Chapter XLVIII (continued, part 5)
50.1). for she Is not my wife—she has deprived herself
of her high privilege by spiritual adultery, out of her
God's Judgments against the People, HOSEA II. His Promises of Reconciliuiion u-ilh Ihitn
•Ight—rather. " from her face." Her very countenance unblushingly betrayed her lust, as did also her exposed "broasts." 3. set Iier as In the day . . . bom—(Ezekiel
As the " therefore" (v. 9) expresses Israel's punisliment as the consequence of Israel's guilt, so "" therefore" here, as in V. 6, expresses, that when that punisliment lias effected its designed end, tlie hedging up her way witli tliorns, so that she returns to God, her first love, the consequence in God's wondrous grace is, He "speaks comlorlably" (lit., speaks to her heart ; cf. Judges 19. 3; Ruth 2. 13). So obstinate she is, that God has to " allure her," i. e., so to temper judgment with unlooked-for grace as to win her' to His ways. For this purpose it was necessary to " bring her into the wilderness" {i.e., into temporal want and trials)
1(5. 4 ; 2;^. 25, 2(i, 28, 29.) The day of her political "birth" was wlien God delivered her from the bondage of Egypt, and
set up the tlieocracy. make Uer as a wilderness—(Jeremiah 6.8; Zephan'.ah 2.13.) Translate, "make her as the vilderness," , y.<at in wiiich she passed forty years on ler way to her goodly possession of Canaan. With this agrees the mention of " thirst" (cf. Jeremiah 2. 6). 4. Uer cliiidren—not even her individual members shall escape the doom of tlie nation collectively, for they are individu-
first, to make her sin liateful to her by its bitter fruits, and God's subsequent grace the more precious to her by
all.v" guilt.v. 5. I will go after—the Hebrew expresses a
tetlted dftermination. lovers—tlie idols whicli Israel fancied to be the givers of all their goods, whereas God gave
the contrast of the "wilderness." Jekomb makes the " bringing into the wilderness" to be ratlier a deliverance from her enemies, iust as ancient Israel was brought into the wilderness from the bondage of Egypt; to this tlie phrase here alludes (cf. v. 15). The wilderness sojourn, however, is not literal, but moral: whilst still in the land of their enemies locally, by the discipline of the trial rendering the word of God sweet to them, they are to be brought morally into the wilderness state, i. e., into a state of preparedness for returning to tlieir temporal and spiritual privileges in tlieir own land; just as the literal wilderness prepared tlieir fathers for Canaan: thus the bringing of them into the wilderness state is virtually a deliverance from their enemies. 15. from thence—returning from the wilderness. God gives Israel a fresh grant of Canaan, which she had forfeited; so of her vineyards, &c. (v. 9, 12). Achor—i. e.. Trouble. As formerly Israel, -after
all these goods (d. 8-13 ; cf. Jeremiah 44. 17-19). bread and
. . . water—tlie necm'ariei of life in food, wool . . . flax —clotliiiig. oil . . . drink—perfumed unguents and palatable drinlcs; the luxuries of Hebrew life. 6, 7. tUorns
. . . wall—(Job 19.8; Lamentations 3. 7,9.) The hindrances wliicli the captivity interposed between Israel and her
idols. As slie attributes all her temporal blessings to
idols, I will reduce lier to straits in wliich, when slie in vain has sought help from false gods, she will at last seek me as her only God and Husband, as at tlie first (Isaiah
54.5; Jeremiali 3.14; Ezekiel 16.8). tbeu—before Israel's apostasy, under Jeroboam. The way of duty is hedged aborU with thorns; it is the way of sin that is hedged up with thorns. Crosses in an evil course are God's hedges to turn us from it. Restraining grace and restraining providences (even sicknesses and trials) are great blessings wlien they stop us in a course of sin. Cf. Luke 15.
tlieir tedious journey through tlie wilderness, met with the trouble resulting from Achan's crime in this valley, on the very threshold of Canaan, and yet that trouble was presently turned into joy at the great victory at Ai, which threw all Canaan into their hands (Joshua 7., 8.); so the very trouble of Israel's wilderness state will be the "door of hope" opening to better days. The valley of Aclior, near Jericho, was specially fruitful (Isaiah 65. 10) ; so "trouble" and "hope" are rightly blended in connectiou with it. sing , , . as , . , -ivhen she came . . . out of . .
14-18, "I will arise, and go to my father," so here, "I will
go, and return," &c. ; crosses inboth cases being sancti-
fied to produce tliis effect. 8. slie did not know that I not the idols, as she thought: the "lovers" alluded to in
V. 5. wliicli tUey prepared for Baal— i. e., of which they made images of Baal, or at least the plate-covering of them
(ch. 8. 4). Baal was the Pliffinician sun-god : answering to
tlie female #.?tarte, the moon-goddess. The name of the
Egypt—it sliall be a second exodus song, such as Israel sung after the deliverance at the Red Sea (Exodus 15.; cf. Isaiah 11. 15, 16); and "the song of Moses" (Revelation 15.
Idol is IVcind in the Phoenician Hannibal, Hasdrubal. Israel borrowed it from the Tyrians. 9. my corn . . . my wool . . . my flax—in contrast to "nj^ bread . . . ni^wool
2, 3) sung by tliose who through the Lamb overcome the beast, and so stand on tiie sea of glass mingled with fire, emblems of fiery trial, such as that of Israel at the Red Sea. 16. Ishi . . . nomoreBaall " my Husband . . . no more my Lord." Affection is the prominent idea in " Husband ;" rule, in "Lord."' The cliief reason for the substitution of Husband for Lord appears next verse, viz., Baali,
. . . Oil/ flax," &c. (ti. 5). Cf. also i). 21-23, on God as the great First Cause giving these through secondary instruments In nature. " Return, and take away," is equivalent to, " I will take back again," viz., by sending storms, locusts, Assyrian enemies, &c. "Therefore," i. e., because slie did not acknowledge me as the Giver, in the time tliereof—in the harvest-time. 10. lewdness — rather, "the shame of lier nakedness:" laying aside the tigvire, " I will expose her in her state, bcre/l of every necessary, before her lovers,"' i. e., the idols (personified, as if tliey could
tlie Hebrew for my Lord, liad been perverted to express the images of Baal, whose name ought not to be taken on their lips (Exodus 23. 13; Zechariah 13. 2). 17. Baalim
see), who, nevertheless, can give her no help. " Discover"
f)iM?-aZ, -expressing the various images of Baal, which, according to tlie places of their erection, received various names, Baal-gad, Baal-ammon, &c. 18. for tliem — for their benefit, covenant . . . with the beasts — not to hurt them (Job 5. 23). They shall fulfil the original law of their creation by becoming subject to man, when man
is appropriate to stripping off the self-flatteries of her hypocrisy. 11. Ixer feast-days—of Jeroboam's appointment, distinct from the Mosaic (1 Kings 12. 32). However, most of the Mosaic feasts, " new moons" and " sabbaths" to Jehovah remained, but to degenerate Israel worship was a weariness; they cared only for the carnal indulgence on them (Amos 8. 5). 13. my rewards—my hire as a harlot (Isaiah 23. 17, 18). lovers— idols, destroy . . . vines . . . make . . . forest—(Isaiah 5, 6; 7. 23, 24.) Ful-
fulfils the law of his being by being subject to God. To be realized fully in millennial times (Isaiah 11. 6-9). break
tlie bow. . . oiit of the earth—rather, " out of the ipirtd
i. e., 1 will break and remove war out of the earth (Psalm
46. 9); and "out of the land" of Israel first (Isaiah 2. 4; Ezekiel 39. 9, 10; Zechariah 9. 9, 10). lie down—a reclining posture is the usual one with Orientals when not in action, safely — (Jeremiah 23. 6.) 19, 30. "Betroth" is thrice repeated, implying the intense love of God to His people; at\d perhaps, also, the three Persons of the Triune God, severally engaging to make good the betrothal. Tlie marriage covenant will be as it were renewed from the beginning, on a different footing; not for a time only, as before, through the apostasy of the people, but " forever" through the grace of God writing the law on their hearts by the Spirit of Messiah (Jeremiah 31. 31-37). righteousness . . Judgment^in rectitude and truth, loving-klndnesa, &c.—hereby God assures Israel, who might doubt the pos-
filled in the overthrow of Israel by A.ssyria (ch. 9. 4, 5). 13. days of Baalim—the days consecrated to the Baals, or various images of Baal in different cities, whence the names Baal-gad, Baal-hermon, &c. decked Iierself with earrings—rather, nose-rings (Isaiah 3. 21 ; Margin, Ezekiel
16. 12), with which harlots decked themselves to attract admirers: answering to tlie ornaments in which the Israelites declted themselves on the idols' feasts, forgat me— worse than the nations which had never known God. Israel wilfully apostatized from Jehovah, wliom she had known. 14. Therefore— rather, Nevertheless. [Henl>ER3&».] English Version gives a more lovely Idea of God. Th.1t which would provoke all others to unappeasable wrath, Israel's perversity and consequent punishment, is niade a reason why God should at last have mercy on her.
