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THE  CMBRJJ}GE  BIBLE 
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T.  K.  CHEYNE,  D.  D. 


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A> 

HOSEA.  ^ 

IV/TJI  NOTES  AND  INTRODUCTION 


BY 

THE   REV.  T.  K.  CHEYNE,  M.A,  D.D. 

ORIEL    PROFESSOR    OF    THE    INTERPRETATION    OF    HOLY   SCRIPTURE 
AT   OXFORD  ;    CANON    OF   ROCHESTER. 


EDITED    FOR    THE    SYNDICS    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


OTambrflrge : 

AT   THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 
1892 

\_All  Rights  reserved.] 


Catnbritige: 

PRINTED   BY    C.    J.    CLAY,    M.A.    AND   SONS, 
AT   THE   UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 


PREFACE 
BY    THE    GENERAL  EDITOR. 

The  General  Editor  of  The  Cambridge  Bible  for 
Schools  thinks  it  right  to  say  that  he  does  not  hold 
himself  responsible  either  for  the  interpretation  of 
particular  passages  which  the  Editors  of  the  several 
Books  have  adopted,  or  for  any  opinion  on  points  of 
doctrine  that  they  may  have  expressed.  In  the  New 
Testament  more  especially  questions  arise  of  the 
deepest  theological  import,  on  which  the  ablest  and 
most  conscientious  interpreters  have  differed  and 
always  will  differ.  His  aim  has  been  in  all  such 
cases  to  leave  each  Contributor  to  the  unfettered 
exercise  of  his  own  judgment,  only  taking  care  that 
mere  controversy  should  as  far  as  possible  be  avoided. 
He  has  contented  himself  chietly  with  a  careful 
revision  of  the  notes,  with  pointing  out  omissions,  with 


6  PREFACE. 

suggesting  occasionally  a  reconsideration  of  some 
question,  or  a  fuller  treatment  of  difficult  passages, 
and  the  like. 

Beyond  this  he  has  not  attempted  to  interfere, 
feeling  it  better  that  each  Commentary  should  have 
its  own  individual  character,  and  being  convinced 
that  freshness  and  variety  of  treatment  are  more 
than  a  compensation  for  any  lack  of  uniformity  in 
the  Series. 

Deanery,  Peterborough. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGES 

I.    Introduction.  9 — 39 
Chapter      I.     The    prophet's   name   and    origin. 

His  period  and  its  characteristics  9 — 15 

Chapter    II.     Hosea's  domestic  history.     Parable 

or  fact?    15—19 

Chapter  III.     The  second  Book  of  Hosea    19—22 

Chapter  IV.     The  five  leading  ideas  of  the  pro- 
phecy.    Hosea  compared   with 

prophets  before  and  after  him  ...  22 — 32 

Chapter      V.     His  style,  etc 3^—39 

Chronological  Table 40 

n.    Text  and  Notes  41 — 130 

Index    I.    To  the  Subjects  treated  of 131— ^ 

II.     To  the  Chief  Passages  from  other  Parts 

of  the  Bible,  illustrated  in  the  Note?  132 


The  Text  adopted  in  this  Edition  is  that  of  Dr  Scrivener's 
Cambridge  Farag}-aph  Bible.  A  few  variations  from  the  ordi- 
nary Text,  chiefly  in  the  spelling  of  certain  words,  and  in  the 
use  of  italics,  will  be  noticed.  For  the  principles  adopted  by 
Dr  Scrivener  as  regards  the  printing  of  the  Text  see  his  In- 
troduction to  the  Paragraph  Bible,  published  by  the  Cambridge 
University  Press. 


INTRODUCTION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Prophefs  name  and  origin. — His  period  and  its 
characteristics. 

The  Book  of  Hosea  stands  first  among  the  writings  of  the 
'Minor  Prophets',  not  because  it  was  thought  to  be  the  earHest 
(for  of  this  there  is  no  proof),  but  because  it  is  the  longest. 
Joel  (at  least  according  to  the  ordinary  opinion)  and  Amos  are 
both  prior  in  time  to  Hosea,  and  Amos  in  particular  ought  to  be 
very  carefully  compared  with  the  subject  of  our  present  study. 
Hosea  indeed  is  throughout  enigmatical  and  obscure  compared 
with  Amos,  partly  from  the  pecuHarities  of  his  style,  partly  from 
the  want  of  such  illustrative  details  as  those  with  which  we  have 
been  supplied  by  his  predecessor  (Am.  vii.  lo — 17).  The  pro- 
phet's name  is  one  specially  characteristic  of  Northern  Israel; 
it  was  borne  by  the  last  king  of  the  Ten  Tribes  (2  Kings  xv.  30), 
and  also  originally  by  Joshua  (Num.  xiii.  8,  16 ;  Deut.  xxxii.  44). 
True,  the  prophet  appears  in  Auth.  Vers,  as  Hosea,  but  there  is 
no  difference  between  the  names  of  the  three  persons  in  the 
Hebrew.  The  form  in  our  Bibles  was  suggested  by  the  Osee  of 
the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate;  St  Jerome  bears  witness  that 
even  in  his  time  there  was  no  distinction  between  the  letters 
Sin  and  Shin.  It  is  St  Jerome  again  who  informs  us  (see  his 
note  on  i.  i)  that  in  some  Greek  and  Latin  MSS.  the  name  of  the 
prophet  was  written  Ause,  which  reminds  us  of  the  form  which  the 
name  assumes  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions — Ausi'.  Nothing  is 
known  of  the  prophet's  father  Beeri;  it  was  a  Jewish  fancy  that 


lo  INTRODUCTION. 


he  too  was  a  prophet,  and  verses  19,  20  of  Isa.  viii.  (see  De- 
litzsch's  note)  were  even  declared  to  be  words  of  Beeri  which 
had  intruded  into  the  text  of  Isaiah^.  That  Hosea  was  a  native 
of  the  northern  kingdo77i  needs  no  proof  to  any  one  who  has 
read  his  book.  Without  laying  any  stress  on  occasional  Arama- 
isms,  or  on  the  phrase  *  our  king'  in  vii.  5,  which  is  probably 
enough  a  popular  phrase  taken  up  half-satirically  by  the  pro- 
phet, it  would  seem  that  the  flow  of  sympathy  towards  the 
Israelites,  the  intimate  knowledge  of  their  circumstances,  the 
topographical 2  and  historical  allusions,  point  unmistakably  to 
one  born  and  bred  in  the  northern  state.  How  different  is  the 
superficial  though  not  untruthful  survey  of  things  and  people 
given  by  a  mere  visitor  from  Judah — the  prophet  Amos!  In 
addition  to  this,  consider  Hosea's  apparent  familiarity  with  the 
great  love-poem  of  Northern  Israel,  which  is  of  course  not  coun- 
terbalanced by  his  probable  knowledge  of  the  Book  of  Amos^ — 
a  Judahite  prophet,  but  commissioned  to  prophesy  to  Israel 
(vii.  15).  A  subtler  argument  in  favour  of  the  same  view  may  be 
derived  from  the  tone  of  Hosea's  religion,  which  is  on  the  whole 
both  warmer  and  more  joyous  (see  especially  chaps,  ii.  and  xiv.) 
than  that  which  prevails  in  the  great  Judahite  prophets.  Hosea 
seems  indeed  to  have  been  affected  by  the  genial  moods  of 
nature  in  the  north,  and  to  have  partaken  of  that  expansive, 
childlike  character,  which  as  a  matter  of  fact  led  his  country- 
people  astray,  but  which  might  have  issued  in  loving  obedience 
to  the  God  of  love. 

We  have  taken  some  pains  to  prove  the  Israelitish  origin  of 
the  prophet,  because  it  is  this  which  gives  his  book  such  a  high 
historical  importance.  There  is  very  much  to  interest  us  in 
that  northern  people  of  which  we  have  for  the  most  part  such 
fragmentary  and  indirect  notices.  It  embraced  the  larger  part 
of  the  old  Israelitish  community,   and,  sad  as  were  the  final 


^  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  there  is  no  inconsistency  of  style  be- 
tween these  two  verses  and  those  which  precede  and  follow  to  justify 
the  theory  of  interpolation. 

2  See  V.  I,  vi.  8,  9,  xii.  11,  xiv.  5,  6. 

'  On  both  points,  see  end  of  Introduction. 


INTRODUCTION.  ii 


results  of  its  struggle  for  independence,  the  struggle  itself  was 
from  a  secular  point  of  view  not  merely  excusable  but  inevit- 
able. Nor  can  we  doubt  that,  if  we  knew  more  at  first  hand 
respecting  the  north-Israelitish  kingdom,  we  should  find  much 
to  sympathize  with  even  morally,  and  many  germs  of  good 
which  might  have  developed  into  lovely  'plants  of  Jehovah.' 
Elijah  is  hardly  a  full  representative  of  Israel's  moral  capacities. 
His  character  could  not  help  being  affected  by  his  origin.  He 
was  a  Gileadite^,  a  fellow-tribesman  perhaps  of  those  Gadites  of 
David  'whose  faces  were  like  the  faces  of  lions',  and  who  were 
'as  swift  as  the  roes  upon  the  mountains'  (i  Chron.  xii.  8),  and 
of  those  'fifty  men  of  the  Gileadites'  who  captured  and  slew 
Pekahiah  in  his  royal  fortress  (2  Kings  xv.  25).  Very  different 
is  Hosea,  and  the  difference  is  reflected  in  his  character,  which 
again  is  partly  accounted  for  by  his  origin.  That  one  of  so 
typically  Israelitish  a  nature,  and  so  full  of  love  for  his  northern 
home,  should  have  taken  such  a  hopeless  view  of  the  prospects 
of  the  state,  seems  proof  enough  of  the  deadly  corruption  which 
prevailed.  As  Stanley  has  said^,  he  was  the  Jeremiah  of  Israel ; 
no  wonder  therefore  that  he  met  Jeremiah's  fate  of  opposition 
and  contempt^  (ix.  7,  8,  comp.  Jer.  xxix.  26,  27). 

Hosea,  then,  was  the  prophet  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  Is- 
rael ;  so  much  indeed  is  clear  from  a  glance  at  his  book.  But 
did  he  prophesy  during  the  whole  of  this  sad  period  ?  It  is  not 
by  any  means  inconceivable,  according  to  our  chronological 
table,  but  we  are  bound  to  test  the  view  by  internal  evidence. 
First  of  all,  there  is  the  heading  (i.  i),  which  states  that  Hosea 
received  divine  revelations  'in  the  days  of  Uzziah,  Jotham, 
Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  and  in  the  days  of  Jero- 
boam the  son  of  Joash,  king  of  Israel.'  The  natural  inference 
would  be  that  these  two  historical  periods  synchronized.  But 
if  anything  is  certain  in  Biblical  history,  it  is  that  Jeroboam  II. 
of  Israel  died  before  his  contemporary  Uzziah  or  Azariah  of 

1  'Elijah  the  Tishbite,  of  Tishbeh  in  Gilead',  1  Kings  xvii.  i 
(Ewald  and  Thenius,  following  the  Septuagint  and  Josephus). 

2  Lectures  on  the  Jezvish  Church,  ii    369. 

3  It  was  the  fate  of  Amos,  too,  in  Hosea's  own  country  (Am.  vii. 
10—13). 


12  INTRODUCTION. 


Judah.  We  need  not  however  accuse  the  author  of  the  heading 
of  an  error  in  calculation ;  the  heading  is  probably  a  thought- 
less combination  of  two  distinct  traditions  or  views  which  do 
not  refer  to  the  same  amount  of  prophetic  writing.  That  the 
first  three  chapters,  which  form  a  whole  in  themselves,  were 
written  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II.,  is  sufficiently  clear  from 
internal  evidence.  The  ruin  of  the  house  of  Jehu  is  still  future 
in  chap.  i.  (see  ver.  4),  and  the  picture  of  the  prosperous  condi- 
tion of  Israel  given  in  chap.  ii.  agrees  with  no  admissible  period 
but  that  of  Jeroboam  II.  Hence  the  first  part  of  the  heading 
may  reasonably  be  presumed  to  have  been  originally  prefixed  to 
the  small  prophetic  roll  containing  chaps,  i. — iii. 

As  for  the  second  part,  it  was  doubtless  intended  to  refer  to 
the  complete  book  of  Hosea ;  the  author  of  it  however  is  not  to  be 
taken  quite  at  his  word.  The  fact  that  the  book  of  Isaiah  (or  shall 
we  say,  Isa.  i. — xxxix.  ?)  is  preceded  by  a  heading  which  mentions 
the  same  four  kings  of  Judah,  suggests  that  one  and  the  same 
editor  wrote  the  heading  of  Isaiah  and  the  latter  part  of  that  of 
Hosea.  Now  it  may  be  assumed  as  practically  certain  that  the 
former  heading  (or  at  any  rate  the  chronological  part  of  it)  was 
the  work  of  a  scribe  during  the  Exile,  so  that  this  late  editor  pro- 
bably only  knew  in  a  vague  way  that  Isaiah  and  Hosea  were  more 
or  less  contemporary.  Micah  he  thought  (for  we  can  hardly  doubt 
that  he  also  wrote  Mic.  i.  i)  was  a  little  junior  to  those  two,  and 
so  he  left  out  'Uzziah'  in  the  heading  of  Micah's  book.  In  the 
case  of  Micah  we  have  seen  already  that  internal  evidence  does 
not  bear  out  a  strict  interpretation  of  the  heading,  and  it  will  be 
easy  to  prove  the  same  in  the  case  of  Hosea.  It  is  true  that 
'Shalman'  is  referred  to  in  x.  14,  and  that  Dr  Pusey  and  Mr 
Bosanquet  have  identified  this  name  with  Shalmaneser,  but  we 
shall  see  later  on  how  groundless  this  view  is;  true,  further, 
that  King  Hoshea  formed  political  relations  with  Egypt  such  as 
are  referred  to  in  vii.  11,  xii.  i,  but  a  party  friendly  to  Egypt 
must  from  the  nature  of  the  case  have  existed  before  Hoshea's 
reign ;  true,  lastly,  that  x.  5,  6,  xiii.  16  contain  detailed  predic- 
tions of  an  Assyrian  conquest  which  have  been  supposed^  to 

1  Prebendary  Huxtable,  Speaker's  Commentary,  Vol.  vi.  p.  405. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 


indicate  that  the  events  foretold  were  on  the  point  of  taking 
place,  but  the  expressions  could  just  as  well  have  been  used 
under  Pekah  or  Menahem  as  under  Hoshea,  and  xiv.  3  shows 
that  when  the  latter  chapters  were  written  the  Jews  had  not 
finally  broken  with  Assyria.  The  reigns  of  Ahaz  and  Hezekiah 
seem  therefore  to  be  out  of  the  question  as  periods  for  any  part 
of  Hosea.  There  remains,  as  a  possible  date  for  chaps,  iv. — 
xiv.,  the  reign  of  Jotham,  who  was  contemporary  with  Zecha- 
riah,  Shallum,  Menahem,  and  Pekahiah,  and  perhaps  for  two 
or  three  years  with  Pekah.  Many  have  thought  that  the  diffi- 
cult passage  viii.  10  refers  to  the  tribute  which  Menahem  paid 
to  Tiglath-Pileser^  (2  Kings  xv.  19  mentions  him  by  his  private 
name  Pul),  but  the  Hebrew  text  probably  needs  correction. 

It  is  at  any  rate  certain  that  the  picture  described  in  chaps, 
iv. — xiv.  is  one  of  alarming  national  decline  both  in  the  moral  and 
in  the  political  sphere.  In  chap.  ii.  the  prophet  had  severely 
reprimanded  the  Israelites  for  confounding  Jehovah  with  the 
Canaanitish  Baalim  (see  on  ii.  16,  17),  but  he  says  nothing  of  that 
fearful  moral  corruption  which  in  the  later  chapters  he  sees  to  be 
eating  away  the  life  of  the  nation.  Why  this  is  the  case,  is  uncer- 
tain :  it  would  be  hazardous  to  assume  that  the  corruption  did 
not  in  some  degree  exist.  If  Hosea  did  not  at  once  depict  it  in 
its  true  colours,  we  may  conjecturally  ascribe  this  either  to  the 
hopefulness  of  youth,  or  to  the  circumstance  that  the  people  of 
the  district  from  which  he  sprang  were  comparatively  pure  in 
their  morals,  owing  perhaps  to  their  remoteness  from  the  great 
centres  of  a  debasing  worship.  Can  we  support  this  latter  theory 
by  external  evidence?  It  seems  that  we  can  with  at  least  a 
reasonable  degree  of  certitude.  We  need  not  dogmatize  here 
as  to  the  composition  of  that  exquisite  love-poem  the  Song  of 
Songs,  but  we  may  at  any  rate  be  allowed  to  hold  that  the  most 
characteristic  portions  of  it  are  monuments  of  the  reign  of  Jero- 
boam II.  If  so,  it  is  evident  that  the  rustic  beauties  of  N.  Israel 
not  only  had  external  attractions,  but  also  the  'gentlest  and 

'  Tiglath-Pileser  mentions  Rasunnu  (Rezin)  of  Damascus  and  Mini- 
khimmi  (Menahem)  of  Samaria  among  his  tributaries  in  the  eighth  year 
of  his  reign,  B.C.  738  (Schrader). 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

noblest'  womanly  virtues^.  The  generally  admitted  fact  that 
the  Book  of  Hosea  contains  reminiscences  of  the  Song  of  Songs 
suggests  that  a  change  had  passed  over  Israel  since  that  poem 
(or  some  portion  of  it)  was  written,  otherwise  the  prophet  would 
clearly  stand  self-convicted  of  exaggeration.  We  may  perhaps 
ascribe  this  change  in  part  to  the  removal  of  the  vigorous  states- 
man upon  the  throne,  who  must  surely  have  recognized  the  poli- 
tical importance  of  preserving  intact  the  moral  foundations  of  the 
state  : — it  is  of  Jeroboam's  upstart  successors  that  the  prophet 
complains  that  they  took  pleasure  in  wickedness,  and  shared  in 
the  licentiousness  of  their  people  (vii.  3,  4).  And  no  wonder 
that  they  did  so,  when,  as  in  the  decline  of  the  Roman  state, 
rough  'pretorians'  seized  and  gave  away  the  crown  2.  Could  it 
be  otherwise,  when  the  tone  of  society  was  set  by  the  coarsest 
and  most  lawless  natures?  Such  was  not  a  period  in  which 
many  women  like  the  Shulamite  or  men  like  the  prophet  liosea 
could  be  expected  to  arise.  Add  to  this,  that  the  priests  found 
it  their  interest  to  encourage  vice  and  sensuality  (iv.  6 — 8),  and 
what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses  to  the  inner  necessity  of 
the  speedy  downfall  of  a  self-betrayed  state  ? 

The  concluding  years  of  the  reign  of  Jotham  saw  the  forma- 
tion of  an  alliance  between  Rezin  king  of  Syria  and  Pekah  king 
of  Israel,  based  on  the  importance  of  opposing  a  firm  front  to  the 
aggressions  of  Assyria.  They  needed  the  support  of  Judah, 
but  Jotham,  perhaps  from  religious  motives,  held  back.  Hosea 
makes  no  allusion  to  the  Syro-Israelitish  inroads  which  led  up 
to  the  great  invasion  described  in  Isa.  vii.  The  inroads  he 
might  have  passed  over  in  silence,  but  scarcely  the  invasion. 
A  reunion  of  north  and  south  was  a  part  of  his  most  cherished 
ideal  (i.  11),  but  such  a  reunion  as  was  now  threatened  he  could 
not  but  denounce  as  prematurely  involving  Judah  in  the  fate  of 
her  apostate  sister.  From  his  not  mentioning  it,  it  is  plain 
that  he  was  no  longer  prophesying,  and  it  is  for  a  similar  reason 
plain  that  no  part  of  his  book  was  written  as  late  as  the  inva- 


1  Delitzsch,  Canticles  and  Ecclesiastcs,  E.  T.,  p.  5. 

2  See  Heilprin,  Historical  Poetry  of  the  Ancient  Hebrews,  ii.  118. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 


sion  of  Gileadi  and  Naphtali  by  Tiglath-Pileser.  It  is  a  satis- 
faction to  believe  that  such  a  devoted  patriot  (if  the  word  be 
allowable)  had  closed  his  eyes  before  this  'beginning  of  pangs'— 
this  first  fulfilment  of  his  reluctant  threatening-s. 


CHAPTER   II. 

Hosed  s  do7nestic  history. — Parable  or  fact? — Chap,  ii,  alone 

afi  allegory. 

At  the  opening  of  this  essay,  a  regret  was  expressed  that  we 
had  no  such  illustrative  details  respecting  Hosea  as  in  the  case 
of  Amos.  We  have  in  fact  no  information  as  to  his  outward 
circumstances,  or  as  to  his  intercourse  with  the  different  classes  in 
the  state.  But  we  do  know  a  series  of  domestic  events  which 
Hosea  himself  viewed  as  interpretative  of  God's  purposes  for 
him,  and  as  conveying  to  him  a  clearly  defined  mission.  The 
prophet  has  himself  lifted  the  veil  from  his  home  life,  and  the 
sad  story  is  briefly  this.  In  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II.,  when  the 
nation  was  already  on  the  down-hill  road  to  moral  ruin,  Hosea 
married  a  wife  named  Gomer.  He  hoped  the  best  of  her,  there 
is  no  reason  to  think  otherwise;  but  she  proved  unworthy  of  his 
trust.  Whether  her  profligacy  showed  itself  in  simple  adultery, 
or  in  her  following  the  licentious  rites  of  the  consort  of  the 
Canaanitish   Baal   (Ashdrah)^,   we  know  not.     But   such  was 

^  In  fact,  Gilead  is  repeatedly  referred  to  as  a  part  of  N.  Israel  (see 
V.  T,  vi.  8,  xii.  11). 

2  As  Dean  Plumptre  well  remarks  [Lazarus  and  other  Poems,  p.  209), 
'The  two  sins  of  idolatry  and  sensual  licence  were  closely  intertwined.... 
It  would  be  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  every  harlot  in  Israel  was 
probably  a  votary  of  the  goddess'  (see  on  iv.  13,  14).  Asherah  (trans- 
formed by  Auth.  Vers,  into  'grove')  was,  as  most  think,  the  name  of  a 
Canaanitish  goddess,  though  some  scholars  prefer  to  regard  the  word 
as  a  noun  meaning  'pole',  the  sacred  tree  being  represented  by  a  pole 
on  or  near  the  altar.  In  any  case  the  goddess  had  such  an  artificial 
tree  or  symbol  of  a  tree  erected  near  her  altars.  Those  who  take 
Asherah  to  be  the  name  of  a  goddess  refer  to  the  Assyrian  dsir,  fern. 
dsirat  'favourable',   whence  also  probably  the  name  Asher  (a  divine 


i6  INTRODUCTION. 


Hosea's  love  for  his  wife,  and  such  perhaps  his  hope  of  reclaim- 
ing her,  that  he  took  no  legal  step  against  her,  and  acknowledged 
her  three  children  for  his  own.  At  last,  however,  Gomer  fled 
away  to  her  paramour,  but  even  then  Hosea's  love  followed  her. 
He  found  her,  as  it  would  seem,  already  despised  and  shamed  ; 
perhaps  her  paramour  had  grown  weary  of  her,  and  brutally 
sold  her  for  a  slave.  At  any  rate,  Hosea  had  to  buy  her  back 
for  the  price  of  a  slave, — 

"weeping  blinding  tears, 
I  took  her  to  myself,  and  paid  the  price 
(Strange  contrast  to  the  dowry  of  her  youth 
"When  first  I  wooed  her) ;  and  she  came  again 
To  dwell  beneath  my  roof.     Yet  not  for  me 
The  tender  hopes  of  those  departed  years, 
And  not  for  her  the  freedom  and  the  love 
I  then  bestowed  so  freely.     Sterner  rule 
Is  needed  now.     In  silence  and  alone, 
In  shame  and  sorrow,  wailing,  fast,  and  prayer, 
She  must  blot  out  the  stains  that  made  her  life 
One  long  pollution^." 

Such  is  the  stor>'  told  us  in  the  first  and  third  chapters.  There 
is  no  attempt  to  soften  the  colouring  by  half-tints ;  'rough  fresco- 
strokes,'  to  adopt  Ewald's  phrase,  seemed  perhaps  more  effec- 
tive. Besides,  it  would  have  led  some  to  accuse  Hosea  of 
egotism,  a  fault  from  which  a  prophetic  writer  must  be  con- 
spicuously free,  if  he  had  lavished  his  artistic  power  on  his  own 
tragic  history.  The  student  is,  however,  much  indebted  to  Dean 
Plumptre  for  his  strikingly  suggestive  poem,  a  few  lines  from 
which  are  quoted  above.    A  poet  as  well  as  an  expositor,  he 

name,  like  Gad).  They  also  quote  passages  in  which  an  image  of  the 
Asherah  is  spoken  of  (see  i  Kings  xv.  13;  2  Chr.  xv.  16;  2  Kings  xxi. 
7),  and  others  in  which  vessels  and  tents  for  the  Asherah  are  mentioned 
(2  Kings  xxiii.  4);  also  the  famous  phrase  in  i  Kings  xviii.  19,  'the 
prophets  of  the  Baal  and  the  prophets  of  the  Asherah.'  This  is  quite 
consistent  with  the  occasional  use  of  the  word  for  the  material  symbol 
of  the  goddess.  It  is  right  to  add  that  Hosea  does  not  mention  Asherah 
byname:  he  only  alludes  to  the  worship  of  her  (iv.  13).  But  Amos 
does  not  mention  either  Asherah  or  Baal. 
^  Plumptre,  Lazarus  Sec,  pp.  87 — 88. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 


felt  that  Hosea's  poetic  imagination  was  marked  by  spontaneity 
and  originality.  At  a  later  period  of  Hebrew  literature,  a  fic- 
titious narrative  of  this  kind  might  be  conceivable,  but  not  in 
the  still  youthful  bloom  of  lyric  poetry,  and  in  the  case  of  so  fresh 
and  original  a  poet  as  Hosea.  We  are  thus  taking  a  different 
line  from  Dr  Pusey  when  he  says,  '  There  is  no  ground  to  justify 
our  taking  as  a  parable  what  Holy  Scripture  relates  as  a  fact.' 
There  must  be  some  plausible  ground  for  it,  or  the  opinion 
rejected  by  Dr  Pusey  would  not  have  commended  itself  to  the 
majority  of  modern  commentators.  It  is  not  at  all  a  necessary 
inference  from  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  that  the  events 
described  by  Hosea  should  be  historical;  it  is  rather  an  in- 
tuition which  comes  of  itself  to  the  unbiassed  reader  who  has 
any  poetic  insight.  The  only  plausible  argument  on  the  other 
side  is  that  Hosea  seems^  when  understood  literally,  to  confess 
to  an  act  which  offends  our  moral  consciousness.  But  had 
Hosea  really  meant  this,  he  could  have  said  at  once  that  the 
bride  of  his  choice  had  been  '  a  harlot.'  He  simply  says  that 
she  was  'a  woman  of  whoredom',  which,  according  to  He- 
brew idiom,  need  only  mean  'a  woman  of  an  unchaste  dispo- 
sition'; we  must  suppose  that  he  afterwards  found  out  Gomer 
to  be  a  woman  of  the  character  described  (see  on  i.  2)  The 
inherent  difficulties  of  the  parabolic  interpretation  are  much 
greater  than  any  slight  difficulty  in  the  literalistic  one  adopted 
by  Ewald  and  Wellhausen  in  Germany,  and  by  Dr  Pusey, 
Dean  Plumptre,  and  Prof.  Robertson  Smith  in  England.  It 
is  indeed  much  to  say  after  Dean  Plumptre's  poem  that  there 
is  any  difficulty  in  the  literalistic  view,  and  if  there  be,  it  is  only 
because  the  Dean,  following  Dr  Pusey  and  early  Jewish  autho- 
rities, unfortunately  adopts  the  view  that  Hosea  deliberately 
married  a  woman  who  was,  in  the  later  Jewish  phrase,  *a  sinner,' 
with  the  view  of  reclaiming  her. 

'  To  seek  and  save  the  lost, 
Forgetful  of  my  calling  and  my  fame, 
To  call  thee  mine,  and  bring  thee  back  to  God, 
Became  the  master-passion  of  my  heart'.' 

^  Dean  Plumptre,  Lazarus  &c.,  p.  84. 
HOSEA  2 


ig  INTRODUCTION. 


The  chief  difficulties  in  the  parabolic  interpretation  are  (i)  the 
refractory  name  Gomer,  which  refuses  to  be  unlocked  by  the 
parabolic  key,  and  contrasts  so  strongly  with  the  names  of 
the  children,  and  (2)  that  this  interpretation  leaves  it  unex- 
plained how  Hosea  came  to  think  of  Jehovah's  relation  to 
Israel  as  a  marriage.  With  regard  to  (i),  M.  Reuss  exposes  the 
weakness  of  his  own  position  by  remarking,  '  II  est  fort  proba- 
ble que  ces  noms  doivent  avoir  une  signification  symbolique, 
comme  tous  les  autres  qui  vont  suivre.  Mais  nos  dictionnaires 
h^breux  n'offrent  aucun  moyen  de  la  retrouveri.'  And  with 
regard  to  (2),  as  the  present  writer  has  endeavoured  to  enforce 
elsewhere,  'Throughout  the  Old  Testament  we  detect  a  gracious 
proportion  between  the  revelation  vouchsafed  and  the  mental 
state  of  the  person  receiving  it^'  But  what  proportion  is  there 
between  this  new  and  strange  revelation  and  the  mental  state  of 
a  worshipper  of  a  Deity  as  moral  as  Baal  and  Asherah  were 
immoral?  It  was  no  doubt  the  custom  among  the  heathen 
relations  of  the  Israelites,  and  probably  among  the  semi-heathen 
Israelites,  to  speak  of  the  god  of  heaven  as  married  to  the  land^ 
But  how  came  Hosea  to  admit  so  distinctly  heathenish  a  con- 
ception within  the  circle  of  the  prophetic  rehgious  ideas .''  It  is 
not  enough  to  reply  that  '  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to'.him :' 
how  could  such  a  'word'  come  to  him,  unless  there  were  already 
some  point  of  contact  for  it  in  his  mind  ?  He  7;ius^  have  been 
prepared  by  personal  experience  to  find  a  moral  element  in  this 
conception  which  fitted  it  for  the  use  of  a  prophet  of  Jehovah. 


1  Reuss,  Les  prophltes,  i.  138.  There  is  no  strangeness  in  the  pro- 
phetic names  of  the  children  (comp.  Isa.  vii.,  viii.),  but  nothing  obliges 
us  to  assume  that  the  mother  had  one  too. 

2  The  Book  of  Isaiah  Chronologically  Arranged,  p.  22. 

3  It  is  a  remarkable  'survival'  of  this  idea  that  the  cognate  word  to 
Baal  in  Arabic  {ba'l")  means,  according  to  Lane,  'any  palm-trees,  and 
other  trees,  and  seed-produce,  not  watered  ;  or  such  as  are  watered  by 
the  rain  :  or  palm-trees  that  imbibe  with  their  roots,  and  so  need  not  to 
be  watered ',  in  short  vegetation  which  owes  nothing  to  artificial  irriga- 
tion, and  is  the  direct  product  of  the  'rain  from  heaven.'  See  below 
on  ii.  21,  22,  and  especially  Prof.  Robertson  Smith  {The  Prophets  of 
Israel,  pp.  172,  409),  who  has  thrown  much  fresh  light  on  this  part  of 
Hosea. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

Why  not,  then,  accept  Hosea's  statement  of  his  experiences  in 
its  literal  sense,  interpreting  his  phraseology,  however,  with  due 
attention  to  Hebrew  idiom  ? 

Thus  much  by  way  of  introduction  to  chaps,  i.  and  iii. ;  the 
meaning  which  the  prophet's  sad  history,  interpreted,  as  he  felt, 
by  an  inward  divine  voice,  conveyed  to  him,  will  be  seen  in  its 
full  beauty,  when  we  come  to  chaps,  iv. — xiv.  The  word  'allegory' 
or  'parable'  belongs  properly  not  to  these  chapters,  but  to 
chap,  ii.,  in  which  the  ideas  which  Hosea  had  gained  through 
his  providential  discipline  are  set  forth  in  figurative  language. 
The  position  of  this  chapter  (with  which  i.  10,  11  ought,  as  we 
shall  see,  to  be  taken)  is  remarkable.  Whether  its  contents 
represent  Hosea's  thoughts  previously  to  the  events  described 
in  chap,  iii.,  is  uncertain ;  the  chapter  may  equally  well  express 
his  later  reflexions,  and  be  simply  designed  as  a  commentary 
on  the  names  '  Lo-ruhamah'  and  '  Lo-ammi'  in  i.  6,  9. 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  second  Book  of  Hosea. — A  reproduction^  not  a  report. — 
Neither  in  chronological  nor  in  logical  order. — Heart-logic. 
— Gomer  and  Hosea  both  types. 

With  the  Messianic  promise  (taking  this  adjective  in  the 
wider  sense)  at  the  end  of  chap,  iii.,  we  have  evidently  reached 
the  close  of  one  great  portion  of  prophecy.  Chaps,  iv. — xiv.  have 
a  unity  of  their  own  :  we  might  almost  call  them  the  second  Book 
of  Hosea.  That  there  is  a  substratum  of  prophetic  oratory  is 
proved  by  the  allusions  to  facts  and  persons,  obscure  to  us  but 
clear  to  the  original  hearers  ;  in  fact,  in  ix.  i  the  motive  of  the 
discourse  is  still  perfectly  visible.  Yet  we  cannot  suppose  that 
Hosea  delivered  any  part  of  this  '  book'  in  its  present  form  ;  it 
can  only  be  a  reproduction  by  the  prophet  himself  of  the  main 
points  of  his  discourses,  partly  imaginative,  partly  on  the  basis 
of  notes.  We  might  have  looked  for  this  to  prove  a  connected 
record  of  the  state  of  things  in  Israel  from  one  definite  historical 

2 — 2 


20  INTRODUCTION. 


point  to  another.  Such  however  is  not  the  case.  Although  in 
one  respect  chap.  iv.  seems  to  justify  its  priority  (namely,  that 
Judah  is  spoken  of  more  hopefully,  ver.  15,  than  later  on),  yet 
upon  the  whole  we  cannot  say  that  the  early  chapters  belong, 
say,  to  Menahem's  reign,  and  the  later  ones  to  Pekah's.  Nor 
is  there  any  clear  evidence  of  a  designed  logical  connexion  ; 
Bishop  Lowth  even  compares  the  book  to  'sparsa  qusedam 
Sibyllse  folia.'  Pauses  there  are  from  time  to  time  in  the  pro- 
phecy (see  especially  v.  i,  viii.  i,  ix.  i,  xii.  i),  but  it  is  not  ob- 
vious that  they  mark  stages  in  the  development  of  an  argument. 
There  is  indeed  an  argument,  but  it  is  one  of  the  heart,  not 
of  the  head.  It  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  Jehovah  cannot 
be  less  loving  and  less  faithful  than  the  creatures  He  has  made. 
Bitter  domestic  experience  has  developed  in  the  prophet  the 
most  wonderful  capacity  for  unselfish  affection,  and  he  argues 
from  this  (somewhat  as  our  Lord  in  Matt.  vii.  1 1)  to  the  existence 
of  a  still  greater  passion  of  self-sacrificing  love  in  '  the  framer  of 
hearts.'  We  have  seen  how  Hosea,  after  selecting,  as  he  had 
thought,  a  bride  like  the  Shulamite  of  his  favourite  poem,  dis- 
covered to  his  unutterable  grief  that  instead  of  a  '  lily  of  the 
valleys'  (Cant.  ii.  i),  he  had  unawares 

'enfolded  in  [his]  arms 
A  lily  torn  and  trampled  in  the  mire^.' 

We  have  seen,  too,  how,  after  Gomer  had  fled  from  her  home, 
in  obedience  to  an  unchaste  impulse,  the  master-feeling  which 
that  sweet  old  poem  calls  'strong  as  Death'  and  'obstinate  as 
Sheol^'  (Cant.  viii.  6),  prompted  him  to  rescue  her  from  her  desti- 
tution, and  bring  her  home  again,  not  indeed  at  first  to  freedom, 
but  to  the  cleansing  chastisement  of  seclusion.  We  have  seen  the 
bitter  experience,  but  not  as  yet  penetrated  into  the  mystery  of 
its   meaning.     Both  Hosea's  impulses  were  according  to  the 

^  Dean  Plumptre  {Lazarus  and  other  Poems,  p.  85),  who  however 
prefixes  the  words  'I,  knowing  all',  which  imply  a  misinterpretation 
of  i.  ■2. 

2  Death  is  a  synonym  for  Sheol  or  the  Hebrew  Hades  (as  Isa.  xxviii, 
15,  18,  xxxviii.  iS).  The  Underworld  is  represented  as  having  a 
mysterious  power  of  attracting  and  swallowing  up  all  men. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 


unmistakable  will  of  God,  who  overruled  this  domestic  tragedy 
to  a  wise  and  gracious  end.  Hosea  was  to  learn  what  no  pro- 
phet had  learned  before,  and  what  no  prophet  ever  could  have 
learned  by  a  mechanical  revelation  from  without — viz.  that  the 
essence  of  the  divine  nature  was  not  justice  but  love  (comp, 
I  John  iv.  8).  Gomer  in  her  prime  of  purity  was  a  symbol 
of  Israel  whom  Jehovah  'found  as  grapes  in  the  wilderness' 
(ix.  10)  ;  in  her  unnatural  infidelity,  of  Israel  who  'went  after' 
the  Baalim  (ii.  13);  in  her  undeserved  gradual  restitution  into 
the  position  of  a  wife,  of  Israel,  first  led  aside  into  the  wilder- 
ness, and  then  taken  back  to  the  full  favour  of  an  eternally 
loving  God.  And  Hosea  in  his  mixed  and  harrowing  feelings 
towards  Gomer  is  himself  a  type  of  Jehovah.  His  loathing 
abhorrence  of  her  sin,  his  flaming  indignation  at  her  infidelity, 
and,  stronger  than  either,  his  tender  compassion  at  the  depth  of 
misery  to  which  she  has  reduced  herself,  are  but  a  reflexion  of 
Jehovah's  feelings  towards  His  people.  Hosea's  work  is  to  give 
expression  to  this  newly-found  truth. 

He  does  so  in  what  may  be  called  in  the  main  a 
lyric  monologue  of  Jehovah  Himself.  He  has  no  occasion 
to  say,  'Thus  saith  the  Lord^'  Without  referring  to  any  past 
revelation  and  clothing  it  in  self-chosen  words,  he  feels  and 
knows  that  the  words  which  well  up  from  his  heart  ade- 
quately express  the  feelings  of  the  divine  Heart.  Gomer  in 
fact  is  not  merely  an  emblem  ;  she  is  a  representative.  As 
Gomer  has  erred,  so  Israel  as  a  nation  has  erred.  Gomer 
was  unchaste  and,  it  would  seem,  a  devotee  of  Ashdrah ;  so 
were  too  many  others  of  the  women  of  Israel,  while  the  kindred 
worship  of  Baal  or  Baal-Jehovah  absorbed  the  religious  feelings 
of  the  men.  Hosea,  who  has  learned  to  'know  Jehovah  ',  is  cut 
to  the  quick  by  such  apostasy  ;  he  spares  no  detail  of  the 
abominations  that  are  committed  ;  with  a  kind  of  grieved  sur- 
prise he  puts  before  the  people  the  inevitable  punishment,  but 
when  he  has  fully  realized  the  awful  nature  of  the  doom,  he 
melts  with  pity,  and  recalls  the  woe  (see  xiii.  13 — xiv.  i)-.     His 

^  This  formula  occurs  only  once  in  chaps,  iv. — xiv.;  see  xi.  i  r. 

2  In  his  flow  of  sympathy  towards  the  object  of  the  judgment  Hosea 


22  INTRODUCTION. 


feelings  are  those  which  are  natural  to  a  pure-minded  worship- 
per of  Jehovah,  trained  in  the  high  thoughts  of  prophetic  re- 
ligion ;  but  they  also  correspond,  as  an  inner  voice  assures 
Hosea,  to  what  may  analogously  be  called  the  feelings  of  Je- 
hovah, who  has  prepared  His  servant  in  so  exceptional  a  way 
to  think  in  unison  with  Himself.  A  fitter  person  than  Hosea 
surely  could  not  be  found  to  be  Israel's  prophet  in  the  gathering 
storm.  Knowing  Jehovah's  'secret'  (Am.  iii.  7),  he  could  be 
faithful  to  Him  without  being  untrue  to  Israel.  Next  to  Jeho- 
vah, he  loves  his  country  and  his  wife  with  a  clinging,  inextin- 
guishable love.  But  only  next  to  Jehovah  ;  for  Hosea  knows 
that  all  relationship  is  rooted  in  Him,  and  that  both  the  people 
of  Israel  (xi.  i)  and  each  individual  Israelite  (i.  10)  are  before 
everything  else  ideally  Jehovah's  sons.  If  we  cannot  therefore 
strictly  call  him  a  patriot,  we  can  at  any  rate  say  that  he  has 
something  higher  than  even  patriotism — an  enthusiasm  for  that 
'pearl  of  great  price'  described  by  the  phrase  'the  divine 
sonship  of  Israel' 


CHAPTER   IV. 

The  five  leading  ideas  of  the  prophecy. —  {a)  Iinjnorality  of  the 
northern  ki7igdont. — {b)  Sinfilness  of  the  idolatrous  Jehovah- 
worship  and  of  the  co7ifusio7i  of  Jehovah  and  Baal. — if) 
Sififulftess  of  IsraePs  foreigti  policy. — {d)  Sinfuhiess  of  the 
separate  kingdom  of  Israel. — {e)  The  conception  of  love  as 
the  bo7id  betwee7t  Jehovah  a7id  Is7'ael,  a7id  betwee7i  the  i7idi- 
vidual  Israelites. — Hosea  co7npared  with  prophets  befo7-e 
and  after  hi7n. — No  personal  Messiah  i7i  Hosea. 

To  summarize  the  contents  of  the  book  before  us  is  a  pecu- 
liarly difficult  task,  systematic  order  being  more  alien  to  Hosea 
than  perhaps  to  any  other  prophet.     Still  an  incomplete  sketch 

is  only  exceeded  by  the  unknown  author  of  the  early  prophecy  on  Moab 
in  Isa.  XV.,  xvi.,  adopted  by  Isaiah  (see  Isa.  xvi.  13).  The  latter  too 
M'as  possibly  a  N.  Israelite,  to  judge  from  his  minute  acquaintance  with 
Moabitish  topography. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 


may  be  attempted,  {a)  It  will  be  noticed  at  once  what  a  large 
part  of  his  book  is  taken  up  with  lamentations  over  the  general 
immorality  of  the  Israelites,  which  appears  (comparing  the 
statements  of  Amos  and  Hosea  with  those  of  the  prophets  of 
Judah)  to  have  been  more  glaring  than  that  which  at  any  time 
prevailed  in  the  south.  The  Israelites  of  the  north  seem,  in 
fact,  to  have  admitted  a  larger  Canaanite  element  than  those  of 
the  south,  who  had  received  a  considerable  infusion  of  Arab 
bloods  Not  that  Hosea  altogether  neglects  the  moral  state  of 
Judah.  At  first  he  gives  a  more  favourable  verdict  of  her  than 
of  the  sister-country  (i.  6,  7,  comp.  iv.  15),  but  later  on  strong 
complaints  of  her  misconduct  are  incidentally  made — complaints, 
through  which  we  can  hear  the  pulsations  of  a  loving  heart 
(v.  10 — 13,  vi.  4,  xi.  12).  Hosea,  therefore,  like  all  the  'goodly 
fellowship',  is  a  preacher  of  morality.  He  represents  Jehovah 
as  saying, 

'For  I  delight  in  love,  and  not  in  sacrifice, 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  God  more  than  in  burnt-offerings'  (vi.  6); 

and  whatever  the  precise  meaning  of  'love'  may  be  (on  which 
see  some  pages  further  on),  'love  to  man'  must  be,  even  if  only 
indirectly,  referred  to,  just  as  the  '  knowledge  of  God '  includes 
the  imitation  of  God  (as  Jer.  xxii.  16).  It  was  the  sacred  duty 
of  the  priests,  according  to  Hosea,  to  teach  a  morality  based 
upon  pure  religion  (iv.  6) ;  instead  of  which,  they  only  promoted 
a  worship  which  infallibly  developed  into  at  least  one  form  of 
gross  immorality,  and  welcomed  the  spread  of  iniquity,  because 
the  consequent  sin-offerings  were  profitable  to  themselves  (v.  i, 
iv.  8).  They  even  took  the  lead  in  outraging  the  law  (vi.  9),  and 
the  prophet  tells  us  soon  after,  that  even  the  king  and  the 
princes  took  an  unnatural  delight  in  the  general  licence  (vii.  3). 
So  true  was  that  which  Isaiah,  perhaps  at  this  very  time,  said  of 
the  northern  kingdom, 

'And  they  that  lead  this  people  cause  them  to  err, 
and  they  that  are  led  of  them  are  destroyed'  (Isa.  ix.  16). 

^  Prof  Robertson  Smith,  The  Prophets  of  Israel,  p.  201. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

{b)  Hosea  does  not,  however,  delude  himself  with  the  idea 
that  preaching  will  of  itself  convert  his  brethren.  He  knows  but 
too  well  that  their  errors  in  morality  have  sprung  from  their 
'backsliding'  in  religion,  in  a  word,  from  their  idolatry  (evidence 
of  which  still  exists  in  the  oldest  Israelitish  seals).  And  hence 
one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Hosea  is  his  mcessant  pole- 
mic against  the  worship — not  of  the  Phoenician  Baal,  which 
had  been  put  down  by  Jehu — but  of  the  small  plated  images  of  a 
bull,  which  were  the  symbols  of  Jehovah  in  the  local  sanctuaries 
of  the  north  (i  Kings  xii.  28,  comp.  Ex.  xxxii.  4,  5).  Even  Amos 
has  not  a  word  to  say  against  these  images,  whereas  Hosea 
flatly  denies  that  there  is  any  divine  power  behind  them  (viii. 
5,  6)  and  describes  them  as  the  source  of  all  the  varied  evils 
which  are  ruining  the  community.  And  the  longer  he  lived,  the 
more  convinced  of  this  he  became.  In  chap,  ii.,  as  we  have  seen, 
he  does  not  refer  to  the  corrupting  effect  upon  morals  of  the 
popular  religion,  but  chaps,  iv. — xiv.  are  full  of  it.  The  corrup- 
tion was  doubtless  growing  deeper  every  year.  The  God  of 
Israel,  through  being  addressed  as  Baal  (ii.  16),  w^ confounded 
with  the  local  divinities  of  the  Canaanites^  and  the  moral 
influence  of  the  old  Jehovah-worship  was  lost.  Indeed,  the 
Baal-cultus  itself,  in  which  the  Jehovah-cultus  was  now  practi- 
cally merged,  was  descending  in  the  scale  of  religions.  The 
Israelites  were  no  longer  in  the  stage  of  naive  faith,  and  so  could 
not  recognize  the  old  nature-worship  in  its  original  significance. 
They  were  formalists  of  the  worst  kind,  because  the  meaning  of 
their  forms  had  never  been  a  high  and  elevating  one.  And 
besides  this,  the  still  grosser  form  of  Baal-cultus  introduced  by 
the  Tyrian  princess^  Jezebel  probably  had  a  baleful  effect  on  the 
native  religion,  since  its  persecuted  adherents  would  become 

1  The  Israelites  considered  themselves  Jehovah-worshippers  (viii.  1 3, 
ix.  4,  5).  But  the  prophet  quietly  calls  the  local  Jehovah-Baals  'other 
gods'  (iii.  i),  and  says  that  in  her  feast-days  Israel  'forgat  me'  (ii.  13; 
comp.  11). 

-  Comparing  i  Kings  xvi.  31  with  Menander  in  Josephus  Antiq. 
viii.  13,  2  and  Contra  Apion.  i.  18,  we  may  infer,  with  Ewald  [History, 
iv.  39)  that  Jezebel  was  the  daughter  of  Ethbaal  king  of  Tyre,  who  had 
formerly  been  a  priest  of  Astarte. 


INTRODUCTION.  25 


fused  with  those  of  the  latter,  and  would  bring  their  gross  prac- 
tices and  licentious  spirit  with  them.  (On  the  whole  subject  of 
the  popular  rehgion  of  N.  Israel,  see  commentary  on  ii.  13,  16, 
21,  22). 

{c)  One  proof  of  the  formalism  of  the  Jehovah-Baal  worship 
(though  it  is  a  proof,  as  we  shall  see,  of  something  else  besides) 
is  the  want  of  faith  in  the  protecting  care  of  its  deity  shown  by 
the  north-Israelitish  people.  We  must  first  of  all  ascertain 
Hosea's  judgment  on  this  point,  and  then  explain  in  what  sense 
we  can  adopt  it.  Not  only,  says  the  prophet,  has  '  Ephraim' 
deserted  Jehovah,  but  he  has  also  'hired  loves  among  the 
nations'  (viii.  9,  10).  This  is  an  expression  for  the  attempts  of 
the  rulers  to  bribe  the  favour  of  their  powerful  neighbours  Egypt 
and  Assyria  (see  v.  13,  vii.  11,  viii,  9,  10,  xii.  i,  xiv.  3,  and  comp. 
^2  Kings  xvii.  4).  In  fact,  there  seem  to  have  been  two  factions 
':n  the  northern  as  well  as  probably  in  the  southern  kingdom 
(Isa.  XXX.  I — 7,  xxxi.  i — 3,  comp.  2  Kings  xvi.  7),  the  one  devoted 
to  Assyria,  the  other  to  Egypt.  Hosea  was  equally  opposed  to 
both.  Like  Dante,  he  thought  it  an  honour  *to  have  formed  a 
party  by  himself  alone ^'  Hosea  denounces  the  policy  of  the 
rulers  as  not  merely  a  sin  but  a  blunder.  To  trust  in  chariots 
and  horses  in  preference  to  Jehovah,  who  was  '  their  God  from 
the  land  of  Egypt'  (xii.  9,  xiii.  4),  is  the  part  of  'a  silly  dove 
without  understanding'  (vii.  11).  To  coquet  with  the  neighbour- 
ing empires  will  too  surely  lead  to  enforced  expatriation.  Egypt 
a.nd  Assyria  (such  perhaps  is  the  prophet's  meaning,  comp.  Isa. 
vii.  18,  19)  shall  fight  for  the  land  of  Israel,  and  shall  each  carry 
part  of  the  inhabitants  into  captivity.  Instead  of  the  gentle 
yoke  of  Jehovah,  so  touchingly  described  in  the  words — 

'  I  was  unto  them  as  they  that  lift  up  the  yoke  over  their  cheeks, 
and  I  bent  towards  him  and  gave  him  food '  (xi.  4), 

the  Israelites  shall  pass  under  the  tyranny  of  aliens, — 
'  He  shall  return  unto  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  Asshur — he  shall  be  his  king, 
because  they  have  refused  to  return  '  (xi.  5). 


Paradise,  xvii.  69. 


26  INTRODUCTION. 


Such  is  Hosea's  judgment  on  the  'folly'  of  the  Israelites,  and 
his  prophetic  intuition  of  its  inevitable  consequences.  He  ex- 
presses himself  with  a  condensation  which  may  obscure  to  some 
readers  the  real  kernel  of  his  thought.  What  he  really  means 
we  have  to  divine  from  our  knowledge  of  his  religious  position. 
We  must  remember  that  the  Jehovah  of  the  N.  Israehtes  was 
very  different  from  the  Jehovah  of  Hosea,  and  that  he  had  now 
sunk  to  the  level  of  the  Canaanitish  Baal.  The  necessary  con- 
sequence, at  that  stage  of  the  Baal-worship,  was  formalism ;  and 
when  to  this  was  added  the  surprising  successes  of  the  Assyrians, 
whose  warfare  was  avowedly  in  part  directed  against  foreign 
deities  as  well  as  foreign  nations \  we  cannot  be  surprised  that 
the  Israelites  began  to  distrust  the  protecting  care  of  their  god. 
Logically,  therefore,  the  'folly' of  the  Israelites  consisted,  not  in 
making  terms  with  Assyria,  but  in  accepting  a  corrupt  form  of 
the  worship  of  Jehovah,  which  could  no  more  inspire  courage 
than  the  love  of  goodness,  and  therefore  doomed  its  adherents 
to  a  rapid  national  decline. 

{d)  Another  leading  idea  in  this  prophecy  is  one  very  closely 
connected  with  those  already  mentioned,  viz.  the  sinfulness  of 
the  separate  kingdom  of  Israel.  Hosea  has  a  remarkably  clear 
view  of  the  different  aspects  of  the  'schism',  and  represents 
Jehovah  as  saying — 

'  I  give  thee  kings  in  mine  anger, 
and  take  them  away  in  my  wrath'  (xiii.  ii). 

In  one  sense,  then,  the  separate  kingdom  of  Israel  was  justifiable ; 
in  another  it  was  not.  It  must  be  confessed,  however,  that  the 
latter  aspect  is  predominant  in  Hosea's  mind  (comp.  viii.  4), 
whereas  the  former  is  exclusively  present  to  the  narrator  in 
I   Kings  xi.  29,  comp.  2  Chron.  xi.  4  (see  further  note  on  i.  4). 

^  Sargon  says  in  his  Annals,  'I  counted  all  the  armies  of  the  god 
Assur,  and  I  marched  against  these  towns ',  and  carries  captive  not 
only  men  but  gods  ;  he  brings  countries  into  subjection  not  merely  to 
himself  but  to  Assur  {Records  of  the  Past,  vii.  25 — 26).  Esarhaddon's 
Annals  contain  the  remarkable  statement  that,  after  taking  away  the 
gods  of  the  Arabs,  he  wrote  the  mighty  deeds  of  'Assur  my  lord' 
upon  them,  and  also  his  own  name,  and  sent  them  back  repaired 
(Budge,  The  History  of  Esa7-haddon,  p.  57). 


INTRODUCTION.  27 


The  ground  for  Hosea's  severe  view  is  that  he  feels  pure  religion 
to  be  the  safeguard  of  the  national  existence.  As  no  compromise 
IS  allowable  between  Jehovah  and  Baal,  so  there  should  be  no 
opposition  to  the  divinely  sanctioned  house  of  David.  A  rival 
dynasty  involves  a  rival  deity,  as  Hosea  expressly  says  in  viii.  4. 
The  Israelites  might  regard  themselves  as  worshippers  of  Jeho- 
vah, but  the  prophet  contradicts  this  without  scruple  in  the  fol- 
lowing verses  (viii.  5,  6).  He  certainly  yearned  for  the  healing  of 
the  'schism'  by  a  Davidic  king,  and  speaks  in  his  earlier 
prophecy  (iii.  5)  as  if  Providence  were  leading  in  this  direction. 
The  event  proved  that  he  was  too  hopeful,  but  the  fact  that  he 
left  his  early  work  unaltered,  shows  what  a  mistake  it  is  to  insist 
too  much  on  a  literal  fulfilment  of  every  detail  of  prophecy, 
particularly  in  Hosea  the  most  lyrical  and  the  least  reflective  of 
all  the  prophets,  who  evidently  uses  prediction,  just  as  he  uses 
upbraidings  and  threatenings,  partly  to  relieve  his  own  over- 
wrought feelings,  partly  to  move  his  people  to  a  timely  repent- 
ance. As  Prebendary  Huxtable  remarks, 'The  style  very  often 
assumes  the  form  of  prediction  ;  but  this  form  is  probably  for 
the  most  part  adopted,  rather  as  an  engine  of  persuasion,  than 
as  an  absolute  foretelling  of  what  was  about  to  happen^'  No 
doubt  some  of  Hosea's  particular  predictions  have  been  fulfilled, 
but  we  have  no  right  to  assume  that  the  prophet  himself 
attached  more  importance  to  these  predictions  than  to  others. 
The  truth  is  that  he  has  no  fixed  view  respecting  the  future  of 
Judah,  much  less  about  the  reunion  of  the  two  kingdoms.  In 
i.  6,  7  he  contrasts  the  mercy  not  extended  to  Israel  with  the 
mercy  extended  to  Judah,  but  in  vi.  11  (comp.  v.  5,  14,  viii.  14, 
X.  ii,xii.  2),  he  points  to  a  'harvest'  of  retribution  for  Judah 
similar  to  that  destined  for  Israel;  and  if  in  i.  11  he  antici- 
pates the  healing  of  the  '  schism',  yet  in  chap.  xiv.  his  radiant 
description  of  the  future  contains  not  a  line  of  hope  for  Judah. 

(e)  And  now,  to  complete  this  brief  sketch,  a  conception  has 
to  be  described  which  is  the  highest  and  deepest,  and  therefore 
the  most  fundamental,  in  the  book.     As  Professor   Davidson 

^  Speaker's  Commentary,  vol.  vi.  p.  405. 


28  INTRODUCTION. 


has  shown  ^.  all  the  other  conceptions  which  have  been  mentioned 
admit  of  being  derived  from  this.  We  need  not  however  con- 
clude that  it  was  the  first  to  be  developed  in  the  mind  of  Hosea, 
but  only  that  when  Providence  caused  it  to  germinate,  it 
strengthened  his  hold  on  every  other  truth.  We  have  already 
spoken  of  it  by  anticipation  as  'a  newly-found  truth'  (p.  21), 
because  though  it  is  also  prominent  in  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy, 
there  is  no  satisfactory  evidence  that  that  remarkable  book  was 
generally  known  in  the  age  of  Hosea.  It  is  the  truth  '  that  love 
is  the  highest  attribute  of  God  ;  so  that  a  man  should  love  God, 
and  from  love  to  Him  keep  all  His  commandments,  because  God 
first  loved  him^;  which  easily  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  a  man 
ought  in  like  manner  to  love  his  fellow  man^'  These  words  of 
Ewald,  written  with  reference  to  Deuteronomy,  are  equally 
applicable  to  Hosea,  though  a  slight  inaccuracy  seems  to  need 
correction^.  The  duty  of  brotherly  love  is  not,  either  in  Hosea 
or  in  Deuteronomy,  an  inference  from  the  fact  that  Israel  has 
been  first  loved  by  God;  it  is  rather  a  condition  of  the  individual 
Israelite's  participation  in  that  love.  The  stream  of  Jehovah's 
love  flows  forth  to  Israel  as  a  community^ ;  he  who  would  drink 
of  this  stream  must  prove  his  right  by  proving  his  membership 
in  the  community,  which  can  only  be  done  by  showing  love  to 
his  brother- Israelites.  It  would  be  still  more  accurate  to  say 
that  the  true  Israelite  is  one  who  loves  both  his  fellow-Israelites 
and  Jehovah  of  his  own  accord,  just  as  Jehovah  of  His  own 
accord  loved  Israel  (ix.   10,  xi.   i,  comp.  xiv.  4)^.     All  human 

1  The  Expositor,  1879,  p.  258  &c. 

2  'See  Deut.  vi.  4 — 9,  vii.  6 — 11;  further,  xi.  i,  x.  15,  xxiii.  6, 
with  X.  12,  13,  xix.  9,  and  at  the  close  xxx.  6 — 20.' 

