HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:1–3:5 Biographical: Hosea’s Family. Hosea uses his own marriage to Gomer, her unfaithfulness, and their eventual restoration as a parable for the Lord’s relationship to Israel.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:1 Introduction. The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri. The name “Hosea” comes from the same verb as “Joshua” and “Jesus,” meaning “to save or deliver” (Hb. yasha‘).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:2 Command to Marry. God instructs Hosea to marry, but foretells that his wife’s unfaithfulness will be an image for Israel’s unfaithfulness. take to yourself a wife of whoredom. Some have supposed that God commands Hosea to marry a prostitute, but this does not suit the words. The word translated “whoredom” throughout the book is a broad term for various kinds of sexual misconduct, and only in certain contexts does it refer to prostitution. In Hosea it generally refers to a married woman being unfaithful to her husband, which is why it serves as a metaphor for Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord, her husband (for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD; cf. 2:5). Further, one should not think that Gomer was already promiscuous when Hosea married her. As the notes below will show, she seems to have been faithful to Hosea in the begetting of her first child (1:3), and under suspicion in the begetting of her second and third (vv. 6, 8). Thus the second and third children will be children of whoredom (the word and in “and have children” is taken in the sense, “that is”). This helps explain the legal proceedings in ch. 2, and the specific word “adulteress” in 3:1. Hosea uses marriage and unfaithfulness as a prominent metaphor (cf. Ezekiel 16 and 23 for the extended version of the metaphor; elsewhere the idea is important, but not given extended treatment, e.g., Isa. 1:21). The tragedy of Hosea is the tragedy of a marriage that began well but went bad. And so it was with the Lord and Israel: a good beginning went awry. The book of Hosea refers to Israel’s cherished beginnings (e.g., Hos. 2:14–15).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:3–9 Birth of Children. Hosea’s wife bears children, and God gives them prophetic names.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:3 bore him. The first child, Jezreel, is explicitly said to be the son of Hosea. With Gomer’s other children, any mention of Hosea’s paternity is conspicuously absent (vv. 6, 8). Unlike Jezreel, those children are called “her children” and “children of whoredom” (2:4; cf. 4:6; 5:7).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:4 Call his name Jezreel. Hosea, like Isaiah, uses children as signs and symbols for prophetic pronouncements (cf. Isa. 7:3; 8:1–3, 18). the house of Jehu. Jeroboam II (Hos. 1:1) was the fourth king of the dynasty begun by Jehu in 841 B.C. This dynasty was the longest in the history of the northern kingdom. Many suppose that the blood of Jezreel refers to the shedding of blood of the house of Ahab and Ahaziah when Jehu usurped the throne (2 Kings 9:21–28), but this proposal suffers from serious difficulties. First, the kingdom of Israel did not come to an end with Jehu’s dynasty. Israel survived for 30 years after Zechariah, the last king of that dynasty. Second, God commanded Jehu to exterminate Ahab’s dynasty, and commended his work (2 Kings 9:1–10; 10:30; cf. 2 Chron. 22:7). It seems unlikely that the Lord would punish someone for carrying out his command. It is better to take the phrase “house of Jehu” as parallel to house of Israel, and thus another name for Israel. By this reading, “the blood of Jezreel” refers to 1 Kings 21: Ahab, who promoted Baalism as the national religion of Israel, permitted the murder of Naboth, a man loyal to the Lord, in order to seize his vineyard in Jezreel. Appropriately, this verse sets the tenor of the rest of the book: the ongoing confrontation between Baal and the God of Israel.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:5 The promise to break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel signified the defeat of Baalism at the same place where Baal had seemingly triumphed over the Lord (cf. v. 4). (To break a soldier’s bow is a symbol for defeating him.) Israel will be judged at the place where she sinned. That the blood of Ahab was licked up by dogs there should have served as an ominous sign of the Lord’s future judgment on followers of Baal (1 Kings 21:19). The judgment at Jezreel joined poetic justice with divine justice.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:6 The wording here differs from v. 3, in that it does not say she bore him the daughter; this suggests that Hosea was not the father, and the name, No Mercy, is Hosea’s denial of fatherhood. Hosea does not have the natural affection that a father has for his own children, as a father shows mercy to his children (cf. 2:4a; Ps. 103:13, “compassion”).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:7 The Lord will save Judah, but not by conventional means, i.e., without use of national military prowess (cf. Isa. 37:29).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:8–9 The birth (v. 8) and naming of another child by Gomer reinforces what was seen with regards to the preceding birth. The name Not My People makes it explicit: he is not Hosea’s son (cf. 2:4). for you are not my people, and I am not your God. The phrase “my people” is an expression of endearment. It appears 17 times in the book of Exodus alone. The naming of this son signifies a negation of the marital bond that God made with the nation at Sinai (Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:10–11 Covenant Renewal at Jezreel. God does not intend repudiation to be the end of the story for his ancient people.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:10 In the same breath that the Lord uttered his detachment from physical Israel, he uses the language of the Abrahamic covenant to articulate the basis for restoration: the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea (Gen. 22:17; 32:12). The failure of Israel to live up to the demands of the covenant at Sinai could not nullify the promises made to Abraham (cf. Gal. 3:17). Israel’s salvation must be gained just as Abraham’s was: salvation by grace through faith and not by works of the law (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:1–3; Gal. 3:6). In the place is not a geographical reference but a reference to the event when God and his people bonded at Sinai. The Lord will meet Israel at the same place he met with Israel before, i.e., under the same conditions. It is the place of repentance (cf. also Hos. 2:7, 16). God will take Israel back to the desert and begin his work with them all over again.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 1:11 the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together. The hostility between “the children of Judah” (the southern kingdom) and the “children of Israel” (the northern kingdom) had a protracted history (beginning in 1 Kings 12:16–24). “Shall be gathered together” is passive; a force outside of Judah and Israel is operative, i.e., God keeping his promises to Abraham. This did not happen in Hosea’s time. The prophecy points forward, perhaps to a messianic age when the people would be in such agreement that they would appoint for themselves one head. Their reconciliation is depicted in their following the same leader. While it is not explicit here what form this reconciliation would take, the text views the judgment at Jezreel (Hos. 1:5) as working toward that glorious experience, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:1–13 Legal Proceedings against the Wayward Wife. Hosea uses the legal process of an offended husband against his wife as an image for God’s plans to deal with Israel.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:1 Those addressed are Israelites who, the prophet hopes, will respond to his promise. The verse begins with an imperative, Say to your brothers, as does the following verse. Both serve as an enticement for Israel to return to her God. Israel is entreated to anticipate a change in names when unity is restored. No longer will they be “No Mercy” and “Not My People.”