Blbllity of their restoration to His favour; low, sunk, and
/sracCs Condition in Iheir Dispersion. HOSEA III, IV. GcxTs Jvdymenls Denounced upon them.
wrought pieces which hung down, the one in front over Ine breast, tlie other on tlie back, to the middle of the thigh ; joined on the shoulders by golden clasps set in onyx stones with the names of tlie twelve tribes, and fastened round the waist by a girdle (Exodus 28. 6-12). The common ephod worn by the lower priests, Levites, and any person performing sacred rites, was of linen (2 Samuel 6, 14;. 1 Chronicles 15.27). In the breast were the Urim and Thummim by whicli God gave responses to the Hebrews. The latter was one of tlie five things which the second temple wanted, and which the first had. It, as representing the divinely-constituted priesthood, is opposed to the idolatrous "teraphim," as "sacrifice" (to Jehovah) is to " an (idolatrous) image." "Abide" answers to " thou Shalt abide for me" {v. 3). Abide in solitary isolation, as a separated wife. The teraphim were tutelary household gods, in the shape of human busts, cut off at the waist (as the root of the Hebrew word Implies) [Maurer], (Genesis 31. 19, 30-35). They were supposed to give responses to consulters (2 Kings 23. 24 ; Margin, Ezekiel 21.
nnwortliy as thou art. I will restore thee from a regard to my own " loving-kiudiiess," not thy merits. 'ZO. faitlifulucss—to my new covunautof grace with thee ^.^ Thessaloiiians 5. 24; Hebrews 10. 23). ai. In that day—of grace to Israel, lieavens . . . hear the earth—personification. However many l)e the intermediate instruments, God is
tlie Great First Cause of all nature's phenomena. God had threatened (v. 9) He would take bach His coi-n, His wine, &o. Here, on the contrary, God promises to hearken
to the skies, as it were, supplicating Him to fill them with rain to pour on the earth; and that the skies again would hearken to the earth begging for A supply of the rain it requires ; and again, that the earth would hearken to the corn, wine, and oil, begging it to bring them forth; and these again would hear Jezreel, i. e., would fulfil Israel's prayers for a supply of them. Israel is now no longer "Jezreel" in the sense, God will scattek (ch. 1. 4), but in the ncnse," God will plant " (oh. 1. 11). 33. 1 will sow her —referring to the meaning of Jezreel (v. 22).
21 ; Zechariah 10. 2). Saul's daughter, Mlchal, putting one In a bed, as if it were David, proves the shape to have been that of a man. 5. Afterward-After the long period
Ver. 1-^. Israel's Condition in their present Dispersion, SUBSEQUENT TO THEIR RETURN FROM BABYLON, SYMBOLIZED. The prophet Is to take back his wife, though unfaithful, as foretold, ch. 1. 2. He purchases her from her paramour, stipulating she should wait for a long period before she should be restored to her conjugal rights. So Israel is to live for a long period without her ancient rites of religion, and yet be free from idolatry; then at last she shall acknowledge Messiah, and know Jehovah's goodness restored to her. 1. Go yet— "Go.
(" many days," v. 4) has elapsed, return-from their idols to "their God,'' from y^hom they had wandered. David
tlieir king—Israel had forsaken the worship of Jehovah at the same time that they forsook their allegiance to David's line. Their repentance towards God is therefore to be accompanied by their return to the latter. So Judah and Israel shall be one, and under "one head," as is also
foretold, ch. 1. 11. That representative and antitype of David Is Messiah. "David" means The Beloved. Cf. as
afltain," referring to ch, 1. 2. [Henderson.] a woman purposely indefinite, for thy wife, to express the separation In which Hosea had lived from Gomer for her unfaithfulness, beloved of her friend—used for " her hmband," on account of the estrangement between them. She was
.to Messiah, Matthew 3.17; Ephesians 1.6. Messiah is called David (Isaiah 5.5. 3, 4 ; Jeremiah 30. 9; Ezekiel 34. 23,
24; 37.24, 25). fear the Lord and his goodness— !. e. tremblingly flee to the Lord, to escape from the wrath to come; and " to His goodness," as manifested in Messiah, which attracts them to Him (Jeremiah 31. 12). The " fear"
still beloved of her husband, though an adulteress; just as God still loved Israel, though idolatrous (Jeremiah
is not that which " hath torment" (1 John 4. 18), but reverence inspired by His goodness realized in the soul (Psalm
3. 20). Hosea Is told, not as in ch. 1. 2, "take a wife," but "love" her, i.e., renew thy conjugal kindness to her. who look to other gods i. e., have done so heretofore, but henceforth (from the return from Babylon) shall do so no more (v. i). flagons of wine—rather, pressed cakes
130. 4). tlie latter days—those Of Messiah. [Kimchl]
Ver. 1-19. Henceforth the Prophet Speaks Plainlt and without Symbol, in Terse, Sententious Propositions. In this chapter he reproves the people and priests for their sins in the interregnum which followed Jeroboam's death; hence there is no mention of the king or his family; and in v. 2 bloodshed and other evils usual in a civil war are specified. 1. Israel—the ten tribes, controversy—judicial ground of complaint (Isaiah 1. 18; Jeremiah 25. 31; Micah 6. 2). no . . . knowledge of Ood —exhibited in practice (Jeremiah 22.- l(i). 3. they break out—bursting through every restraint, blood tonelieth blood— bloods. One act of bloodshed follows another without any interval between (see 2 Kings 15. 8-16, 25; Micah 7.2). 3. land . . . langnish—(Isaiah 19. 8; 24.4; Joel 1. 10, 12.) sea—including all bodies of water, as pools and even rivers (Note, Isaiah 19. 5). A general drought, the greatest calamity in the East, is threatened. 4. let no man . . . reprove—Great as is the sin of Israel, it is hopeless to reprove them; for their presumptuous guilt
of dried grapes; such as were offered to Idols (Jeremiah 7.