3  'Deut.  X.  18,  19.' 

^  History  of  Isj'ad,  iv.  223.  It  seems  clear  that  the  commands  to 
love  Jehovah  in  Deuteronomy  are  addressed  to  Israel,  not  to  the  indi- 
vidual Israelite. 

*  Prof.  Davidson  well  says,  *  Throughout  the  prophets,  who  are 
statesmen  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  the  person  or  subject  with  whom 
Jehovah  enters  into  relations  is  always  the  community  of  Israel'  {The 
Expositor,  1879,  p.  25S). 

^  *  Loyalty  and  kindness  between  man  and  man  are  not  duties  in- 
ferred from  Israel's  relation  to  Jehovah,  they  are  parts  of  that  relation  ; 


INTRODUCTION.  29 


relationships  within  the  Israelitish  community  are  rooted  in  the 
primal  love  of  Jehovah  to  Israel;  Hosea  learned  this  truth  in 
the  school  of  Providence,  and  he  implies  it  in  all  his  moral 
teaching.  It  is  this  primal  love,  however,  which  fills  the  fore- 
ground of  Hosea's  prophecies.  His  highest  aim  is  to  set  forth 
its  moral  nature,  as  opposed  to  the  altogether  non-moral  and 
quasi-physical  union  supposed  to  exist  between  a  heathen  deity 
and  his  worshippers.  Jehovah  is  not  more  loving  than  righteous. 
His  union  with  His  people  may  be,  must  be  indestructible,  but 
this  is  because  (to  quote  Israel's  great  eulogy  of  love  once  more) 
'  love  is  strong  as  Death',  and  therefore  must  be  able  to  com- 
mand a  response  of  love  in  its  own  object  (comp.  ii.  15,  'she  shall 
respond  there'  &c.).  The  IsraeHtes  must  one  day  feel  a  love 
to  Jehovah  which  is  not  merely  as  a  'morning-cloud'  (vi.  4),  and 
Hosea  exhausts  the  resources  of  his  art  in  picturing  this  delight- 
ful future  (chap.  xiv.).  The  sin  of  individuals  cannot  hinder 
Jehovah's  mercy  to  the  nation ;  only  if  the  actual  nation  persists 
in  forsaking  His  law,  it  will  have  to  pass  through  a  very 
hurricane  of  cleansing  judgment  (xiii.  15). 

Such  being  the  principal  idea  of  the  book,  can  we  be  sur- 
prised that  the  chief  speaker  is  Jehovah  Himself.'*  There  was  no 
conscious  striving  after  effect  on  Hosea's  part,  but  had  he  only 
professed  to  report  a  message  from  Jehovah,  how  cold  by  com- 
parison would  his  words  have  left  us !  '  God  only  knows  the  love 
of  God',  and  if  the  words  of  the  prophecy  are  stamped  with  the 
genius  of  Hosea,  they  are  none  the  less  truthful  revelations  of 
the  divine  Heart.  The  delicacy  of  the  prophet's  phraseology  is 
worthy  of  note.  Though  he  does  not  shrink  from  using  one  of 
the  ordinary  words  for  'to  love'  in  describing  Jehovah's  relation 
to  Israel  (xi.  i),  yet  the  word  which  gives  the  tone  as  it  were  to 
the  book  is  one  with  a  distinctly  moral  tinge — khised.  As  is 
explained  in  the  note  on  iv.  6,  this  word  has  a  threefold  applica- 
tion, and  can  be  used  of  the  relation  of  God  to  man,  of  man  to 
God,  and  of  a  man  to  his  neighbour.     It  is  assumed  that  the 

love  to  Jehovah  and  love  to  one's  brethren  in  Jehovah's  house  are 
identical  (compare  iv.  i  with  vi.  4,  6).'  Robertson  Smith,  The  Prophets 
of  Israel,  p.  102. 


INTRODUCTION. 


giver  and  the  receiver  of  khdsed  are  united  by  a  bond  of  moral 
obligation,  and  in  the  three  passages  in  which  the  word  occurs 
in  Deuteronomy  (v.  lo,  vii.  9,  12),  the  idea  of  a  covenant  or  con- 
tract is  either  expressed  or  (as  in  v.  10)  implied.  This  idea  is 
not  indeed  completely  developed  in  Hosea's  mind  (see  on  vi.  7, 
vii.  i),  but  he  knows  full  well  that  there  is  a  moral  bQndjDC- 
tween  Jehovah  and  Israel,  comparable  to  the  relation  of  a  Juis- 
band  to  a  wife  (as  especially  in  chaps,  i. — iii.),  or  of  a  father  to 
a  son  (as  xi.  i,  3,  8,  xiii.  13,  comp.  i.  io)\  though  since  Jehovah 
is  'God  and  not  man'  (xi.  9),  higher  than  either,  because  free 
from  all  earthly  taint.  The  word  occurs  six  times  in  Hosea  in 
its  various  senses 2,  and,  as  has  been  hinted  already,  it  is  now 
and  then  slightly  difficult  to  define  its  meaning.  The  point  to 
remember  is  that  by  adopting  this  word  (which  is  not  used  once 
by  the  sterner  prophet  Amos)  Hosea  impresses  the  idea  that 
Jehovah's  love  to  Israel,  keen  as  it  is,  has  a  moral  foundation. 
The  Psalmists  took  up  both  the  idea  and  the  expression ;  where 
the  Auth.  Vers,  renders  'saint',  the  Hebrew  generally  has  khdstd, 
loving  or  pious  one.  In  one  psalm  it  is  interesting  to  observe 
that  'my  pious  ones'  is  explained  in  the  parallel  line  by  'those 
that  have  made  a  covenant  with  me'  (Ps.  1.  5),  which  confirms 
the  view  of  khesed  taken  above. 

These  are  the  five  leading  ideas  of  the  prophecy  of  Hosea. 
They  are  covered  over  with  the  flowers  of  poetic  imagery,  and 
the  student  might  have  missed  the  salient  points  of  the  book 
without  thus  much  of  guidance.  It  will  be  seen  that  we  owe  a 
precious  truth  to  Hosea,  and  that  his  book  marks  a  fresh  stage 
in  the  slow  progress  of  revelation.  Compare  him  with  Amos 
who  prophesied  but  a  few  decades  earlier.     Amos  had  a  keen 

^  This,  like  the  former,  corresponds  to  a  heathen  Semitic  conception ; 
see  Num.  xxi.  29,  where  the  Moabites  are  described  as  'sons'  of 
Chemosh.  Prof.  W.  Wright  has  pointed  out  similar  instances  of  the 
use  of  'son'  for  'worshipper'  in  Syriac  proper  names,  e.g.  Bar-Hadad, 
Bar-laha,  Bar-Ba'-shSmin,  in  which  the  second  name  of  the  compound 
is  the  appellation  of  the  deity  (Hadad,  AlahajjH[^l-sh$m!n)  specially 
worshipped  by  the  person  so  named.  TrataKhns  of  the  Soc.  of 
Biblical  Archceology,  vi.  438.  •S^'  - 

-  See  ii.  21,  iv.  i,  vi.  4,  6,  x.  12,  xii.  7. 


INTRODUCTION.  31 


sense  of  justice,  and  rightly  transfers  this  attribute  to  Jehovah, 
but  he  had  not  that  wonderful  intuition  of  the  milder  side  of  the 
divine  nature  which  we  find  in  Hosea,  Amos  thinks  of  Jehovah 
as  the  king  of  Israel  and  her  judge;  Hosea  as  her  Husband 
and  her  Father.  Amos  again  expresses  no  dread  of  the  reli- 
gious symbolism  prevalent  in  N.  Israel;  like  Elijah  and  Elisha, 
he  lets  the  'golden  calves'  pass  without  a  word  of  protest. 
Hosea  feels  that  those  gross  animal  symbols  distract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  worshippers  from  those  moral  attributes  in  which 
Jehovah  delights  most  to  be  known.  We  need  not  then  be  sur- 
prised that,  having  achieved  so  much,  he  falls  short  in  various 
ways  of  the  attainments  of  his  successors,  {a)  If  he  equals 
Jeremiah  in  tenderness,  he  is  inferior  to  him  in  moral  depth. 
He  has  no  conception  of  the  relation  of  Jehovah  to  the  indivi- 
dual soul,  apart  from  the  nation,  and  therefore  no  presentiment 
of  Jeremiah's  profound  idea  of  the  new  covenant.  Again  {b), 
he  does  not  succeed  like  Isaiah  and  (still  more)  Jeremiah  in 
expressing  his  latent  consciousness  of  the  unity  of  God  (comp. 
on  i.  10,  ii.  10).  As  a  rule,  like  Amos,  he  speaks  of  Jehovah  as 
the  national  God  of  the  Israelites  (comp.  iii.  4,  5,  ix.  3),  and 
only  perhaps  once  crosses  the  line  which  separates  monolatry 
(or  the  acknowledgment  of  one  God  as  the  national  patron) 
and  monotheism,  viz.  when  he  says  that  the  converted  Israelites 
shall  be  called  'sons  of  the  living  God'  (i.  10)^,  implying  appa- 
rently that  the  other  so-called  gods  were  'dead'  (in  the  sense  of 
Ps.  cvi.  28).  And  (^r)  although  it  is  clear  from  iii.  4  that  Hosea 
(at  least  at  one  time)  hoped  great  things  from  a  future  Davidic 
prince,  yet  there  is  wanting  that  touch  of  mystery  and  passion- 
ate emotion  which  we  find  in  Isaiah's  two  great  prophecies  of 
(to  use  the  later  phrase)  the  Messiah.  It  is  true  that  a  scholar 
as  accurate  as  he  is  orthodox  (Delitzsch)  thinks  that  'David'  in 
the  passage  referred  to  means  '  a  king  who  is  the  antitype  and 


^  One  is  tempted  to  quote  xiii.  4,  but  though  the  conclusion  may 
seem  to  point  to  monotheism,  the  preceding  words  are  only  a  strong 
expression  of  monolatry.  The  belief  that  Jehovah  is  higher  than  all 
other  divinities  ('<?/  ^elyon)  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  no  other  gods 
have  a  real  existence. 


32  INTRODUCTION. 


descendant  of  David  i.'  But  since  no  stress  is  laid  on  the  cha- 
racter of  the  king,  and  in  i.  ii  he  is  merely  spoken  of  as  a 
'head',  it  seems  better  to  explain  the  term  on  the  analogy  of 
I  Kings  xii.  6,  and  to  leave  the  prophet  of  Immanuel  in  his  un- 
approached  originality.  Thus  Hosea,  to  whom  kingship  is  not 
the  most  congenial  idea,  merely  maintains,  and  that  without 
any  emphasis,  the  position  already  won  by  Amos  (ix.  ii,  12) 
that  the  family  of  David,  now  shorn  of  so  much  of  its  glor>', 
shall  yet  stand  at  the  head  of  a  reunited  and  victorious  nation-. 


CHAPTER   V. 

His  style. — His  taicoiiiiectedness. — His  love  of  figures. — Has 
the  language  of  his  book  been  retouched? — Literary  i?ifiu- 
ences  to  which  Hosea  was  subject. — Did  he  kfiow  the  Pen- 
tateuch?— His  01091  testimony  to  the  existence  of  written 
laws. — Parallelisi7is  in  Hosea  and  the  Pentatetcch. — Hosed s 
literary  influence  on  later  writers. — Are  the  New  Testa- 
me?it  references  to  Hosea  to  be  accepted  as  regulative  of 
critical  exegesis  ? 

The  proverb,  'le  style  c'est  I'homme',  is  peculiarly  true  of 
Hosea.  His  genius  especially  fitted  him  for  lyric  poetry,  and 
in  more  favourable  circumstances  and  with  more  artistic  cul- 
ture he  might  have  produced  the  most  admirable  psalms  and 
elegies.  Duty  however  compelled  him  to  'hang  up  his  harp' 
and  preach  to  a  perverse  generation.  How  he  preached,  we 
can  hardly  judge  from  his  book,  which  is  anything  but  a  verbal 
reproduction  of  discourses  actually  delivered ;  but  we  may  fairly 
surmise  that  his  preaching  would  have  seemed  ineffective  by 

^  Messianic  Prophecies.,  translated  by  Curtiss  (1880),  pp.  60,  61. 

2  Neither  Amos  nor  Hosea  speaks  of  a  Davidic  world-empire;  their 
outlook  into  the  future  is  purely  national.  In  Am.  xi.  12  we  should 
render  'and  all  the  nations  {7iot,  heathen)  which  have  been  {uot,  are) 
called  by  my  name.'  The  prophet  means  that  the  empire  of  David 
should  one  day  be  restored  in  its  fullest  extent. 


INTRODUCTION.  33 


the  side  of  that  of  Amos.  It  was  not  so  much  the  mere  chill  of 
neglect  (for  Amos  suffered  equally  from  this)  as  the  emotional 
distress  caused  by  his  message  of  woe  that  choked  his  utter- 
ance and  brought  confusion  into  his  style.  The  prize  of  the 
orator  and  the  lyric  poet  he  left  to  others,  but  could  not  disown 
the  gift  of  song  with  which  God  had  endowed  him.  As  Ewald 
remarks,  'in  its  free  outbursts  the  discourse  [sometimes]  ap- 
proaches to  the  nature  of  lyric  poetry^',  though  few  will  follow  that 
great  scholar  in  his  strophic  arrangement  of  the  book:  the 
transitions  of  thought  in  Hosea  are  too  abrupt  to  be  brought 
into  a  scheme  of  such  an  artificial  order.  'Exhaustless  is  the 
sorrow',  as  Ewald  elsewhere  says,  'endless  the  grief  wherever 
the  mind  turns,  and  ever  and  anon  the  tossing  restless  discourse 
begins  again,  like  the  wild  cry  of  an  anguish  that  can  hardly  be 
mastered  2.'  Symmetrical  divisions,  then,  such  as  we  can  easily 
make  in  the  oratorical  prophet  Amos,  are  out  of  the  question. 
There  is  but  rarely  a  distinct  connexion,  except  in  the  tone  of 
feeling,  even  between  one  verse  and  another.  As  St  Jerome 
remarked  long  ago,  'Osee  commaticus  est  [is  broken  up  into 
clauses]  et  quasi  per  sententias  loquens^';  or,  in  the  words  of 
Dr  Pusey,  '  each  verse  forms  a  whole  for  itself,  like  one  heavy 
toll  in  a  funeral  knell ^.'  Even  the  fetters  of  grammar  are 
almost  too  much  for  Hosea's  vehement  feehng;  inversions  (vii.  8, 
ix.  II,  13,  xii.  8,  and  perhaps  xiv.  9),  anacolutha  (ix.  6,  xii.  8  &c.), 
and  ellipses  (ix.  4,  xiii.  9  &c.)  are  especially  frequent  in  his  pro- 
phecy. Parallelism,  which  is  elsewhere  so  prominent  in  poet- 
ical and  rhetorical  language,  and  which  is  often  so  great  a  help 
to  the  interpreter,  is  feebly  represented;  Hosea's  rhythm  is  the 
artless  rhythm  of  sighs  and  sobs.  It  is  remarkable,  however, 
that,  unlike  Jeremiah,  he  can  take  bold  poetic  flights  in  the 
midst  of  his  grief.  His  figures  are  full  of  suggestiveness.  Thus 
he  compares  Jehovah  on  His  terrible  side  to  the  lion  (v.  14,  xiii. 
7),  the  panther  (xiii.  7),  and  the  bear  (xiii.  8) ;  he  does  not  even 


1  Ewald,  The  Prophets,  i.  228. 

2  Ewald,  i.  218. 

^  Preface  to  the  Minor  Prophets. 
*  Minor  Prophets,  p.  6. 

HOSEA 


34  INTRODUCTION. 


disdain  the  simile  of  a  moth  (v.  12) ;  while  to  represent  the  milder 
aspect  of  his  God  he  has  recourse  to  the  latter  rain  (vi.  3)  and  the 
beneficent  provision  of  the  'night-mist'  (xiv.  5).  The  figure  of 
the  lion's  roar  in  xi.  10  is  used  exceptionally,  not  to  set  forth 
the  terrors  of  God's  judgments,  but  His  far-reaching  summons 
to  His  scattered  children.  With  equal  or  still  greater  suggest- 
iveness  the  Israel  of  the  future  is  compared  to  the  'lily'  which 
grows  so  profusely  in  the  north  of  Palestine,  and  the  stedfast 
roots  of  the  cedar  (xiv.  6),  and  to  the  ever-green  fir-tree  of 
Lebanon^  (xiv.  8).  Paronomasias  and  plays  upon  words  are 
also  very  characteristic  of  Hosea  in  his  non-lyrical  moods  (see 
viii.  7,  ix.  15,  X.  5)  xi.  5,  xii.  11,  and  notice  the  use  of  the  name 
Jezreel  in  i.  4,  11,  comp  ii.  22,  23;  the  change  of  the  name 
Beth-el  into  Beth-aven  in  iv.  15,  x.  5,  comp.  v.  8;  the  allusion 
to  the  derivation  of  Ephraim  in  ix.  16,  xiii.  15,  and  perhaps  xiv.  9). 
All  these  peculiarities,  it  is  to  be  feared,  give  the  Book  of  Hosea 
a  rather  repellent  aspect,  which  is  not  diminished  by  the  number 
of  pecuHar  words  and  constructions,  and  by  the  corrupt  state  of 
some  parts  of  the  text.  It  would  be  interesting  to  learn  whether 
we  really  possess  the  discourses  of  Hosea  in  their  original 
dialect,  or  whether  they  have  been  retouched  for  the  benefit  of 
a  new  public.  The  latter  is  in  itself  a  plausible  hypothesis, 
though  incapable  of  demonstration ;  except  a  fev/  Aramaic 
words  and  verbal  forms  (which  rriay  not  all  of  them  be  due  to 
Hosea)  there  is  nothing  in  the  language  even  distantly  sug- 
gestive of  a  northern  dialect'^. 

In  dealing  with  a  great  writer  like  Hosea,  we  are  bound  to 
ask,  To  what  literary  influences  of  his  time  was  he  subject?  A 
question  in  this  case  more  easily  asked  than  answered,  owing  to 
our  ignorance  of  the  literature  of  the  northern  kingdom.  The 
Song  of  Songs  Hosea  was  almost  certainly  familiar  with  (see 
xiv.  6 — 9),  and  we  have  no  right  to  suppose  that  this  was  the 


1  Prof.  Robertson  Smith's  interesting  remarks  on  this  figure  {The 
Prophets  of  Israel,  p.  190)  depend  for  their  validity  on  an  interpretation 
of  the  passage  which  the  present  writer  is  unable  to  adopt. 

2  In  literary  Hebrew,  remarks  Gesenius,  there  is  nothing  which  has 
a  sufiicient  claim  to  pass  for  a  provincialism. 


INTRODUCTION.  35 


only  northern  poem  which  educated  and  enriched  his  fancy. 
The  Book  of  Amos  was  doubtless  known  in  N.  Israel,  and  would 
have  a  special  interest  for  Hosea,  though  the  two  prophets  are 
at  the  opposite  poles  of  style,  and  except  in  Hos.  iv.  15,  x.  5,  8 
(comp.  Am.  i.  5,  v.  5),  Hos.  viii.  14  (comp.  Am.  i.  4  &c.),  Hos. 
xi.  10  (comp.  Am.  i.  2)  we  cannot  say  that  the  younger  prophet 
has  clear  allusions  to  the  elder ^.  There  may  have  been  other 
prophetic  writings  known  to  him,  Joel  for  instance  (Joel  iii.  16  is 
more  strikingly  parallel  to  Hos.  xi.  10  than  Am.  i.  2),  or  if  not 
Joel  (the  early  date  of  this  book  being  now  frequently  called  in 
question),  some  no  longer  extant  books,  for  the  reference  of  the 
phrase  'the  prophets'  in  Hos.  vi.  5  is  perhaps  not  to  be  confined 
to  prophets  like  Elijah  and  Elisha ;  at  least  we  can  hardly  sup- 
pose that  written  prophecy  sprang  into  existence  in  Joel  (?)  and 
Amos  almost  in  full  perfection  2.  What  amount  of  written  his- 
tory or  legislation  Hosea  had  before  him  is  much  disputed. 
That  he  was  acquainted  with  many  salient  facts  in  the  tra- 
ditional narratives  is  indeed  certain  : — see  for  the  life  of  Jacob, 
xii.  3,  4,  12  ;  for  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of  the  'circle'  of  the 
Jordan,  xi.  8;  for  the  Exodus,  ii.  15,  xi.  i,  xii.  9^,  13;  for  the 


1  In  the  first  of  these  passages  the  allusion  is  in  the  name  Beth-avcn 
(House  of  vanity,  i.e.  of  vain  idols,  for  Beth-el,  House  of  God);  simi- 
larly Amos  speaks  of  the  'valley  of  Aven.'  In  the  second  Hosea 
refers  to  the  refrain  with  which  Amos  closes  each  of  his  seven  denun- 
ciations in  Am.  i.  4 — ii,  5.  In  the  third  he  follows  Amos  in  comparing 
Jehovah  to  a  lion. 

2  See  Ewald  [The  Prophets,  i,  60),  who  lays  great  stress  on  the 
indications  of  an  earlier  prophetic  literature  in  the  Book  of  Joel  (see 
ii.  32  'as  Jehovah  has  said',  and  notice  how  'the  day  of  Jehovah' 
and  the  restoration  of  Judah  are  spoken  of  in  i.  15,  ii.  t,  iii.  i  as 
already  familiar  to  the  reader).  He  also  refers  to  Hos.  vii.  12  'ac- 
cording to  the  announcement  to  the  community',  and  to  the  'fragments 
from  the  earliest  period'  cited  by  Isaiah  in  ii.  2 — 4  (comp.  Mic.  iv. 
I — 4)  and  XV. — xvi.  12. 

2  In  this  verse  most  find  two  allusions  to  the  early  history,  the  one  in 
the  phrase  'Jehovah  thy  God  from  the  land  of  Egypt'  and  the  other 
in  the  mention  of  'dwelling  in  tents.'  The  second  allusion  however 
depends  on  the  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  ^odh;  is  it  to  be  rendered 
'yet  again',  or  simply  'yet'  (i.e.  'in  the  future'),  as  Auth.  Vers.?  In 
the  latter  case  there  is  no  necessary  allusion  to  the  privations  of  the 
desert-wanderings.     See  commentary. 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

wanderings,  ii.  3,  xiii.  5 ;  for  Achan  (?),  ii.  15  ;  for  Baal-peor,  ix. 
10;  and  for  the  outrage  at  Gibeah,  ix.  9,  x.  9.  It  was  the  custom 
with  the  older  commentators  to  leap  from  this  to  the  conclusion 
that  Hosea  had  before  him  the  canonical  books  in  which  the 
same  occurrences  are  referred  to  ;  but  we  cannot  be  sure  that 
he  did  not  obtain  these  facts  from  oral  tradition  or  from  sources 
earlier  than  the  canonical  books  in  their  present  form  (see  com- 
mentary on  xii.  3,  4).  More  stress  may  plausibly  be  laid  on  the 
parallelisms  of  phraseology  and  idea  in  Hosea  and  the  Penta- 
teuch. Almost  every  commentary  on  Hosea  contains  lists  of 
such  parallelisms,  and  for  completeness'  sake  a  list  is  appended 
here,  though  the  writer  must  express  the  hope  that  students  in 
an  early  stage  will  remember  the  youthful  David's  reply  to  king 
Saul  in  i  Sam.  xvii.  39.  Such  a  list  will  only  be  of  any  real 
value  to  those  who  have  already  satisfied  themselves  on  other 
grounds  as  to  the  period  of  the  composition  of  the  books  of  the 
Pentateuch.  One  test  of  the  soundness  of  such  a  critical  de- 
cision will  be  its  relation  to  the  history  of  the  progress  of  revela- 
tion. If  it  be  impossible  to  write  this  history  with  Deuteronomy 
accepted  as  a  work  of  the  Mosaic  or  at  any  rate  pre-Hezekian 
age,  of  what  use  is  any  number  of  parallelisms  between  Deu- 
teronomy and  the  Book  of  Hosea.?  All  that  is  certain  with 
regard  to  Hosea's  relation  to  the  Law  is  what  he  tells  us  himself, 
viz.  that  laws  with  a  sanction  which,  though  ignored  by  the 
N.  Israelites,  he  himself  recognized  as  divine  were  in  course  of 
being  written  down^  (viii.  12).  Our  present  text  makes  him  even 
say  that  the  divine  precepts  might  be  reckoned  by  myriads,  but 
this  would  not  apply  even  to  our  present  Pentateuch,  and  we 
should  probably  correct  ribbo  '  myriad '  into  dibhrS  '  words  (of 

^  The  Targum  and  Aben  Ezra,  followed  by  the  Authorized  Version, 
render  'I  have  written'  (better,  'I  wrote').  The  tense  is  the  imperfect, 
which  is  sometimes  used  in  highly  poetical  passages  where  past  oc- 
currences are  referred  to;  see  Driver,  Hebrew  Tenses,  §  27  (i)  (/3).  Such 
a  use  of  the  imperfect  would  however  here  be  isolated,  nor  is  the  passage 
in  a  poetical  style.  We  must  therefore  reject  the  rendering  of  Auth. 
Vers.,  and  with  it  the  theory  that  the  prophet  refers  simply  and  solely  to 
a  body  of  Mosaic  legislation.  In  fact,  when  Moses  is  referred  to  by 
Hosea,  it  is  as  a  prophet  and  a  leader  of  the  people,  not  as  a  legislator 
(xii.  13). 


INTRODUCTION. 


my  law)^'  There  may  of  course  either  have  been  various  small 
law-books,  or  one  large  one  ;  we  cannot  determine  this  point  from 
the  Book  of  Hosea.  So  far  as  we  can  infer  anything,  the  laws 
in  question  must  have  been  of  a  simple  character,  and  have 
related  to  civil  justice  rather  than  to  rites  and  ceremonies. 
In  the  centralization  of  worship,  which  is  so  prominent  in  the 
Book  of  Deuteronomy,  Hosea  takes  no  interest;  he  does  not 
even  mention  Jerusalem,  and  applies  the  phrase  '  the  house  of 
Jehovah'  to  a  temple  or  temples  of  Jehovah  in  the  *  schismatic' 
kingdom  (ix.  4).  Mr  Sharpe^  has,  it  is  true,  revived  an  opinion 
of  St  Jerome  that  the  words — 

'For  Ephraim  has  multiplied  altars  in  order  to  sin, 
altars  are  to  him  for  the  purpose  of  sinning'  (viii.  1 1), 

refer  to  the  Deuteronomic  law  of  one  altar  (Deut.  xii.  11 — 14), 
but  the  repetition  of  *to  sin'  proves  that  the  emphasis  is  not  on 
the  multiplied  altars  but  on  the  *sin'  committed  at  the  altars 
(comp.  iv.  13,  14;  Am.  ii.  8).  Indeed,  was  it  likely  that  a  pro- 
phet who  had  already  mentioned  '  sacred  pillars'  and  even 
'teraphim'  without  a  word  of  remark  on  their  illegality^  (iii.  4) 
would  denounce  the  Israelites  for  their  hereditary  custom  of 
multiplying  altars  ? 

With  these  preliminary  cautions,  we  may  proceed  to  collect 
parallelisms  of  phraseology  in  Hosea  and  the  Pentateuch. 
Compare — 

^  '    ^":.    '   }   with  Hos.  i.  10  (*as  the  sand  of  the  sea'). 


Ex.  iv.  22 

—  xxiii.  13 
Deut.  xviii.  15 

—  xxvi.  14 

—  xxviii.  68 

—  xxxi.  16 

■ —     xxxii.  10 


xi.  I  ('my  son'). 

ii.  17  (names  of  idols  to  be  abolished). 

xii.  13  (Moses  a  great  prophet). 

ix.  4  (mourning  bread). 

viii.  13  (Israel's  return  to  Egypt). 

i.  2  (religious  symbolism). 

ix.  10  (Israel  'found  in  the  wilderness'). 


^  So  Gratz  and  Kuenen ;  see  on  viii.  12. 

2  A^oies  and  Dissertations  on  Hosea  (1884),  p.  83. 

^  The  writer,  of  course,  does  not  mean  to  imply  that  Hosea  attached 
a  religious  value  either  to  these  pillars  or  to  the  sacrifices  mentioned  in 
the  same  passage  (iii.  4). 


38  INTRODUCTION. 


The  above  is  a  short  list  compared  with  some  that  have  been 
drawn  up^:  the  more  dubious  parallelisms,  like  that  of  iv.  4  and 
Deut.  xvii.  8 — 13,  have  been  omitted.  After  all,  is  any  one  of 
them  equal  in  interest  to  the  striking  parallelism  of  thought 
between  Hosea  and  Deuteronomy  indicated  already  (see  p.  28)? 

It  only  remains  to  estimate  the  literary  influence  of  Hosea, 
putting  aside  such  questions  as  the  chronological  relation  of  his 
book  to  that  of  Deuteronomy.  As  we  have  seen  already,  the 
prophetic  roll  must  soon  have  been  carried  into  Judah,  where  it 
quickly  became  a  favourite,  as  we  must  infer  from  the  more  or 
less  distinct  allusions  to  it  made  by  later  prophets.  There  are 
not  many  of  these  in  Isaiah,  though  both  Amos  and  Hosea  have 
contributed  elements  to  his  teaching  ;  we  can  only  be  sure  that 
Isaiah  is  alluding  to  his  predecessor  in  i.  23,  where  he  adopts  a 
paronomasia  from  Hos.  ix.  15.  More  allusions  occur  in  Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel,  and  the  second  part  of  Zechariah  :  compare 
Hosea  ii.  15  with  Jer.  ii.  2  ;  Hosea  iii.  5  with  Jer.  xxx.  9,  Ezek. 
xxxiv.  25  ;  Hos.  iv.  3  with  Jer.  xii.  4  (and  Zeph.  i.  3) ;  Hos.  x.  12 
with  Jer.  iv.  3;  Hos.  i. — iii.  with  Jer.  iii.  8,  Isa.  1.  i,  Ezek.  xvi. 
and  xxiii. ;  Hos.  ii.  18  with  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25;  Hos.  ii.  22  with 
Jer.  xxxi.  27,  Zech.  x.  9 ;  Hos.  ii.  17  with  Zech.  xiii.  2 ;  Hos.  xii.  8 
with  Zech.  xi.  5.  Some  of  these  allusions  relate  to  Hosea's 
striking  application  of  the  symbol  of  marriage.  In  fact,  as  the 
great  Jewish  scholar  Dr  Zunz  has  shown  from  medieval  Hebrew 
poetry,  this  affecting  symbol  of  their  ideal  hopes  never  ceased 
to  attract  and  delight  the  poets  of  Israel.  But  this  is  not  all. 
The  New  Testament,  too,  as  we  might  expect,  contains  several 
expressed  or  implied  references  to  the  Book  of  Hosea: — com- 
pare Hos.  i.  10  with  Rom.  ix.  26 ;  Hos.  ii.  i,  23  with  Rom.  ix.  25, 
I  Pet.  ii.  10;  Hos.  vi.  6  with  Matt.  ix.  13,  xii.  7  (quotation  by 
our  Lord);  Hos.  x.  8  with  Luke  xxiii.  30,  Rev.  vi.  16,  ix.  6  ;  Hos. 
xi.  I  with  Matt.  ii.  15  ;  Hos.  xiii.  14  with  i  Cor.  xv.  55.  With 
regard  to  these  references  it  hardly  needs  to  be  remarked  that, 
so  far  as  they  imply  interpretations,  they  would  not  all  stand  the 
test  of  a  purely  Western  criticism.     Their  force  was  great  to 

1  For  longer  lists  see  Curtiss,  The  Leviiical  Fries  Is  (1S77),  pp.  176 — 
8;  Sharpe,  llosea  (1884),  pp.  72 — 84. 


INTRODUCTION.  39 


those  for  whom  the  writers  meant  them,  but  cannot  be  equally 
so  to  us.  It  is  allowable  indeed  to  trace  in  the  providential 
history  of  the  people  of  Israel  more  than  one  a7taIogy  to  that  of 
Israel's  Messiah,  but  to  say  that  'out  of  Israel  did  I  call  my  son' 
(Hos.  xi.  i)  is  in  a  strict  sense  of  the  word  a  prediction  of  the 
infant  Christ's  return  from  Egypt  violates  the  canons  of  exe- 
gesis. Delitzsch  against  his  will  expresses  the  weakness  of 
this  position  when  he  calls  this  a  'typical  prophecy^.'  Typical 
persons  and  events  one  can  understand,  but  if  there  be  typical 
prophecies,  what  are  the  anti-typical  ones  ?  Surely  for  us 
Westerns  the  true  Christian  element  in  the  Book  of  Rosea  con- 
sists, not  in  'typical  prophecies',  but  in  that  far-reaching  intuition 
of  God's  forgiving  love  which  took  shape  as  it  were  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time  in  Jesus  Christ. 

^  Messianic  Prophecies  (1880),  pp.  61,  62. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE. 

^*^  The  chronology  of  the  kings  is  perplexed  and  uncertain.  From 
the  Assyrian  inscriptions  the  following  dates  have  been  obtained  (see 
Schrader,  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  and  the  Old  Testament,  trans- 
lated by  Whitehouse. 


Jehu  was  alive  in  842  (tribute  to  Shalmaneser). — Azariah  or  Uzziah 
742-740. — Menahem  738  (tribute  to  Tiglath  Pileser).  —  Pekah  734  (con- 
quered by  Tiglath  Pileser). — Hoshea  728-722  (fall  of  Samaria),  — 
Hezekiah  701  (invasion  of  Judah). 

Various  systems  have  been  framed,  partly  on  the  basis  of  the 
Assyrian,  partly  on  that  of  the  Biblical  data.  The  table  which  follows 
is  a  fragment  of  Duncker's  {History  of  Antiquity,  vol.  ii.). 


Judah. 


Israel. 


Jehu 

843-815 

Uzziah 

792-740 

Jeroboam 

n. 

790-749 

Jotham 

740-734 

Zechariah, 
Menahem 
Pekahiah 
Pekah 

Shallum 

749 

748-738 
738-736 
736-734 

Ahaz 

734-728 

Hoshea 

734-722 

Hezekiah     728-697 


ROSEA. 


THE  word  of  the  Lord  that  came  unto  Hosea,  the  son  1 
of  Beeri,  in  the  days  of  Uzziah,  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and 
Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah,  and  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam 
the  son  of  Joash,  king  of  Israel.     The   beginning  of  the  2 
word   of  the   Lord   by  Hosea.     And  the  Lord   said   to 
Hosea,  Go,  take  unto  thee  a  wife  of  whoredoms  and  chil- 

Chap.  I. 
Hosea  and  his  Wife.    A  Parable  for  the  Israelites. 

1.  On  the  heading,  see  Introduction. 

2.  The  beginning  of  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  Hosea]  If  we  render 
the  Hebrew  text  thus,  the  words  are  a  heading  to  the  first  part  of  the 
book,  viz.  chaps,  i. — iii. ;  they  are  apparently  taken  thus  by  the  LXX., 
the  Vulg. ,  and  perhaps  the  Targ.  and  the  Peshito.  It  would  however 
be  better  to  translate  with  the  Vulg.,  'The  beginning  of  Jehovah's 
speaking  by  (or,  with)  Hosea',  because  *by  Hosea'  goes  better  with  a 
verbal  than  with  a  common  noun  ;  or,  with  Kalisch,  'The  beginning  of 
that  which  Jehovah  spoke'  (comp.  Job  xviii.  21 ;  Ps.  Ixxxi.  6);  or,  with 
Ewald,  'At  the  first,  when  Jehovah  spoke  with  Hosea'  (comp.  Ps.  iv.  8, 
xc.  15,  and  possibly  Gen.  i.  i).  'With  Hosea'  is  the  preferable  render- 
ing. As  Ewald  remarks,  the  phrase  'to  speak  with'  implies  that  he  who 
speaks  is  a  superior  being  (comp.  Zech.  i.  9,  13,  14;  Num.  xii.  2,  8). 
The  original  narrative  no  doubt  began  at  'Jehovah  said ' :  the  words 
prefixed  make  the  sentence  heavy. 

take  unto  thee\  i.e.  marry  (as  Gen.  vi.  1  and  often),  with  regard  to 
Gomer;  recognize  as  thine  own  with  regard  to  the  children.  Is  this 
marriage  of  Hosea  a  real  or  a  fictitious  one?  Symbolical  it  certainly 
is,  but  whether  literally  true  or  not,  the  student  must  decide  on  a  view 
of  the  somewhat  peculiar  exegetical  data.  See  Introduction,  and  comp. 
note  below  on  v.  3. 

a  wife  of  whoredoms]  i.e.  {a)  one  with  a  deeply  rooted  inclination  to 
adultery,  or  {b)  as  most  explain,  a  woman  already  steeped  in  sin.  In 
favour  of  {n),  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  prophet  does  not  say, 
'Take  unto  thee  a  harlot'.     His  wife  is  brought  before  us  throughout 


42  ROSEA,   I.  [vv.  3,4, 

dren  of  whoredoms :    for  the   land   hath   committed  great 

3  whoredom,  departing  from  the  Lord.     So  he  went  and  took 
Gomer  the  daughter  of  Diblaim ;    which   conceived,    and 

4  bare  him  a  son.     And  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  Call  his 
name  Jezreel ;  for  yet  a  little  while^  and  I  will  avenge  the 

as  a  type  of  Israel ;  she  must  at  first  have  been  innocent  in  act  to 
symbolize  what  Jehovah  elsewhere  calls  '  the  kindness  of  thy  (Israel's) 
youth,  the  love  of  thine  espousals'  (Jer.  ii.  2).  Upon  this  view  it 
follows  that  the  language  employed  is  dictated  by  Hosea's  subsequent 
experience.  He  could  not,  of  course,  know  that  Gomer  had  an  in- 
clination to  infidelity,  until  it  had  been  exhibited  in  act. 

children  of  whoredoms\  i.e.  either  children  inheriting  their  mother's 
evil  tendencies,  or  the  offspring  of  an  adulterous  union,     (Comp.  ii.  4. ) 

for  the  land  hath  co?nmitted...'\  This  is  the  meaning  of  Hosea's  acted 
parable.  As  Gomer  became  the  wedded  wife  of  the  prophet,  so  'the  land', 
i.e.  the  people,  of  northern  Israel  had  entered  into  an  analogous  mystic 
relation  to  Jehovah  (see  on  ii.  21,  22).  As  Gomer,  after  her  espousals, 
committed  whoredom,  so  Israel,  after  her  first  love,  went  astray  after 
other  gods  (see  chap.  ii.).  Israel  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the  word  seems 
to  be  meant,  for  afterwards  we  read  'I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house 
of  Judah'  [v.  7). 

3.  Corner^  the  daughter  of  Diblaini]  Various  attempts  have  been 
made  to  extract  a  meaning  from  these  names,  which  by  its  appropriate- 
ness to  the  circumstances  of  the  Israelites  might  favour  the  view  that  the 
events  related  are  fictitious  and  not  real.  Gomer  may  plausibly  be 
interpreted  'perfection'  (i.e.  consummate  in  wickedness),  and  Diblaim 
'cakes  of  figs'  (i.e.  the  sweetness  of  sin).  Rahmer  has  pointed  out  this 
view  in  the  Talmud  (see  Yraxx^GV?,  Monatsschrift,  xiv.  216  foil.),  so  that 
St  Jerome's  similar  explanation  must  have  come  from  his  Jewish  teacher. 
But  the  fact  that  the  children  of  Hosea  (like  those  of  Isaiah)  have  names 
which  are  obviously  symbolic  does  not  justify  us  in  forcing  an  allusion 
out  of  the  name  of  the  mother.  It  has  been  suggested,  but  the  view 
is  not  borne  out  by  usage,  that  Diblaim  is  the  name  of  Gomer's  birth- 
place; Diblathaim  was  a  Moabitish  town  (see  Jer.  xlviii.  22  and 
Moabite  Stone  1.  30).     The  termination  is  that  of  the  dual. 

bare  him  a  so)i\  i.e.  bare  a  son,  whom  for  the  mother's  sake  he  recog- 
nized. 

4.  Call  his  name  yezreef]  The  child  of  guilt ;  therefore  not  Israel 
but  Jezreel  (or,  more  exactly,  Izreel).  The  name  is  referred  to  for  its 
historical  associations  (comp.  on  ii.  22).  It  points  both  backward  and 
forward— backward  to  the  massacre  of  Ahab's  family  by  Jehu  (2  Kings 
ix.  X.),  and  forward  to  the  punishment  for  that  wild  and  cruel  act. 
Hosea  (in  whom  natural  peculiarities  have  been  purified  and  not  extin- 
guished by  the  spirit  of  prophecy)  regards  the  conduct  of  Jehu  in  a 
different  light  from  the  writer  of  2  Kings  x.  30.  The  latter  praises  Jehu 
for  having  'done  unto  the  house  of  Ahab  according  to  all  that  was  in 
my  mind';  he  speaks  on  the  assumption  that  Jehu  had  the  interests  of 


vv.  5—7.]  HOSEA,    I.  43 

blood  of  Jezreel  upon  the  house  of  Jehu,  and  will  cause  to 
cease  the  kingdom  of  the  house  of  Israel.     And  it  shall  5 
come  to  pass  at  that  day,  that  I  will  break  the  bow  of  Israel 
in  the  valley  of  Jezreel.     And  she  conceived  again,   and  6 
bare  a  daughter.     And  God  said  unto  him.  Call  her  name 
Lo-ruhamah  :   for  I  will   no   more  have   mercy   upon   the 
house  of  Israel ;  but  I  will  utterly  take  them  away.     But  7 
I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of  Judah,  and  will  save 


Jehovah's  worship  at  heart,  and  that  he  destroyed  the  house  of  Ahab  as 
the  only  effectual  means  of  advancing  them.  The  former  blames  Jehu 
apparently  on  the  high  moral  ground  that  Jehovah  'desires  mercy  (love) 
and  not  sacrifice'  (vi.  6).  He  speaks  as  the  Israelites  of  his  time  doubt- 
less felt.  They  no  more  recognized  Jehu  as  a  champion  of  Jehovah 
than  did  the  priests  of  Baal  whom  he  basely  entrapped  (2  Kings  x.  18, 
&c.).  But  Hosea  doubtless  felt  in  addition  that  the  idolatry  to 
which  the  house  of  Jehu  was  addicted  rendered  a  permanent  religious 
reform  hopeless.  Image-worship  could  not  be  suppressed  by  such  half- 
hearted worshippers  of  Jehovah,  and  hence,  Jehovah's  moral  govern- 
ment of  His  people  must  have  made  it  certain  to  Hosea  that  even  on  this 
ground  alone  the  dynasty  of  Jehu  could  not  escape  an  overthrow. 

yet  a  little  while,  and  I  will  avenge... "[  *  Avenge';  lit. 'visit'.  Hosea 
represents  (like  a  fellow-prophet,  Am.  vii,  9)  the  destruction  of  the 
northern  kingdom  as  synchronizing  with  the  overthrow  of  Jehu's  dynasty. 
This  was  a  remarkable  proof  of  insight  into  God's  purposes.  Both 
prophets  saw  the  beginning  of  the  end,  though  the  final  catastrophe 
(722)  took  place  about  nineteen  years  later  than  the  death  of  Jeroboam 
II.  (741). 

5.     the  bow  of  Israel^     The  bow,  the  symbol  of  power  (Gen.  xlix. 
24;  Jer.  xlix.  35). 

171  the  valley  of  Jezreel^  It  seemed  fitting  that  this  'battlefield  of 
Palestine'  (as  the  valley  of  Jezreel  had  already  become,  see  on  Judg.  vi. 
33)  should  be  the  scene  of  so  momentous  an  event,  fitting  also  that 
where  Jehu  had  sinned,  Jehu's  house  should  be  punished.  There  would 
have  been  a  'poetical  justice'  in  such  an  arrangement,  had  such  been 
the  will  of  Providence.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Hosea  had 
an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  Assyrians  as  the  destined  instruments 
of  Israel's  overthrow  (see  on  viii.  10). 

6.  hare  a  daughter]  The  nation  being  personified  sometimes  as  a 
man,  sometimes  as  a  woman. 

Lo-richamah'\  i.e.,  Uncompassionated. 

but  I  will  utterly  take  them  away]  Rather,  that  I  should  forgive  them. 

7.  But  I  will  have  viercy  upon  the  house  of  Judah]  Grave  as  are 
the  charges  brought  against  Judah  by  the  prophets,  it  appears  to  have 
been  some  degrees  better  off  religiously  than  Israel ;  probably,  as  it  was 
a  poorer  country,  its  nature-worship  was  less  extravagantly  sensuous 
than  that  of  the  north.     Hosea  elsewhere  counsels  Judah  not  to  offend 


44  HO  SEA,   T.  [vv.  8, 9. 

them  by  the  Lord  their  God,  and  will  not  save  them  by 
bow,  nor  by  sword,  nor  by  battle,  by  horses,  nor  by  horse- 

8  men.     Now  when  she  had  weaned  Lo-ruhamah,  she  con- 

9  ceived,  and  bare  a  son.     Then  said  God,  Call  his  name 
Lo-ammi :  for  ye  are  not  my  people,   and  I  will  not  be 

to  the  same  extent  as  Israel  (iv.  15),  and  later  on  accuses  Judah  rather 
of  inconstancy  than  of  absolute  rebellion  (xi.  ii). 

by  the  Lord  their  God]  Tautologically,  as  Gen.  xix.  24.  Or,  'as 
Jehovah  their  God'  (i.e  'in  the  character  of  &c.,  comp.  Ex.  vi.  3  'as 
El  Shaddai',  Ps.  Ixviii.  4  'his  name  is,  essentially,  in  Jah').  Observe 
Hosea  recognizes  Judah's  higher  religious  ideal. 

not... by  bow]  Judah,  then,  was  in  danger  of  trusting  .in  warlike 
equipments,  as  Isaiah  afterwards  describes  it  as  doing  (Isa.  ii.  7).  And 
yet,  if  Israel,  with  all  its  natural  strength,  could  not  resist  the  Assyrian 
attack,  it  was  clear  that  the  weaker  kingdom  could  only  do  so  by 
supernatural  aid.  Comp.  Isa.  xxxi.  8,  xxxvii.  33.  'Battle' should  be 
equipment  of  wax. 

8,  9.    The  birth  of  a  Son. 

Lo-aifimi]  i.e.  not  my  people.  Observe  the  climax  in  the  names. 
'Jezreel'  announces  the  judgement ;  Lo-ruhamah,  the  withdrawal  of 
Jehovah's  affection;  Lo-ammi,  the  treatment  of  Israel  as  a  foreign 
people. 

I  will  not  be yotir  God]  Lit.,  *I  will  not  be  for  (or,  to)  you',  i.e. 
perhaps,  'on  your  side'  (comp.  Ps.  Ivi.  10,  cxviii.  6,  cxxiv.  i,  2),  or,  as 
Prof.  Robertson  Smith ^,  'I  am  no  longer  Ehyeh',  alluding  to  Ex.  iii. 
14,  'And  God  said  unto  Moses,  I  will  be  that  which  I  will  be  (viz. 
what  I  have  promised  and  you  look  for) ;  and  he  said,  Thus  shalt  thou 
say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  will  be  (Ehyeh)  hath  sent  me  unto 
you'.  According  to  this  view,  Ehyeh  is  equivalent  to  Yihyeh  or  what-, 
ever  is  a  more  correct  form  of  the  name  miswritten  Jehovah — the 
revealed  name  of  Israel's  God,  and  Hos.  i.  9  is  the  earliest  witness  to 
the  true  meaning  of  Ex.  iii.  14.  'I  am  no  longer  Ehyeh  for  you'  will 
thus  be  a  contrast  to  'I  will  save  Judah  as  the  Lord  (Yahveh  =  Yihyeh) 
their  God'  [v.  7).  It  is  however  doubtful  whether  Hosea  shews  ac- 
quaintance elsewhere  with  the  document  to  which  Ex.  iii.  14  belongs, 
and  at  any  rate  it  is  more  natural  to  suppose,  as  A.  V.  (after  Yefet  the 
Karaite)  has  done  that  lelohim  '  (for)  God '  has  dropped  out  of  the  text. 

10,  11.  There  is  a  great  difference  among  authorities  as  to  the  way 
in  which  these  verses  and  ii.  i  should  be  connected  with  the  context, 
(a)  Those  who  consult  a  Hebrew  Bible  will  most  probably  find  the  first 
chapter  of  Hosea  closed  at  v.  9,  and  the  second  opened  with  v'hdydh 
'and  it  shall  come  to  pass'.  Thus  Hosea's  (like  Isaiah's)  first  prophetic 
discourse  is  made  to  begin  with  a  promise.  The  objection  is  that  the 
transition  from  v.  3  to  z^.  4  of  the  chapter  thus  produced  is  unique  for 
its  abruptness  even  in  the  Book  of  Hosea.     ('Say  ye  to  your  brethren, 

*  British  and  Foreign  Evangelical  Review,  Jan.  1876,  pp.  153 — 165. 


V.  lo.l  HOSEA,   T.  •  45 

your  God.     Yet  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  lo 
be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  which  cannot  be  measured  nor 
numbered;    and   it    shall   come   to  pass,  that  in   the 

My  people',  and  directly  after,  'Plead  with  your  mother,  plead'.)  {b) 
Still  more  objectionable  is  the  arrangement  of  A.  V.,  derived  from  one 
form  of  the  Hebrew  text,  and  followed  by  the  Septuagint,  Luther,  and 
Calvin.  Its  only  justification  lies  in  the  accidental  circumstance  that 
two  successive  verses  in  the  Hebrew  text  begin  with  an  imperative. 
Verse  i  chap.  ii.  in  A.  V.  is  utterly  unintelligible  by  itself,  and  the 
transition  from  the  first  to  the  second  imperative  becomes  even  more 
strikingly  abrupt  than  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  {c)  Feeling  these  objec- 
tions, Ewald  and  Pusey  propose  to  begin  the  second  chapter  of  the 
book  with  the  verse  which  stands  fourth  in  order  in  our  Hebrew  Bibles. 
But  most  readers  cannot  help  seeing  that  the  transition  from  threatening 
to  promise,  from  Lo-ammi,  to  Ammi,  is  singularly  abrupt,  and  not  to 
be  admitted  except  from  dire  necessity,  {d)  The  transposition  of  lines 
or  sentences  is  well  known  to  be  a  fruitful  source  of  error  in  ancient 
texts.  Hence  it  has  been  suggested  that  vv.  i — 3  of  chap.  ii.  in  the 
common  Hebrew  Bible  (i.e.  the  last  two  verses  of  chap.  i.  and  the  first 
of  chap.  ii.  in  A.  V.)  originally  stood  at  the  end  of  chap.  ii.  The  plau- 
sibility of  this  suggestion  of  Heilprin's  and  Steiner's  would  be  seen  to 
most  advantage,  if  these  verses  could  be  explained  at  the  end  of  chap, 
ii.  This  would  be  only  following  the  precedent  of  St  Paul,  who  adopts 
a  very  similar  arragement  in  Rom.  ix.  25,  26.  (Verse  9  therefore  should 
be  taken  as  the  close  of  chap,  i.,  and  ii.  i  as  the  close  of  chap,  ii.) 

10— ii.  1.    Predicted  alteration  of  Names. 

Yet  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  be]  However  sad 
the  present  prospects  of  Israel  may  be,  a  glorious  future  is  in  store  for 
him.  So  our  translators  mean  us  to  interpret  the  passage,  confounding 
the  province  of  the  translator  with  that  of  the  expositor.  The  Hebrew 
merely  says,  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  the  number  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  shall  be,  &c.  In  all  probability,  this  verse  should  have 
come  after  ii.  23,  to  the  opening  statement  of  which  it  gives  a  further 
development.  'I  will  sow  her  for  myself  in  the  land,'  were  the  words 
of  Jehovah  in  reversing  the  prophetic  import  of  the  name  Jezreel.  Now 
the  Divine  speaker  assures  us  that  the  'sowing'  shall  be  followed  by  a 
rich  harvest  of  inhabitants.  An  increase  in  population  is  elsewhere 
also  a  leading  feature  in  the  promised  prosperity  of  Israel;  e.g.  (not  to 
quote  the  disputed  passage.  Is.  ix.  3),  Mic.  ii.  12,  where  the  restored 
remnant  is  said  to  be  'tumultuous  for  the  multitude  of  men'.  Observe 
that  the  blessing  is  at  first  limited  in  its  scope  (as  it  is 
again  in  chap.  xiv.).  'Children  of  Israel'  means  evidently,  not  all 
Israel,  but  the  northern  kingdom,  for  in  the  next  verse  (comp.  i.  6,  7) 
'the  children  of  Israel'  are  clearly  distinguished  from  'the  children  of 
Judah'.  The  limitation  was  natural,  because  the  prophet  belonged  to 
the  northern  and  larger  section  of  the  nation;  the  horizon  is  widened 
immediately  after,  so  as  to  include  Judah. 

as  the  sand  of  the  sea]     Comp.  Gen.  xxii.  17,  xxxii.  12. 


46  HOSEA,  I.  [v.  II. 

place  where  it  was  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my 
people,  there  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Ye  are 
XI  the  sons  of  the  living  God.  Then  shall  the  children 
of  Judah  and  the  children  of  Israel  be  gathered  together, 
and  appoint  themselves  one  head,  and  they  shall  come 
up  out  of  the  land :  for  great  shall  be  the  day  of  Jezreel. 

in  the  place  where  it  was  said  nnto  theni\  This  may  mean  either 
Palestine,  or,  more  plausibly,  the  land  of  captivity.  But  surely  the 
fact,  and  not  the  place,  of  restoration  is  the  thought  which  fills  the 
mind  of  the  prophet.  The  sense  is  much  improved  by  adopting  the 
alternative  version,  instead  of  its  being  said,  &c.  It  is  true  that  an 
indisputable  parallel  for  the  sense  'instead  of  is  wanting,  neither  Isa. 
xxxiii.  i\  nor  2  Kings  xxi.  19  being  decisive.  But  grammatical  theory 
raises  no  objection  to  the  proposed  rendering,  and  where  this  is  the  case 
the  Hebrew  concordance  must  not  override  the  exercise  of  exegetical  tact. 

Ye  are  not  my  people']  Or,  Ye  are  Lo-ammi, 

the  sorts  of  the  living  God]  'The  living  God',  as  i  Sam.  xvii.  26, 
Deut.  V.  26,  in  contrast  to  the  idol-gods  {^dilhn,  or  'nothings',  as 
Isaiah  delights  to  call  them) :  one  of  the  earliest  appearances  of" 
prophetic  monotheism  (see  on  ii.  10).  Notice  the  bold  expression 
'sons'.  At  the  foundation  of  popular  Semitic  religion  (the  religion 
of  the  group  of  nations  to  which  the  Assyrians  and  the  Syrians,  the 
Israelites  and  the  Arabs  equally  belonged)  lay  the  materialistic  idea 
that  the  worshipping  nation  was  the  offspring  of  the  patron-divinity. 
Hosea  allows  and  adopts  the  expression,  but  signifies  by  it  a  moral 
kinship  rather  than  a  physical  one.  Compare  the  remarkable  passages 
in  Num.  xxi.  29,  Mai.  ii.  11,  and  see  note  on  xi.  i. 

11.  Then  shall  the  children  of  Jzidah  and  the  children  of  Israel  be 
gathered  together]  Thus  the  schism  of  north  and  south  shall  be.  healed 
(comp.  Isa.  xi.  13,  Ezek.  xxxvii.  22) — a  schism  to  which  by  implication 
Hosea  denies  the  Divine  sanction,  on  the  ground  (we  may  suppose) 
that  Jehovah  being  one,  His  people  must  also  be  one.  See  on  iii.  4, 
and  comp.  iii.  3,  viii.  4,  xiii.  10,  11.  In  the  last  passage,  however, 
Jehovah  is  represented  as  in  a  certain  sense  sanctioning  the  usurping 
dynasties  of  Israel  ('in  His  anger'),  and  in  the  idealizing  description 
which  follows  (chap,  xiv.)  Judah  seems  to  find  no  place 

appoint  themselves  one  head]  The  'one  head'  is  doubtless  the  Davidic 
king  (iii.  5). 

come  zip  out  of  the  land]  The  recruited  people,  too  numerous  for  *the 
land  to  bear  them ',  shall  seek  to  enlarge  their  territory  (comp.  Am.  ix.  1 2, 
Isa.  xi.  14,  Mic.  ii.  12,  i?).  The  'land'  spoken  of  can  only  be  Palestine, 
since  there  is  nothing  in  the  context  to  suggest  that  either  the  land  of 
captivity  (as  Kimchi,  following  the  Targum)  or  the  earth  in  general  is 
intended.  'Come  up'  should  rather  be  go  up,  i.e.  march  to  battle, 
as  Nah.  ii.  2,  Joel  i.  6,  and  often. 

for  great  shall  be  the  day  of  Jezreel]  The  result  of  the  warlike  enter- 
prise of  Judah  and  Israel  is  not  expressly  mentioned,  but  the  addition 


w.  1,2.]  HOSEA,  II.  47 

Say  ye  unto  your  brethren,  Ammi ; 

And  to  your  sisters,  Ruhamah. 

