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Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Daniel 11 Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid (Syrian) kingdom from 175 to 164 B.C.¹ Epiphanes means “manifest,” and the name indicates that he claimed to be the earthly manifestation of Zeus.² Antiochus attempted to unify his empire by imposing Hellenistic culture upon all its inhabitants. This policy brought him into sharp conflict with the Jews of the region later known as Palestine. Most Biblical scholars believe Antiochus IV to have been the “small” horn in Daniel 8:9 and the “contemptible person” of 11:21. His relations with the Jews are recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees (Apocryphal books) and are prophetically depicted in Daniel 8:9–12, 23–25 and 11:21–34. He was infamous for establishing pagan worship in the Jerusalem temple.

Roman bronze of a man leading a boar to be sacrificed (Jews did not sacrifice swine of any kind)

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin; permission of The British Museum

In about 174 B.C. Jason, the leader of a pro-Greek faction in the Jerusalem priesthood, bribed Antiochus to install him as high priest, after which Jason set about turning Jerusalem into a Greek city (2Mc 4:7–22). In 171 B.C., however, another man, Menelaus, in turn bought the priesthood from Antiochus. Jason, believing that Antiochus had died, seized Jerusalem by force. But Antiochus returned in 169 and carried out a massacre of the city. He then moved upon Egypt but was humiliated by the Roman legate C. Popilius Laenas and forced to make an undignified withdrawal to the north. Thereafter, this tyrant vigorously sought to Hellenize Jerusalem.

In 167 B.C. Antiochus dispatched his tax collector Apollonius against Jerusalem with 22,000 men. They attacked on the Sabbath, killing most of the male population and enslaving the women and children. Jerusalem’s walls were demolished and a Seleucid military garrison stationed immediately south of the temple. All Jewish rites were outlawed, resulting in the cessation of the daily sacrifice. An altar to Zeus was erected over the Jewish altar of burnt offerings, and worship of Zeus was instituted in the temple. On December 25, 167 B.C., a pig was sacrificed on the Zeus altar; this was the “abomination that causes desolation” in Daniel 9:27, 11:31 and 12:11.

Enraged, the Jews rebelled against their Greek overlords and, under Judas Maccabeus, defeated the armies that Antiochus had sent against them. After a three-year struggle Jewish forces gained major concessions from the Greeks, and the Maccabees became the de facto rulers of Judea. Most notably, they purified the temple and reinstated the daily sacrifice, an event commemorated in the feast of Hanukkah. Antiochus himself, who had moved off to the east to campaign in Elam, died in Persia in 164 B.C.³

1. See “The Seleucids.”

2. See “The Gods of the Greeks and Romans.”

3. See also “The Intertestamental Period.”

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The Kings of the South and the North

²“Now then, I tell you the truth:^† Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.^{† 3}Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases.^{† 4}After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven.^† It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

⁵“The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. ⁶After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power^[39] will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal escort and her father^[40] and the one who supported her.

⁷“One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North^† and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. ⁸He will also seize their gods,^† their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt.^† For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. ⁹Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. ¹⁰His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood^† and carry the battle as far as his fortress.

¹¹“Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated.^{† 12}When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. ¹³For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.

¹⁴“In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. ¹⁵Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps^† and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. ¹⁶The invader will do as he pleases;^† no one will be able to stand against him.^† He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.^{† 17}He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans^[41] will not succeed^† or help him. ¹⁸Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands^† and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back upon him.^{† 19}After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall,^† to be seen no more.^†

²⁰“His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor.^† In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.

²¹“He will be succeeded by a contemptible^† person who has not been given the honor of royalty.^† He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. ²²Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.^{† 23}After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully,^† and with only a few people he will rise to power. ²⁴When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers.^† He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.

²⁵“With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. ²⁶Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. ²⁷The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil,^† will sit at the same table and lie^† to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.^{† 28}The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

²⁹“At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. ³⁰Ships of the western coastlands^{[42] †} will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

³¹“His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.^{† 32}With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist^† him.

³³“Those who are wise will instruct^† many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.^{† 34}When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere^† will join them. ³⁵Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined,^† purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

The King Who Exalts Himself

³⁶“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things^† against the God of gods.^† He will be successful until the time of wrath^† is completed, for what has been determined must take place. ³⁷He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. ³⁸Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.^[43]

⁴⁰“At the time of the end the king of the South^† will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm^† out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.^{† 41}He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom,^† Moab^† and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. ⁴²He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. ⁴³He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt,^† with the Libyans^† and Nubians in submission. ⁴⁴But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at^[44] the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

Daniel 12

The End Times

¹“At that time Michael,^† the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress^† such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book^† —will be delivered.^{† 2}Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.^{† 3}Those who are wise^{[45] †} will shine^† like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.^{† 4}But you, Daniel, close up and seal^† the words of the scroll until the time of the end.^† Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

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The Seleucids

Daniel 12 After the death of Alexander the Great, his massive empire was divided among his generals, who vied for power. One of the major victors was Seleucus I (born c. 358 B.C.), who seized control of a domain centered in Syria. His dynasty, the Seleucids, governed there from 321 to 64 B.C.:

• Seleucus I Nicator (r. 312–281 B.C.): A childhood friend of Alexander, he took control of Babylon. A rival Greek general, Antigonus Monophthalmus, forced him to take refuge in Egypt with another Greek general, Ptolemy.¹ Seleucus I returned to power in Syria and Babylon in 312 B.C. In 301 B.C. he moved his capital west to Syrian Antioch, a city he had founded. By the terms of a peace treaty he should have gained control of Palestine—which Ptolemy refused to relinquish. Thereafter, the Seleucids regarded Palestine as rightfully theirs.

• Antiochus I Soter (r. 281–261 B.C.): The son of Seleucus I, he fought with Ptolemy II of Egypt in a struggle for control of Palestine and Anatolia (Turkey).

• Antiochus II Theos (r. 261–246 B.C.): This ruler was successful against Ptolemy II in the ongoing struggle for control of Anatolia. Ptolemy persuaded him to marry his daughter Berenice, a union that caused dynastic troubles among the Seleucids. Seleucus’s first wife, Laodice, established a rival court at Ephesus² and, after Antiochus’s death, had Berenice and her son murdered. This resulted in renewed war between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies (the latter now under Ptolemy III, Berenice’s brother). Antiochus II is the “king of the North” in Daniel 11:6.

• Seleucus II Callinicus (246–225 B.C.): Son of Antiochus II and Laodice, his reign began with a war against Ptolemy III. During his lifetime the Seleucid Empire nearly collapsed.

• Seleucus III Soter (225–223 B.C.): His brief reign focused upon a failed campaign to regain control of Anatolia.

• Antiochus III the Great (223–187 B.C.): The younger son of Seleucus II, he was the Seleucids’ most successful warrior-king. He first campaigned south into Palestine against the Ptolemies but was stopped at Raphia by Ptolemy IV in 217 B.C. Turning east, he won victories against Bactria and Parthia. In a new war against the Ptolemies, now under Ptolemy V, he wrested control of Palestine in 200 B.C., after which he focused on regaining Anatolia. War broke out between Rome and the Seleucids, and Antiochus III was defeated in several battles. Antiochus III is the “king of the North” in 11:11–13.

• Seleucus IV Philopator (187–175 B.C.): The son of Antiochus III, his reign was hampered by the financial strain of heavy tribute payments to Rome.