18). [Maurbr.] 3. I bought her—The price paid is too small to be a probable dowry wherewith to buy a wife from her parents ; but it is just half the price of a female
slave, in money, the rest of the price being made up in grain (Exodus 21. 32). Hosea pays this for the redemption of his wife, who has become the slave of her paramour. The price being half grain was because the latter was the allowance of food for the slave, and of the coarsest kind, not wheat, but barley. Israel, as commilling sin, was the slave of sin (John 8. 34 ; Romans 6. 16-20 ; 2 Peter 2. 19). The low price expresses Israel's worihlessness. 3. abide for me —separate from intercourse with any other man, and remaining for me who have redeemed thee(cf. Deuteronomy
21. 13). so will I also be for thee remain for thee, not taking any other consort. As Israel should long remain wittiout serving other gods, yet separate from Jehovah; 60 Jehovah on His part, in this long period of estrangement, would form no marriage covenant with any other people (cf. V. 4). He would not immediately receive her to marriage privileges, but would test her repentance and discipline her by the long probation; still the marriage covenant would hold good, she was to be kept separated
is as great as that of one who refuses to obey the priest when giving judgment in the name of Jehovah, and who therefore is to be put to death (Deuteronomy 17. 12). They rush on their own destruction as wilfully as such a one. thy people—the ten tribes of Israel ; distinct from Judah
for but a time, not divorced (Isaiah 50. 1); in God's good time she shall be restored. 4. The long period here foretold was to be one in which Israel should have no civil
(v. 1). 5. fall in the day—in broad daylight, a time when an attack would not be expected {Notes, Jeremiah 0. 4, 5;
polity, king, or prince, no sacrifice to Jehovah, and yet no
15. 8). in . . . night—no time, night or day, shall be free from the slaughter of individuals of the people, as .well as of the false prophets, tliy mother-the Israelitish state, of which the citizens are the children (ch. 2. 2). 0. lack of knowledge—" of God" {v. 1), i. e., lack of piety. Their Ignorance was wilful, as the epitliet, "my people," im-
Idol, or false god, no ephod, nor teraphim. Exactly deBcribing their state for the last eighteen centuries, separate from Idols, yet without any legal sacrifice to Jehovah, whom they profess to worship, and without being acknowledged by Him as His Church. So Kimchi, a Jew, explains It. The ephod was worn by the high priest above the tunic aud robe. It consisted of two finely 652
plies; they ought to have known, having the opportu-
nity, as the people of God. tliou—O priest, so called,
Ood's Judgments n(/ainsi Israel. HOSEA V. An Exhortation to Judah to Repent,
Though Israel's ten tribes Indulge in spiritual harlotry, at least thou, Judah, who hast the legal priesthood, andthe temple rites, and Jerusalem, do not follow her bad example. Gllgal—situated between Jordan and Jericho on the confines of Samaria; once a holy place to Jehovah (Joshua 5. 10-15; 1 Samuel 10.8; 15.21); afterwards desecrated by idolworship (ch. 9. 15; 12.11; Amos 4. 4; 5.5; cf. Judges 3. 19, Margin). Bctli-aven i. e., the house of vanity or idols: a name substituted In contempt for Beth-el, i/te house of God; once sacred to Jehovah (Genesis 28. 17, 19;
Not regularly constituted, but still bearing the name, whilst eonfouiniiiig the worship of Jehovah and of the
calvt's'in Beth-el (1 Kings 12. 29, 81). I will . . . forget thy children—not only those wlio then were alive should be deprived of tlie priestliood, but their children who, In the ordinarjcourse, would have succeeded them, should be set aside. 7. As they were increased— in numbers »Dd power. Cf. r. 6, " thy cliildren," to which their "increase" in nitmhera j-efers. so they sinned—(Cf. ch. 10. 1 and 13. 6.) will I change their glory into shame i.e., I will strip them of all they uow ylory in (their numbers and power), and give them s/iame instead. A just retribution: as Ihey changed their glory into shame, by idolatry (Psalm 106. 20; Jeremiah 2. U ; Romans 1.23; Philippians
35. 7), but made by Jeroboam the seat of the worship of the calves (1 Kings 12. 28-33; 13. 1; Jeremiah 48. 13; Amos
3. 14; 7. 13). " Go up " refers to the fact that Bet!i-el was on a hill (Joshua 16. 1). nor swear, The Lord llveth This formula of oath was appointed by God Himself (Deuteronomy 6. 13; 10. 20; Jeremiah 4. 2); it is therefore here forbidden not absolutely, but in conjunction with idolatry and falsehood (Isaiah 48.1; Ezekiel 20. 39 ; Zephaniali 1.5). 16. backsliding—ZmniJate, "Israel Is refractory, as a refractory heifer," viz., one that throws the yoke oflT her neck. Israel had represented God under the form of "calves" (1 Kings 12. 28); but it Is she herself who is one. lamb in a large place—not in a good sense, as Isaiah 30.
3. Ij). 8. eat . . . sin of niy people i. e., the sin offerings (Leviticus 6. 26; 111. 17). The priests greedily devoured them, set their heart on tltelr Iniquity — lit., lift up
the animal soul io, i. e., lust after, or strongly desire. Cf. Margin, Deuteronomy 21.15; Psalm 21. 4 ; Jeremiah 22.
27. The priests set their own hearts on the iniquity of the people, instead of trying to suppress it. For the more the people sinned I he more sacrltlcial victims In atonement for sin tlie priests gained. 9. like people, like priests—they are one in guilt, therefore they shall be one in punishment (Isaiah 21. 2). reward them
23. Here there is irony : lambs like a large pasture; but
it is not so safe for them as a small one, duly fenced from wild beasts. God will " feed " them, but it shall be with the " rod " (Micah 7. 14). It shall be no longer in the narrow territory of Israel, but " in a large place," viz., they shall be scattered in exile over the wide realm of Assyria, a prey to their foes, as lambs, which are timid, gregarious, and not solitary, are a prey when scattered asunder to wild beasts. 17. Gphraim—the ten tribes. Judah was at this time not so given to Idolatry as afterwards. Joined to itlols—closely and voluntarily ; identifying themselves with them as a whoremonger becomes one flesh with the harlot (Numbers 25. 3; 1 Corinthians 6. 16,
tlielr doings—in homely phrase, "pay them back In their own coin" (Proverbs 1. 31). 10. eat, and not have enough—just reti ibution on those who "eat up (greedily) the sin of my people" (v.S; Micah 6.14; Haggai 1.6). whoredom, and . . . not increase lit., break forth: used of giving birth to children {(Jrenesis 2tJ. 11, Margin; cf. Gen-
esis 38. 2!)). Not oulj' their wives, but their concubines, shall be barren. To be childless was considered a great calamitj' among the Jews. 11. A moral truth applicable to all times. The special reference here is to the licentious orgies connected with the Syrian worship, which lured Israel away from the pure worship of God (Isaiah
17). Idols—the Hebrew means also sorrows, pains, implying the pain which idolatry brings on its votaries, let hira alone—leave him to himself. Let him reap the fruits of his own perverse choice: his case is desperate: have ymn nothing to say to him (cf. Jeremiah 7. 16). Here v. 15 shows the address is to Judah, to avoid the contagion of Israel's bad example. He is bent on his own ruin ; leave him to his fate, lest, instead of saving him, thou fall thyself (Isaiah 48. 20; Jeremiah 50. 8; 51. 6, 45; 2 Corinthians
2S. 1,7; Amos 4. 1). take away the heart i.e., the understanding; make men blind to their own true good (Ecclesiastes 7. 7). 13. Instances of their understanding ("heart") being "taken away." stocks-wooden idols (Jercmiali 2.27; Habakkuk 2. 19). staff—alluding to divination by rods (Notes, Ezekiel 21. 21, 22). The diviner. Bays RosEXMULLER, threw a rod from him, which was stripped of its bark on one side, not on the other: if the bare side turned uppermost, it was a good omen; if the side with the bark, it was a bad omen. The Arabs used two rods, tlie one marked God bids, the other, God forbids; whichever came out first, in drawing them out of a case, gave the omen for, or against, an undertaking, declareth —i. e., is consulted to infoi'm them of future events, spirit of whoredoms—a general disposition on the part of all totvards idolatry (ch. 5. 4). en--go astray from the true God. from under tlteir God—they have gone away from God under whom they were, as a wife is under the dominion of her husband. 13. upon . . . mountains—high places Were selected by idolaters on which to sacrifice, because of their greater nearness to the heavenly hosts which they worshipped (Deuteronomy 12. 2). elms— rather, "terebinths." [Maureb.] sliadow . . . good— screening the lascivious worshippers from the heat of the sun. daughters . . . commit whoredom . . . spouses
6. 17). 18. Their drink is sour—metaphor for utteidegeneracy of principle (Isaiah 1. 22). Or, unbridled licentiousness; not mere ordinary sin, but as abandoned as drunkards who vomit and smell sour with wine potations. [Calvin.] Maubeb not so well translates, "When their drinking is over, they commit whoredoms," otz., in honour of Astarte (V. 13, 14). her rulers—Israel's ; lit., shields (cf. Psalm 47. 9). with shame . . . love. Give ye—(Proverbs
30. 15.) No remedy could be effectual against their corruptions, since the very rulers sold justice for gifts. [Calvin.] Maubeb translates, " The rulers are marvellously enamoured of shame." English Version is better. 19. Israel shall be swept away from her land (v. 16) suddenly and violently as if by " the wings of the wind " (Psalm 18. 10; 104. 3; Jeremiah 4. 11, 12). ashamed . . . of their sacrifices—disappointed to their shame in their hope of help through their sacrifices to Idols.
. . . adultery—in the polluted worship of Astarte, the Phcsnician goddess of love. 14. I will not punish . . . daughters1 will visit with the heaviest punishments " not " the unchaste " daughters and spouses," but the fathers and husbands; for it is these who "themselves" have set the bad example, so that as compared with the punishment of the latter, that of the former shall seem as nothing. [Munster.] separated with whores—withdrawn from the assembly of worshippers to some receptacle of impurity for carnal connection with whores, sacrifice with harlots—they commit lewdness With women who devote their persons to be violated in honour of Astarte. (.So the Hebrew for "harlots" means, as distinguished from "whores.") Cf. Numbers 25. 1-3; and the prohibition, Deuteronomy 23. 18. not understand— ^Isaiah 44. 18; 45. 20.) shall fall—shall be cast down. 15.
CHAPTEK V.
Ver. 1-5. God's Judgments on the Priests, People, AND Princes of Israel fob their Sins. Judah too being guilty shall be punished; nor shall Assyria, whose aid they both sought, save them ; judgments shall at last lead them to repentance. 1. the king—probably Pekah; the contemporary of Ahaz, king of Judah, under whom first Idolatry was carried so far in Judah a.s to call for the judgment of thejoint Syrian and Israelite Invasion, as also
that of Assyria. Judgment is towards you—t. p., threatens you from God. yehavebeenasnareon Itllzpah . . . net
. . . upon Tabor—As hunters spread tlielr net and snares on the hills Mizpah and Tabor, so ye have snared the people into Idolatry, and made them your prey by injustice.