Plead  with  your  mother,  plead  : 

For  she  is  not  my  wife,  neither  ajn  I  her  husband  : 

of  these  words  permits  no  doubt  of  its  success.  Hosea  means  by  the 
phrase,  not  the  day  on  which  Jehu's  guilty  dynasty  shall  be  cut  short ; 
for  the  name  Jezreel  has  now  been  freed  from  all  gloomy  associations, 
and  become  a  title  of  the  regenerate  people  of  Israel.  Besides,  in 
phrases  like  'the  day  of  Jezreel',  the  name  is  always  either  that  of  a 
person,  or  of  a  place,  or  a  city  personified. 

Chap.  II. 

1.  The  parallel  lines  here  seem  misleading. 

Say  ye...']  Now  that  the  storm-cloud  "has  rolled  away,  those  names 
of  baleful  import  Lo-ammi  and  Lo-ruhamah  have  ceased  to  be  ad- 
missible, and  are  altered  into  the  direct  opposites.  The  verse  is  best 
understood  as  the  conchision  of  chap,  ii.,  just  as  'Call  his  name  Lo- 
ammi',  &c.  ought  to  form  the  conclusion  of  chap.  i.  The  persons 
addressed  are  perhaps  the  disciples  of  the  prophet,  who  are  directed 
to  communicate  the  joyful  news  summed  up  in  the  names  Ammi  ('my 
people')  and  Ruhamah  {'she  hath  found  compassion')  to  the  whole 
nation. 

2 — 23,  i.  10,  11,  ii.  1.  Hosea's  first  discourse,  slightly  obscured  by 
the  dislocation  of  some  of  its  verses  (see  above  on  i.  lo,  ir).  The 
prophet  sets  forth  in  more  intelligible  language  what  he  has  already 
suggested  rather  enigmatically.  The  finest  part  of  the  chapter  is  from 
z/.  14  to  V.  23,  where  Hosea  shows  how  Israel  will  emerge  purified  from 
her  captivity,  and  enjoy  the  love  and  favour  of  her  Divine  Bridegroom. 

2 — 7.  The  prophecy  begins  with  a  solemn  admonition  on  the  faith- 
less conduct  of  Israel  towards  her  Divine  Bridegroom.  ^  The  dramatis 
personce  are  the  same  as  in  chap,  i,  ;  only,  whereas  in  chap.  i.  the 
husband,  wife,  and  children,  are  both  historical  persons  and  significant 
symbols,  in  chap.  ii.  they  are  obviously  pure  allegories.  Isi-ael  beconies 
the  adulterous  wife,  and  Jehovah  the  aggrieved  husband.  The  in- 
dividual Israelites  are  the  children.  The  appeal  of  Jehovah  to  the 
latter  implies  that  they  have  not  altogether  given  way  to  their  inherited 
propensities ;  they  can  still  be  expected,  at  least  in  some  cases,  to  co- 
operate for  the  extinction  of  a  corrupt  worship.  Comp.  1  Kings  xix.  18 
'seven  thousand  in  Israel... which  have  not  bowed  unto  the  Baal'. 

2.  Plead  with  your  mother,  plead]  The  repetition  of  the  appeal 
shews  its  urgency.  'Do  not  murmur  against  me',  Jehovah  seems  to 
say,  'plead  your  cause  against  your  own  mother  :  Israel  is  the  author  ot 
her  own  calamities.' 

for  she  is  not  my  wife...]  A  parenthetical  explanation  of  the  ex- 
pression 'your  mother'.  Adultery  has  destroyed  the  relation  of  the 
wife  to  the  husband,  but  not  of  the  mother  to  the  children.  Comu. 
Isa.  1.  I. 


48  HOSEA,   II.  [vv.  3, 4. 

Let  her  therefore  put  away  her  whoredoms  out  of  her 

sight, 
And  her  adulteries  from  between  her  breasts ; 
Lest  I  strip  her  naked,  and  set  her  as  in  the  day  that  she 

was  born, 
And  make  her  as  a  wilderness,  and  set  her  like  a  dry 

land, 
And  slay  her  with  thirst. 
And  I  will  not  have  mercy  upon  her  children  ; 

her  whoredoms  out  of  her  sight]    Rather,  from  her  face,  the  index 
of  obstinacy  (comp.  Jer.  iii.  3),  as  the  breasts  of  shamelessness. 

3.     Lest  I  strip  her  naked...]    So  far  the  punishment  of  the  adulteress 
agrees  with  that  customary  among  the  Germans  (Tac.  Ger?7i.  §§  18,  19). 
But  the  punishment  of  the  Hebrew  adulteress  is  not  intended  to  stop 
here  ;  death  was   the  penalty  she  had  to  fear — death   by  strangling, 
according  to  the  Rabbinical  explanation  of  Lev.  xx.  10,  Deut.  xxii.  22, 
death  by  stoning,  according  to  Ezekiel  in  a  passage  which  alludes  to 
the  present  (Ezek.  xvi.  39,  40,  comp.  John  viii.  5).     But  the  prophet 
speaks  here  of  neither  form  of  punishment,  but  of  death  by  thirst  in 
the  desert.    The  meaning  of  the  allegory  is,  that  the  people  of  N.  Israel 
shall  be  put  to  open  shame,  and  deprived  of  the  rich  temporal  blessings 
vouchsafed  to  them.     At  the  beginning  of  Israel's  history,  we  see  her, 
as  it  were,  a  homeless  wanderer  in  the  wilderness,  with  nothing  either 
in  her  nature  or  in  her  surroundings  to  promise  a  longer  existence  than 
was  enjoyed  by  many  another  of  the  Semitic  pastoral  tribes  (comp. 
Ezek.  xvi.   5),  and  the  close  of  her  history,  says  the  prophet,   shall 
present  an  exactly  similar  picture.     Observe  in  passing  how  nearly  the 
ideas  of  'land'  and  'people'  cover  each  other  in  the  mind  of  Hosea. 
In  fact,  in  the  mythic  stage  of  religion  (from  which  Hosea's  country- 
men had  not  as  yet  for  the  most  part  emerged),  it  was  the  land  which 
was  imagined  as  in  direct  relation  to  the  deity,  the  people  being  only 
so  related  in  virtue  of  their  dwelling  in  the  land.     They  were  in  fact 
the  children  of  the  land  (comp.  Ezek.  xiv.  15  'bereave  it,'  viz.  the  land); 
nationality,  land,  and  religion  were  three  inseparable  ideas.     Hence, 
though  Hosea  begins  with  the  figure  of  disclothing,  he  glides  insensibly 
into   forms  of  expression  appropriate  to  a  land.     'Lest  I   make   her 
as  the  wilderness,  and  set  her  as  a  dry  land,  and  slay  her  with  thirst.' 
The  latter  expression  could  of  course  be  used  of  a  wanderer  in  the 
desert,  but  was  also  allowable  of  a  desolate  region  (see  Ezek.  xix.  13, 
and  comp.  Koran  xxx.  18). 

4.  And  upon  her  children...]  No  bar  shfi.ll  be  opposed,  Jehovah 
declares,  to  the  natural  consequence  of  a  corrupt  and  corrupting  re- 
ligion. Israel,  as  an  independent  nation,  must  at  least  for  a  time 
cease  to  be.  It  appears  then  that  the  appeal  in  ver.  4  was  uttered 
as  a  forlorn  hope.  All  but  a  few  of  the  Israelites  were  too  far  gone  to 
desire  to  cooperate  in  a   reformation.     They  were   the    'children  of 


vv.  5—7.]  ROSEA,    II.  49 

For  they  be  the  children  of  whoredoms. 

For  their  mother  hath  played  the  harlot :  5 

She  that  conceived  them  hath  done  shamefully  : 

For  she  said,  I  will  go  after  my  lovers, 

That  give  me  my  bread  and  my  water, 

My  wool  and  my  flax,  mine  oil  and  my  drink.  ^ 

Therefore  behold,  I  will  hedge  up  thy  way  with  thorns,      6 

And  make  a  wall,  that  she  shall  not  find  her  paths. 

And  she  shall  follow  after  her  lovers,  but  she  shall  not  7 

overtake  them; 
And  she  shall  seek  them,  but  shall  not  find  them: 
Then   shall   she   say,   I  will  go   and  return  to  my  first 

husband ; 


whoredom',  not  merely  as  the  children  of  idolaters,  but  as  idolaters 
themselves. 

5.  I  will  go  after  my  lovers...']  Israel,  then,  had  given  up  the  true 
Jehovah  for  'lovers'  (i.e.  not,  as  the  Targum  explains  it,  and  as  the 
phrase  often  means,  especially  in  Ezekiel,  the  neighbouring  peoples 
whose  favour  was  courted  by  the  Israelites,  but,  as  w.  10,  15  suggest, 
the  Baalim). 

7nme  oil  and  my  drink]  Rather,  diinTcs  (as  margin),  i.e.  wine  and 
various  fermented  liquors  made  from  fruits  such  as  the  date,  the  mul- 
berry, the  fig,  and  the  dried  raisin  (see  Tristram,  Natural  Hist.  0/ 
Bible,  p.  412).  Observe  the  influence  of  the  primitive  idea  that  the 
land  (rather  than  the  people)  was  in  mystic  relation  to  Jehovah  ;  see  on 
w.  21,  22. 

6.  /  will  hedge  up  thy  way  with  thorns]  Notice  how,  in  the  excite- 
ment of  anger,  the  person  changes  from  the  second  to  the  third.  The 
figure  is  that  of  a  traveller,  who  has  not  indeed  lost  his  way,  but  finds  it 
shut  up  by  a  thorn-hedge  planted  right  across  it,  and  by  a  wall,  which 
formerly  could  be  scaled  through  a  breach,  but  is  now  solidly  built  up. 
Job  iii.  23,  xix.  8  and  Lam.  iii.  7,  9  are  strikingly  parallel.  The  reality 
signified  is  of  course  some  dark  calamity  utterly  paralyzing  the  vital 
powers.     In  the  second  line  render  a  wall  for  her  (lit.,  'her  wall'). 

7.  not  overtake... not  find  them]  Because  the  sense  of  the  mystic 
nearness  of  the  Baalim,  formerly  enjoyed  by  their  worshippers,  will 
have  disappeared  together  with  the  prosperity  which  they  were  imagined 
to  have  granted;  prayers  and  sacrifices  will  have  lost  their  supposed 
efficacy. 

I  will  go  and  return]  Rather,  Let  me  go  and  return.  A  resolution 
which  strikingly  resembles  that  of  the  Jews  in  Upper  Egypt  in  the  time 
of  Jeremiah,  who  persisted  in  worshipping  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  on 
the  ground  that  when  they  had  worshipped  her  in  former  times  '  they 
had  plenty  of  food,  and  were  well,  and  saw  no  evil'  (Jer.  xliv.  17). 
Israel's  language  here  reminds  us  of  a  later  parallel  passage  (vi.  i — 3) ; 

HOSEA  4 


so  HOSEA,   II.  [vv.  8, 9. 

For  then  was  it  better  with  me  than  now. 

For  she  did  not  know  that  I  gave  her  corn,  and  wine, 

and  oil, 
And  multiplied  her  silver  and  gold, 
Which  they  prepared  for  Baal. 
Therefore  will  I  return,  and  take  away  my  corn  in  the 

time  thereof, 
And  my  wine  in  the  season  thereof, 
And  will  recover  my  wool  and  my  flax  given  to  cover  her 

nakedness. 

it  is  not  so  much  the  expression  of  penitence,  as  of  a  longing  to  escape 
from  the  sense  of  misery. 

then  was  it  better  with  me  than  now]  For,  after  all,  Israel  was  better 
off  materially  at  the  opening  of  her  national  existence.  She  had  not 
indeed  as  yet  appropriated  the  good  things  of  Canaanitish  civilization  ; 
but  her  independence  was  secured,  and  she  had  a  bright  horizon  of 
hope. 

8 — 13.  The  offended  Husband  describes  the  compulsion  which  he 
will  employ  towards  his  faithless  wife. 

8.  J^or  she  did  not  know  that  /.,.]  Rather,  and  she  (the  recipient 
of  such  favours)  hath  not  taken  notice  that  it  was  I  who  gave  her  the 
corn,  and  the  new  wine,  and  the  fresh  oil.  Com,  new  wine,  and 
fresh  oil,  are  the  three  great  material  blessings  of  the  land  of  Canaan 
(see  Deut.  vii.  13,  xi.  14,  xii.  17,  &c.). 

silver  and  gold\  The  fruits  of  commerce,  then,  are  also  the  gifts  of 
Jehovah  (contrast  the  language  of  Isaiah  in  a  different  mood,  Isa.  ii.  7). 
The  riches  of  N.  Israel  are  testified  to  by  the  Black  Obelisk  of  Shal- 
maneser  II.,  where  'silver  and  gold,  bowls  of  gold,  cups  of  gold,  bottles 
of  gold,  vessels  of  gold'  are  mentioned  in  the  tribute  paid  by  Yahua 
habal  Khumri  (Jehu,  son  of  Omri)  to  the  Assyrian  king. 

which  they  prepared  for  Baal]  Rather,  which  they  have  used  in  the 
service  of  the  Baal,  (i.e.  the  pretended  Baal  or  'lord'  whom  they 
worship).  This  may  allude  partly  to  the  overlaying  of  images  with 
silver  and  gold,  as  was  the  practice  in  Judah  in  the  time  of  Isaiah 
(Isa.  xxx.  22),  but  no  doubt  refers  chieiiy  to  the  molten  images  in 
the  form  of  a  calf  (i.  e.  a  small  bull),  which  the  first  Jeroboam  placed  on 
the  bdmoth  or  high  places  at  Bethel  and  at  Dan,  and  doubtless  else- 
where. It  is  possible,  however,  to  render  'and  who  multiplied  silver 
for  her,  and  gold,  which  (viz.  which  gold)  they  have  used,'  &c.  In 
this  case  the  reference  will  be  exclusively  to  the  golden  bulls.  This 
view  is  favoured  by  the  Hebrew  accentuation. 

9.  And  now  in  order  radically  to  cure  the  Israelites  of  this  error 
(viz.  that  their  good  things  have  come  from  the  Baals)  the  people  are 
for  a  time  to  be  deprived  of  these  blessings. 

return  and  take  away]     Rather,  take  back  again. 

ffiy  corn... my  wine... my  wool... my  flax]     For   though  Israel  may 


vv.  lo— 12.]  HOSEA,   II.  51 

And  now  will  I  discover  her  lewdness  in  the  sight  of  her  i 

lovers, 
And  none  shall  deliver  her  out  of  mine  hand, 
I  will  also  cause  all  her  mirth  to  cease,  1 

Her  feast  days^  her  new  moons,  and  her  sabbaths,  and  all 

her  solemn  feasts. 
And  I  will  destroy  her  vines  and  her  fig  trees,  j 

speak,  as  in  v.  7,  of  ^my  bread  and  my  water,'  these  things  were  really 
the  property  of  Jehovah,  who  could  withdraw  them  at  any  moment, 
even  in  the  'time'  or  season  of  the  corn  and  the  new  wine,  when 
the  husbandman  was  counting  implicitly  on  the  harvest  and  the 
vintage. 

recover'\  Or,  rescue,  viz.  from  the  misuse  to  which  these  gifts  would 
be  put  by  the  idolaters. 

given  to  cover  her  nakedness]  Thus  reminding  Israel  that  in  her 
natural  condition  she  was  utterly  helpless  and  destitute.  Comp.  Ezek. 
xvi,  8,  which  evidently  alludes  to  this  passage. 

10.  in  the  sight  of  her  lovers]  Note  here  that  the  prophet  seems 
to  admit  the  real  existence  of  the  Baalim.  Seems,  but  only  seems  ;  for 
in  iv.  1-2  he  describes  the  popular  oracles  as  'stocks,'  and  in  xiv.  3  he 
describes  it  as  folly  to  say  'to  the  work  of  our  hands,  Ye  are  our 
gods,'  Hosea's  language  here  is  probably  poetically  free,  just  as  in 
Ps.  xcvi.  4  a  psalmist  declares  that  Jehovah  is  'to  be  feared  above  all 
gods'  {'elohtm),  though  he  adds  in  v.  5  that  'all  the  gods  of  the  nations 
are  but  ^elilim  'nothings'  or  'not-gods.'  The  later  prophets  are  more 
emphatically  monotheistic  (see  Introduction,  part  v.,  and  comp.  on 
i.  10). 

11.  her  feast  days,  her  new  moons,  and  her  sabbaths]  (The  Hebrew 
has  the  singular,  '  her  feast-day '  &c.)  These  expressions  are  remarkable, 
for  Hosea  is  a  prophet  of  northern  Israel.  It  would  appear,  then, 
that  the  separation  of  north  and  south  did  not  involve  a  discontinuance 
of  the  festivals  in  the  north  (see  ix.  5).  Amos  had  already  predicted 
the  ruin  of  the  'feasts'  in  N.  Israel  (Amos  viii.  10).  In  addition  to 
the  'feasts'  which  are  doubtless  those  mentioned  in  the  earliest  body 
of  legislation  (Ex.  xxiii.  14,  &c,,  xxxiv.  18,  &c.),  Hosea  specifies  the 
new  moon  and  the  sabbath  (comp.  i  Kings  iv.  23)  as  passing  away 
together  with  the  national  independence.  This  was  not  strictly  speaking 
the  case  with  regard  to  the  sabbath,  which  became  one  great  bond  of 
union  among  the  Jews  in  exile.  But  the  old,  popular  sabbath  of 
unrestrained  joy  (comp.  Hosea's  'all  her  mirth')  did  pass  away;  the 
sabbath  of  Is.  Iviii.  13  was  very  different  from  that  which  was  popularly 
observed  in  ancient  Israel. 

and  all  her  solemn  feasts]  Or,  festal  assemblies.  The  term  is 
more  comprehensive  than  'feast';  the  Levitical  legislation  recognizes 
seven  'festal  assemblies',  but  only  three  'feasts'  (comp.  Lev.  xxxiii.). 

12.  her  vines  and  her  fig-trees]    The  Hebrew  has  'her  vfne  and  her* 
fig-tree'.     It  would  seem  as  if  here,  as  in  Joel  i.  7,  Israel  personified 

4—2 


52  HOSEA,  II.  [v.  13. 

Where^  she  hath  said,  These  are  my  rewards  that  my 

lovers  have  given  me : 
And  I  will  make  them  a  forest, 
And  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  eat  them. 
13      And  I  will  visit  upon  her  the  days  of  Baalim,  where/)?  she 

burnt  incense  to  them, 

were  represented  with  a  vine  and  a  fig-tree,  like  any  individual  Israelite 
(i  Kings  iv.  25).     But  A.  V.  gives  the  right  sense. 

my  rewards]  The  'hire'  or  'reward'  of  a  prostitute  is  meant  (comp. 
ix.  I,  and  see  on  v.  5). 

a  foresf]  A  frequent  feature  in  descriptions  of  desolation  (comp. 
Isa.  v.  6,  vii.  2^,  xxxii.  13;  Mic.  iii.  12).  'A  forest'  however  is 
misleading;  the  word  {ya^ar)  often  means  low,  tangled  brushwood 
(e.g.  Cant.  ii.  3;  Isa.  xxi.  13;  i  Sam.  xiv.  25,  26).  The  idea  in  the 
prophet's  mind  is  inaccessibility,  not  stateliness  (like  that  of  forest- 
trees). 

the  beasts  of  the  field]  *  Field '  =  open  country.  The  enemies  of 
Israel  are  compared  to  wild  beasts  in  Isa.  Ivi.  9 ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25. 

13.  /  will  visit  upon  her  the  days  of  Baalini]  To  'visit'  is  to 
examine  or  take  notice  of,  whether  in  a  favourable  sense  or  the  reverse. 
'  Baalim '  should  rather  be  tlie  Baalini  (the  various  local  Baals). 
Hosea  has  referred  to  the  holydays  of  Jehovah  {v.  ri);  now  he  com- 
plains of  the  holydays  of  the  Baalim,  which,  there  is  reason  to  think, 
are,  in  name  at  least,  the  same  holydays  as  those  of  the  more  spiritual 
worshippers  of  Jehovah  (new  moons,  sabbaths,  and  festal  assemblies), 
but  differing  from  these  in  the  total  absence  of  a  spiritual  element. 
They  are  in  fact  nothing  better  than  sensual  merry-makings  and  displays 
of  finery  such  as  the  heathen  loved  at  the  turning-points  of  the  agri- 
cultural year.  But  what  does  Hosea  mean  by 'the  Baalim'?  Certainly 
not,  as  some  have  supposed,  statues  of  a  god  distinct  from  Jehovah 
called  Baal — a  view  which  is  opposed  by  7k  19,  '  I  will  take  away  the 
names  (not,  the  name)  of  the  Baalim  out  of  thy  mouth'.  The  com- 
parison of  another  Semitic  religious  vocabulary  will  here,  as  so  often, 
facilitate  our  exegesis.  With  the  Phoenicians  the  word  Baal,  'lord', 
was  an  appellative  term  for  a  god,  and  was  used  as  well  for  any  local 
as  for  the  national  deity.  It  occurs  in  the  phrase  'Melkart,  Baal  of 
Tyre'  in  the  bilingual  inscription  on  two  candelabra  known  as  Meli- 
tensis  prima;  and  if  we  only  had  Canaanitish  and  Israelitish  inscriptions 
we  should  doubtless  find  that  the  Canaanitish  and  popular  Israelitish 
usage  was  identical  with  that  of  the  Phoenicians.  What  Hosea  does 
mean  by  'the  Baalim'  is  the  varieties  of  the  one  national  deity  specially 
worshipped  in  different  Israelitish  localities,  such  as  Baal-Hamon,  Baal- 
Hazor,  Baal-Shalisha,  Baal-Tamar,  &c.  In  spite  of  the  name  Baal 
(see  on  v.  16)  it  was  Jehovah  who  was  worshipped  at  the  'high  places,' 
just  as  in  Mohammedan  Syria  it  is  Allah  who,  in  name  at  least,  receives 
the  adoration  of  the  felldhtn.  But  the  worship  was,  from  Hosea's 
point  of  view,  a  purely  nominal  one,  just  as  the  worship  of  Allah  by 


V.  14.]  HOSEA,   II.  53 

And  she  decked  herself  with  her  earrings  and  her  jewels, 
And  she  went  after  her  lovers,  and  forgat  me,  saith  the 

Lord. 
Therefore  behold,  I  will  allure  her,  14 

iYiQfelldktn  is  mixed  up  with  many  most  un-Mohammedan  elements. 
The  Israelites  of  the  north  looked  upon  the  Baalim,  as  the  givers  of 
their  bread  and  their  water,  their  oil  and  their  'drinks';  in  short, 
as  in  no  essential  respect  different  from  the  heathen  Baalim  of  the 
Canaanites.  This  was,  no  doubt,  a  backsliding  from  the  spiritual 
truths  which  seem  to  be  involved  in  the  revelation  of  Sinai.  But  it 
was  a  backsliding  which  can  be  accounted  for ;  it  is  not  to  be  traced, 
as  the  older  writers  on  the  Old  Testament  naively  traced  it,  to  a 
peculiar  wickedness  in  the  primitive  Israelites.  A  fusion  of  the  religion 
brought  by  the  Israelites  from  Sinai  with  the  religion  found  by  them  in 
Canaan,  was,  humanly  speaking,  inevitable;  partly  because  from  pre- 
historic times  the  Hebrews,  equally  with  the  Canaanites  had  used  the 
term  Baal,  'lord',  as  an  appellative  for  a  deity,  and  partly  because,  like 
the  Cuthsean  colonists  of  the  cities  of  Samaria,  they  thought  it  essential 
to  learn  'the  manner  (rather,  religion)  of  the  god  of  the  land'  (2  Kings 
xvii.  26),  since  the  national  prosperity  seemed  to  depend  on  the  favour 
of  the  territorial  deities. 

burned  incetise]  The  word  will  also  cover  the  burning  of  sacrifices 
upon  the  altar,  as  Lev.  i.  9,  17,  &:c.  Comp.  Ps.  Ixvi.  15  'incense 
[or,  the  sweet  smoke]  of  rams.' 

her  ear7'ings  and  her  jewels]  Rather,  her  nose-ring'  (as  only  one 
ring  is  mentioned,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  Hebrew  ladies  had  a 
store  of  these  articles),  as  Gen.  xxiv.  47,  and  her  necklace  (as  Prov. 
XXV.  12).  Popular  religious  ideas  required  such  ornaments  for  holy 
days.  See  Ex.  iii.  21,  22  (comp.  v.  18),  and  Koran,  Sura  xx.  61 
'  on  the  day  of  ornament '  (i.e.  at  the  festival). 

14 — 23.  And  now  the  notes  of  threatening  are  dying  away;  bright 
and  glorious  days  are  announced  for  both  sections  of  the  nation. 
There  shall  be  a  second  Exodus ;  no  more  idolatry ;  no  more  war ;  no 
cloud  upon  Israel's  relation  to  her  God.  (Notice  in  passing  the  limi- 
tations of  this  stage  of  religious  knowledge;  the  Messianic  hope  is  as 
yet  confined  entirely  to  the  people  of  Israel.) 

14.  Therefore]  i.e.  because,  without  Jehovah's  help,  Israel  will 
never  come  to  herself,  and  reform  (comp.  Isa.  xxx.  18).  Her  punishment 
has  an  educational  object;  the  threat  has  a  tinge  of  promise. 

I  will  allure  her...]  The  pronoun  is  expressed  in  the  Hebrew.  / 
have  not  forgotten  her,  though  she  has  forgotten  me.  'Allure  her' 
seems  out  of  place  in  introducing  the  punishment ;  generally  the  exile 
is  described  as  an  expulsion  (comp.  Jer.  viii.  3).  Either  we  must  read 
with  Buhl,  'I  will  loose  hei  bonds'  {mYaiiekhdh,  cf.  Jer.  xl.  4),  or  we 
must  suppose  a  violation  of  natural  order  such  as  occurs  now  and  then 
in  Hebrew,  so  that  the  'alluring'  may  refer  to  the  cordial  address  of 
Jehovah  spoken  of  afterwards.  Kimchi  explains,  '  I  will  put  into  her 
heart  to  return,  while  she  is  yet  in  exile '.    Plow  beautifully  the  promise 


54  HOSEA,   II.  Tvv.  15,  16. 

And  bring  her  into  the  wilderness, 

And  speak  comfortably  unto  her. 

And  I  will  give  her  her  vineyards  from  thence, 

And  the  valley  of  Achor  for  a  door  of  hope  : 

And  she  shall  sing  there,  as  in  the  days  of  her  youth, 

And  as  in  the  day  when  she  came  up  out  of  the  land  of 

Egypt. 
And  it  shall  be  at  that  day,  saith  the  Lord,  that  thou 

shalt  call  me  Ishi ; 
And  shalt  call  me  no  more  Baali. 

anticipates  the  great  prophecy  of  Israel's  restoration,  which  opens, 
remarkably  enough,  with  the  very  phrase  used  by  Hosea,  'Speak  ye 
to  the  heart  of  Jerusalem'  (Is.  xl.  2).  [According  to  another  expla- 
nation of  the  passage  which  goes  back  to  St  Jerome,  the  wilderness  is 
not  only  a  place  of  afifliction,  but  one  of  hope.  The  latter  sense  seems 
to  be  opposed  by  a  passage  in  Ezekiel  (xx.  33 — 38)  which  is  evidently 
a  reminiscence  of  our  passage,  and  which  refers  to  the  wilderness 
exclusively  as  a  place  of  punishment.  Keil,  on  the  other  hand,  thinks 
that  Israel  is  to  be  led  into  the  wilderness,  not  for  punishment,  but  for 
deliverance  from  bondage.  This  certainly  explains  the  'I  will  alhire 
her,'  but  is  not  consistent  with  the  next  verse,  in  which  allusion  is 
made  to  the  punishment  undergone  in  the  wilderness.  Comp.  on 
xiii.  10.] 

into  the  wilderness]  By  'wilderness'  Hosea  means  not  merely  the 
desert  which  lay  between  Canaan  and  the  land  of  captivity,  but  the 
captivity  or  exile  itself.  Sojourn  in  a  heathen  land  appeared  to  pious 
Israelites  like  a  wandering  in  the  desert  (comp.  Isa.  xli.  17). 

speak  comfortably  unto  her\     Lit.,  'speak  unto  her  heart'. 

15.  /  will  give  her  her  vineyardsfrom  thence]  So  soon  as  she  has 
left  the  wilderness  ('from  thence'),  Jehovah  will  restore  to  her  the  vine- 
yards which  he  had  taken  away  [v.  12). 

the  valley  of  Achor  for  a  door  of  hope]  Whereas  the  first  Israelites 
had  to  call  their  first  encampment  after  crossing  the  Jordan  the  valley 
of  Achor  or  'Troubling'  (Josh.  vii.  26),  their  descendants  shall  find  the 
same  spot  a  starting  point  for  a  career  of  success.  Another  prophet 
praises  the  same  valley  for  its  fertility  (Is.  Ixv.  10). 

she  shall  sing  there]  Or,  'thereupon'.  Alluding  to  the  songs  of 
Moses  and  Miriam  in  Ex.  xv.  i  (see  v.  21,  where,  as  St  Jerome  with 
Jewish  writers  points  out,  the  same  verb  is  used  of  Miriam's  'answer- 
ing' the  song  of  Moses).  But  antiphonal  singing  is  not  suitable  here, 
and  much  less  in  vv.  23 — 25  (where  A.  V.  arbitrarily  alters  the  render- 
ing of  the  verb).  Render,  she  shall  respond  there.  Theod.  iiroKpi- 
d-^fferat,  Aq.  viraKoijaeL  (scil.  ry  Kwptv).  But  Hebrew  grammar  is  more 
consulted  by  adopting  Buhl's  emendation,  'she  shall  go  up  {'al^ihdh) 
thither'  (i.e.  homewards),  as  in  'the  days  of  her  youth'  (comp.  Jer.  ii.  2), 
when  she  came  out  of  Egypt. 

16.  thou  shalt  call  me  Ishi;  and  shalt  call  me  no  more  Baali]    The 


vv.  17,  18.]  HOSEA,  II.  55 

For  I    will  take  away  the  names  of  Baalim  out  of  her  17 

mouth, 
And  they  shall  no  more  be  remembered  by  their  name. 
And  in  that  day  will  I  make  a  covenant  for  them  with  ,3 

the  beasts  of  the  field, 
And  with  the  fowls  of  heaven,    and   with   the  creeping 

things  of  the  ground  : 
And  I  will  break  the  bow  and  the  sword  and  the  battle 

out  of  the  earth, 

terms  Ishi,  *my  husband',  and  Baali,  *my  lord',  are  "properly  speaking 
synonymous,  so  that,  but  for  the  association  of  Baal  with  a  false  rehgion, 
Jeho/ah  as  the  Bridegroom  of  Israel  might  quite  innocently  be  ad- 
dressed as  Baali.  The  occurrence  of  Baal  in  the  proper  names  of 
families  of  patriots  like  Saul,  David,  y^nathan,  y^ash  (the  father  of 
Jerubbaal),  and  indeed  merely  such  a  name  as  Beahah,  'Jehovah  is 
Baal'  (i  Chron.  xii.  5),  shew  that  Jehovah  was  actually  so  addressed  in 
the  earlier  period  of  Israelitish  history.  The  danger  however  to  the  reli- 
gious purity  of  Israel  was,  as  we  have  seen  {on  v.  13),  very  great,  and 
Hosea  naturally  refused  to  recognize  in  Jehovah-Baal  the  spiritual  deity 
to  whom  his  own  allegiance  was  sworn.  Our  prophet  was  therefore  the 
continuator  of  the  work  of  Elijah.  The  Phoenicized  Baal-cultus  of 
Ahab  was  doubtless  more  corrupt  than  that  which  Hosea  had  to  deal 
with,  but  the  spiritual  perceptions  of  Hosea  were  sharpened  by  a  fuller 
training  than  that  which  the  older  prophet  had  enjoyed.  It  is  remark- 
able, as  an  instance  of  the  freedom  with  which  a  later  prophet  could 
allowably  treat  an  earlier  one  (a  freedom  which  reminds  us  of  the  treat- 
ment of  the  Law  of  Moses  by  our  Lord),  that  Jeremiah  actually  uses 
the  verb  bd''al,  'to  be  a  lord  or  husband',  of  Jehovah  (Jer.  xxxi._>a^  ^JJ^ 

17.  I  will  take  away  the  names  of  the  Baalim  ]  Tenacious  as  the  popular 
memory  is,  the  unholy  names  shall  be  expunged  from  it.  'Remem- 
bered' should  be  mentioned;  comp.  Josh,  xxiii.  7;  Ps.  xvi.  4,  and 
especially  the  reminiscence  of  our  passage  in  Zech.  xiii.  2  (where  '  the 
idols'  has  taken  the  place  of  'the  BaaUm').  'Out  of  her  mouth',  a 
change  of  person  for  the  sake  of  variety. 

18.  /  will  make  a  covenant... ^  The  language  reminds  us  of  Zech. 
xi.  10,  where  Jehovah  'breaks  his  covenant  which  he  has  made  with  all 
the  peoples',  restraining  them  from  injuring  the  Israelites,  and  still  more 
of  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25  (evidently  based  on  this  passage).  The  'covenant' 
(Heb.  frith)  is  in  fact  an  ordinance  imposed  by  Jehovah;  it  is  not 
correct  to  say  that  it  is  a  'treaty'  between  Israel  and  the  wild  beasts. 
Probably  'ordinance'  is  the  original  meaning,  which  was  afterwards 
widened  into  'covenant'.  Comp.  vi.  7;  Deut.  xxxiii.  9;  2  Kings  xi.  4; 
Jer.  xi.  6;  Job  xxxi.  i ;  Ps.  cv.  10. 

and  I  will  break... out  of  the  earth]  Comp.  Ps.  xlvi.  9.  But  the 
context  requires  the  rendering,  out  of  the  land.  All  the  '  equipment  of 
war'  (see  on  i.  7)  of  Israel's  enemies  shall  be  destroyed  (comp.  Ps. 
Ixxvi.  3). 


56  HOSEA,   II.  [w.  19—21 

And  will  make  them  to  lie  down  safely. 

And  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  for  ever ; 

Yea,  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  in  righteousness,  and  in 

judgment, 
And  in  lovingkindness,  and  in  mercies. 
I  will  even  betroth  thee  unto  me  in  faithfulness  : 
And  thou  shalt  know  the  Lord. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day, 
I  will  hear,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  hear  the  heavens,    i 

19.  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me\  A  second  marriage-ceremony  among 
the  Israelites  had  to  be  preceded  by  a  second  betrothal.  Jehovah 
promises  here  that  this  betrothal  shall  be  *for  ever',  i.e.,  that  no  differ- 
ences shall  destroy  the  mutual  harmony  between  Jehovah  and  His  people, 
(comp.  Jer.  xxxi.  35 — 37;  Is.  liv.  8 — 10).  Righteousness  and  justice,  &c. 
shall  be  as  it  were  the  bond  which  unites  the  pair.  The  triple  mention 
of  the  betrothal  indicates  the  solemnity  of  the  act. 

20.  and  thoit  shalt  know  the  Lord]  The  'knowledge'  of  Jehovah 
is  repeatedly  insisted  upon  by  Hosea  (see  iv.  i,  v.  4,  vi.  3,  6);  not 
however  a  merely  intellectual  one,  but  that  which  rests  upon  spiritual 
experience,  and  results  in  moral  practice.  Such  experience  was  lacking 
in  Hosea's  countrymen;  'the  spirit  of  whoredom  is  in  the  midst  of  them, 
and  they  have  not  known  Jehovah'  (v.  4).  It  was  natural  to  describe 
as  an  element  of  the  realized  ideal  that  Jehovah's  people  should  at  last 
'know'  him.  How  much  weaker  is  the  alternative  reading,  'know  that 
I  am  the  Lord',  though  supported  by  the  precious  Babylonian  codex, 
as  well  as  by  the  Vulgate ! 

21.  22.  /  will  hear...]  Rather,  I  will  respond  (and  similarly 
throughout).  It  is  a  beautiful  picture  of  the  harmony  between  the 
physical  and  the  spiritual  spheres,  Jezreel  (i.e.  Israel,  see  next  verse) 
asks  its  plants  to  germinate ;  they  call  upon  the  earth  for  its  juices ;  the 
earth  beseeches  heaven  for  rain ;  heaven  supplicates  for  the  divine 
word  which  opens  its  stores;  and  Jehovah  responds  in  faithful  love. 
The  idea  is  that  of  Am.  ix.  13;  Joel  iii.  18,  but  it  is  expressed  in  an 
unusual  manner.  Striking  parallels  have  been  quoted  from  Euripides 
and  iEschylus  (fragments  beginning  respectively 

'Epa  fxkv  6/x^pov  ydi' ,  orav  ^t]pbv  iribov 
and  'E/j^  ixkv  ayvos  ovpavos  Tpwcrai  x^^^"^)  > 
but  we  need  not  have  recourse  for  illustrations  to  classical  literature. 
The  prophets  and  psalmists  have  no  scruple  in  adopting  and  spiritual- 
izing popular  (i.e.  heathenish)  Semitic  modes  of  thought.  One  of  the 
most  prevalent  of  these  modes  of  thought  is  referred  to  by  Hosea  both 
in  this  chapter  and  in  i.  2.  The  heathen  Semitic  deities  were  the  pro- 
ductive powers  of  nature,  and  were  grouped  in  couples  of  male  and 
female  principles,  known  in  the  middle  zone  of  Semitic  countries  as 
Baal  and  Baalath  (  =  Baaltis),  Baal  and  Asherah  (see  note  in  Introd., 
part  II.),  and  Ashtar  (or  Ashtor)  and  Ashtoreth  (or  Astarte).     It  was 


vv.  22,  23.]  HOSEA,   II.  57 

And  they  shall  hear  the  earth  ; 

And  the  earth  shall  hear  the  corn,  and  the  wine,  and  the  22 

oil ; 
And  they  shall  hear  Jezreel. 

And  I  will  sow  her  unto  me  in  the  earth ;  23 

And  I  will  have   mercy    upon   her   that   had   not 

obtained  mercy; 

believed  that  the  fruitful  earth  was  the  issue  of  this  union;  or,  by 
a  variation  of  the  same  myth,  that  the  earth  itself  was  the  female 
principle.  Hence  the  idea  that  the  land  (see  i.  2.  and  comp.  the 
expressions  in  vv.  5,  9),  and,  by  a  later  inference,  the  people  of  Israel, 
were  the  offspring  or  the  spouse  of  their  God  was  a  truism  to  the 
hearers  of  the  prophet;  but  that  divine  sonship  was  not  physical  but 
moral  (see  below,  on  xi.  i),  and  that  the  nation's  Bridegroom  could  even 
divorce  his  spouse — these  were  strange  and  offensive  ideas.  The  latter 
indeed  was  so  inconceivable  that  Hosea  was  directed  to  explain  it  by 
allegorizing  a  distressing  episode  in  his  own  history.  We  must  not  omit 
to  notice  in  conclusion  that  the  adaptation  of  mythic  and  therefore 
strictly  speaking  heathenish  forms  of  speech  is  not  confined  to  the 
records  of  revealed  religion.  The  Arabic  vocabulary  of  Mohammedan 
times  contains  a  group  of  parallel  expressions  which  may  pertinently  be 
referred  to  here.  Thus,  for  instance  ^a/i  and  ^athtliari  or  ^atharl 
are  used  of  land  which  is  watered  from  heaven  (i.e.,  by  rain  and 
not  by  springs),  and  these,  being  derivatives  of  the  Arabic  forms  of 
the  divine  names  Baal  and  Ashtar,  imply  the  very  same  myth  which 
has  been  mentioned  above.  So  too  both  in  Talmudic  Hebrew  and  in 
Arabic  'field,  or  land  of  Baal'  means  land  which  has  no  need  of  irriga- 
tion, and  baH  in  Arabic,  according  to  Lane,  any  seed-produce  only 
watered  by  the  rain.  (See  Prof.  Robertson  Smith,  The  Prophets  of 
Israel,  pp.  172,  409,  Cheyne,  The  Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  Vol.  II.  p.  295 
=  282  ed.  2).  These  significant  phrases  throw  a  fresh  light,  not  only 
(as  Prof.  Smith  has  shown)  on  Hosea,  but  also  on  the  language  of  Isa. 
xlv.  8,  'Shower,  ye  heavens  from  above. ..let  the  earth  open,  and  let 
them  (viz.  heaven  and  earth)  bear  the  fruit  of  salvation'. 

yezreel\  In  i.  4  Jezreel  was  only  mentioned  for  its  historical  associa- 
tions, without  any  reference  to  the  meaning  of  its  name.  Here  however 
it  evidently  has  a  symbolic  value,  viz.  'God  sows  (it)'. 

23.  And  I  will  sozu  her  unto  me  in  the  earthy  Rather,  In  the 
land.  Jehovah  declares  that  Jezreel  shall  verify  her  name  {Jier  name, 
for  Jezreel  means  restored  Israel)  by  being  sown  anew  in  the  promised 
land.  (Similarly  Jeremiah,  see  xxxi.  27,  28).  Thus  one  of  the  symbolic 
names  of  chap.  i.  is  not  indeed  changed,  but  transformed  by  interpreta- 
tion. The  other  names  are  absolutely  reversed.  'Unto  me',  because 
while  they  were  outside  'Jehovah's  land',  the  relations  of  Jehovah  to 
Israel  seemed  interrupted. 

I  will  have  mercy  upon ]  Rather,  I  wlU  compassionate  Uncom- 

passionated  [Lo-ruhamah],  and  to  Not-my-people  [Lo-ammi]  I  wiU 


58  HOSEA,   III.  [vv.  i,  2. 

And    I    will    say    to    them    7vhich   were    not    my 

people,  Thou  art  my  people; 
And  they  shall  say,  Thou  art  my  God. 

3  Then  said  the  Lord  unto  me,  Go  yet,  love  a  woman 
beloved  of  her  friend,  yet  an  adulteress,  according  to  the 
love  of  the  Lord  toward  the  children  of  Israel,  who  look  to 

2  other  gods,  and  love  flagons  of  wine.     So  I  bought  her  to 

say,  Thou  art  My-people  [Ammi] ;  and  lie  (viz.  Not-my-people)  shall 
say,  My  God!  St  Paul's  quotation  in  Rom.  ix.  25  (in  a  form  which 
differs  both  from  the  Hebrew  and  from  the  Septuagint)  has  been  already 
referred  to  in  illustration  of  a  critical  hypothesis  (see  on  i.  10,  11).  A 
post-exile  prophecy  also  contains  an  unmistakable  allusion  to  this  pas- 
sage (Zech.  xiii.  9,  end).  Applications  like  these  shew  how  great  was 
the  posthumous  influence  of  the  prophets. 

Ch.  III.    The  second  part  of  the  parable  of  Hosea's  family- 
life. 

1.  Go  yet,  love]  Rather,  Once  more  go  love,  indicating  that  the 
narrative  dropped  at  i.  9  is  now  resumed.  (Notice  also  in  this  connexion 
the  change  of  the  third  person  into  the  first  in  chap,  iii.)  It  is  the  same 
woman  who  is  meant ;  otherwise  a  different  form  of  expression  would  have 
been  used  (like  that  in  i.  2),  besides  which  the  allegory  would  have  been 
spoiled  had  there  been  two  women  concerned.  Gomer  is  throughout  the 
symbol  of  faithless  but  not  forsaken  Israel.  The  narrative  is  told  in  a 
condensed  allusive  style,  which  makes  some  demand  on  the  imagination  of 
the  reader.  If  Gomer  is  to  be  taken  back,  it  is  clear  that  she  must  have 
left  her  husband,  and  the  price  at  which  {v.  2)  she  has  to  be  brought 
back  shews  that  she  had  fallen  into  depths  of  misery. 

beloved  of  her  friend,  yet  an  adulteress]  Rather,  beloved  of  a  para- 
mour, and  an  adulteress.  As  if  Jehovah  had  said.  Love  her  just  as 
she  is;  the  definition  is  added  for  the  reader's  sake,  to  show  how  great 
an  act  was  demanded  of  Hosea,  like  'Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son 
Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest'  (Gen.  xxii.  2).  For  the  rendering  'paramour', 
comp.  Jer.  iii.  20;  Lam.  i.  2. 

who  look...]  Rather,  whereas  they  (on  their  side)  turn. 
flagons  of  wine]  Rather,  cakes  of  grapes.  Cakes  of  dried  grapes 
were  common  articles  of  food,  mentioned  with  cakes  of  figs,  bread,  and 
wine,  and  parched  corn  (i  Sam.  xxv.  18).  The  cakes  here  mentioned, 
however,  must  have  been  of  a  superior  kind ;  they  bear  a  different 
name,  and  appear  from  Isa.  xvi.  7  (corrected  translation)  to  have  been 
considered  as  luxuries.  They  formed  part  of  David's  royal  bounty  on 
the  removal  of  the  ark  to  Jerusalem  (2  Sam.  vi.  19),  or  more  correctly 
of  the  sacrificial  feast  implied  by  the  context.  This  latter  point  is 
interesting  as  it  suggests  that  Baal-worship  was  closely  related  to  the 
festivities  of  the  vintage  (Prof.  Robertson  Smith,  The  Old  Testament  in 
the  Jewish  Church,  p.  434).  Hosea  too  seems  to  refer  to  these  cakes 
in  connexion  with  the  sacrificial  feasts,  not  without  a  touch  of  sarcasm. 


vv;3, 4-]  HOSEA,  III.  59 

me  for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  for  a  homer  of  barley,  and 
a  half  homer  of  barley :  and  I  said  unto  her,  Thou  shalt  3 
abide  for  me  many  days ;  thou  shalt  not  play  the  harlot, 
and  thou  shalt  not  be  for  another  man  :  so  will  I  also  be 
for  thee.     For  the  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days  4 

/  bought  her  to  me]  Why  Hosea  had  to  buy  his  wife  back  from  her 
paramour,  does  not  appear;  had  he  lost  his  rights  over  her  by  her  flight 
and  adultery?  Perhaps  it  was  simply  to  avoid  an  altercation  with  the 
adulterer,  or  we  may  imagine  such  a  scene  as  is  depicted  by  Dean 
Plumptre  in  his  poem  '  Gomer'  {Lazarus,  p.  87).  The  view  of  Pococke 
and  Pusey  that  Hosea  means  to  explain  how  he  undertook  to  allow  his 
wife  just  sufficient  for  a  decent  maintenance  till  she  should  be  reinstated 
in  her  full  position,  accounts  no  doubt  for  grain  being  given  as  well  as 
money,  but  does  violence  to  the  letter  of  the  text,  as  there  is  no  suffi- 
cient proof  of  the  rendering  'I  provided  her  with  food'. 

for  fifteen  pieces  of  silver,  and  for  a  homer  of  barley,  and  a  half- 
homer  of  barley]  In  2  Kings  vii.  18  two  seahs  of  barley  are  rated  at 
a  shekel.  This  however  was  immediately  after  the  siege  of  Samaria 
had  been  raised ;  the  normal  rate  would  probably  have  been  lower, 
say  three  seahs  at  a  shekel,  so  that  a  homer  (=  30  seahs)  would  have 
cost  ten  shekels  and  a  homer  and  a  half  fifteen.  The  total  price  paid 
by  Hosea  would  therefore  be  thirty  shekels  (about  £^.  i^s.)  the 
average  value  of  a  slave  (see  Ex.  xxi.  32).  Why  it  was  paid  partly  in 
money,  partly  in  kind,  cannot  be  determined.  Hosea  only  tells  us 
enough  to  make  the  allegory  intelligible.  Gomer  in  her  misery  is  a 
type  of  Israel  in  her  unhappy  alienation  from  her  God. 

a  half  homer]  Strictly,  a  lethech.  The  Sept.  has  *a  bottle  of 
wine'  [ve^eK  o'ivov).  Probably  the  translator  was  unacquainted  with 
the  'lethech',  which  was  apparently  nof^a  primitive  measure.  Its 
precise  relation  to  the  homer  is  uncertain;  A.V.  however  is  borne  out  ^  ^ 
by  the  Jewish  tradition.  There  is  nothing  analogous  to  it  in  the 
Egyptian  dry  measure,  which  in  other  details  agrees  exactly  with  the 
Hebrew  (Revillout,  Revue  egyptologique  II.  190). 

3.  Thoti  shalt  abide  for  me  many  days]  Rather,  shalt  sit  still  (as 
Isa.  XXX.  7,  Jer.  viii.  14  in  A.  V.).  Gomer  is  to  lead  a  quiet  secluded 
life ;  her  Ucentious  course  is  cut  short,  and  her  conjugal  intercourse 
may  not  yet  be  resumed.  This  is  to  last  for  'many  days,'  i.e.  as  long 
as  is  necessary  to  assure  Hosea  of  Gomer's  moral  amendment. 

so  {will) I  also  {be)  for  thee]  i.  e.  Hosea  plights  his  troth  that  he  will 
form  no  connexion  with  any  other  woman  but  Gomer.  '  Ego  vicissim 
tibi  fidem  meam  obligo',  Calvin.  Others,  with  Aben  Ezra  and  Kimchi, 
understand,  instead  of  'will  be',  'will  not  go  in',  taking  the  clause  as  a 
contrast  to  that  which  precedes  ('but  I  will  not  go  in  unto  thee'). 
Ewald  renders,  'and  yet  I  am  kind  unto  thee'.  It  is  possible  that  some 
short  word  (such  as  'so'  or 'not')  has  dropped  out  of  the  text. 

4.  For...]  The  explanation  of  this  latter  part  of  the  prophet's 
acted  allegory.     As  he  has  restrained  his  erring  wife  from  even  the 


6o  HOSEA,  III.  [v.  4. 

without  a  king,  and  without  a  prince,  and  without  a  sacrifice, 
and  without  an  image,  and  without  an  ephod,  and  without 

legitimate  gratification  of  her  natural  instincts,  so  Jehovah  will  chastise 
idolatrous  Israel  by  depriving  her  of  her  civil  and  religious  institutions. 
By  'the  children  of  Israel'  Hosea  means  the  Ten  Tribes,  as  elsewhere 
in  these  chapters, 

shall  abide]     Rather,  shall  sit  still  (as  v.  3). 

jnany  days]  The  prophet  has  received  no  revelation  as  to  the  dura- 
tion of  the  captivity  of  the  Ten  Tribes. 

without  a  king  and  withozit  a  prince]  The  abolition  of  'king  and 
princes'  corresponds  to  the  denial  of  intercourse  with  her  lovers  to 
Gomer.  The  term  'prince'  is  used  partly  of  the  magnates  of  the  state 
in  general,  partly  of  the  'elders'  or  heads  of  families,  who  played  such 
an  important  part  in  the  Israelitish  community  (comp.  Ex.  iii.  16; 
2  Sam.  xix.  11;  i  Kings  viii.  i,  xx.  7;  Jer.  xxvi.  17).  A  king  and 
princes  are  mentioned  together  again  in  vii.  3,  xiii.  10  (and  probably 
in  viii.  10). 

without  a  sacrifice  and  without  an  image]  The  withholding  of  this  and 
the  next  pair  of  objects  corresponds  to  the  cessation  of  conjugal  intercourse 
between  Hosea  and  Gomer.  Consequently  as  Hosea  represents  Jehovah, 
the  'image'  (or  rather  consecrated  pillar,  Heb.  ma^febcih)  spoken  of  must 
stand  in  some  relation  to  Jehovah,  must  in  fact  be  of  one  of  those  pillars 
sacred  to  Jehovah,  which,  as  many  think,  lasted  on  in  Judah  (much 
more  therefore  in  Israel)  at  any  rate  till  the  time  of  Hezekiah  :  see 
note  on  x.  i.  The  'pillars'  were  the  distinguishing  marks  of  holy 
places,  and  are  therefore  very  naturally  combined  by  Hosea  with 
sacrifices  or  altars  (Sept.,  followed  by  Pesh.  and  Vulg.  reads  'altar' 
here  instead  of  'sacrifice').     Comp.  Dean  Plumptre: 

No  pomp  of  kings,  no  priests  in  gorgeous  robes, 
No  victims  bleeding  on  the  altar-fires. 
No  golden  ephod  set  with  sparkling  gems. 
No  pillar  speaking  of  the  gate  of  heaven. 
No  Teraphim  with  strange  mysterious  gleam 
Shall  give  their  signs  oracular.  {Lazarus^  p.  90.) 

It  follows  from  this  passage  of  Hosea  that  the  worship  of  Jehovah  in 
northern  Israel  presented  features  altogether  alien  to  the  orthodox 
worship  of  Jehovah  according  to  the  Law,  and  that  Hosea  raises  no 
protest  against  it.  He  refers  to  its  suspension  as  a  privation  corre- 
sponding to  and  equally  felt  with  that  of  king  and  princes.  We  must 
remember  however  that  the  kings  of  N.  Israel  were  regarded  by  Hosea 
as  usurpers. 

without  an  ephod]  The  high  priest's  ephod  is  described  in  Ex.  xxviii. 
6 — 14.  It  was  a  sleeveless  coat  of  splendid  and  costly  material,  and 
with  two  ouches  of  onyx  on  the  shoulders,  bound  by  a  rich  girdle. 
Over  it  was  worn  the  so-called  choshen,  a  jewelled  breastplate,  with  the 
Urim  and  Thummim.  But  what  connexion  had  this  coat  with  the 
sacred  'pillar'  and  the  teraphim?  It  is  as  difficult  to  answer  as  the 
question  with  regard  to  Gideon's  ephod  in  Judg.  viii.  24 — 27.     The 


V.  5.]  HOSEA,   III.  6i 

teraphim :  afterward  shall  the  children  of  Israel  return,  and  s 
seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and  David  their  king ;  and  shall 
fear  the  Lord  and  his  goodness  in  the  latter  days. 

root-meaning  of  ephod  is  simply  to  overlay,  and  the  feminine  form  of 
the  word  ephod  {aphicdddh)  is  used  in  Isa.  xxx.  it  of  the  gold  plating 
of  images.  The  easiest  supposition  is  that  both  in  Judg.  i.e.  and  here 
*  ephod'  means,  not  an  article  of  sacerdotal  dress  but  an  image  of 
Jehovah  overlaid  with  gold  or  silver  (so  in  Judg.  xvii.,  xviii.;  iSam.  xxi. 
lo,  xxiii.  6,  9,  xxx.  7,  8,  but  not  i  Sam.  ii.  18,  xxii.  18).  It  is  no 
doubt  strange  to  find  this  idolatry  of  Jehovah  still  prevalent  among  the 
larger  section  of  the  Israelites.  But  the  fact  is  in  harmony  with  all 
that  Hosea  tells  us  of  the  religious  state  of  his  country  elsewhere. 

and  without  teraphi??i]  Ephod  and  teraphim  were  evidently  used 
for  similar  purposes  (see  Judg.  xvii.,  xviii.).  The  latter  word  only 
occurs  in  the  plural  form  ;  the  teraphim  seem  to  have  been  household 
gods  (see  Gen.  xxxi.  19,  34;  i  Sam.  xix.  13,  16),  a  relic  of  primitive 
Semitic  ancestor-worship  (if  we  may  connect  with  Assyrian  tarpu,  a 
word  from  the  same  root  as  Heb.  Rephaim  'the  shades' — see  margin  of 
R.  V.  of  Isa.  xiv.  9).  Certainly  no  other  plausible  derivation  has  been 
found  (see  Sayce,  Hibbert  Lectures,  pp.  63,  451).  Strange  that  such 
survivals  should  occur.  Compare,  on  the  general  question  of  fetishism 
in  the  Old  Testament,  Max  Miiller,  Hibbert  Lectures,  p.  60).  If 
so,  we  may  connect  them  with  the  'creeping  things  and  beasts  and 
idols  (gilliilim)  of  the  house  of  Israel '  which  Ezekiel  saw  '  pour- 
trayed  upon  the  wall'  in  the  'chambers  of  imagery'  (Ezek.  viii. 
10 — 12).  Josiah  indeed  had  attempted  to  put  away  'the  teraphim 
and  the  gillidini''  (2  Kings  xxiii.  24),  but  in  vain;  the  Jews  took 
them  with  them  into  exile.  Ezekiel  represents  the  king  of  Babylon 
as  seeking  an  oracle  from  his  teraphim  (Ezek.  xxi.  21);  at  any  rate, 
this  was  the  principal  use  of  the  teraphim  to  the  Israelites — to  divine 
by  (Zech.  x.  2).  The  meaning  of  'ephod  and  teraphim'  was  already 
forgotten  in  the  time  of  the  Septuagint  translator  of  Hosea,  who 
renders  ovZk  lepareias  ovd^  drjXaiv  (he  identifies  the  teraphim  with 
the  Thummim,  comp.  Sept.  Deut.  xxxiii.  8 ;  elsewhere  S-fjXa  or  StjXwo-is 
=^the  Urim). 

5.  return]  i.e.  from  their  evil  courses  of  disobedience  to  their  God 
and  to  the  legitimate  royal  house. 

David  their  king\  There  is  a  great  body  of  authority  for  regarding 
this  as  an  expression  for  the  Messiah.  So  the  Targum  took  it,  so 
Aben  Ezra,  and  other  Jewish  writers  cited  by  Pococke.  The  inter- 
pretation rests  on  the  undoubted  fact  that  in  Jer.  xxx.  9 ;  Ezek.  xxxiv. 
23,  24,  xxxvii.  24,  25  'David'  means  the  ideal  king  of  the  future  who 
should  prove  as  it  were  a  second  David.  In  all  these  passages  however 
there  is  something  in  the  context  to  determine  the  reference  to  a  person, 
and  all  these  passages  belong  to  a  later  period  in  the  development 
of  the  Messianic  revelation.  The  analogy  of  Am.  ix.  11  suggests 
that  what  is  in  Hosea's  mind  is,  not  the  person  of  the  king,  but  the 
dynasty.    In  short,  '  David'  =  the  representative  of  David.    Precisely  so 


62  HOSEA,  IV.  [v.  I. 

4      Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  children  of  Israel : 

For  the  Lord  hath  a  controversy  with  the  inhabitants  of 

the  land, 
Because  there  is  no  truth,  nor  mercy,  nor  knowledge  of 
God  in  the  land. 

