on Luke 19:4).

Gatherer of sycomore fruit. This denotes either one who gathers sycamore figs for his own use, or one who cultivates them for others. The fruit of the sycamore-fig tree is greatly inferior to the true fig, and needs to be punctured some time before it is gathered, in order to render it edible (see on Luke 19:4). Since this tree yielded many crops of fruit during the year, it would provide steady employment to the dresser.