• Antiochus IV Epiphanes³ (175–164 B.C.): A younger son of Antiochus III and a usurper of the throne after the assassination of Seleucus IV, Antiochus was the most infamous Seleucid. He attempted to extirpate Judaism and replace it with a Hellenistic culture; his enormities are recorded in 2 Maccabees 5, an Apocryphal book. His oppression prompted Jewish rebellion in the Maccabean revolt. Antiochus Epiphanes almost conquered Egypt in 168 B.C. but turned back when the Roman C. Popilius Laenas warned him to proceed no further.

• Antiochus V Eupator (164–162 B.C.): Two men, Philip and Lysias, contended for control of this boy during his brief reign; the confusion left an opening for the Jewish Maccabees against the Greeks. Though not entirely successful, they did win religious concessions.

• Demetrius I Soter (162–150 B.C.): A son of Seleucus IV, he had Philip and Lysias put to death and assumed the throne himself. Wars with the Jews continued. Judas Maccabeus was killed in battle and replaced by his brother Jonathan, who defeated the Seleucids.

• Thereafter Seleucid power weakened steadily. A usurper named Alexander Balas contended ineffectively for the Seleucid throne. Demetrius II, son of Demetrius I, seized power and ruled from around 145 to 140 and again from approximately 129 to 125 B.C. (between which times he was a prisoner of the Parthians). Meanwhile, Antiochus VI Epiphanes Dionysus (a son of Alexander Balas), Antiochus VII Sidetes (a brother of Demetrius II) and Tryphon (another usurper) vied for power. This situation made the Jews power brokers, further illustrating how far the Seleucids had declined. The last Seleucid ruler was Antiochus XIII Asiaticus (69–64 B.C.); in the final year of his reign Pompey the Great made Syria a Roman province.⁴

1. See “The Ptolemies.”

2. See “Early History of Ephesus.”

3. See “Antiochus IV Epiphanes.”

4. See also “The Intertestamental Period.”

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⁵Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.^{† 6}One of them said to the man clothed in linen,^† who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”^†

⁷The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever,^† saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time.^{[46] †} When the power of the holy people^† has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.^† ”

⁸I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”

⁹He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.^{† 10}Many will be purified, made spotless and refined,^† but the wicked will continue to be wicked.^† None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.^†

¹¹“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation^† is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹²Blessed is the one who waits^† for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.^†

¹³“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest,^† and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.^† ”

HOSEA

Author, Place and Date of Writing

Hosea the prophet in all likelihood wrote the book that bears his name. Some scholars have argued that parts of the book are secondary (written by someone else), but their arguments have produced no consensus and have persuaded few. Some hold, for example, that references to Judah and to the house of David were added at a later time (e.g., Hos 3:5; Hosea was primarily a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel). Others contend that the “optimistic” messages are add-ons (e.g., 14:4–7; Hosea primarily preached a message of condemnation). These arguments presuppose that Hosea was a one-dimensional prophet, incapable of speaking to both Israel and Judah or of preaching both condemnation and hope.

Another major issue regarding Hosea is the nature of his relationship to Gomer, his wife. It seems astonishing that Hosea would have been commanded by God to marry an immoral woman (1:2). The account in the first three chapters of this prophetic work has been subjected to every conceivable interpretation (e.g., that it is only the record of a vision or parable, that Gomer was actually faithful but played the part of a faithless woman for the sake of Hosea’s message, or that Gomer was actually guilty of idolatry but not of promiscuity). None of these suggestions is persuasive. The text seems clear that God commanded Hosea to marry a dissolute woman and that the prophet took Gomer in direct obedience to that command. This is the ultimate kind of prophetic sign—a scenario in which a prophet engages in shocking and otherwise inexplicable behavior in order to make his point for his audience (see Isa 20:2–4; Eze 24:15–24).

Hosea dated his message to the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel and to those of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah (Hos 1:1). This places the years of his prophetic ministry from around 755 to 715 B.C. and indicates that the prophet lived to see the destruction of Samaria, the capital of Israel, in 722 B.C.

Audience

Hosea initially delivered his message of doom orally to the northern kingdom of Israel. After the fall of Samaria his words were transcribed to scrolls as a record of prophecy fulfilled and as a warning of judgment, a call to repentance and a promise of restoration.

Cultural Facts and Highlights

Hosea was written primarily as a message of judgment to the northern kingdom during the years of its precipitous decline prior to its fall to Assyria. For the most part the prophet’s words are filled with condemnation and promises of destruction for the nation, but readers who find this tedious do well to recognize that his predictions, in all their horror, were fulfilled within about 30 years of the beginning of his ministry.

Timeline

As You Read

The first three chapters of this book are a moving story that makes for fascinating reading. Make the attempt to enter vicariously into the drama from the perspective of the prophet himself or from that of one of the other players, such as the forgiven Gomer. What relevance does this story have to the history of your own life and salvation?

Did You Know?

• Clay tablets from Ugarit tell of fertility rites carried out by the Canaanites at the high places, and pagan rituals involving sexual immorality were often conducted under oak trees, which were considered sacred (4:13).
• “Harlots” were common prostitutes, while “shrine prostitutes” were women of the sanctuaries who served as partners for men in the sexual activity that was part of their religious ritual (4:14).
• The “festival of our king” probably refers to a coronation or birthday celebration that developed into a drunken orgy (7:5). King Elah died in drunkenness (1Ki 16:9).
• Four Israelite kings were assassinated within 20 years, Zechariah and Shallum during a mere seven-month period (Hos 7:7).

Themes

The prophecy of Hosea includes the following themes:

1. God’s faithfulness, mercy and unfailing love. Hosea’s unconditional love for his adulterous wife represents God’s relentless love for the faithless Israelites (1:2; 2:19; 6:6; 10:12; 12:6). In fact, God’s covenantal relationship with his people is likened to the intimacy experienced in marriage (2:2–5; 3:3; 4:10–19; 5:3–7; 6:10; 8:9; 9:1), reinforcing the theme of God’s passionate devotion to his people.
2. Judgment for sin. At the root of Israel’s idolatry was her failure to acknowledge God (2:8, 13, 20; 4:1, 6; 5:4; 6:3, 6; 13:4), an unfaithfulness that would result in the punishment of exile (7:16; 8:14; 9:3, 6, 17; 11:5).
3. Repentance and restoration. God would not leave his people under judgment and in exile forever but pledged to heal Israel of the wounds caused by her disobedience and to reestablish his people in the land (14:1–9). Hosea demonstrates the recurring theme that repentance brings restoration (1:10–11; 2:14–23; 3:5; 11:10–11; 14:4–7).

Outline

I. Hosea’s Marriage (1–3)

II. Hosea’s Message (4–14)

A. Israel’s Unfaithfulness (4:1–6:3)

B. Israel’s Punishment (6:4–10:15)

C. God Is Faithful (11–14)

Hosea 1

¹The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,^† and during the reign of Jeroboam^† son of Jehoash^[1] king of Israel:^†

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The Valley of Jezreel

Hosea 1 The Valley of Jezreel, located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, divides Galilee in the north from Samaria¹ in the south. It is part of a larger valley that constitutes the only east-west passage across the Holy Land. It is also a fertile stretch of land that formed an important junction in the trade route between Egypt in the south and Damascus in the north.² All of these factors, plus its relatively flat geography, have made it tremendously important and have contributed to its violent history.