Rehoboam  is  still  'David'  in  i  Kings  xii.  i6,  and  the  high  priest 
*  Aaron'  in  Ps.  cxxxiii.  i.  Hosea  does  not  sanction  the  usurping 
dynasties  (see  on  i.  ii). 

and  shall  fear  the  Lord  and  his  goodness"]  Rather,  and  shall  come 
eagerly  to  Jehovah  and  to  his  goodness  (or,  'to  His  good  things'). 
'  Come  eagerly  to '  is  literally,  '  tremble  to ',  but  the  idea  is  not  that 
they  will  tremble  at  their  own  unworthiness,  but  rather  '  trement  prae 
gaudio'  (as  the  same  verb  means  in  Isa.  Ix.  8).  Comp.  the  similar 
expression  in  xi.  lo,  where  however  the  idea  of  speech  is  included. 
The  parallel  passage  in  Jer.  xxxi.  lo  proves  that  the  revived  love  of  the 
Israelites  for  Jehovah  will  have  'cast  out  fear'. 

in  the  latter  days']  Rather,  in  the  days  to  come  (lit.,  *in  the  sequel 
of  the  days') ;  see  on  Mic.  iv.  i.  Hosea  does  not  mean  to  say  that  this 
will  be  the  last  aiijov  in  the  course  of  history ;  but  only  that  after  Israel's 
captivity,  nothing  will  arise  to  break  the  harmony  between  Jehovah  and 
his  people. 

Ch.  IV.    Israel's  gross  moral  corruption,  abetted  and 

INCREASED   BY   HIS    RELIGIOUS   GUIDES. 

1 — 3.  The  people  are  summoned  to  hear  whereof  Jehovah  accuses 
them,  viz.  the  universal  prevalence  of  the  most  crying  sins.  The  pro- 
phet assures  them  that  this  is  the  true  cause  of  the  physical  calamity 
which  is  becoming  more  and  more  general  in  its  range. 

1.  ye  children  of  Israel]  The  northern  kingdom  only  is  addressed 
(see  z*.  15,  where  the  prophet  turns  aside  to  Judah). 

the  Lord  hath  a  controversy]  Jehovah  is  both  plaintiff  and  judge ; 
comp.  xii.  2 ;  Isa.  i. 

no  truth,  nor  mercy]  Or,  'no  truthfulness  and  no  kindness.'  The 
Hebrew  khesedh  includes  in  its  wide  range  of  meaning ^  (i)  the  love  of 
God  to  man,  as  Ps.  v.  7,  (2)  the  love  of  man  to  God,  as  vi.  4,  and  (3) 
brotherly  love,  or  the  love  of  a  man  to  his  neighbour,  as  often.  Here 
the  context  favours  the  last  of  these  applications.  St  Jerome  well 
describes  the  connexion  between  the  two  qualities, — 'nee  Veritas  absque 
misericordia  sustineri  potest,  et  misericordia  absque  veritate  facit 
negligentes,  unde  alterum  miscendum  est  alteri'.  In  short,  truth  without 
love  leads  to  hardness,  love  without  truth  to  weakness. 

nor  knowledge  of  God]  This  might  well  have  been  mentioned  first. 
Moral  practice  is  low,  because  the  heart  has  no  experience  of  God's 
personal  dealings  with  it  (see  on  ii.  20). 

1  On  the  Hebrew  words  for  love,  comp.  Carl  Abel,  Ueber  den  Begriff  der  Liehe 
in  einigen  alien  utid  neuen  Sprachen,  Berlin,  1872,  pp.  63. 


vv.  2—4.]  HOSE  A,   IV.  63 

By  swearing,  and  lying,  and  killing,  and  stealing,  and  2 

committing  adultery,  they  break  out, 
And  blood  toucheth  blood. 

Therefore  shall  the  land  mourn,  3 

And  every  one  that  dwelleth  therein  shall  languish. 
With  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and  with  the  fowls  of  heaven  ; 
Yea,  the  fishes  of  the  sea  also  shall  be  taken  away. 
Yet  let  no  man  strive,  nor  reprove  another :  4 

For  thy  people  are  as  they  that  strive  with  the  priest. 

2.  Bj/  swearing...]  Rather,  (There  is  nothing:  but)  swearing  and 
lying,  &c.     The  '  swearing'  meant  is  of  course  false  swearing  (x.  4). 

dreak  out]  Viz.  into  acts  of  violence  ;  or,  '  break  into  (houses) ',  as 
Job  xxiv.  16. 

blood  toucheth  blood  ]  The  Hebrew  has  '  bloods ',  i.e.  bloodshed. 
The  sense  is,  one  deed  of  blood  follows  close  upon  another. 

3.  shall  the  land  mourn]  Or,  'doth...continually  mourn',  for  the  pro- 
phet speaks  amidst  the  anarchical  and  revolutionary  scenes  which 
followed  upon  the  death  of  Jeroboam  II.  A  severe  drought  is  repre- 
sented as  the  punishment  of  Israel's  misdoings.  Nature,  throughout 
the  prophetic  literature,  sympathizes  with  man's  sins  and  sorrows. 
Comp.  Isa.  xxiv.  3 — 6,  Am.  viii.  8  ;  Jer.  xii.  4;  Joel  i.  18  (where  render 
at  end  '  suffer  punishment'). 

with  the  beasts...]  Better,  both,  &c.  (lit.  *  in',  i.e.  whether  consisting 
of... or  of...). 

4 — 6.  It  is  not  you,  the  laity,  bad  as  you  are,  who  are  most  to 
blame ;  do  not  waste  your  time  in  mutual  recrimination.  The  real 
blame  lies  with  the  priests.  Jehovah  has  a  solemn  word  for  thee,  O 
priest ;  thy  whole  clan  are  virtually  in  rebellion  against  me.  For  thy 
penalty,  thou  shalt  suffer  one  blow  after  another,  (a  'fall'  means  a 
calamity),  as  it  were  by  day  and  by  night ;  and  thine  accomplice,  the 
prophet,  shall  partake  in  thy  punishment.  Yea,  thy  whole  stock,  priests 
as  well  as  people,  Jehovah  will  destroy.  And  why  ?  Because  thou,  O 
priest,  whose  duty  it  v/as  to  teach  the  life-giving  knowledge  of  God, 
hast  absolutely  rejected  it  thyself.  Henceforth  thou  art  no  priest  of 
mine. 

4.  Yet  let  no  man  strive... as  they  that  strive  with  the  priest]  The 
view  of  the  meaning  of  this  verse  suggested  by  A.V.  may  be  expressed 
in  the  words  of  Henderson.  *  All  reproof  on  the  part  of  their  friends  or 
neighbours  generally  would  prove  fruitless,  seeing  they  had  reached  a 
degree  of  hardihood,  which  was  only  equalled  by  the  contumacy  of  those 
who  refused  to  obey  the  priest,  when  he  gave  judgment  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  Deut.  xvii.  12.'  This  assumes  that  the  counsel  not  to  strive 
comes  from  Jehovah.  We  might  however  follow  Ewald,  who  under- 
stands the  opening  words  of  v.  4  to  mean  that  the  people  *  will  not 
permit  any  one,  even  a  prophet,  to  contend  with  them,  although  they 
themselves  do  not  scruple  in  the  least  to  quarrel  with  every  one,  even 


64  HOSEA,   IV.  [vv.  5, 6. 

Therefore  shalt  thou  fall  i7i  the  day, 

And  the  prophet  also  shall  fall  with  thee  m  the  night, 

And  I  will  destroy  thy  mother. 

My  people  are  destroyed  for  lack  of  knowledge, 

Because  thou  hast  rejected  knowledge, 

with  the  priest  who  would  admonish  them,  in  spite  of  the  traditional 
reverence  for  his  office,  Deut.  xvii.  8 — 18;  Eccl.  iv.  17,  18.'  The  com- 
parison at  the  end  of  the  verse,  when  explained  thus,  is  no  doubt 
obscurely  expressed,  but  not  more  so  than  that  in  v.  10,  '  the  princes  of 
Judah  are  become  like  those  that  remove  the  bound.'  Still  there  are 
objections,  viz.  (i)  that  in  v.  6  the  second  person  undoubtedly  refers  to 
the  priesthood,  and  why  should  it  be  taken  differently  in  z/.  5  ?  and  (2) 
that  in  v.  6  the  priests  are  so  vehemently  denounced,  that  we  can  hardly 
suppose  that  contending  with  them  would  be  referred  to  as  a  sin  inz/.  5. 
Various  conjectures  have  been  proposed  for  emending  the  passage.  The 
most  plausible  is  that  of  Prof.  Robertson  Smith  ( The  Prophets  of  Israel^ 
p.  406),  who  for  kim'Tibhe  'as  they  that  strive  with',  xG?ids  mdric  bht 
'  have  rebelled  against  me.'  At  any  rate,  we  must  agree  with  him  and 
with  Mr  Heilprin,  that  the  concluding  word  is  a  vocative — '  O  priest.' 
The  view  of  the  meaning  of  vv.  4 — 6  given  in  the  note  before  this  is 
based  upon  this  conjecture.  '  Priest'  here  =  priestly  caste,  as  'a prophet' 
in  Deut.  xviii,  18  =  an  order  of  prophets. 

5.  the  prophet  also]  Hosea  of  course  refers  to  the  lower  class  of 
prophets,  to  whom  prophecy  was  simply  a  means  of  livelihood  (comp. 
Mic.  iii.  II  and  Amaziah's  words  in  Am.  vii.  12),  and  who,  like  the 
priests,  often  came  visibly  drunk  to  their  most  solemn  functions  (Isa. 
xxviii.  7).  The  spiritually-minded  prophets  of  this  period  do  not  inveigh 
against  their  rivals  as  false  prophets  (this  term  came  from  the  Sept. 
version  of  Jeremiah),  but  as  those  who  prostitute  a  sacred  calling  to 
sel  fish  purposes.  Very  similar  charges  are  brought  against  the  priests,  who 
are  not  on  that  account  called  false  priests,  though  from  the  highest 
point  of  view  they  were  such. 

thy  mother]  i.e.  the  stock  from  which  thou  springest,  i.e.  either  the 
entire  Israelitish  race  (comp.  ii.  2),  or  some  partly  independent  portion 
of  that  race,  not  indeed  here  a  city  (as  2  Sam.  xx.  19;  comp.  Ps. 
cxlix.  2),  but  the  caste  or  clan  of  the  priests  (so  Prof  Robertson  Smith). 
The  expression  '  I  will  also  forget  thy  children '  (see  below)  favours  the 
latter  view. 

6.  My  people  are  destroyed]  The  prophet  cannot  escape,  because 
the  people  is  on  the  brink  of  ruin  through  the  prophet's  fault.  It  is 
the  perfect  of  prophetic  certitude,  '  my  people  is  already  as  good  as  de- 
stroyed.' 

for  lack  of  knowledge]  More  precisely,  by  reason  of  (their)  lack  of 
knowledge.     The  'knowledge  of  God'  is  meant  (see  on  v.  i). 

thou  hast  rejected  knowledge]  Thou  is  emphatically  expressed  in  the 
Hebrew.  'Knowledge',  viz.  of  God's  revealed  will,  was  theoretically  a 
deposit  in  the  priestly  order  (Deut.  xxxiii.  10  j  Ezek.  xliv.  23;  Mai.  ii.  7). 


V.  7.]  HOSEA,   IV.  65 

I  will  also  reject  thee,  that  thou  shalt  be  no  priest  to  me  : 

Seeing  thou  hast  forgotten  the  law  of  thy  God, 

I  will  also  forget  thy  children. 

As  they  were  increased,  so  they  sinned  against  me  : 

Therefore  will  I  change  their  glory  into  shame. 

There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  the  'priest-people'  of  Israel  is  addressed  ; 
there  was  no  priest-people  till  after  the  return  from  exile. 

forgotten... forget]  To  'forget'  what  has  been  committed  to  one's 
charge  is  the  same  as  to  ignore  it.  The  penalty  of  the  priests  is  not 
really  distinct  from  that  of  the  people  (see  v.  9);  the  priestly  office 
could  in  no  full  sense  be  maintained  in  captivity. 

the  law  of  thy  God]  'Thy  God',  because  the  priest  was  specially 
'  brought  near'  to  Jehovah.  '  The  law  ',  Heb.  tordh,  will  cover  oral  as 
well  as  written  instructions  (comp.  Deut.  xvii.  11),  but  a  later  passage 
(viii.  12)  shows  that  a  written  legislation  existed  in  Hosea's  time.  The 
contents  of  this  may  be  presumed  from  Hosea's  language  to  have  been, 
at  any  rate  to  a  large  extent,  concerned  with  applications  of  religious 
morality. 

thy  children]  i.  e.  the  members  of  the  priestly  caste ;  '  thy  brethren ' 
would  be  more  consistent  with  the  figure  (comp.  '  thy  mother ',  v.  5). 

7 — 10.  Here  the  priests  are  referred  to  in  the  third  person ;  they 
have  been  degraded  from  a  great  position;  how  sore  must  be  the 
punishment ! 

7,  As  they  were  increased. . .  ]  Rather,  The  more  they  increased,  the 
more,  &c.  No  doubt  the  priestly  caste  shared  in  the  general  prosperity 
under  Jeroboam  II.,  but  the  official  conscience,  torpid  to  begin  with, 
was  only  the  more  deadened.  A  flagrant  example  of  the  sinning  of  the 
priests  is  given  in  the  next  verse. 

will  I  change  their  glory  iftto  shajne]  An  ancient  various  reading 
(one  of  the  so-called  Tikkune  Soferim,  on  which  see  the  Introductions 
to  the  Old  Testament)  is,  '  they  have  exchanged  my  glory  for  shame  ', 
i.e.  the  glory  of  Jehovah  for  the  shameful  worship  of  Baal.  'To  ex- 
change (gods)'  or  '  to  take  another  in  exchange  '  is  a  recognized  phrase 
for  a  lapse  into  idolatry,  and  we  know  that  the  Jewish  scribes  sometimes 
ventured  to  modify  expressions  in  the  Scriptures  which  they  thought 
too  bold  or  liable  to  misunderstanding  (see  Geiger's  Urschrift).  If  we 
do  not  go  so  far  as  to  accept  the  whole  of  this  various  reading,  it  would 
seem  that  we  must  at  least  accept  the  correction  of  the  ist  pers.  sing,  into 
the  3rd  plur.  in  the  verb,  rendering  they  have  exchanged  their  glory 
for  infamy;  comp.  Jer.  ii.  11  'my  people  have  exchanged  their 
glory  for  that  which  doth  not  profit'  (i.e.  idols),  Ps.  cvi.  20  'they  ex- 
changed their  glory  (v.  1.  his  glory)  for  the  form  of  an  ox.'  Still  the 
received  reading,  already  adopted  in  the  versions,  gives  a  good  sense, 
and  considered  by  itself  is  not  less  justifiable  than  the  proposed  cor- 
rection. According  to  it,  'their  glory'  means,  not  Jehovah,  but  the 
splendour  of  their  position  as  priests.  These  verses  are  important  as 
showing  how  influential  that  position  was ;  we  could  not  have  inferred 
this  from  the  scanty  references  in  the  historical  books. 

HOSEA  e 


66  HOSEA,    IV.  [vv.  8— ii. 

They  eat  up  the  sin  of  my  people, 

And  they  set  their  heart  on  their  iniquity. 

And  there  shall  be,  like  people,  like  priest : 

And  I  will  punish  them  for  their  ways, 

And  reward  them  their  doings. 

For  they  shall  eat,  and  not  have  enough  : 

They  shall  commit  whoredom,  and  shall  not  increase  : 

Because  they  have  left  off  to  take  heed  to  the  Lord. 

Whoredom  and  wine  and  new  wine  take  away  the  heart. 

8.  T/iey  eat  tip  the  sin  of  my  people']  The  subject  of  the  verb  is 
evidently  the  priests  (see  v.  9),  and  the  phrase  can  therefore  only  mean, 
they  eat  the  sin-oflfering  of  my  people  (i.e.  the  portion  assigned  to  the 
priests,  comp.  Lev.  x.  17).  Here  we  come  into  collision  with  a  theory 
of  the  radical  school  of  criticism  that  the  Levitical  legislation  (including 
the  appointment  of  'sin-offerings'  and  'guilt-offerings')  originated  after 
the  Babylonian  captivity.  There  are  however  two  earlier  references  to 
the  sin-offering,  viz.  here  and  in  Ps.  xl.  6,  and  one  to  the  guilt- offering 
in  Prov.  xiv.  9,  not  to  insist  on  the  disputable  allusions  in  Isa.  i.  11 ; 
IMic.  vi.  7  ;  2  Kings  xii.  16  (17).  And  if  the  dates  of  one  or  another  of 
these  passages  be  challenged,  yet  the  supposed  novelties  are  not  referred 
to  at  all  frequently  in  undoubtedly  post-Captivity  writings.  Sin-offerings 
are  mentioned  twice  (Neh.  x.  34 ;  2  Mace.  xii.  43) ;  guilt-offerings  only 
once  (if  we  accept  a  very  probable  emendation  of  Ezra  x.  19,  pointing 
ashdmim).  Next,  granting  a  reference  to  the  sin-offering,  does  the 
prophet  mean  to  condemn  the  priests  for  eating  of  it  ?  Certainly  not ; 
whatever  were  the  traditional  rules  respecting  the  sin-offering,  the  priests 
would  naturally  have  a  just  claim  to  their  portion  of  the  victim.  The 
next  clause  explains  the  charge  brought  against  them — it  is  that  (like 
the  sons  of  Eli,  i  Sam.  ii.  13 — 17)  they  greedily  devoured  what  the 
people  brought  to  atone  for  their  sins ;  so  that  in  eating  the  '  sin-offering ', 
they  also  fed  upon  the  '  sin '  (the  same  word,  khattath,  covers  both)  of 
Jehovah's  people.  Instead  of  trying  to  stem  the  tide  of  iniquity,  they 
long  for  its  onward  march,  with  a  view  to  unholy  gains. 

set  their  heart]  Literally,  'lift  up  their  soul'  (or,  'each  one  his  soul'), 
i.e.  'direct  their  desires',  as  Ps.  xxiv.  4,  xxv.  i. 

9.  like  people,  like  priest]  i.e.  the  priest  shall  fare  no  better  than  the 
people.  His  official  'nearness'  to  Jehovah  shall  be  no  safeguard  to 
him. 

I  will  punish  them...'\  Rather,  punish  him,  viz.  the  priest  representing 
the  order. 

10.  they  shall  eat...]  Greed  is  punished  retributively  by  insufficiency 
of  food  (Mic.  vi.  14  ;  Lev.  xxvi.  ■26) ;  whoredom  by  childlessness. 

11 — 14.  Thus  the  priests  have  led  the  way,  and  the  people  follow. 
They  have  lost  the  spiritual  faculty ;  a  wild  impulse  to  the  most  sensual 
idolatry  has  carried  them  away. 

11.  Whoredom,  &c.]    'The  heart',  not  'their  heart'  (as  the  Targum 


vv.  12,  13.]  HOSEA,   IV.  67 

My  people  ask  counsel  at  their  stocks,  12 

And  their  staff  declareth  unto  them  : 
For  the  spirit  of  whoredoms  hath  caused  them  to  err, 
And  they  have  gone  a  whoring  from  under  their  God. 
They  sacrifice  upon  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  13 

And  burn  incense  upon  the  hills, 

and  Peshito).  It  is  a  moral  adage,  showing  that  Hosea  was  not  more 
inclined  than  Isaiah  to  abandon  simple  moral  teaching  to  the  class  of 
'wise  men',  who  '  sat  in  the  gate '  and  conveyed  practical  lessons  in  the 
form  of  proverbs.  It  is  literal  whoredom  that  is  meant,  as,  even  apart 
from  vv.  13,  14,  the  juxtaposition  with  'wine  and  new  wine'  shows. 
The  impure  rites  of  nature-worship  had  destroyed  the  reverence  for  the 
marriage-bond.  Heart  here  means  'the  spiritual  understanding',  'a 
heart  to  know  Me'  (Jer.  xxiv.  7);  'sons  of  Belial'  cannot  'know  Je- 
hovah' (2  Sam.  ii.  12).  For  the  drunkenness  of  Samaria  comp.  Is. 
xxviii.  1. 

12.  My  people  ask  counsel  at  their  stocks'\  Lit.,  '  My  people — he 
asketh  counsel  at  his  wood.'  Jehovah  alone  can  give  oracular  'counsel' ; 
not  the  teraphim,  nor  yet  the  bull-images  of  Jehovah.  The  latter  did, 
indeed,  seem  to  the  Israelites  to  bring  Jehovah  near  to  their  conscious- 
ness, but  it  was  not  the  true  Jehovah,  who  could  not  be  represented  by 
images  (viii.  6)  and  hated  the  rites  of  the  Israelitish  worship  (ix.  15); 
Hosea  therefore  calls  them  'wood';  comp.  Hab.  ii.  19;  Jer.  ii.  27,  x.  8. 
There  is  a  touch  of  melancholy  in  '  my  people  ' ;  comp.  Isa.  iii.  12. 

their  staff  declareth  unto  the?n]  '  Declareth ',  with  reference  to  secret 
things,  as  Isa.  xliii.  9,  xliv.  7.  The  '  staff'  is  probably  the  diviner's 
wand;  so  in  Ezek.  xxi.  21  the  king  of  Babylon  combines  consultation 
of  the  teraphim  with  divination  by  arrows,  which  is  merely  another  form  of 
rhabdomanteia  (Sept.  substitutes  'wands',  pa^dov,  for  'arrows').  Wands 
were  one  of  the  recognized  instruments  of  soothsaying,  in  both  East  and 
West;  see  Pococke,  Specimen  HistoHae  Arabiim,  p.  327;  Azraki,  The 
Chronicles  of  the  city  of  Alecca,  Arabic  and  German  by  Wlistenfeld,  I.  73  ; 
Herodotus  iv.  67  ;  Tacitus,  Germ.  10.  Pococke  however  thinks  'staff' 
is  synonymous  with  'stocks',  and  that  a  staff  is  meant  which  had  an  idol 
carved  at  the  top. 

the  spirit  of  whoredoms']  i.e.  an  impulse  prompting  them  to  whoredom 
(in  the  literal  sense,  to  avoid  tautology) ;  comp.  'spirit  of  perverseness ' 
(Isa.  xix.  14),  'spirit  of  uncleanness '  (Zech.  xiii.  2),  'spirit  of  jealousy ' 
(Num.  V.  14). 

13.  upon  the  tops  of  the  mountains']  *  Every  high  hill  and  every  green 
tree '  are  repeatedly  mentioned  together  as  the  scenes  of  the  popular 
nature-worship  (e.g.  i  Kings  xiv.  23;  2  Kings  xvii.  10;  Jer.  ii.  20, 
iii.  6) ;  and,  to  avoid  misunderstanding,  it  would  have  been  better  to 
supply  an  '  and '  before  '  under  oaks ',  &c.  The  sacred  hill-tops  were 
specially  selected  for  being  treeless — 'bare  places'  they  are  called  in 
Jer.  iii.  2.  'Elms'  should  rather  be  terebinths  (Tristram,  Natural 
Hist,  of  Bible,  p.  350). 


68  HOSEA,   IV.  [vv.  14,  15. 

Under  oaks  and  poplars  and  elms, 
Because  the  shadow  thereof  is  good  : 
Therefore  your  daughters  shall  commit  whoredom, 
And  your  spouses  shall  commit  adultery. 

14  I   will   not   punish   your   daughters   when  they  commit 

whoredom, 
Nor  your  spouses  when  they  commit  adultery : 
For  themselves  are  separated  with  whores. 
And  they  sacrifice  with  harlots  : 
Therefore  the  people  that  doth  not  understand  shall  fall. 

15  Though  thou,  Israel,  play  the  harlot, 
Yet  let  not  Judah  offend ; 

And  come  not  ye  unto  Gilgal, 

13.  therefore  your  dmighters  shall  commit  whoredo7?i]  (Rather,  do  com- 
mit.) Harlotry  and  idolatry  being  so  inextricably  connected,  it  was  only 
natural  that  the  women  should  be  given  up  to  licentiousness  ;  the  more 
religious  they  were,  the  stronger  would  the  evil  habit  be.  For  'spouses', 
read  daughters-in-law.  The  allusion  is  to  the  lascivious  worship  of 
Asherah  and  Ashtoreth  (the  goddesses  were  distinct) ;  see  next  verse. 
Asherah  or  '  the  propitious '  was  at  first  probably  a  title  of  the  feminine 
variety  of  the  Assyrian  deity  Ishtar.     See  Introduction. 

14.  The  precedence  in  guilt  belongs  to  the  elders  who  set  so  wicked 
an  example. 

theniselves  are  separated  withi  Rather,  they  themselves  go  aside 
with.     A  change  of  person,  instead  of  'ye  yourselves.' 

harlots']  Rather,  consecrated  harlots,  i.e.  women  who  dedicate 
themselves,  or  are  dedicated  by  others,  to  the  service  of  Asherah  or  of 
Ashtoreth,  and  give  up  their  chastity  in  honour  of  the  goddess.  Mesha, 
king  of  Moab,  says  that,  when  he  took  Nebo  from  the  Israehtes,  he 
slew  the  men,  but  spared  the  women  in  order  to  devote  them  to 
Ashtar-Chemosh  (Moabite  inscription,  lines  16,  17). 

sacrifice']  Probably  the  reference  is  partly  to  the  feast  which  followed 
the  sacrifice  (Ex.  xxxii.  6). 

shall  fall]    Rather,  shall  he  dashed  to  the  ground. 

15—19.  Judah  is  cautioned  not  to  fall  into  the  same  ruin  as  Israel, 
of  which  a  deterrent  picture  is  given. 

15.  offend]  Rather,  become  guilty,  viz.  by  participation  in  Israel's 
idolatry. 

coftie  not  ye  unto  Gilgal]  Gilgal  was  one  of  the  chief  seats  of  the 
idolatrous  worship  of  the  north,  see  ix.  15,  xii.  11;  Am.  iv.  4,  v.  5. 
But  which  of  the  Gilgals  (see  Smith's  BibL  Diet)  is  meant?  The 
Jewish  commentators  are  agreed  that  it  was  the  famous  Gilgal  '  in  the 
east  border  of  Jericho'  where  Joshua  pitched  his  camp  for  the  first 
time  after  crossing  the  Jordan  (Josh.  iv.  19),  and  later  on  'the  true 
centre  of  the  whole  people'  (Ewald,  History  of  Israel,  iii.  29).  Pro- 
bably they  are  right.     No  doubt,  we  should  have  expected  this  Gilgal 


vv.  i6,  17.]  HOSEA,   IV.  69 

Neither  go  ye  up  to  Beth-aven, 

Nor  swear,  The  Lord  liveth. 

For  Israel  shdeth  back  as  a  backsliding  heifer :  16 

Now  the  Lord  will  feed  them  as  a  lamb  in  a  large  place. 

Ephraim  is  joined  to  idols  :  17 

Let  him  alone. 

to  have  belonged  to  Judah,  but  the  natural  boundary  of  the  two 
kingdoms  was  not  the  historical  one;  'those  places  which  their  past 
history  had  rendered  most  sacred  or  memorable — Bethel,  Gilgal,  Jericho 
— were  incorporated  in  the  northern  kingdom  '  (Ewald,  Hist.  iv.  3). 

neither  go  ye  up  to  Beth-aveti]  A  Beth-aven  near  Bethel  is  mentioned 
Josh.  vii.  2;  I  Sam.  xiii.  5,  but  this  Beth-aven,  'house  of  vanity',  or 
*of  wickedness',  is  a  keenly  sarcastic  substitute  for  the  desecrated  name 
Bethel,  'house  of  God'  (see  x.  5,  8,  and  comp.  Am,  iv.  4,  v.  5; 
I  Kings  xii.  29 — 33).  'Go  ye  up',  because  Bethel  was  situated  on  the 
slopes  of  a  hill,  comp.  i  Sam.  x.  3,  'going  up  to  the  Elohim  (i.e.  the 
sacred  place)  to  Bethel.' 

nor  swear.  The  Lord  liveth"]  Hosea  may  mean  to  say  that  the 
oath  'As  Jehovah  liveth'  has  been  so  profaned  by  the  Israelites  of  the 
north  that  he  wishes  to  see  it  abolished.  It  is  more  likely  however 
(considering  Deut.  x.  20;  Jer.  iv.  2)  that  he  deprecates  oaths  by  the 
Jehovahs  of  Gilgal  and  Bethel — oaths  which  in  the  mind  of  the  swearer 
are  connected  with  idolatrous  symbols  of  Jehovah,  precisely  as  Amos 
denounces  those  who  say,  'As  thy  God,  O  Dan,  liveth',  and  'As  thy 
God,  O  Beer-sheba,  liveth'  (Am.  viii.  14,  corrected  partly  from  the 
Sept.). 

16.  slideth  back  as  a  backsliding  heifer]  Rather,  is  stubborn  like 
a  stubborn  heifer.  A  favourite  figure  of  the  prophets,  xi.  4;  Jer. 
xxxi.  18;  comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  15. 

now  the  Lord  will  feed  the?n  as  a  lamb  in  a  large  place]  Israel  in 
the  weakness  of  captivity  is  compared  to  a  lamb  in  a  large  pasture- 
ground,  which  is  an  object  of  attack  to  all  the  wild  beasts  prowling 
about — so  most  commentators  explain.  But  'a  large  place'  is  every- 
where else  an  image  for  prosperity  (see  Ps.  xviii.  19,  xxxi.  8,  cxviii.  5), 
and  Isaiah  in  describing  a  happy  future  says,  'in  that  day  shall  thy  cattle 
feed  in  large  pastures  (Isa.  xxx.  23).'  It  is  much  safer,  therefore,  follow- 
ing Ewald  and  Hitzig,  to  take  the  passage  as  an  incredulous  exclamation 
or  question,  this  being  so,  should  the  Lord  feed  them  as  a  lamb  in  a 
large  meadow !  In  fact,  a  prophet  would  hardly  have  said  that  Je- 
hovah shepherded  His  people  during  the  Dispersion  (see  Ezek.  xxxiv. 
II — 14),  and  in  the  very  next  verse  Jehovah  exclaims,  'Let  him  alone.' 
On  the  other  hand,  the  clause,  thus  translated,  fits  most  naturally  into 
the  context,—  '  Israel  is  a  stubborn  heifer,  how  then  should  it  expect  to 
be  treated  as  kindly  as  a  lamb  ?' 

17.  jointed  to  idols]  The  cognate  noun  is  used  in  Mai.  ii.  14  of  a 
wife  in  her  relation  to  her  husband,  and  in  Isa.  xliv.  11  of  an  idol- 
worshipper  in  his  mystic  relation  to  his  god  (comp.  i  Cor.  x.  20). 


70  HOSEA,    IV.  [vv.  1 8,  19. 

18  Their  drink  is   sour;  they   have   committed   whoredom 

continually : 
Her  rulers  with  shame  do  love,  Give  ye. 

19  The  wind  hath  bound  her  up  in  her  wings, 

And  they  shall  be  ashamed  because  of  their  sacrifices. 

18.  Their  drink  is  sour...]  This  translation  is  cannot  be  sustained 
philologically.  If  the  text  is  correct,  the  only  version  at  once  intelligible 
and  philologically  sound  is,  '  Their  drunkenness  has  passed  by.'  For 
the  rendering  of  the  verb  comp.  i  Sam.  xv.  32  Hebr.,  and  for  'drunk- 
enness', lit.  drink,  comp.  i  Sam.  i.  14,  xxv.  37  (where  'wine'  must 
be  synonymous  with  'the  fumes  of  wine').  Connecting  this  clause  with 
the  following,  we  may  render  (as  Henderson,  following  the  Jewish 
commentator  Abarbanel),  When  their  carousal  is  over  they  indulge 
in  lewdness,  i.e.  when  tired  of  one  sin  they  plunge  without  scruple  into 
another.  The  Sept.  rendering  ripeTLtre  Xavavaiovs  is  very  difficult  to 
justify.  The  Peshito  omits  the  words.  St  Jerome  explains  the  whole 
clause,  Factum  est,  inquit  Deus,  convivium  eorum  a  me  alienum. 

/ler  rulers  with  sha??ie  do  love,  Give  ye]  Rather,  her  shields  are 
enamoured  of  infamy  (Henderson).  This  involves  a  slight  change  in 
the  points,  necessary  in  order  to  make  sense  of  the  word  rendered 
'infamy.'  Probably,  however,  as  Abp.  Seeker  was  the  first  to  infer 
from  Sept.  and  Pesh.,  there  is  an  erroneous  repetition  of  three  letters 
(comp.  a  similar  case  in  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  17),  so  that  we  may  render  simply, 
'her  shields  love  infamy'  ('shields'  for  'rulers',  as  Ps.  xlvii.  10).  The 
Septuagint,  indeed,  suggests  a  various  reading  which  possibly  deserves 
the  preference ;  it  renders,  riyairr)(rav  aTtfiiav  e/c  (ppvayfj-aTos  avrrjs.  Here, 
as  in  Am.  viii.  7,  the  Greek  translator  seems  to  have  misunderstood 
the  expression,  'the  excellency  of  Jacob'  (i.e.  Jehovah).  The  Hebrew 
which  he  had  before  them  may  be  thus  put  into  English,  they  love 
infamy  rather  than  her  Excellency  (or,  her  Pride,  i.  e.  Jehovah,  Israel's 
God),  ^pvayfxa  is  in  fact  the  rendering  of  Heb.  gdofi  in  Zech.  xi.  3 
and  three  other  passages. 

19.  The  wind  hath  bound  her  up  in  her  wings]  A  figure  for  the 
suddenness  and  violence  with  which  the  enemy  should  carry  Israel  away 
into  exile  (comp.  Isa.  Ivii.  13).    The  perfect  is  that  of  prophetic  certitude. 


Chap.  V. 
Interlacing  descriptions  of  guilt  and  punishment. 

1 — 7.  A  personal  arraignment  of  the  priesthood  (accused  less 
directly  in  chap,  iv.)  and  of  the  court,  who,  instead  of  warning  the 
people,  have  led  them  into  the  snare  of  sin.  So  entangled  are  they  in 
it  that  they  cannot  repent,  and  Judah  too  has  fallen.  They  may  seek 
to  propitiate  Jehovah  by  sacrifices,  but  in  vain :  the  judgment  is  close 
at  hand. 


vv.  1—3.]  HOSEA,   V.  71 

Hear  ye  this,  O  priests ; 

And  hearken,  ye  house  of  Israel ; 

And  give  ye  ear,  O  house  of  the  king ; 

For  judgment  is  toward  you. 

Because  ye  have  been  a  snare  on  Mizpah, 

And  a  net  spread  upon  Tabor. 

And  the  revolters  are  profound  to  make  slaughter, 

Though  I  have  been  a  rebuker  of  them  all. 

I  know  Ephraim,  and  Israel  is  not  hid  from  me : 

1.  0  priests]  Hosea  addresses  the  priests  of  the  high  places  in 
N.  Israel. 

O  house  of  the  king\  i.e.  the  king  and  his  courtiers,  whether  of  the 
royal  family  or  not. 

judgment  is  toward yoii]     Rather,  the  judgment  is  for  you. 

a  snare  on  Mizpah,  and  a  net  spread  iipon  Tabor]  Tabor  is  the  well- 
known  mountain  of  the  name  in  Galilee  (see  Judg.  iv.  6),  and  may  be 
taken  as  the  representative  of  the  region  on  the  west  of  the  Jordan 
(as  Ps.  Ixxxix.  12);  Mizpah  (a  common  name  =  place  of  watch)  is  most 
probably  Mizpah  in  Gilead  (Judg.  x.  17,  xi.  11,  29),  also  called 
Ramoth-Gilead  (Josh.  xx.  8,  xxi.  36;  2  Kings  ix.  i,  4,  14),  and  conse- 
crated by  Jacob  (Gen.  xxxi.  45 — 54).  Probably  these  places  (comp. 
next  note)  are  mentioned  because  the  idolatrous  worship  was  most 
dangerously  seductive  there.  The  worshippers  were  like  the  deluded 
birds  who  sought  shelter  in  the  woods  and  ravines  (comp.  2  Sam.  xxvi. 
20  ;  Ps.  xi.  i). 

2.  And  the  revolters  are  profound  to  tnake  slaughter]  The  expres- 
sions used  have  a  most  un-Hebraic  cast,  and  what  can  the  'slaughter' 
refer  to?  There  is  nothing  at  all  in  the  context  to  suggest  that  the 
slaying  of  sacrifices  is  meant  (as  many  after  St  Jerome  have  supposed), 
and  it  is  very  harsh  to  understand  it  as  a  fresh  image  for  the  priests' 
abuse  of  their  position.  It  is  better  to  render  (changing  a  Teth  into 
a  Tav),  The  apostates  are  gone  deep  in  corrupting  (comp.  ix.  9). 
The  ancient  versions  already  found  the  passage  obscure.  The  Septua- 
gint  (and  similarly  the  Peshito)  renders  5  (sc.  rh  SLktvov)  ol  dypevofTcs 
T7]v  Oripav  Kar^TTTi^av.  Possibly  they  had  had  a  somewhat  different  text. 
Certainty  is  unattainable,  and  another  plausible  and  easy  emendation 
deserves  at  least  a  mention,  from  its  suitableness  to  the  context.  And 
the  pit  of  Shittim  they  have  made  deep.  Having  been  a  station  of 
the  camp  under  Moses  and  Joshua  (Num.  xxv.  i;  Josh.  iii.  r,  v.  i), 
it  is  probable,  though  unproved,  that  Shittim  contained  one  of  the 
popular  shrines  or  holy  places. 

though  I  have  been  a  rebuker  of  them  all]  Lit.,  *and  I  am  chastise- 
ment for  them  all';  comp.  Ps.  cix.  4  A.V.,  'I  give  myself  unto  prayer' 
(lit.,  *I  am  prayer').  This  however  is  very  harsh,  and  it  is  simpler  to 
transpose  two  letters  and  render,  and  there  is  no  correction  for  any  of 
them. 


72  ROSEA,  V.  [vv.  4,  5. 

For  now,  O  Ephraim,  thou  committest  whoredom,  and 

Israel  is  defiled. 
They  will   not   frame   their  doings   to   turn   unto   their 

God: 
For  the  spirit  of  whoredoms  is  in  the  midst  of  them, 
And  they  have  not  known  the  Lord. 
And  the  pride  of  Israel  doth  testify  to  his  face  : 
Therefore  shall  Israel  and  Ephraim  fall  in  their  iniquity ; 
Judah  also  shall  fall  with  them. 

3.  /  know  Israel^  The  pronoun  is  expressed  for  emphasis,  I  who 
punish  Israel  am  well  acquainted  with  its  open  and  secret  sins. 

4.  They  will  not  frame... '\  Rather,  as  in  the  margin,  Their  doings 
will  not  suffer  tliem  to  turn  unto  their  God.  The  same  idea  that 
from  the  meshes  of  an  inveterate  vicious  habit  there  is  hardly  an  escape 
is  expressed  in  vii.  •2,  comp.  John  viii.  34 ;  Rom.  vi.  16. 

the  spirit  of  whoredoms]     See  on  iv.  12. 

is  in  the  midst  of  them]  Rather,  is  "witMn  them,  i.  e.  in  their  inmost 
being. 

have  not  known]     Rather,  know  not  (see  on  ii.  20). 

5.  And  the  pride  of  Israel  doth  testify  to  his  face]  Rather,  But... 
shall  testify  to  his  face.  'The  pride  of  Israel'  is  capable  of  two  in- 
terpretations. It  may  mean  Israel's  vainglorious  self-confidence,  which 
is  so  hateful  to  Jehovah,  and  as  it  were  testifies  against  Israel  on  the 
day  of  Jehovah's  assize  (Isa.  ii.  12).  But  it  is  more  natural  to  take 
the  phrase  as  a  title  of  Jehovah  (see  on  iv.  18  'her  rulers',  &c.), 
borrowed  probably  from  Am.  viii.  7.  How  does  Jehovah  'testify 
against'  anyone?  The  answer  is  furnished  by  Ruth  i.  21, 'Jehovah 
hath  testified  against  me,  and  Shaddai  hath  afflicted  me.'  An  ob- 
jection of  small  weight  has  been  raised,  viz.  that  Jehovah,  in  the  pro- 
phetic figure,  is  the  complainant  and  the  judge,  but  not  the  witness. 
The  answer  is  that  the  Hebrew  ^dndh  is  not  exactly  'to  witness'  but 
'to  meet  with  words  or  a  declaration';  hence  it  can  be  used  of  a 
judicial  sentence.  Hosea  means  that  Jehovah  has  spoken  one  of  those 
words  which  kill  (comp.  vi.  5) — has  delivered  a  judgment  by  which 
Israel  shall  'fall.'  The  rendering  'Israel's  pride  shall  be  humbled' 
adopted  in  the  'Speaker's  Commentary'  from  the  Sept.,  the  Targum, 
and  the  Peshito,  scarcely  suits  the  following  words  *  to  (lit.  in)  his 
face.'  Still  less  suitable  is  it  in  vii,  10,  where  the  phrase  is  re- 
peated. 

Israel  and  Ephraifti]  i.e.,  Israel  and  especially  Ephraim;  like  'Judah 
and  Jerusalem'  (Isa.  ii.  i). 

shall  fall]  Rather,  shall  stumble.  A  figure  for  calamity  (as  Isa. 
viii.  15,  xxxi.  3,  and  often).  In  iv.  15  the  prophet  uses  less  distinct 
language  with  regard  to  Judah's  punishment ;  she  is  warned  not  to 
offend  rather  than  threatened  with  punishment.  Perhaps  this  chapter 
represents  the  utterances  of  a  later  period  than  the  preceding  chapter. 


vv.  6—8.]  ROSEA,  V.  11 

They  shall  go  with  their  flocks  and  with  their  herds  to  6 

seek  the  Lord  ; 
But  they  shall  not  find  him;  he  hath  withdrawn  himself 

from  them. 
They  have  dealt  treacherously  against  the  Lord  :  ^ 

For  they  have  begotten  strange  children : 
Now  shall  a  month  devour  them  with  their  portions. 
Blow  ye  the  cornet  in  Gibeah,  8 

And  the  trumpet  in  Ramah  : 

6.  with  their  flocks  and  with  their  herds]  i.e.,  with  their  sacrificial 
offerings.  This  passage  affords  decisive  proof  (if  indeed  the  converging 
evidence  from  other  quarters  can  be  held  incomplete)  that  the  Israelites 
of  the  north  simply  and  in  good  faith  professed  to  be  worshippers  of 
Jehovah.  It  will  be  too  late,  says  the  prophet,  to  use  the  ordinary  means 
of  appeasing  Jehovah's  wrath,  which  have  only  a  value  as  the  outward 
signs  of  penitence  and  faith  (see  on  vi.  6).  Micah  uses  similar  expressions 
respecting  prayers  which  are  offered  too  late  (Mic.  iii.  4). 

7.  Why  Jehovah  has  withdrawn  himself,  dealt  treacherously\  i.e. 
faithlessly.     The  word  is  used  of  an  adulteress,  Jer.  iii.  20. 

they  have  begotten  strange  children]  The  subject  of  the  verb  are 
the  Israelites  individually,  of  whom  the  same  statement  is  made  which 
we  have  already  met  vidth  respecting  the  nation  in  ii.  4,  5. 

now  shall  a  month  devour  them]  The  time  for  punishment  has 
arrived.  Instead  of  watching  gladly  for  the  new  moon  to  fix  the 
various  hallowed  festivals  (comp.  ii.  11),  they  should  have  a  'fearful 
looking  for  of  judgment '  increasing  as  each  new  moon  arose.  If  not 
this,  then  perhaps  the  next  would  bring  with  it  a  slaughtering,  plun- 
dering horde  of  invaders.  '  Month '  should  rather  be  new  moon  (as 
nothing  is  added  to  qualify  the  sense). 

with  their  portions]  i.e.  the  lands  assigned  to  the  several  tribes  and 
families  (comp.  *the  portion  of  Jezreel,'  2  Kings  ix.  10). 

8 — 15.  The  prophet  'in  the  spirit'  sees  the  thi-eatened  trouble 
bursting  upon  both  the  separated  kingdoms.  In  vain  will  Ephraim 
seek  help  from  Assyria ;  there  is  no  deliverance  from  Jehovah's  hand 
until  Ephraim  repents. 

8.  Blow  ye  the  cornet. ..the  trumpet]  A  usual  direction  on  the  ap- 
proach of  an  invading  army;  see  viii.  i;  Jer.  iv.  5,  vi.  i.  Previously 
to  the  captivity  the  cornet  and  the  trumpet  were  probably  different 
names  for  the  same  instrument,  as  the  Law  (Num.  x.  i — 10,  xxxi.  6) 
prescribes  the  use  of  the  silver  trumpet  {khago^erah)  in  cases  when,  ac- 
cording to  the  prophetic  and  historical  books,  the  cornet  or  shofdr  was 
used.  In  writings  of  post-Captivity  origin  (Ps.  xcviii.  6;  i  Chr.  xv.  28; 
2  Chr.  XV.  14)  they  appear  to  represent  different  instruments,  or  rather 
slightly  different  varieties  of  the  same  instrument.  The  Mishna  tells 
us  that  the  shofdr  was  sometimes  straight,  sometimes  curved,  and  this 
difference  would  of  course  involve  a  difference  of  note.     We  may  help 


74  ROSEA,  V.  fw.  9,  lo. 

Cry  aloud  at  Beth-aven, 

After  thee,  O  Benjamin. 

Ephraim  shall  be  desolate  in  the  day  of  rebuke : 

Among  the  tribes  of  Israel  have  I  made  known  that  which 

shall  surely  be. 
The  princes  of  Judah  were  like  them  that  remove  the 

bound : 

ourselves  to  form  an  idea  of  the  Hebrew  trumpets  by  representations  of 
the  Egyptian  (see  Wilkinson,  Manjiers  and  Customs,  ii.  260,  &c.). 

Gibeah...Ramah'\  Both  towns  were  situated  on  eminences,  and  there- 
fore well  adapted  for  signals  of  alarm  ;  both  apparently  belonged  to 
Judah.  Gibeah  (lit.  'a  hill')  is  *  Gibeah  of  Benjamin  '  (i  Sam.  xiii.  2, 
xiv.  16),  or  'Gibeah  of  Saul'  (i  Sam.  xi.  4);  the  Ramah  (lit.  'height') 
is  the  same  where  Samuel  dwelt  (i  Sam.  xv.  34).  Both  probably 
belonged  at  this  time  to  Judah  (see  i  Kings  xv.  21 ;  Isa.  x.  29).  Taking 
in  Bethel,  the  cities  are  those  from  which  the  signal  of  alarm  could  be 
heard  in  both  kingdoms. 

after  thee,  0  Bettjamin\  Rather,  behind  thee,  0  Benjamin ;  this  is 
the  cry  of  warning  which  the  men  of  Beth-aven  or  Bethel  (a  border- 
town  between  Benjamin  and  Ephraim)  are  to  send  on  to  the  Benja- 
mites.  Understand  either  'the  sword  rages',  or  more  simply  'be  on 
thy  guard.'  Sept.  however  renders  (from  a  different  text?),  e^iarr} 
'BevLa/j.ip,  'Benjamin  is  distraught.' 

It  is  worth  noticing  that  Hosea  (the  prophet  of  the  tribes  which 
proudly  claimed  the  name  of  Israel)  does  not  mention  Jerusalem.  To 
have  mentioned  the  capital  of  Judah  would  perhaps  have  led  him  to 
widen  his  range  of  thought  too  much.  But  under  the  name  'Benjamin' 
he  has  been  thought  to  hint  obscurely  at  Jerusalem,  for  '  the  boundary 
between  Judah  and  Benjamin  ran  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the 
city  stands,  so  that  the  city  itself  was  actually  in  Benjamin '  (Fergusson, 
in  Smith's  B ible- Dictionary ,  I.  983). 

9.  rebuke']  Rather,  punishment,  as  the  same  word  is  rendered 
Ps.  cxlix.  7  A.V.  'punishments  upon  the  people(s).'  The  root  meaning 
of  the  word  is  'judicial  decision.' 

afuong  the  tribes  of  Israel]  i.e.  Israel  in  its  widest  sense  is  the  object 
of  Hosea's  denunciations.  The  phrase  '  the  tribes  of  Israel ',  standing 
by  itself,  never  means  the  Ten  Tribes  only. 

have  I  made  known...]  Or,  do  I  make  known  that  which  is  sure  (lit. 
trustworthy). 

10.  were  like  them  that  retnove  the  bound]  Rather,  are  become  like 
them  that  remove  the  landmark.  The  landmarks  were  under  the 
protection  of  religion  (Prov.  xxii.  28,  xxiii.  10;  Deut.  xix.  14),  and  to 
remove  them  laid  the  offender  under  a  curse,  according  to  Deut.  xxvii. 
17.  Hosea  cites  the  offence  as  the  greatest  conceivable  example  of 
revolutionary  caprice.  Judah,  it  would  seem,  was  not  more  fortunate 
now  in  its  upper  classes  than  Israel  (comp.  vi.  10,  11  Sept.,  and  Isaiah's 
'these  also',  viz.  the  chief  men  of  Jerusalem,  Isa.  xxviii.  7). 


vv.  II— 13.J  HOSEA,  V.  75 

Therefore   I    will   pour   out   my   wrath    upon   them  like 

water. 
Ephraim  is  oppressed  and  broken  in  judgment,  u 

Because  he  willingly  walked  after  the  commandment. 
Therefore  will  I  be  unto  Ephraim  as  a  moth,  12 

And  to  the  house  of  Judah  as  rottenness. 
When  Ephraim  saw  his  sickness,  13 

And  Judah  saw  his  wound, 
Then  went  Ephraim  to  the  Assyrian, 
And  sent  to  king  Jareb  : 

like  water\  Jehovah's  wrath  is  like  fire  in  its  destructiveness,  and 
like  a  swollen  stream  in  its  abundant  volume. 

11.  Ephraim  is  oppressed  and  brokefi  in  judgment\  The  same  two 
participles  are  again  combined  in  Deut.  xxviii.  33,  and,  as  here,  in  con- 
nexion with  invasion,  'thou  shalt  be  only  oppressed  and  crushed  alway' 
(so  Auth.  Vers.).  The  judgment  meant  is  God's.  The  idea  was  so 
familiar  that  a  more  distinct  form  of  expression  was  unnecessary.  The 
Hebrews  and  the  other  Semitic  peoples  regarded  war  as  a  kind  of  plead- 
ing before  a  judge;  comp.  for  the  latter,  the  Syriac  khayeb  'damnavit, 
vicit',  and  for  the  former  Isa.  liv.  17,  where  'weapon'  is  parallel  to 
'  tongue  that  riseth  against  thee ').  Compare  Schiller's  Die  Weligeschichte 
ist  das  Weltgericht.  Somewhat  less  probable  is  the  rendering  'crushed 
as  to  (his)  right',  i.e.  his  right  of  national  independence. 

he  willingly  walked  after  the  C07ninandmeni'\  'The  commandment' 
(or,  'ordinance')  is  generally  explained  of  the  arbitrary  calf- worship 
(rather  bull-worship)  set  up  by  Jeroboam  I.,  but  as  the  word  only  occurs 
once  again  in  the  stammering  speech  of  the  drunkards  (Isa.  xxviii.  10), 
it  seems  more  than  probable  that  we  should  adopt  the  reading  of 
Septuagint  and  Peshito,  and  render  the  whole  clause,  lie  "woidd  go 
after  vanity  (i.e.  after  idols,  as  Jer.  xviii.  15;  Ps.  xxxi.  6).  With  this 
reading,  too,  we  can  account  for  the  fact  that  the  noun  has  no  article. 
Archbishop  Seeker  well  points  out  that  the  two  initial  letters  of  the 
next  word  in  the  Hebrew  are  such  as  help  to  account  for  the  scribe's 
supposed  error. 

12.  Therefore  will  I  de...]  Rather,  And  as  for  me,  I  am,  &c.  The 
same  two  figures  are  of  frequent  occurrence ;  they  are  combined  again  in 
Job  xiii.  "28.  A  gradual  inward  corruption  was  destroying  the  two 
Israelitish  states  quite  as  effectually  as  a  foreign  conquest.  Anarchy  and 
civil  war  combined  with  a  retrograde  religion  and  a  lax  morality  to 
bring  northern  Israel  in  particular  to  the  verge  of  ruin.  Elsewhere 
Hosea  describes  its  condition  as  a  living  death  (xiii.  i). 

13.  Both  states  are  conscious  of  the  destroying  cancer,  but  neither  of 
them  adopts  the  only  possible  means  of  arresting  its  progress. 

his  sickness... his  woutid'\  The  ordinary  figure  for  corruption  of  the 
body  politic;  comp.  Isa.  i.  5,  6;  Jer.  xxx.  12,  13. 

and  sent  to  kingyareb'\  Some  have  thought  that  as  Ephraim  and  Judah 


76  HOSEA,  V.  [vv.  14,  15. 

Yet  could  he  not  heal  you 

Nor  cure  you  of  your  wound. 

For  I  will  be  unto  Ephraim  as  a  lion, 

And  as  a  young  lion  to  the  house  of  Judah  : 

I,  even  I,  will  tear  and  go  away ; 

I  will  take  away,  and  none  shall  rescue  him. 

I  will  go  a7id  return  to  my  place, 

Till  they  acknowledge  their  offence,  and  seek  my  face  : 

are  both  mentioned  in  the  first  line,  the  subject  of  the  second  verb  in 
this  second  line  must  be  Judah.  As  the  text  stands,  however,  this  is 
impossible,  and  if  'Judah'  once  stood  in  the  text  as  the  subject  of 
'sent',  it  is  not  easy  to  conjecture  how  it  dropped  out.  None  of  the 
ancient  versions  contains  the  word.  But  who  is  'king  Jareb',  or 
rather  the  fighting  king  (a  nickname  for  the  king  of  Assyria),  to  whom 
Ephraim  sent?  Sennacherib  has  been  thought  of,  as  if  there  were 
a  playful  interpretation  of  a  shortened  form  of  this  name,  but  the  short 
for  Sennacherib  (on  the  analogy  of  Baladan  for  Merodach-Baladan, 
Sharezer  for  Nergal-Sharezer)  would  be  akhirib,  not  irib.  Schrader 
thinks  that  the  king  meant  is  Asurdan,  who  in  755  and  754  made  expe- 
ditions against  Khatarik  (the  Hadrach  of  Zech.  ix.  i)  and  Arpadda 
(Arpad);  Nowack  prefers  Tiglath-Pileser  II.,  to  whom  the  epithet 
•fighter'  would  accurately  apply.  In  the  uncertainty  of  the  Israehtish 
chronology  of  this  period,  a  decision  is  difficult.  The  boldest  conjecture 
is  that  of  Prof.  Sayce,  viz.  that  '  Jareb '  was  the  name  borne  by  Sargon 
before  he  usurped  the  throne,  just  as  '  Pul '  is  now  known  to  have  been 
once  borne  by  Tiglath-Pileser. 

yet  could  he  not...]  Rather,  though  he  will  not  be  able  to  heal  you, 
nor  shall  ye  he  relieved  (or,  with  other  points,  shall  he  relieve  you)  of 
your  wound.  Delitzsch  fully  explains  the  passage  in  his  note  on  Prov. 
xvii.  22.  The  word  rendered  'wound'  means  both  bandage  and  ulcer, 
and  the  verb  is  used  in  Syriac  for  '  to  be  delivered,  or,  removed.'  How 
completely  the  politicians  of  Israel  miscalculated,  appears  from  x.  6. 

li  If  a  stronger  figure  is  necessary  to  warn  Israel  of  the  destructive- 
ness  of  his  present  course,  Jehovah  will  compare  himself  to  a  lion 
(comp.  Isa.  xxxi.  4). 

as  a  Hon.,  and  as  a  young  Hon]  Hebrew  has  at  least  five  words  for 
•lion';  of  the  two  selected  here,  the  first  describes  this  terror  of  ancient 
Palestine  as  a  roarer  (so  xiii.  7),  the  second  as  covered  with  a  mane. 

/,  even  /]  For  the  axe  may  be  human,  but  the  hand  which  wields 
it  is  divine  (Isa.  x.  15). 

/  will  take  away...]  i.e.  I  will  carry  off  the  prey.  The  passage 
reminds  us  of  the  comparison  of  the  Assyrians  to  a  lion  in  Isa.  v.  29. 

16.  return  to  my  place]  See  Mic.  i.  3,  from  which  it  is  clear  that 
Jehovah's  'place'  is  the  heavenly  temple  (Isa.  vi.  1).  Now  that  Jehovah 
has  for  a  time  deserted  his  guilty  people,  he  will  return  to  his  seat  on 
high,  and  watch  (Isa.  xviii.  4)  the  doings  of  men.  He  has  full  con- 
fidence that  Israel  on  his  side  will  return  and  repent. 


vv.  I,  2.]  ROSEA,   VI.  77 

In  their  affliction  they  will  seek  me  early. 
Come  and  let  us  return  unto  the  Lord  : 
For  he  hath  torn,  and  he  will  heal  us ; 
He  hath  smitten,  and  he  will  bind  us  up. 
After  two  days  will  he  revive  us  : 
In  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up, 

acknowledge  their  offence\  Rather,  feel  their  guilt  (as  the  word  means 
in  Lev.  iv.  4,  5 ;  Zech.  xi.  5), 

Chap.  VL 

how  little  has  israel  effected,  and  how  little  will  he 
ever  effect,  by  his  fits  of  repentance,  which  contrast 

so  VIOLENTLY  WITH  HIS    FLAGRANT   TRANSGRESSIONS   OF   GOD'S 
LAW  ! 

1 — 3.  The  prophet  enters  into  the  feelings  of  the  only  too  quickly 
repentant  Israelites,  and  imagines  them  encouraging  each  other  to 
return  to  Jehovah.  These  three  verses  are  closely  connected  with  the 
end  of  the  preceding  chapter;  comp.  'let  us  return',  'he  hath  torn' 
(z/.  i),  and  'his  going  forth'  [v.  3),  with  'I  will  go  and  return'  (v.  15), 
and  'I,  even  I,  will  tear'  (v.  14).  Ver.  2  is  parenthetical.  Comp.  the 
similar  profession  of  the  Israelites  in  viii.  2. 

1.  he  will  heal  us\  At  any  rate  the  Israelites  have  found  out  the  true 
physician  (comp.  vii.  i,  xi.  3).     Assyria  'could  not  heal  them'  (v.  13). 