GotTs Judgments on the Priests, HOSEA V. the People, and the Princes of Israel.
half tribe of Manasseh. portions—f. e., possessions. Their resources and garrisons will notavail tosavethem. Hendekson explains from Isaiah 57. 6, " portions" as their idols;
As Mizpah and Tabor mean a watch-tower, and a lofty place, a fit scene for hunters, playing on the words, the prophet Implies, in the lofly place in which I have set you, whereas ye ought to have been the watchers of the people, guarding them from evil, ye have been as hunters entrapping them into it. [Jekomk.] These twoplaces are specifled, Mizpah In the east and Tabor in tlie west, to include the /ligh places throughout the whole kingdom. In which Israel's rulers set up idolatrous altars, ti. revolterg—apostates, profound—rfeep^i'-rooted [Calvin] and sunk to the lowest depths, excessive in their idolatry (ch. 9.9; Isaiah 31.6). [Henderson.] From the antithesis (v. 3), "not hid from me," I prefer explaining, profoundly cunning in their idolatry. Jeroboam thought it a profound piece of policy to set up golden calves to represent God in Dan and Beth-el, in order to prevent Israel's heart from turning again to David's line by going up to Jerusalem to wor-
tlie context favours this, " the Lord" the true " portion of His people" (Deuteronomy 32. 9), being in antithesis to "their portions," the idols. 8. The arrival of the enemy
is announced in theformof an injunction to blow an alarm. cornet . . . trumpet—the "cornet" was made of the curved horn of animals, and was used by shepherds, nie trumpet was of brass or silver, straight, and used in wars and on solemn occasions. The Hebrew Is hatzotzeruh, the sound imitating the trumpet note (ch. 8. 1 ; Numbers 10. 2; Jeremiah 4.5; Joel 2. 1). Gibeah . . . Raniah—both in Benjamin (Isaiah 10. 29). Beth-avcn—in Benjamin ; not as in ch. 4. 15, Beth-el, but a town east of it (Joshua 7. 2). "Cry aloud," viz., to raise the alarm. "Benjamin" is i>ut for the whole southern kingdom of Judah (cf. v. 5), being the first part of it which would meet the foe advancing from the north. "After thee, 0 Benjamin," implies the position of Beth-aven, behind Benjamin, at the borders of Ephraim. When the foe is at Beth-aven, he is at Benjamin's rear, close upon thee, O Benjamin (Judges 5. 14). 9, 10. Israel is referred to in v. 9, Judah In v. 10. the day of rebuke—The day when I shall chastise him. among the tribes of Israel have I made known—proving that the scene of Hosea's labours was among the ten tribes, that which gliall surely be viz., the coming judgment here foretold. It is no longer a conditional deci'ee, leaving a hope of pardon on repentance; it Is absolute, for Ephraim
sliip. So Israel's subsequent idolati-y was grounded by their leaders on various pleas of state expediency (cf. Isaiah 2i). 15). to . . . slaughter—lie does not say " to sac-
rifice," for their so-called sacrifices were butcheries rather than sacrifices; there was nothing sacred about them, being to idols instead of to the holy God. though Wauueh translates, "and [in spite of their hope of safety through their slaughter of victims to idols] I will be a chastisement to them all." English Version is good sense
They liave deeply revolted, notwWistanding all my prophetical warnings. 3. Ephralm—the tribe so called, as distinguished from "Israel" here, the other nine tribes. It was always foremost of the tribes of the northern kingdom. For 4U0 years in early history, it, with Manasseh and Benjamin, its two dependent tribes, held the pre-eminence in the whole nation. Ephraim is here addressed as foremost in idolatry. I know . . . not hirt from me notwithstanding tlieir supposed profound cunning (r. 2; Revelation 2. 2, 9, 13, 19). now—" though I have been a rebuker of all them" {v. 2) who commit such spiritual whoredoms, thou art now continuing in them. 4. They turning from a direct address to Ephraim, he uses the third person piitmi to characterize the people in general. The Hebrew is against the Margin, "their doings will not Buffer i?iem," the omission of " them" in the Hebrew after the verb being unusual. The sense is, they are incurable, for they will not permit (as the Hebrew lit. means) their doings to be framed so as to turn unto God. Implying that they resist the spirit of God, not suffering Him to renew them; and give themselves up to "the spirit of whoredoms" (in antithesis to " the Spirit of God" implied in "suffer" or "permit") (ch. 4. 12; Isaiah 63. 10; Ezekiel
is hopelessly impenitent, remove the bound—(Deuteronomy 19. 14; 27. 17; Job 24. 2; Proverbs 22. 28 ; 23. 10.) Proverbial for the rash setting aside of the ancestral laws by whicli men are kept to their duty. Ahaz and his courtiers (" the princes of Judah"), setting aside the ancient ordinances of God, removed the borders of the bases and the laver and the sea, and introduced an idolatrous altar from Damascus (2 Kings 10. 10-18) ; also he burnt liLs children in the valley of Hinnom, after the abominations of the heathen (2 Chronicles 28. 3). 11. broken In judgment —viz., the "judgment" of God on him (v. 1). walked after the commandment—Jeroboam's, to worship the calves
(2 Kings 10. 28-33). Cf. Micah 6. 16, "the statutes of Omrl,"
viz., idolatrous statutes. We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5. 29). Jerome reads " flit hiness." LXX. gives the sense, not the lit. translation : "after vanities." la. as a moth—consuming a garment (Job 13. 28; Psalm
39. 11; Isaiah 50. 9). Judah . . . rottenness—Ephraim, or the ten tribes, are as a garment eaten by the moth ; Judah as the body Itself consumed by rottenness (Proverbs 12. 4). Perhaps alluding to the superiority of the latter in having the house of David, and the temple, the religious centra of the nation. [Grotius.] As in v. 13, 14, the violence of the calamity is prefigured by the " wound" which "a lion"
16. 43; Acts 7. 51). 5. the pride of Israel—wlierewith
thej' reject the warnings of God's prophets (v. 2), and prefer their idols to God (ch. 7. 10; Jeremiah 13. 17). testify to his face—openly to his foLce he shall be convicted of the pride whicli is so palpable in him. Or, "in his face," as Isaiah 3. 9. Judah . . . shall fall with them—This prophecy is later than ch.4. 15, when Judah had not gone
inflicts, so here its long protracted duration, and the certainty and completeness of the destruction from small unforeseen beginnings, by the images of a slowly but surely consum i ug moth and rottenness. 13. wound lit., bandage ; hence a bandaged wound (Isaiah 1. 6; Jeremiah 30. 12). "Saw," ?'. p., felt its weakened state politically, and the dangers that threatened it. It aggravates their perversity,
BO far in idolatry; now her imitation of Israel's bad example provokes the threat of her being doomed to share in Israel's punishment. 6. with . . . flocks— to propitiate Jehovah (Isaiah 1. 11-15). seek . . . not tinti—because it
that, though sensible of their unsound and calamitous
is slavish fear leads them to seek Him; and because it then shall be too late (Proverbs 1. 28; John 7. 34). 7. treacherously—as to the marriage covenant (Jeremiah 3.
state, they did not inquire into the cause, or seek a right remed,y. went ... to the Assyrian—first, Menahem (2 Kings 15. 19) applied to Pul ; again, Hoshea to Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17.3). sent to King Jareb—Understand Judah as the nominative to " sent." Thus as "Ephraim saw his sickness" (the first clause) answers in the parallelism to "Ephraim went to the Assyrian" (the third
20). strange children—alluding to "children of whoredoms" (ch. 1.2; 2.4). "Strange" or foreign implies, that their idolatry was imported from abroad. [Hendekson.] Or rather, "regarded by God as strangers, not His,"' as being reared in idolatry. The case is desperate, when not only the existing, but also the rising generation is reared in apostasy, a month—a very brief sjxice of time shall
clause), so "Judah saw his wound" (the second clause) answers to (Judah) "sent to King Jareb" (the fourth
elapse, and then punishment shall overtake them (Zechariah 11. 8). The allusion seems to be to money loans, which were by the month, not as with us by the year. You cannot put it off; tlie time of your destruction is immediately and suddenly coming on you; just as the debtor must meet tlie creditor's demand at the expiration of the month. The prediction is of the Invasion of Tiglath-
clause). Jareb ought rather to be translated, "thfir defender," irt., avenger. [Jerome.] The Assyrian "king," ever ready, for Ills own aggrandizement, to mix himself up with the affairs of neighbouring states, professed to undertake Israel's and Judah's cause; In Judges 6. 82, Jerub, in Jerub-baal, is so used, viz., "plead one's cause." Judah, under Ahaz, applied to TIglatli-pileser for aid against Syria and Israel (2 Kings 16.7,8; 2 Chronicles 38.