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:2 Plead … plead. The plea for repentance is repeated twice for emphasis. As commonly understood, she is not my wife, and I am not her husband is a repudiation of the marriage bond, which would parallel God’s right to repudiate his covenant bond with Israel. But perhaps it should be read as a threat, rather than an actual divorce. Otherwise, Hosea would have no right to issue the warnings and threats that follow. Isaiah likewise expressed God’s reluctance to turn finally away from his people (Isa. 50:1). The marriage between God and Israel has not ended; the covenant made with Israel contains provision for restoration, and Israel is urged to respond to that provision: that she put away her whoring from her face, and her adultery from between her breasts.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:3 lest I strip her naked and make her as in the day she was born. Public humiliation of an unfaithful wife was not exceptional during this time. Similar language was used to describe retributions for breaking treaties. Some commentators see this “stripping” as the retrieval of everything a husband had provided for his bride (Ex. 21:10–11; cf. Hos. 2:9).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:4–5 they are children of whoredom. For their mother has played the whore; she who conceived them … shamefully. Here is a clear disclaimer of fatherhood. The Lord, like Hosea, proceeds as a husband not only wronged, but injured, by infidelity. For she said, “I will go after my lovers.” This suggests that it was Gomer/Israel who pursued the lovers, rather than the other way around (cf. Jer. 2:23–24). Israel’s “lovers” are other gods.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:6 Therefore. This is the first of three “therefores” in this chapter (cf. vv. 9, 14). It is spoken in response to the mother’s unbridled lust. The eighth-century prophets (including Hosea) truly believed that Israel’s sins could be forgiven and the nation restored. The jealous Husband of Israel will put a hedge around his wife so that she is prevented from straying (i.e., making pilgrimages to pagan shrines). The intention is redemptive.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:7 By the obstruction of thorns and a wall, the wayward wife will not be able to find her lovers, though she diligently seeks them. Left in limbo, without a husband to provide for her needs, she repeats the same words she said in v. 5: I will go. She decides that she should return to her first husband. She acknowledges him as her husband and that there was a time in her marriage when things went well.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:8 In retrospect, she did not know. Israel’s failure to “know” the Lord and his provision, and the Lord’s plan to remedy this, is a key idea in the book (vv. 8, 20; 4:1, 6; 5:3, 4; 6:3; 7:9; 8:2; 11:3; 13:4, 5). The prosperity lavished upon Israel was due to the generosity not of Baal but of the Lord. Particularly hurtful is that the prosperity was used in heathen worship, a slap in God’s face. I who gave her continues the dominance of the first-person pronoun “I” in the rest of the chapter.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:9 This second therefore is in response to Israel’s blind stubbornness in the face of God’s goodness. Like Hosea, who threatens to strip his adulterous wife of what he has bestowed upon her, the Lord will strip the land completely bare. Wool, flax, and linen were the primary sources for weaving cloth for apparel. Thus, the use of these in pagan feasts will come to an end. Verses 9–10 and what follows complement v. 6 as additional descriptions of the Lord’s discipline. The disciplines work in tandem, and the condition of the land throughout the OT serves as a barometer of Israel’s relationship to the Lord.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:10 The Lord will expose the Baals’ impotency so that Israel will know that no one shall rescue her out of my hand, for there is no other god (Deut. 32:39).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:12–13 These are my wages. Sacrifices presented to the Baals are likened to a fee given to a shrine prostitute (9:1). Adulterous behavior applies literally to the woman, and figuratively to the nation. It is also clear that the lovers are the Baals (2:13).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:14–23 Covenant Relationship Reestablished. Hosea indicates God’s plan to restore his “marriage” with Israel.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:14 With this third therefore, the reason for the punishments for Israel’s roaming becomes clear—to bring Israel to repentance. The verb allure can have the idea “to entice or seduce” (Judg. 14:15; 16:5), but here it is paralleled with speak tenderly to her. The Lord will woo his estranged wife away from her lovers with the language of courtship (Ruth 2:13; Isa. 40:2; cf. 2 Sam. 19:7). Bring her into the wilderness depicts the wilderness (see Ex. 19:1–2) as if it were a brighter time in the marriage.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:15 The Valley of Achor, where Achan was cursed (Josh. 7:25–26), will become a place for hope.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:16–17 And in that day. This is not a reference to a particular time but a description of what the day will be like when God lures Israel back. The act of changing names continues: you will call me “My Husband,” and no longer will you call me “My Baal.” The Israelites had fused the name of the Lord with Baal as though doing so made no difference. In earlier times the Hebrew for “my husband” sounded like “my Baal” (cf. Ex. 21:22; 24:4; 2 Sam. 11:26; Prov. 12:4; 30:23; 31:11, 23, 28), but now Israel must use a different word in order to make clear her exclusive devotion to the Lord, and not to Baal.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:18 For them refers to the Israelites who are recipients of the covenant announced in 1:10–11. The terms for the animals here evoke Genesis 1–2, where man in his created condition had a proper dominion over them; hence Israel is in its restored condition living out the creational ideal, which was the goal of God’s redemption. To lie down in safety is the ultimate blessing in a world fraught with persistent threats of aggression.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:19 Recovery is described as a renewed betrothal. The betrothal, a marriage agreement, is established by the payment of a bride price to the bride’s father (2 Sam. 3:14), a practice still found in the Arab world. The bride price paid is righteousness, justice, steadfast love, and mercy. These attributes come only from the Lord (Ex. 34:6–7) and are precisely what Israel desperately lacks. This is in harmony with the divine initiative represented by the many “I wills” in Hosea.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 2:21–23 And in that day. That is, when the marriage is again consummated. Former adversities suffered by Israel will be reversed; grain, wine, and oil will be replenished (cf. vv. 5, 8–9). No Mercy will receive mercy (cf. 1:6; 2:4), and Not My People will again be God’s people (cf. 1:9).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 3:1–5 Command to Remarry, with the Expectation of a King Like David. Hosea returns to his own marriage situation, which is still an image for God and Israel. Israel’s hope, like Judah’s, lies with the house of David.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 3:1 Though the name of this woman is not stated, she should be understood as Gomer, Hosea’s wife in chs. 1–2; otherwise, the analogy of the woman to Israel breaks down. It is Israel, the adulteress, that the Lord pursues, not another people. Hosea is to retrieve his adulterous wife so that Israel will clearly know that the Lord still loves Israel, his spiritually unfaithful wife. Though they … love cakes of raisins probably refers to some rite in the Canaanite cult.