During the conquest, when this area was occupied by Canaanites,³ the Joseph tribes were unable to wrest Jezreel from its occupants (for Jezreel, see “Map 7”). The problem was that the flat land allowed for the effective use of chariots, which the Israelites did not have in their arsenal (Jos 17:16). During the Judges period Sisera, the general of the Canaanite king Jabin, had dominated this region with his 900 chariots (Jdg 4:3). Jezreel is of great importance in Hosea, a book of prophecy directed against the northern kingdom of Israel.

• In Hosea 1:4 the prophet, adhering to God’s direct instruction, named his first son Jezreel in an ironic allusion to the slaughter at Jezreel carried out by Jehu against the house of Ahab, and particularly against Jezebel, for their support of the prophets of Baal (2Ki 9:1–10:11). The irony is that Jehu’s own dynasty would be wiped out because of its continued adherence to the cult of Baal.

• Hosea 1:5 proclaimed that God would break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel. This obviously pointed to a military defeat for the northern kingdom. This prophecy came to pass in 733 B.C. when Tiglath-Pileser III conquered the area.⁴

• Even so, Hosea promised that God would one day redeem Israel. Making use of the fact that Jezreel means “God sows,” 2:17–22 promised that one day God would make Israel flourish again like a lush garden.

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

2. See “Damascus.”

3. See “The Conquest of Canaan.”

4. See “Menahem and Pekah of Israel, Jotham of Judah and Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria.”

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Hosea’s Wife and Children

²When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous^† wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery^† in departing from the LORD.” ³So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel,^† because I will soon punish the house of Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. ⁵In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.^† ”

⁶Gomer^† conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the LORD said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah,^[2] for I will no longer show love to the house of Israel,^† that I should at all forgive them. ⁷Yet I will show love to the house of Judah; and I will save them—not by bow,^† sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but by the LORD their God.^† ”

⁸After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. ⁹Then the LORD said, “Call him Lo-Ammi,^[3] for you are not my people, and I am not your God.

¹⁰“Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted.^† In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’^{† 11}The people of Judah and the people of Israel will be reunited,^† and they will appoint one leader^† and will come up out of the land,^† for great will be the day of Jezreel.

Hosea 2

¹“Say of your brothers, ‘My people,’ and of your sisters, ‘My loved one.’^†

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Baal and the Fertility Cults

Hosea 2 The worship of the Canaanite storm god Baal was an object of singular condemnation by Hosea and other prophets. The vehemence of the prophetic condemnation of the cult reflects just how extensive and pernicious the problem was. We learn about Baal first through Biblical texts. Examples include:

• Numbers 25 (the narrative of Baal of Peor, showing the prominence of sacred prostitution within the cult)¹

• First Kings 18 (the contest involving Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, illustrating the popularity of the Baal cult and its use of self-laceration for demonstrating devotion to Baal)²

• Hosea 2 (v. 8 indicates that the people associated Baal with prosperity, and vv. 16–17 suggest that many people identified Baal and Yahweh almost as one and the same.)

We also learn a great deal about Baal from ancient texts in the form of cuneiform tablets, especially those from Ugarit and from Phoenician inscriptions. The hymns and epic poems of Ugarit provide us with something of the “theology” of the Baal cult.³

The basic meaning of the word baal is “lord,” and this appropriately suggests Baal’s importance in Canaanite religion. He was called “prince Baal (Lord) of the earth.” Although the god El was nominally the supreme deity in Ugaritic mythology, Baal purportedly exercised a direct role in ruling the pantheon and effectively supplanted El. Baal’s consort (partner) is usually identified as the goddess Anat, although sometimes another goddess, Asherah, assumes that role. Baal was declared king after having supposedly defeated the god Yam (“sea”) in battle. In another myth he was slain by the god Mot (“Death”), but with the aid of Anat he revived and defeated Mot.

Not only was Baal exalted as a chief deity, but he also functioned specifically as the Canaanite storm god, the “rider of the clouds.” ⁴ The birth of healthy offspring and the staving off of famine were major concerns in the ancient Near East, and consequently fertility took on religious significance. In Egypt the god Osiris was identified with the Nile and its perennial flooding—the basis of Egypt’s agricultural life. In Mesopotamia the cult of Tammuz and his consort, Inanna, represented the power of fertility and included the practice of sacred prostitution.⁵

For Israel—an agrarian society situated in a dry climate—the veneration of a god who could send rain proved to be an irresistible enticement. One Canaanite myth attributed agricultural fertility to the “rain of Baal.” Hosea 2:5 indicates the acceptance of Baal’s role at every level of life: “food” and “water” for sustenance, “wool” and “linen” for material goods and “oil” and “drink” for cultic rituals or personal luxury. Although sacred prostitution was not a part of every fertility cult, Israel incorporated this aspect as well (4:10–14), and the sexual temptation of the cult proved too much for many Israelites to withstand. The situation was exacerbated by an enormous number of local shrines where “the Baals” were worshiped under various titles (such as Baal Peor, Baal Hammon, Baal Zaphon, Baal of Lebanon or Baal of Sidon; see 2:13, 17).⁶ This phenomenon is attested by the wide variety of representations of Baal in Phoenician inscriptions.

The fact that the Israelites identified Baal with Yahweh is telling. Although Baal worship, viewed from a distance, was obviously horrendous, those who were involved in it were so influenced by the dominant culture that they remained convinced that they were devout and orthodox followers of the Lord—when they were all the while worshiping Baal.

1. See “Prostitution in the Ancient World.”

2. See “Tattoos and Self-Laceration in Ancient Religion.”

3. See “Tablets From Ugarit and Canaanite Religion”, “Ugarit/Ras Shamra” and “The Ugarit Text of the Myth of Baal.”

4. See “Storm Gods, Storm Imagery and Theophany.”

5. See “Mourning for Tammuz.”

6. For an example of such a shrine or temple, see “Abimelech at Shechem.”

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Israel Punished and Restored

²“Rebuke your mother,^† rebuke her,

for she is not my wife,

and I am not her husband.

Let her remove the adulterous^† look from her face

and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.

³Otherwise I will strip her naked

and make her as bare as on the day she was born;^†

I will make her like a desert,^†

turn her into a parched land,

and slay her with thirst.

⁴I will not show my love to her children,^†

because they are the children of adultery.

⁵Their mother has been unfaithful

and has conceived them in disgrace.

She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,^†

who give me my food and my water,

my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink.’^†

⁶Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;

I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.^†

⁷She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;

she will look for them but not find them.^†

Then she will say,

‘I will go back to my husband as at first,^†

for then I was better off^† than now.’

⁸She has not acknowledged^† that I was the one

who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil,

who lavished on her the silver and gold—

which they used for Baal.^†

⁹“Therefore I will take away my grain^† when it ripens,

and my new wine^† when it is ready.

I will take back my wool and my linen,

intended to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰So now I will expose her lewdness

before the eyes of her lovers;

no one will take her out of my hands.^†

¹¹I will stop^† all her celebrations:

her yearly festivals, her New Moons,

her Sabbath days—all her appointed feasts.^†

¹²I will ruin her vines^† and her fig trees,

which she said were her pay from her lovers;

I will make them a thicket,^†

and wild animals will devour them.^†

¹³I will punish her for the days

she burned incense to the Baals;^†

she decked herself with rings and jewelry,^†

and went after her lovers,^†

but me she forgot,^† ”

declares the LORD.

¹⁴“Therefore I am now going to allure her;

I will lead her into the desert

and speak tenderly to her.

¹⁵There I will give her back her vineyards,

and will make the Valley of Achor^{[4] †} a door of hope.