pilescr, who carried away Keuben, Gad, Naphtali, and the m
2V»e hraelites' Exhortation HOSEA VI. to each other to Seek the Lord,
was accounted the greatest calamity, "the latter rain" which falls in the latter half of February, and during Jiarcli and April, just before the harvest wlience it takes its name, from a root meaning "to gather;" and "the former rain," lit., the darting rain, from the middle of October to the middle of December. As the rain fertilizes the otherwise barren land, so God's favour will restore Israel long nationally lifeless. 4. what shall I do unto thee—to bring thee back to piety. "What more could be done that I have not done, both in mercies and chastenings (Isaiah 5.4)7 At this verse a new discourse begins, resuming the threats (ch. 5. 14). See opening remarks on this chapter, goodness—godliness, morning cloud soon dispersed by the sun (ch. 13. 3). There is a tacit contrast here to the promise of God's grace to Israel hereafter, in V. 3. His going forth Is " as the morning," shining more and more unto the perfect day; your goodness is "as a morning cloud," soon vanishing. His coming to His people is "as the (fertilizing) latter and former rains ;" your coming to Him "as the early dew goeth away." 5. I hewed them by the prophets i.e., I announced by the prophets that they should be hewn asunder, like trees of the forest. God Identifies His act with that of his prophets; the word being His Instrument for executing His will (Jeremiah 1. 10; Ezekiel 43. 3). by . . . words of my mouth—(Isaiah 11. 4; Jeremiah 23. 29 ; Hebrews 4. 12.) thy judgments—the judgments which I will inflict on thee, Ephraim and Judah {v. 4). So "ttj/ judgments," i. e., those inflicted on thee (Zephanlab 3. 15). are as the light, &c.—like the light, palpable to the eyes of all, as coming from God, the punisher of sin. Henderson translates, "lightning" (cf. jVfarj/m, Job 37. 3, 15). 6. mercy—put for piety in general, of which mercy or charity is a branch, not sacriflce i. e., " rather than sacrifice." So not is merely comparative (Exodus 16.8; Joel 2.13; John 6. 27; 1 Timothy 2. 14). As God Himself instituted sacrifices, it cannot mean that He desired them not absolutely, but that even in the Old Testament, He valued moral obedience as the only end for which positive ordinances, such as sacrifices, were instituted—as of more importance than a mere external ritual obedience (1 Samuel 15.22; PsalmoO. 8, 9; 51.
16-21); the Assyrian "distressed him, but strengthened him not," fulfilliug the prophecy here, "he could not heal you, nor cure you of your wound." 14. lion—the black Hon and the young lion are emblems of strength and
ferocity (Psalni 91. 13). 1, even I—emphatic ; when I, even
1, the Irresistible God, tear in pieces (Psalm 50. 22), no Assyrian power can rescue, go away—as a lion stalks leis-- urely back with his prey to his lair. 15. return to my place—I. e., wi tlidraw my favour. tUl tliey acknowledge their offence—tlie Hebrew is, " till they suffer the penalty Of their guilt." Probably "accepting the punishment of their guilt" (cf. Zechariah 11. 5) is included in the idea, as English Version translates. Cf. Leviticus 26. 40, 41; Jeremiah 29. 12, 13; Ezekiel 6. 9; 20. 43 ; 36. 31. aeek my face—
t. e.,«eek my favour (Proverbs 29. 26, Margin). In . . . affliction . . . seek me early—t. e., diligently; rising up before dawn to seek me (Psalm 119. 147; cf. Psalm 78. 34).
CHAPTEE VI.
Ver. 3-11. The Israelites' Exhortation to One Another to seek the Lord. At v. 4 a new discourse, complaining of them, begins ; fort). 1-3 evidently belongs to
V. 15, of ch 5., and forms the happy termination of Israel's punishment: primarily, the return from Babylon; ultimately, the return from their present long dispersion. The eighth verse perhaps refers to the murder of Pekahiah; the discourse cannot be later than Pekah's reign, for it was under it that Gilead was carried Into captivity
(2 Kings 15. 29). 1. let ns return—in order that God who has "returned to His place" may return to us (ch. 5. 15). torn, and . . . heal—(Deuteronomy 32. 39; Jeremiah 30.
17.) They ascribe tlieir punishment not to fortune, or man, but to God, and acknowledge that none (not the Assyrian, as tliey once vainly thought, ch. 5. 13) but God can heal their wound. They are at the same time persuaded of tlie mercy of God, which persuasion Is the startingpoint of true repentance, and without which men would not seek, but hate and flee from God. Though our wound be severe, it is not past hope of recovery; there Is room for grace, and a hope of pardon. He hath smitten us, but not so badly that he cannot heal us (Psalm 130. 4). H. Primarily, In type, Israel's national revival, in a short period ("two or three" being used to denote a few days, Isaiah 17.
16; Isaiah 1. 11, 12; Micah 6. 6-8; Matthew 9. 13; 12. 7). knowledge of God — experimental and practical, not merely theoretical (v. 3; Jeremiah 22. 16; 1 John 2.3, 4). "Mercy" refers to the second table of the law, our duty to our fellow-man ; " the knowledge of God" to the first table our duty to God, Including Inward spiritual worship. The second table Is put first, not as superior in dignity, for It
6; Luke 13. 32, 33); antitypically the language is so framed as to refer in its/uU accuracy only to Messiah, the ideal Israel (Isaiah 49. 3; cf. Matthew 2. 15, with ch. 11. 1), raised on the third day (John 2. 19; 1 Corinthians 15.4; cf. Isaiah
53. 10). " He shall prolong His days." Cf. the similar use of Israel's political resurrection as the type of the general resurrection of which "Christ Is the first-fruits" (Isaiah 26.19; Ezekiel 37. 1-14; Daniel 12.2). Uve in his sightenjoy his favour and tlie light of his countenance shining on us, as of olcj; in' contrast to ch. 5. 6, 15, "'Withdrawn himself from them." 3. know, ifwe follow on to know the liord—The result of his recovered favour (v. 2) will be onward growth in saving knowledge of God, as the result of perseverance in following after him (Psalm 63.8; Isaiah
is secondary, but In the order of our understanding. 7. like men—the common sort of men (Psalm 82. 7). Kot as Margin, " like Adam," Job 31. 33. For the expression " covenant" is not found elsewhere applied to Adam's relation to God; though the thing seems implied (Romans 5. 12-19). Israel "transgressed the covenant" of God as lightly as men break every-day compacts with their fellow-men. there—In the northern kingdom, Israel. 8. Gilead . . . city—Probably Ramoth-gllead, metropolis of the hilly region bej'ond Jordan, south of the Jabbok, known as " Gilead" (1 Kings 4. 13; cf. Genesis 31. 21-25). work iniquity—(ch. 12. 11.) polluted with blood— "marked with blood traces." [Maurer.] Referring to Gilead's complicity in the regicidal conspiracy of Pekah against PekahiaU
54. 13). "Then" implies the consequence of the revival in
i>. 2. The "if" is not so much conditional, as expressive of the means which God's grace will sanctify to the full enlightenment of Israel In the knowledge of Him. As want of "knowledge of God" has been the source of all evils (ch. 4. 1; 5. 4), so the knowledge of Him will bring with it all blessings, yea. It is "life" (John 17.3). This knowledge is practice, not mere theory (Jeremiah 22. 1.5,
(2 Kings 15. 25). See Note, on v. 1. Many homicides were there, for there were beyond Jordan more cities of refuge, la proportion to the extent ofterritory, than on this side of Jordan (Numbers 35. 14; Deuteronomy 4. 41^3; Joshua 20.
8). Ramoth-gilead was one. 9. company association or guild of priests, murder . . . by consent lit., with one shoulder (cf. Zephanlab 3. 9, Margin). The image is from oxen putting their shoulders together to pull the same yoke. [Rivetus.] Maw.sii translates, " in the way towards Shechem." It was a city of refuge between Ebal and Gerizim; on Mount Ephraim (Joshua 20.7; 21.21), long the civil capital of Ephraim, as Shiloh was the religious capital; now called Naploos; for a time the residence of Jeroboam (1 Kings 12. 25). The priests there became so corrupted that they waylaid and murdered persons fleeing to the asylum for refuge [Henderson]; the sanollly
16). Theology is life, not science; realities, not words. This onward progress is illustrated by the light of " morning" increasing more and more "unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4.18). prepared—w «ure, ii<.,/Ja;eci, ordered In His everlasting purposes of love to his covenant people.