2.  This  verse  contains  the  germ  of  the  striking  allegory  of  the  dry 
bones  (Ezek.  xxxvii.  i — 10),  and  reminds  us  also  of  the  prediction  of  an 
Israelitish  resurrection  in  Isa.  xxvi.  19.  The  idea  is  that,  contrary  to  all 
human  expectation  Israel  shall  quickly  emerge  from  the  depths  of 
trouble.  What  human  skill  could  cure  a  dangerously  wounded  man  in 
three  days?  Yet  a  wonder  as  great  has  happened  to  the  sick  man  Israel. 
That  the  passage  has  primarily  a  contemporary  reference,  and  contains 
a  figurative  description  of  a  national  revival,  is  admitted  by  Pococke, 
who  however  endeavours  to  combine  with  this  view  a  very  forced  inter- 
pretation of  pre-critical  origin.  He  thinks  the  Jews  'might  say,  after 
two  days,  &c.,  because  by  him  whom  God  would  so  raise  up  deliverance 
should  be  wrought  for  them  when  their  case  was  as  desperate  as  of  one 
that  had  been  so  long  dead ' ;  or,  to  put  his  view  of  the  secondary  meaning 
more  clearly,  the  resurrection  of  the  coming  Christ  was  to  the  Israelites 
(though  they  knew  it  not)  the  justification  of  their  hope  of  a  national 
restoration.  The  view  is  ultimately  traceable  to  the  paraphrase  in  the 
Targum,  'he  will  revive  us  in  the  days  of  consolation  which  are  to 
come',  i.e.  at  the  resurrection  (see  the  Peshito  of  John  xi.  25,  which 
shows  that  'consolation'  and  'resurrection'  are  synonymous  in  Aramaic). 
Pusey  and  many  old  expositors  even  take  the  supposed  reference  to  our 
Lord's  resurrection  to  be  primary.  But  the  context  certainly  does  not 
favour  any  such  reference,  whether  primary  or  secondary.  Calvin,  with 
his  usual  fine  perception,  remarks,  'sensus  ille  videtur  mihi  nimium 
argutus. ' 


78  HOSEA,   VI.  [vv.  3,  4. 

And  we  shall  live  in  his  sight. 

Then  shall  we  know,  if  we  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord  : 

His  going  forth  is  prepared  as  the  morning ; 

And  he  shall  come  unto  us  as  the  rain, 

As  the  latter  and  former  rain  unto  the  earth. 

O  Ephraim,  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee  ? 

O  Judah,  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee  ? 

For  your  goodness  is  as  a  morning  cloud, 

And  as  the  early  dew  //  goeth  away. 

live  in  his  sight\  Lit.,  'before  him',  i.e.,  under  his  protection  (comp. 
Gen.  xvii.  18;  Isa.  liii.  2;  Jer.  xxx.  20. 

3.  Then  shall  ive  know,  &€.]  But  as  this  construction  is  resumptive 
oiv.  I,  we  had  better  translate,  Yea,  let  us  know,  let  us  be  zealous  to 
know,  Jehovali,  i.e..  to  know  him  as  our  master,  protector,  and  friend. 
Why  so?  Because  the  want  of  this  knowledge  was  the  cause  of  Israel's 
misery.  It  was  however  a  hasty  resolution,  from  which  a  full  and  free 
confession  of  sin  was  faially  absent  (contrast  penitent  Israel's  words  in 
xiv.  2).  Hence  the  complaint  of  the  omniscient  Holy  One  which 
follows  in  ver.  4. 

his  going forth'\  \nz.  from  his  'place'  in  heaven  (v.  15.) 
is  prepared  as  the  morning'\     Or,  'is  certain  as  the  grey  of  morning' 
(which  heralds  the  glories  of  sunrise).   The  speakers,  then,  are  *a  people 
that  walk  in  darkness'  (Isa.  ix.  i). 

as  the  rain,  as  the  latter  and  former  rain  unto  the  earthy  Rather,  as 
the  heavy  rain,  as  the  latter  rain  which  watereth  the  earth.  Comp. 
Ps.  Ixii.  6.  The  Israelites  count  upon  the  return  of  God's  favour  %vith 
the  same  confidence  with  which,  at  the  autumnal  and  vernal  equinoxes, 
a  farmer  counts  upon  the  former  and  latter  rain.  Their  confidence  is 
excessive ;  they  presume  on  God's  forgiveness  without  complying  with 
His  conditions. 

4.  The  answer  of  Jehovah,  who  cannot  be  satisfied  with  such  a 
superficial  repentance  and  such  hasty  resolutions  of  'knowing'  Him. 

■what  shall  I  do  unto  thee?]  'What  other  means  can  possibly  be  em- 
ployed to  move  thee  to  a  serious  repentance?'     Comp.  Isa.  v.  4. 

your  goodness]  Rather,  your  piety.  The  word  {khesedh)  is  the  same  as 
that  rendered  in  v.  6  'mercy';  and  so  St  Jerome  here  ('the  mercy 
which  I  had  been  wont  to  shew'),  and  Keil  (explaining,  as  in  iv.  i, 
'your  kindness  to  those  in  need ').  But  the  context  requires  another 
sense — 'your  love  to  God',  and  this  is  what  A.V.  means,  though  it 
expresses  it  weakly.  The  Peshito  also  renders  '  goodness ',  and  again 
in  V.  6. 

as  a  morning  cloud,  atid  as  the  early  dew  it  goeth  away]  Rather, 
...and  as  the  night  mist  which  early  goeth  away  (so  again  xiii. 
3).  The  'cloud'  spoken  of,  then,  is  a  cloud  such  as  Isaiah  speaks 
of  as  coming  'in  the  heat  of  harvest'  (Isa.  xviii.  4);  more  precisely, 
it  is  one  of  those  dense  masses  of  night-vapour,  which  the  westerly 


vv.  5, 6.]  HOSEA,  VI.  79 

Therefore  have  I  hewed  theiji  by  the  prophets ; 
I  have  slain  them  by  the  words  of  my  mouth  : 
And  thy  judgments  are  as  the  Hght  that  goeth  forth. 
For  I  desired  mercy,  and  not   sacrifice; 

winds  of  summer  bear  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  and  which  more 
than  supply  the  place  of  dew.  After  '  making  a  fair  show '  in  the 
bright  morning  light,  they  are  soon  sucked  up  by  the  hot  sun,  and 
pass  away  (Neil,  Faleslifte  Explored,  p.  138).  The  cognate  word  in 
Arabic  means  a  soft  rain  (comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  2).     Comp.  on  xiv.  6. 

.6.  Similar  fitful  repentances  have  already  forced  Jehovah  to  inter- 
pose, like  a  severe  but  kind  physician  who  will  cut  out  the  diseased 
part  rather  than  suffer  the  evil  to  spread. 

hewed  them  by  the  prophets]  i.  e.  warned  them  of  the  fatal  conse- 
quences of  their  conduct.  The  divine  or  prophetic  word  has  a  de- 
stroying power  ascribed  to  it  (Isa.  xi.  4,  xlix.  2;  Jer.  i.  10,  v.  14; 
I  Kings  xix.  17). 

thy  judgments  are  as  the  light  that  goeth  forth]  'Thy  judgments,' 
i.e.  those  pronounced  upon  thee.  According  to  this  reading  we  have  to 
supply  'as,'  and  suppose  a  sudden  change  of  pronoun.  The  Septuagint, 
however,  with  the  Peshito,  and  even  the  Targum,  reads  differently — 
my  judgment  shall  go  forth  as  the  light  (this  simply  involves  a 
slightly  different  grouping  of  the  letters).  'My  judgment',  viz.  that 
upon  Israel;  'shall  go  forth',  for  we  are  no  longer  in  the  imagined 
future  (as  in  vv.  i — 3) ;  '  as  the  light ',  that  all  may  see  it  and  tremble. 

6.  A  further  explanation  of  these  severe  judgments,  the  moral  effect 
of  which  the  prophet  has  been  considering. 

For  I  desired  7nercy  and  not  sacrifice]  Rather,  for  I  delight  in  piety 
and  not  in  sacrifice.  The  Hebrew  is  vague ;  khesedh  'dutiful  love'  may 
mean  either  '  piety '  or  '  kindness  ', — love  to  God  or  love  to  man.  The 
parallel  clause  favours  the  former,  the  context  at  first  sight  the  latter ; 
but  we  may  keep  '  piety ',  for  both  love  to  God  and  the  knowledge  of 
God  are  regarded  as  leading  to  the  imitation  of  God's  (piXavdpojirla. 
(comp.  Jer.  xxii.  16  'was  not  this  to  know  me',  and  2  Sam.  ix.  3 
'  that  I  may  show  the  kindness  of  God  unto  him  ').  As  Aben  Ezra  well 
remarks,  it  is  stedfast  love  which  the  prophet  means,  not  that  which  is 
like  a  cloud  {v.  4).  'And  not  sacrifice '  =  ' rather  than  sacrifice  ' ;  the 
prophet  thinks  comparatively  little  of  sacrifices,  but  does  not  denounce 
them  as  positively  displeasing  to  God.  Comp.  Isa.  i.  11 — 20;  Mic  vi. 
6 — 8;  Jer.  vii.  22,  23  (though  this  is  of  doubtful  interpretation).  The 
sacrifices  alluded  to  are  those  which  the  Israelites  will  at  a  future  time 
offer  in  the  vain  hope  of  propitiating  Jehovah  (v.  6).  This  first  half 
of  the  verse  is  twice  quoted  by  our  Lord  (Matt.  ix.  13,  xii.  7).  A 
striking  parallel  occurs  in  a  saying  ascribed  to  Buddha,  who,  however, 
unlike  our  Lord,  denounced  animal  sacrifices  as  in  themselves  wrong : 
'  If  a  man  live  a  hundred  years,  and  engage  the  whole  of  his  time  and 
attention  in  religious  offerings  to  the  gods,  sacrificing  elephants  and 
horses,  and  other  life,  all  this  is  not  equal  to  one  act  of  pure  love  in 
saving  life'  (Beal's  Texts  from  the  Buddhist  Canon). 


8o  HOSEA,   VI.  [w.  7—9. 

And  the  knowledge  of  God  more  than  burnt  offerings. 

But  they  Hke  men  have  transgressed  the  covenant  : 

There  have  they  dealt  treacherously  against  me. 

Gilead  is  a  city  of  them  that  work  iniquity, 

A?id  is  polluted  with  blood. 

And  as  troops  of  robbers  wait  for  a  man, 

7.  The  contrast  between  Israel's  conduct  and  Jehovah's  requirements. 
Bui  they  like  men...]     Literally,  But  they — they  lilse  (other)  men 

transgress  the  covenant  (or,  perhaps,  the  ordinance,  see  on  viii.  i). 
The  word  rendered  '  men '  {'dddm)  means  ordinary  or  less  privileged 
men,  as  in  Ps.  Ixxxii.  7  and  most  probably  Job  xxxi.  33, '  If  I  covered 
like  (common)  men  my  transgressions.'  It  is  assumed  (as  in  Job /.^.) 
that  ordinary  men  are  addicted  to  certain  vices,  and  that  such  privileged 
persons  as  Job  or  the  Israelites  ought  to  act  up  to  a  higher  standard. 
The  mention  of  the  transgressions  of  '  (other)  men '  reminds  us  of  Isa. 
xxiv.  5,  where  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  are  said  to  have  'trans- 
gressed commandments,  violated  the  statute,  broken  the  perpetual 
covenant ',  partly  perhaps  with  reference  to  the  '  law  written  in  the 
heart',  and  partly  to  Gen.  ix.  i — 16.  The  Targum,  the  Talmud,  and 
the  Vulgate  (followed  byDelitzsch  on  Job  xxxi.  33)  render,  'like  Adam', 
but  the  Book  of  Genesis  says  nothing  of  a  'covenant'  M'ith  Adam. 

there}  Implying  a  gesture  of  indignation.  The  divine  speaker  points 
to  the  northern  kingdom  as  the  scene  of  the  unfaithfulness  (comp. 
'there'  in  v.  10). 

8,  9.  Two  spots  of  specially  ill  fame  are  singled  out — Gilead  and  the 
road  to  Shechem. 

8.  Gilead]  Here  alone,  and  probably  in  Judg.  x.  17,  mentioned 
as  the  name  of  a  town.  We  still  find  the  name  of  Gilead  (in  its  Arabic 
form  JiVdd)  lingering  at  various  parts  of  the  ancient  Gilead,  but  we 
cannot  venture  on  a  combination  with  the  prophet's  Gilead.  Ramoth- 
Gilead  would  seem,  from  its  importance,  a  not  unlikely  place  to  be 
meant. 

polluted  with  blood]  Rather,  tracked  with  bloody  foot-prints ;  comp. 
the  striking  expression  used  of  Joab  in  i  Kings  ii.  5.  The  Gileadites, 
half  civilized  mountaineers,  seem  to  have  been  distinguished  for  their 
ferocity  (comp.  2  Kings  xv.  25).  From  the  next  verse  we  may  perhaps 
infer  that  at  Gilead  too  the  priests  were  foremost  in  lawlessness. 

9.  And  as  troops...]  Rather,  And  as  bandits  lying  in  wait,  (so 
doth)  the  company  of  priests;  they  murder  on  the  road  towards 
Shechem ;  yea,  they  commit  outrages.  The  reference  in  the  figure 
is  either  to  the  doings  of  native  banditti  (comp.  vii.  r),  or  to  those  of 
the  guerilla-bands  of  Arameans,  Moabites,  &c.,  which  were  constantly 
invading  Israel  and  Judah  (2  Kings  v.  2,  xiii.  20),  whenever  the  central 
power  was  weak.  The  word  for  'company'  {khebher)  implies  an 
organized  guild  (such  as  the  Pharisees  afterwards),  so  that  there  was  no 
public  opinion  to  check  the  offenders.  Shechem  had  long  ago  been 
notorious  for  the  highway  robberies  committed  by  its  inhabitants,  and 


vv.  lo,  II ;  1,2.]  ROSEA,   VI.  VII.  8i 

So  the  company  of  priests  murder  in  the  way  by  consent : 

For  they  commit  lewdness. 

I  have  seen  a  horrible  thing  in  the  house  of  Israel ;  lo 

There  is  the  whoredom  of  Ephraim,  Israel  is  defiled. 

Also,  O  Judah,  he  hath  set  a  harvest  for  thee,  n 

When  I  returned  the  captivity  of  my  people. 

When  I  would  have  healed  Israel,  7 

Then  the  iniquity  of  Ephraim  was  discovered,  and  the 

wickedness  of  Samaria : 
For  they  commit  falsehood ;  and  the  thief  cometh  in, 
And  the  troop  of  robbers  spoileth  without. 
And  they  consider  not  in  their  hearts  2 

That  I  remember  all  their  wickedness  : 

was  therefore  destroyed  by  Abimelech  (Judg.  ix.  25,  45).  It  lay  on 
the  road,  which  was  doubtless  much  frequented,  from  Samaria  and 
the  north  to  Bethel,  now  the  chief  sanctuary  of  the  so-called  Ten  Tribes. 
Gilead  and  Shechem  together  represent  the  eastern  and  western  divisions 
of  the  kingdom. 

10,  11.  Jehovah  is  still  the  speaker.  From  his  heavenly  '  place  '  he 
points  indignantly  (as  v.  7)  to  the  abominations  practised  *  there ', 
i.e.  in  the  whole  land  of  Israel,  for  even  Judah  has  not  escaped  the 
infection.  The  stnicture  of  the  verses  becomes  more  symmetrical,  if 
we  attach  the  concluding  words  of  v.  10  to  v.  11,  and  turn  v.  w  thus, 
altering  one  vowel-point,  Israel  is  defiled;  for  thee  also,  Judah,  a 
harvest  is  appointed.  The  Septuagint  partly  favours  this,  rendering 
eixiavdrf  'lapariX  Kal  'Iov5a.  The  concluding  words  of  v.  11  should 
rather  be  attached  to  v.  i  of  chap.  vii. 

Chap.  VII. 

1 — 7.  The  moral  degradation  of  Israel,  especially  of  its 
ruling  class,  which,  so  far  from  stemming  the  tide  of 
corruption,  applauds  and  encourages  its  progress. 

1.  How  foolish  is  the  conduct  of  Israel !  When  the  great  turning- 
point  in  her  fortunes  arrives,  the  day  of  mingled  punishment  and  mercy, 
all  his  wickedness  will  be  remembered  and  brought  to  light.  To  improve 
the  sense  and  restore  balance  to  the  opening  of  the  verse,  it  is  expedient 
to  read  thus,  with  Ewald,  When  I  turn  the  fortunes  of  my  people, 
when  I  heal  Israel,  then  will  be  manifest  Ephraim's  guilt  and  Sama- 
ria's wickedness,  how  they  practise  falsehood,  and  the  thief  cometh 
in,  and  bandits  roam  abroad  without.  Comp.  iv.  2.  Samaria  is 
mentioned,  as  the  abode  of  the  princes  next  spoken  of. 

2.  t/iejf  consider  not  in  their  hearts']  Rather,  as  margin,  they  say 
not  to  their  heart.  'Heart'  here  =  self;  the  meaning  is  therefore  they 
have  no  pricks  of  conscience. 

HOSEA  6 


S2  ROSEA,   VII.  [vv.  3—6. 

Now  their  own  doings  have  beset  them  about ; 

They  are  before  my  face. 

They  make  the  king  glad  with  their  wickedness, 

And  the  princes  with  their  lies. 

They  are  all  adulterers,  as  an  oven  heated  by  the  baker, 

W7io  ceaseth  from  raising  after  Ae  hath  kneaded  the  dough, 

until  it  be  leavened. 
In  the  day  of  our  king  the  princes  have  made  Awi  sick 

2£//M  bottles  of  wine ; 
He  stretched  out  his  hand  with  scorners. 
For  they  have  made  ready  their  heart  like  an  oven,  whiles 

they  lie  in  wait : 

now  their  own  doings  have  beset  them  abotif]  They  are  so  entangled 
in  sin  (to  use  a  more  familiar  figure)  that  they  cannot  even  try  to 
repent. 

they  are  before  my  face\     Comp.  Ps.  xc.  8. 

3 — 6.  The  highest  personages  are  not  too  refined  for  the  most  sen- 
sual pleasures.  A  consuming  passion  inflames  them  as  if  with  the  heat 
of  a  furnace.  Their  way  of  celebrating  a  royal  commemoration  is  to 
indulge  in  monstrous  excess. 

4.  as  an  ove7i...'\  The  fire  corresponds  to  sensual  lust,  the  oven  is 
the  heart.  The  baker  ceaseth  from  kindling  (so  we  should  render), 
when  the  oven  has  reached  a  certain  heat,  and  then  he  leaves  the  fire 
to  smoulder,  till  the  fermentation  of  the  dough  is  complete,  and  a  fresh 
heating  is  necessary.  So  after  passion  has  once  been  gratified,  it 
smoulders  for  a  time,  but  is  afterwards  kindled  to  a  greater  heat  than 
before,  when  some  attractive  object  comes  within  its  range. 

6.  Here  the  figurative  description  is  interrupted  by  one  from  real 
life. 

In  the  day  of  our  king]  Either  the  coronation- day  (so  the  Targum), 
or  (comp.  Matt.  xiv.  6)  the  royal  birthday  is  meant.  The  prophet 
quotes  the  words  of  the  princes.  He  was  himself  too  loyal  to  the  house 
of  David  to  adopt  the  phrase  seriously. 

have  made  hi?n  sick  with  bottles  of  wine]  Rather,  are  become  sick 
with  the  fever  of  wine.  The  Auth.  Version  probably  means  to  imply 
that  the  princes  meant  to  assassinate  the  king  when  he  was  drunk ;  but 
there  is  no  evidence  of  this  (see  on  v.  7). 

he  stretched  out  his  hand  with  scorners]  i.e.  he  (the  king)  entered  into 
close  relations  with  proud,  lawless  men  (comp.  Prov.  xxi.  24).  So 
Isaiah  too  calls  the  politicians  of  Judah  'men  of  scorn'  (Isa.  xxviii.  14). 
Hosea  may  perhaps  refer  to  some  lawless  project  decided  upon  in  the 
intoxication  of  the  revel. 

6.  For  they  have  made  ready  their  heart  like  an  oven,  whiles  they  lie 
in  wait]  Better,  with  Ewald,  *Yea,  almost  like  the  oven  have  they 
made  their  heart  in  their  intrigue',  if  there  were  only  sufficient  justifica- 
tion for  the  rendering.    This  view  of  the  verse  makes  it  a  climax  to  ver. 


vv.  7—9.]  HOSEA,   VII.  83 

Their  baker  sleepeth  all  the  night ; 
In  the  morning  it  burneth  as  a  flaming  fire. 
They  are  all  hot  as  an  oven,  7 

And  have  devoured  their  judges ; 
All  their  kings  are  fallen  : 

There  is  none  among  them  that  calleth  unto  me. 
Ephraim,  he  hath  mixed  himself  among  the  people ;  8 

Ephraim  is  a  cake  not  turned. 

Strangers  have  devoured  his  strength,  and  he  knoweth  9 
//  not : 

5.  Better  still,  by  self-evident  corrections  of  the  text,  For  their  inward 
part  is  like  an  oven,  their  heart  burneth  in  them  (the  reason  for  the 
strong  expression  'scorners'j. 

their  baker]  Better,  to  follow  the  vocalizing  of  Targum  and  Peshito, 
and  render,  their  anger,  viz.  against  the  destined  victims  of  their  in- 
trigue. 

sleepeth  all  the  nighf]  Rather,  still  retaining  the  consonants  of  the 
text,  smoketh  all  the  night  (for  the  phrase,  comp  Deut.  xxix.  20). 
The  night  is  mentioned  as  the  time  when  evil  devices  are  matured. 

7.  The  consequence  of  all  this  licence.  King  after  king  falls  a 
victim  to  the  violent  passions  he  has  fostered  in  his  subjects.  Four 
regicides  are  recorded  within  forty  years  (2  Kings  xv.).  And  yet  no 
one  calls  to  Jehovah  for  help  !  Sacrifices  indeed  were  not  wanting  (vi. 
6),  but  those  who  offered  them  had  no  true  'knowledge  of  God',  and 
so  they  profited  them  not. 

8 — 16.     The  outward  evidences  of  Israel's  decay. 

8.  he  hath  tfiixed  hi??iself  among  the  people"]  Rather,  he  mixeth 
himself  among  the  peoples.  How  ?  By  courting  the  favour  now  of 
Egypt,  now  of  Assyria  [v.  11). 

a  cake  not  turned]  Burnt  to  a  coal  at  the  bottom,  raw  dough  at  the 
top :  an  apt  emblem  of  a  character  full  of  inconsistencies  (Bishop  Hors- 
ley).  The  explanation  is  plausible,  as  long  as  we  look  at  the  figure  by 
itself.  But  the  context,  which  refers  only  to  Israel's  political  decline, 
favours  another  view.  *A  brand  snatched  from  the  burning'  is  a  figure 
of  a  country,  rescued  only  just  in  time  from  destruction.  Hosea's  'cake 
not  turned '  may  equally  well  be  an  emblem  of  a  country  half  ruined  by 
calamities,  and  not  rescued.  The  calamities  of  Israel,  alas !  are  of  his 
own  making;  by  mingling  with  'the  peoples'  he  sought  for  warmth, 
but  found  a  destroying  conflagration  (cf  Isa.  xlvii,  14).  The  'cake'  is 
the  round  flat  cake  of  bread  which  was  baked  on  hot  stones  (i  Kings 
xix.  6)  or  on  hot  ashes,  and  required  frequent  turning,  to  prevent  its 
being  burned. 

9.  Strangers  have  derjoured  his  strength]  By  heavy  tribute  and 
desolating  invasions.  The  'strangers'  would  be  Hazael  and  Benhadad 
(2  Kings  viii.   12,   x.   32,   33,   xiii.  3,   7),   Pul  (2  Kings  xv.    19,  20), 

6—2 


84  HOSEA,   VII.  [vv.  10—12. 

Yea,  grey  hairs  are   here  and   there  upon  him,  yet  he 

knoweth  not. 
And  the  pride  of  Israel  testifieth  to  his  face  : 
And  they  do  not  return  to  the  Lord  their  God,  nor  seek 

him  for  all  this. 
Ephraim  also  is  like  a  silly  dove,  without  heart : 
They  call  to  Egypt,  they  go  to  Assyria. 
When  they  shall  go,  I  will  spread  my  net  upon  them ; 
I  will  bring  them  down  as  the  fowls  of  the  heaven ; 
I  will  chastise  them,  as  their  congregation  hath  heard. 

and  Tiglath-Pileser  (2  Kings  xv.  29),  though  the  two  last  are  really 
the  same  person,  Pul  being  the  private  name  of  a  usurper  who  took  the 
old  royal  name  of  Tiglath-Pileser  (as  proved  by  Mr  Pinches). 

gray  hairs  are  he7-e  and  there  upon  hiin\  Lit.,  *are  sprinkled  upon 
him.'  That  a  state  has  different  stages,  analogous  to  the  periods  of 
human  hfe,  was  a  familiar  idea;  comp.  xi.  i ;  Isa.  xlvi.  4;  Ps.  Ixxi.  18 
(where  the  speaker  is  probably  the  personified  people,  comp.  v.  20  in 
the  Hebrew). 

10.  And^  the  pride  of  Israel...']  Repeated  from  v.  5,  just  as  xii.  9  a 
is  repeated  in  xiii.  4  a.  It  is  not  the  prophet  who  speaks  condemning  a 
bad  quality  in  his  people,  but  Jehovah,  Israel's  true  Pride,  and  the 
source  of  Israel's  prosperity,  who  utters  a  solemn  word  of  warning 
translated  into  act.  How  much  more  suitable  this  explanation  is  in 
such  a  context  than  either  of  the  alternatives  mentioned  on  v.  5. 

for  all  this]  i.e.  in  spite  of  all  this  chastisement,  comp.  Isa.  ix.  12,  17, 
21. 

11.  Ephrairii  also  is  like...]  Rather,  But  Ephraim  is  become  like 
a  silly  dove  without  understanding.  This  verse  does  not  begin  a  fresh 
section,  but  is  closely  connected  with  the  preceding.  As  a  dove,  fleeing 
from  a  hawk,  is  snared  in  the  fowler's  net,  so  Ephraim,  when  afraid  o"f 
Assyria,  calls  in  the  assistance  of  Egypt,  and  when  afraid  of  Egypt, 
applies  to  Assyria  (see  Introduction).  In  his  folly  he  does  not  observe 
the  snare  which  the  false  friend,  or  rather  {v.  12)  Jehovah,  prepares  for 
him. 

12.  When  they  shall  go]     Rather,  As  soon  as  they  go. 

I  will  spread  7ny  net]  The  image  of  Jehovah's  net  is  not  a  frequent 
one;  see  however  Job  xix.  6;  Ezek.  xii.  13,  xvii.  20,  xix.  8,  xxxii.  3. 
Here  the  net  means  captivity. 

/  will  bring  them  down]  Apparently  by  placing  a  bait  to  draw  them 
to  the  earth,  at  least  if  the  figure  is  to  be  continued.  Am.  ix.  2  is 
therefore  not  parallel. 

as  their  congregation  hath  heard]  Lit.,  'according  to  the  announce- 
ment to  their  congregation.'  Comp.  Isa.  liii.  i,  'Who  hath  believed 
our  announcement'  (a  cognate  word)  = 'that  which  we  heard'.  The 
punishment,  says  Hosea,  will  agree  exactly  with  his  own  repeated 
predictions  (comp.  v.  9). 


vv.  13—16.]  ROSEA,  VII.  85 

Woe  unto  them  !  for  they  have  fled  from  me :  13 

Destruction  unto  them !  because  they  have  transgressed 

against  me : 
Though  I  have  redeemed  them,  yet  they  have  spoken  lies 

against  me. 
And  they  have  not  cried  unto  me  with  their  heart,  14 

When  they  howled  upon  their  beds  ; 
They  assemble  themselves  for  corn  and  wine, 
A7id  they  rebel  against  me. 

Though  I  have  bound  and  strengthened  their  arms,  15 

Yet  do  they  imagine  mischief  against  me. 
They  return,  but  not  to  the  most  High  :  16 


13.  they  have  fled  from  me'\  like  birds  scared  out  of  their  nest 
^Isa.  xvi.  2) ;  but  the  Israelites  have  only  themselves  to  blame  for  the 
fatal  consequence.  They  have  left  their  true  home,  and  shall  find  no 
second  (see  on  ix.  17). 

transgressed'^     Or,  'rebelled';  strictly,  'broken  away.' 

though  I  have  redeemed...']     Rather,  I  indeed  would  redeem  them, 

but  they,  &c.     The  'lies'  of  the  Israelites  related  (see  next  verse)  to 

Jehovah's  power  and  willingness  to  save. 

14.  with  their  heart,  when  they  howled]  Rather,  in  their  heart, 
■but  they  howl.  The  prophet  contrasts  the  quiet  communion  of  the 
heart  with  Jehovah  and  the  wild-beastHke  'howling'  of  the  impenitent 
Israelites,  who  murmur  at  the  withdrawal  of  material  blessings.  Comp. 
Isa.  xxiv.  II. 

they  assemble  themselves]  i.e.  to  lament  together  in  their  affliction. 
But  the  rendering  is  doubtful.  Ewald,  better,  'they  excite  them- 
selves '  (or,  are  inwardly  moved).  But  it  is  much  more  natural  to 
suppose  that  Daleth  has  become  altered  into  Resh,  and  that  we  should 
read  differently.  Render  therefore,  with  the  Septuagint  and  some  Hebrew 
MSS.,  they  cut  themselves.  It  is  an  allusion  to  a  well-known  sign 
of  mourning,  forbidden  indeed  by  the  Law  (Deut.  xiv.  i ;  Lev.  xix.  28, 
xxi.  5),  but  habitually  practised  in  Palestine  (Jer.  xvi.  6,  xli.  5,  xlvii. 
5,  xlviii.  37),  and  still  noticeable  in  the  time  of  St  Jerome  (comm.  on 
Jer.  xvi.  6). 

15.  Though  I  have  bound  aftd  strengthened  their  arms]  Rather,  I 
Indeed  have  trained  and  strengthened  their  arms.  The  Israelites  had 
had  a  proof  of  this  not  long  since  when  'Jehovah  saw  the  affliction  of 
Israel  that  it  was  very  bitter',  and  'saved  them  by  the  hand  of  Jero- 
boam the  son  of  Joash '  (2  Kings  xiv.  27). 

16.  They  return,  but  not  to  the  most  High]  Rather,  They  turn 
<i.e.  shift  or  change),  hut  not  upwards  (as  xi.  7).  They  are  not 
content  with  passive  complaints;  they  have  reached  a  turning-point  in 
their  history,  but  their  way  only  leads  them  further  and  further  from 
the  '  knowledge  of  God.' 


86  HOSEA,  VIII.  [v.  i. 

They  are  like  a  deceitful  bow : 

Their  princes  shall  fall  by  the  sword  for  the  rage  of  their 

tongue  : 
This  shall  be  their  derision  in  the  land  of  Egypt. 
Set  the  trumpet  to  thy  mouth. 
He   shall  come  as   an   eagle   against   the   house   of  the 

Lord, 

like  a  deceitful  bow]  i.e.  like  a  bow  which  shoots  an  arrow  in  a  wrong 
direction,  'not  upwards',  towards  Israel's  'strong  rock ',  but  earthwards. 
Cf.  the  same  figure  in  Ps.  Ixxviii.  57. 

for  the  rage  of  their  tongue]  '  Rage  ' ;  or  insolence  (i.e.  towards  God). 
The  root-meaning  (as  gathered  from  Arabic)  is  to  make  a  grumbling 
sound,  like  an  irritated  camel.  Hence  the  appropriateness  of  the  men- 
tion of  the  tongue.     The  verb  is  sometimes  rendered  'to  curse.' 

their  derision  in  the  lattd  of  Egypt]  Probably  an  embassy  had 
boasted  of  Israel's  strength,  to  entice  the  Egyptians  into  an  alliance. 
We  may  probably  assume  that  the  '  sword  '  by  which  the  princes  were 
to  fall  is  that  of  the  Assyrians. 

Chap.  VIII. 

1—7.  In  great  emotion  (which  reflects  itself  in  the  short 
clauses)  the  prophet  announces  the  imminent  invasion 
OF  N.  Israel,  and  its  true  causes — idolatry  and  schism. 

1.  Set  the  trtunpet  to  thy  mouth]  Lit.,  To  thy  palate  the  cornet ! 
An  abrupt  appeal  by  a  heavenly  voice  to  the  prophet,  who  is  bidden  to 
give  warning  of  the  approach  of  the  foe  (comp.  v.  8  note).  'Palate', 
or  'mouth',  as  the  organ  of  speech,  as  Prov.  v.  3,  viii.  7,  &c. 

as  an  eagle]  The  Hebr.  word  (iiesher)  seems  to  have  been  specially 
applied  to  the  great  griffon  vulture,  the  carrion-eating  habits  of  which 
are  referred  to  in  Job  xxxix.  30 ;  Prov.  xxx.  17  ;  Matt.  xxiv.  28,  and  its 
swift  flight  in  Deut.  xxviii.  49;  1  Sam.  i.  23;  Jer.  xlix.  22.  Refer- 
ences to  this  bird  of  prey  (Assyr.  nasrii)  are  frequent  in  the  cuneiform 
inscriptions,  and  figures  of  it  occur  in  battle-scenes  on  the  monument. 
The  more  appropriate  is  it  as  an  emblem  of  the  Assyrian  invaders. 
Similarly  Nebuchadnezzar  (whom  St  Jerome  wrongly  supposes  to  be 
meant  here)  is  called  an  eagle  (or  vulture)  in  Jer.  xlix.  22;  Ezek. 
xvii.  3. 

the  house  of  the  Lord]  In  chap.  ii.  we  had  the  people  of  Israel 
represented  as  a  bride  who  is  sustained  and  adorned  by  her  husband ; 
here  we  have  the  figure  completed  by  the  description  of  the  land  of 
Canaan  as  the  divine  Bridegroom's  house  (as  ix.  15,  comp.  v.  3). 
So  Assyrian  bit  Khzanri  means  the  land  of  N.  Israel,  though  here 
Khumri  (Omri)  is  not  a  divine  name.  In  the  New  Testament  the 
house  of  God,  or  of  Christ,  is  the  Church,  see  Heb.  iii.  6;  i  Tim. 
iii.  15. 


w.  2— 4.J  HOSEA,   VIII.  87 

Because  they  have  transgressed  my  covenant, 

And  trespassed  against  my  law. 

Israel  shall  cry  unto  me,  My  God,  we  know  thee. 

Israel  hath  cast  off  the  thing  that  is  good : 

The  enemy  shall  pursue  him. 

They  have  set  up  kings,  but  not  by  me : 

They  have  made  princes,  and  I  knew  it  not : 

(2/"  their  silver  and  their  gold  have  they  made  them  idols, 

my  covenant]  Most  explain  this  of  the  'covenant'  or  contract 
between  Jehovah  and  Israel.  But  the  phrase  is  more  probably  equiva- 
lent to  'mine  ordinance',  for  the  parallel  clause  has  'my  law.'  The 
Heb.  word  {Frith)  sometimes  appears  to  mean  simply  'appointment', 
'ordinance'  (so  2  Kings  xi.  4;  Jer.  xi.  6,  xxxiv.  13,  18;  Job  xxxi.  i ; 
Ps.  cv.  10),  which  may  even  be  the  primary  meaning  (comp.  Assyr. 
baril  'to  decide').  Comp.  the  phrase  'the  book  of  the  covenant' 
(Ex.  xxiv.  7). 

my  law]     See  note  on  z'.  12. 

2.  Israel  shall  cry...]  Rather,  Unto  me  they  will  (then)  cry,  My 
God,  we — Israel — know  thee.  "When  the  punishment  comes,  they  will 
cry  aloud  to  Jehovah,  and  lay  stress  upon  their  belonging  to  Him. 
'Israel'  is  mentioned,  as  the  title  of  honour  (the  kunya,  comp.  the 
commentators  on  Isa.  xliv.  5),  given  by  Jehovah,  which  was  the  outward 
sign  of  His  mystic  connexion  with  His  worshippers.  The  speech  of 
the  Israelites  is  the  counterpart  of  that  of  Jehovah  in  Isa.  xliii.  i,  *I 
have  called  thee  by  name;  thou  art  mine.'  (The  Septuagint  and  the 
Peshito,  however,  omit  'Israel.')  'My  God'  seems  used  distributively, 
each  Israelite  professes  to  feel  his  individual  relation  to  the  national 
God. 

3.  The  appeal  is  dismissed;  Israel's  piety  is  but  superficial  (comp. 
vi.  I — 4);  his  'knowledge  of  God'  is  not  that  which  Jehovah  expects. 

hath  cast  off]  Not  merely  put  aside  out  of  caprice,  but  (as  the  word 
implies)  cast  oflF  with  loathing  (see  v.  5). 

4.  Israel's  great  offence — making  a  schism  in  the  'theocratic' 
community.  Setting  up  idols  was  virtually  rebellion  against  Jehovah; 
whatever  Ahijah  said  (i  Kings  xi.  31,  &c.),  or  a  lower  class  of  prophets 
after  him  (comp.  Am.  vii.  12,  13),  the  great  prophets,  such  as 
Hosea,  could  not  sanction  any  of  the  N.  Israelitish  dynasties  (see  on 
i.  11).     See  next  note. 

not  by  me]  Rather,  not  from  me.  There  is  a  verbal  contradiction 
between  these  words  and  those  ascribed  to  Shemaiah  in  2  Kings 
xii.  24.  A  prophet  could  only  declare  the  will  of  God  with  regard  to 
the  particular  case  laid  before  him.  The  disunion  of  north  and  south 
was  so  great,  that  for  the  sake  of  peace  it  was  better  to  separate. 
But  when  the  moral  and  spiritual  decay  of  N.  Israel  had  reached  such 
a  point  as  in  the  time  of  Hosea,  no  prophet  with  any  spiritual  insight 
could  fail  to  perceive  that  the  usurping  kings  lacked  the  divine 
blessing. 


88  HOSEA,   VIII.  [vv.  5—7. 

That  they  may  be  cut  off. 

Thy  calf,  O  Samaria,  hath  cast  thee  off ; 

Mine  anger  is  kindled  against  them  : 

How  long  will  it  be  ere  they  attain  to  innocency  ? 

For  from  Israel  was  it  also  : 

The  workman  made  it ;  therefore  it  is  not  God : 

But  the  calf  of  Samaria  shall  be  broken  in  pieces. 

For  they  have  sown  the  wind,   and  they  shall  reap  the 

whirlwind  : 
It  hath  no  stalk  :  the  bud  shall  yield  no  meal : 
If  so  be  it  yield,  the  strangers  shall  swallow  it  up. 

that  they  may  be  cut  off\  The  verb  is  in  the  singular,  and  the  implied 
subject  is  the  silver  and  gold  which  had  been  made  into  idols. 

5.  Thy  calf,  O  Samaria,  hath  cast  thee  off\  This  rendering  is  very 
harsh  in  this  context;  Ewald  prefers  'He  hath  cast  off  thy  calf,  a  con- 
trast to  '  Israel  hath  cast  off  that  which  is  good '  in  v.  3.  But  '  casting  off' 
implies  a  previous  connexion  (e.  g.  Ps.  xliii.  2) ;  it  is  better  to  revert  to 
the  intransitive  sense  which  belongs  to  the  cognate  verb  in  Arabic,  and 
render,  Tliy  calf,  0  Samaria,  is  loathsome.  '  Thy  calf  is  a  contemptu- 
ous expression  for  the  small  golden  bull  which  was  symbolic  of  Jehovah; 
such  a  bull,  it  appears,  existed  at  Samaria,  and  doubtless  at  other  places 
besides  Dan  and  Bethel  (e.  g.  at  Gilgal). 

ere  they  cafi  attain  innocency']  Lit.  'will  they  be  incapable  of  inno- 
cency.' Idolatry  presented  itself  to  Hosea,  not  only  as  a  form  of  wor- 
ship, but  as  an  immoral  way  of  living. 

6.  For  from  Israel  was  it  also]  Rather,  was  this  also ;  i.  e.  this 
idol  too  (as  well  as  the  usurping  kings)  was  Israel's  work,  unsanctioned 
by  me.  But  the  construction  is  very  dubious,  and  the  integrity  of  the 
text  may  well  be  questioned. 

the  workynan  made  it;  therefore  it  is  not  God]  Lit.,  'and  it  is  not 
God.'  It  has  a  merely  fictitious  existence  (so  xiii.  2).  The  sarcastic 
words  of  Hosea  contain  the  germ  of  the  vehement  polemic  of  the  later 
prophets  against  idolatry  in  general. 

but... in  pieces]  Rather,  yea,  Samaria's  calf  shall  he  (hroken  to) 
shivers  (Targum,  'chips  of  boards'). 

7.  The  consequences  of  Israel's  evil  conduct  and  policy  are  here 
represented  under  the  figure  of  sowing  and  reaping.  But  the  form  of 
the  figure  is  varied.  First,  Israel  sows  wind  and  reaps  whirlwind,  i.  e. 
his  present  conduct  is  unprofitable  to  himself,  and  the  requital  of  it 
shall  be  actual  destruction.  Next,  though  Israel  sows  a  corn-plant,  it 
never  grows  up  to  its  full  size  (it,  i.e.  Israel,  hath  no  standing  corn); 
or  if  it  does,  it  either  yields  the  farmer  no  meal,  or  its  meal  is  seized 
upon  by  the  enemy,  i.e.  the  worldly  results  of  Israel's  policy  are  never 
good,  and  any  wealth  that  it  attains  passes  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

the  bud  shall  yield  no  meal]  In  the  Hebrew  there  is  a  characteristic 
play  upon  sounds, — the  femahh  yields  no  qetnakh. 


vv.  8— lo.]  HOSEA,   VIII.  89 

Israel  is  swallowed  up  :  8 

Now  shall  they  be  among  the  Gentiles  as  a  vessel  wherein 

is  no  pleasure. 
For  they  are  gone  up  to  Assyria,  a  wild  ass  alone  by  him-  9 

self: 
Ephraim  hath  hired  lovers. 
Yea,  though  they  have  hired  among  the  nations,  now  will  lo 

I  gather  them, 
And  they  shall  sorrow  a  little  for  the  burden  of  the  king 

of  princes. 

8 — 14.  The  judgment  is  already  begun ;  Israel  has  drawn  it  upon 
himself,  by  dallying  with  Assyria,  by  religious  abuses,  and  by  a  vain 
confidence  in  fortified  cities. 

8.  is  swallowed  iip\  i.  e.  is  as  good  as  swallowed  up.  Foreigners 
have  already  begun  to  absorb  the  precious  morsel  (cf.  vii.  8,  9);  com- 
plete destruction  is  only  a  question  of  time. 

now  shall  they  de...]  Rather,  no-w  axe  they  become  among  the 
nations,  &c.  Comp.  Jer.  xxii.  28,  xlviii.  38.  'The  coarse  pottery  of 
this  country ',  says  Dr  Thomson,  'is  so  cheap  that  even  poor  people 
throw  it  aside  in  contempt,  or  dash  it  to  pieces  on  the  slightest  occa- 
sion' {The  Land  and  the  Book,  p.  36).     'Nations'  (as  v.  10). 

9.  go?te  up\    Used,  like  ava^aiucj,  of  going  inland  ('up  the  country'). 
a  wild  ass  alone  by  hi)?iself\     Rather,  a  wild  ass  taking  his  own 

way  hy  himself.  The  point  of  comparison  is  obstinacy.  The  wild  ass 
is  a  gregarious  animal,  but  individuals  in  the  herd  will  sometimes  go 
and  roam  moodily  and  obstinately  by  themselves.  See  Tristram,  Nat. 
Hist,  of  Bible,  pp.  41 — 43,  and  Davidson's  full  note  on  Job  xxxv. 
5 — 8.  Ishmael  is  compared  to  the  wild  ass  in  Gen.  xvi.  12,  and  now 
it  appears  that  Israel  is  no  better  than  Ishmael.  In  spite  of  warnings, 
he  will  have  his  way,  though  intercourse  with  Assyria  is  his  ruin. 

Ephraim  hath  hired  lovers^  Rather,  loves.  The  allusion  is  to  the 
gifts  by  which  Israel  sought  to  gain  the  Assyrian  or  Egyptian  alliance 
(xii.  2).  The  Sept.  evidently  had  a  different,  though  probably  not  a 
more  correct  text. 

10.  This  verse  is  obscure,  and  open  to  a  variety  of  interpretations; 
the  following  however  seems  by  far  the  most  probable. 

Yea,  though  they  have  hired  among  the  nations']  Rather,  Yea,  though 
they  hire,  &c.,  i.e.  though  they  attain  a  certain  amount  of  success  in 
their  negotiations,  and  win  the  protection  of  some  stronger  nation,  yet 
the  time  has  come  for  me  to  check  their  misplaced  activiiy. 

now  will  I  gather  them']  Surely  not,  '  now  will  I  gather  the  Assy- 
rian army  to  fight  against  them  ',  which  does  not  suit  the  context  (rnark 
'yea,  though'),  but,  'now  will  I  restrain  their  roving  propensities.' 
Where  or  how,  we  are  not  yet  told;  it  is  captivity  which  is  dimly 
hinted  at.     This  interpretation  is  strongly  confirmed  by  the  next  clause. 

and  they  shall  sorrow  a  little  for  the  burden  of  the  kiiig  of  princes] 
*  The  king  of  princes '  is  a  phrase  not  found  elsewhere,  but  might  con- 


90  HOSEA,   VIII.  [vv.  ii,  12. 

Because  Ephraim  hath  made  many  altars  to  sin, 

Altars  shall  be  unto  him  to  sin. 

I  have  written  to  him  the  great  things  of  my  law, 


ceivably  = '  the  king  of  kings  ',  which  is  a  title  claimed  by  Tiglath- 
Pileser  I.  {Records  of  the  Past ^  v.  8,  comp.  Ezek.  xxvi.  7).  The  'bur- 
den'might  be  the  heavy  tribute  paid  by  Menahem  {2  Kings  xv.  ■20). 
But  why  'sorrow  a  little^?  No  better  sense  is  made  by  rendering  'and 
they  shall  begin  to  be  diminished  [in  numbers,  or  in  prosperity]  by 
reason  of  the  burden  of  the  king  of  princes ' ;  why  '  begin  '  ?  A  third 
rendering,  '  and  they  shall  soon  be  in  anguish  through  the  burden '  &c., 
involves  a  violation  of  Hebrew  usage  ('  soon  '  should  be  '  a  little ').  The 
only  remedy  is  to  follow  the  Septuagint,  which  reads  two  of  the  Hebrew 
words  differently,  and  render  that  they  may  cease  for  a  little  from 
anointing  a  king  and  princes  (all  the  yersions  and  some  Hebr.  MSS. 
sanction  '  and ').  Comp.  xiii.  10  '  Give  me  a  king  and  princes ',  from 
which  it  seems  as  if  the  perso7inel  of  the  class  of  '  princes '  would  vary 
according  as  the  king  were  of  one  dynasty  or  another.  In  Judah,  at 
any  rate,  as  well  as  in  Egypt,  we  know  that  the  royal  princes  enjoyed 
many  of  the  more  important  offices  under  the  crown  (comp.  Isa.  vii.  13 ; 
Jer.  xvii.  io\  i  Kings  xxii.  26;  2  Kings  xxv.  25). 

11.  Because']  Rather,  For.  It  is  a  justification  of  the  foregoing 
threat. 

hath  made  many  altars  to  sin]  In  times  of  national  trouble,  sacrifices 
were  m-ultiplied,  to  propitiate  the  national  God  (comp.  Isa.  i.  11).  But 
as  no  corresponding  effort  was  made  to  purify  the  conduct  and  the 
character,  such  sacrifices  did  but  increase  the  load  of  the  national  guilt. 
Instead  of 'many  sacrifices',  Hosea  says  'many  altars',  because  there 
was  even  less  attempt  in  the  times  of  Hosea  and  Isaiah  to  centralize 
worship  in  the  northern  kingdom  than  in  the  southern.  The  strict  rule 
of  Deuteronomy  (one  temple  and  one  altar)  seems  at  present  far  removed 
from  the  general  consciousness.     See  Introduction,  part  v. 

altars  shall  be  unto  hit?i  to  sin]  Rather,  (yea,)  altars  are  to  him 
for  sinning  (thereby).  There  is  no  unfairness  on  Jehovah's  part; 
Israel  cannot  pretend  ignorance  of  His  will. 

12.  /  have  written  to  him]  Auth.  Vers,  here  follows  the  Targum 
and  the  Peshito  (the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate  give  the  future), 
but  it  is  more  idiomatic  (see  p.  36,  note)  to  render  in  the  present 
— I  am  wont  to  write.  The  prophet  is  fully  conscious  that  the 
divinely  given  laws  under  which  Israel  lives  (or  ought  to  live)  were 
not  formulated  once  for  all  in  the  Mosaic  age,  but  grew  up  in 
different  ages.  Thus  understood,  the  passage  is  an  important  authority 
for  the  existence  of  a  legal  literature  before  the  Pentateuch  be- 
came canonical.  But  another  rendering  is  widely  accepted,  'Though  I 
wrote  unto  him'  (my  law  by  myriads,  i.e.  in  myriad  precepts). 

the  great  things  of  my  lazv]  The  expression  in  the  Hebrew,  however 
we  understand  it,  is  remarkable  and  somewhat  harsh.  All  difficulty  would 
be  removed  if  we  might  suppose  the  omission  of  a  letter  and  a  transpo- 


V.  13.]  HOSEA,  VIII.  91 

But  they  were  counted  as  a  strange  thing. 

They  sacrifice  flesh  for  the  sacrifices  of  mine  offerings,  13 

and  eat  it ; 
But  the  Lord  accepteth  them  not ; 

Now  will  he  remember  their  iniquity,  and  visit  their  sins  : 
They  shall  return  to  Egypt. 

sition  ;  the  phrase  would  then  run,  'the  words  of  my  law,'  The  He- 
brew Bible  however  gives  i,  in  the  margin,  'the  multitudes  of  my  law ' 
(Vulg.  mtiltiplices  leges  meas),  which  is  adopted  by  Auth.  Ver.,  and  2,  in 
the  text,  '  the  myriads  (or,  the  myriad  precepts)  of  my  law.'  The 
word  rendered  'multitudes'  is  questionable,  since  it  occurs  elsewhere 
only  in  the  singular,  and  there  is  here  no  apparent  occasion  for  a  plural. 
*  The  myriads  of  my  law '  is  a  bold  expression,  but  this  reading  is  gene- 
rally preferred.  '  My  law '  may  be  understood  to  imply  that,  though 
Jehovah's  will  was  made  known  'by  divers  portions'  (Heb.  i.  i  R.  V.), 
yet  these  '  portions '  when  fitly  joined  together  made  a  whole.  This 
was  certainly  the  feeling  of  those  Jewish  Bible-students  who  affixed  the 
vowel-points  ;  but,  as  Hosea  is  thinking  of  the  multiplicity  of  the  laws, 
rather  than  of  their  unity,  some  have  thought  that  we  should  rather  read 
(altering  one  point),  'my  laws.'  We  can  estimate  the  multiplicity 
spoken  of  from  the  Pentateuch,  whether  this  work  was  known  to  Hosea 
in  anything  at  all  like  its  present  form  or  not.  We  must  remember, 
however,  that  the  laws  to  which  the  prophet  alludes  are  concerned,  wc/ 
wzik  rites  and  ceremonies,  but  wdth  civil  justice  and  the  applications 
of  a  plain  but  religiously  sanctioned  morality  (comp.  the  so-called  Book 
of  the  Covenant,  Ex.  xxi. — xxiii). 

they  were  (rather,  are)  counted  as  a  strange  thing']  As  something 
which  did  (does)  not  concern  them. 

13.  They  sacrifice,  &c.]  Rather,  My  sacrificial  gifts  they  sacrifice  ; 
(yea,)  flesli,  and  they  eat  it;  i.e.,  their  sacrifices  are  a  mere  form, 
Jehovah  abhors  them  ;  the  only  positive  result  is  that  the  sacrificer  has 
the  luxury  of  a  dinner  of  flesh-meat.  (Comp.  a  sim.ilar  accusation 
against  the  priests,  iv.  8.)  That  sensual  appetites  were  partly  concerned 
in  the  offering  of  sacrifices  even  in  times  of  national  trouble  may  perhaps 
be  inferred  from  Isa.  xxii.  13,  the  eating  of  animal  food  being  only 
allowed,  especially  we  may  suppose  in  Jerusalem,  in  connexion  with  a 
sacrificial  act ;  comp.  Lev.  xvii.  3 — 6;  Deut.  xii.  15,  16  (a  mitigation 
of  a  primitive  rule).     [The  word  rendered  '  gifts '  is  uncertain.] 

nozu]  The  climax  of  Israel's  iniquity  has  been  reached ;  Jehovah  will 
now  prove  in  act  that  He  has  not  forgotten  their  transgressions. 

they  shall  return  to  Egypt]  Some  think  this  is  a  kind  of  poetical 
expression  for  being  carried  into  captivity — a  most  unnatural  supposi- 
tion. In  Isa.  vii.  18  we  find  a  threat  of  a  double  invasion  from  Egypt 
and  from  Assyria,  and  why  can  we  not  imagine  that  a  people  who  were 
ever  vacillating  between  Egyptian  and  Assyrian  alliances  should  be 
threatened  with  an  Egyptian  as  well  as  an  Assyrian  captivity?  Comp. 
the  prophecies  of  restoration  from  Egypt  in  Isa.  xi.  11;  Mic.  vii.   12. 


92  HOSEA,   VIII.   IX.  [vv.  14;  i. 

14      For    Israel    hath    forgotten    his    Maker,    and    buildeth 
temples ; 

And  Judah  hath  multiplied  fenced  cities  : 

But  I  will  send  a  fire  upon  his  cities, 

And  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  thereof 
9      Rejoice  not,  O  Israel,  for  joy,  as  other  people  : 

For  thou  hast  gone  a  whoring  from  thy  God, 

The  word  'return'  is  pointed  with  the  terrible  associations  of  the  'house 
of  bondage';  comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  68.  Hosea  repeats  the  threat  in  ix. 
5.  6,  xi.  5. 

14.  A  fresh  reason  for  the  '  swallowing  up '  of  which  the  prophet 
has  spoken  {v.  8) — Israel's  worldliness  and  self-dependence. 

buildeth  temples]  It  seems  doubtful  however  whether  Hosea  would 
have  laid  such  stress  on  the  wickedness  of  many  temples  and  many  altars 
(see  V.  11).  More  probably  '  temples '  should  be  palaces  (the  primitive 
meaning  of  the  Assyrian  cognate  is  '  great  house '),  in  which  case  for 
'  palaces '  at  the  close  of  the  verse  we  had  better  substitute  castles.  It 
is  not  so  much  the  '  palaces  '  and  the  '  castles  '  themselves  as  the  world- 
liness and  the  tyranny  of  those  who  lived  in  them  that  Hosea  denounces. 

but  I  Tvill  send  a  fire...]  Referring  to  both  Israel  and  Judah.  Re- 
markably enough,  we  find  these  words  repeated  seven  times  in  Amos  as 
a  refrain  to  as  many  denunciations  (Am.  i.  4 — ii.  5).  It  seems  hardly 
likely  that  so  original  a  prophet  should  have  quoted  these  words; 
perhaps  they  were  a  well-known  prophetic  commonplace. 

Chap.  IX. 

Here  the  discourse  takes  a  new  start.  The  prophet  is  a  witness  of 
the  wild  rejoicings  of  harvest,  and  warns  his  people  not  to  be  so  exuberant, 
for  they  must  go  forth  into  captivity.  Three  times  in  this  and  the  two 
next  chapters  he  recurs  to  the  early  history  of  the  Israelites,  and  shows 
how  they  have  constantly  met  the  divine  mercy  with  rebellion  and 
idolatry,  so  that  Jehovah  has  no  choice  but  to  thrust  them  away. 

1 — 9.  A  vivid  picture  of  the  bitterness  of  the  calamity  in  prospect. 
It  does  but  equal  the  Gibeah-like  wickedness  of  Israel. 

1.    for  Joy]     Rather,  too  loudly  (lit.  '  unto  exultation '). 

as  other  people]  Rather,  as  the  peoples.  The  exuberant  joy  of  the 
wild  nature-worships  of  Palestine  was  abhorrent  to  the  calm  and  deep 
moral  religion  of  the  prophets.  To  the  heathen  nations  certain  material 
blessings  were  the  final  object  of  the  forms  of  worship  ;  to  the  prophets 
and  their  disciples,  the  outward  gifts  of  the  Deity  stood  in  a  close  rela- 
tion to  states  of  the  character,  as  being  the  rewards  of  moral  obedience 
(comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  i — 14). 

for  thou  hast  gone...]  The  blessings  of  the  ingathering  were  falsely 
ascribed  by  Israel  to  the  Baalim  (see  on  ii.  13).  As  long  as  they  were 
enjoyed,  Israel  felt  as  much  pledged  by  them  to  her  false  gods  as  the 
harlot  is  bound  by  her  *  hire '  to  her  paramour.  At  every  recurring 
season  of  harvest  Israel  gratefully  connected  these  blessings  with  her 


w.  2—4.]  ROSEA,   IX.  93 

Thou  hast  loved  a  reward  upon  every  cornfloor. 

The  floor  and  the  winepress  shall  not  feed  them, 

And  the  new  wine  shall  fail  in  her. 

They  shall  not  dwell  in  the  Lord's  land ; 

But  Ephraim  shall  return  to  Egypt, 

And  they  shall  eat  unclean  thmgs  in  Assyria. 

They  shall  not  offer  wine  offerings  to  the  Lord, 


supposed  protectors,  and  offered  first-fruits  to  them,  or,  as  Hosea  puts 
it,  she  loved  a  harlot's  hire  (comp.  on  ii.  12)  upon  all  corn-floors, 
alluding  to  the  various  local  festivals  (comp.  onxii.  9).  Observe,  Hosea 
finds  fault  with  the  Israelites,  not  for  neglect  of  a  centralizing  ordinance, 
such  as  Deut.  xvi.  15,  but  for  honouring  the  Baalim  in  preference  to 
the  true  spiritual  God.  Contrast  the  reference  to  the  autumn  festival  in 
a  post-exile  prophecy  (Zech.  xiv.  16 — 19). 