There she will sing^{[5] †} as in the days of her youth,^†

as in the day she came up out of Egypt.^†

¹⁶“In that day,” declares the LORD,

“you will call me ‘my husband’;

you will no longer call me ‘my master.^[6] ’

¹⁷I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;^†

no longer will their names be invoked.^†

¹⁸In that day I will make a covenant for them

with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

and the creatures that move along the ground.^†

Bow and sword and battle

I will abolish^† from the land,

so that all may lie down in safety.^†

¹⁹I will betroth^† you to me forever;

I will betroth you in^[7] righteousness and justice,^†

in^[8] love and compassion.

²⁰I will betroth you in faithfulness,

and you will acknowledge^† the LORD.

²¹“In that day I will respond,”

declares the LORD—

“I will respond^† to the skies,

and they will respond to the earth;

²²and the earth will respond to the grain,

the new wine and oil,^†

and they will respond to Jezreel.^[9]

²³I will plant^† her for myself in the land;

I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.^{[10] †} ’

I will say to those called ‘Not my people,^[11] ’ ‘You are my people’;^†

and they will say, ‘You are my God.^† ’ ”

Hosea 3

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

¹The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress.^† Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.^† ”

²So I bought her for fifteen shekels^[12] of silver and about a homer and a lethek^[13] of barley. ³Then I told her, “You are to live with^[14] me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with^[15] you.”

⁴For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince,^† without sacrifice^† or sacred stones, without ephod or idol.^{† 5}Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king.^† They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.^†

Hosea 4

The Charge Against Israel

¹Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites,

---

*

Beth Aven: A Lesson in the Difficulty of Biblical Geography

Hosea 4 Beth Aven is mentioned seven times in the Old Testament (Jos 7:2; 18:12–13; 1Sa 13:5; 14:23; Hos 4:15; 5:8; 10:5). In Joshua and Samuel it is an actual place-name, but in the book of Hosea Beth Aven (“house of wickedness”) is a derogatory reference to Bethel (“house of God”). Thus, there appear to have been at least two sites referred to as Beth Aven. But the location of the actual Beth Aven has been a source of confusion.

Joshua 7:2 suggests that Beth Aven was east of Bethel, usually identified as the modern Beitin. Joshua 18:12–13 stipulates that the northern border of the tribe of Benjamin ran from the Jordan past the region of Jericho to the “desert of Beth Aven” and from there on in a southerly direction to Bethel. Based on these descriptions Beth Aven must have been northeast of Bethel. But 1 Samuel 13:5 indicates that Beth Aven was west of Micmash, usually identified with modern Mukhmas.¹ The problem is that Micmash was south of Bethel, and it is of course impossible to see how Beth Aven could have been both northeast of Bethel and west of Micmash, which is south of Bethel.

It may be that there were two sites actually named Beth Aven, the one being the site referred to in Joshua, northeast of Bethel, and the other the one of 1 Samuel, west of Micmash. The situation is further complicated by the fact that, as mentioned above, Beth Aven was also used as a secondary name for Bethel itself!

Another proposal argues that there was just one village named Beth Aven; however, this proposal depends upon relocating several sites. If Bethel was actually located at a site called el Bireh (near modern Ramallah in the West Bank) rather than at Beitin, then Beitin may have been Beth Aven, as it can be said to be both northeast of el Bireh and west of Mukhmas. The locating of Bethel at el Bireh is not yet widely accepted, however.²

All of these sites are in the general area of the hill country north of Jerusalem, and so a general notion of the locations of Beth Aven and the other sites is not in question. Even so, this illustrates the difficulty scholars frequently encounter in precisely identifying Biblical sites. Modern readers of the Bible do well to bear in mind that the exact locations of many sites mentioned in the text are uncertain.

1. See “The Pass at Micmash.”

2. See “Bethel.”

---

because the LORD has a charge to bring

against you who live in the land:

“There is no faithfulness, no love,

no acknowledgment^† of God in the land.

²There is only cursing,^[16] lying^† and murder,^†

stealing^† and adultery;

they break all bounds,

and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³Because of this the land mourns,^{[17] †}

and all who live in it waste away;^†

the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

and the fish of the sea are dying.^†

⁴“But let no man bring a charge,

let no man accuse another,

for your people are like those

who bring charges against a priest.^†

⁵You stumble^† day and night,

and the prophets stumble with you.

So I will destroy your mother^† —

⁶my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^†

“Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also reject you as my priests;

because you have ignored the law^† of your God,

I also will ignore your children.

⁷The more the priests increased,

the more they sinned against me;

they exchanged^[18] their^[19] Glory^† for something disgraceful.^†

⁸They feed on the sins of my people

and relish their wickedness.^†

⁹And it will be: Like people, like priests.^†

I will punish both of them for their ways

and repay them for their deeds.^†

¹⁰“They will eat but not have enough;^†

they will engage in prostitution but not increase,

because they have deserted^† the LORD

to give themselves ¹¹to prostitution,^†

to old wine and new,

which take away the understanding^{† 12}of my people.

They consult a wooden idol^†

and are answered by a stick of wood.^†

A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;^†

they are unfaithful to their God.

¹³They sacrifice on the mountaintops

and burn offerings on the hills,

under oak,^† poplar and terebinth,

where the shade is pleasant.^†

Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^†

and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^†

¹⁴“I will not punish your daughters

when they turn to prostitution,

nor your daughters-in-law

when they commit adultery,

because the men themselves consort with harlots^†

and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes—

a people without understanding will come to ruin!

¹⁵“Though you commit adultery, O Israel,

let not Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^†

do not go up to Beth Aven.^[20]

And do not swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’

¹⁶The Israelites are stubborn,

like a stubborn heifer.

How then can the LORD pasture them

like lambs^† in a meadow?

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols;

leave him alone!

¹⁸Even when their drinks are gone,

they continue their prostitution;

their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

¹⁹A whirlwind^† will sweep them away,

and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^†

Hosea 5

Judgment Against Israel

¹“Hear this, you priests!

Pay attention, you Israelites!

Listen, O royal house!

This judgment is against you:

You have been a snare^† at Mizpah,

a net spread out on Tabor.

²The rebels are deep in slaughter.^†

I will discipline all of them.^†

³I know all about Ephraim;

Israel is not hidden from me.

Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution;

Israel is corrupt.^†

⁴“Their deeds do not permit them

to return to their God.

A spirit of prostitution^† is in their heart;

they do not acknowledge^† the LORD.

⁵Israel’s arrogance testifies^† against them;

the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin;

Judah also stumbles with them.

⁶When they go with their flocks and herds

to seek the LORD,^†

they will not find him;

he has withdrawn^† himself from them.

⁷They are unfaithful^† to the LORD;

they give birth to illegitimate^† children.

Now their New Moon festivals

will devour^† them and their fields.

⁸“Sound the trumpet in Gibeah,^†

the horn in Ramah.^†

Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven^[21];^†

lead on, O Benjamin.

⁹Ephraim will be laid waste

on the day of reckoning.^†

Among the tribes of Israel

I proclaim what is certain.^†

¹⁰Judah’s leaders are like those

who move boundary stones.^†

I will pour out my wrath^† on them

like a flood of water.

¹¹Ephraim is oppressed,

trampled in judgment,

intent on pursuing idols.^{[22] †}

¹²I am like a moth^† to Ephraim,

like rot to the people of Judah.

¹³“When Ephraim saw his sickness,

and Judah his sores,

then Ephraim turned to Assyria,^†

and sent to the great king for help.^†

But he is not able to cure^† you,

not able to heal your sores.^†

¹⁴For I will be like a lion^† to Ephraim,

like a great lion to Judah.

