Hosea

Name, Authorship, Date of Composition, and Historical Context

The book of Hosea consists of a narrative about the prophet and sayings attributed to him. Hosea began his career in the final days of Jeroboam II (1.1), whose long reign (788–747 bce) capped a century of political stability and economic prosperity in the Northern Kingdom of Israel under the dynasty founded by Jehu in 842. Jeroboam died in 747, two years before Tiglath-pileser III came to power in Assyria (745) and initiated a program of imperial expansion. A prolonged national crisis ensued, which ended with the demise of the Northern Kingdom. Israel floundered under the Assyrian onslaught. Of the six kings who reigned in the next two decades, four were assassinated as the nation veered between appeasement, at the cost of heavy tribute, and rebellion, seeking futile alliances with Syria and Egypt (see 2 Kings 14.23–17.41). When Hosea's prophetic career ended is uncertain, though his oracles appear to allude to events right up to the Assyrian siege of Samaria in 722 (13.10–11,16).

After the destruction of Samaria, Hosea's words were preserved and transmitted in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Some or all of the references to Judah may have been added in this era as Hosea's words were reinterpreted to address an analogous situation there (e.g., 1.7; 3.5; 11.12). It is also possible, however, that Hosea himself, though a northern prophet, addressed Judah as well.

As a prophet of the Northern Kingdom, Hosea presents a unique perspective among the prophets as an Israelite native, not a Judahite like his near contemporary Amos, who viewed the events from the south. The text gives little information about the prophet himself. Indeed, the only personal detail is the name of his father, Beeri (1.1). Chapters 1–3 narrate Hosea's marriage to the promiscuous Gomer and the birth of their three children, Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-ammi, but it is debatable whether one can deduce actual biographical facts from this description of family life.

Canonical Status and Location in Canon

The book of Hosea stands first in that part of the latter prophets called the Book of the Twelve, also known as the Minor Prophets because of their relative brevity in comparison with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Along with Amos, Hosea was the first of the “writing prophets,” those prophets whose speeches were collected and edited as literary documents.

Contents and Structure

The book consists primarily of speeches critiquing the political, social, and, above all, religious life of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the final days before its conquest and destruction by the Assyrians in 722 bce. Hosea often refers to the Northern Kingdom under the titles of “Ephraim,” its largest tribe, and “Samaria,” its capital (see 4.17n.). Over the course of three decades (ca. 750–720 bce), Hosea interpreted the unfolding di-sas ter as a divine punishment—the Assyrians were merely God's tool—for violation of the exclusive demands of the Lord. With frequent allusions to earlier Israelite traditions, Hosea portrayed Israel's entire history as a spiritual decline from an ideal time, its “youth” in the period of the Exodus from Egypt (2.15; 11.1).

During this national crisis, Hosea issued an unrelenting critique of existing political and religious institutions. Through dynastic kingship, political alliances with other nations, and, above all, illicit religious practices, Israel had violated the divine claim upon it for exclusive dependence upon and worship of the Lord. As divine punishment, Israel would be stripped of political and religious institutions too corrupt to be reformed and its land left desolate and barren. Israel would, in essence, find itself again in the wilderness. The severity of the prophetic critique is juxtaposed with language of divine longing and compassion (11.1–11; 13.4–7). In the short term, Hosea presented the annihilation of the Northern Kingdom as inevitable. Drawing, however, on a pattern discerned in Israel's sacred traditions, Hosea ultimately offered hope. In this new wilderness, as in the Sinai desert, Israel would recognize its dependence on the Lord and be restored to a harmonious state with God and with nature (2.14–23).

Hosea is best known for his metaphors, drawn from the natural world, agriculture, and kinship structures: Israel as the Lord's wife, Israel as the Lord’s son. These familial metaphors are introduced in two narrative sections about the prophet's own life at the beginning of the book (1.2–2.1; 3.1–5). The prophet's personal life is presented as a paradigm of the relationship between the Lord and Israel.

Insofar as these chapters construct a biographical story for prophetic purposes, it can be said that Hosea deals with Gomer as the Lord deals with Israel. Gomer is “a wife of whoredom” (1.2), best understood as “a promiscuous woman.” She bore three children, of whom Hosea was perhaps not the father (2.4–5). After a period of marital separation, Hosea took her back (3.1–5). In a similar way, Israel, the Lord's unfaithful wife, will be separated from her husband and home but, just as Hosea bought back Gomer (3.2), the Lord will restore Israel. Hosea's image of Israel's sexual misconduct may be more than symbolic; its illicit rituals are described as having a sexual dimension (e.g., 4.13–19; 9.1).

The book has two major sections, which appear to be roughly chronological. Chapters 1–3 contain the material about Hosea's marriage and can be understood against the background of the last days of Jeroboam II, since 1.4 announces the demise of the Jehu dynasty of which Jeroboam was the final ruler. The second major section, chs 4–14, consists entirely of prophetic speeches that seem to allude to the chaotic days following the demise of the house of Jehu and the prolonged Assyrian crisis. Boundaries between individual speech units in this second section are hard to discern. It seems to fall into two parts (chs 4–11; 12–14), rhetorically couched as legal indictments of Israel for breach of covenant (4.1; 12.2), and ending with images of restoration (11.1–11; 14.1–7).

Gregory Mobley

¹ The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and in the days of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel.