2.  the  winepress\  Rather,  the  vat  (within  the  press)  into  which  the 
grape-juice  or  the  oil  flowed  ;  comp.  Joel  ii.  24. 

shall  fail  in  her]  Rather,  shall  fail  her  (lit.  *  shall  lie  unto  her ',  as 
Hab.  iii.  17).  There  is  a  good  various  reading  (supported  by  the  versions 
and  by  the  Babylonian  codex)  'in  them',  but  the  same  interchange  of 
pronouns  occurs  in  iv.  19.  Idolatrous  Israel  is  personified  as  a  harlot. 
Wine-drinking  was,  in  fact,  so  closely  connected  with  the  customs  of 
idolatry  (comp..  Judg.  ix.  27 ;  Am.  ii.  8),  that  the  Nazirites  bound 
themselves  by  a  vow  of  '  total  abstinence'  (Num.  vi.  3). 

3 .  in  the  Lord's  land\  '  For  I  the  Lord  dwell  among  the  children 
of  Israel ',  Num.  xxxv.  34.  The  expression  originated  in  the  popular 
belief  that  as,  for  example,  Chemosh  was  the  God  of  the  Amorites,  so 
Jehovah  was  the  God  of  the  Israelites  (Judg.  xi.  24),  a  belief  which 
could  lead  even  Jonah  to  imagine  that  he  could  'flee  unto  Tarshish  from 
the  presence  of  Jehovah  '  (Jon.  i.  3). 

shall  rettirn  to  Egypt,  &c.]  A  repetition  of  the  threat  so  well  calcu- 
lated to  deter  the  Israelites  from  disobedience  (see  on  viii.  13). 

shall  eat  unclean  things  in  Assyria]  Comp.  Ezek.  iv.  13,  '  Even  thus 
shall  the  children  of  Israel  eat  their  bread  defiled  among  the  nations 
whither  I  will  drive  them.'  The  prospect  held  out  is  not  that  the 
captive  Israelites  would  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  eating  prohibited 
food,  but  that,  since  all  heathen  lands  were  'unclean'  (Am.  vii.  17), 
all  the  products  of  the  soil  would  also  be  unclean.  The  '  uncleanness  ' 
in  both  cases  was  caused  by  the  absence  of  sanctuaries  dedicated  to 
Jehovah.     See  the  foil,  notes. 

4.  They  shall  not  offer  wijie  offerings  to  the  Lord]  Libations  of  wine 
were  accompaniments  of  the  burnt-oft'erings  and  the  peace-offerings,  and 
so  are  naturally  mentioned  in  connexion  with  the  'sacrifices.'  It  is 
implied  that  wine  in  general  would  become  '  unclean ',  if  a  certain 
measure  of  it  were  not  devoted  to  this  sacred  and  sanctifying  purpose. 
The  clause  is  therefore  equivalent  to  this — '  The  wine  that  they  drink 
shall  not  be  pleasing  to  the  Lord  ' ;  comp.  the  following  words. 


94  HOSEA,   IX.  [v.  4. 

Neither  shall  they  be  pleasing  unto  him  : 
Their    sacrifices    shall  be   unto   them   as   the   bread   of 
mourners  ; 

neither  ..shall  they  be  pleasing  (lit.  sweet)  unto  hini]  Strangely  enough, 
the  accentuation  of  the  text  separates  between  the  verb  and  its  subject ; 
the  Sept. ,  Targ. ,  and  Peshito  preserve  the  obviously  right  view  of  the 
construction,  neither  shall  their  sacrifices  be  pleasing  unto  him.  The 
peculiar  accentuation  was  possibly  caused  by  a  wish  to  preclude  a  mis- 
interpretation of  Hosea's  language,  viz.  that  the  Israelites  would  go  on 
sacrificing  to  Jehovah  even  when  in  captivity.  But  the  truth  is  that  the 
Hebrew  zebakh  (like  lepeiov,  see  Mahaffy's  Old  Greek  Life,  p.  32)  has  a 
twofold  meaning  :  i,  a  sacrifice,  and  2,  a  feast  of  animal  food.  Flesh- 
meat  was  not  the  habitual  food  of  the  Israelites,  any  more  than  it  is  of 
the  Arabs  at  the  present  day  ;  to  partake  of  it  was  a  special  divinely 
given  privilege  (comp.  Gen.  ix.  3),  and  those  who  from  time  to  time 
availed  themselves  of  this  privilege  had  to  make  an  acknowledgment  of  it 
by  presenting,  at  the  very  least,  the  blood  before  Jehovah  (comp.  i  Sam. 
xiv.  32 — 35).  The  Book  of  Leviticus  (xvii.  3,  4)  prescribes  that  the 
blood  of  all  slain  beasts  should  be  offered  to  Jehovah  at  the  door  of  the 
tabernacle,  and  though  a  milder  rule  is  given  in  Deuteronomy  (xii.  15, 
16),  yet,  from  what  we  know  of  the  religious  habits  of  the  people, 
we  may  safely  assume  that  not  only  did  they  worship  Jehovah  at  the 
'high  places ',  but  they  also  in  one  way  or  another  presented  any  animal 
food  of  which  they  partook  at  the  local  shrines,  as  well  as  at  the  central 
sanctuary.  Hence  we  may  very  probably  lay  down  that  in  old  Hebrew 
as  in  old  Greek  life  the  conceptions  of  sacrifice  (and  presenting  the 
blood  was  a  minor  kind  of  sacrificial  act)  and  of  feasting  upon  animal 
food  were  inseparable ;  indeed,  we  find  in  the  semi-secular  Book  of 
Proverbs  two  synonymous  proverbs,  in  one  of  which  a  feast  is  described 
as  'a  stalled  ox',  and  in  the  other  as  'sacrifices'  (comp.  Prov.  xv.  17 
and  xvii.  1).  Consequently,  we  might,  in  the  clause  before  us,  with 
equal  justice  render  'neither  shall  their  sacrifices',  and  'neither  shall 
their  feasts  (i.e.  meat-meals)  be  pleasing  unto  him.'  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted, however,  that  the  sense  is  improved  if,  with  Kuenen,  we  alter  a 
Beth  into  a  Caph,  and  render,  neither  shall  they  lay  out  their  sacrifices 
before  him  (upon  the  altar) ;  comp.  iii.  4.  Such  a  mistake  in  the 
reading  of  the  text  would  escape  notice  the  more  easily,  because  the 
phrase  produced  by  it  is  so  idiomatic  (comp.  Jer.  vi.  20  b).  If  we  accept 
this  emendation,  all  that  has  been  said  on  the  connexion  of  sacrificing 
and  feasting  will  still  retain  its  explanatory  value.  We  may  illustrate 
this  connexion  further  by  Ezek.  xxxix.  17,  where  Ezekiel  is  bidden  to 
invite  'every  feathered  fowl'  to  the  'sacrifice'  (so  A.V.)  that  Jehovah 
doth  'sacrifice  for  them';  'sacrifice'  (zebakh)  is  here  evidently  equivalent 
to  'feast'  (in  the  sense  described  above). 

their  saci'ifices . .  .mourners'\  Rather,  (their  bread)  shall  be  unto  them 
as  the  bread  of  mourning ;  the  first  two  words  seem  to  have  fallen  out 
of  the  text.  '  Bread  of  mourning'  means  such  as  was  eaten  during  the 
seven  days  of  mourning,  when  everything  in  the  vicinity  of  the  dead 


vv.  5,  6.]  HOSEA,    IX.  95 

All  that  eat  thereof  shall  be  polluted  : 

For  their  bread  for  their  soul  shall  not  come  into  the 

house  of  the  Lord. 
What  will  ye  do  in  the  solemn  day,  \ 

And  in  the  day  of  the  feast  of  the  Lord  ? 
For  lo,  they  are  gone  because  of  destruction  :  < 

Egypt  shall  gather  them  up,  Memphis  shall  bury  them : 
The  pleasant/Z^r^j"  for  their  silver,  nettles  shall  possess  them : 

body  was  regarded  as  unclean  (Num.  xix.  14) ;  it  is  therefore  the  emblem 
of  utter  impurity.  Or  tliere  may  possibly  be  a  more  special  reference 
to  the  funeral  feasts,  which  lingered  on  among  the  Israelites,  as  St 
Jerome  has  noticed  (see  his  note  on  Jer.  xvi.  7  and  see  Deut.  xxvi.  14), 
but  which  are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  offerings  made  at  intervals 
(in  Sirach's  time)  at  the  grave  (Ecclus.  vii.  33,  xxx.  18).  See  Ewald, 
Antiquities.,  E.  T.,  p.  153,  Renouf,  Hibbert  Lectures,  p.  132,  Tylor, 
Frimiiive  Culture,  ii.  27. 

for  their  bread  for  their  soul...']  Rather,  for  their  bread  shall  be 
(only)  for  their  hunger  (i.e.  to  satisfy  their  appetite) ;  it  shall  not  come 
into  the  house  of  the  Lord.  They  will  not  have  the  joy  which  belongs 
to  those  who  have  duly  presented  the  tithes  of  their  corn,  or  the  firstlings 
of  their  flock,  or  offered  their  burnt  sacrifices — the  joy  of  the  sense  of 
the  divine  favour.  They  cannot  have  this,  because  their  food  lacks  the 
consecration  of  '  the  house  of  the  Lord  '  (not  the  temple  at  Jerusalem, 
but  any  of  the  '  high  places'  dedicated  to  Jehovah). 

5.  What  will  ye  do,  &c.]  The  festivals,  which  were  kept  up  in 
N.  Israel,  even  after  the  schism,  were  seasons  of  popular  merry-making 
(see  ii.  11).  But  now  as  each  'feast  of  Jehovah'  comes  round  in  the 
calendar,  ye  will  neither  have  the  mechanical  performance  of  ritual 
forms,  nor  the  accompanying  holiday-mirth,  to  fill  up  the  vacant  hours. 

6.  Hosea  'in  the  Spirit'  sees  the  Israelites  already  being  carried  into 
captivity. 

because  of  destruction]  Rather,  from  the  devastation.  They  have 
left  their  desolated  country. 

shall  gather  them  up]  viz.  in  burial ;  comp.  Ezek.  xxix.  5 ;  Jer.  viii.  1, 
XXV.  33. 

Me?}iphis]  The  most  ancient  of  the  capitals  of  Egypt,  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Nile,  south  of  old  Cairo,  elsewhere  called  in  the  Hebrew 
Noph  (Isa.  xix.  13;  Jer.  ii.  16),  but  here  Moph.  The  Egyptian  name, 
given  to  it  by  Menes,  accounts  for  both  forms — Men-nufre  '  the  good  '  or 
'  perfect  mansion ' ;  the  Assyrians  called  it  Mimpi.  All  that  is  left  of 
Memphis  is  its  necropolis  '  stretching  north  and  south  nearly  twenty 
miles',  where  Hosea  threateningly  declares  that  the  Israelites  shall  find 
a  grave,  remote,  dishonoured,  and  'unclean.'  Contrast  Ex.  xiv.  11, 
where  the  Israelites  reproach  Moses  with  having  deprived  them  of  their 
right  to  sepulture  in  the  vast  cemeteries  of  Egypt. 

the  pleasant  places  for  their  silver]  Rather,  their  precious  things  of 
silver,  i.e.  costly  silver  ornaments. 


96  HO  SEA,  IX  [vv.  7,  8. 

Thorns  shall  be  in  their  tabernacles. 

The  days  of  visitation  are  come, 

The  days  of  recompence  are  come ; 

Israel  shall  know  it : 

The  prophet  is  a  fool,  the  spiritual  man  is  mad, 

For  the  multitude  of  thine  iniquity,  and  the  great  hatred. 

The  watchman  of  Ephraim  was  with  my  God : 

their  tabernacles]  i.e.,  either  the  idol-tents  of  the  high  places  (comp. 
Ezek.  xvi.  16),  or  simply  their  dwellings  (comp.  2  Sam.  xx.  1). 

7.  are  cornel  Rather,  come.  The  sense  is  that  the  days  of  punish- 
ment shall  surely  come  (the  tense  is  the  prophetic  perfect). 

shall  know  if]  i.e.  by  experience;  as  Isa.  ix.  9.  Another  view  of  these 
words  (in  connexion  with  the  following  clause)  is,  '  Israel  shall  perceive 
(but  too  late)  how  it  has  been  deceived  by  its  prophets.'  But  a  false 
prophet  would  never  be  called  a  'man  of  the  spirit',  but  rather  '  one  that 
followeth  his  own  spirit'  (Ezek.  xiii.  3) ;  and  neither  '  a  fool'  nor  '  mad' 
suggests  the  idea  of  falsehood  or  hypocrisy. 

the  prophet  is  a  fool,  the  spiritudl  ?}ian  is  mad]  These  words  evidently 
convey  a  reproach,  for  though  'mad'  might  be  taken  in  a  good  sense 
(  =  frenzied  with  sorrow,  as  Deut.  xxviii.  34),  '  a  fool'  could  hardly  be. 
But  if  so,  introductory  words  must  have  dropped  out  of  the  text,  such  as 
'  who  say  in  their  pride.'  '  The  spiritual  man'  is,  literally,  '  the  man  of 
the  Spirit',  i.e.  'the  inspired  man',  Sept.  dvdpcoiros  6  irvevixarocpopos. 
*  Mad',  or  '  a  madman',  '  a  fanatic',  is  a  term  applied  disparagingly  to  a 
prophet's  disciple  in  2  Kings  ix.  11,  and  to  Jeremiah  by  an  opponent  in 
Jer.  xxix.  26.  The  expression  was  doubtless  received  from  those  early 
times,  in  which  the  acts  performed  by  prophets  were  often  strange  and 
startling. 

for  the  multittide...]  Rather,  for  the  greatness  of  tMne  iniquity, 
and  because  the  enmity  hatli  been  great.  These  words  are  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  preceding.  Israel  spoke  thus  because  its  iniquity  was 
great,  and  great  also  the  enmity  which  certain  classes  (probably)  felt  to- 
wards the  higher  prophets.  The  priests  and  the  lower  class  of  prophets 
would  be  at  one  in  their  hostility  to  Hosea.  More  is  said  of  this  feud  in 
the  next  verse. 

8.  The  watch?}ian  of  Ephrai?n  was  with  my  God]  Rather,  is  with 
my  God.  There  is  a  various  reading  '  his  God '  (so  also  Rashi),  but  '  my 
God'  can  be  well  defended;  for  the  watchman  spoken  of  is  Hosea  him- 
self. We  have  'my  God'  again  in  v.  17.  The  figure  implied  is  de- 
veloped more  fully  in  Jer.  vi.  17,  '  Also  I  set  watchmen  over  you,  (say- 
ing,) Hearken  to  the  sound  of  the  trumpet.'  '  With  my  God '  = '  in  com- 
munion with '  or  '  helped  by.'  The  connexion  will,  however,  be 
improved  if  we  suppose  that,  owing  to  the  fact  that  'Ephraim'  ends 
with  a  Mem.,  the  same  letter  has  dropped  out  at  the  beginning  of  the 
next  word.  In  this  case,  render  (connecting  this  and  the  next  clause), 
Ephraim's  watchman,  appointed  by  my  God  [comp.  in  the  Hebrew, 
Isa.  viii.  11],  even  the  prophet— a  fowler's  snare  is,  «S:c.     An  entirely 


w.  9,  lo.]  HOSEA,   IX.  97 

But  the  prophet  is  a  snare  of  a  fowler  in  all  his  ways, 

A?id  hatred  in  the  house  of  his  God. 

They  have  deeply  corrupted  themselves,  as  in  the  days  of  9 
Gibeah  : 

Therefore  he  will  remember  their  iniquity,  he  will  visit 
their  sins. 

I  found  Israel  like  grapes  in  the  wilderness ;  ic 

I  saw  your  fathers  as  the  firstripe  in  the  fig  tree  at  he- 
first  time  : 

wrong  view  of  the  construction  is  suggested  by  the  vowel-points 
(which  of  course  form  no  part  of  the  text  proper),  viz.  '  Ephraim  looketh 
out  (for  help)  beside  my  God'  ;  but  *  beside'  cannot  mean  'apart  from'; 
or  '  Ephraim  is  a  lier  in  wait  (in  his  fight)  against  my  God.' 

but  the  prophet  is,  &c.]  See  last  note.  The  prophet  meant  is  a  true 
not  a  false  prophet  (as  Keil  takes  it),  for  though  the  false  prophets 
might  be  likened  to  a  fowler's  snare,  their  conduct  could  not  be  spoken 
of  as  'envious'  or  'persecuting'  towards  Ephraim.  It  is  rather  the 
Ephraimites  who  are  always  laying  snares  (comp.  Isa.  xxix.  21)  for 
their  troublesome  'watchman.' 

hatred^     Rather,  enmity  (or,  hostility ;  or,  persecution). 

in  the  house  of  his  God'\  This  must  to  some  extent  be  equivalent  to 
the  parallel  words  '  in  all  his  ways. '  In  z^.  15  '  mine  house  '  means  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  so  probably  here.  Jehovah  is  not  their  God,  for 
they  (Israel)  '  know  '  Him  not ;  and  they  cannot  abide  those  who,  like 
Hosea  [v.  8)  and  the  psalmist  (Ps.  Ixxiii.  23),  are  '  continually  with  Him.' 

9.  as  in  the  days  of  Giheah'\  The  atrocity  described  in  Judg.  xix. 
11 — 30,  and  referred  to  by  Hosea  again  in  x.  9.  All  the  Benjamites  were 
destroyed  except  600  men  (Judg.  xx.  46 — 48) — a  warning  for  Ephraim  ! 

10 — 17.  But  not  only  in  the  days  of  Gibeah  ;  from  the  very  first, 
the  nation  trespassed  against  Jehovah.  Awful  shall  be  the  judgment  for 
the  continued  infidelity — so  awful,  that  Hosea  can  hardly  bear  to  con- 
template it.  He  seems  uncertain  whether  extermination  or  dispersion 
will  be  the  penalty,  but  concludes  with  an  announcement  of  the  latter. 

10.  like  grapes  in  the  wilderjiess']  With  such  delight  as  a  traveller 
would  unexpectedly  find  grapes  in  the  desert,  did  Jehovah  regard  the 
children  of  Israel  at  the  beginning  of  their  national  existence.  Comp. 
Jer.  ii.  2,  '  I  remember  for  thy  good  the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love 
of  thine  espousals,  when  thou  wentest  after  me  in  the  wilderness.' 
Jehovah  condescends  to  overlook  the  frailties  and  inconsistencies  of 
ancient  Israel,  and  even  idealizes  its  character.     Comp.  ii.  15,  xiii.  i. 

as  the  firstripe  in  the  fig  tree"]  So  the  better  portion  of  the  people 
of  Judah  are  compared  to  '  very  good  figs,  even  as  the  figs  that  are  first 
ripe  '  (Jer.  xxiv.  2).  The  white  fig  of  Palestine  ripens  much  before  the 
black,  sometimes  as  early  as  April ;  the  ordinary  fig-harvest  is  not  till 
the  middle  of  August,  but  early  ripe  fruit  might  be  tound  in  June. 
Hence  the  fitness  of  Hosea's  image  (comp.  Isa.  xxviii.  4;  Mic.  vii.  i). 

at  her  first  time]    i.e.,  when  it  begins  to  be  ripe. 

HOSEA  7 


98  HOSEA,   IX.  [vv.  II,  12. 

But  they  went  to  Baal-peor,  and  separated  themselves 
unto  that  shame  ; 

And  their  abominations  were  according  as  they  loved. 

As  for  Ephraim,  their  glory  shall  fly  away  like  a  bird, 

From  the  birth,  and  from  the  womb,  and  from  the  con- 
ception. 

Though  they  bring  up  their  children, 


they  went  to  Baal-peor,  &c.]  So  early  did  they  fall  away ;  comp.  xi,  i,  i. 
Baal-peor  is  here  (as  the  form  of  the  construction  shows)  put  for  Beth- 
peor  (Deut.  iii.  29,  &c.),  the  place  where  Baal-peor  was  worshipped. 
The  open  falling-away  to  this  heathen  deity  was  one  of  the  most  startling 
episodes  of  the  period  of  the  wanderings  (see  Num.  xxv,).  It  is  com- 
monly held,  but  is  really  a  pure  conjecture,  that  the  worship  of  Baal- 
peor  was  licentious.  If  this  be  correct,  it  will  give  a  special  significance 
to  the  last  clause  in  the  verse,  which  may  however  merely  mean  that 
the  idols,  being  abominable  to  the  true  God,  make  their  worshippers 
abominable,  just  as  Shame  may  refer,  not  to  the  shameful  rites  of  this 
Baal,  but  to  God's  abhorrence  of  idolatry.  In  i  Kings  xi.  5  and  else- 
where 'an  abomination'  is  a  synonym  for  an  idol,  apart  from  the 
character  of  the  worship. 

separated  [i.e.  consecrated]  themselves  unto  that  shame']  Rather,  unto 
Shame  (Heb.  bosheth).  See  above,  and  compare  the  substitution  of 
bosheth  or  besheth  for  baal  in  proper  names,  e.g.  Jerubbesheth  (for 
Jerubbaal),  Ishbosheth  (for  Eshbaal),  Mephibosheth  for  Meribbaal 
(comp.  Prof.  Kirkpatrick  on  2  Sam.  ii.  8). 

and  their  abominations,  &c.]  Rather,  and  became  abominations 
like  that  whicb  they  loved  (comp.  on  xii.  11). 

11.  The  prophet  leaves  us  to  supply  the  idea  that  Ephraim's  present 
transgressions  are  as  heinous  as  those  of  old,  and  passes  on  to  the 
punishment. 

their  glory. ..like  a  bird]  Rather,  like  birds.  All  their  earthly 
prosperity  shall  take  to  itself  wings,  because,  as  we  have  already  heard, 
'  they  have  exchanged  their  (true)  glory  for  infamy '  (iv.  7).  Kimchi 
narrows  the  meaning  too  much,  when  he  says,  'He  calls  children 
"glory",  for  they  are  the  glory  of  fathers  (Prov.  xvii.  6).'  But  of 
course  populousness  formed  a  part  of  the  Israelite's  conception  of 
national  prosperity. 

from  the  birth,  &c.]  Rather,  that  there  shall  be  no  birth,  nor 
being  with  child,  nor  conception.  Such  is  the  retribution  for  their 
sins  against  chastity  (see  on  iv.  10). 

12.  But  what  shall  be  the  fate  of  the  children  already  born  ?  A 
lurid  light  is  next  thrown  upon  this. 

Though]     Rather,  Yea,  though. 

bereave  thetn]     Or,  'make  them  childless';  comp.  i  Sam.  xv.  33. 
when  I  depart  from  them]     Better,  (reading  with  a  Shin  instea<i  of  a 
Sin),  when  I  look  away  from  them.     The  sense  of  the  passage  is, 


vv.  13—15.]  ROSEA,   IX.  99 

Yet  will  I  bereave  them,  that  there  shall  not  be  a  man 

left: 
Yea,  woe  also  to  them  when  I  depart  from  them  ! 
Ephraim,  as  I  saw  Tyrus,  is  planted  in  a  pleasant  place :    13 
But    Ephraim    shall    bring    forth    his    children   to   the 

murderer. 
Give  them,  O  Lord  :  what  wilt  thou  give  ?  14 

Give  them  a  miscarrying  womb  and  dry  breasts. 
All  their  wickedness  is  in  Gilgal,  for  there  I  hated  them  :  15 

even  to  turn  away  my  face  would  sink  them  in  an  abyss  of  ruin.  The 
ordinary  reading  does  not  allow  us  easily  to  account  for  the  *  also ',  or 
rather,  'even',  which  precedes. 

13.  EphraijH,  as  I  saw  Tyrtis,  &c.]     The  passage  is  most  obscure, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  beheve  that  Rosea  meant  what  A. V.  supposes. , 
'As  I  look  at  Tyre ',  would  be  better  ;  but  then  it  becomes  difficult  to*'  1  it 
extract  a  sense.     Tyre  is,  in  fact,  very  much  out  of  place  in  a  descrip-64  /'^ 
lion  of  the  fortunes  of  Ephraim;  and  it  is  a  relief  to  find  that  it  has  been  \      « 
introduced  by  critics  contrary  to  Rebrew  usage,  for  Tyre  is  elsewhere    v    ^ 
spelt  without  a  Vdv.     Row,  too,  can  Ephraim  be  said  to  be  planted, 
"without  any  explanatory  figurative  words?     The  Sept.  seems  to  have         : 
had  a  different  text,   'As  for  Ephraim,  according  as  I  see,  they  have 

set  their  sons  for  a  prey ' ;  and  this  seems  preferable  to  the  received  ' 

text.  The  prophet  sees  in  imagination  the  Ephraimites  taken  like 
wild  beasts,  and  put  to  death  by  their  cruel  captors. 

but  Ephraim  shall,  &c.]  Taking  the  passage  as  a  contrast  between 
Ephraim's  past  glory  and  the  dreadful  fate  impending  over  it.  But 
if  Rosea  is  throughout  describing  the  judgment,  render  rather,  and 
Ephraim  shall  (or  better,  must),  &c. 

14.  The  prophet  recognizes  the  necessity  of  a  judgment,  but  pleads 
for  a  mitigation.  Love  for  his  people  burns  within  him,  and  prompts 
him  to  do  all  that  is  consistent  with  his  moral  perceptions  and  the 
revelation  made  to  him.  Comp.  the  conduct  of  Moses  in  a  similar  case, 
Ex.  xxxii.  II — 14. 

what  wilt  thou  give  them  f]  The  prophet  considers  what  he  had  best 
ask  for.  Re  is  a  patriot,  but  he  is  also  a  prophet ;  he  loves  his  nation 
with  a  feminine  tenderness,  but  in  zeal  for  his  God  he  is  not  inferior 
to  Amos  or  Isaiah.  Rence  his  momentaiy  perplexity.  And  yet  this 
is  perhaps  too  literal  an  interpretation.  Rather  is  it,  to  use  Ewald's 
language,  *  a  paroxysm  of  despair.'  Better  were  it  that  the  Israelites 
should  be  condemned  to  barrenness  than  lose  their  choicest  young 
population  thus  !     It  is  an  involuntary  cry  from  the  heart. 

15.  16.  Continuation  of  the  speech  of  Jehovah,  which  had  been 
interrupted  at  v.  13. 

15.  All  their  wickedness  is  in  Gilgal,  &c.]  The  dangerous  attrac- 
tiveness of  Gilgal  has  been  mentioned  already  (iv.  15):  the  corruption 
of  the  northern  kingdom  had  its  focus  there.  At  Gilgal,  then,  Jehovah 
has  learned  to   'hate'  Ris  unnatural  children  (comp.  xi.   i)  so  much 

7—2 


loo  HOSEA,   IX.  X.  [w.  i6,  17;  i. 

For  the  wickedness  of  their  doings  I  will  drive  them  out 

of  mine  house, 
I  will  love  them  no  more  : 
All  their  princes  are  revolters. 

16  Ephraim  is  smitten,  their  root  is  dried  up,  they  shall  bear 

no  fruit : 
Yea,  though  they  bring  forth,  yet  will  I  slay  even  the  be- 
loved/rz^/V  of  their  womb. 

17  My  God  will  cast  them   away,   because  they   did  not 

hearken  unto  him : 
And  they  shall  be  wanderers  among  the  nations. 
10      Israel  is  an  empty  vine,  he  bringeth  forth  fruit  unto  him- 
self: 

that  He  must  drive  them  out  of  His  House  (i.e.  the  Holy  Land,  as 
viii.  i). 

all  their  princes  are  revolters]  Those  who  should  be  the  leaders  in 
cheerful  subordination  to  the  revealed  will  of  God,  are  the  foremost  in 
transgression.  The  same  paronomasia  as  in  Isa.  i.  23— as  if  he  had 
said,  they  are  not  sdrim  but  sorerhn. 

16.  Ephraim  is  s?nitten...'\  Ephraim 's  population  is  compared  to  the 
branches  of  a  tree,  and  the  national  vitality  to  the  root.  The  tree  is 
'smitten'by  the  withering  heat,  or  by  lightning,  or,  like  Jonah's  'ricinus', 
by  'worms'  (Jon.  iv.  7),  so  that  root  and  branches  dry  up;  the  idea  of 
V.  II  ^  in  figurative  form.     Comp.  Am.  ii.  9;  Mai.  iv.  1. 

yea  (even)  though  they  bring  forth]  The  prophet  steps  out  of  the 
language  of  metaphor,  and  repeats  in  effect  ix.  12  a.  This  defines  the 
meaning  of  'bear  no  fruit'. 

17.  The  prophet  has  quelled  his  brief  paroxysm,  and  calmly  proceeds. 
But  the  threat  is  not  now  extermination. 

My  God]     No  longer,  alas!   Israel's  God.    Comp.   Isaiah's    'this 
people  '  for  '  my  people  '  (Isa.  vi.  9). 

wanderers]  Or,  fugitives  (it  is  the  participle  of  the  verb  used  in  vii. 
13,  see  note). 


Chap.  X. 

Israel's  guilt  and  its  punishment,  each  shown  by  examples. 
But  even  in  this  dark  chapter  there  is  a  short  gleam  of 
hope  (ver.  12). 

1.  Israel  is  an  empty  vine...]  Rather,  Israel  was  a  luxuriant  vine, 
whicli  freely  put  forth  fruit.  A  development  of  the  suggestions  in 
ix.  10,  16;  compare  with  it  the  fuller  description  in  Ps.  Ixxx.  8 — ri. 
The  'fruit'  spoken  of  is  not  moral,   but  material.     The  bounties  of 


vv.  2,  3.]  HOSEA,  X.  loi 

According  to  the  multitude  of  his  fruit  he  hath  increased 

the  altars  ; 
According  to  the  goodness  of  his  land  they  have  made 

goodly  images. 
Their  heart  is  divided ;  now  shall  they  be  found  faulty :     2 
He  shall  break  down  their  altars,  he  shall  spoil  their  images. 
For  now  they  shall  say,  We  have  no  king,  3 

Providence  were  lavished  upon  northern  Israel  (comp.  chap  ii.),  and  gave 
ground  for  the  expectation  of  Israel's  grateful  obedience.  The  allusion 
will  be  to  the  prosperous  reign  of  the  second  Jeroboam. 

according  to  the  7mdtitude,  &c.]  Rather,  as  his  fruit  increased,  he 
increased  his  altars ;  the  better  it  was  with  his  land,  the  better  he 
made  his  (sacred)  pillars.  The  material  wealth  of  the  country  only 
served  to  strengthen  and  extend  the  idolatrous  system  of  worship  (comp. 
ii.  8,  viii.  4, and  note  on  viii.  11).  'Altars'  and  (sacred)  'pillars'  are 
naturally  mentioned  together,  the  'pillar'  {ma^^ebah)  or  consecrated 
stone  being  the  recognized  token  of  a  '  high  place.'  Not  only  did  Jacob 
set  up  such  pillars  at  Bethel  and  elsewhere  (Gen.  xxviii.  18,  xxxi.  45, 
XXXV.  14,  20),  but  Moses  himself  is  recorded  to  have  built  an  altar  with 
no  less  than  twelve  sacred  pillars  (Ex.  xxiv.  4).  They  were  forbidden 
no  doubt,  absolutely  and  entirely,  in  Deut.  xvi.  21,  but,  besides  the 
pillars  of  Baal  (2  Kings  iii.  2,  x.  26,  xvii.  9),  there  is  reason  to  think 
that  those  great  stones  spoken  of  in  the  narrative  books  (Josh.  xxiv.  26; 
I  Sam.  vi.  14,  vii.  12;  2  Sam.  xx.  8;  i  Kings  i.  9)  were  really  sacred 
pillars,  though  the  narrator,  to  avoid  startling  his  readers,  denies  them 
the  name.  Isaiah  himself,  too,  speaks  of  a  'pillar',  or  sacred  stone,  as 
a  sign,  together  with  an  altar,  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah  in  Egypt 
(Isa.  xix.  19).  If  then  pillars,  sacred  to  Jehovah,  were  tolerated  in 
judah  in  Isaiah's  time,  much  more  must  we  suppose  that  they  were 
tolerated  in  Israel.  But  why  does  Hosea  refer  to  them  as  signs  of 
infidelity?  Because  the  worship  of  Jehovah  at  the  high  places  was 
purely  formal,  and  produced  no  moral  effect  upon  the  chai-acter  (see 
on  viii.  11).  In  short,  he  is  more  consistent,  more  outspoken  than 
Isaiah  himself,  who  never  says  that  the  high  places  are  occasions  of  sin. 
True,  Hosea  speaks  of  the  north ;  Isaiah  of  the  south. 

2.  Their  heart  is  divided^  viz.,  between  Jehovah  and  idols.  But 
this,  which  involves  an  alteration  of  the  points,  gives  too  v/eak  a  sense 
for  such  a  context.  It  is  better  to  keep  the  ordinary  pointing,  and 
render.  Their  heart  is  slippery  (or  deceitful;  lit.  'is  smooth ';  comp. 
Ezek.  xii.  24  smooth,  i.e.  flattering,  divination). 

be  foitnd faulty]     Rather,  be  dealt  with  as  guilty  (as  xiii.  16). 

he  shall  break  dozun,  Slc.']  The  phrase  is  a  bold  one;  it  is  literally 
'he  shall  break  the  necks  of  the  altars',  i.e.  perhaps  strike  oft  their 
horns  (Am.  iii,  14),  and  so  destroy  them.  'He'  is  emphatically  ex- 
pressed in  the  Hebrew,  to  indicate  the  unseen  observer  of  their  thoughts 
and  actions. 

3.  for  now  they  shall  say...]     Rather,  Yea  then,  &c.     They  shall 


102  HO  SEA,  X.  [vv.  4,  5. 

Because  we  feared  not  the  Lord  ; 

What  then  should  a  king  do  to  us? 

They  have  spoken  words,  swearing  falsely  in  making  a 

covenant : 
Thus  judgment  springeth  up  as  hemlock  in  the  furrows 

of  the  field. 
The  inhabitants   of  Samaria   shall  fear  because  of  the 

calves  of  Beth-aven  : 

come  to  perceive  that  the  kings  set  up  on  their  own  authority  (viii.  4) 
cannot  help  nor  deliver  them. 

We  have  no  king,  &c.]  i.e.,  none  worthy  of  the  name,  for  a  king 
should  be  judge,  counseller,  general;  hence,  they  continue,  and  the  Mng 
[whom  we  have],  what  can  he  do  for  us  ? 

4.  They  have  spoken  words]  i.e.  mere  'words  of  the  lips'  (Isa.  xxxvi. 
5,  comp.  Isa.  Iviii.  13),  and,  as  the  context  shows,  deliberate  falsehoods 
(comp.  Isa.  xxix.  21). 

swearing  falsely  in  making  a  covenant]  Better,  they  swear  falsely, 
they  make  covenants.  The  'covenants'  spoken  of  are  those  entered 
into  with  Assyria  and  Egypt  (v.  6,  xii.  2),  not  those  of  everyday  life, 
since  it  is  the  making  of  covenants,  and  not  the  breaking  of  them,  which 
the  prophet  denounces. 

thus  judgment  springeth  up  as  hemlock,  &c.]  Rather,  so  judgement 
shall  spring  up  as  the  poppy.  Their  sins  are  as  it  were  the  seed  from 
which  a  plant  is  produced  as  bitter  and  as  abundant  as  the  poppy  of  the 
fields.  The  plant  in  question  (Heb.  rosh)  is  often  referred  to,  and  cannot 
be  identified  with  precision  (see  on  Jer.  viii.  14);  most  think  it  is  some 
umbelliferous  plant,  rosh  being  the  common  word  for  'head.'  Else- 
where its  bitterness  is  the  point  of  comparison  (Deut.  xxix.  18  ;  Jer.  ix. 
15  ;  Lam.  iii.  19);  here  its  abundant  growth  as  well.  Hence  some  have 
been  led  to  render,  continuing  the  description  of  the  immorality  of 
Israel,  'and  justice  springs  up  like  the  poppy',  i.e.,  understanding  the 
passage  ironically,  acts  of  hurtful  injustice  are  as  luxuriantly  abundant 
as  that  noxious  weed,  comp.  Am.  vi.  12.  But  the  universality  of  the 
divine  judgment  can  be  as  well  expressed  by  this  figure  as  the  univer- 
sality of  sin,  and  v.  5  requires  some  previous  reference  to  the  punish- 
ment to  explain  it.  The  judgment  began  with  the  man  who  was  fore- 
most in  those  illegitimate  covenants — with  the  prophet's  royal  namesake 
(Hoshea) ;  see  2  Kings  xvii.  4. 

5.  shall  fear  because  of  the  calves  of  Beth-aven]  The  statement  is 
keenly  ironical.  So  far  from  being  able  to  help  their  worshippers,  the 
•  calves  of  Beth-aven '  shall  occasion  the  greatest  anxiety  to  their  wor- 
shippers. Probably  however  we  should  make  a  slight  emendation,  and 
render,  shall  bemoan  the  calves  {ydnudil  for  ydgunt) ;  comp.  the  paral- 
lel clause.  '  Beth-aven '  is  a  contemptuous  name  for  Bethel  (see  on  iv. 
15);  the  'calves',  or  more  literally  'she-calves',  may  indicate  what  we 
should  not  otherwise  have  known,  that  Jeroboam's  'calf  (or  small 
bull)  was  only  the  chief  of  several  of  these  idolatrous  symbols.     It 


yv.6,7-]  HOSEA,   X.  103 

For  the  people  thereof  shall  mourn  over  it, 

And  the  priests  thereof  t/iat  rejoiced  on  it, 

For  the  glory  thereof,  because  it  is  departed  from  it. 

It  shall  be  also  carried  unto  Assyria  /or  a  present  to  king  6 

Jareb : 
Ephraim  shall  receive  shame, 
And  Israel  shall  be  ashamed  of  his  own  counsel. 
As  for  Samaria,  her  king  is  cut  off  ^ 

As  the  foam  upon  the  water. 


should  be  added  however  that  the  Sept.  and  the  Pesh.  have  the  masc. 
sing,  form,  so  that  the  text  is  not  beyond  dispute,  especially  as  Hosea 
immediately  afterwards  employs  pronominal  suffixes  of  the  3rd  pers.  sing, 
masc.  The  feminine  form  in  the  received  reading  is  perhaps  to  be 
explained  as  expressing  contempt  ('AxatiSes  ovk  Ir  'Axaiot,  //.  II.  235, 
has  been  compared) ;  it  is  used  nowhere  else  of  the  steer-gods. 

for  the  people  thereof^  &c.]  Rather,  yea,  his  people  shall  mourn  for 
It,  and  his  priests  shall  tremble  for  it,  for  their  glory,  because  it  is 
gone  into  exile  from  them.  Again  keenly  ironical.  'His  people'  means 
the  steer-god's  people  ;  Jehovah's  people  they  are  no  more  :  '  Call  his 
name  Not-my-people '  (i.  9).  The  '  priests '  of  the  idol,  too,  are  not 
dignified  by  the  title  kohanTtn'.  the  word  used  {k^mdrim,  as  in  2  Kings 
xxiii.  5  ;  Zeph.  i.  4)  comes,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  Assyrian 
katndrti  '  to  throw  down ' ;  it  describes  the  priests  as  those  who  pro- 
strate themselves  in  worship  (Fred.  Delitzsch,  Assyrian  and  Hebreiv,  pp. 
41,  42).  Comp.  below,  on  xi.  8.  'Their  glory',  i.e.  the  steer-god  ; 
comp.  Ps.  cvi.  20.  Literally,  however,  it  is  *his  glory',  which  might 
of  course  mean  the  splendid  appurtenances  of  the  worship  of  the  steer. 
'  Shall  tremble  ' ;  ydgilu  borrows  the  sense  oi ydkhilu  ;  it  seems  preferred 
for  the  sake  of  the  assonance  with  gdlah  ('  it  is  gone  into  exile ').  Or 
there  may  be  a  scribe's  error  in  the  case. 

6.  //  shall  be  also]     Rather,  This  also  (viz.  the  steer)  shall  be. 

for  a  present  to  kinfr  Jareb]  Just  as  the  kings  of  Judah  repeatedly 
gave  up  the  gold  and  silver  in  the  temple  to  foreign  foes.  'King  Jareb' 
should  rather  be  the  fighting  king  (i.e.  the  king  of  Assyria,  see  on  v. 

13)- 
shall  be  ashamed  of  his  own  cotinsel]     i.e.,   shall  find  out  what  a 

mistake  it   was   to   set   up   a   helpless  idol   as   the   protector  of  the 

nation.     Better,  shaU  be  ashamed  through  &c. 

7.  her  king]  i.e.  not  merely  the  king  who  happened  to  be  on  the 
throne,  but  the  monarchy  itself  (as  v.  15).  Others,  less  probably,  her 
idol-god  (comp.  Am.  v.  26). 

as  the  foam,  &c.]  A  striking  figure,  and  singled  out  for  its  beauty 
by  so  good  a  judge  as  Mr  Ruskin,  but  Hosea's  is  still  more  appropriate. 
Render,  as  a  chip  on  the  face  of  the  water  (following  the  Septuagint 
instead  of  the  Targum),  and  note  the  contrast  between  the  helpless 
fragment  of  wood  and  the  irresistible  power  of  ihe  current. 


I04  HOSEA,   X.  [vv.  8—10. 

The  high  places  also  of  Aven,  the  sin  of  Israel,  shall  be 

destroyed  : 
The  thorn  and  the  thistle  shall  come  up  on  their  altars ; 
And  they  shall  say  to  the  mountains,  Cover  us; 
And  to  the  hills,  Fall  on  us. 
O  Israel,  thou  hast  sinned  from  the  days  of  Gibeah  :  there 

they  stood : 
The  battle  in  Gibeah  against  the  children  of  iniquity  did 

not  overtake  them. 
//  is  in  my  desire  that  I  should  chastise  them  ; 
And  the  people  shall  be  gathered  against  them, 
When  they  shall  bind  themselves  in  their  two  furrows. 


8.  The  high  places  also  of  Aven\  Perhaps  the  same  as  Beth-aven, 
i.e.  Bethel  (iv.  15,  x.  5).  But  *the  high  places  of  idolatry'  (as  Aben 
Ezra)  is  an  equally  admissible  rendering  of  the  phrase ;  all  the  local 
sanctuaries  of  the  steer-god  will  then  be  referred  to.  The  term  *  high 
place'  includes  both  the  mound  and  the  shrine  and  altar  erected 
upon  it. 

they  shall  say...']  Applied  proverbially  by  our  Lord  (Luke  xxiii.  30) 
and  by  St  John  (Rev.  vi.  16,  ix.  6). 

9 — 15.  A  fresh  demonstration  of  Israel's  guiltiness.  The  prevalent 
depravity  is  comparable  only  to  that  of  the  men  of  Gibeah  (see  on 
ix.  9).  'The  times  are  out  of  joint';  all  Israel's  doings  are  against 
nature,  and  the  retribution  must  be  equally  exceptional. 

9.  thou  hast  sinned...']  The  prophet's  language  is  correct  from  his 
own  point  of  view.  True,  Israel  as  a  people  took  summary  vengeance 
on  the  Benjamites  for  the  outrage  of  Gibeah.  But  the  seed  of  ^Vicked- 
ness  remained,  and  developed  into  evil  practices  worthy  only  of  the 
Gibeah  of  old. 

there  they  stood... did  not  ovei'take  the?n]  The  passage  is  open  to 
various  interpretations,  but  the  easiest  is  as  follows, — there  they  stood 
that  the  war  against  the  sons  of  unrighteousness  might  not  over- 
take them  at  Gibeah.  It  is  a  historic  retrospect,  with  an  implied 
application  to  the  present.  Just  as  the  Benjamites  offered  a  stubborn 
resistance  to  the  onset  of  the  rest  of  Israel  at  Gibeah,  so  the  Israelites  now 
persist  in  their  old  iniquities,  and  defy  Jehovah  to  put  them  down. 

10.  Jehovah's  rejoinder  to  this  tacit  challenge.  //  is  in  my  desire... "] 
Rather,  When  I  desire,  I  will  chastise  them,  and  peoples  (i.  e.  hostile 
armies),  &c. 

when  they  shall  bind  tlieinselves,  &c.]  Rather,  when  I  chastise  them 
(or,  when  I  bind  them,  or,  vi'hen  they  shall  be  bound)  for  their  two 
iniquities,  viz.  for  their  revolt  from  'Jehovah  their  God  and  David 
their  king'  (iii.  5).  The  rendering  'furrows'  adopted  in  A.V.  from 
the  Targum  has  no  support  in  Hebrew  usage,  and  yields  no  intelligible 
sense.     'Iniquities'  is  the  rendering  of  the  Septuagint  and  the  Vulgate, 


vv.  II,  12.]  HOSEA,   X.  105 

And  Ephraim  is  as  a  heifer  that  is  taught,  and  loveth  to  n 
tread  out  the  corn  ; 
■    But  I  passed  over  upon  her  fair  neck  : 
I  will  make  Ephraim  to  ride ; 
Judah  shall  plow, 
And  Jacob  shall  break  his  clods. 

Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  12 

Reap  in  mercy; 

as  well  as  of  Hitzig,  Keil,  &c.,  though  these  scholars  prefer  the 
version  'bind  to',  and  explain  that  punishment  is  viewed  as  the 
necessary  concomitant  of  transgression. 

11.  A7td  Ephraim,  &c.]  Rather,  Ephraim  indeed  is  a  heifer 
broken  in  and  loving-  to  thresh,  and  I  have  spared  the  beauty  of  her 
neck ;  (but  now)  will  I  make  Ephraim  to  draw.  Israel's  punishment 
is  enhanced  by  contrast  with  her  former  prosperity,  which,  as  a  mark 
of  the  Divine  goodness,  is  compared  to  the  consideration  with  which 
a  young  heifer  is  treated  by  its  master.  The  work  of  treading 
out  the  corn  was  pleasant  and  easy ;  the  heifer  could  eat  freely 
as  it  walked  without  a  muzzle  round  and  round  the  threshing-floor 
(Deut.  XXV.  4).  But  this  heifer,  that  is,  Israel,  has  abused  the  kindness 
of  its  Lord  (comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  15),  and  henceforth  shall  be  put  to 
the  heavy  labour  of  the  field — a  figure  for  the  depressing  conditions  of 
life  under  a  foreign  master.  The  rendering  'spared'  (literally,  'passed 
by')  is  justified  by  Mic.  vii.  i8;  Prov.  xix.  11;  it  adds  a  beautiful 
distinctness  to  the  figure,  for  the  heavy  yokes  used  in  the  East  not  only 
gall  the  necks  of  the  animals,  but  often  produce  deep  wounds.  The 
meaning  is  that  Jehovah  has  hitherto  preserved  his  people  from  the 
yoke  of  captivity ;  compare  the  different  applications  of  the  same  figure 
in  xi.  4.  'Make  to  draw ';  lit.  'make  to  ride',  but  rdkab,  as  the  usage 
of  the  cognate  word  in  Arabic  shows,  can  have  various  secondary 
meanings.  [Space  forbids  a  record  of  all  the  explanations  of  this 
passage  ;  none  is  so  simple  as  that  of  Buhl  given  above.  The  objection 
that  to  '  pass  by '  is  elsewhere  used  with  reference  to  transgression 
is  not  conclusive ;  the  idiom  is  just  as  applicable  in  the  present  case. 
There   is  good  authority,  however,  for   the  rendering  or  paraphrase, 

'  I  mounted  upon  her  fair  neck ',  though  why  the  '  beauty'  of  the  neck 
should  be  mentioned,  is  not  clear.] 

yiidah  shall  plozv\  Judah,  then,  is  also  a  'stubborn  heifer',  and 
cannot  be  exempted  from  her  sister's  punishment. 

12.  If  only  a  moral  miracle  could  take  place,  Israel's  calamities 
might  yet  be  averted.  Nor  is  it  entirely  inconceivable,  for  miracles, 
so  Hosea  thinks,  can  be  wrought  by  an  earnest  resolution.  Hence 
Hosea's  final  appeal. 

Sow  to  yourselves,  &c.]  Rather,  Sow  to  yourselves  according  to 
righteousness,  and  ye  shall  reap  in  proportion  to  love  ;  that  is.  Let 
your  conduct  be  governed  by  a  regard  to  righteousness,  and  it  shall 
be  recompensed  in  accordance  with  the  divine  love  ^or  perhaps,  see  on 


io6  HOSEA,  X.  [vv.  13,  14. 

Break  up  your  fallow  ground  : 

For  it  is  time  to  seek  the  Lord, 

Till  he  come  and  rain  righteousness  upon  you. 

Ye  have  plowed  wickedness,  ye  have  reaped  iniquity; 

Ye  have  eaten  the  fruit  of  lies  : 

Because  thou  didst  trust  in  thy  way, 

In  the  multitude  of  thy  mighty  men. 

Therefore  shall  a  tumult  arise  among  thy  people, 

iv.  I,  in  accordance  with  the  love  ye  have  shown  to  one  another, 
'righteousness'  being  only  another  aspect  of  'love  '  or  benevolence). 

Break  tip  your  fallow  ground]  Husbandmen  in  the  East  are  indolent, 
and  sometimes  '  sow  among  thorns  '  (Jer.  iv.  3).  The  Israelites  are 
warned  against  committing  this  fault  in  their  spiritual  husbandry.  Evil 
habits  must  be  broken  off,  and  a  new  character  formed,  or  it  will  be 
impossible  to  sow  the  seed  of  righteousness. 

for  it  is  lime,  &c.]  There  is  still  time  to  seek  Jehovah,  till  he  listen 
to  your  prayer,  and  rain  his  righteous  gift  of  salvation  upon  you.  For 
the  figure  of  righteousness  coming  down  from  the  sky,  comp.  Isa.  xlv. 
8;  Ps.  Ixxxv.  II.  'Righteousness'  bears  the  meaning  'salvation' 
which  it  virtually  has  so  often  in  the  second  part  of  Isaiah,  '  righteous- 
ness '  being  the  divine  principle  of  action,  '  salvation '  the  same  divine 
principle  in  action. 

13,  How  necessary  is  this  exhortation  !  For  hitherto  the  Israelites 
have  done  the  exact  opposite. 

plowed  wickedness]  i.e.,  formed  wicked  plans  (as  Job  iv.  8).  The 
word  for  '  to  plough  '  has  in  fact  another  meaning  '  to  plot.' 

reaped  iniquity]  Better,  reaped  injustice — i.  e.  the  injustice  of 
oppressors,  which,  being  retributive,  is,  from  the  higher  point  of  view, 
substantial  justice.     The  tense  is  the  prophetic  perfect. 

the  fruit  of  lies]  To  'lie'  is  sometimes  =  to  disappoint  (as  ix.  2),  and 
probably  this  is  the  meaning  here,  viz.  that  the  consequence  of  Israel's 
present  policy  shall  be  the  disappointment  of  all  his  expectations. 
'  Fruit '  implies  that  that  policy  has  been  one  of  '  lying ',  i.e.  treason 
both  to  earthly  kings  and  to  Jehovah  (comp.  xi.  t2,  xii.  i;  Isa. 
xxviii.  15). 

itt  thy  way]  i.e.  in  thy  policy.  But  there  is  a  reading  of  earlier 
date  than  the  Massoretic,  viz.  in  thy  chariots  (comp.  xiv,  3 ;  Isa.  ii.  7) 
which,  as  it  harmonizes  better  with  the  rest  of  the  clause,  is  undoubtedly 
preferable.  For  few  scholars  will  maintain  that  the  h  a^apTTJuacri 
of  the  Vatican  MS.  of  the  Septuagint  is  more  original  than  the  iv 
dp/j.a<n  of  the  Alexandrine  and  other  MSS.  (confirmed  by  St  Jerome 
and  the  Syro-Hexaplar  text).  The  Vatican  reading  can  easily  be 
explained  ;  the  scribe  wished  to  harmonize  the  translation  with  the 
reading  'in  thy  way'  found  by  him  in  his  Hebrew  Bible. 

14,  15.  In  a  few  words  the  prophet  describes  the  crash  of  Israel's 
ruin  (comp.  xiii.  16). 

Therefore]     The  prophet  simply  connects  the  judgment  by  an  'and  ' ; 


V.  15.]  HOSEA,   X.  107 

And  all  thy  fortresses  shall  be  spoiled, 

As  Shalman  spoiled  Beth-arbel  in  the  day  of  battle  : 

The  mother  was  dashed  in  pieces  upon  her  children. 

So   shall   Beth-el  do   unto   you   because   of  your  great  15 

wickedness ; 
In  a  morning  shall  the  king  of  Israel  utterly  be  cut  off. 

but  the  next  verse  clearly  shows  that  sequence  is  here  identical  with 
consequence. 

a  tmnult]  i.  e.,  the  tumult,  or,  more  exactly,  the  'roar',  of  an  advanc- 
ing army  (as  in  Isa.  xvii.  12). 

among  thy  people]    Rather,  against  tliy  peoples.    The  tribes  of  Israel 
are  called  peoples,  as  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  3. 

as  Shalman  spoiled  Beth-arbel,  &c.]  It  would  seem  that  the  prophet 
refers  to  some  event  of  recent  times  which  took  place  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  Ephraim.  Beth-arbel  will  then  be,  not  the  Assyrian 
Arbela,  but  either  the  place  so  called  on  the  west  of  the  lake  of  Tibe- 
rias, or  more  probably  that  near  Pella,  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan.  Who 
Shalman  was,  is  altogether  uncertain.  Schrader  thinks  that  he  was 
either  Shalmaneser  III.,  who  made  an  expedition  to  the  'cedar country' 
(Lebanon)  in  775  B.C.,  and  to  Damascus  in  773 — 2,  on  which  occasions 
he  may  have  penetrated  into  the  Transjordanic  country,  and  destroyed 
the  last-mentioned  Arbela,  or  else  a  Moabitish  king  Salamanu,  mentioned 
by  Tiglath-Pileser  as  his  tributary,  who,  like  other  Moabitish  kings,  very 
possibly  made  incursions  into  the  land  of  Israel.  It  is  against  the  former 
view  that  the  abbreviation  Shalman  nowhere  else  occurs,  and  that  'king' 
or  '  king  of  Assyria'  is  not  added.  But  the  latter  view,  though  plausible 
(the  Hebrew  word  is  strictly,  not  Shalman,  but  Shaleman),  is  not  the 
only  possible  one.  The  Septuagint  renders  '  prince  Salaman,'  which,  if 
we  may  take  it  as  a  variant,  will  point  rather  to  a  general  (  =  ' prince  of 
the  host').  The  name  has  been  found  both  on  a  Palmyrene  inscrip- 
tion and  in  an  Arabian  song  (see  Hamdsa,  p.  702).  The  barbarities 
attending  the  capture  of  Beth-arbel  seem  to  have  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  Israelites;  Mr  Huxtable  aptly  reminds  us  of  the 
horrors  of  the  sack  of  Magdeburg.  Comp.  2  Kings  viii.  12;  Ps. 
cxxxvii.  8,  9.  [The  Septuagint,  the  Syro-Hexaplar,  the  Old  Latin,  and 
the  Vulgate,  followed  by  Bishop  Horsley  and  the  Jewish  scholar 
Abraham  Geiger,  suppose  a  reference  to  Zalmunna  (SaVafo,  Salmana) 
who  was  slain  by  Gideon  or  Jerubbaal  according  to  Judg.  viii.  This 
hint  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand  the  singular  renderings  of  these 
ancient  versions.] 

15.  So  shall  Beth-el,  &c.]  Such  is  the  awful  judgment  of  which  the 
idolatry  of  Bethel  is  the  cause. 

your  great  wickedness]  Lit.,  'your  wickedness  of  wickedness',  with 
which  some  compare  the  phrases  '  song  of  songs',  '  holy  of  holies.'  But 
it  is  more  natural  to  suppose  that  the  word  '  wickedness '  was  written 
twice  over  by  accident. 

in  a  morning]     Rather,  in  the  dawn.     The  meaning  is  that  when 


io8  HOSEA,   XI.  [vv.  1—2. 

When  Israel  was  a.  child,  then  I  loved  him, 
And   called  my  son  out  of  Egypt 
As  they  called  them,  so  they  went  from  them  : 
They  sacrificed  unto  Baalim,  and  burnt  incense  to  graven 
images. 

the  morning-grey  appears,  the  king  will  be  found  to  be  cut  off.  All 
has  happened  as  quickly  as  time  seems  to  have  passed  when  we  awake 
(comp.  Ps.  xc.  6,  *  they  become  as  a  sleep '). 

Chapter  XI. 

For  the  third  time  the  prophet  reverts  to  the  early  history  of  Israel, 
and  points  out  how  Jehovah  has  proved  his  parental  love,  and  how  ill 
is  the  return  which  Israel  has  made  for  this  love.  Verses  i — 7  contain 
this  melancholy  historic  retrospect  and  a  fresh  announcement  of  the 
penalty  which  a  righteous  father  cannot  withhold.  Then  the  tone  sud- 
denly changes  to  one  of  promise  (see  below).  The  last  verse  of  chap.  xi. 
would  be  attached  more  fitly  to  chap,  xii.,  of  which  it  forms  the  first 
verse  in  the  Hebrew  Bible. 

1.  When  Israel  was  a  child'\  i.  e.,  in  the  earliest  stage  of  Israel's 
national  existence,  which  is  here  dated,  not,  as  in  ii.  3,  from  the  wan- 
derings in  the  wilderness,  but  from  the  sojourn  in  Egypt.  For  the 
figure,  see  on  '  gray  hairs ',  vii.  9. 

called  my  son  out  of  Egypt}  '  Called'  him,  locally,  into  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  morally,  to  set  an  example  of  true  religion.  Comp,  Ex. 
iv.  22,  '  Israel  is  my  son,  my  firstborn  ;  and  I  say  unto  thee,  Let  my  son 
go,  that  he  may  serve  me.'  The  words  are  quoted  in  St  Matthew 
(ii.  15),  who  renders  from  the  Hebrew,  in  connexion  with  the  sojourn  of 
the  child  Jesus  in  Egypt.  Like  the  portraiture  of  the  Servant  of  Jeho- 
vah in  the  second  part  of  Isaiah,  the  description  of  Israel  as  Jehovah's 
Son  was  held  to  be  at  least  in  part  applicable  to  the  one  perfect 
Israelite.  The  national  ideal  never  realized  in  the  nation  was  realized 
in  the  Christ.  The  divine  purpose  so  often  baffled  in  the  one  was 
completed  in  the  other. 