I will tear them to pieces and go away;

I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.^†

¹⁵Then I will go back to my place

until they admit their guilt.

And they will seek my face;^†

in their misery^† they will earnestly seek me.^† ”

Hosea 6

Israel Unrepentant

¹“Come, let us return to the LORD.

He has torn us to pieces^†

but he will heal us;

he has injured us

but he will bind up our wounds.^†

²After two days he will revive us;^†

on the third day he will restore us,

that we may live in his presence.

³Let us acknowledge the LORD;

let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

he will appear;

he will come to us like the winter rains,^†

like the spring rains that water the earth.^† ”

⁴“What can I do with you, Ephraim?^†

What can I do with you, Judah?

Your love is like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears.^†

⁵Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,

I killed you with the words of my mouth;^†

my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.^†

⁶For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,^†

and acknowledgment^† of God rather than burnt offerings.

⁷Like Adam,^[23] they have broken the covenant^† —

they were unfaithful^† to me there.

⁸Gilead is a city of wicked men,

stained with footprints of blood.

⁹As marauders lie in ambush for a man,

so do bands of priests;

they murder on the road to Shechem,

committing shameful crimes.^†

¹⁰I have seen a horrible^† thing

in the house of Israel.

There Ephraim is given to prostitution

and Israel is defiled.^†

¹¹“Also for you, Judah,

a harvest^† is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,

Hosea 7

¹whenever I would heal Israel,

the sins of Ephraim are exposed

and the crimes of Samaria revealed.^†

They practice deceit,^†

thieves break into houses,^†

bandits rob in the streets;

²but they do not realize

that I remember^† all their evil deeds.

Their sins engulf them;^†

they are always before me.

³“They delight the king with their wickedness,

the princes with their lies.^†

⁴They are all adulterers,^†

burning like an oven

whose fire the baker need not stir

from the kneading of the dough till it rises.

⁵On the day of the festival of our king

the princes become inflamed with wine,^†

and he joins hands with the mockers.

⁶Their hearts are like an oven;^†

they approach him with intrigue.

Their passion smolders all night;

in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

⁷All of them are hot as an oven;

they devour their rulers.

All their kings fall,

and none of them calls^† on me.

⁸“Ephraim mixes^† with the nations;

Ephraim is a flat cake not turned over.

⁹Foreigners sap his strength,^†

but he does not realize it.

His hair is sprinkled with gray,

but he does not notice.

¹⁰Israel’s arrogance testifies against him,^†

but despite all this

he does not return to the LORD his God

or search^† for him.

¹¹“Ephraim is like a dove,^†

easily deceived and senseless—

now calling to Egypt,

now turning to Assyria.^†

¹²When they go, I will throw my net^† over them;

I will pull them down like birds of the air.

When I hear them flocking together,

I will catch them.

¹³Woe^† to them,

because they have strayed^† from me!

Destruction to them,

because they have rebelled against me!

I long to redeem them

but they speak lies against me.^†

¹⁴They do not cry out to me from their hearts^†

but wail upon their beds.

They gather together^[24] for grain and new wine^†

but turn away from me.^†

¹⁵I trained them and strengthened them,

but they plot evil^† against me.

¹⁶They do not turn to the Most High;

they are like a faulty bow.^†

Their leaders will fall by the sword

because of their insolent words.

For this they will be ridiculed^†

in the land of Egypt.^†

Hosea 8

Israel to Reap the Whirlwind

¹“Put the trumpet to your lips!

An eagle^† is over the house of the LORD

because the people have broken my covenant

and rebelled against my law.^†

²Israel cries out to me,

‘O our God, we acknowledge you!’

³But Israel has rejected what is good;

an enemy will pursue him.

⁴They set up kings without my consent;

they choose princes without my approval.^†

With their silver and gold

they make idols^† for themselves

to their own destruction.

⁵Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria!^†

My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of purity?^†

⁶They are from Israel!

This calf—a craftsman has made it;

it is not God.

It will be broken in pieces,

that calf of Samaria.

⁷“They sow the wind

and reap the whirlwind.^†

The stalk has no head;

it will produce no flour.

Were it to yield grain,

foreigners would swallow it up.^†

⁸Israel is swallowed up;^†

now she is among the nations

like a worthless^† thing.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria

like a wild donkey wandering alone.

Ephraim has sold herself to lovers.

¹⁰Although they have sold themselves among the nations,

I will now gather them together.^†

They will begin to waste away^†

under the oppression of the mighty king.

¹¹“Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings,

these have become altars for sinning.^†

¹²I wrote for them the many things of my law,

but they regarded them as something alien.

¹³They offer sacrifices given to me

and they eat^† the meat,

but the LORD is not pleased with them.

Now he will remember^† their wickedness

and punish their sins:^†

They will return to Egypt.^†

¹⁴Israel has forgotten^† his Maker

and built palaces;

Judah has fortified many towns.

But I will send fire upon their cities

that will consume their fortresses.”^†

Hosea 9

Punishment for Israel

¹Do not rejoice, O Israel;

do not be jubilant^† like the other nations.

For you have been unfaithful^† to your God;

you love the wages of a prostitute

at every threshing floor.

²Threshing floors and winepresses will not feed the people;

the new wine^† will fail them.

³They will not remain^† in the LORD ’s land;

Ephraim will return to Egypt^†

and eat unclean^[25] food in Assyria.^†

⁴They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD,

nor will their sacrifices please^† him.

Such sacrifices will be to them like the bread of mourners;

all who eat them will be unclean.^†

This food will be for themselves;

it will not come into the temple of the LORD.

⁵What will you do^† on the day of your appointed feasts,^†

on the festival days of the LORD?

⁶Even if they escape from destruction,

Egypt will gather them,

and Memphis^† will bury them.

Their treasures of silver will be taken over by briers,

and thorns^† will overrun their tents.

⁷The days of punishment^† are coming,

the days of reckoning are at hand.

Let Israel know this.

Because your sins^† are so many

and your hostility so great,

the prophet is considered a fool,^†

the inspired man a maniac.

⁸The prophet, along with my God,

is the watchman over Ephraim,^[26]

yet snares^† await him on all his paths,

and hostility in the house of his God.

⁹They have sunk deep into corruption,

as in the days of Gibeah.^†

God will remember^† their wickedness

and punish them for their sins.

¹⁰“When I found Israel,

it was like finding grapes in the desert;

when I saw your fathers,

it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.

But when they came to Baal Peor,^†

they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol^†

and became as vile as the thing they loved.

¹¹Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird^† —

no birth, no pregnancy, no conception.^†

¹²Even if they rear children,

I will bereave them of every one.

Woe^† to them

when I turn away from them!^†

¹³I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre,

planted in a pleasant place.^†

But Ephraim will bring out

their children to the slayer.”

¹⁴Give them, O LORD—

what will you give them?

Give them wombs that miscarry

and breasts that are dry.^†

¹⁵“Because of all their wickedness in Gilgal,^†

I hated them there.

Because of their sinful deeds,^†

I will drive them out of my house.

I will no longer love them;

all their leaders are rebellious.^†

¹⁶Ephraim^† is blighted,

their root is withered,

they yield no fruit.^†

Even if they bear children,

I will slay^† their cherished offspring.”

¹⁷My God will reject them

because they have not obeyed^† him;

they will be wanderers among the nations.^†

Hosea 10

¹Israel was a spreading vine;^†

he brought forth fruit for himself.