²When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” ³So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

⁴And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel;^a for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. ⁵On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”

⁶She conceived again and bore a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her Loruhamah,^b for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them. ⁷But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

⁸When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. ⁹Then the Lord said, “Name him Lo-ammi,^a for you are not my people and I am not your God.”^b

^10c Yet the number of the people of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” ¹¹The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head; and they shall take possession of ^d the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

^2e Say to your brother,^f Ammi,^g and to your sister,^h Ruhamah.ⁱ

²Plead with your mother, plead—

  for she is not my wife,

  and I am not her husband—

that she put away her whoring from her face,

  and her adultery from between her breasts,

³or I will strip her naked

  and expose her as in the day she was born,

and make her like a wilderness,

  and turn her into a parched land,

  and kill her with thirst.

⁴Upon her children also I will have no pity,

  because they are children of whoredom.

⁵For their mother has played the whore;

  she who conceived them has acted shamefully.

For she said, “I will go after my lovers;

  they give me my bread and my water,

  my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.”

⁶Therefore I will hedge up her^j way with thorns;

  and I will build a wall against her,

  so that she cannot find her paths.

⁷She shall pursue her lovers,

  but not overtake them;

  and she shall seek them,

  but shall not find them.

Then she shall say, “I will go

  and return to my first husband,

  for it was better with me then than now.”

⁸She did not know

  that it was I who gave her

the grain, the wine, and the oil,

  and who lavished upon her silver

and gold that they used for Baal.

⁹Therefore I will take back

  my grain in its time,

and my wine in its season;

  and I will take away my wool and my flax,

  which were to cover her nakedness.

¹⁰Now I will uncover her shame

  in the sight of her lovers,

  and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.

¹¹I will put an end to all her mirth,

  her festivals, her new moons, her sabbaths,

and all her appointed festivals.

¹²I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,

  of which she said,

“These are my pay,

  which my lovers have given me.”

I will make them a forest,

  and the wild animals shall devour them.

¹³I will punish her for the festival days of the Baals,

  when she offered incense to them

and decked herself with her ring and jewelry,

  and went after her lovers,

  and forgot me, says the Lord.

¹⁴Therefore, I will now allure her,

  and bring her into the wilderness,

  and speak tenderly to her.

¹⁵From there I will give her her vineyards,

  and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.

There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,

  as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁶On that day, says the Lord, you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer will you call me, “My Baal.”^{a 17}For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. ¹⁸I will make for you^b a covenant on that day with the wild animals, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will abolish^c the bow, the sword, and war from the land; and I will make you lie down in safety. ¹⁹And I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. ²⁰I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord.

²¹On that day I will answer, says the Lord,

  I will answer the heavens

  and they shall answer the earth;

²²and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,

  and they shall answer Jezreel;^d

  ²³and I will sow him^a for myself in the land.

And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah,^b

  and I will say to Lo-ammi,^c “You are my people”;

  and he shall say, “You are my God.”

³ The Lord said to me again, “Go, love a woman who has a lover and is an adulteress, just as the Lord loves the people of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.” ²So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer of barley and a measure of wine.^{d 3}And I said to her, “You must remain as mine for many days; you shall not play the whore, you shall not have intercourse with a man, nor I with you.” ⁴For the Israelites shall remain many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. ⁵Afterward the Israelites shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; they shall come in awe to the Lord andto his goodness in the latter days.

4

Hear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel;

  for the Lord has an indictment against the inhabitants of the land.

There is no faithfulness or loyalty,

  and no knowledge of God in the land.

²Swearing, lying, and murder,

  and stealing and adultery break out;

  bloodshed follows bloodshed.

³Therefore the land mourns,

  and all who live in it languish;

together with the wild animals

  and the birds of the air,

  even the fish of the sea are perishing.

⁴Yet let no one contend,

  and let none accuse,

  for with you is my contention, O priest. ^e

⁵You shall stumble by day;

  the prophet also shall stumble with you by night,

  and I will destroy your mother.

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;

  because you have rejected knowledge,

  I reject you from being a priest to me.

And since you have forgotten the law of your God,

  I also will forget your children.

⁷The more they increased,

  the more they sinned against me;

  they changed^a their glory into shame.

⁸They feed on the sin of my people;

  they are greedy for their iniquity.

⁹And it shall be like people, like priest;

  I will punish them for their ways,

  and repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They shall eat, but not be satisfied;

  they shall play the whore, but not multiply;

because they have forsaken the Lord

  to devote themselves to ¹¹whoredom.

Wine and new wine

  take away the understanding.

¹²My people consult a piece of wood,

  and their divining rod gives them oracles.

For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray,

  and they have played the whore, forsaking their God.

¹³They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains,

  and make offerings upon the hills,

under oak, poplar, and terebinth,

  because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the whore,

  and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.

¹⁴I will not punish your daughters when they play the whore,

  nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery;

for the men themselves go aside with whores,

  and sacrifice with temple prostitutes;

thus a people without understanding comes to ruin.

¹⁵Though you play the whore, O Israel,

  do not let Judah become guilty.

Do not enter into Gilgal,

  or go up to Beth-aven,

  and do not swear, “As the Lord lives.”

¹⁶Like a stubborn heifer,

  Israel is stubborn;

can the Lord now feed them

  like a lamb in a broad pasture?

¹⁷Ephraim is joined to idols—

  let him alone.

¹⁸When their drinking is ended, they indulge in sexual orgies;

  they love lewdness more than their glory.^b

¹⁹A wind has wrapped them^a in its wings,

  and they shall be ashamed because of their altars.^b

5

Hear this, O priests!

  Give heed, O house of Israel!

Listen, O house of the king!

  For the judgment pertains to you;

for you have been a snare at Mizpah,

  and a net spread upon Tabor,

²and a pit dug deep in Shittim;^c

  but I will punish all of them.

³I know Ephraim,

  and Israel is not hidden from me;

for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;

  Israel is defiled.