2.  As  they  called  thevt,  &c.]  Or,  Tlie  more  they  called  them,  &c. 
(comp.  iv.  7).  Since  Israel  disobeyed  the  first  call  by  Moses,  prophets 
were  sent  to  repeat  the  call,  but  their  preaching  only  seemed  to  increase 
Israel's  obstinacy  (comp.  Isa.  vi.  9,  10;  Jer.  vii.  25,  16).  What,  then, 
was  the  good  of  prophecy?  It  kept  up  a  church  within  the  nation,  and 
it  developed  ideas  which  bore  fruit  in  due  time. 

unto  Baalim,  &c.]  Rather,  to  the  BaaJim  (see  on  ii.  13)... to  the 
graven  Images. 

3.  /  taught  Ephrai7n  also  to  g6\  Rather,  Whereas  I  taught  Ephraim 
to  go.  A  figure  for  the  special  providence  watching  over  Ephraim. 
Not  Judah,  but  Ephraim,  is  spoken  of,  for  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
embraced  the  fairer  part  of  the  territory,  and  was  far  stronger  than  that 
of  Judah. 


vv.  3—5.]  HOSEA,   XI.  109 

I  taught  Ephraim  also  to  go,  taking  them  by  their  arms ;  3 
But  they  knew  not  that  I  healed  them. 
I  drew  them  with  cords  of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love  :        4 
And  I  was  to  them  as  they  that  take  off  the  yoke  on  their 

jaws, 
And  I  laid  meat  unto  them. 

He  shall  not  return  into  the  land  of  Egypt,  s' 

But  the  Assyrian  shall  be  his  king, 
Because  they  refused  to  return. 

taking  them  by  their  arms]  Rather,  if  we  accept  the  Massoretic  read- 
ing, 'he  took  them  up  in  his  arms.'  There  are  however  grave  philo- 
logical objections  to  this  rendering,  and  we  should  probably,  with  most 
of  the  versions,  correct  the  reading,  and  translate,  I  took  them  up  in  my 
arms.  There  is  a  beautiful  climax  in  this  part  of  the  figure  ;  not  only 
did  Jehovah  train  Israel  to  walk,  but  when  he  was  tired,  Jehovah  carried 
him  in  his  arms,  comp.  Isa.  Ixiii.  9;  Deut.  i.  31,  (xxxii.  ir),  and  comp. 
a  parallel  passage  in  the  Rig- Veda  (x.  69,  10,  Max  Miiller),  'Thou 
barest  him  as  a  father  bears  his  son  in  his  lap.* 

they  knezv  not]  i.e.  they  recognized  not  (as  i.  3). 

that  I  healed  them]  The  same  figure  as  in  v.  13,  vi.  i,  vii.  r.  Comp. 
Ex.  XV.  26,  '  for  I  am  Jehovah  thy  healer.' 

4.  /  drezv  them  with  cords  of  a  maft,  &c.]  A  new  image  suggested 
by  X.  II,  and  descriptive  of  the  fatherly  love  of  God.  Not  with  the 
violence  suited  to  an  unruly  heifer,  but  with  the  'cords  of  men'  (i.e. 
such  as  men  can  bear),  did  Jehovah  win  his  people's  obedience.  But 
the  expression  is  strange. 

that  take  off  the  yoke  on  their  jaws]  Rather,  that  lift  up  the  yoke  over 
their  cheeks.  Jehovah  compares  himself  to  a  considerate  master,  who 
raises  the  yoke  from  the  neck  and  cheeks  of  the  animal,  that  it  may  eat 
its  food  more  conveniently. 

and  I  laid  meat  unto  them]  This  version  however  is  impossible.  As 
the  text  stands,  we  can  only  render,  either  (altering  one  vowel-point), 
and  I  bent  towards  him  and  gave  him  food,  or,  and  (dealing)  gently 
with  him  I  gave  him  food.  Not  of  course  to  be  interpreted  literally  ; 
the  figure  beautifully  describes  the  tender  indulgence  of  Jehovah  to  his 
people. 

5.  He  shall  not  return  into  the  land  of  Egypt]  This  however  is 
pointless  ;  why  should  Egypt  be  mentioned  except  as  the  land  of  bond- 
age? It  is  also  inconsistent  with  the  statements  in  viii.  13, ix.  3,  6,  xi.  ri. 
Some  think  that  la  (here  rendered  '  not',  but  also,  when  spelt  differently, 
meaning  'to  him')  belongs  properly  to  the  end  of  the  previous  verse, 
though  no  tenable  way  of  fitting  it  into  the  construction  there  has  yet 
been  proposed.  Others  would  render  in  verse  5,  '  Shall  he  not  return '  ? 
but  this  does  not  read  naturally.  At  any  rate,  the  sense  required  is, 
'He  shall  return  into  the  land  of  Egypt.'     See  note  on  viii.  13. 

to  return]  viz.  to  Jehovah. 


no  HOSEA,  XI.  [w.  6— 8. 

And  the  sword  shall  abide  on  his  cities, 

And  shall  consume  his  branches,  and  devour  them^ 

Because  of  their  own  counsels. 

And  my  people  are  bent  to  backsliding  from  me  ; 

Though  they  called  them  to  the  most  High, 

None  at  all  would  exalt  him. 

How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  Ephraim  ? 

How  shall  I  deliver  thee,  Israel  ? 

How  shall  I  make  thee  as  Admah  ? 

How  shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim  ? 

Mine  heart  is  turned  within  me, 

My  repentings  are  kindled  together. 


6.  And  the  sword,  &c.]  Rather,  And  the  sword  shall  wliirl  about 
in  his  cities,  and  shall  make  an  end  of  his  defences  (lit.  his  bars ; 
comp.  Jer.  li.  30).  The  sword  is  personified  as  the  symbol  of  war,  as 
Ez  k.  xiv.  17. 

7.  And  my  people,  &c.]  This  verse  gives  the  ground  of  the  judg- 
ment; *and'='for',  *in  fact.'  The  reference  to  'backsliding'  (lit. 
turning,  or  turning  about)  should  be  taken  in  connexion  with  xiv.  4. 

though  they  called,  &c.]  Rather,  and  if  they  are  called  (lit.,  if  they, 
viz.  the  prophets,  call  him)  upwards,  not  one  striveth  to  rise.  There 
is  a  complete  moral  apathy.  A  phraseological  point  of  contact  with 
vii.  16. 

8 — 11.  The  prophet  cannot  believe  in  a  final  rejection  of  Israel 
(comp.  xiii.  14).  He  speaks  as  if  Jehovah  had  at  first  contemplated 
this.  '"Evidently  there  was  a  conflict  in  his  own  mind  between  the 
ideas  of  justice  and  love.  Jjjstice  seemed  to  demnnd  that  all  relations 
between  Jehovah  and  Israel  should  be  broken -off;-love  remonstrated 
with  the  assurance  of  its  undecayed  heaUng  faculty"  (xiv.  4).  Both 
justlce^Sd^rove  were  divine;  hence  it  seemed  that  there  must  be  a 
conflict  even  in  the  mind  of  Jehovah.  Let  us  not  however  presume  to 
deduce  a  'doctrine'  from  Hosea's  description  of  his  mental  mood.  His 
final  intuition  alone  is  his  legacy  to  the  Church;  not  the  inward  struggle 
out  of  which  he  triumphantly  emerged. 

8.  deliver  thee'\  Not  in  the  sense  of  vtrepaaiviQi  of  the  Sept.,  but 
in  that  of  Symmachus'  ^Kliliaa.     Better,  surrender  thee. 

Admah... Zeboi7n'\  Hosea,  like  the  author  of  Deut.  xxix.  as,  derives 
his  knowledge  of  the  overthrow  of  the  'cities  of  the  plain'  from  a 
tradition  independent  of  that  in  Gen.  xix.  For  another  instance  of 
such  independent  knowledge,  see  xii.  3 — 5. 

my  repentmgs  are  kindled  together"]  Even  this  inaccurate  rendering 
cannot  quite  conceal  the  fine  intuition  of  the  prophet.  By  partly 
humanizing  God's  nature,  he  as  it  were  divinizes  man's.  Human 
sympathy  is  but  a  rill  from  the  mighty  stream  of  God's  tender  mercy. 
A  closer  rendering  would  be,  I  am  wholly  overcome  with  sympathy. 


vv.  9,  lo.]  HOSEA,   XI.  in 

I  will  not  execute  the  fierceness  of  mine  anger, 

I  will  not  return  to  destroy  Ephraim  : 

For  I  a7n  God,  and  not  man ; 

The  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee  : 

And  I  will  not  enter  into  the  city. 

They  shall  walk  after  the  Lord  :  he  shall  roar  like  a  lion  : 

The  Hebrew  idiom  however  is  different — 'my  sympathies  are  wholly 
overcome.'  Almost  the  same  phrase  occurs  in  Gen.  xHii.  20,  'his 
compassions  were  overcome  towards  his  brother.'  [The  word  rendered 
'are  overcome'  {iiik'vieru)  has  the  closest  affinity  with  the  Assyrian 
kamdru  'to  throw  down',  referred  to  in  the  note  on  x.  5  in  explanation 
oi k'vidrim  '(idolatrous)  priests.']  In  Jer.  xv.  6  a  different  but  equally 
anthropomorphic  expression  is  ascribed  to  Jehovah — 'I  am  weary  of 
sympathizing.' 

9.  /  will  not  return,  &c.]  The  strict  rendering  of  the  words  is, 
*I  will  not  again  destroy  Ephraim';  the  sense  however,  is,  I  will  not 
bring-  back  Ephraim  to  nothing.  He  who  moulded  Ephraim  into 
a  nation  will  not  busy  himself  with  it  again  to  its  destruction.  Comp. 
the  same  Hebrew  idiom  in  ii.  9. 

for  I  am  God,  and  not  matil  The  perfection  of  the  Divine  nature 
does  not,  to  Hosea,  exclude  the  possession  of  something  analogous  to 
human  feelings,  but  one  thing  it  does  forbid  us  to  assume,  viz.  that  an 
emotion  of  anger  should  divert  Jehovah  from  the  execution  of  his 
eternal  purpose. 

t/ie  Holy  One  in  the  midst  of  thee']  It  is  the  glory  of  Israel  to  have 
the  Holy  One  specially  in  her  midst.  ^'  Whatever  interferes  with  Hie; 
supreme  right  of  piopertyin  Israel,  He  must  destroy,  but  He  will  not 
so. -chaslise_His-xhosen_people  as  to  extinguish  it  altogether.- '  All  that 
is  left  will  be  holy,  as  Jehovah  is  holy — devoted  to  Jehovah,  as  Jehovah 
is  devoted  to  Israel.  Of  course,  though  Jehovah's  holiness  has  a  special 
relation  to  Israel,  this  does  not  exclude  a  more  general  relation  to  the 
world  outside.  His  manifestation  is  concentrated,  but  not  confined, 
within  His  'peculiar  people.' 

/  will  not  etiter  into  the  city]  But  this  is  pointless,  for  why  should 
a  visit  from  Jehovah  be  deprecated  (comp.  Ex.  xx.  24)?  Hence  many, 
adopting  a  different  view  of  one  word,  render,  I  will  not  come  in  fury. 
This  is,  however,  not  free  from  objection,  and  a  very  slight  emendation 
gives  the  very  appropriate  sense,  I  will  not  come  to  exterminate 
(parallel  to  *to  destroy'). 

10,  11.  Instead  of  introducing  his  description  of  Israel's  restoration 
by  some  phrase  like,  'When  I  heal  Israel'  (vii.  i),  the  prophet  ab- 
ruptly transports  us  in  7?iedias  res.  The  return  of  the  Israelites  of 
the  dispersion  is  singled  out  as  one  of  the  most  characteristic  features 
of  the  Messianic  age  (comp.  Isa.  xi.  11,  12,  xxvii.  13;  Jer.  iii.  18; 
Zech.  X.  10).  The  lion's  roar  takes  the  place  of  the  'great  trumpet' 
in  Isa.  xxvii.  13. 

10.     They  shall  walk,  &c.]     Rather,  They  shall  go  after  Jehovah, 


112  HOSEA,   XL  [vv.  II,  12. 

When  he  shall  roar,  then  the  children  shall  tremble  from 

the  west. 
They  shall  tremble  as  a  bird  out  of  Egypt, 
And  as  a  dove  out  of  the  land  of  Assyria  : 
And  I  will  place  them  in  their  houses,  saith  the  Lord. 
Ephraim  compasseth  me  about  with  lies,  and  the  house 

of  Israel  with  deceit : 
But  Judah  yet  ruleth  with  God,  and  is  faithful  with  the 

saints. 

as  after  a  lion  that  roareth;  for  he  himself  shall  roar,  and  sons 
shall  come  hurrjring  from  the  west  (lit.  from  the  sea).  '  The  west ' 
means  the  same  as  'the  islands  (or,  coast-lands)  of  the  sea'  in  the 
latter  part  of  Isaiah,  except  that  Hosea's  knowledge  of  the  coasts  and 
islands  of  the  western  sea  would  he  much  vaguer  than  that  of  his  fellow- 
prophet,  if  Isa.  xl. — Ixvi.  is  as  late  a  work  as  many  moderns  suppose. 
'Go  after'  is  a  phrase  for  the  dependent  relation  of  a  worshipper  to 
his  God;  comp.  i.  2;  Jer.  vii.  9;  i  Sam.  vii.  2;  Deut.  i.  36.  For 
'shall  roar',  comp.  Joel  iii.  16;  Am.  i.  2,  iii.  8;  Jer.  xxv.  30.  Jehovah 
is  compared  to  a  lion  calling  the  young  lions;  contrast  the  figure  of  the 
lion  in  v.  14,  xiii.  7. 

11.  tremble  as  a  bird... as  a  dove]  'Tremhle  '  is  the  literal  rendering, 
hut  the  context  shows  that  a  thrill  of  eagerness  doubling  the  speed  of 
motion  is  what  is  meant  (comp.  Ovid's  '  penna  trepidante').  Render 
therefore,  come  hurriedly,  and  continue,  as  sparrows... as  doves. 
Doves  were  very  early  known  in  both  Egypt  and  Assyria.  Elsewhere 
(vii.  11)  Hosea  compares  the  Israelites  to  doves  for  their  folly. 
[For  the  rendering  'come  hurriedly'  comp.  the  Syriac  r''/iab  which 
combines  the  meanings  of  haste  and  trembling.] 

p/ace  theni]     Rather,  cause  them  to  dwell. 

12.  The  Septuagint,  and  after  it  the  English  Version,  mistook  the 
blame  of  the  second  half  of  this  verse  for  praise,  and  hence  attached  the 
verse  to  chap.  xi.  Properly,  however,  it  belongs  to  chap,  xii.,  of  which 
it  is  the  first  verse  in  the  Hebrew  Bible.  Jehovah  is  the  speaker. 
Israel's  sins  of  treason  and  deceit  are  so  numerous  that  his  God  is  as 
it  were  surrounded  by  them,  and  can  see  nothing  else;  nor  has  Judah 
shown  any  more  deference  to  the  repeated  warnings  of  the  prophet. 

bid  Judah  yet  rtileth,  &c.]  Rather,  and  Judah  is  yet  wajnsvard 
towards  God,  and  towards  the  faithful  Holy  One.  'Yet',  because 
Hosea's  earlier  prophecies  record  the  long  continuance  of  Judah's  back- 
sliding (v.  10,  vi.  4,  II,  viii.  14).  The  w^ord  rendered  'wayward'  has 
the  root-meaning  of  roving  unrestrained,  as  when  an  animal  has  broken 
loose.  Hence  Jer.  ii.  31,  'Wherefore  say  my  people,  We  rove  at 
large;  we  will  come  no  more  unto  thee.'  'The  Holy  One'  has  in 
the  Hebrew  the  plural  termination,  as  in  Prov.  ix.  10 ;  it  seems  formed 
on  the  model  of  Elohim,  '(the)  divinity',  lit.  '(the)  divinities.'  We 
might  express  the  force  of  the  plural  by  rendering  '  the  All- Holy  One  ', 
or  (as  margin)  '  the  INIost  Holy.'     The  Septuagint  (partly  followed  by 


vv.  1—3.]  HOSEA,    XII.  113 

Ephraim  feedeth  on  wind,   and  followeth  after  the  east  12 

wind  : 
He  daily  increaseth  lies  and  desolation  ; 
And  they  do  make  a  covenant  with  the  Assyrians, 
And  oil  is  carried  into  Egypt. 

The  Lord  hath  also  a  controversy  with  Judah,  2 

And  will  punish  Jacob  according  to  his  ways ; 
According  to  his  doings  will  he  recompense  him. 
He  took  his  brother  by  the  heel  in  the  womb,  3 

the  Peshito)  renders,  vvv  iyvw  avrois  6  0e6s,  Kal  6  \abs  ayios  KeKkqaeraL 

GeoG.     Cornill  however  has  brought  fresh  light  by  correcting  thus, 

•and  hath  yoked  itself  (Num.  xxv.  3,  5)  with  sodomites'  (i  Kings  xiv.  24). 

Chapter  XII. 

Again  poetry  is  dispelled  by  prose,  anci  the  infidelity  of  both  king- 
doms forces  itself  on  the  prophet's  mind.  Such  prose  is  all  the  more  • 
wearisome  to  an  idealist,  because  the  history  of  the  patriarch  Jacob 
seems  to  lift  up  a  standard  which  ought  to  be  dear  to  his  descendants. 
O  that  Israel  would  yet  return  to  his  allegiance  !  Such  is  the  purport 
of  xi.  12 — xii.  6. 

1.  wind... the  east  windX  Note  the  climax ;  the  parching  east  wind 
combines  the  ideas  of  destructiveness  and  emptiness.  Comp.  Job  xv. 
2,  xxvii.  21.     For  '  feedeth  on',  read  joineth  himself  unto. 

lies  and  desolation]  Rather,  lies  and  violence.  But  the  Septuagint 
reads,  '  lies  and  falsehoods ' — more  plausibly,  as  the  other  combination 
is  unparalleled. 

a  covenant  with  the  Assyrians,  &c.]  Comp.  v.  13,  vii.  11.  Oil  was 
one  of  the  most  precious  natural  products  (Deut.  viii.  8;  Ezek.  xvi.  19, 
xxvii.  17),  and  is  mentioned  as  a  present  sent  to  'the  king'  in  Isa.  Ivii.  9. 
Comp.  on  vii.  11. 

2.  Jacob]     Here  used  for  Judah  (as  Ps.  Ixxvii.  16). 

3 — 6.  Two  episodes  (for  a  third,  see  v.  12)  in  the  history  of  Jacob 
are  applied  to  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  descendants.  Jacob  in  the  very 
womb  seemed  ambitious  of  the  blessing,  and  when  a  grown  man,  he 
wrestled  with  the  angel  for  a  still  higher  blessing  than  before.  But,  as 
we  are  led  to  interpret  the  prophet's  thought,  the  Israelites,  instead  of 
justifying  their  name,  and  'waiting  upon  their  God',  have  denied 
Jehovah,  and  sought  for  weak  human  help. — The  parallel  passages  in 
Genesis  are  xxv.  26  «,  xxxii.  28^  (both  ascribed  to  'the  Jehovist'), 
though  we  cannot  perhaps  assert  dogmatically  that  they  were  known  to 
Hosea,  for  in  v.  4  he  introduces  a  detail  not  mentioned  in  Genesis. 
Hosea  may  have  drawn  from  oral  tradition. 

3.  He  took  his  brother  by  the  heel]  As  if  Jacob  meant,  The  Sup- 
planter.  The  same  verb  is  used  by  Esau  in  an  unfavourable  sense  in 
Gen.  xxvii.  36 ;  but  Hosea  here  evidently  means  to  edify  his  people  by 

HOSEA  8 


114  ROSEA,  XII.    '  [vv.  4— 6. 

And  by  his  strength  he  had  power  with  God  : 

4  Yea,  he  had  power  over  the  angel,  and  prevailed  : 
He  wept,  and  made  supplication  unto  him  : 

He   found   him   in   Beth-el,    and   there   he   spake   with 
us; 

5  Even  the  Lord  God  of  hosts ;  the  Lord  is  his  memorial. 

6  Therefore  turn  thou  to  thy  God  : 
Keep  mercy  and  judgment. 
And  wait  on  thy  God  continually. 

the  allusion.     Observe  that  Jacob  is  described  as  the  head  and  represen- 
tative of  his  family  (comparing  this  with  v.  2). 

had  power  with  Gocf]  Rather,  contended  with  God.  He  alludes  to 
Gen.  xxxii.  25  (Jehovistic),  'Israel'  being  explained  (rightly  or  wrongly) 
as  '  God's  combatant '.  The  word  used  for  God  is  elohim,  which  is 
applicable  to  any  divine  or  superhuman  form  (comp.  i  Sam.  xxviii.  13). 
Hence  in  the  next  verse  we  find  '  angel ',  or,  rendering  etymologically, 
'administrator'  (maVakh),  substituted  for  it,  to  prevent  misunderstand- 
ing.   Comp.  Gen.  xvi.  10,  13,  xlviii.  15,  16;  Ex.  xiii.  21  and  xiv.  19. 

4.  he  had  power  over]     Rather,  he  contended  with. 

he  wept,  &.C.]  (The  subject  is  Jacob,  not  the  angel.)  This  feature  is 
not  given  in  Gen.  xxxii. ;  it  is  however  well  adapted  to  the  hortatory 
object  of  Hosea.     The  Septuagint  has,  '  they  wept ',  &c. 

he  found  him  in  Beth-el\  (The  subject  is  Jehovah.)  Two  visions  of 
Jacob's  are  recorded  in  explanation  of  the  name  Bethel  (Gen.  xxviii. 
10 — 22,  XXXV.  9 — 15).  They  proceed  from  different  documents,  and 
either  of  them  may  have  been  current  in  the  circle  to  which  Hosea  be- 
longed. The  latter  passage  is  of  problematic  origin.  The  Septuagint 
strangely  has,  '  They  found  me  in  the  house  of  On '  (i.e.  Aven  or 
Beth-aven  instead  of  Bethel,  comp.  iv.  15). 

there  he  spake  with  us]  i.e.  'in  the  loins  of  Jacob '  (Horsley,  &c.); 
comp.  the  twofold  use  of  'Israel'  in  vv.  12,  13.  But  this  spoils  the 
consistency  of  the  historical  picture.  The  Peshito,  Aquila,  Symmachus, 
Theodotion,  and  probably  the  Septuagint  (Trpos  avrom),  read  with  him, 
i.e.  with  Jacob.  (This  is  better  than  assimilating  the  pronoun  in  the 
preceding  clause,  with  a  few  Hebrew  MSS.) 

5.  Evefi  the  Lord  God  of  hosts,  &c.]  The  Hebrew  runs  more 
abruptly,  'And  Jehovah'  &c.,  i.e.  'and  the  name  of  Him  who  spoke 
with  Jacob  is  Jehovah.'  'Jehovah'  to  the  prophets  conveys  the  ideas 
of  almightiness,  unchangeableness,  and  faithfulness  (comp.  Isa.  xli.  4 ; 
Mai.  iii.  6).  '  God  of  Hosts '  is  a  title  specially  characteristic  of  the 
regal  period  ;  the  hosts  were  (i)  the  stars,  (2)  the  armies  of  Israel  (see 
the  commentators  on  Isa.  i.  24). 

his  memorial]  i.e.  his  name;  comp.  Ex.  iii.  15  'This  is  my  memo- 
rial unto  all  generations.' 

6.  Therefore  turn  thou  to  thy  God]  Lit.,  'And  thou — return  thou 
in  thy  God';  i.e.,  such  being  the  character  of  God,  who  lets  Himself 
be  won  by  wrestling  prayer,  return  thou  to  thy  God,  and  rest  in  Him. 


vv.  7— 9-]  HOSEA,  XII.  115 

He  is  a  merchant,  the  balances  of  deceit  are  in  his  hand :  7 

He  loveth  to  oppress. 

And  Ephraim  said,  Yet  I  am  become  rich,  I  have  found  s 

me  out  substance : 
In  all  my  labours  they  shall  find  none  iniquity  in  me  that 

were  sin. 
And  I  that  am  the  Lord  thy  God  from  the  land  of  Egypt  9 

(For  this  condensed  expression  there  is  no  exact  parallel.)  And  how  is 
this  'return'  or  repentance  to  have  its  reality  proved?  By  thine  observ- 
ance of  the  rules  of  blended  justice  and  kindness  towards  man  and 
trustfulness  towards  God  (comp.  Mic.  vi.  8). 

8 — 15.  Not  Israel,  but  Canaan  should  he  be  called  ;  for  his  ideal  is 
Canaan's.  The  end  justifies  the  means,  and  his  end  is — to  become  rich  ! 
But  how  bitterly  will  he  be  disappointed.  He  must  in  short  begin  his 
history  over  again,  and  repeat  his  wilderness-wanderings.  Or  to  speak 
more  plainly,  idolatry  must  be  rooted  out.  Jehovah  must  take  up  the 
challenge  thrown  down  by  Ephraim.  Just  before  the  severe  final  rebuke, 
Hosea  resumes  his  appeal  to  the  instructive  history  of  Jacob;  but  verses 
12,  13  may  be  misplaced. 

7.  He  is  a  merchant,  &c.]  Rather,  Canaan !  in  Ms  hand  are  deceit- 
ful balances ;  lie  loveth  to  extort.  The  geographical  term  '  Canaan ' 
simply  means  'lowland',  and  therefore  might  be,  and  was,  applied  to 
Phoenicia  (Isa.  xxiii.  11)  as  well  as  to  other  lowland  parts  of  Palestine; 
'Canaanite'  too  became  a  synonym  for  'merchant'  (Job  xli.  6;  Pro  v. 
xxxi.  24,  comp.  Zeph.  i.  11;  Ezek.  xvii.  4),  as  'Chaldean'  was  a  syno- 
nym for  '  astrologer.'  Hosea  uses  the  word  collectively  and  metaphori- 
cally:— his  'Canaan 'is  a  degenerate  Israel.  The  sarcasm  derives  its 
point  from  the  low  repute  of  the  Phoenician  merchants  for  honesty 
(comp.  Odyss.  XIV,  290,  291). 

8.  And  Ephraim  said... 'I  Better,  Ephraim  indeed  said.  Surely  I 
have  become  rich,  I  have  gotten  me  wealth :  all  my  profits  shall  bring 
me  no  iniquity  that  were  a  sin.  Ephraim  congratulates  himself  on 
his  riches,  and  with  callous  conscience  maintains  that  they  have  been 
won  quite  honestly;  or  if  he  be  not  absolutely  innocent,  yet  his  few 
trifling  lapses  will  not  be  reckoned  a  sin.  He  reminds  us  of  the  mer- 
cenary shepherds  in  Zech.  xi.  5,  who  say  *  Blessed  be  Jehovah  that  I 
become  rich.'  There  is  a  better  connexion  however  with  the  next  verse 
if  we  adopt  one  or  two  slight  emendations,  and  render  the  latter  part 
thus,  (but)  all  his  profits  will  not  suffice  for  (i.e.  to  expiate)  the  guilt 
which  he  has  incurred,  i.e.  though  he  gave  them  all  up  as  'a  ransom 
for  his  soul'  (Ex.  xxx.  12),  the  sacrifice  would  be  inadequate.  Comp. 
the  Septuagint,  Trdj/res  ol  irbvoi  avrov  ovx  evped-qaovrai  aury  81  adiKlas  as 
rtixaprep.  We  thus  get  rid  of  the  unnatural  distinction  supposed  above 
between  'iniquity'  and  'sin.' 

9.  And  /]  Rather,  For  I.  It  is  explanatory  of  the  vague  hint  of 
an  inexorable  doom. 

thy  God  fro77i  the  land  of  Egypf]     Who  is  therefore  ever  ready  to 

8—2 


ii6  HOSEA,  XII.  [vv.  lo,  ii. 

Will  yet  make  thee  to  dwell  in  tabernacles,  as  in  the  days 
of  the  solemn  feast, 
lo      I  have  also  spoken  by  the  prophets,  and  I  have  multiplied 
visions, 
And  used  similitudes  by  the  ministry  of  the  prophets. 
"      Is  tJure  iniquity  i7i  Gilead  ?  surely  they  are  vanity  : 

help  you  (Isa.  xlvi.  3),  but  who  will  also,  if  necessary,  punish  you  as  He 
did  of  old  (comp.  Num.  xiv.  26 — 30). 

will  yet  ??iake  thee  to  dwell  in  tabernacles]  Rather,  will  again  make 
thee  to  dwell  in  tents.  The  analogy  of  a  parallel  passage  (ii.  14)  at 
once  suggests  the  idea  that  this  prediction  is  a  threat  and  not  (as  St 
Jerome,  Kimchi,  and  Calvin  would  have  it)  a  promise.  Not  indeed  a 
threat  without  a  tinge  of  promise  (see  on  ii.  14),  but  the  unrelieved 
worldliness  of  the  speech  in  v.  9  calls  forth  a  declaration  of  God's  pur- 
pose as  uncompromising  in  its  earnestness.  '  Again '  alludes  to  the 
journey  through  the  wilderness.  On  the  rendering  yet,  see  further  note 
in  Introduction,  part  v, 

as  in  the  days  of  the  solemn  feast]  Better,  of  the  festal  season.  The 
word  used  is  mo'ed  (lit.  appointed  time),  which  is  used  rather  more 
widely  than  khag  'festival.'  Here  however  the  prophet  does  mean  one 
of  the  three  ancient  festivals,  viz.  the  so-called  Feast  of  Tabernacles  (or 
rather,  Booths).  This  was  the  most  popular  of  all  the  feasts  (see  on  ix. 
i) :  it  was  originally  a  time  of  rejoicing  for  the  '  ingathering'  (whence  its 
name  in  Ex.  xxiii.  16)  of  the  latest  crops  of  the  year,  and  the  'booths' 
or 'tents'  (compare  1  Sam.  xi.  11)  were  simply  designed  (precisely  as 
at  the  analogous  festivals  of  other  nations)  to  promote  the  enjoyment  of 
the  simple-minded  rural  merrymakers.  Another  object  is  indeed  ascribed 
to  the  festival  in  the  Book  of  Leviticus,  viz.  to  remind  the  Israelites  of  the 
tent-life  of  their  fathers  in  the  wilderness,  but  this,  as  Mr  Clark  and 
others  have  well  shown  (see  Speaker's  Comt?ientary  on  Lev.  xxiii.  43), 
can  only  have  been  an  after-thought,  as  the  nomad  Israelites  are  never 
said  to  have  dwelt  in  'booths'  or  'huts',  but  always  in  'tents'  (of  skin  or 
cloth).  Hosea's  reference  to  the  Feast  of  Booths  points  a  striking  con- 
trast. The  predominant  tone  of  the  Israelites  is  now  one  of  exuberant 
joyousness  (ix.  i),  culminating  in  the  merry,  out-of-door  life  of  the  local 
autumn-festivals,  but  soon  they  shall  dwell  in  tents  again,  not  for  amuse- 
ment, but  by  bitter  compulsion. 

10.  It  is  not  for  want  of  warnings  that  this  calamity  comes  upon  the 
Israelites.  In  the  most  various  ways  has  Jehovah  spoken,  not  to,  but 
by  the  prophets. 

Visions ..  .similitudes]  A  prophetic  vision  is,  properly  speaking,  an 
intuition  of  some  divinely  revealed  truth  clothed  in  'outward  and  visible 
signs',  but  the  term  is  also  extended  (e.g.  Isa.  i.  i ;  Obad.  i ;  Nah.  i. 
i)  to  the  entire  contents  of  a  prophecy.  'Similitudes',  i.e.  parables 
whether  implicit  (as  ix.  10)  or  explicit  (as  vii.  4 — 7  ;  Isa.  v.  i — 7). 

11.  The  ruin  of  two  famous  centres  of  idolatry,  representing  together 
the  entire  northern  kingdom. 

Is  there  iniquity,  &c.]     More  probably,  If  GUead  is  (given  to)  Idola- 


V.  12.]  HOSEA,  XII.  117 

They  sacrifice  bullocks  in  Gilgal ; 

Yea,  their  altars  are  as  heaps  in  the  furrows  of  the  fields. 
And  Jacob  fled  i7ito  the  country  of  Syria, 
And  Israel  served  for  a  wife,   and  for  a  wife   he  kept 
sheep. 

try,  mere  vanity  shall  they  (the  Gileadites)  become,  i.e.  apostacy 
from  Him  who  is  the  only  source  of  life  leads  to  sure  destruction;  'they 
that  make  the  idols  become  like  unto  them.'  The  town  of  Gilead  has 
already  been  singled  out  for  reprobation  in  vi.  8,  9.  For  the  historical 
fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  see  2  Kings  xv.  29 — 'in  the  days  of  Pekah 
king  of  Israel  came  Tiglath-Pileser  king  of  Assyria,  and  took... Gilead 
and  Galilee,  all  the  land  of  Naphtali,  and  carried  them  captive  to 
Assyria'  (compare  Tiglath-Pileser's  own  account  of  his  expedition 
against  Philistia  in  B.C.  734;  G.  Smith,  Eponym  Canon,  p.  123, 
Schrader,  The  Ctmeiform  Inscriptions  and  the  Old  Testament,  on  2  Kings 
XV.  29). 

they  sao'ifice  bullocks  in  Gilgal]  Or,  as  it  might  well  be  stated  in  the 
margin,  'in  Heap-town'  (see  next  note).  They  affront  Jehovah  by 
sacrificing  at  idolatrous  shrines,  especially  at  Gilgal  (see  on  iv.  15).  So 
the  Targum.  Others,  by  a  slight  emendation,  'they  sacrifice  to  the 
bullocks  in  Gilgal',  i.e.  to  the  steer-gods;  but  there  is  no  parallel  for 
such  a  use  of  the  word  'bullocks.'  St  Jerome's  'bobus  immolantes'  is 
an  ungrammatical  rendering  of  our  present  text  (see  his  note). 

yea,  their  altars  are  as  heaps,  &c.]  Rather,  so  then  their  altars 
shall  be  as  stone-heaps,  i.e.  like  heaps  of  stones  which  a  careful  hus- 
bandman has  gathered  out  of  his  ploughed  field  (comp.  Mic.  i.  6).  The 
idiom  employed  (lit.,  'also  their  altars'  &c.) indicates  the  correspondence 
between  cause  and  effect,  a  sin  and  its  retribution  (comp.  Isa.  Ixvi.  j,b, 
4  a) ;  the  tense  is  the  prophetic  perfect.  There  is  a  paronomasia  in  Gilgal 
(as  if  'Heap-town',  comp.  Josh.  iv.  20),  and  gallim  ('heaps');  the  very 
name  of  Gilgal  seems  to  suggest  its  impending  fate.  Some  think  the 
name  '  Gilead '  is  also  included  in  the  paronomasia,  but  in  spite  of  the 
apparent  support  of  Gen.  xxxi.  47,  48,  this  is  not  the  more  natural  view 
of  Hosea's  language.  At  most,  there  is  a  play  upon  the  similarity  of 
sound  in  Gilead  and  Gilgal ;  not  upon  any  supposed  similarity  of 
meaning. 

12,  13.  As  Ewald  remarks,  *  this  is  probably  the  oldest  instance  of  a 
spiritualizing  of  the  ancient  history,  though  the  way  to  it  had  been  long 
prepared  by  the  conception,  so  familiar  to  Hosea  himself  (chaps,  i. — 
iii.),  of  the  community  of  Israel  as  Jehovah's  bride.'  The  verses  how- 
ever come  in  very  abruptly,  and  are  really,  as  Rashi  long  ago  observed, 
a  continuation  of  the  didactic  survey  of  the  life  of  Jacob  interrupted  at 
V.  6  (comp.  on  ver.  14). 

12.  fied  into  the  country  of  Syria]  Comp.  Gen.  xxvii.  43,  xxviii.  2. 
Hosea's  phrase,  the  field  of  Aram,  is  the  exact  equivalent  of  'Padan- 
Aram '  (rather  Paddan-Aram)  in  the  latter  passage ;  the  Assyrian 
paddnu  has  for  one  of  its  meanings  '  field  '  (also  '  park '). 

served  for  a  wife,  &c.]     Comp.  Gen.   xxix.   18 — 20,  xxx.  31,  xxxi. 


ii8  HOSEA,  XII.  XIII.  [vv.  13,  14;  i. 

13  And  by  a  prophet  the  Lord  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt, 
And  by  a  prophet  was  he  preserved. 

14  Ephraim  provoked  hijn  to  anger  most  bitterly  : 
Therefore  shall  he  leave  his  blood  upon  him, 
And  his  reproach  shall  his  Lord  return  unto  him. 

13      When  Ephraim  spake  trembling,  he  exalted  hifnself  in 
Israel ; 

38 — 41.     The  last  passage  gives  a  vivid  idea  of  the  hardships  summed 
up  in  the  simple  phrase  'he  kept  (sheep).' 

13.  by  a  pro phet\\.Q..yio%Q?,  {zoxa^^.  Deut.  xxxiv.  10).  Hosea  con- 
trasts the  helplessness  and  the  hardships  of  Jacob- Israel  with  the  won- 
derful deliverance  and  preservation  of  his  descendants.  Comp.  Isa.  li. 
2,  '  I  called  him  alone,  and  blessed  him,  and  increased  him.'  Note  the 
double  use  of  the  term  Israel  in  z/.  12  and  v.  13. 

14.  This  verse  would  be  less  abrupt  if  it  immediately  followed  v.  ii, 
of  which  it  might  be  taken  to  furnish  a  fuller  justification. 

provoked^     Rather,  hath  provoked. 

therefore  shall  he  leave  his  blood'\  Rather,  and  his  bloodshed  will  he 
cast;  i.e.  Jehovah  will  bring  sudden  retribution  upon  him  for  his 
bloodguiltiness  (comp.  i.  4,  iv.  2). 

his  i-eproach']  i.e.,  the  insult  to  Jehovah  in  Israel's  idolatry  (comp. 
Isa.  Ixv.  7). 

Chap.  XIII. 

1 — 8.  Israel  signed  his  own  death-warrant  when  he  lapsed  into 
Baal- worship.  Foolish  as  it  is  to  'kiss  calves',  they  persist  in  the 
practice.  Therefore  the  nation  can  but  drift  away,  like  cloud,  or  chaff, 
or  smoke.  How  little  Jehovah  deserves  such  treatment !  But  Israel's 
destruction  has  already  begun :  they  shall  be  torn  piecemeal. 

1.  When  Ephraiin  spake  trembling,  &c.]  The  Hebrew  is  difficult, 
and  the  soundness  of  the  text  is  perhaps  questionable.  At  any  rate,  the 
rendering  will  depend  on  one's  impression  of  the  requirements  of  the 
context.  To  the  present  writer,  no  translation  appears  preferable  to 
that  of  King  James's  Bible,  and  he  has  a  pleasure  in  finding  himself  in 
accord  with  this  version,  which  must  of  necessity  rarely  be  the  case  in 
obscure  passages.  The  single  objection  to  the  rendering  is  that  ex- 
pressed by  Mr  Huxtable  in  the  Speaker's  Co7nmentary,  viz.  that  it 
'would  give  to  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  a  character  out  of  harmony  alike 
with  Hosea's  description  of  it  in  v.  5  and  with  the  history.'  But  the 
passage  referred  to  requires  to  be  explained  differently,  and  as  to  the 
history  of  the  tribe,  we  are  not  here  concerned  with  the  facts  as  viewed 
critically,  but  as  they  presented  themselves  to  a  preacher  in  search  of 
edification.  Hosea  has  once  already  pointed  the  people  of  Israel  to  the 
golden  age  of  the  past,  when  Israel  as  a  whole  was  comparable  to 
'grapes  in  the  wilderness'  and  'the  firstripe  in  the  fig  tree'  (ix.  10,  see 
note);  he  conceives  of  Jehovah  as  kindly  overlooking  the  human  frailty 


V.  2.]  HOSEA,  XIII.  119 

But  when  he  offended  in  Baal,  he  died. 

And  now  they  sin  more  and  more, 

And  have  made  them  molten  images  of  their  silver, 

And  idols  according  to  their  own  understanding. 

All  of  it  the  work  of  the  craftsmen  : 

of  his  child  in  consideration  of  Israel's  latent  possibilities.  'When 
Ephraim  spake  trembling ',  &c.,  may  therefore  be  expanded  thus,  '  When 
the  Ephraimites  in  trembling  accents  responded  to  the  divine  call  (comp. 
ii.  15),  they  rose  to  the  exalted  position  which  its  prophetic  ancestor  fore- 
shadowed (Gen.  xlix.  22 — 26).'  The  reference  is  partly  to  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Ephraimitejoshua,  partly  to  the  prosperity  which  attended  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim  even  when  it  no  longer  supplied  a  general,  a  judge,  or 
a  king  to  the  entire  nation.  The  other  chief  renderings  are,  '  When 
Ephraim  spake,  [there  was]  terror',  &c.,  i.e.,  men  listened  to  Ephraim 
with  fear  and  trembling;  and,  'When  Ephraim  spake  of  revolt  (?), 
[and]  lifted  itself  up  [as  a  rebel]  in  Israel ',  continuing  in  the  next  clause, 
'  it  became  guilty  through  Baal,  and  died.'  In  the  latter  case,  the  refer- 
ence is  to  the  revolt  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  and  the  public  sanction  then 
given  to  a  retrograde  religion.  The  advantage  of  this  view  is  that  it 
enables  us  to  give  precisely  the  same  meaning  to  Ephraim  in  both  parts 
oiv.  I ;  but  as  the  text  stands,  the  writer  feels  unable  to  accept  it,  as  • 
the  sense  of 'revolt'  cannot  be  justified.  It  is  very  possible  that  the 
text  is  corrupt. 

btii  when  he  offended  in  Baal,  he  died]  Rather,  if  the  Authorized 
Version's  view  of  the  meaning  be  retained,  but  lie  'became  guilty 
through  the  Baal,  and  died.  That  is,  in  course  of  time,  the  Ten 
Tribes  severed  themselves  definitely  from  the  progressive  teaching  of 
the  higher  spiritual  prophecy,  and  by  so  doing  sealed  their  doom  as  a 
nation.  The  Baal-worship  spoken  of  is  not  the  form  of  religion  against 
which  Elijah  thundered ;  that  was  introduced  from  Phoenicia,  whereas 
a  simpler  but  still  idolatrous  worship  was  offered  by  the  northern  Israel- 
ites to  Jehovah  under  the  name  of 'Baal'  (see  on  ii.  13,  16).  Finding 
a  multitude  of  Canaanitish  sacred  places  dedicated  each  to  its  own 
'  Baal '  or  patron-deity,  they  forthwith  identified  this  Baal  with  their 
own  Jehovah,  and  so  fell  under  the  same  condemnation  as  their  heathen 
predecessors.  They  failed  to  go  forward  with  Amos  and  Hosea,  and  so 
they  could  not  but  fall  behind  to  a  degenerate  and  lower  type  of  religion. 

died]  Ephraim  was  'dead  while  he  lived'  (i  Tim.  v.  6,  comp. 
Prov.  ix.  18,  and  Dante,  Inferno  xxxiil.  139 — 157).  So  Gen.  ii.  17, 
'  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die.'  Till  Adam 
ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  there  was  the  hope  that,  though  not  created 
immortal,  he  might  yet  be  exempted  from  decay  and  death.  So,  till 
Ephraim  deliberately  corrupted  his  religion,  there  was  always  the  possi- 
bility that  God  might  recognize  him  as  a  permanent  factor  in  the  reli- 
gious history  of  the  world.     Comp.  on  v.  12. 

2.  And  now,  &c.]  The  present  race  is  no  better;  they  goon  adding 
to  their  guilt. 

idols  according  to  their  own   understanding]     Sarcastically.    Sept., 


I20  HOSEA,  XIII.  [v.  3. 

They  say  of  them,  Let  the  men  that  sacrifice  kiss  the 
calves. 
3      Therefore  they  shall  be  as  the  morning  cloud, 
And  as  the  early  dew  that  passeth  away. 
As  the  chaff  that  is  driven  with  a  whirlwind  out  of  the 
floor, 

Targ.,  Vulg. ,  however,  read  '  according  to  the  pattern  of  idols '  (there 
could  be  no  art,  then,  in  these  repetitions  of  archaic  images). 

they  say  of  the7n^  &c.]  This  part  of  the  verse  is  very  difficult ;  it  will 
be  best  to  clear  up  first  the  meaning  of  the  closing  words.  There  are 
two  rival  renderings,  'sacrificers  of  men,  they  kiss  calves'  (so  substan- 
tially the  Sept.,  the  Vulg.,  Rashi,  Aben  Ezra,  Calvin,  Horsley,  Kue- 
nen),  and  human  sacrificers,  they  kiss  calves  (so  Kimchi  and  many 
moderns).  Either  rendering  implies  a  strong  touch  of  sarcasm.  In  the 
first  case,  it  is  the  strange  perversity  of  slaying  men  and  kissing  calves 
which  the  prophet  lashes;  in  the  second,  the  affront  to  human  reason  in 
doing  homage  to  dumb  animals.  The  objection  to  the  former  explana- 
*  tion  is  the  fact  that  human  sacrifices  were  not,  so  far  as  we  know, 

2^  /  ;offered  to  the  calf-  or  rather  steer-gods,  and  indeed  were  hardly  common 
5^  in  the  land  of  Israel  before  the  time  of  Ahaz  (2  Kings  xvi.  3).  Besides, 
— — '  would  the  prophet  have  referred  to  such  abominable  cruelty  in  such  a 
casual  way,  more,  as  has  been  well  said,  in  a  vein  of  satire  than  of 
indignation  ?  Now  let  us  turn  to  the  opening  words  of  the  sentence. 
The  parallelism  in  this  and  the  following  verse  is  so  thoroughly  carried 
out,  that  for  symmetry's  sake  we  can  hardly  help  rendering,  unto  such 
[the  idols]  do  they  speak.  The  sarcasm  is  as  manifest  here  as  in  the 
following  words ;  what  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  address  vows  and 
prayers  to  the  worshippers'  own  handiwork,  to  things  'which  have 
mouths,  and  speak  not.'  The  objection  is,  that  the  meaning 'speak ' 
is  not  a  common  one  for  ^ dinar  (properly  'to  say'),  but  Ps.  iv.  5  shows 
that  the  verb  in  question  may  be  used  absolutely,  even  in  classical 
Hebrew.  It  is  possible  however  that  there  is  a  corruption,  and  that 
we  should  read,  for  instance,  for  'speak'  (or  'say'),  'burn  incense.' 

kiss\  'Kiss',  viz.  as  a  sign  of  adoration  or  homage,  by  a  transition 
like  that  in  the  usage  of  irpoaKwiw.  So  whenever  {a)  idols,  or  {b)  sup- 
posed divine  beings,  or  {c)  kings  are  referred  to ;  comp.  {a)  i  Kings 
xix.  18,  (<^)  Job  xxxi.  27,  {c)  Ps.  ii.  12  (Gen.  xli.  40;  i  Sam.  x.  i  can 
hardly  be  quoted  here).  The  '  kiss  '  of  adoration  consisted  sometimes, 
as  in  Job  I.e.,  in  kissing  the  hand  towards  the  idol  (comp.  TrpoaKwiu) 
again).  But  the  heathen  Arabs  literally  kissed  the  black  stone  at 
Mecca ;  they  were  wont  to  stroke  their  domestic  idols. 

the  calves^  i.e.,  the  small  images  of  an  ox,  such  as  are  referred  to  in 
I  Kings  xii.  28. 

3.  the  early  dew,  &c.]  Rather,  the  night-mist  that  early  passeth 
away.     See  on  vi.  4. 

as  the  chaff...the  Jloor^  A  familiar  figure,  but  here  expressed  with 
more  fulness  than  usual.     The   point  of  it  is   partly  in   the   elevated 


vv.  4—7.]  HOSEA,  XIII.  121 

And  as  the  smoke  out  of  the  chimney. 

Yet  I  aj7i  the  Lord  thy  God  from  the  land  of  Egypt, 

And  thou  shalt  know  no  god  but  me  : 

For  there  is  no  saviour  beside  me. 

I  did  know  thee  in  the  wilderness, 

In  the  land  of  great  drought. 

According  to  their  pasture,  so  were  they  filled ; 

They  were  filled,  and  their  heart  was  exalted ; 

Therefore  have  they  forgotten  me. 

Therefore  I  will  be  unto  them  as  a  lion  : 

As  a  leopard  by  the  way  will  I  observe  them: 

situation  of  'the  floor'  (comp.  i  Sam.  xix.  22  Sept. ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  18; 
2  Chr.  iii.  i),  partly  in  the  suddenness  of  the  whirlwinds  in  Palestine, 
which  start  up   '  as  if  by  magic  or  spirit-influence '  (Thomson,   The 
Land  and  the  Book,  p.  154). 
chim7iey\     Rather,  lattice. 

4.  Yet  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God']  Hosea  persistently  refuses  to 
recognize  that  the  god  whom  the  Israelites  worship  is  really  Israel's 
God,  Jehovah.  The  use  of  an  idolatrous  symbol  has  so  unspiritualized 
the  object  of  their  worship  that  the  mere  retention  of  the  name  Jehovah 
gives  them  no  claim  upon  Hosea's  sympathy.  The  prophet  therefore 
introduces  Jehovah  as  expostulating  with  the  Israelites  for  the  abandon- 
ment of  their  hereditary  religion. 

thou  shalt  know  no  god  but  fne]  Rather,  thou  knowest,  &c. ;  the 
experience  of  history  bore  witness  to  Jehovah's  help,  and  his  alone. 
Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  12.  Hosea  however  does  not  deny  the  existence 
of  other  gods  besides  Jehovah  ;  only  their  equality  to  Him  in  power. 
It  was  only  by  degrees  that  the  truth  involved  in  the  revelation  of 
Jehovah  was  fully  realized.     See  Introduction. 

5.  /  did  know,  &c.]  Better,  It  was  I  that  knew,  &c.  *  To  know  ' 
= '  to  take  favourable  notice  of,  as  Ps.  i.  6  and  often. 

in  the  land  of  great  drought]  Or,  'of  burning  thirst'  (the  word 
occurs  nowhere  else).     Comp.  the  description  in  ii.  3. 

6.  According  to  their  pasture,  &c.]  Rather,  When  they  fed,  they 
waxed  full.  The  idea  of  the  verse  is  that  Israel's  apostasy  sprang 
from  his  enjoying  God's  gifts  without  thinking  of  the  Giver,  comp.  ii. 
8,  iv.  7,  X.  I.  The  expressions  were  probably  prophetic  commonplaces; 
comp.  Deut.  viii.  11 — 15,  xxxi.  20,  xxxii.  15,  18. 

7.  I  will  be]  Rather,  I  have  become.  The  evident  decay  of  Israel 
as  a  nation  shows  that  the  punishment  has  begun  (see  vii.  8 — 10). 

the  leopard]  Familiar  to  the  Hebrews  and  Assyrians  under  the 
same  name  {ndi7ier,  nimru).  Its  habit  of  springing  from  an  ambush  is 
again  referred  to  in  Jer.  v.  6. 

by  the  way  will  I  observe  them]  According  to  another  pronunciation 
of  the  consonants,  the  Septuagint,  Peshito,  and  Vulgate  (supported  by 
some  MSS.  and  many  editions  of  the  Hebrew  Bible),  render  'in  the  way 


122  HOSEA,  XIII.  [vv.  8, 9. 

I  will  meet  them  as  a  bear  that  is  bereaved  of  her  whelps, 
And  will  rent  the  caul  of  their  heart, 
And  there  will  I  devour  them  like  a  lion  : 
The  wild  beast  shall  tear  them. 

O  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed  thyself;  but  in  me  is  thine 
help. 

to  Assyria ',  an  allusion  being  supposed  to  Israel's  dallying  with  the  great 
northern  empire  (v.  13).  So  also  Hitzig  and  Ewald.  But  the  prophet 
has  to  deal  now  with  the  disease  itself,  not  with  a  mere  symptom. 

8.  as  a  bear]  A  striking  but  uncommon  comparison.  Comp. 
Lam.  iii.  10. 

the  caul  of  their  heart]  Rather,  the  enclosure  of  their  heart,  i.e.,  not 
the  pericardium,  which  is  what  the  Authorized  Version  appears  to  have 
supposed,  but  the  breast. 

as  a  lion]  Most  render,  as  a  lioness;  but  this  is  at  any  rate  un- 
certain. There  is  nothing  as  in  Job  iv.  11  specially  to  suggest  the 
female.  The  masculine  undoubtedly  occurs  in  Ps.  Ivii.  5  (Hebr.).  The 
root-idea  is  probably  voracity ;  but  unfortunately  there  is  no  cognate 
in  Assyrian.  The  numerous  words  for  lion  in  Hebrew  are  as  trouble- 
some to  express  in  English,  as  the  translators  of  the  Sept.  found  them 
in  Greek  (Sept.  here  has  aKVfivoi  dpv/xov). 

9 — 15.  An  alternation  of  cries  expressive  of  the  contending  thoughts 
and  emotions  of  the  tender-hearted  but  truthful  prophet.  The  punish- 
ment is  inevitable  ;  yea,  it  is  begun.  Yet — if  Israel  would  only  repent ! 
Indeed,  his  Father  must  interpose.  And  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  re- 
bellion must  be  punished. 

9.  Hosea,  '  in  the  spirit ',  sees  the  future  as  if  it  were  past.  Hence 
the  use  of  the  perfect. 

O  Israel,  &c.]  This  rendering  agrees  with  that  of  the  Jewish  com- 
mentator, Rashi  (similarly  the  Targum).  It  belongs  to  a  numerous 
series  of  attempts  (see  Foole's  Synopsis  ad  loc.)  to  explain  one  of  Hosea's 
most  abrupt  sentences.  The  text,  as  it  stands,  means  literally,  '  He 
(or.  It)  hath  destroyed  thee,  O  Israel,  because  (or,  that)  on  (or,  against) 
me,  on  (or,  against)  thy  help ',  that  is,  as  most  moderns  interpret.  This 
is  thy  destruction,  0  Israel,  that  to  me,  to  thy  helper,  (thou  hast 
been  unfaithful) :  the  abruptness  is  attributed  to  the  '  labouring  voice, 
interrupted  by  sobs '  (Ewald)  of  one  whose  pity  is  only  less  strong  than 
his  regard  for  justice.  Turning  to  the  versions,  we  find  the  Septuagint 
rendering,  T77  hiar^Qopq.  <xov  'lapa-^X  tLs  ^o-qO-qaei ;  the  Peshito,  '  I 
have  destroyed  thee,  O  Israel ;  who  shall  help  thee ' ;  the  Vulgate, 
'  Perditio  tua,  Israel ;  tantummodo  in  me  auxilium  tuum.'  As  Louis 
Cappel  long  ago  saw,  the  slight  variation  of  a  single  letter  implied  in 
the  Septuagint  and  Peshito  renderings  greatly  improves  the  latter  part 
of  the  verse.  Accepting  this,  we  may  render  the  whole,  'He  hath 
destroyed  thee,  0  Israel;  yea,  who  is  thy  help?'  By  'Israel'  of 
course  Ephraim,  i.e.  N.  Israel,  is  meant.  For  the  idiom  'in  thy 
help '  =  invested  with  the  character  of  a  helper,  comp.  Delitzsch's  note 


vv.  ia-13.]  HOSEA,  XIII.  123 

I  will  be  thy  king :  where  is  any  other  that  may  save  thee  10 

in  all  thy  cities  ? 
And  thy  judges  of  whom  thou  saidst,  Give  me  a  king  and 

princes  ? 
I  gave  thee  a  king  in  mine  anger,  n 

And  took  him  away  in  my  wrath. 

The  iniquity  of  Ephraim  is  bound  up  ;  his  sin  is  hid.  12 

The  sorrows  of  a  travailing  woman  shall  come  upon  him  :  13 
He  is  an  unwise  son  ; 

on  Ps.  XXXV.  2.  The  alternative  is  to  suppose  that  a  word  has  dropped 
out  of  the  text.  Ewald's  explanation  (above)  is  forced. 
)0.  Izvill  be  thy  king,  &c.]  Rather,  Where,  now,  is  thy  king",  that  he 
i^ilSacj  save  thee  in  all  thy  cities?  The  prophet  looks  a  little  way 
before  him  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  predictions  in  x.  14  ('  all  thy  for- 
tresses ')  and  xi.  6  ('his  cities  '). 

thy  Judges']  The  'judges'  appear  to  be  sjmonymous  (comp.  vii.  7) 
with  'king  and  princes',  who,  of  course,  in  Israel  as  well  as  in  Judah 
(Jer.  xxi.  11,  1-2)  shared  the  judicial  functions.     See  on  iii.  4,  viii.  12. 

Give  me  a  king]  Some  compare  i  Sam.  viii.  5  (of  Saul),  but  Hosea 
is  not  opposed  to  royalty  in  itself.     See  next  note. 

11.  /  gave  thee,  &c.]  Rather,  I  give  thee  kings  [lit. ,  a  king]  in 
mine  anger,  and  take  (them)  away  in  my  wrath.  The  reference  is 
to  the  elevation  of  Jeroboam  I.,  but  also  to  the  various  dynasties  which 
from  time  to  time  forced  their  way  to  the  throne  (comp.  on  vii.  7). 
Indulged  self-will  brought  with  it  its  own  punishment — hardening  of 
the  heart  in  apostasy.  Thus  our  passage  seems  to  mediate  between 
the  two  different  views  of  Jeroboam's  act  presented  to  us  in  i.  11  (see 
note)  and  i  Kings  xi.  29 — 39  respectively.  In  one  sense  Jehovah 
'gave';  in  another,  he  'gave'  not. 

12.  But  this  instability  of  government  is  not  Israel's  full  punishment. 
bound  tip^j     Tied  up  as  in  a  bag  (comp.  Job  xiv.  17). 

hid]     Rather,  laid  by  in  store  (as  Job  xxi.  19). 