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 3:2 The word bought refers to some kind of trade (e.g., Deut. 2:6), which traditionally has been understood to mean redeeming Gomer from slavery, though the exact custom is unknown. Some interpreters hold that it is unlikely that Gomer had become a bondservant, as the price for a slave was 30 shekels, not 15 and some barley (Ex. 21:32; Zech. 11:12; cf. Lev. 27:4). Other interpreters, however, think that 15 shekels plus some barley and wine could have been the agreed-upon price for this particular slave, and 30 shekels may not have been the standard price for every slave in every circumstance. In any case, the amount paid is not great, and it shows the desperate condition into which Gomer had fallen.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 3:3–4 You must dwell as mine has the force of a command. The segregation of Gomer/Israel will lead to her purification, rededication, and renewal. This segregation will be an extensive, though undefined, time of the absence of those things that constituted Israel’s apostasy, namely, king and prince (v. 4), who failed in keeping Israel faithful to the Lord (cf. 1:4; 8:4); sacrifice, which they offered to the Baals (cf. 11:2; 13:1–2); the cult pillar (cf. 10:2), popular in Canaanite religion; the ephod, which degenerated into a tool for magical rites; and household gods, idols prohibited from Israel’s religion (Judg. 17:5; 18:14; 2 Kings 23:24; Zech. 10:2). The Lord’s purging, far from being incompatible with his love, is a major aspect of it. During this time the phrase so will I also be to you (Hos. 3:3) is reassuring and resonates covenant promises and divine support. The Lord God doggedly persists with his people during these trying times. But Israel must not play the whore (v. 3). The lesson having been learned, Israel will be restored beyond all expectation (Deut. 30:5). Romans 11:23 expresses a like sentiment (“they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in”).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 3:5 To call David their king is significant for the northern kingdom, which has been in revolt against the house of David for two centuries. They must return in order to be full participants in God’s covenant—in other words, God intends to honor the covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:8–16). It is from the house of David that the ultimate king for God’s people will come, as indicated in the term the latter days (see Isa. 2:2). God has a glorious future in store for his people.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:1–14:9 Hosea Spells Out His Parable with Accusations, Warnings, and Promises. In the rest of the book, Hosea goes into detail about the various aspects of Israel’s life that constitute her unfaithfulness to the Lord, urges her to repent, and reveals to his audience God’s powerful and passionate commitment to his people, in spite of their unfaithfulness. Throughout these chapters the prophet changes the subject abruptly, without an obvious plan. Perhaps this shows that the sections were once independent oracles that have been stitched together.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:1–19 Legal Proceedings Continued. The Lord continues to prosecute his “controversy” against unfaithful Israel.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:1–2 Charges against Israel are framed in the vocabulary of a lawsuit (a controversy), a setting used by eighth-century contemporaries (cf. Isa. 3:13–15; Mic. 6:2). The charges are offenses against God’s law, particularly the Ten Commandments: perjury (false swearing), lying, murder, stealing, adultery, and all manner of violence (Hos. 4:2). Faithfulness and steadfast love (v. 1) are attributes of God in Ex. 34:6; genuine knowledge of God in the hearts of his people will produce a character like his.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:3 The whole land suffers from the curses of the covenant, because it is the arena in which God’s unfaithful people are chastised—small wonder that it mourns.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:4 Yet let no one contend, and let none accuse. While determining the precise meaning is difficult, this is certainly a reprimand.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:5 The prophet refers to false prophets, the companions of the priests (v. 4). Together they were leading the people astray. Your mother is an allusion to Israel (2:4–5). Hosea’s symbols of Israel include a mother, children, and a bride.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:6 The people are the focal point in this chapter (cf. vv. 1, 12, 15) and are referred to as “my people” throughout (cf. vv. 8, 12). The priests had the responsibility of teaching the people God’s laws (cf. Lev. 10:11; Mal. 2:6–7), but they had failed miserably, and as a result, the people lacked knowledge of God’s laws and his ways. Therefore God says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. But he puts the blame squarely on the priests: because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. On “knowledge,” see notes on Hos. 2:8 and 4:1–2. The statements have the air of a judicial decision and sentence. The kind of knowledge the priests had rejected is further specified: since you have forgotten the law of your God. The consequences of this neglect of God’s Word would be seen in the lives of what was most precious to the priests: I also will forget your children (cf. 2:4). The future tense still may indicate a warning, hinting that repentance might avert this judgment. But the great privilege of knowing God was in danger of being forfeited, even for the next generation.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:8 They feed on the sin of my people. “Sin” can mean “sin offering” (see esv footnote), and perhaps that is what is meant here. It was a most holy offering, intended only for the priests (Lev. 6:25–30). they are greedy for their iniquity. Literally, “they lift their soul to their iniquity.” This obliterates the strict distinction between the priest and the laity that was required by God’s law.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:10–11 They shall eat, but not be satisfied. If this is still directed to the priests, it means that though they eat the sin offerings, they will be spiritually hungry. But v. 10 may expand the focus to speak of punishment for all the people, in which case God is saying that no food will satisfy their hunger. they shall play the whore. An allusion to Baalism. The prophet here makes little distinction between abuses of God’s law and Baal worship. whoredom, wine, and new wine … take away the understanding. In addition to the moral perversion of “whoredom,” Hosea warns against the common link between sexual immorality and the effects of alcohol, both of which cloud one’s thinking, taking away one’s ability to discern good and evil.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:12–13 These verses describe ritual violations against God’s laws, in accordance with Canaanite practices. inquire of a piece of wood. They would ask for guidance from an idol carved out of wood. led them astray. Like sheep following a wicked shepherd. Therefore your daughters play the whore. There is a connection between following a false religion (which is spiritual adultery, vv. 12–13a) and the immoral conduct (physical adultery) of the next generation (“Therefore,” v. 13b; cf. v. 6). The parents turned away from God, and as a consequence he allowed their daughters and other young women (your brides) to stray into sexual immorality.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:14 I will not punish your daughters. Perhaps spoken in sarcasm, as if to say, how can anyone blame them when the whole people is unfaithful? sacrifice with cult prostitutes. This is the only place in Hosea where shrine prostitutes are mentioned. Hosea’s wife is never called that. But here an unfaithful spouse is grouped alongside those who participate in sexual activity at pagan places of worship.