⁴Their deeds do not permit them

  to return to their God.

For the spirit of whoredom is within them,

  and they do not know the Lord.

⁵Israel's pride testifies against him;

  Ephraim^d stumbles in his guilt;

  Judah also stumbles with them.

⁶With their flocks and herds they shall go

  to seek the Lord,

but they will not find him;

  he has withdrawn from them.

⁷They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;

  for they have borne illegitimate children.

Now the new moon shall devour them along with their fields.

⁸Blow the horn in Gibeah,

  the trumpet in Ramah.

Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;

  look behind you, Benjamin!

⁹Ephraim shall become a desolation

  in the day of punishment;

among the tribes of Israel

  I declare what is sure.

¹⁰The princes of Judah have become

  like those who remove the landmark;

on them I will pour out

  my wrath like water.

¹¹Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,

  because he was determined to go after vanity.^e

¹²Therefore I am like maggots to Ephraim,

  and like rottenness to the house of Judah.

¹³When Ephraim saw his sickness,

  and Judah his wound,

then Ephraim went to Assyria,

  and sent to the great king.^a

But he is not able to cure you

  or heal your wound.

¹⁴For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,

  and like a young lion to the house of Judah.

I myself will tear and go away;

  I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.

¹⁵I will return again to my place

  until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face.

In their distress they will beg my favor:

6

“Come, let us return to the Lord;

  “for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;

he has struck down, and he will bind us up.

²After two days he will revive us;

  on the third day he will raise us up,

  that we may live before him.

³Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;

  his appearing is as sure as the dawn;

he will come to us like the showers,

  like the spring rains that water the earth.”

⁴What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

  What shall I do with you, O Judah?

Your love is like a morning cloud,

  like the dew that goes away early.

⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,

  I have killed them by the words of my mouth,

  and my^b judgment goes forth as the light.

⁶For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

  the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

⁷But at^c Adam they transgressed the covenant;

  there they dealt faithlessly with me.

⁸Gilead is a city of evildoers,

  tracked with blood.

⁹As robbers lie in wait^d for someone,

  so the priests are banded together;^e

they murder on the road to Shechem,

  they commit a monstrous crime.

¹⁰In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

  Ephraim's whoredom is there, Israel is defiled.

¹¹For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I would restore the fortunes of my people,

7

when I would heal Israel,

  the corruption of Ephraim is revealed,

and the wicked deeds of Samaria;

  for they deal falsely,

  the thief breaks in,

  and the bandits raid outside.

²But they do not consider

  that I remember all their wickedness.

Now their deeds surround them,

  they are before my face.

³By their wickedness they make the king glad,

  and the officials by their treachery.

⁴They are all adulterers;

  they are like a heated oven,

whose baker does not need to stir the fire,

  from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.

⁵On the day of our king the officials

  became sick with the heat of wine;

he stretched out his hand with mockers.

⁶For they are kindled^a like an oven, their heart burns within them;

  all night their anger smolders;

  in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.

⁷All of them are hot as an oven,

  and they devour their rulers.

All their kings have fallen;

  none of them calls upon me.

⁸Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;

  Ephraim is a cake not turned.

⁹Foreigners devour his strength,

  but he does not know it;

gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,

  but he does not know it.

¹⁰Israel's pride testifies against^b him;

  yet they do not return to the Lord their God,

or seek him, for all this.

¹¹Ephraim has become like a dove,

  silly and without sense;

  they call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria.

¹²As they go, I will cast my net over them;

  I will bring them down like birds of the air;

  I will discipline them according to the report made to their assembly.^c

¹³Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!

  Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!

I would redeem them,

  but they speak lies against me.

¹⁴They do not cry to me from the heart,

  but they wail upon their beds;

they gash themselves for grain and wine;

  they rebel against me.

¹⁵It was I who trained and strengthened their arms,

  yet they plot evil against me.

¹⁶They turn to that which does not profit;^d

  they have become like a defective bow;

their officials shall fall by the sword

  because of the rage of their tongue.

So much for their babbling in the land of Egypt.

8

Set the trumpet to your lips!

  One like a vulture^a is over the house of the Lord,

because they have broken my covenant,

  and transgressed my law.

²Israel cries to me,

  “My God, we—Israel—know you!”

³Israel has spurned the good;

  the enemy shall pursue him.

⁴They made kings, but not through me;

  they set up princes, but without my knowledge.

With their silver and gold they made idols

  for their own destruction.

⁵Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.

  My anger burns against them.

How long will they be incapable of innocence?

⁶For it is from Israel,

  an artisan made it;

it is not God.

  The calf of Samaria

shall be broken to pieces.^b

⁷For they sow the wind,

  and they shall reap the whirlwind.

The standing grain has no heads,

  it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield,

foreigners would devour it.

⁸Israel is swallowed up;

  now they are among the nations

as a useless vessel.

⁹For they have gone up to Assyria,

  a wild ass wandering alone;

  Ephraim has bargained for lovers.

¹⁰Though they bargain with the nations,

  I will now gather them up.

They shall soon writhe

  under the burden of kings and princes.

¹¹When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,

  they became to him altars for sinning.

¹²Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,

  they are regarded as a strange thing.

¹³Though they offer choice sacrifices,^c

  though they eat flesh,

the Lord does not accept them.

  Now he will remember their iniquity,

and punish their sins;

  they shall return to Egypt.

¹⁴Israel has forgotten his Maker,

  and built palaces;

and Judah has multiplied fortified cities;

  but I will send a fire upon his cities,

  and it shall devour his strongholds.

9

Do not rejoice, O Israel!