Cf. "prepared of God" (Margin, Genesis 41.32; Revelation
12. 6). Jehovah shall surely come to the relief of His people after their dark night of calamity, as the morning —(2 .Samuel 23.4.) as tlie rain . . . latter . . . former— (Job 29. 2S; Joel 2. 23.) First, " the rain" generally is mentioned ; then the two rains (Deuteronomy 11. 14) which caused the fertility of Palestine, and the absence of which
A Reproof of Manifold Sins, HOSEA VII. Go<f« Wraih, against Bypocruy
of the place enhanced the guilt of the priests who abused
burns as a flaming Are, so they brood mischief il their hearts, whilst conscience is lulled asleep, and their* icked designs wait only for a fair occasion to break forth. [HorsIjEY.] Their heart is the oven, their baker the ringleader of the plot. In v.7 their plots appear, viz., the intestine disturbances and murders of one king after another, after Jeroboam II. 7. all hot—all burn with eagerness to cause universal disturbance (2 Kings 15). devoured their judges—magistrates ; as the fire of the oven devours the fuel, all their kings . . . fallen—see Kotes at the beginning of this chapter, none . . . calleth uuto mosuch is their perversity that amidst all these national calamities, none seeks help from me (Isaiah 9. 13; 64.7), 8. mixed . . . among the people—by leagues with idolaters, and the adoption of their idolatrous practices {v. 9,
their priestly privileges, and the right of asylum to perpetrate murders themselves, or to screen those committed by others. |Mauiier.] commit lewdness—deJifr-
erate crime, presumptuous wickedness, from an Arabic
root, to form a deliberate purpose. 10. liorrible tiling— (Jeremiah 5. 30; 18. 13; 23. It), whoredom—idolatrj-. 11. an lian-estUiz., ofjudgments, as in Jeremiah 51. 33 ; Joel
3. 13; Revelation 14. lo. Called a "harvest," because it is the fruit of the seed which Jud.ih herself hath sown (ch. 8.
7; 10.12; Job4. S; Proverbs 22.8). Judah, under Ahaz,
lost 120,000 "slain in one day (by Israel under Pekah), be-
cause they had forsaken tlie Lord God of their lathers." when I returned the captivity of my people—when I, by Oded my prophet, caused 200,000 women, sons, and daughters, of Judah to be restored fi-om captivity by
11 ; Psalm 106. 85). Ephraim . . . cake not turned—
Israel (2 Clironick-s 28. 6-15). This prophecy was delivered under Pekah. rLunoviccrs DE DiEcr.] Maurek ex-
cake burnt on one side and unbaked on the other, and so uneatable; an image of the worthlessness of Ephraim. The Easterns bake their bread on the ground, covering it with embers (1 Kings 19. 6), and turning it every ten minutes, to bake it thoroughly without burning it. 9. Strangers—Foreigners : the Syrians and Assyrians (2 Kings 13.
plains, Wlien Israel shall have been exiled for Its sins, and has been subsequently restored by me, thou, Judahi also Shalt be exiled for thine. But as Judah's punishment was not at the timety7im God restored Israel, LUDOVicus DE DiEU's explan.ation must be taken. Grotius
7; 15.19,20; 17.3-6). gray hairs-1. e., symptoms of approaching national dissolution, are here and there npon lit., are sprinkled on him. yet he knoweth not though old age ought to bring with it wisdom, he neither knows of his senile decay, nor has the true knowledge which leads to reformation. 10. Repetition of ch. 5. 5. not return to . . . Lord , . . for all this—notwithstanding all their calamities (Isaiah 9. 13). 11. like a silly dove —a bird proverbial for simplicity: easily deceived, without heart i.e., understanding, eall to Egypt— Israel lying between the two great rival empires Egypt and Assyria, sought each by turns to help her against the other. As this prophecy was written in the reign of Hoshea, the allusion is probably to the alliance with So or Sabacho II. (of which a record has been found on the clay cylindrical seals in Koyunjik), which ended in the overthrow of Hoshea and the deportation of Israel (2 Kings 17. 3-6). As the dove betrays its silliness by fleeing in alarm from its nest only to fall into the net of the fowler, so Israel, though warned that foreign alliances would be their ruin, rushed into them. 12. When they shall go—to seek aid from this or that foreign state, spread my net upon them—as on birds taken on the ground (Ezekiel 1'2. 13), as contrasted with " bringing them down as the fowls of the heavens, viz., by the use of missiles, as their congregation hath heard viz., by my prophets through whom I tlireatened "chastisement" (ch. 5. 9; 2 Kings 17. 13-18). 13. fled —as birds from their nest (Proverbs 27.8; Isaiah 16.2). me—who both could and would have healed them (v. 1), had they applied to me. redeemed them—from Egypt and their other enemies (Mieah 6. 4). lies—{Psalm 78. 36; Jeremiah 3.10.) Pretending to be my worshippers, when they all the while worshipped Idols (v. 14 ; ch. 12. 1) ; also defrauding me of the glory of their deliverance, and ascribing it and their other blessings to idols. [Calvin.] I4t. not cried unto me—but unto other gods [Maurer] (Job
translates, " When I n/iall have returned to make captive {i. e., when I shall have again made captive) my people." The
first captivity of Israel under Tiglath-pileser was followed by a seconS under Shalmaneser. Then came the siege of Jerusalem, and tlie captui'e of the fenced cities of Judah, by Sennacherib, tlie forerunner of other attacks, ending in Judah's captivity. But the Hebrew \s elsewhere used of restoration, not renewed punisliment {Deuteronomy 30. 3; Psalm U. 7).
Ver. 1-16. Reproof of Israel. Probably del ered in the interreign and civil war at Pekah's death for v. 7, "all their kings . . . fallen," refers to the marder of Zechariah, Sliallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, and Pekah: in V. 8 the reference seems to be to Menahem's payment of tribute to Pul, in order to secure himself in the usurped tlrrone, also to Pekali's league with Rezin of Syria, and to Hoshea's connection with Assyria during the interreign at Pekali's death. [Maurer.] 1. I wotUd have healed Israel—Israel's restoration of the 200,000 Jewish captives at God's command (2 Chronicles 28. 8-15) gave hope of Israel's reformation. [Henderson.] Political, as well as moral, healing is meant. When I would have healed Israel in its calamitous state, then their Iniquity was discovered to be so great as to preclude hope of recovery. Then he enumerates their wickedness: "The thief eomoth in (doors stealthily), and the troop of robbers Bpoileth without'' (out of doors with open violence), a. consider not in tlieir hearts lit., say not to, &c. (Psalm
11. 1). that I remember-and will punish, their own doings have beset tiiem about—as SO many witnesses against tliem (Psalm 9.16; Proverbs 5.22). before my face—(Psalm 90. 8.) 3. Their princes, instead of checking, "have pleasure in them that do" such crimes (Romans 1.
32). 4. who ceaseth from raising—rather, heating it, from an Arabic root, to be hot. So LXX. Their adulterous and idolatrous lust is inflamed as the oven of a baker who has it at such a heat, that he ceaseth from heating It only from the time that he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened ; he only requires to omit feeding it during the short period of the fermentation of the bread. Cf. 2 Peter
35. 9, 10). Or, they did indeed cry unto me, but not " with their heart:" answering to " lies," v. 13 (see Note), when they howled npoik their beds—sleepless with anxiety. Image of deep affliction. Their cry is termed howling, as it
is the cry of anguish, not the cry of repentance and faith, assemble . . . for corn, Ac. viz., in the temples of their
2. 14, " that cannot cease from sin." [Henderson.] 5. the dny of our king—his birth-day, or day of Inauguration, have made him sick^tiiz., the king. Maurer translates, " make themselves sick." with bottles of wine—drinking not merely glasses, but bottles. Maurer translates, " owing to the heat of wine." he stretched ont his hand with scorncrs—the gesture of revellers In holding out the cup and in drinking to one another's health. Scoffers were the king's boon companions. 6. they have made ready—rather, " they make their heart approach," viz., their king, in going to drink with him. like an ovenfollowing out the image In v. 4. As it conceals the lighted
idols, to obtain from them a good harvest and vintage, instead of coming to me, the true Giver of these (ch. 2. 5, 8,
12), proving that their cry to God was "not with their heart." rebel against me — lit., "vnthdraw tliemselves against me," i.e., not only wl thd ra\v /rom me, but also rebel against me. 15. I . . . bound — wnen I saw their arms as it were relaxed with various disasters, I bound them so as to strengthen their sinews; image from surgery. [Calvin.] Maurer translates, " I instructed them" to war (Psalm 18. 34 ; 144. 1), viz., under Jeroboam II. (2 Kings 14. 25). Grotius explains, "'Whether I chastised them (Margin) oi strengthened their arms, they imagine mischief against me." .^(/{uA Vernon is best. 16. return^
fire all night, whilst the bakei sleeps, bat In the morning
66«
HOBEA VIII, IX.