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:15 Judah is warned not to follow Israel’s lead, though eventually Judah did. Several shrines that might entice Judah are named. Gilgal, near Jericho (9:15; 12:11), is where Israel circumcised the new generation, observed the Passover, and where they camped when they marched around Jericho seven days (Josh. 4:19; 5:10; 6:1–14). Beth-aven (cf. Hos. 5:8; 10:5; “Aven” in 10:8) means “house of evil”; here it serves as a pejorative name for Bethel (cf. 10:15; 12:4), which means “house of God” (see Gen. 28:19). They are commanded to swear not, “As the LORD lives” at these pagan sites. The name of the Lord is not to be associated in any way with such practices. These sites violate the Mosaic law, which requires one central sanctuary and a Levitical priesthood (Deut. 12:8–14; cf. 1 Kings 12:26–30).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:17 This is the first time Hosea uses the name Ephraim for Israel (using the prominent and centrally located tribe to stand for the whole). He will use it 34 more times.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 4:19 A wind has wrapped them in its wings. The Hebrew word for “wind” can also mean “spirit”; cf. v. 12, where “a spirit of whoredom” has engulfed Israel like a whirlwind.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:1–14 Adultery in High Places. The rulers of Israel have led the way into unfaithfulness.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:1 Hear this, O priests … O house of Israel … O house of the king. Both royal and religious leadership are addressed. Mizpah in Gilead and Tabor, a mountain in the Valley of Jezreel, marked high points in Israel’s past. Mizpah was the home of Jephthah (Judg. 10:17; 11:8, 11, 29, 34), and Tabor was the scene of Barak’s victory (Judg. 4:14; Tabor is also the traditional site of the transfiguration). These revered sites became a “net spread upon Tabor.” The image of a net, a device used for catching birds, depicts the Israelites as the prey of priests and royalty.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:2 Have gone deep into slaughter may refer to child sacrifice (cf. Ps. 106:36–38).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:3–4 Israel is not hidden from me is a subtle barb directed at idolatry where misdeeds are disregarded and concealed. The Lord knows Israel, though Israel does not know the Lord (v. 4).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:5 Israel and Judah have stumbled in guilt (cf. 4:5; 14:1, 9). To stumble is not a superficial mishap but a serious or even fatal accident. Presumably Israel had some role in leading Judah astray (cf. 4:15).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:6–7 Though they bring their sacrifices to places like Mizpah and Tabor (v. 1), they will not find the Lord. He has withdrawn from them—a reference to the worshipers, not these cult centers (for he was never there; cf. note on 4:15). Thus they have borne alien children (5:7; i.e., alien to the Lord), illustrated by the last two children born to Gomer. Sadly, new moon festivals (celebrations for Israel to rejoice for an abundant harvest, and now syncretized with the cults of the Canaanites) will devour the Israelites who participate in them. They and their inheritance (fields) will be swallowed up.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:8 The horn (Hb. shopar) originally meant a ram’s horn, and is the most frequently mentioned musical instrument in the Bible; the trumpet is a bugle of beaten silver. Both were used to alert the community to danger and summon it to a religious festival. Both Gibeah and Ramah were in the path of destruction (cf. Isa. 10:29).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:10 like those who move the landmark. To move a neighbor’s boundary marker is expressly forbidden; it brings a curse (Deut. 19:14; 27:17). Land-grabbing violates the divine intention that all of God’s people are to enjoy their inheritance, and creates a wealthy, callous, power-abusing class. my wrath like water. The word for “wrath” (Hb. ‘ebrah) carries the image of overflowing fury (cf. Isa. 14:6).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:12 But I am like a moth … and like dry rot. These are unusual similes for the Lord; they emphasize his power to make the people waste away (cf. Isa. 50:9; Ps. 39:11 for the moth; and Isa. 40:20 for dry rot; for both together, see Job 13:28).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound. The use of physical infirmities to describe spiritual corruption is common to the OT prophets. (Notice how frequently Hosea puts Israel/Ephraim and Judah together: 1:11; 4:15; 5:12–14; 6:4; 8:14; 10:11; 11:12.) Suggestions as to specifics include Menahem paying heavy tribute to Assyria (2 Kings 15:19) after pacifying Assyria by assassinating Shallum (2 Kings 15:13–15), and Ahaz’s frantic appeal for military aid (2 Kings 16:5–9). The great king is probably Tiglath-pileser III, also called Pul in the OT (745–727 B.C.). This formidable leader headed the neo-Assyrian Empire that ruthlessly subjugated the ancient Near East for over a century.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:14 I will be like a lion … like a young lion. The repetition of the first person, I, even I, reminds the audience that it is solely the Lord who controls the nation’s fate and not the “great king” (commonly depicted as a lion). Wounded Israel and Judah are vulnerable to a far superior menace, the unleashed fury of the Lord.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:15–6:3 Appeal: Return and Be Raised. The Lord will “return” to his place, expecting the people to “return” to him.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 5:15 I will return again to my place alludes to the immediately preceding figure of the lion returning to its den; it is the Lord speaking, and until they acknowledge their guilt … in their distress declares what he expects of his people.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:1 let us return to the LORD. Now the prophet includes himself in his imagining of humble submission to the Almighty’s discipline. The OT prophets did not separate themselves from the plight of their people (Isa. 6:5; 53:4–6).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:2 After two days he will revive us shows that even after this fierce slaying (v. 1) they are not beyond the Lord’s healing. Healing is a picture of a complete metamorphosis: a rising from the dead on the third day. The Septuagint’s Greek translation for on the third day he will raise us up is part of what lay behind Jesus’ and the NT writers’ statements that Jesus’ resurrection “on the third day” was according to the Scriptures (Luke 24:46; 1 Cor. 15:4; cf. also Jonah in Matt. 12:40). Hosea was not writing about the Messiah directly, however, but about the people of Israel. The NT use of this idea depends on seeing a parallel between Israel’s resurrection on the third day in this verse, and Jesus as the Messiah representing and embodying his people. The potential of Israel’s third-day resurrection is to be ultimately realized in the resurrection of the One who acted in Israel’s stead (cf. Matt. 3:13–15). This picture of Israel’s death and resurrection thus sets the pattern for what eventually will be accomplished in and through Christ.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:4–7:3 Transgressors of the Covenant. Israel’s sins are worse than simply violating the law: they repudiate the gracious covenant that is the foundation of their life and hope.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? … O Judah? One must not miss this outburst of emotion, like an anguished father not knowing what to do with his wayward child, or a husband agonizingly frustrated with his promiscuous bride (cf. 11:8; Luke 15:20). Israel’s response, as envisaged in Hos. 6:1–3, is described as a morning cloud and the dew that goes early away, both representing the inconstancy of an adulterous wife.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:5 My judgment goes forth as the light means that God’s light exposes Israel’s idolatry.