  Do not exult^d as other nations do;

for you have played the whore, departing from your God.

  You have loved a prostitute's pay

  on all threshing floors.

²Threshing floor and wine vat shall not feed them,

  and the new wine shall fail them.

³They shall not remain in the land of the Lord;

  but Ephraim shall return to Egypt,

  and in Assyria they shall eat unclean food.

⁴They shall not pour drink offerings of wine to the Lord,

  and their sacrifices shall not please him.

Such sacrifices shall be like mourners’ bread;

  all who eat of it shall be defiled;

for their bread shall be for their hunger only;

  it shall not come to the house of the Lord.

⁵What will you do on the day of appointed festival,

  and on the day of the festival of the Lord?

⁶For even if they escape destruction,

  Egypt shall gather them,

  Memphis shall bury them.

Nettles shall possess their precious things of silver;^a

  thorns shall be in their tents.

⁷The days of punishment have come,

  the days of recompense have come;

  Israel cries,^b

“The prophet is a fool,

  the man of the spirit is mad!”

Because of your great iniquity,

  your hostility is great.

⁸The prophet is a sentinel for my God over Ephraim,

  yet a fowler's snare is on all his ways,

and hostility in the house of his God.

⁹They have deeply corrupted themselves

  as in the days of Gibeah;

he will remember their iniquity,

  he will punish their sins.

¹⁰Like grapes in the wilderness,

  I found Israel.

Like the first fruit on the fig tree,

  in its first season,

I saw your ancestors.

  But they came to Baal-peor,

  and consecrated themselves to a thing of shame,

  and became detestable like the thing they loved.

¹¹Ephraim's glory shall fly away like a bird—

  no birth, no pregnancy, no conception!

¹²Even if they bring up children,

  I will bereave them until no one is left.

Woe to them indeed

  when I depart from them!

¹³Once I saw Ephraim as a young palm planted in a lovely meadow,^a

  but now Ephraim must lead out his children for slaughter.

¹⁴Give them, O Lord—

  what will you give?

Give them a miscarrying womb

  and dry breasts.

¹⁵Every evil of theirs began at Gilgal;

  there I came to hate them.

Because of the wickedness of their deeds

  I will drive them out of my house.

I will love them no more;

  all their officials are rebels.

¹⁶Ephraim is stricken,

  their root is dried up,

they shall bear no fruit.

  Even though they give birth,

  I will kill the cherished offspring of their womb.

¹⁷Because they have not listened to him,

  my God will reject them;

  they shall become wanderers among the nations.

10

Israel is a luxuriant vine

  that yields its fruit.

The more his fruit increased

  the more altars he built;

as his country improved,

  he improved his pillars.

²Their heart is false;

  now they must bear their guilt.

The Lord^a will break down their altars,

  and destroy their pillars.

³For now they will say:

  “We have no king,

for we do not fear the Lord,

  and a king—what could he do for us?”

⁴They utter mere words;

  with empty oaths they make covenants;

so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds

  in the furrows of the field.

⁵The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

  for the calf ^b of Beth-aven.

Its people shall mourn for it,

  and its idolatrous priests shall wail^c over it,

  over its glory that has departed from it.

⁶The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria

  as tribute to the great king.^d

Ephraim shall be put to shame,

  and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.^e

⁷Samaria's king shall perish

  like a chip on the face of the waters.

⁸The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

  shall be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle shall grow up

  on their altars.

They shall say to the mountains, Cover us,

  and to the hills, Fall on us.

⁹Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;

  there they have continued.

  Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah?

¹⁰I will come^f against the wayward people to punish them;

  and nations shall be gathered against them

when they are punished^g for their double iniquity.

¹¹Ephraim was a trained heifer

  that loved to thresh,

  and I spared her fair neck;

but I will make Ephraim break the ground;

Judah must plow;

  Jacob must harrow for himself.

¹²Sow for yourselves righteousness;

  reap steadfast love;

  break up your fallow ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

  that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

¹³You have plowed wickedness,

  you have reaped injustice,

  you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your power

  and in the multitude of your warriors,

¹⁴therefore the tumult of war shall rise against your people,

  and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,

as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle

  when mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

¹⁵Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

  because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel

  shall be utterly cut off.

11

When Israel was a child, I loved him,

  and out of Egypt I called my son.

²The more I^a called them,

  the more they went from me;^b

they kept sacrificing to the Baals,

  and offering incense to idols.

³Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,

  I took them up in my^c arms;

but they did not know that I healed them.

⁴I led them with cords of human kindness,

  with bands of love.

I was to them like those

  who lift infants to their cheeks.^d

I bent down to them and fed them.

⁵They shall return to the land of Egypt,

  and Assyria shall be their king,

because they have refused to return to me.

⁶The sword rages in their cities,

  it consumes their oracle-priests,

and devours because of their schemes.

⁷My people are bent on turning away from me.

  To the Most High they call,

but he does not raise them up at all.^e

⁸How can I give you up, Ephraim?

  How can I hand you over, O Israel?

How can I make you like Admah?

  How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

My heart recoils within me;

  my compassion grows warm and tender.

⁹I will not execute my fierce anger;

  I will not again destroy Ephraim;

for I am God and no mortal,

  the Holy One in your midst,

  and I will not come in wrath.^e

¹⁰They shall go after the Lord,

  who roars like a lion;

when he roars,

  his children shall come trembling from the west.

¹¹They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,

  and like doves from the land of Assyria;

  and I will return them to their homes, says the Lord.

^12aEphraim has surrounded me with lies,

  and the house of Israel with deceit;

but Judah still walks^b with God,

  and is faithful to the Holy One.