As his fruit increased,

he built more altars;^†

as his land prospered,

he adorned his sacred stones.^†

²Their heart is deceitful,^†

and now they must bear their guilt.^†

The LORD will demolish their altars^†

and destroy their sacred stones.^†

³Then they will say, “We have no king

because we did not revere the LORD.

But even if we had a king,

what could he do for us?”

⁴They make many promises,

take false oaths^†

and make agreements;^†

therefore lawsuits spring up

like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.

⁵The people who live in Samaria fear

for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.^{[27] †}

Its people will mourn over it,

and so will its idolatrous priests,^†

those who had rejoiced over its splendor,

because it is taken from them into exile.^†

⁶It will be carried to Assyria^†

as tribute for the great king.^†

Ephraim will be disgraced;^†

Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.^[28]

⁷Samaria and its king will float away^†

like a twig on the surface of the waters.

⁸The high places of wickedness^{[29] †} will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel.

Thorns^† and thistles will grow up

and cover their altars.^†

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”^†

⁹“Since the days of Gibeah,^† you have sinned, O Israel,

and there you have remained.^[30]

Did not war overtake

the evildoers in Gibeah?

¹⁰When I please, I will punish^† them;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bonds for their double sin.

¹¹Ephraim is a trained heifer

that loves to thresh;

so I will put a yoke

on her fair neck.

I will drive Ephraim,

Judah must plow,

and Jacob must break up the ground.

¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness,^†

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;^†

for it is time to seek^† the LORD,

until he comes

and showers righteousness^† on you.

¹³But you have planted wickedness,

you have reaped evil,^†

you have eaten the fruit of deception.

Because you have depended on your own strength

and on your many warriors,^†

¹⁴the roar of battle will rise against your people,

so that all your fortresses will be devastated^† —

as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,

when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.^†

¹⁵Thus will it happen to you, O Bethel,

because your wickedness is great.

When that day dawns,

the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.^†

Hosea 11

God’s Love for Israel

¹“When Israel was a child, I loved him,

and out of Egypt I called my son.^†

²But the more I^[31] called Israel,

the further they went from me.^[32]

They sacrificed to the Baals^†

and they burned incense to images.^†

³It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

taking them by the arms;^†

but they did not realize

it was I who healed^† them.

⁴I led them with cords of human kindness,

with ties of love;^†

I lifted the yoke^† from their neck

and bent down to feed^† them.

⁵“Will they not return to Egypt^†

and will not Assyria^† rule over them

because they refuse to repent?

⁶Swords^† will flash in their cities,

will destroy the bars of their gates

and put an end to their plans.

⁷My people are determined to turn from me.^†

Even if they call to the Most High,

he will by no means exalt them.

⁸“How can I give you up, Ephraim?^†

How can I hand you over, Israel?

How can I treat you like Admah?

How can I make you like Zeboiim?^†

My heart is changed within me;

all my compassion is aroused.

⁹I will not carry out my fierce anger,^†

nor will I turn and devastate^† Ephraim.

For I am God, and not man^† —

the Holy One among you.

I will not come in wrath.^[33]

¹⁰They will follow the LORD;

he will roar like a lion.

When he roars,

his children will come trembling from the west.^†

¹¹They will come trembling

like birds from Egypt,

like doves from Assyria.^†

I will settle them in their homes,”^†

declares the LORD.

Israel’s Sin

¹²Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,^†

the house of Israel with deceit.

And Judah is unruly against God,

even against the faithful Holy One.

Hosea 12

¹Ephraim feeds on the wind;^†

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*

Hosea’s Use of the Old Testament

Hosea 12 Hosea was one of Israel’s first prophets whose message was put into writing. Nevertheless Hosea’s message, like those of Israel’s other “writing prophets,” cannot be understood in isolation from the law and the books of Joshua and Judges, books to which Hosea often alluded. For example, he used other Old Testament accounts as follows:

• The promises to Abraham await their final fulfillment (Hos 1:10; cf. Ge 22:17).

• God’s dealings with Jacob are applicable and relevant for his descendants (Ge 25:25–26; 28:11–16; 29:16–30; 32:24–27; Hos 12:2–4, 12).

• Israel’s bondage in Egypt was a type or representation of her coming bondage to the Assyrians (8:13; 9:3, 6).

• The exodus was a sign of God’s great mercy and compassion (11:1; 13:4–6), but also an event that soon would be reversed in Israel’s exile and captivity (10:5–8; 11:1–5). This event would be repeated in the nation’s restoration under the Davidic king (1:11; 2:15; 3:5; 11:11; 12:9).

• The Ten Commandments were the fundamental rules by which the nation was to live and by which she would be judged (Ex 20:1–17; Hos 4:1–2; 13:4).

• God’s covenant with Israel (8:1–3, 12) was a source of great blessings (2:8, 18–23; 13:4; 14:4–8) but would also bring curses on those who broke it (4:6; 8:1–10; cf. Dt 28).

• Israel’s tendency toward apostasy was reflected in the people’s idolatry during their period of desert wandering and continuing into Hosea’s day (Hos 9:10; 13:4–6).

• The city of Gibeah (see “Map 5”) was a notable example of wickedness in the past (Jdg 19:12–30) and in Hosea’s day as well (Hos 10:9).

• Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim (locations uncertain) were notorious examples of God’s judgment (Dt 29:23; Hos 11:8).

Hosea’s allusions to Genesis through Judges are highly significant. First, they help to establish the fact that these books had already been written by the time of Hosea, in the eighth century B.C. (Many scholars consider these books to be from the sixth century B.C. and even later.) Second, Hosea’s construal of these books helps us to understand early Biblical interpretation, which in turn gives us a better understanding of how the New Testament interprets the Old.

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he pursues the east wind all day

and multiplies lies and violence.

He makes a treaty with Assyria

and sends olive oil to Egypt.^†

²The LORD has a charge^† to bring against Judah;

he will punish Jacob^[34] according to his ways

and repay him according to his deeds.^†

³In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel;^†

as a man he struggled^† with God.

⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;

he wept and begged for his favor.

He found him at Bethel^†

and talked with him there—

⁵the LORD God Almighty,

the LORD is his name^† of renown!

⁶But you must return to your God;

maintain love and justice,^†

and wait for your God always.^†

⁷The merchant uses dishonest scales;^†

he loves to defraud.

⁸Ephraim boasts,

“I am very rich; I have become wealthy.^†

With all my wealth they will not find in me

any iniquity or sin.”

⁹“I am the LORD your God,

[who brought you] out of^[35] Egypt;^†

I will make you live in tents^† again,

as in the days of your appointed feasts.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets,

gave them many visions

and told parables^† through them.”^†

¹¹Is Gilead wicked?^†

Its people are worthless!

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?^†

Their altars will be like piles of stones

on a plowed field.^†

¹²Jacob fled to the country of Aram^[36];^†

Israel served to get a wife,

and to pay for her he tended sheep.^†

¹³The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,

by a prophet he cared for him.^†

¹⁴But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger;

his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed^†

and will repay him for his contempt.^†

Hosea 13

The LORD ’s Anger Against Israel

¹When Ephraim spoke, men trembled;^†

he was exalted^† in Israel.

But he became guilty of Baal worship^† and died.

²Now they sin more and more;

they make idols for themselves from their silver,^†

cleverly fashioned images,

all of them the work of craftsmen.