Destruction is Threatened
/or Impiety and Idolatry
but not to tlie Most Hlgli—or, " to one who Is not the Most High," one very different from Him, a stock or a stone. So LiXX. rtfceltftU bow — (Psalm 78. 57.) A bow which, from its faultj' coiistruetiou, shoots wide of the mark. So
siastes 5. IG). the bud—or, "growth." strangersforeigners (cll. 7. 9j. 8. vessel wlkercin is no pleasure— (Psalm 41. 12; Jeremiah 22. 28 ; 48. 38.) 9. gone ... to Assyria — referring to Menahem's application for Pul's aid in establishing him on the throne (cf. ch. 5. 13; 7. 11). Menahem's name is read in the inscriptions in the soulliwest palace of Nimrod, as a tributary to the Assyrian king in his eighth year. The dynasty of Pul, or Phalluka, was supplanted at Nineveh by tliat of Tiglath-pileser, about 708 (or 700) b. c. Semiramis seems to have been Pul's wife, and to have withdrawn to Babylon in 708; and her son, Nabonassar, succeeding after a period of confusion, originated " the era of Nabonassar,' ' 747 b. c. [G. V. Smith.] Usually foreigners coming to Israel's land were said to "go up ;" here it is the reverse, to intimate Israel's sunken state, and Assyria's superiority, wild ass—a figure of Israel's headstrong perversity in following her bent (Jeremiah 2. 24). alone by himself—characteristic of Israel in all ages: "lo, tlie people shall dwell alone" (Numbers 23.
Israel pretends to seelc God, but turns aside to idols, for the rage of tlielr tongue — tlieir boast of safety from
iCgyi)tian aid, and tlieir "lies" (v. 13), whereby they pretended to serve God, wliilst worshipping idols; also tlieir perveiKe defence for their idolatries and blasphemies ngainst God and His prophets (Psalm 73. 9; 120.2,3). their drrUton In . . . Egypt—their "fall" shall be the subject of •' derision" to Egypt, tq jvhom they had applied for help (ch. 9. 3, C; 2 Kings 17. i).
CHAPTEK VIII.
Ver. 1-14. Prophecy of thk Irruptiojj of the Assyrians, IN I'UNISHMENT FOR ISRAEL'S APOSTASY, IDOLATRY, A.NU .SEl-riNG UP OF KiNGS WITHOUT GOD'S SANCTION. In V. li, Judah is said to multiply fenced cities; and in v. 7-9, Israel, to Its great hurt, is said to have gone up to Assyria for lielp. This answers best to the reign of Menalieiu. For it was then that Uzziali of Judah, his contemporary, built fenced cities (2 Chronicles 20. 6, 9, 10). Then also Israel turned to Assyria, and had to pay for
9; cf. Job 39.5-8). hired lovers—reversing tlie ordinary way, viz., that lovers should hire her (Ezekiel 16. 33, 34). 10. will I gather them—tiiz., tlie nations (Assyria, <Stc.) against Isiael, instead of their assisting her as she had wished (Ezekiel 16. 37). a little—rather, "in a little." [Henderson.] English Version gives good sense : They shall sorrow a little at the imposition of the tribute; God suspended yet the tri-eai judgment, viz., their deportation by Assyria, the burden of the king of princes—the tribute imposed on Israel (under Menahem) by the Assyrian king (Pul, 2 Kings 15. 19-22), who liad many "princes" under his sway (Isaiah 10. 8). 11. God in righteous retribution gives them up to their own way; the sin becomes its own punis.hment (Proverbs 1. 31). many altars— in opposition to God's law (Deuteronomy 12. 5, 6, 13, 14). to sin ... to sin— their altars whicli were "sin" (whatever religious intentions they miglit plead) should be treated as such, and be the source of their punishment (1 Kings 12. 30 ; 13. 34). V4, great things of . . . law—(Deuteronomy 4. 6, 8 ; Psalm 19.
Iheir sinfui folly a thousand talents of silver (2 Kings 15.
19). [Maurer.] 1. Set the trumpet, &c.—to give warning of tlie approach of the enemy: "To thy palate (i. e., mouth. Job 31. 3U, Margin) the trumpet;" the abruptness of expression indicates the suddenness of the attack. So ch.
5. 8. as . . . eagle—the Assyrian (Deuteronomy 28. 49; Jeremiah 48. 40 ; Habakkuk 1. 8). against . . . liouse of
. . . Ijovd—not tlie temple, but Israel viewed as the family
of God (ch. 9. 15; Numbers 12. 7; Zecliariali 9. 8; Hebrews
3. 2; 1 Timothy 3. 15; 1 Peter 4. 17). 3. My God, we know
tliee— the Hiiigular, "my," is used distributively; each one so addressing God. They, In tlieir hour of need, plead their knowledge of God as the covenant people, whilst in tlieir acts they knew Him not (cf. Matthew 7. 21,
8; 119. 18,72; 147. 19, 20.) Maurer not so well translates, "the many things of my law." my law— as opposed to their inventions. This reference of Hosea to the Pentateuch alone is against the theory that some earlier wi ilten prophecies liave not come down to us. strange thln^ —as if a thing with which they had nothing to do. 13. sacrifices of mine offerings i. e., which they ofier to me. eat it—their own carnal gratification is the object which they seek, not my honour, now— i.e., speedily, shall return to Esypt^(Ch. 9. 3, 6 ; 11. 11). The same threat as in Deuteronomy 28. 68. They fled thither to escape from, the Assyrians (cf. as to Judah, Jeremiah 42.-44.), when these latter had overtlirown their nation. But see Note, ch. !)..
22; Titus 1. 16; also Isaiah 29. 13; Jeremiah 7. 4). The Hebrew ioxns, "Isiael," not as EnglisJi Version, with "shall cry," but " We, Israel, know thee;" God denies the claim thus urged on tlie ground of their descent from Israel. 3. Israel—God repeats the name in opposition to their use of
it (t). 2). the tiling tliat is good Jerome translates, " God" who is K jod and doing good (Psalm 119. 68). He is the chief object rejected, but with Him also all that is good, the enemy shall x>urgue him—in just retribution from God.
4. kings . . . not by me—not with my sanction (1 Kings
11.31; 12.20). Israel set up Jeroboam and his successors, wliereas God had appointed the house of David as the
3. 14:. forgotten . . . Maker — (Deuteronomy .32. 18.) temples — to idols. Judah. . . fenced cities — Judah, though less Idolatrous than Israel, betrayed want of faith in Jehovah by trusting more to its fenced cities than tO' Him; instead of making peace with God, Judah multiplied human defences (Isaiah 22. 8 ; Jeremiah 5. 17 ; Micah
rightful kings of the whole nation. 1 knew it not —
approved it not (Psalm 1. 6). of . . . gold . . . idols—(Ch.
2.8; 13.2.) thattheymaybecutoff—i.e., though warned of the consequences of idolatry, as it were with open eyes they rushed on their own destruction. So Jeremiah 27.
10, 15 ; 4-4. 8. 5. ha«h cast thee off—as the ellipsis of thee is unusual, Maurer translates, " thy calf is abominable." But the antithesis to i;. 3 establishes English Version, "Israel
5. 10, 11). I will send . . . tire upon . . . cities—Sennacherib burned all Judah's fenced cities except Jerusalem
(2 Kings 18. 13). palaces thereof—viz., of the land. Cf. aato Jerusalem, Jeremiah 17. 27.
hath cast off the thing that is good ;" therefore, in just retri-
bution, "thy calf hath cast thee off," i. e., is made by God the cause of thy being cast off (ch. 10. 15). Jeroboam, during his sojourn in Egypt, saw Apis worshipped at Memphis, and Mnevis at Heliopolis, in the form of an ox
Ver. 1-17. Warning against Israel's Joy at pae'» TiAii Relief from their Troubles : their Crops 8hali» fail, and the people leave the lord's land for Egypt and Assyria, where they cannot, if so inclined, serve God according to the Ancient Ritual: Folly of their False Prophets. 1. Rejoice not . . . for joy— to exultation. Thy exultation at the league with Pul, by which peace seems secured, is out of place
this, and the temple cherubim, suggested the idea of the
calves set up at Dan and Beth-el. how long . . . ere they attain . . . innocency I—How long will they be incapable
of bearing Innocency? [Maubbr.] G. from Israel was it—viz., the calf originated with them, not from rae. "It
also," as well as their "kings set up" by them, "but not by me" (v. 4). 7. sown . . . reap—(Proverbs 22. 8; Gala-
tlans 6. 7.) " Sow . . . wind," t. e., to make the vain show
since thy idolatry will bring ruin on thee, as other people—the Assyrians for instance, who, unlike thee, are in
of worsliip, whilst faith and obedience are wanting. [Cal-
vin.] Rather, to offer senseless supplications to the calves
the height of prosperity, loved a reward upon every corn-floor—thou hast desired, in retvard fov thy homage
for good harvests (cf. ch. 2. 8); the result being that God win make them "reap no stalk," i.e., "standing corn."
to idols, abundance of corn on every threshing-floor (ch.