12

Ephraim herds the wind,

  and pursues the east wind all day long;

they multiply falsehood and violence;

  they make a treaty with Assyria,

  and oil is carried to Egypt.

²The Lord has an indictment against Judah,

  and will punish Jacob according to his ways,

  and repay him according to his deeds.

³In the womb he tried to supplant his brother,

  and in his manhood he strove with God.

⁴He strove with the angel and prevailed,

  he wept and sought his favor;

he met him at Bethel,

  and there he spoke with him.^c

⁵The Lord the God of hosts,

  the Lord is his name!

⁶But as for you, return to your God,

  hold fast to love and justice,

  and wait continually for your God.

⁷A trader, in whose hands are false balances,

  he loves to oppress.

⁸Ephraim has said, “Ah, I am rich,

  I have gained wealth for myself;

in all of my gain

  no offense has been found in me

  that would be sin.”^d

⁹I am the Lord your God

  from the land of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again,

  as in the days of the appointed festival.

¹⁰I spoke to the prophets;

  it was I who multiplied visions,

  and through the prophets I will bring destruction.

¹¹In Gilead^e there is iniquity,

  they shall surely come to nothing.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,

  so their altars shall be like stone heaps

  on the furrows of the field.

¹²Jacob fled to the land of Aram,

  there Israel served for a wife,

  and for a wife he guarded sheep.^f

¹³By a prophet the Lord brought Israel up from Egypt,

  and by a prophet he was guarded.

¹⁴Ephraim has given bitter offense,

  so his Lord will bring his crimes down on him

  and pay him back for his insults.

13

When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;

  he was exalted in Israel;

but he incurred guilt through Baal and died.

²And now they keep on sinning

  and make a cast image for themselves,

idols of silver made according to their understanding,

  all of them the work of artisans.

“Sacrifice to these,” they say.^a

  People are kissing calves!

³Therefore they shall be like the morning mist

  or like the dew that goes away early,

like chaff that swirls from the threshing floor

  or like smoke from a window.

⁴Yet I have been the Lord your God

  ever since the land of Egypt;

you know no God but me,

  and besides me there is no savior.

⁵It was I who fed^b you in the wilderness,

  in the land of drought.

⁶When I fed^c them, they were satisfied;

  they were satisfied, and their heart was proud;

  therefore they forgot me.

⁷So I will become like a lion to them,

  like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.

⁸I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs,

  and will tear open the covering of their heart;

there I will devour them like a lion,

  as a wild animal would mangle them.

⁹I will destroy you, O Israel;

  who can help you?^d

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

  Where in all your cities are your rulers, of whom you said,

“Give me a king and rulers”?

¹¹I gave you a king in my anger,

  and I took him away in my wrath.

¹²Ephraim's iniquity is bound up;

  his sin is kept in store.

¹³The pangs of childbirth come for him,

  but he is an unwise son;

for at the proper time he does not present himself

  at the mouth of the womb.

¹⁴Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?

  Shall I redeem them from Death?

O Death, where are^f your plagues?

  O Sheol, where is^f your destruction?

  Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

¹⁵Although he may flourish among rushes,^g

  the east wind shall come, a blast from the Lord,

rising from the wilderness;

  and his fountain shall dry up,

his spring shall be parched.

  It shall strip his treasury

of every precious thing.

^16aSamaria shall bear her guilt,

  because she has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword,

  their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

  and their pregnant women ripped open.

14

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

  for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

²Take words with you

  and return to the Lord;

say to him,

  “Take away all guilt;

accept that which is good,

  and we will offer

the fruit^b of our lips.

³Assyria shall not save us;

  we will not ride upon horses;

we will say no more, ‘Our God,’

  to the work of our hands.

In you the orphan finds mercy.”

⁴I will heal their disloyalty;

  I will love them freely,

  for my anger has turned from them.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel;

  he shall blossom like the lily,

  he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.^c

⁶His shoots shall spread out;

  his beauty shall be like the olive tree,

and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.

⁷They shall again live beneath my^d shadow,

  they shall flourish as a garden;^e

they shall blossom like the vine,

  their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O Ephraim, what have I^f to do with idols?

  It is I who answer and look after you.^g

I am like an evergreen cypress;

  your faithfulness^h comes from me.

⁹Those who are wise understand these things;

  those who are discerning know them.

For the ways of the Lord are right,

  and the upright walk in them,

  but transgressors stumble in them.

1.1: Superscription. Word of the Lord, the customary term for prophetic verbal revelation (Jer 18.18). For similar introductions to prophetic books, see Joel 1.1, Mic 1.1, Zeph 1.1, and Mal 1.1. Hosea (= Hoshea) is also the name for other persons in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Num 13.8; 2 Kings 15.3; 1 Chr 27.20; Neh 10.23) and means “salvation” or “deliverance.” Days of Kings Uzziah …, these kings of Judah reigned in Jerusalem in the last half of the eighth century bce (see 2 Kings 14.23–20.21). Uzziah was a contemporary of Jeroboam II, who ruled 788–747 bce in Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and Ahaz was king in Judah when Samaria fell. Presumably Hosea prophesied late in Jeroboam's reign and after his death.

1.2–3.5: Hosea's family life as a symbolic vehicle for divine communication. The prophetic acts of Hosea, detailed in two sections (1.2–2.1; 3.1–5), exemplify God's relationship with Israel in allegorical fashion. Between the narrative sections, a prophetic speech (2.2–23) indicts Israel for unfaithfulness and offers hope for restoration after a period of punishment.