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:6 rather than burnt offerings. God prefers real participation in the covenant on the part of his people, here expressed as steadfast love and knowledge of God, to the polluted ceremonies of the northern kingdom that ignore these qualities (cf. notes on 4:15; Amos 4:4–5).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant. “Covenant” appears four other times in Hosea (2:18; 8:1; 10:4; 12:1). Twice it refers to the transgressing of covenant (6:7; 8:1). The following phrase, there they dealt faithlessly with me, along with 8:1 (“they have transgressed my covenant and rebelled against my law”) makes it virtually certain that the “covenant” in view is the Mosaic covenant. In addition, the kinds of sins and curses pronounced in the Sinai covenant dovetail precisely with the warnings of the prophet: the end of agricultural prosperity, military disaster, foreign exile, the demise of their offspring, and a return to slavery in Egypt. In sum, the crisis in Israel was Israel’s failure to keep covenant. The hard issue is: to whom or to what does “Adam” refer? Many commentators suggest a geographical locality. The difficulty is that there is no record of covenant breaking at a place called Adam (Josh. 3:16), and it requires a questionable taking of the preposition “like” (Hb. ke-) to mean “at” or “in.” “There” represents the act wherein Israel was unfaithful to the covenant (cf. Hos. 5:7; 6:10). “Mankind” is another suggestion for “Adam,” but that would be a vague statement with no known event indicated, and therefore it would not clarify the sentence. It is best to understand “Adam” as the name of the first man; thus Israel is like Adam, who forgot his covenant obligation to love the Lord, breaking the covenant God made with him (Gen. 2:16–17; 3:17). This also implies that there was a “covenant” relationship between God and Adam, the terms of which were defined in God’s words to Adam, though the actual word “covenant” is not used in Genesis 1–3.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:8 Gilead is another of Hosea’s allusions to former glories (Judg. 10:17–11:11).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:9 On the road to Shechem, the priests became involved in a conspiracy to assassinate defenseless people. The word for villainy (Hb. zimmah) is a powerful term for human depravity.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 6:11 a harvest is appointed. A harvest which is supposed to depict joy but which will instead depict tragedy. Thus it is a “harvest” of judgment (cf. Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:18–19), which stands in ironic contrast to the harvest of joy that will come to the faithful, when I restore the fortunes of my people.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:1 When I would heal Israel. Similar motifs link this chapter with the previous chapters (5:13 and 7:1; 6:8 and 7:1; 6:9 and 7:11; 5:15 and 7:2). It is the Lord’s generosity, not his threats, that weighs heavy.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:2–3 The actions described in ch. 7 illustrate that any sign of remorse for Israel’s guilt is completely absent. By their evil they make the king glad describes pleasing royalty, perhaps by assassinating potential rivals.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:4–16 Four Similes for Unfaithful Israel: Oven, Cake, Dove, Treacherous Bow. Hosea compares Israel to an oven (vv. 4–7), a half-baked cake (vv. 8–10), a silly dove (vv. 11–12), and a treacherous bow (vv. 13–16), thus describing their passion for evil, their foolishness, and their uselessness.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:4–7 The word “oven” (Hb. tannur), repeated three times in these verses (vv. 4, 6, 7), can designate either a fixed or portable structure. This oven is made of earthenware and is used especially for bread. The comparisons of adulterers with an oven are both progressive and overlapping. In v. 4, the heated oven represents a quiet passion that does not go out even though the baker ceases to stir the fire. In v. 6, the oven is a suppressed passion, like anger smoldering, that unexpectedly and violently erupts; it blazes like a flaming fire. In v. 7 the oven depicts a consuming passion that will devour … rulers and all their kings. Many relate this to the political intrigue that marked Ephraim’s final hours. Four of the last six kings of Israel were assassinated. None of them calls upon God (v. 7). Here is a close association between an unquenchable zeal for political control and unbridled lust.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:8 Difficulties with foreign politics inevitably followed these civil internal upheavals. mixes himself with the peoples. “Mixes” (Hb. balal) is associated with blending ingredients in cooking and links with the “baker” in v. 4 (cf. Lev. 2:4; 7:10; 14:10). Israel’s apostasy has made it indistinguishable from the pagan nations. a cake not turned. I.e., half-baked, not fit for eating. Some cakes probably included honey and the juice of grapes and figs, and had to be turned while baking.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:9 Strangers (i.e., foreigners) devour his strength, and he knows it not. Israel is unaware of being manipulated by foreigners’ politics. gray hairs are sprinkled upon him. The nation is like a man who has suddenly grown older and weaker but does not yet realize it. (Perhaps, cf. v. 8, the “gray hairs” are like mold on food.)
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:10 they do not return … nor seek him. This explains the conundrum as to why Israel will be devastated despite the Lord’s promises of good (cf. v. 13b; 8:3).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:11–12 Ephraim is like a dove. The dove, usually noted for admirable qualities (cf. 11:11), here is described as fickle. This probably refers to Israel’s oscillating between Egypt and Assyria. It describes the subterfuge of making secret alliances with two opposing powers at the same time as a guarantee of security. I will bring them down like birds of the heavens. Pronouncements of judgment include 7:12, 13, 16.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:14–15 gash themselves. Probably as a means of invoking Baal (cf. 1 Kings 18:28). I trained and strengthened their arms. Cf. Hos. 2:8 and 11:3.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 7:16 Egypt here is a symbolic name for all foreign powers, and is intended as a metaphorical reference to Israel’s bondage in Egypt prior to the exodus, rather than a literal reference to a new deportation to Egypt. Like other historical references in Hosea, this name bemoans the reversal of Israel’s fortunes. The humiliation and degradation of being taken into captivity is depicted on numerous reliefs from the ancient Near East (cf. Joel 2:17).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:1–14 Israel’s Hypocrisy. The people of Israel may claim to know and love the Lord, but their deeds prove otherwise.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:1 Set the trumpet to your lips. See note on 5:8. The vulture is a symbol of an aggressor, possibly the Assyrian. House of the LORD does not refer to the temple, since the temple resided in Jerusalem. It probably refers to the Lord’s land, a phrase peculiar to Hosea (cf. 9:4, 15). The remarks are obviously ominous from what follows. because they have transgressed my covenant. Note that he says “transgressed,” not “annulled” (cf. 6:7). The Lord had not “annulled” his covenant with Israel; she was still his estranged wife. While it was a foregone conclusion that Israel would violate the covenant, provisions for reconciliation were put in place (Lev. 26:40–45; Deut. 31:27–29; cf. Deut. 30:1–10).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:2 Chapter 8 is a response to Israel’s cry. For the people of Israel to say they know God is hypocritical (cf. 2:8; 5:4; 11:3). What follows are accusations that expose Israel’s idolatry, politics, and false worship.