Vlso, the phraseology proverbially means, that all their undertakings shall be profitless (Proverbs 11. 29; Eccle-
2 12). 8. (Ch. 2.9, 12.) fall—disappoint her exj>ectatiou.
fsraeCs Distress and Captivity. HOSEA X. Reproofs and Tltrealenings for Idolatry,
3. retiini to Egypt—(iVo<e, ch. 8. 13.) As In ch. 11.5 It Is
time of their first conception. 13. Even though they should rear their children, yet will I bereave them (the Ephraimites) of them (Job27. 14). woe . . . to them when
said, "He sliall not return into . . . Egypt." Fairbairn
Miiiilcs it is not tlie exact country that is meant, but the bonddffe stole with wliicli, from past experience, Egypt was identitled in their minds. Assyria was to be a second Egypt to them. Deuteronomy 28. 68, though threatening a return to Egypt, spealis (v. 36) of tlieir being brouglit to a nation wliicli neither they nor their fathers had known, sliowing that it is not tlie literal Egypt, but a second Egypt-lilte bondage tliat is threatened, eat unclean tilings In Assyria—reduced by necessity to eat meats pronounced unclean by tlie Mosaic law (Ezekiel 4. 13). See
1 depart—yet the ungodly in their madness desire God to depart from them (Job 21.14; 22.17; Matthew 8. 34j. At last they know to their cost how awful it is when God ha« departed (Deuteronomy 31.17; 1 Samuel 28.15, 16; cf. v. 11, and 1 Samuel 4.21). 13. Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus . . . in a pleasant plae«—i.e., in looking towards Tyrus (on whose borders Ephraim lay) I saw Ephraim beautiful In situation like her (Ezekiel 26. and 27. and 28). is planted —as a fruitful tree; image suggested by the meaning of "Ephraim" (u. 11). bring forth his children to the murderer {v. 16; ch. 13.16.) With all his fruitfuluess. Ills children shall only be brought up to be slain. 14. what wilt thou give 1—as if overwhelmed by feeling, he deliberates with God what is most desirable. Give ... a miscarrying womb—of two evils he cliooses the least. So great will be the calamity, that barrenness will be a blessing, though usually counted a great misfortune (Job 3. 3; Jeremiah 20. 14; Luke 23.29). 15. Gilgal—(see Note, ch. 4.
2 Kings 17. 6. 4. offer wine offerings—Jii., pour as a liba-
tion (Exodus 30.9; Leviticus 23.13). neltlier sitall tliey be pleasing nnto him—as being offered on a profane soil,
saci'iflces . . . as tlie bread of mourners—wliich was unclean (Deuteronomy 26. U ; .Teremiah 16.7; Ezekiel 21.17). tlieir bread for tlieir soul—their otfering for the expiation of tlieir soul [Calvin] (Leviticus 17. 11). Rather, "their bread for their sustenance ('soul ' being often used
for the animal life, Genesis 14. 21, Margin) shall not come into the Lord's house;" it shall only subserve their own uses, not my worship. H. (Ch. 2.11.) 6. because of destruction—to escape from the devastation of their coun-
15.) This was the scene of their first contumacy in rejecting God and choosing a king (1 Samuel 11. 14, 15; cf. 1 Samuel 8. 7), and of their subsequent idolatry. All tlieir wickedness—t. e., their chief guilt, there I hated them —not with the human passion, but holy hatred of their sin, which required punishment to be inflicted on themselves (cf. Malachi 1.3). out of mine house—as in ch. 8, 1: out of the land holy unto me. Or, as "love" is mentioned immediately after, the reference may be to the Hebrew mode of divorce, the husband (God) putting the wife (Israel) out of the house, princes—revolters "Harim . . . Sorerim" (Hebrew), a play on similar sounds. 16. The figures "root," "fruit," are suggested by tlie word " Ephraim," i. e., fruitful (Notes, v. 11, 1'2). " Smitten," viz., with a blight (Psalm 102.4). 17. My God—"My," in contrast to " them," i. e., the people, whose God Jehovah no longer is. Also Hosea appeals to God as supporting his authority against the whole people, wanderers among
try. Egypt shall gatlier them up i. e., into its sepulchres (Jeremiah 8.2; Ezekiel 29. 5). Instead of returning
10 Palestine, they should die in Egypt. Alemplxls—famed as a necropolis, the pleasant places for their silver i. e., their desired treasuries for their money. Or, " whatever precious thing they have of silver." [Madrer.J nettles —the sign of desolation (Isaiah 34.13). 7. visitation vengeance : punishment (Isaiah 10. 3). Israel shall know It—to her cost experimentally (Isaiah 9. 9). the propliet
is a fool—the false prophet who foretold prosperity to the nation shall be convicted of folly by the event, the spiritual man—the man pretending to inspiration (Lamentalions 2.14; Ezekiel 13.3; Micah 3.11; Zephauiah 3.4). for the multitude of tliine iniquity, &c.—connect these words with, " the days of visitation, &c., are come ;" " the prophet, &c., is mad," being parenthetical, the great hatred—or, "the great provocation" [HendersonJ; or,
. . . nations—(2 Kings 15.29; 1 Chronicles 5. 26.)
(tliy) "greatapostasy." [Maurer.] English Version means
Israel's " hatred" of God's prophets and the law. 8. The watchman . . . was witli my God—The spiritual watchmen, the true prophets, formerly consulted my God (Jeremiah 31. 6; Habakkuk 2. 1); but their so-called prop/ie« is a snare, entrapping Israel into idolatry, hatred—rather,
Ver. 1-15. Israel's Idolatry, the Source of Perjuries and Unlawful Leagues, soon destined to be THF, Ruin OF the State, their Kino and their Images being about to be carried off ; A JU.ST Chastisement, THE Reaping corresponding to the Sowing. The prophecy was uttered between Shalmaneser's first and second Invasions of Israel. Cf. v. 14; also d. 6, referring to Hoshea's calling So of Egypt to his aid; also v. 4, 13. 1. empty—stript of its fruits [Calvin] (Nahum 2.2); compelled to pay tribute to Pul (2 Kings 15. 20). Maurer translates, "A widespreading vine;" so LXX. Cf. Genesis
(a cause of) " apostasy'' (see v. 7). [Maureb.] house of his God i. e., the state of Ephraim, as in ch. 8. 1. [Maurer.] Or, " the house of his(false)god," the calves. [Calvin.] Jehovah, "my God," seems contrasted with "/lis God." Calvin'.s view is therefore preferable. 9. as in
tlie days of Glbeah—as in the day of the perpetration of the atrocity of Gibeah, narrated In Judges 19. 16-22, &c. 10. As the traveller in a wilderness is delighted at finding grapes to quench his thirst, or the early fig (esteemed a great delicacy in the East, Isaiah 28.4; Jeremiah 24.2; Micah 7. 1); so it was my delight to choose your fathers as my peculiar people in Egypt (ch. 2. 15). at her flrst time —when the first-fruits of tlie tree become ripe, went to Baal-peor—(Numbers 25.3): the Moabite idol, in whose worship young females prostituted themselves; the very
49. 22; Psalm 80. 9-11 ; Ezekiel 17.6. brlngeth forth fruit unto himself—not unto Me. according to . . . multitude of . . . fruit . . . Increased . . . altars—in proportion to the abundance of their prosperity, which called for fruit unto God (cf. Romans 6. 22), was the abundance of their idolatry (ch. 8. 4, 11). a. heart . . . divided—(1 Kings 18. 21 ; Matthew 6. 24 ; James 4. 8.) now—i. e., soon, he—Jehovah, break down—"cut off," viz., the heads of the victims. Those altars, which were the scene of cutting