1.2–2.1: Hosea's marriage to Gomer, and the birth, naming, and renaming of their children as prophetic signs. The marital states of Jeremiah (Jer 16.1–2) and Ezekiel (Ezek 24) also took on prophetic significance; Isaiah similarly gave his children symbolic names (Isa 7.3,10,14; 8.1,3). 1.2: Wife of whoredom, a promiscuous woman. Children of whoredom, children born of promiscuity. 4–8: Birth of three children, each with symbolic names. 4: Jezreel (“God sows”), the site where Jehu's bloody coup d’état began (2 Kings 9–10) and where Ahab conspired to murder Naboth and seize his vineyard (1 Kings 21). House of Jehu, the Israelite dynasty founded by Jehu in 842 bce extended for a century, ending with Jeroboam II. 6: Lo-ruhamah, “Not loved, not pitied”; cf. Ezek 16.4–5. 7: This amendment to the doom promised in v. 6 was likely added by a later Judean editor. 8: Weaned the child, probably at age three (1 Sam 1.22; 2 Chr 31.16). 9: Lo-ammi, “Not my people.” You are not my people, God rejects the language of his covenant with Israel; see Ex 6.7; Deut 29.13. I am not your God can also be read, “I am not I Am for you,” as if God now withdraws the intimacy extended to Moses through revelation of the divine name (Ex 3.14). 1.10–2.1: Jezreel's exaltation (1.11) and the renaming of Lo-ruhamah (2.1, Ruhamah, “Loved”) and Loammi (2.1, Ammi, “My people”) signal restoration. 1.10: For the sand of the sea, see the divine promise to Abraham (Gen 22.17) and Jacob (Gen 32.12); cf. Gen 15.5; 16.10; 1 Kings 3.8. Children of the living God, in contrast to “children of whoredom” (1.2). 11: The prophet anticipates unification of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which had been separated since the tenth century bce. The day of Jezreel will be one of triumph and glory; contrast 1.4–5.

2.2–23: A prophetic speech based on the preceding sign-acts. Israel wrongly attributed its agricultural fertility to Baal, a Canaanite god. For this infidelity, the Lord first initiates divorce against Israel, the promiscuous wife, then promises a re-betrothal. The metaphor of adulterous marriage and violent punishment should be interpreted with caution. It is a literary device to be viewed within its historical context, where a culture of honor and shame was used to control women's sexuality. 2: Plead with, take legal action against. 3: Ezek 16.35–43 elaborates on these punishments. The covenant was first forged in the wilderness (Ex 19.1), though here wilderness is a symbol for barrenness and Israel's infidelity; see also v. 14n. 4: No pity, a pun on Loruhamah; see 1.6n. 5: My lovers, other gods. Wool and … flax, pastoral and agricultural products, respectively, used for clothing. 6: Sexual access will be prevented (see Song 8.9). 8: The Lord, not Baal, is Israel's benefactor. 11: Festivals … new moons … sabbaths, the seasonal agricultural festivals (Ex 34.21–24) and the customary occasions for worship (Num 29.6; Ex 20.8) were now diluted by elements of the worship of Baal. 13: Baals, manifestations of the god Baal at various shrines. Offered incense, incense itself was a lawful Israelite element of worship (Ex 30.7–8) but here, unlawfully, it is offered to other gods (cf. 1 Kings 22.44; Isa 65.3). Decked herself, cf. Isa 3.16–22. 14: Allure her, courtship language. The wilderness signifies Israel's early years after the Exodus, remembered here, in terms of the marital metaphor, as a honeymoon (Jer 2.2). The wilderness can also be a place of judgment (Ezek 20.33–38). In both cases, the wilderness is a place for transformation. Speak tenderly, see Isa 40.2. 15: Achor, a site just east of the Dead Sea where Israel got into “trouble” (the meaning of “Achor”) soon after leaving the wilderness (Josh 7.22–26). 16: My Baal, in secular usage, “baʿal” could also mean “husband.” In this wordplay, Israel is to address the Lord as “husband” (Heb “ʾish”), not as “husband” (Heb “baʿal”; see also note a). 17: Baals, see 2.13n. 18: Animals, birds …, creeping things, the phrases recall Gen 1.27–31 and suggest a return to a state of blessing. See also Lev 26.6. 20: You shall know, “knowledge” implies covenant faithfulness and, in terms of the marital metaphor employed, sexual intimacy. 21–23: A conclusion to chs 1–2: The renaming of the children (see 1.4,6,9n.; 2.1n.) follows the re-betrothal of the Lord and Israel. Human faithfulness (or its lack) to the Lord has implications for the natural world. Jezreel, meaning “God sows,” another symbol of restoration; see 1.4n.; 1.11n. Through a wordplay, the prophet indicates that the people will grow like plants upon their return to the land, that is, they shall answer “God sows,” and I will sow him for myself in the land. 23: Cf. Ex 6.7; Lev 26.12.

3.1–5: The restoration of Hosea's marriage. In a like manner, the Lord's relationship to Israel will be restored. This section is in the first person while 1.2–2.1 was in the third. Gomer is not mentioned here by name, so it is possible that the wife here is a different woman. 1: Raisin cakes were associated with illicit worship (Isa 16.7; Jer 7.18; 44.19). 2: Shekel, ca. .4 oz (11.5 g); homer, about 6.5 bu (230 L). From whom Hosea bought her is not indicated. 3–4: A transitional period is announced during which, on one level, the marital partners forgo relations, and on another, the covenant partners lack their customary mediators (king, prince) and religious mediations. Pillar, see 10.2n.; Gen 31.45. Ephod, Ex 28.6–14; 39.2–7; Judg 8.24–28; 1 Sam 2.18. Teraphim, Gen 31.19; probably ancestor statues. 5: David their king, the only reference in Hosea to a specifically Judahite institution such as the Davidic dynasty, Jerusalem, or Zion; probably a later addition.