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:3 The enemy shall pursue him perhaps refers to the “vulture” in v. 1.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:4 kings … princes. The grievance is twofold. The leaders are not the Lord’s choice, and these usurpers are not godly. I knew it not. Hosea and his readers were well aware that God knows everything; the point is not whether God was aware of the princes they had set up, but rather, that the people had never asked him for guidance before choosing these leaders.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:5–6 I have spurned your calf, O Samaria. These verses respond to v. 3, “Israel has spurned the good.” Archaeologists have found sculptures of Baal standing on a bull. This calf-idol is reminiscent of the calf-idol made by Aaron (Ex. 32:1–4) and the calf-idol erected at Bethel (1 Kings 12:28–29). As the calf-idol in Aaron’s day was pulverized, so this idol shall be broken to pieces (cf. also 2 Kings 23:15).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:7 For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. Trusting flimsy alliances (“sowing the wind”) will exacerbate the situation by reaping “the whirlwind” (by bringing on a ruthless invader).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:10 Foreign armies ravaged the land, exacting heavy tribute as they went.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 8:14 Shall devour her strongholds refers to the most secure place within each city, its citadel (1 Kings 16:18; 2 Kings 15:25; Ps. 48:3; Isa. 25:4). Ephraim trusted religious shrines for security; Judah her armaments. Both will prove to be futile.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:1–9 Warnings: No Worship in a Foreign Land. God will punish Israel by sending her people away from the land, to a place where they will not be able to make sacrifices to the Lord.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:1 A prostitute’s wages (cf. 2:12) are scorned by the Lord (Deut. 23:18).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:3 The failure of crops in the land is not the only outcome of Ephraim’s adultery. Expulsion is another consequence. The mention of exile to Egypt and Assyria reflects the oscillating politics of Israel, trying to play the two against each other (cf. 7:11).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:4 their sacrifices shall not please him. It shall be like mourners’ bread. A description of conditions in exile. Because the food is unclean (v. 3), they shall be defiled and therefore not acceptable in God’s presence.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:6 They are going away from destruction is an indication that they think they are safe. Their hope is quickly dashed, however: but Egypt shall gather them. Other disasters are described in the rest of the verse.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:7 Some understand the prophet is a fool as Hosea’s quotation of Israel’s earlier ridicule of the prophet, God’s watchman (cf. Jer. 6:16; Ezek. 3:17; 33:2, 6–7)—i.e., that Ephraim’s rejection of God’s messenger causes them to entrap themselves. By this interpretation, the last two lines would be Hosea’s response, showing why the prophets have been prophesying such disaster. Others understand this as Hosea’s own statement. By this interpretation, Hosea then says, in the last two lines, that the people’s great iniquity shows the reason why these prophets’ predictions have been so foolish.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:9 As in the days of Gibeah refers to the events in Judges 19–21, where God brings judgment on Gibeah and the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 20:35) for their cruel violence (Judg. 19:22–26; cf. Hos. 10:9).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:10–11:11 More Similes for Unfaithful Israel: Grapes, Vine, Calf, Toddler. Hosea uses four more comparisons to describe Israel: grapes in the wilderness (9:10–17), a luxuriant vine (10:1–10), a trained calf (10:11–15), and a toddler (11:1–11), all of which stress God’s past care for them, their reckless ingratitude, and the unavoidable consequences.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:10 Like grapes in the wilderness. … Like the first fruit on the fig tree. The unexpected discovery of grapes in the desert or the first figs of the season is absolutely delightful (cf. v. 13). I saw your fathers shows this is another reference to the nation’s early history. But like Hosea’s marriage, that cherished relationship had a surprisingly short life. they came to Baal-peor (Num. 25:3, 5, 18; cf. Ps. 106:28). Idolatry and whoredom have also gone hand in hand from Israel’s very beginning.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:11–12 Woe to them when I depart from them. When Israel spurns God’s grace, they are left to their own devices. Judgment is dramatic, for there will be no birth, no pregnancy, not even conception. If the nation does not change, it will soon head toward extinction.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:14 A miscarrying womb would be the opposite of the fruitfulness the people sought in Baal worship (see Introduction: Purpose, Occasion, and Background).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 9:16–17 their root is dried up; they shall bear no fruit. Again (see note on v. 14), this punishment is the opposite of what they sought in worshiping the Baals. wanderers among the nations. That is, they will be exiles. they have not listened to him. God’s people put themselves at risk when they abandon dependency on the Lord and obedience to him.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:1–2 For the image of Israel as a vine, cf. Ps. 80:8–16; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 15:1–8; 17:1–10. This example suits Hosea’s repeated pattern that Israel got off to a good start but then went wrong. The vine’s fruit increased, and the country improved. However, the more Israel prospered, the more Israel sinned. the more altars he built … he improved his pillars. It was just as Moses had warned (Deut. 8:11–14). Abundance is risky; God’s people could not handle it (cf. Prov. 30:7–9).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:3 We have no king. The prophet foretells the end of the northern monarchy due to the people’s unfaithfulness.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:4 It is difficult to determine whether those who utter mere words are Israelites (v. 3) or their kings. If Israelites, it refers to Israel’s misplaced reliance on their leaders and the hypocritical or blind claim that they are nevertheless faithful to the Lord (cf. 1 Sam. 8:7; Hos. 7:14). If it refers to the words of kings, their covenants/promises do not stem from integrity but are untrustworthy, empty oaths.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:5 The address moves to the future. The inhabitants … tremble. Both their king and calf-idol will be removed from Samaria. What the people and the priests once rejoiced over, they will mourn for. On Beth-aven, see note on 4:15. The term glory describes the special presence of God in his sanctuary (cf. Ex. 40:34). Here it is the presumed presence of God at the illegitimate sanctuary. It will depart (or go into exile, esv footnote), just as the legitimate glory did (1 Sam. 4:21–22).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:6 The idol they worshiped becomes tribute for the great king of Assyria (see 5:13).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:7 The imagery like a twig on the face of the waters (i.e., tossed about every which way and then swept away) illustrates the helplessness and weakness of the kings that Israel trusted.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:8 The thorn and thistle indicate that the land is unproductive; cf. Gen. 3:18; Matt. 7:16; Heb. 6:8. For Aven (another name for Beth-aven), see note on Hos. 4:15.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:9 the days of Gibeah. See note on 9:9. The idea is that if disaster overtook the Benjaminites at Gibeah, how much more is Israel now in trouble.