It is said of these people,

“They offer human sacrifice

and kiss^[37] the calf-idols.^† ”

³Therefore they will be like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears,^†

like chaff^† swirling from a threshing floor,^†

like smoke^† escaping through a window.

⁴“But I am the LORD your God,

[who brought you] out of^[38] Egypt.^†

You shall acknowledge no God but me,^†

no Savior^† except me.

⁵I cared for you in the desert,

in the land of burning heat.

⁶When I fed them, they were satisfied;

when they were satisfied, they became proud;

then they forgot me.^†

⁷So I will come upon them like a lion,

like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

⁸Like a bear robbed of her cubs,^†

I will attack them and rip them open.

Like a lion I will devour them;

a wild animal will tear them apart.^†

⁹“You are destroyed, O Israel,

because you are against me,^† against your helper.^†

¹⁰Where is your king,^† that he may save you?

Where are your rulers in all your towns,

of whom you said,

‘Give me a king and princes’?^†

¹¹So in my anger I gave you a king,

and in my wrath I took him away.^†

¹²The guilt of Ephraim is stored up,

his sins are kept on record.^†

¹³Pains as of a woman in childbirth^† come to him,

but he is a child without wisdom;

when the time arrives,

he does not come to the opening of the womb.^†

¹⁴“I will ransom them from the power of the grave^[39];^†

I will redeem them from death.

Where, O death, are your plagues?

Where, O grave,^[40] is your destruction?^†

“I will have no compassion,

¹⁵even though he thrives^† among his brothers.

An east wind^† from the LORD will come,

blowing in from the desert;

his spring will fail

and his well dry up.^†

His storehouse will be plundered^†

of all its treasures.

¹⁶The people of Samaria must bear their guilt,^†

because they have rebelled^† against their God.

They will fall by the sword;^†

their little ones will be dashed^† to the ground,

their pregnant women^† ripped open.”

Hosea 14

Repentance to Bring Blessing

¹Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God.

Your sins have been your downfall!^†

²Take words with you

and return to the LORD.

Say to him:

“Forgive all our sins

and receive us graciously,^†

that we may offer the fruit of our lips.^{[41] †}

³Assyria cannot save us;

we will not mount war-horses.^†

We will never again say ‘Our gods’^†

to what our own hands have made,

for in you the fatherless^† find compassion.”

⁴“I will heal^† their waywardness

and love them freely,^†

for my anger has turned away from them.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily.^†

Like a cedar of Lebanon^†

he will send down his roots;^†

⁶his young shoots will grow.

His splendor will be like an olive tree,^†

his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.^†

⁷Men will dwell again in his shade.^†

He will flourish like the grain.

He will blossom like a vine,

and his fame will be like the wine^† from Lebanon.^†

⁸O Ephraim, what more have I^[42] to do with idols?^†

I will answer him and care for him.

I am like a green pine tree;

your fruitfulness comes from me.”

⁹Who is wise?^† He will realize these things.

Who is discerning? He will understand them.^†

The ways of the LORD are right;^†

the righteous walk^† in them,

but the rebellious stumble in them.

JOEL

Author, Place and Date of Writing

Little is known of the author of this short book besides his name, and even that is somewhat in doubt. His given name, Joel, was common, but his father’s name may either have been Pethuel, as the Hebrew of Joel 1:1 has it, or Bethuel, as in the Greek Septuagint. This confusion serves to point out how little we really know of the man.

Joel did not date his book, so scholars are forced to look for textual hints as to the time of writing. Suggestions range from the ninth century B.C. to the late postexilic period. Although certainty is impossible, there are reasons for suggesting a seventh century B.C. date for this prophecy (see “The Date of the Book of Joel”). The book was written from Judah.

Audience

Joel warned the people of the southern kingdom of coming judgment and urged them to repent and turn to God.

Cultural Facts and Highlights

Locust plagues, common in Old Testament days, still devastate parts of the world today and are remembered with horror by many Midwesterners in the United States from their experiences in the early to mid twentieth century.

This book was written in response to such a devastating blight (Joel 1). Its text, however, is more than a historical record or lamentation. Joel used the locust plague as a basis for developing a theology, employed by other minor prophets, of the “day of the LORD,” an event that would bring both judgment and salvation. The phrase as it appears in the book is versatile, applying alike to a locust plague (ch. 1), an invading army (2:1–10), the final battle at the last judgment (ch. 3) and a salvation event—the outpouring of God’s Spirit (2:28).

Timeline

As You Read

Be aware as you engage with this prophet of the contrasts in his depictions of judgment and hope. Pay particular attention to the section titled “The Day of the LORD” (2:28–32).

Did You Know?

• Drunkenness is the only specific sin mentioned in the book of Joel (1:5).
• A call for national prayer and fasting signaled an extraordinary event (1:13–14).
• The “trumpet,” made from a ram’s horn, was used to signal of approaching danger (2:1).
• Latticed windows with no glass would not have prevented the locusts from entering the houses (2:9).

Themes

Joel’s themes include:

1. Judgment. Joel’s description of the coming day of judgment upon Judah foreshadowed a greater future day of reckoning. The soon-to-come accounting would be against God’s own people, while the later, greater judgment would target their enemies. Joel described the judgment against God’s own people as “the great and dreadful day of the LORD” (2:31), “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (2:2). The greater future judgment referred to a day when the nations would be held accountable for their mistreatment of God’s people (3:2–16, 19), who themselves would be protected and blessed (3:16–18, 20–21).
2. Repentance and salvation. Joel called upon everyone to repent: old and young (1:2–3; 2:16), drunkards (1:5), farmers (1:11) and priests (1:13; 2:17). External evidence of change is insufficient (2:12); God requires sincere repentance. In response to heartfelt remorse and trust in his grace, love and compassion (2:13), God forgives and restores (2:18–32). Most notable in this book is his promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all people—young and old, men and women (2:28–29)—and the promise of salvation for “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD” (2:32).

Outline

I. The Locust Invasion and Call to Repentance (1:1–2:17)

A. A Call to Mourning and Prayer (1:1–14)

B. The Announcement of the Day of the Lord (1:15–2:11)

C. A Call to Repentance and Prayer (2:12–17)

II. Salvation in the Day of the Lord (2:18–3:21)

A. The Lord’s Restoration of Judah (2:18–27)

B. The Lord’s Renewal of His People (2:28–32)

C. The Coming of the Day of the Lord (3)

Joel 1

¹The word of the LORD that came^† to Joel^† son of Pethuel.

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The Date of the Book of Joel

Joel 1 The book of Joel itself gives no indication of its date of authorship. This is unusual in the Old Testament prophetic literature; most prophets indicated that they preached during the reigns of certain kings (e.g., Hos 1:1; Hag 1:1) or provided other chronological indicators (Am 1:1). The dates suggested for Joel range from the ninth century B.C. (making him the earliest of the writing prophets) to the late postexilic¹ period (making him one of the latest). The following arguments are often raised in the discussion:

• Joel is the second of the minor prophets, and thus the book is early, since they are roughly presented in chronological order. But there are exceptions to this rule: Obadiah, for example, almost certainly was written later than Micah, and Hosea later than Amos.

• No kings are mentioned, and therefore the book is postexilic. On the other hand, postexilic prophets sometimes dated their books by Persian kings (Hag 1:1; Zec 1:1). Thus, the non-mention of any king does not imply anything in particular about the book’s date.