13.  14.  These  verses,  at  least  down  to  the  last  clause  of  v.  14,  seem 
a  slight  digression.  The  prophet  declares  that  the  troubles  which  are 
already  closing  around  Israel,  are  in  reality  a  last  opportunity  graciously 
vouchsafed  of  repentance.  But  he  in  his  unwisdom  neglects  to  embrace 
it,  though  every  moment  of  delay  increases  his  danger.  Notice  the  two- 
fold application  of  the  figure  of  childbirth.  Israel  is  first  of  all  the  tra- 
vailing woman,  and  then  the  child  whose  birth  is  imperilled  by  its  weak 
will.  Mr  Huxtable  well  compares  the  abruptness  with  which  St  Paul 
shifts  the  application  of  an  image;  see  e.g.  2  Cor.  iii.  2,  3,  and  13 — 15, 

The  sorrows.. .shall  come]  Rather,  The  pangs. . .come  (are  in  the  pro- 
cess of  coming).  The  divine  judgment  is  compared  to  the  pangs  of 
trouble,  as  in  Mic.  iv.  9;  Matt.  xxiv.  8;  i  Thess.  v.  3. 

he  is  an  unwise  son]  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  6,  '  Do  ye  thus  requite 
Jehovah,  O  foolish  people  and  unwise  ?  is  not  he  thy  father ',  S:c. 


124  HOSEA,  XIII.  [v.  14. 

For  he  should  not  stay  long  in  the  place  of  the  breaking 

forth  of  children. 
I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave ; 
I  will  redeem  them  from  death  : 
O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues; 
O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction  : 
Repentance  shall  be  hid  from  mine  eyes. 

for  he  should  not,  &c.]  Or  better,  *  for  at  the  (right)  time  he  standeth 
not',  &c.  But  as  the  rendering  '  at  the  (right)  time'  is  doubtful,  it  is 
better  still  to  alter  the  points  (as  in  Ezek.  xxvii.  34)  and  render,  for  now 
lie  standeth  not  in  the  place  where  children  break  forth.  The  passage 
is  akin  to  Isa.  xxxvii.  2,  where  Judah's  utter  incapacity  to  emerge  out  of 
its  troubles  is  compared  to  the  inability  of  a  woman  to  perform  the  act 
of  bringing  forth.  Here,  however,  to  suggest  a  moral  lesson  to  Israel, 
the  weak  will  of  the  child  is  represented  as  the  cause  of  the  failure.  It 
is  a  new  birth  which  Israel  needs ;  and  if  calamity  only  had  its  right 
effect  on  the  conscience,  the  language  ascribed  to  Israel  in  vi.  1  would 
be  verified,  '  on  the  third  day... we  shall  live  in  his  sight.'  For  the  two- 
fold aspect  in  which  Hosea  here  views  the  judgment,  comp.  vi.  i. 

14.     But  a  father  cannot  long  endure  to  contemplate  the  prospect  of 
his  child's  ruin. 

fro77i  the  poiver  of  the  grave.,  from  deatJ{\  Rather,  from  the  hand  of 
She6l...froni  Death.  Sheol  and  Death  are  used  synonymously  for  the 
nether  world  (as  in  Isa.  xxviii.  15;  Ps.  vi.  5,  xlix.  14).  In  Isa.  v.  14 
Sheol  has  an  enormous  mouth  ;  so  here  a  hand. 

O  death... destriiction'\  So  Gesenius,  following  the  Targum  and  Vul- 
gate. But,  as  Dr  Pusey  remarks,  on  this  view  of  the  construction,  we 
must  render  '  I  would  be  thy  plagues',  &c.,  whereas  the  context  requires 
an  absolute  declaration.  Render  therefore,  Where  are  thy  plagues,  0 
Sheol?  where  thy  pestilence,  0  Death?  (Comp.  Ps.  xci.  6  Hebr.). 
'The  plagues  are  the  jnille  vice  leti,  the  many  kinds  of  sickness,  the  most 
terrible  of  which  is  called  "the  firstborn  of  Death",  Job  xviii.  13 
(Hitzig).  Though  all  the  plagues  which  fill  the  dark  city  of  Sheol  were 
let  loose  upon  Israel  as  a  nation,  they  would  be  incapable  of  destroying 
Jehovah's  'son.'  St  Paul  quotes  these  words  (i  Cor.  xv.  55)  in  a  trans- 
lation of  his  own  either  as  proving  the  doctrine  of  the  Resurrection,  or 
simply  as  well  expressing  his  own  triumphant  feelings.  Triumphant  the 
tone  of  Hosea's  words  certainly  is,  and  hence  some  have  thought  Jehovah 
calls  for  the  pestilences  as  agents  in  Israel's  threatened  destruction, 
taking  the  first  part  of  the  verse  interrogatively,  '  From  the  hand  of 
Sheol  should  I  ransom  them?  from  Death  should  I  redeem  them?'  But 
this  is  not  the  most  natural  explanation,  nor  is  it  required  on  the  above 
view  of  the  context. 

repentance  shall  be  hid'\  Rather,  repentance  is  hid.  Perhaps  an 
assurance  of  the  irrevocable  nature  of  the  promise.  But  as  the  tone  of 
promise  is  so  transient,  it  seems  better  to  take  this  clause  in  connexion 
with  the  threat  of  judgment  in  v.  12   of  which  indeed  it  may  possibly 


vv.  15,  16]  HOSEA,  XIII.  XIV.  125 

Though  he  be  fruitful  among  his  brethren,  15 

An  east  wind  shall  come,  the  wind  of  the  Lord  shall 

come  up  from  the  wilderness, 
And  his  spring  shall  become  dry,  and  his  fountain  shall 

be  dried  up : 
He  shall  spoil  the  treasure  of  all  pleasant  vessels. 
Samaria  shall  become  desolate ;  16 

For  she  hath  rebelled  against  her  God  : 
They  shall  fall  by  the  sword : 
Their  infants  shall  be  dashed  in  pieces, 
And  their  women  with  child  shall  be  ript  up. 

once  have  formed  the  third  member.  At  any  rate,  we  need  a  resump- 
tion of  threatening  here,  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  stern  announcement 
in  V.  15. 

15.  Though  he  be  fruitful,  &c.]  Rather,  For  though  lie  bear  fruit, 
&c.  Evidently  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  Ephraim 
('fruitfulness'  ?)  ;  for  another  see  xiv.  8.  The  verse  carries  on  the  idea 
of  the  last  clause  of  the  previous  verse.  *  In  fact,  though  his  name  and 
his  nature  indicate  fruitfulness,  yet  a  remorselessly  severe  punishment 
shall  come  upon  him.'  His  '  brethren'  are  his  fellow  tribes,  which  are 
compared  to  trees.  There  is  another  reading  {'dkhim  for  ''akhivi) 
'among  reed-plants',  comp.  Gen.  xli.  2,  18.  This  is  adopted  by 
Delitzsch,  and  has  considerable  Rabbinic  authority  (e.g.  that  of  Rashi 
and  Abulwalid),  but  is  found  in  extremely  few  extant  manuscripts.  It 
certainly  completes  the  figure,  but  is  philologically  difficult. 

the  wind  of  the  Lord,  &c.]  Rather,  a  "Wind  of  Jehovah,  coming  up 
from  the  desert.  The  parching  and  destructive  east  or  south-east  wind 
is  referred  to,  which  blew  from  the  desert  (comp.  Jer.  iv.  11,  xiii.  24; 
Job  i.  19).  It  is  a  figure  for  the  Assyrian  conqueror  (somewhat  as  Isa. 
xxi.  i),  who  at  the  end  of  the  verse  comes  forward  in  his  undisguised 
awfulness. 

spring]    Rather  perhaps,  reservoir. 

he  shall  spoil]  '  He'  is  emphatically  expressed  ;  *  he'  whom  the  east 
wind  figures  '  shall  spoil'  (or,  plunder). 

pleasant  vessels]  Rather,  precious  vessels  (whether  jewels,  or  objects 
of  worked  gold  or  silver,  or  rarities  of  any  kind). 

16.  become  desolate]     Rather,  he  dealt  with  as  guilty  (as  x.  2). 
their  infants,  &c.]     Rather,  their  children  (those  of  an  age  to  play, 

comp.  Jer.  vi.  11,  ix.  20).  The  same  barbarities  were  predicted  in  x.  14. 
Such  a  fate  would  be  simply  retributive  justice  (see  2  Kings  xv.  16). 

Chapter  XIV. 

Already  the  future  of  northern  Israel  has  been  irradiated  for  Hosea  by 
short  gleams  of  hope  (xi.  8 — n,  xiii.  14);  now  at  length  hope  becomes 
victorious  over  fear.     True,  Israel  has  not  yet  '  returned ',  and  Hosea  is 


126  HOSEA,  XIV.  [w.  1—3. 

O  Israel,  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God ; 

For  thou  hast  fallen  by  thine  iniquity. 

Take  with  you  words,  and  turn  to  the  Lord  : 

Say  unto  him,  Take   away  all  iniquity,  and  receive  us 

graciously  : 
So  will  we  render  the  calves  of  our  lips. 
Asshur  shall  not  save  us  :  we  will  not  ride  upon  horses  : 
Neither  will  we  say  any  more  to  the  work  of  our  hands. 

Ye  are  our  gods  : 


obliged  to  repeat  his  exhortation.  But  he  evidently  feels  persuaded  that 
Israel  cannot  resist  the  lovely  promises  of  which  in  this  chapter  he  is  the 
bearer.  Verses  i — 3  contain  an  imaginative  expression  of  the  feelings 
by  which  the  Israelites  will  one  day  be  animated  (contrast  vi.  i — 3). 

1.  return... for  thou  hast  fallen']  To  '  stumble'  or  to  '  fall'  means  to 
be  visited  by  a  calamity  (as  iv.  3,  v.  5).  Experience  has  shown  the  Israel- 
ites, to  quote  Jeremiah  (ii.  19),  'what  an  evil  and  bitter  thing  it  is  to 
forsake  Jehovah  their  God.' 

2.  Take  with  you  words]  It  is  one  of  the  most  undoubtedly  ancient 
of  the  religious  laws  of  the  Pentateuch  that  *  none  shall  appear  before 
Jehovah  empty'  (Ex.  xxiii.  15,  xxxiv.  20).  What  gift  then  will  be  most 
acceptable  from  the  Israelites  to  their  heavenly  King  ?  The  answer  that 
will  naturally  rise  to  the  lips  of  a  half  converted  Israelite  will  be  '  sacrifice 
and  burnt-offering '  (see  note  on  v.  6) ;  but  the  prophet  in  his  present 
mood  cherishes  the  belief  that  Israel's  repentance  will  after  all  not  be  as 
superficial  as  he  once  feared  (contrast  v.  6).  He  therefore  urges  his 
people,  after  the  bitter  lessons  of  experience,  to  take  as  their  offering, 
not  cattle,  but  penitent  words  spoken  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart. 

Take  away  all  inigidty']  Rather,  Altogether  forgive  iniquity.  The 
form  of  the  Hebrew  is  singular,  but  not  unparalleled. 

receive  us  graciously]  Rather,  accept  the  g'ood ;  '  for  it  is  good  to 
sing  praises  unto  our  God'  (Ps.  cxlvii.  i). 

render  the  calves  of  our  lips]  Or, '  pay  (as  if  with)  bullocks  (with)  our 
lips.'  Thus  the  Israelites  are  converted  at  last  to  the  principle  of 
chap.  vi.  ver.  6.  It  is  a  very  strange  expression,  however,  and  Arch- 
bishop Newcome  may  be  right  in  preferring  the  reading  of  the  Septua- 
gint  (comp.  Heb.  xiii.  15),  pay  the  fruit  of  our  lips,  which  is  a  choice 
Hebrew  phrase  (Isa.  Ivii.  19).  The  '  fruit'  is  of  course  praise  and 
thanksgiving,  or  vows  of  obedience  (Ps.  1.  13,  14,  Ixix.  30,  31). 

3.  Israel  here  renounces  those  sins  against  the  theocracy  of  which 
Jehovah's  prophet  had  specially  accused  him,  viz.  trust  in  Assyria  (v.  13, 
vii.  II,  viii.  9)  and  reliance  on  horses  and  chariots  (i.  7,  x.  13,  alluding 
no  doubt  to  the  Egyptian  alliance,  comp.  Isa.  xxx.  16,  xxxi.  i),  and 
idolatry  (iv.  17,  viii.  4). 

to  the  work  of  our  hands]  An  early  anticipation  of  the  splendid 
morsels  of  irony,  in  which  a  later  prophet  lashes  idolatry  (see  Isa.  xlii. 
17,  liv.  17). 


vv.  4,  5.]  HOSEA,  XIV.  127 

For  in  thee  the  fatherless  findeth  mercy. 

I  will  heal  their  backsliding,  I  will  love  them  freely : 

For  mine  anger  is  turned  away  from  him. 

I  will  be  as  the  dew  unto  Israel : 

He  shall  grow  as  the  lily, 

And  cast  forth  his  roots  as  Lebanon. 


the  fatherless]  Israel's  condition  is  compared  to  that  of  an  orphan 
(comp.  tlie  exquisite  opcpapovs  of  John  xiv.  18). 

5 — 9.  Jehovah,  in  answer,  describes  the  blessings  which  He  will  give. 
The  imagery  reminds  us  of  the  Song  of  Songs ;  notice  especially  the 
references  to  the  lily  and  to  Lebanon. 

5.  thetr  backsliding]  i.e.  the  damage  which  their  '  backsliding '  has 
brought  upon  them. 

love  the?n  freely]  Or,  'spontaneously',  i.e.  without  receiving  any 
gifts  but  those  mentioned  in  v.  1. 

6.  /  will  be  as  the  dew]  Rather,  as  the  night-mist,  i.e.  the  masses 
of  vapour  (Hebr.  tal)  brought  by  the  damp  westerly  winds  of  summer 
(see  on  vi.  4).  '  In  the  strict  scientific  sense  of  the  word,  this  is  rain, 
and  not  dew  at  all,  since  the  vapour  becomes  condensed  in  the  air  before 
touching  the  ground  '  (Neil,  Palestine  Explored,  p.  135).  The  promise 
comes  very  appropriately  after  the  *I  will  heal'  of  z'.  4.  The  baleful 
effects  of  the  sirocco  are  often  felt  in  Palestine  during  the  rainless  heat 
of  summer,  but  by  the  beautiful  provision  of  night- mist  all  hardy  forms 
of  vegetable  life  are  preserved.  But  to  the  'east- wind'  described  in 
xiii.  15  there  was  no  such  counteracting  force.  A  'dew'  ('night-mist') 
of  supernatural  energy  (like  Gideon's)  was  required  to  vivify  that  which 
Assyria  had  destroyed — what  another  prophet  calls  (Isa.  xxvi.  19) '  a  dew 
of  lights ',  i.e.  an  influence  from  the  divine  Light,  could  alone  undo  so 
complete  a  catastrophe.  Observe  how  nearly  coincident  are  the  con- 
ceptions of  land  and  people  in  Hosea's  mind  (see  on  ii.  3). 

groiv  [TDlossom]  as  the  lily]  So  Ecclus.  xxxix.  14.  The  image  suggests 
the  ideas  of  profusion  and  beauty.  There  is  nothing  to  bind  us  down 
to  any  single  individual  of  the  lily  species.  Indeed,  the  application  of 
the  Hebrew  shoshan  was  probably  as  wide  as  that  of  the  Arabic  sUsan 
still  is,  if  we  may  argue  from  the  mention  of '  lilies  [oleanders?]  by  the  rivers 
of  waters'  in  Ecclus.  1.  8.  Dr  Thomson's  '  Huleh  lily ',  which  abounds 
in  the  woods  north  of  Tabor  (77^1?  Lafid  and  the  Book,  p.  256),  is  at 
least  as  likely  a  flower  to  be  meant  as  any  other.  Dr  Tristram  prefers 
the  not  less  gorgeous  than  abundant  Anemone  coronaria  {Nat.  Hist,  of 
Bible,  p.  464). 

and  cast  forth]  Lit.,  'and  let  it  strike.'  A  change  of  the  verbal 
form  for  the  sake  of  colour  and  variety. 

as  Lebanon]  The  slender  roots  of  the  lily  supply  no  fit  image  for 
stability;  for  this  Hosea  turns  to  the  'cedars  of  God'  (Ps.  Ixxx.  10, 
A.  V.  '  goodly  cedars '),  or  perhaps  he  means  the  mountains  of  Lebanon 
themselves  (for  the  'roots'  of  a  mountain,  comp.  Job  xxviii.  9). 


128  HOSEA,   XIV.  [vv.  6—8. 

His  branches  shall  spread, 
And  his  beauty  shall  be  as  the  olive  tree, 
And  his  smell  as  Lebanon. 
They  that  dwell  under  his  shadow  shall  return ; 
They  shall  revive  as  the  corn,  and  grow  as  the  vine  : 
The  sent  thereof  ^/z^//  be  as  the  wine  of  Lebanon. 
Ephraim  shall  say,  What  have  I  to  do  any  more  with 
idols  ? 


6.  His  branches  shall  spread]  For  'branches'  render  saplings. 
It  is  the  same  word  as  in  Isa.  liii.  i  (where  A.  V.  'tender  branch'). 
There  the  prophet's  idea  is  that  after  Israel's  vine  has  been  cut  down, 
a  slender  plant  will  spring  up  from  the  root ;  here,  that  the  root  of  the 
living  tree  shall  send  forth  many  fresh  plants.  In  fact,  Israel  is  to  be 
like  not  merely  a  tree,  but  a  garden. 

as  the  olive-treel  Beautiful  doubtless  in  itself,  but  with  a  beauty 
enhanced  by  the  serviceableness  of  the  fruits.  Jeremiah  compares 
Israel  to  'a  fresh -green  olive-tree,  fair,  and  of  goodly  fruit'  (Jer.  xi. 
i6). 

his  smell  as  Lebanon]  As  the  balsamic  odour  of  the  cedars  and  of 
aromatic  shrubs.     Comp.  Cant.  iv.  ii. 

7.  They  that  dwell... as  the  corn]  Rather,  Once  more  shall  they 
that  dwell  under  his  shadow  bring  corn  to  life  (i.e.  in  prosaic 
language,  cultivate  corn).  A  contrast  to  the  lamentation  for  the  com 
in  vii.  14.  '  His  shadow',  i.e.  Israel's;  Jehovah  is  presumably  still  the 
speaker.     For  the  idea,  comp.  Jer.  xxxi.  5,  12. 

grow  [blossom]  as  the  vine]  There  is  a  transition  from  the  pro- 
sperity of  the  agriculture  to  that  of  the  people  who  live  by  it,  as  in  Ps. 
Ixxii.  16. 

the  sent  thereof]  Rather,  his  [i.e.  Israel's]  renown  (lit.  his  memorial 
or  name).  For  the  comparison  which  follows,  comp.  Cant.  i.  3,  '  Thy 
name  is  as  ointment  poured  forth.' 

as  the  wine  of  Lebanon]  The  vine  is  still  largely  cultivated  in  every 
part  of  Lebanon.  But  the  finest  grapes  in  Syria  are  those  of  Helbon,  a 
village  in  the  Antilibanus  district,  a  little  to  the  north  of  Damascus, 
precisely  as  in  the  days  of  Ezekiel  (xxvii.  18)  and  Nebuchadnezzar 
(Lenormant,  £.tude  sur  quelques parties  des  syllabaires  cuneifortnest  Par. 
1876,  p.  123). 

8.  Eph-aim  {shall  say).  What  have  I  to  do  any  jnore  with  idols]  So 
the  Targum  and  the  Syriac.  The  objection  is  that  the  ellipsis  is  unique, 
and  hence  Archbishop  Seeker  proposed  to  follow  the  Septuagint  (read- 
ing lo  for  li),  and  render,  Ephraim — what  hath  he  to  do,  &c.  Prof. 
Robertson  Smith  is  dissatisfied  with  this,  but  his  objection  simply  is 
that  the  third  member  of  the  verse  is  unsuitable  in  the  mouth  of  Je- 
hovah, the  evergreen  tree  being  '  in  Semitic  symbolism  the  image  of 
receptivity,  of  divinely  nourished  life,  not  of  quickening  power'  {The 
Prophets  of  Lsraely  p.  41 1).     But  why  should  the  whole  verse  be  given 


V.  9-]  HOSEA,  XIV.  129 

I  have  heard  Jwn^  and  observed  him  : 

I  a7n  like  a  green  fir  tree. 

From  me  is  thy  fruit  found. 

Who  is  wise,  and  he  shall  understand  these  things  1 

Prudent,  and  he  shall  know  them  ? 

For  the  ways  of  the  Lord  are  right, 

to  the  same  speaker,  especially  if  we  reject  the  idea  that  the  prefixed 
Ephraim  indicates  Israel  as  the  speaker?  It  is  surely  very  difficult  to 
assign  the  fourth  member  to  Israel,  as  if  it  meant  that  Ephraim  or  Israel 
bore  fruit  to  Jehovah.  On  the  whole,  it  seems  best  to  adopt  the  Sep- 
tuagint  reading,  and  to  assign  all  but  the  third  member  of  the  verse  to 
Jehovah.  There  is  a  special  force  in  the  restoration  of  the  name 
Ephraim,  if  we  look  at  the  closing  words  of  the  verse.  [Pusey  and 
before  him  the  Lutheran  divine  Manger  assign  the  four  lines  of  which 
the  verse  consists  alternately  to  Ephraim  and  Jehovah.] 

I  have  heard  him  and  observed  him]  Rather,  I  respond  and  look  on 
him.  The  pronoun  is  emphatically  expressed — '  I  on  my  part.'  '  Re- 
spond' reminds  us  of  ii.  15,  11,  22.  The  idea  is  that  Jehovah's  treat- 
ment of  Israel  corresponds  to  Israel's  treatment  of  him  (comp.  Ps.  xviii. 
25,  26).  '  To  look  upon '  anyone  is  to  be  favourable  to  him  (Ps.  Ixxxiv. 
9,  cxix.  132);  the  opposite  is  '  to  hide  the  face  from '  (Ps.  xxii.  24,  xxyii. 

9)-  . 

/  am  like  a  greejifir  tree]     The  precise  kind  of  tree  meant  by  bWosh 

is  uncertain;  but  Hosea,  as  a  N.  Israelite,  is  evidently  thinking  of  the 

splendid  forests  of  Lebanon.     Most  have  supposed  a  reference  to  the 

sherbin-tree,  a  small  kind  of  cypress  resembling  the  cedar;   Tristram 

prefers  the  Aleppo  pine,  a  tree  quite  as  characteristic  of  Lower  Lebanon 

as  the  cedar.     Certainly  it  is  very  alien  to  the  spirit  of  the  prophets  to 

compare  Jehovah  to  a  tree  (comp.  iv.  13;  Isa.  i.  29).    Keil  refers  to  the 

'  tree  of  life ' ;  but  even  this  is  never  identified  with  Jehovah  (though 

Sept.  identifies  it  with  Israel,  Isa.  Ixv.  22).     Is  not  this  short  clause  a 

naive  self-gratulation  on  the  part  of  Israel?     Here,  as  in  the  previous 

clause,  the  personal  pronoun  is  expressed. 

From  me  is  thy  fruit  found]  Israel  cannot  be  the  speaker  here  (see 
above).  The  clause  contains  a  warning  for  Israel  in  his  prosperity 
not  to  forget  the  Giver.  Probably  there  is  a  play  upon  the  name 
Ephraim  'fruitfulness'  (as  in  xiii.  15). 

9.  An  epilogue  or  conclusion  to  the  prophecy,  unspecializing  it,  as  it 
were,  and  extracting,  cf.  Ps.  cvii.  43,  the  moral  which  underlies  it  all. 
The  tone  and  language  of  it  remind  us  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  (Prov. 
xi.  5,  XV.  19).  The  term  'the  righteous'  occurs  nowhere  else  in 
Hosea. 

Who  is  wise,  &c.]  Rather,  Whoso  is  wise,  let  him  understand 
these  things  (i.e.  the  foregoing  prophecies).  One  great  mark  of 
'  wisdom '  in  the  Old  Testament  sense  was  a  rational  acquiescence  in 
the  equity  of  the  providential  government. 

for  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  &c.]     The  *  ways  of  Jehovah  '  are  those 

HOSEA  0 


I30  HOSEA,  XIV.  [v.  9. 

And  the  just  shall  walk  in.  them  : 
But  the  transgressors  shall  fall  therein. 

marked  out  by  Him  as  Governor  of  the  world  for  the  righteous  and  for 
the  wicked  respectively.  These  '  ways '  are  '  straight '  or  '  right'  (syno- 
nymous with  'righteous',  as  Deut.  xxxii.  4;  Ps.  cxix.  37),  alike  when 
they  spread  themselves  out  in  an  unbroken  level  for  the  pious,  and 
when  they  oppose  themselves  in  rocky  stumbling-blocks  to  the  ungodly. 
Comp.  Prov.  xi.  5,  xv.  19;  Isa.  xxvi.  7. 


INDEX. 


I.     TO   THE   SUBJECTS   TREATED   OF. 


Abel,  Carl,  referred  to,  62  note 
Aeschylus,  referred  to,  56 
anthropomorphism  in  Hosea,  no,  in 
arrows,  divination  by,  67 
Ashdrah,  questions  with  regard  to,  15  note, 

68 
Assyriological  illustrations,  50,  76,  86,  90, 

107,  117 

Baal,  proper  names  compounded  with, 

—  land  of,  57 

—  worship  of,  13,  18,  24,  25,  52,  55, 
56,  58,  119 

Baal-peor,  98 
b'rith,  uieanini,  of,  55,  87 
h'rosh,  meaning  of,  129 
Beth-aven,  for  Bethel,  35,  69,  102 
Buddha,  saying  of,  79 

Calvin,  quoted,  59,  77 

Canaan,  Canaanite,  meaning  of,  115 

Dante,  referred  to,  25,  119 
David,  a  synonym  for  Messiah,  61 
Davidson,  Prof,  quoted,  28 
Delitzsch,  Franz,  criticized,  31,  39 

—        Friedrich,  103 
Dew,  see  Night- mist 

Elijah,  II 

eloktjn,  meaning  of,  112,  114 
ephod,  meaning  of  6t 
Ephraim,  meaning  of,  125,  129 
Euripides,  referred  to,  56 
Ewald,  quoted,  28,  33,  35,  117 

flesh-meat,  custom  of  eating,  91,  9; 
funeral  feasts,  95 

Gibeah,  97,  104 

Gilead,  117 

Gileadites,  character  of,  11,  80 

Gilgal,  site  of,  68 

Gomcr,  a  type  of  Israel,  21,  59 


Hosea,  his  name  and  origin,  9 — 11 

—  heading  of  his  book,  1 1 

—  the  two  parts  of  his  book,  12 

—  his  domestic  history,  15,  16 

—  his  style,  32—34 

—  compared  with  other  prophets,'3i 

•-33 

—  was  he  acquamted  with  our  Pen- 

tateuch ?  35 — 37 

—  literary  influence  of,  38 
Huxtable,  Prebendary,  12,  27,  107,  118 

Jacob,  his  history  spiritualized,  113 — 117 

Jareb,  king,  76,  103 

Jehovah,  worshipped  by  the  Ten  Tribes, 

31.  73 
Jehu,  character  of,  42 
Jeroboam  I.,  his  steer-worship,  75,  88, 

102 
Jerome,  St.,  referred  to,  9,  33,  37,  42,  54, 

70.  85 
Jerusalem,  hinted  at,  74 
Jezebel,  24 
Jezreel,  42,  56,  57 

khebhery  meaning  of,  80 
khesedh,  meaning  of,  29,  30,  62,  78,  79 
k'vtdrtm,  meaning  of,  103,  iii 
Koran,  referred  to,  48,  53 

law-books,  before  the  Pentateuch,  90 

Lebanon,  wine  of,  128 

letliech,  a  measure,  59 

love,  meaning  of,  in  Hosea,  see  khesedh 

Magdeburg,  sack  of,  107 
MahaflFy,  Prof,  referred  to,  94 
Memphis,  95 

Moabite  stone,  referred  to,  42,  68 
Muller,  Max,  referred  to,  61 

nesher,  meaning  of,  96 
night-mist,  78,  79,  127 

Ovid,  quoted,  no 


132 


INDEX. 


pillars,  consecrated,  60,  lOi 
Plumptre,  Dean,  15 — 17,  20,  59,  60 
Pul,  private  name  of  Tiglath-Pileser,  84 
Pusey,  Dr,  12,  17,  33,  77,  124,  129 
prophets,  false,  64 

Resurrection,  predicted?  77 

Renouf,  Mr,  referred  to,  95 

Reuss,  Prof.,  quoted,  18 

Robertson  Smith,  Prof.,  18,  23,  28,  34,  44, 

58,  61,  64,  128 
Ruskin,  Mr,  referred  to,  103 

sacrifices,  human,  120 
Sargon,  annals  of,  26 
Schiller,  quoted,  75 
Shechem,  its  ill  fame,  80 
shoshan,  meaning  of,  127 
sin-oflferings,  date  of,  66 


Song  of  Songs,  10,  13,  14,  20 
Stanley,  Dean,  quoted,  n 

Tabernacles,  feast  of,  116 

Tacitus,  referred  to,  48 

teraphim,  meaning  of,  61 

Tristram,  Dr,  referred  to,  49,  67,  89,  129 

trumpets,  variety  of,  73 

Tylor,  Mr,  referred  to,  95 

Veda,  the  Rig,  quoted,  109 

Wellhausen,  Prof.,  referred  to,  17 
wine-drinking,  idolatrous  affinities  of,  93 

Zalmunna,  107 
zebakh,  meaning  of,  94 
Zunz,  Dr,  38 


II.    TO  THE  CHIEF  PASSAGES  FROM  OTHER  PARTS  OF 
THE  BIBLE,  ILLUSTRATED  IN  THE  NOTES. 


Gen.  ii.  17,  119 

—  ix.  I — 16,  So 
Ex.  XV.  21,  54 

26,  109 

—  xxiii.  15,  126 
Lev.  xvii.  3,  4,  94 
Num.  xxi.  29,  46 
Deut.  xii.  15,  16,  94 

1  Kings  xi.  29 — 39,  123 

—  xii.  16,  62 

—  xix.  18,  47 

2  Kings  X.  30,  42 

—  xii.  24,  87 

—  xvii.  26,  53 
Ezra  x.  19,  66 

Job  iii.  23,  49 

—  xix.  8,  49 

—  xxxi.  33,  80 
Ps.  Ixxx.  10,  127 

—  Ixxxii.  7,  80 

—  xcyi.  4,  51 

—  cvi.  20,  65 

—  cxlix.  7,  74 
Prov.  XV,  17,  94 
Isa.  vii.  18,  91 

—  xxii.  13,  9T 

—  xxvi.  19,  77 

—  XXX.  22,  50 

—  —    23, 69 

—  xxxvii.  2,  124 

—  xliii.  1,  87 

—  xlv.  8,  57 

—  liii.  1,  84 


Isa.  liii.  2,  128 

—  Iviii.  13,  51 
Jer.  ii.  2,  42,  97 

—  —  II,  65 

—  —31,  112 

—  iv.  3,  106 

—  xxxi.  22,  55 

—  xliv.  17,  49 
Lam.  iii.  7,  9,  49 
Ezek.  iv.  13,  93 

—  viii.  10 — 12,  61 

—  xvi.  39,  40,  48 

—  xxxvii.  I — ID,  77 
Joel  ii.  32,  35 

—  iii.  18,  56 
Am.  i.  4 — ii.  5,  92 

—  viii.  7,  72 

—  —    10,  51 

—  —   14,  69 

—  ix.  II,  61 

—  —  13,  56 
Mic.  li.  12,  45 
Zech.  xiii.  2,  55 
Mai.  ii.  II,  46 
Matt.  ii.  15,  109 

—  ix.  13I 

—  xii.  7  I'  79 
John  xiv.  18,  127 
Rom.  ix.  25,  45,  58 

1  Cor.  XV.  55,  124 

2  Cor.  iii.  2,  3,  123 
I  Tim.  V.  6,  119 
Heb.  xiii.  15,  126 


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lo.ooo 

8/1094 


2     CAMBRIDGE  BIBLE  FOR  SCHOOLS  ^^   COLLEGES. 

The  Book  of  Job.  "Able  and  scholarly  as  the  Introduction  is,  it  is 
far  surpassed  by  the  detailed  exegesis  of  the  book.  In  this  Dr  Davidson's 
strength  is  at  its  greatest.  His  linguistic  knowledge,  his  artistic  habit, 
his  scientific  insight,  and  his  literary  power  have  full  scope  when  he 
comes  to  exegesis...." — The  Spectator. 

"  In  the  course  of  a  long  introduction,  Dr  Davidson  has  presented 
us  with  a  very  able  and  very  interesting  criticism  of  this  wonderful 
book.  Its  contents,  the  nature  of  its  composition,  its  idea  and  purpose, 
its  integrity,  and  its  age  are  all  exhaustively  treated  of.... We  have  not 
space  to  examine  fully  the  text  and  notes  before  us,  but  we  can,  and  do 
heartily,  recommend  the  book,  not  only  for  the  upper  forms  in  schools, 
but  to  Bible  students  and  teachers  generally.  As  we  wrote  of  a  previous 
volume  in  the  same  series,  this  one  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  The 
notes  are  full  and  suggestive,  without  being  too  long,  and,  in  itself,  the 
introduction  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  modern  Bible  literature." — The 
Educational  TiT?ies. 

"Already  we  have  frequently  called  attention  to  this  exceedingly 
valuable  work  as  its  volumes  have  successively  appeared.  But  we  have 
never  done  so  with  greater  pleasure,  very  seldom  with  so  great  pleasure, 
as  we  now  refer  to  the  last  published  volume,  that  on  the  Book  of  Job, 
by  Dr  Davidson,  of  Edinburgh.... We  cordially  commend  the  volume  to 
all  our  readers.  The  least  instructed  will  understand  and  enjoy  it ; 
and  mature  scholars  will  learn  from  it." — Methodist  Recorder. 

Psalms.  Book  I.  "His  commentary  upon  the  books  of  Samuel 
was  good,  but  this  is  incomparably  better,  shewing  traces  of  much  more 
work  and  of  greater  independence  of  scholarship  and  judgment....  As  a 
whole  it  is  admirable,  and  we  are  hardly  going  too  far  in  saying  that  it 
is  one  of  the  very  ablest  of  all  the  volumes  that  have  yet  appeared  in  the 
'Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools'." — Record. 

"Another  volume  of  this  excellent  Bible,  in  which  the  student  may 
rely  on  meeting  with  the  latest  scholarship.  The  introduction  is  ad- 
mirable. We  know  of  nothing  in  so  concise  a  form  better  adapted  for 
Sunday- School  Teachers." — Sunday-School  Chronicle. 

"  It  is  full  of  instruction  and  interest,  bringing  within  easy  reach  of 
the  English  reader  the  results  of  the  latest  scholarship  bearing  upon  the 
study  of  this  ever  new  book  of  the  Bible.  The  Introduction  of  eighty 
pages  is  a  repertory  of  information,  not  drily  but  interestingly  given. " — 
Methodist  Recorder. 

"For  a  masterly  summary  of  all  that  is  known  and  much  that  is 
hazarded  about  the  history  and  authorship  of  this  book  of  religious 
lyrics  we  caij  point  to  that  with  which  Mr  Kirkpatrick  prefaces  his  new 
volume.  From  a  perusal  of  this  summary  the  student  will  be  unimpres- 
sionable indeed  if  he  rise  not  convinced  of  the  vitality  imparted  to  the 
Psalter  by  a  systematic  study  of  its  literary  character  and  historical 
allusions.... In  conclusion,  we  may  say  that  for  a  work  which  is  handy, 
and  wathal  complete,  we  know  none  better  than  this  volume;  and  Ave 
await  with  considerable  interest  the  next  instalment." — Edtication. 

"It  seems  in  every  way  a  most  valuable  little  book,  containing  a 
mass  of  information,  well-assorted,  and  well-digested,  and  will  be  useful 
not  only  to  students  preparing  for  examinations,  but  to  many  who  want 


OPINIONS  OF   THE  PRESS. 


a  handy  volume  of  explanation  to  much  that  is  difficult  in  the  Psalter, 

We  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude  to  Professor  Kirkpatrick  for  his 

scholarly  and  interesting  volume." — Church  Tunes. 

"In  this  volume  thoughtful  exegesis  founded  on  nice  critical  scholar- 
ship and  due  regard  for  the  opinions  of  various  writers,  combine,  under 
the  influence  of  a  devout  spirit,  to  render  this  commentaiy  a  source  of 
much  valuable  assistance.  The  notes  are  'though  deep  yet  clear,'  for 
they  seem  to  put  in  a  concentrated  form  the  very  pith  and  marrow  of  all 
the  best  that  has  been  hitherto  said  on  the  subject,  with  striking  freedom 
from  anything  like  pressure  of  personal  views.  Throughout  the  work  care 
and  pains  are  as  conspicuous  as  scholarship." — Literary  Churchman. 

Job — Hosea.  "  It  is  difficult  to  commend  too  highly  this  excellent 
series,  the  volumes  of  which  are  now  becoming  numerous.  The  two 
books  before  us,  small  as  they  are  in  size,  comprise  almost  everything 
that  the  young  student  can  reasonably  expect  to  find  in  the  way  of  helps 
towards  such  general  knowledge  of  their  subjects  as  may  be  gained 
without  an  attempt  to  grapple  with  the  Hebrew ;  and  even  the  learned 
scholar  can  hardly  read  without  interest  and  benefit  the  very  able  intro- 
ductory matter  which  both  these  commentators  have  prefixed  to  their 
volumes.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these  workshave  brought 
within  the  reach  of  the  ordinary  reader  resources  which  w^ere  until 
lately  quite  unknown  for  understanding  some  of  the  most  difficult  and 
obscure  portions  of  Old  Testament  literature." — Guardian. 

Ecclesiastes ;  or,  the  Preacher.— "  Of  the  Notes,  it  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  they  are  in  every  respect  worthy  of  Dr  Plumptre's  high  repu- 
tation as  a  scholar  and  a  critic,  being  at  once  learned,  sensible,  and 
practical. ...Commentaries  are  seldom  attractive  reading.  This  little 
volume  is  a  notable  exception." — The  Scotsman. 

Jeremiah,  by  A.  W.  Streane,  B.D.  "The  arrangement  of  the  book 
is  well  treated  on  pp.  xxx.,  396,  and  the  question  of  Baruch's  relations 
with  its  composition  on  pp.  xxvii.,  xxxiv.,  317.  The  illustrations  from 
English  literature,  history,  monuments,  works  on  botany,  topography, 
etc.,  are  good  and  plentiful,  as  indeed  they  are  in  other  volumes  of  this 
series." — Church  Quarterly  Revieiv. 

Malachi.  "Archdeacon  Perowne  has  already  edited  Jonah  and 
Zechariah  for  this  series.  Malachi  presents  comparatively  few  difficulties 
and  the  Editor's  treatment  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired.  His  introduction 
is  clear  and  scholarly  and  his  commentary  sufficient.  We  may  instance 
the  notes  on  ii.  15  and  iv.  1  as  examples  of  careful  arrangement, 
clear  exposition  and  graceful  expression." — Academy. 

"  The  Gospel  according  to  St  Matthew,  by  the  Rev.  A.  Carr.  The 
introduction  is  able,  scholarly,  and  eminently  practical,  as  it  bears 
on  the  authorship  and  contents  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  original  form 
in  which  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  written.  It  is  well  illustrated  by 
two  excellent  maps  of  the  Holy  Land  and  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee.'  — 
English  Churchman. 

"St  Mark,  with  Notes  by  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Maclear,  D.D.  Into 
this  small  volume  Dr  Maclear,  besides  a  clear  and  able  Introduc- 
tion to  the  Gospel,  and  the  text  of  St  Mark,  has  compressed  many 


4     CAMBRIDGE  BIBLE  FOR  SCHOOLS  &-    COLLEGES. 

hundreds  of  valuable  and  helpful  notes.  In  short,  he  has  given  us 
a  capital  manual  of  the  kind  required — containing  all  that  is  needed  to 
illustrate  the  text,  i.  e.  all  that  can  be  drawn  from  the  history,  geography, 
customs,  and  manners  of  the  time.  But  as  a  handbook,  giving  in  a 
clear  and  succinct  form  the  information  which  a  lad  requires  in  order 

to  stand  an  examination  in  the  Gospel,  it  is  admirable I  can  very 

heartily  commend  it,  not  only  to  the  senior  boys  and  girls  in  our  High 
Schools,  but  also  to  Sunday-school  teachers,  who  may  get  from  it  the 
very  kind  of  knowledge  they  often  find  it  hardest  to  get. " — Expositor. 

' '  With  the  help  of  a  book  like  this,  an  intelligent  teacher  may  make 
•Divinity'  as  interesting  a  lesson  as  any  in  the  school  course.  The 
notes  are  of  a  kind  that  will  be,  for  the  most  part,  intelligible  to  boys 
of  the  lower  forms  of  our  public  schools ;  but  they  may  be  read  with 
greater  profit  by  the  fifth  and  sixth,  in  conjunction  with  the  original 
text." — T/te  Academy. 

"St  Luke.  Canon  Farrar  has  supplied  students  of  the  Gospel 
with  an  admirable  manual  in  this  volume.  It  has  all  that  copious 
variety  of  illustration,  ingenuity  of  suggestion,  and  general  soundness  of 
interpretation  which  readers  are  accustomed  to  expect  from  the  learned 
and  eloquent  editor.  Anyone  who  has  been  accustomed  to  associate 
the  idea  of  'dryness'  with  a  commentary,  should  go  to  Canon  Farrar 's 
St  Luke  for  a  more  correct  impression.  He  will  find  that  a  commen- 
tary may  be  made  interesting  in  the  highest  degree,  and  that  without 
losing  anything  of  its  solid  value. ...But,  so  to  speak,  it  is  too  good  for 
some  of  the  readers  for  whom  it  is  intended." — The  Spectator, 

The  Gospel  according  to  St  John.  "The  notes  are  extremely 
scholarly  and  valuable,  and  in  most  cases  exhaustive,  bringing  to  the 
elucidation  of  the  text  all  that  is  best  in  commentaries,  ancient  and 
modern." — The  English  Churchman  and  Clerical  yoiirnal. 

"(i)  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  By  J.  Rawson  Lumby,  D.D. 
(2)  The  Second  Epistle  of  the  Corinthians,  edited  by  Professor  Lias. 
The  introduction  is  pithy,  and  contains  a  mass  of  carefully-selected 
information  on  the  authorship  of  the  Acts,  its  designs,  and  its  sources. 

The  Second  Epistle  of  the  Corinthians  is  a  manual  beyond  all  praise, 

for  the  excellence  of  its  pithy  and  pointed  annotations,  its  analysis  of  the 
contents,  and  the  fulness  and  value  of  its  introduction." — Examiner. 

"The  Rev.  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  B.D.,  has  made  a  valuable  addition 
to  The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  in  his  brief  commentary  on 
the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  'Notes'  are  very  good,  and  lean, 
as  the  notes  of  a  School  Bible  should,  to  the  most  commonly  ac- 
cepted and  orthodox  view  of  the  inspired  author's  meaning ;  while  the 
Introduction,  and  especially  the  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  St  Paul,  is  a  model 
of  condensation.  It  is  as  lively  and  pleasant  to  read  as  if  two  or  three 
facts  had  not  been  crowded  into  well-nigh  every  sentence." — Expositor. 

"The  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  It  is  seldom  we  have  met  with  a 
work  so  remarkable  for  the  compression  and  condensation  of  all  that 
is  valuable  in  the  smallest  possible  space  as  in  the  volume  betore  us. 
Within  its  limited  pages  we  have  '  a  sketch  of  the  Life  of  St  Paul,' 
we  have  further  a  critical  account  of  the  date  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,   of    its   language,   and   of   its  genuineness.     The   notes   are 


OPINIONS   OF  THE  PRESS 


numerous,  full  of  matter,  to  the  point,  and  leave  no  real  difficulty 
or  obscurity  unexplained." — The  Examiner. 

''The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  Edited  by  Professor  Lias, 
Every  fresh  instalment  of  this  annotated  edition  of  the  Bible  for  Schools 
confirms  the  favourable  opinion  we  formed  of  its  value  from  the  exami- 
nation of  its  first  number.  The  origin  and  plan  of  the  Epistle  are 
discussed  v^rith  its  character  and  genuineness." — The  Nonconformist. 

Galatians.  **Dr  Pekowne  deals  throughout  in  a  very  thorough 
manner  with  every  real  difficulty  in  the  text,  and  in  this  respect  he  ha? 
faithfully  followed  the  noble  example  set  him  in  the  exegetical  master- 
piece, his  indebtedness  to  which  he  frankly  acknowledges." — Modern 
Church. 

"The  introductory  matter  is  very  full  and  informing,  whilst  the 
Notes  are  admirable.     They  combine  the  scholarly  and  the  practical  in 

an  unusual  degree It  is  not   the  young    students    in   'schools   and 

colleges'  alone  who  will  find  this  Commentary  helpful  on  every 
page. " — Record. 

"This  little  work,  like  all  of  the  series,  is  a  scholarly  production; 
but  we  can  also  unreservedly  recommend  it  from  a  doctrinal  standpoint ; 
Dr  E.  H.  Perowne  is  one  who  has  grasped  the  distinctive  teaching  of 
the  Epistle,  and  expounds  it  with  clearness  and  definiteness.  In  an 
appendix,  he  ably  maintains  the  correctness  of  the  A.  V.  as  against  the 
R.  V.  in  the  translation  of  II.  i6,  a  point  of  no  small  importance." — 
English  Churchman. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians.  By  Rev.  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  B.D. 
"  It  seems  to  us  the  model  of  a  School  and  College  Commentary — 
comprehensive,  but  not  cumbersome;  scholarly,  but  not  pedantic." — 
Baptist  Magazine. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians.  "  There  are  few  series  more  valued 
by  theological  students  than  '  The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and 
Colleges,'  and  there  will  be  no  number  of  it  more  esteemed  than  that 
by  Mr  H.  C.  G.  Moule  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians." — Record. 

Thessalonians.  "It  will  stand  the  severest  scrutiny,  for  no  volume 
in  this  admirable  series  exhibits  more  careful  work,  and  Mr  Findlay  is 
a  true  expositor,  who  keeps  in  mind  what  he  is  expounding,  and  for 
whom  he  is  expounding  it." — Exposiio7y  Times. 

"Mr  Findlay  maintains  the  high  level  of  the  series  to  which  he  has 
become  contributor.  Some  parts  of  his  introduction  to  the  Epistles  to 
the  Thessalonians  could  scarcely  be  bettered.  The  account  of  Thessa- 
lonica,  the  description  of  the  style  and  character  of  the  Epistles,  and  the 
analysis  of  them  are  excellent  in  style  and  scholarly  care.  The  notes 
are  possibly  too  voluminous ;  but  there  is  so  much  matter  in  them,  and 
the  matter  is  arranged  and  handled  so  ably,  that  we  are  ready  to  forgive 
their  fulness.  ...Mr  Findlay's  commentary  is  a  valuable  addition  to 
what  has  been  written  on  the  letters  to  the  Thessalonian  Church." — 
Academy. 

"Of  all  the  volumes  of  this  most  excellent  series,  none  is  better 
done,  and  few  are  so  well  done  as  this  small  volume.... From  begin- 
ning to  end  the  volume  is  marked  by  accurate  grammatical  scholarship, 
delicate  appreciation  of  the  apostle's  meaning,  thorough  investigation 


6     CAMBRIDGE  BIBLE  FOR  SCHOOLS  er'   COLLEGES. 

of  all  matters  open  to  doubt,  extensive  reading,  and  deep  sympathy 
with  the  spiritual  aim  of  these  epistles.  It  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best 
commentary  on  the  Thessalonians  v/hich  has  yet  appeared,  and  its 
small  price  puts  it  within  reach  of  all.  We  heartily  recommend  it." — 
Methodist  Recorder, 

"Mr  FiNDLAY  has  fulfilled  in  this  volume  a  task  which  Dr  Moulton 
was  compelled  to  decline,  though  he  has  rendered  valuable  aid  in  its  pre- 
paration. The  commentary  is  in  its  own  way  a  model — clear,  forceful, 
scholarly — such  as  young  students  will  welcome  as  a  really  useful  guide, 
and  old  ones  will  acknowledge  as  giving  in  brief  space  the  substance  of 
all  that  they  knew. " — Baptist  Magazine. 

Hebrews.  "  Like  his  (Canon  Farrar's)  commentary  on  Luke  it 
possesses  all  the  best  characteristics  of  his  writing.  It  is  a  work  not 
only  of  an  accomplished  scholar,  but  of  a  skilled  teacher." — Baptist 
Magazine. 

Tlie  Epistles  of  St  John.  By  the  Rev.  A.  Plummer,  D.D. 
"This  forms  an  admirable  companion  to  the  'Commentary  on  the 
Gospel  according  to  St  John,'  which  was  reviewed  in  The  Chtirchinan 
as  soon  as  it  appeared.  Dr  Plummer  has  some  of  the  highest  qualifica- 
tions for  such  a  task  ;  and  these  two  volumes,  their  size  being  considered, 
will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  Commentaries  of  the  time." — The 
Churchman. 

Revelation.  "This  volume  contains  evidence  of  much  careful 
labour.     It  is  a  scholarly  production,  as  might  be  expected  from  the  pen 

of  the  late   Mr  W.  H.   SiMCOX The  notes  throw  light  upon  many 

passages  of  this  difficult  book,  and  are  extremely  suggestive.  It  is  an 
advantage  that  they  sometimes  set  before  the  student  various  interpre- 
tations without  exactly  guiding  him  to  a  choice." — Guardian. 

"Mr  SiMCOX  has  treated  his  veiy  difficult  subject  with  that  con- 
scious care,  grasp  and  lucidity  which  characterises  everything  he 
wrote." — ModeJ'n  Church. 


W^z  ^mailer  orambvitige  i3it)U  for  Schools. 

' '  We  can  only  repeat  what  we  have  already  said  of  this  admirable 
series,  contaiimtg,  as  it  does,  the  scholarship  of  the  larger  work.  For 
scholars  in  our  elder  classes,  and  for  those  preparing  for  Scripture  exami- 
nations^ no  better  co77i7nentaries  can  be  put  into  their  hands  J^ — Sunday- 
School  Chronicle. 

^''Despite  their  small  size,  these  volumes  give  the  substance  of  the 
admirable  pieces  of  work  on  which  they  are  founded.  We  can  only  hope 
that  in  many  schools  the  class-teaching  will  proceed  on  the  lines  these  com- 
mentators suggest.'^ — Record. 

"  We  should  be  glad  to  hear  that  this  series  has  been  introduced  into 
many  of  our  Sunday-Schools,  for  xvhich  it  is  so  admirably  adapted.^'' — 
Christian  Leader. 

^^  All  that  is  necessary  to  be  known  and  learned  by  pupils  in  junior 
and  eleynentary  schools  is  to  be  found  in  this  se?-ies.  Indeed,  much  more 
is  provided  than  should  be  required  by  the  examiners.  We  do  not  know 
what  more  could  be  done  to  provide  sejisible,  interesting,  and  solid  Scrip- 
tural instruction  for  boys  and  girls.      The  Syndics  of  the   Cambridge 


OPINIONS   OF   THE  PRESS. 


University  Press  are  rendering  great  services  both  to  teachers  and  to 
scholars  by  the  publication  of  snch  a  valuable  series  of  books,  in  which 
slipshod  work  could  not  have  a  place. ^^ — Literary  World. 

'^For  the  student  of  the  sacred  oracles  who  utilizes  hours  of  travel  or 
moments  of  waiting  in  the  perusal  of  the  Bible  there  is  nothing  so  handy, 

and,  at  the  same  time,  so  satisfy itig  as  these  little  books Nor  let  anyone 

suppose  that,  becatise  these  are  school-books,  therefore  they  are  beneath 
the  adult  reader.  They  contain  the  very  ripest  results  of  the  best  Biblical 
scholarship,  and  that  in  the  very  simplest  form  ^'' — Christian  Leader. 

"  Altogether  one  of  the  most  perfect  examples  of  a  Shilling  New  Tes- 
tament co7?imejttary  which  even  this  age  of  cheapness  is  likely  to  produce,''"' 
— Bookseller. 


Samuel  I.  and  II.  "Professor  Kirkpatrick's  two  tiny  volumes  on 
the  First  and  Second  Books  of  Samuel  are  quite  model  school-books ; 
the  notes  elucidate  every  possible  difficulty  with  scholarly  brevity  and 
clearness  and  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  subject." — Saturday  Review. 

"They  consist  of  an  introduction  full  of  matter,  clearly  and  succinctly 
given,  and  of  notes  which  appear  to  us  to  be  admirable,  at  once  full  and 
brief." — Church  Times. 

Kings  I.  "We  can  cordially  recommend  this  little  book.  The  Intro- 
duction discusses  the  question  of  authorship  and  date  in  a  plain  but 
scholarly  fashion,  while  the  footnotes  throughout  are  brief,  pointed,  and 
helpful." — Review  of  Reviews. 

St  Matthew.  "The  notes  are  terse,  clear,  and  helpful,  and  teachers 
and  students  cannot  fail  to  find  the  volume  of  great  service." — 
Publishers'  Circular. 

St  Mark.  St  Luke.  "We  have  received  the  volumes  of  St  Mark 
and  St  Luke  in  this  series.... The  two  volumes  seem,  on  the  whole,  well 
adapted  for  school  use,  are  well  and  carefully  printed,  and  have  maps 
and  good,  though  necessarily  brief,  introductions.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  this  series  will  be  found  as  popular  and  useful  as  the  well-known 
larger  series,  of  which  they  are  abbreviated  editions." — Guardian. 

St  Luke.  "We  cannot  too  highly  commend  this  handy  little  book 
to  all  teachers." — Wesleyan  Methodist  Sunday-School  Record. 

St  John.  "We  have  been  especially  interested  in  Mr  Plummer's 
treatment  of  the  Gospel  which  has  been  entrusted  to  his  charge.  He  is  con- 
cise, comprehensive,  interesting,  and  simple.  Young  students  of  this  inim- 
itable book,  as  well  as  elder  students,  even  ministers  and  teachers,  may 
use  it  with  advantage  as  a  very  serviceable  handbook." — Literary  JVo)'ld. 

"A  model  of  condensation,  losing  nothing  of  its  clearness  and  force 
from  its  condensation  into  a  small  compass.  Many  who  have  long  since 
completed  their  college  curriculum  will  find  it  an  invaluable  handbook." 
— Methodist  Times. 

Acts.  "The  notes  are  very  brief,  but  exceedingly  comprehensive, 
comprising  as  much  detail  in  the  way  of  explanation  as  would  be  needed 
by  young  students  of  the  Scriptures  preparing  for  examination.  We 
again  give  the  opinion  that  this  series  furnishes  as  much  real  luelp  as 
would  usually  satisfy  students  for  the  Christian  ministry,  or  even  minis- 
ters themselves." — Literary  World. 


THE  CAMBRIDGE  GREEK  TESTAMENT 

FOR   SCHOOLS   AND   COLLEGES 

with  a  Revised  Text,  based  on  the  most  recent  critical  authorities, 

and  English  Notes. 

'■'■  Has  achieved  an  excellence  which  puts  it  above  criticism.'''' — Expositor. 

St  Matthew.  *'  Copious  illustrations,  gathered  from  a  great  variety 
of  sources,  make  his  notes  a  very  valuable  aid  to  the  student.  They 
are  indeed  remarkably  interesting,  while  all  explanations  on  meanings, 
applications,  and  the  like  are  distinguished  by  their  lucidity  and  good 
sense." — Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

St  Mark.  "Dr  Maclear's  introduction  contains  all  that  is  known 
of  St  Mark's  life;  an  account  of  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Gospel 
was  composed,  with  an  estimate  of  the  influence  of  St  Peter's  teaching 
upon  St  Mark ;  an  excellent  sketch  of  the  special  characteristics  of  this 
Gospel;  an  analysis,  and  a  chapter  on  the  text  of  the  New  Testament 
generally. " — Saturday  Review. 

St   Luke.      *'0f   this   second  series   we   have   a   new   volume   by 

Archdeacon  Farrar  on  St  Luke,  completing  the  four  Gospels It 

gives  us  in  clear  and  beautiful  language  the  best  results  of  modern 
scholarship.  We  have  a  most  attractive  Introductioti.  Then  follows 
a  sort  of  composite  Greek  text,  representing  fairly  and  in  very  beautiful 
type  the  consensus  of  modern  textual  critics.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
exposition  of  each  chapter  of  the  Gospel  are  a  few  short  critical  notes 
giving  the  manuscript  evidence  for  such  various  readings  as  seem  to 
deserve  mention.  The  expository  notes  are  short,  but  clear  and  helpful. 
For  young  students  and  those  who  are  not  disposed  to  buy  or  to  study 
the  much  more  costly  work  of  Godet,  this  seems  to  us  to  be  the  best 
book  on  the  Greek  Text  of  the  Third  Gos^el.'^— Methodist  Recorder. 

St  John.  "  We  take  this  opportunity  of  recommending  to  ministers 
on  probation,  the  very  excellent  volume  of  the  same  series  on  this  part 
of  the  New  Testament.  We  hope  that  most  or  all  of  our  young  ministers 
will  prefer  to  study  the  volume  in  the  Cambridge  Greek  Testa??ient  for 
Schools.'^ — Methodist  Recorder. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  "Professor  Lumby  has  performed  his 
laborious  task  well,  and  supplied  us  with  a  commentary  the  fulness  and 
freshness  of  which  Bible  students  will  not  be  slow  to  appreciate.  The 
volume  is  enriched  with  the  usual  copious  indexes  and  four  coloured 
maps." — Glasgow  Herald. 

I.  Corinthians.  "Mr  Lias  is  no  novice  in  New  Testament  exposi- 
tion, and  the  present  series  of  essays  and  notes  is  an  able  and  helpful 
addition  to  the  existing  books." — Guardian. 

The  Epistles  of  St  John.  "In  the  very  useful  and  well  annotated 
series  of  the  Cambridge  Greek  Testament  the  volume  on  the  Epistles 
of  St  John  must  hold  a  high  position....  The  notes  are  brief,  well 
informed  and  intelligent." — Scotsrnan. 

CAMBRIDGE:   PRINTED   BY   C.  J.   CLAY,    M.A.    AND   SONS,  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY   PRESS. 


Date  Due 


BS1565  .C531  ^      . 

Hosea,  with  notes  and  introduction. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library