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:10 When I please, I will discipline them. While the primary source of Israel’s discipline and downfall is the Lord himself, the agency of discipline will be through the nations that shall be gathered against them (cf. Isa. 10:5). OT prophets frequently linked the first cause (the Lord) with secondary causes (here, the nations).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:11–13 The passage is punctuated with agrarian images, again alluding to the issue of fertility. Ephraim was a trained calf—another allusion to Israel’s beginnings. The Lord spared Israel the yoke; she loved to thresh in his field (cf. Deut. 25:4). But that freedom was abused: you have plowed iniquity … reaped injustice (Hos. 10:13). Therefore, the Lord must harness Ephraim. The idea here is in concert with Hosea restraining his wife, so that Israel would sow the seeds of righteousness and plow and reap a crop of steadfast love (v. 12; cf. 8:7). A deaf ear to the prophet’s appeals will translate into a military disaster.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 10:14 as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle. “Shalman” is an otherwise unknown name but may refer to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (727–722 B.C.), who besieged Samaria from 725 to 723. The location of “Beth-arbel” is unknown. The violence described suits Assyrian barbarity, and the degree of punishment is equal to the size of the offenses.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. Here is one of the most endearing passages in Hosea. The prophet uses another family metaphor, portraying the Lord not only as a husband but also as a father (cf. Luke 15:11–32). This metaphor was not original to Hosea (cf. Ex. 4:22–23). Matthew 2:15 uses the line “out of Egypt I called my son” to show that Jesus is the “Son of God,” i.e., the heir of David who embodies Israel’s relationship to God (cf. 2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:26–27).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 11:2–4 The Lord loved Israel from the beginning and never stopped loving them. Throughout their history, he taught Ephraim (that is, Israel) to walk and healed them (v. 3), as a father does with his child. Some commentators think the image of a parent and a child continues in v. 4 in led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love. The meaning would be light bands or cords with which a parent supports and guides a toddler who is learning to walk. But most commentators think that in v. 4 the image changes to that of a kind farmer with his animals, who removes the yoke and leads the animal, not with harsh ropes and a yoke (as in 10:11), but with light “cords” and “bands” to guide the animals to their food. Then the Lord, like a gentle farmer, even bent down and fed them (11:4). In all of this manifestation of grace, the Lord was not initiating a new basis for a relationship between him and his people, for the relationship from the beginning was never based on law but on redemptive grace. Among other places, this is illustrated by the preamble of the Ten Commandments: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex. 20:2). It was God’s love that provided and still provides the underpinning for an ultimate relationship of care, guidance, and obedience. Tragically, however, more than anything else, it was the Lord’s love that was spurned: The more they were called, the more they went away (Hos. 11:2), and “My people are bent on turning away from me” (v. 7).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 11:5–7 They shall not return … but Assyria. Some read “not” as “surely” (esv footnote), since 8:13; 9:3; and 11:11 seem to contradict reading a negative here. This is grammatically possible, but not necessary. (See note on 7:16: “Egypt” in those earlier verses may be a name representing all foreign powers, whereas here Hosea says they will not literally return to Egypt.) This verse may mean that hope of finding deliverance from Egypt will fail. The Israelites will find themselves subject to a new pharaoh, not in Egypt but in Assyria.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 11:8 How can I give you up? In highly anthropomorphic terms, the Lord pours out his irrepressible love; Isa. 49:15 and Jer. 31:20 express the same sentiment. The relationship between God and his chosen must not be viewed as a formality. These emotional outpourings demonstrate that the Lord is a person, filled with compassion—unlike the lifeless Baals. His affection weighs heavier than Israel’s ingratitude, and he cannot bring himself to renounce his people, even though they renounce him. How can I make you like Admah … like Zeboiim? These two cities were totally destroyed (see Deut. 29:23; also Gen. 14:2, 8). The love that the Lord has for his children restrains him from obliterating them. He will preserve Israel through a remnant (cf. Rom. 11:5).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 11:10–11 His children shall come trembling … I will return them to their homes describes the return of a remnant of God’s people from exile.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 11:12–12:1 Dependence on Alliances. Ephraim has surrounded me with lies … but Judah still walks with God (11:12). Judah and the northern tribes (Ephraim) both suffered lapses in fidelity to the Lord, but Judah, unlike Ephraim, had some good kings (in particular, Hezekiah). One of the highest points in Judah’s history was the victory over the Assyrians when Hezekiah was king (see 2 Kings 18–19, which was 20 years after Samaria fell).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind. Ephraim depends on what is elusive and unprofitable (for wind used as an image this way, cf. Job 6:26; 8:2; 15:2; Ps. 78:39; Eccles. 1:14; 2:11; Isa. 26:18; 41:16). “Wind” graphically describes the duplicity of both Israel and Judah’s covenant making. Oil … to Egypt could refer to an inducement offered to Egypt for relief when Israel was paying tribute to Assyria.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 12:2–14 Further Indictment Based on Historical Review. Hosea recounts incidents from Israel’s past in order to display the Lord’s enduring kindness and Israel’s stubborn ingratitude.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 12:3–4 The references are to events in Jacob’s life where he excelled. Jacob took his brother by the heel at birth (Gen. 25:26). He strove with the angel and prevailed (Hos. 12:4) at Peniel (Gen. 32:24–31). There the angel touched Jacob’s hip socket and put it out of joint. That divine wounding of Jacob made him into a new man, Israel. Jacob met God at Bethel (Hos. 12:4) when he complied with God’s command, and God reassured Jacob of his former promises (Gen. 35:9–15).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 12:5–8 The specific mention of the LORD by his fuller name is joined with the prevailing of Jacob. (For the memorial name, cf. Ex. 3:15.) The prophet once again calls his people to their divine calling and election, ratified by promises to the patriarchs (see note on Hos. 2:8; cf. Rom. 9:10–13). God’s election was the origin of Israel’s calling and the very reason that Israel can now be restored: by grace, Israel can return and exhibit the qualities of love and justice (Hos. 12:6). But Israel’s deeds and words (vv. 7–8) show they refuse to hold fast and wait continually for their God (v. 6). A merchant, in whose hands are false balances. Their cruel and deceptive business practices oppress while they think of themselves as innocent.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 12:10 it was I who multiplied visions. The revelations granted to the Lord’s people by the ministry of the Lord’s prophets were special and numerous (Deut. 4:5–6, 32–36; Ps. 147:19–20). The visions and parables given to the prophets indicate the normal means that God uses to reveal truths to the prophets (cf. Num. 12:6).