4.1–14.9: The prophetic speeches of Hosea indict Israel for unfaithfulness and announce the divine judgment, while offering hope of eventual restoration. The boundaries between individual speech units in the remainder of the book are unclear. This may in part reflect the style of the prophet and may in part be due to later editorial rearrangement.

4.1–12.1: The Lord has an indictment against Israel. 4.1–3: General indictment against the people. 1: Hear the word of the Lord, an introduction in the prophetic style, which serves both the immediately following speech and the remainder of the book. Israel, the primary referent here is the Northern Kingdom (also known as Ephraim) but, like all of Hosea's prophecies, after 722 bce the prophecy is transmitted in Judah; so the address is also to Israel in its broader sense as the people with whom God had made a covenant. Indictment is a legal term: On God's behalf, the prophet files suit against the people for breach of covenant. Faithfulness, loyalty (steadfast love), and knowledge of God are major theological terms in Hosea (2.19–20; 4.6; 5.4,7; 6.3,6; 10.12; 11.3–4,12b; 12.6). 2: Swearing …, five of the Ten Commandments referred to (Ex 20.7,13–16; Deut 5.11,17–20). 3: See 2.21–23n.

4.4–19: An indictment of corrupt religious practices. 4–8: The corruption issues from the priests, perhaps such as Amaziah, priest of Bethel, who opposed Hosea's contemporary Amos (Amos 7.10–17). 4: Legally, there are no grounds for a counterclaim against God. Contend, contention, the same legal terminology translated in 4.1 as “indictment.” 5–6: The phrases destroy your mother and forget your children build on the foundation of 1.2–3.5. Forgotten the law (Heb “torah”) of your God, the teachings of Moses; cf. 4.2. Priests were responsible for teaching the people; cf. Deut 33:10. 7: The more … the more, for a similar formulation, see 11.2. 8: They feed, the priests depend on the sacrificial system for food. Since more sins require more sacrifices, Hosea accuses the priests of a debased relationship in their role in the process of atonement. 9–14: The corruption, detailed here in terms of drunkenness, sexual activity, and divination, spreads from priests to the rest of society. 10: Human fertility, also part of the divine blessing (Gen 1.28), is affected by human unfaithfulness. The saying has the form of a futility curse in which actions do not produce their expected results; cf. Deut 28.38–42. 11–12: Whoredom, that is, improper worship and veneration of fertility deities. 12: Piece of wood, divining rod, the exact referents are unknown. Trees or wooden symbols were associated with the worship of Asherah, a Canaanite goddess. 13: A reference to high-place sanctuaries and their sacred groves (Deut 12.2). Their shade, note the contrast between this shade and that of 14.7. 14: Temple prostitutes, lit., “sacred women,” i.e., female ritual officials, a feature of Canaanite but not orthodox Israelite practice. Without understanding, see 2.20n. 15–19: An admonishment to Judah: Do not let the contamination spread to you. 15: Gilgal, Beth-aven (i.e., Bethel; Am 5.5), the northern shrines closest to Judah. Beth-aven (lit., “house of worthlessness”) is a pejorative name for Bethel (“house of God”). 16: Stubborn heifer, see 10.11. 17: Ephraim was the name for the region surrounding Samaria. Though often used as a general term for the Northern Kingdom, its use here and Hosea's preference for it over Israel in the rest of the book could reflect a changed political situation. Israel gradually lost its territory in Transjordan, Galilee, and Jezreel in this period; in the end Ephraim was all that remained.

5.1–6.6: The people do not know the Lord. 5.1: The judgment, in a legal sense. Mizpah, a fortress city on the border between Judah and Israel (1 Kings 15.22), probably housed a sanctuary, like many border towns. Tabor, a mountain in northern Israel, overlooking the Jezreel Valley (Ps 89.12); probably the site of a sanctuary (Deut 33.18–19). 2: Shittim, a border town in Transjordan; the final encampment of the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan; also site of an infamy (9.10; Num 25.1–9). 3–4: Note the wordplay with “knowledge”: The Lord knows (is aware of) Ephraim (‘s deeds) but they do not know (demonstrate loyalty toward) the Lord. See 2.20n. Spirit of whoredom, see 4.11–12n. 5–7: Because of their disloyalty, the Lord will not be available to the people at festivals. 5: Israel's pride, also in 7.10. 6: They shall go, in pilgrimage festivals. As in 6.6; Amos 5.21–24, and Mic 6.6–8, liturgies and rites untethered from ethical behavior are ignored by God. 7: New moon shall devour, meaning obscure. 8–14: In the day of punishment the Lord will become the enemy of Israel (Am 9.2–4). This section may refer to the Syro-Ephraimite War (2 Kings 15.27–30) in 735 bce, when Israel under Pekah formed a coalition with Syria to force Judah to join a rebellion against Assyria. 8: Blow the horn, the alarm signal used by sentinels. Gibeah, Ramah, Benjaminite towns just north of Jerusalem, situated on the path an invading army would take approaching from the south (Isa 10.28–32); Beth-aven, see 4.15n. This may refer to a Judahite counterattack after the Syro-Ephraimite initiative failed. 10–14: There is no defense against God. 10: Remove the landmark, a landmark is a boundary marker, defining the extent of property; the removal of such amounted to land theft; see Deut 19.14; 27.17; Prov 22.28; 23.10. 13: Went to Assyria, Hoshea, the final king in Samaria (732–722 bce), sought to appease Assyria in the wake of Pekah's failed rebellion (2 Kings 16.3). 14: Lion, see Job 10.16; Lam 3.10.