• Joel does mention priests and elders, and therefore the book was written when the nation was governed by these groups rather than by a king, making the book postexilic. However, the elders are mentioned only in a context of calling for ritual lamentation (2:15–17).² They are not said to have been in a governing position, and the reference may in fact have been literally to a group of elderly men (1:2). Again, nothing here helps us to date the book.

• Joel never alludes in any way to the northern kingdom (usually called Israel or Samaria), suggesting that the northern kingdom may no longer have existed and that the book was thus written after the fall of Samaria (722 B.C.)³

• Jerusalem had walls (2:7–9). Thus, the book was written either before its fall (586 B.C.)⁴ or late in the postexilic period, after the walls had been restored.

• Worship was carried out at the temple (2:15–17), indicating that the book was written either before its destruction or after its restoration.

• All who lived in the land could gather in Jerusalem (1:14). This suggests that the population of the community was relatively small, as in the late preexilic or the postexilic period.

A few other fine points regarding the language and circumstances of Joel are debated but have produced no consensus.

All in all, the above considerations speak against a date that was very early, very late or during the exile. Apparently the northern kingdom no longer existed, but the temple was functioning and Jerusalem’s walls were intact. A seventh-century B.C. date seems reasonable, but the fact remains that the book itself does not tell us when it was written.

Jerusalem’s “broad wall” after its restoration

© Dr. James C. Martin

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

2. See “Ancient Near Eastern Laments.”

3. See “Hoshea, King of Israel, and Shalmaneser V, King of Assyria.”

4. See “The Last Days of Jerusalem.”

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An Invasion of Locusts

²Hear this,^† you elders;

listen, all who live in the land.^†

Has anything like this ever happened in your days

or in the days of your forefathers?^†

³Tell it to your children,^†

and let your children tell it to their children,

and their children to the next generation.

⁴What the locust swarm has left

the great locusts have eaten;

what the great locusts have left

the young locusts have eaten;

what the young locusts have left

other locusts^[1] have eaten.^†

⁵Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all you drinkers of wine;^†

wail because of the new wine,

for it has been snatched from your lips.

⁶A nation has invaded my land,

powerful and without number;^†

it has the teeth^† of a lion,

the fangs of a lioness.

⁷It has laid waste^† my vines

and ruined my fig trees.^†

It has stripped off their bark

and thrown it away,

leaving their branches white.

⁸Mourn like a virgin^[2] in sackcloth^†

grieving for the husband^[3] of her youth.

⁹Grain offerings and drink offerings^†

are cut off from the house of the LORD.

The priests are in mourning,

those who minister before the LORD.

¹⁰The fields are ruined,

the ground is dried up^[4];^†

the grain is destroyed,

the new wine^† is dried up,

the oil fails.

¹¹Despair, you farmers,^†

wail, you vine growers;

grieve for the wheat and the barley,

because the harvest of the field is destroyed.^†

¹²The vine is dried up

and the fig tree is withered;

the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—

all the trees of the field—are dried up.^†

Surely the joy of mankind

is withered away.

A Call to Repentance

¹³Put on sackcloth,^† O priests, and mourn;

wail, you who minister^† before the altar.

Come, spend the night in sackcloth,

you who minister before my God;

for the grain offerings and drink offerings^†

are withheld from the house of your God.

¹⁴Declare a holy fast;^†

call a sacred assembly.

Summon the elders

and all who live in the land

to the house of the LORD your God,

and cry out^† to the LORD.

¹⁵Alas for that^† day!

For the day of the LORD^† is near;

it will come like destruction from the Almighty.^[5]

¹⁶Has not the food been cut off^†

before our very eyes—

joy and gladness

from the house of our God?^†

¹⁷The seeds are shriveled

beneath the clods.^{[6] †}

The storehouses are in ruins,

the granaries have been broken down,

for the grain has dried up.

¹⁸How the cattle moan!

The herds mill about

because they have no pasture;

even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

¹⁹To you, O LORD, I call,^†

for fire^† has devoured the open pastures^†

and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.

²⁰Even the wild animals pant for you;^†

the streams of water have dried up^†

and fire has devoured the open pastures.

Joel 2

An Army of Locusts

¹Blow the trumpet^† in Zion;^†

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*

Locusts in the Ancient Near East

Joel 2 The book of Joel describes a calamity that befell ancient Judah when it was struck by a locust plague. Locusts in fact can do an astonishing amount of damage to agriculture. Over the past few hundred years, a number of observers have left accounts of the sudden and complete devastation of crops produced by a swarm of locusts in Africa, the Near East and the American Midwest. The situation in the ancient world was exacerbated by the fact that almost all farming was subsistence farming.¹ Catastrophic crop failure within a single year meant starvation or near-starvation, as importation of food in sufficient quantities to make a difference was not feasible.

Joel 1:4 uses four different Hebrew words to describe the locusts. Translators struggle to distinguish among them. For example, the New American Standard Bible says: “What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten” (emphases added). The NIV puts it this way: “What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten” (emphases added). One translation is not necessarily better than another; both are trying to bring out the fact that four different Hebrew words for “locust”—the original meanings of which have been lost—appear in the original.

What do these four words represent? Are four different species of locust implied? This is possible, but it may be that the reference is to the four different instars (stages of insect growth) of a single species. Under this scenario, it would appear that the first term (NASB gnawing locust; NIV locust swarm) is the third stage of growth. The second term (NASB swarming locust; NIV great locusts) is the fourth and final instar—an adult locust. The third term (NASB creeping locust; NIV young locusts) is the larval stage, representing the offspring of the previous generation of locusts as the first instar of the insect. The fourth term (NASB stripping locust; NIV other locusts) is the nymph, the second instar of the locust. This suggests that a swarm of locusts moved in, devastated the land and laid their eggs. The eggs then hatched, and the voracious larvae and nymphs devoured every green thing that remained. The repetition seen in 1:4 clearly makes the point that nothing was left by the time the last stage of locusts had eaten its fill.

1. See “Food and Agriculture.”

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sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the LORD^† is coming.

It is close at hand^† —

² a day of darkness^† and gloom,^†

a day of clouds and blackness.

Like dawn spreading across the mountains

a large and mighty army^† comes,

such as never was of old^†

nor ever will be in ages to come.

³Before them fire devours,

behind them a flame blazes.

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,^†

behind them, a desert waste^† —

nothing escapes them.

⁴They have the appearance of horses;^†

they gallop along like cavalry.

⁵With a noise like that of chariots^†

they leap over the mountaintops,

like a crackling fire^† consuming stubble,

like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

⁶At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;^†

every face turns pale.^†

⁷They charge like warriors;

they scale walls like soldiers.

They all march in line,

not swerving^† from their course.

⁸They do not jostle each other;

each marches straight ahead.

They plunge through defenses

without breaking ranks.

⁹They rush upon the city;

they run along the wall.

They climb into the houses;

like thieves they enter through the windows.^†

¹⁰Before them the earth shakes,^†

the sky trembles,

the sun and moon are darkened,^†

and the stars no longer shine.^†

¹¹The LORD^† thunders

at the head of his army;

his forces are beyond number,

and mighty are those who obey his command.

The day of the LORD is great;^†

it is dreadful.

Who can endure it?^†

Rend Your Heart

¹²“Even now,” declares the LORD,

“return^† to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

¹³Rend your heart^†

and not your garments.^†

Return to the LORD your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,^†

and he relents from sending calamity.^†

¹⁴Who knows? He may turn^† and have pity

and leave behind a blessing^† —

grain offerings and drink offerings^†

for the LORD your God.

¹⁵Blow the trumpet^† in Zion,

declare a holy fast,^†