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 12:12–14 The mention again of Jacob emphasizes God’s grace in preserving his fugitive so that he would father the 12 tribes of Israel. Aram is Paddan-Aram (Gen. 28:2, 5). The prophet was Moses, who led the nation out of Egypt (Deut. 18:15; 34:10). In the face of God’s gracious deliverance and preservation of his people, Ephraim has given bitter provocation.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:1–8 Worship of Man-made Gods. The man-made gods that Israel worships are nothing compared to their actual God, who is living, active, and true to his word.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:1 there was trembling. The idea seems to be that at one time Ephraim’s word commanded respect.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:2 who offer human sacrifice. Child sacrifice was a part of Baal worship (Isa. 57:5). kiss calves. Kissing is a way of paying homage (1 Kings 19:18). The excavations at Ashkelon have uncovered an example of calf worship in a sanctuary from the sixteenth century B.C. A small, solid bronze calf was discovered, and around it were remains of a pottery shrine that housed the calf. Calf worship, of course, was a problem throughout the history of Israel (see Exodus 32; 1 Kings 12).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:3 The similes of mist, dew, chaff, and smoke liken Israel’s end to vapors that quickly dissipate.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:4–5 But I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt. In contrast to fleeting vapors, this is a solemn statement that rehearses Ex. 20:2. The passing work of the craftsmen who make idols (Hos. 13:2) stands in vivid disparity to the God who sustained Israel in the land of drought by his devoted care.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:6 but when they had grazed. Their devotion in the wilderness diminished with prosperity (cf. 2:8; 10:1–2).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:7–8 a lion … a leopard … a bear. Hosea’s contemporary (and fellow prophet to the northern kingdom) Amos also depicts Israel as the prey of wild beasts, an image of God’s judgment (Amos 3:12; cf. Hos. 5:14).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:9–16 Rejecting the Only Hope They Have. Ephraim, by its stubborn refusal to return to the Lord, rejects the only hope that God offers. Three figures of judgment are pronounced in these verses: the incompetent king (vv. 10–11), the unborn child (vv. 13–14), and the withering wind of God (v. 15).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:9–11 The question where now is your king? (v. 10) need not mean that Israel had no king but that the royal leadership was inept to save, for the kings were against your helper (v. 9). I gave you a king in my anger, and I took him away in my wrath (v. 11) may be a reference to Saul, the first king of Israel; Israel asked for the wrong kind of king (1 Sam. 8:4–9), and still does.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:12–13 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store, probably suggests that Ephraim holds on to its sins and will not let the Lord take them away. he does not present himself. Ephraim, in its refusal to repent and be healed, is likened to a baby who refuses to be born—which would be most unwise, since it would be fatal (cf. v. 14).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 13:14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? In the OT, “Sheol” is a proper name and can be a poetic personification of the grave (e.g., 1 Kings 2:6; Ps. 141:7). But it can also designate the grim destination of the wicked after death (e.g., Ps. 49:14–15). The parallel wording with Ps. 49:15 suggests that Hosea sees Ephraim’s “death” as leading to Sheol in the second sense, i.e., as damnation. Thus God asks himself whether he should rescue Ephraim from such consequences. O Death, where are your plagues? If the Lord is their strong deliverer, then not even death will be able to terrify them or harm them. In 1 Cor. 15:55 Paul cites part of Hos. 13:14. In that context, he is viewing the general resurrection as God’s triumph over not only bodily death but also eternal judgment, for the faithful. Sadly, in Hosea’s time Israel is rejecting the only power that can save her. Thus compassion is hidden from God’s eyes, and Israel will perish miserably (vv. 15–16).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:1–9 Closing Appeals. Hosea finishes his book with a series of moving appeals to the wayward northern kingdom to return to the Lord and find healing and covenant renewal.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:2–3 Take with you words means to know ahead of time what you will say. Hosea then gives the words of repentance and confession that the people should use before the Lord (vv. 2b–3). These verses are peppered with terms from the covenant that express God’s grace and the proper response of gratitude: take away all iniquity evokes Ex. 34:7 (“forgiving”; cf. Ps. 32:5), while pay with bulls the vows of our lips probably describes peace offerings (cf. Ex. 24:5; Num. 7:88), in which the grateful worshiper enjoys a meal in God’s presence. This is what Israel can expect, if only they will return to the LORD. Also (Hos. 14:3), no longer will they place their trust in foreign princes (such as Assyria) or in implements of warfare (horses); neither will they worship handmade gods (cf. 13:3–4).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:4 As so often happens with calls to repentance, there follow astounding promises to entice Israel to return. The Lord will heal their apostasy. As noted in 5:13–14, the prophets often depict sin as a sickness and renewal as healing. I will love them freely. It is not that the Lord had stopped loving Israel, but now he will love them without the prospect of imminent judgment.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:5 I will be like the dew. Dew was one of the key sources of water for Israel. It would be vital for the growth of the kind of plants that follow. like the lily. The Hebrew term can refer to several different lily-like flowers; all are prized for their beauty. Biblical authors regularly celebrate the trees of Lebanon (especially cedars) as the most majestic (e.g., Ps. 104:16).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:6 his shoots shall spread out. Here the imagery depicts an expanding kingdom like the growth of a great tree: Israel’s original calling was to spread its influence through the whole world. beauty shall be like the olive. The olive was regarded as a symbol of strength and prosperity (cf. Ps. 52:8). fragrance like Lebanon. A reference to the scent of cedars.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:7 they shall flourish like the grain … like the vine … like the wine. Israel again becomes a choice vine, which was her design from the beginning (cf. 10:1). The landscape here depicted is an Eden-like paradise, illustrating covenant renewal by the replanting of Israel as a lush garden (cf. 2:14–23).
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:8 I am like an evergreen cypress. Nowhere else in the OT is the Lord likened to a tree, which leads some to suggest that these words are spoken by Israel. However, in 5:12 Hosea uses an equally bold comparison of the Lord with “a moth” and “dry rot,” so this suggestion is unnecessary. An “evergreen” tree is ever full of life and strength.
HOSEA—NOTE ON 14:9 Hosea has an apt conclusion for his book. The Lord has made his case, and is justified in punishing Israel for ingratitude and covenant breaking. Yet there is a final appeal for the wise, who understand (the same verb used in 4:14: “people without understanding shall come to ruin”). This verse is full of terms otherwise met in the Psalms and Proverbs, such as “wise,” “understand,” discerning, the ways of the LORD, and the contrast between the upright and transgressors. Most of the book has addressed Ephraim as a corporate body, but these terms in Hos. 14:9 focus on the moral response of individual Israelites. The positive terms in such a setting refer to those who really grasp the grace of the covenant. They also guide them in their own course of life, even when terrible disaster overtakes the people as a whole.