5.15–6.6: God punishes not to annihilate but in order to inspire repentance. This section is in the form of a dialogue. 5:15: Seek … in your distress, cf. Deut 4.29–30. 6.1: God both punishes and heals; see Deut 32.39; Job 5.18. 2: The punishment is temporary. Two days … third day, idiomatic expression for a brief period of time. 3: Spring rains, the latter (March-April) rains (Deut 11.14). 4–6: A summary of the entire speech. 4: What shall I do with you, it seems as if Israel's relationship with God is irrevocably broken, but see 11.8. 6: God desires covenant loyalty, a persistent theme of the prophets (Am 5.22–24; Mic 6.6–8). Knowledge of God, see 2.20n.

6.7–11a: An unholy gazetteer. 7: At Adam, a town in central Transjordan, close to where the Israelites crossed the Jordan (Josh 3.16). But it is also possible to read Adam here as personal, i.e., “to a man” they have transgressed. 8: Men from Gilead participated in the assassination of King Pekahiah (2 Kings 15.25). 9: Shechem, a major Ephraimite town, 7 mi (12 km) southeast of Samaria. Their monstrous crime is unspecified, though it may involve mistreatment of pilgrims, indecent religious acts, or brutal opposition to prophetic activity. For examples of Shechem's history of violence, see Gen 34; Judg 9. 10: Ephraim's whoredom, see 4.11–12n.; 4.17.

6.11b–7.7: A corrupt people and government. The author uses the metaphor of an oven to describe the heated activity of Israel's idolaters, the fervent celebration of the enthronement ritual, the hot anger of those who oppose the king, and the burning violence of assassination. 7.1: The theme of healing again (5.13; 6.1). Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom. 4: The time between the kneading of the dough and its fermentation is apparently when the oven was hottest. 5: Day of our king, perhaps at coronation. 6: An oven was typically a cylindrical earthenware structure with an opening at the top that permitted smoke or flames to escape (cf. Gen 15.17). 7: Devour their rulers, four Israelite kings were assassinated between 747 and 732 bce.

7.8–16: Mixing, religious and political, is bad. 8–10: Ephraim is a half-baked cake. 10: Cf. 5.5. 11: The dove was considered silly because it was overly familiar with humans and easily captured. Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom, flits between Egypt and Assyria, seeking alliances to its detriment. Egypt and Assyria are the “foreigners” of v. 9. For the historical background, see 2 Kings 15.19–20; 17.3–4. 14: The contrast is between acceptable forms of prayer, crying to me from the heart, and those which were unacceptable, such as wailing upon their beds (Isa 57.8) and self-mutilation (they gash themselves) (Deut 14.1; 1 Kings 18.28). 15: Cf. 11.3–4. 16: Babbling, i.e., negotiations conducted in the Egyptian language.

8.1–14: For the crime of assimilating foreign political models and religious practices, the punishment is foreign domination. 1–3: A military alarm signals the approach of an enemy, the Assyrians, the vehicle of divine judgment against Israel. This section is in the form of a dialogue. 1: Vulture, or eagle, a symbol of the Assyrian army (Jer 49.22). 2: Know, see 2.20n. 4: They made kings … without my knowledge, without endorsement from the Lord by a prophet. 5–6: There were calf images at the northern shrines of Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12.28); the singular calf here probably refers to that at Bethel (10.5), the shrine closest to the city of Samaria. An artisan, see Isa 40.19–20. 7–10: As punishment for political defection, Israel will be subjugated by foreigners. Wind, a reference to useless vanity (see Prov 11.29; Eccl 1.14,17), here implying Israel's idol worship, will become a destructive whirlwind. See also 12.1. 9: The phrase a wild ass … Ephraim plays on the Heb words for wild ass (“pereʾ”) and Ephraim (“ʾeprayim”); cf. Jer 2.24. Bargained for lovers, had relations with Syria, Egypt, and Assyria. 11–14: As punishment for religious defection, Israel shall return to Egypt (cf. 9.3,6; 11.5; Deut 17.16). 12: My instructions, my “torahs,” the legacy of Moses.

9.1–6: Israel's festivals are condemned. 1: Prostitute's pay, Gen 38.17; Deut 23.17; Mic 1.7. Threshing floors, harvest festivals were an occasion for communal worship; in this case, illicit worship. They were also the site of sexual overtures (Ruth 3). 3: See 8.11–14n.; Am 7.17. 4: Drink offerings were not, in themselves, forbidden; cf. Gen 35.14. Mourners’ bread was unclean because of association with the dead. 6: Memphis was the capital of Lower (northern) Egypt. Tents here probably refers to festival structures.

9.7–9: A response to the prophet's critics. 7: Man of the spirit, that is, the prophet (see Isa 11.2; 61.1; Ezek 2.2; Mic 3.8). 8: For the prophet as sentinel who sees at a distance and announces the divine approach, see Isa 21.6; Jer 6.17; Ezek 3.16–21; 33.6–8. House of his God, either the region as a whole or a former sanctuary where the prophet is no longer welcome (see 9.4). 9: Gibeah, the infamous episode there and its aftermath are detailed in Judg 19–21.

9.10–11.11: Before and after. This section consists of a series of four metaphors (Israel as grapes in the wilderness, a luxuriant vine, a heifer trained, a beloved child) used to characterize the people's former fidelity and health, and contrasted with their present corrupt state brought about by religious, social, and political misdeeds. As the first three metaphors unfold, the cumulative message appears to be that the covenant is irrevocably broken and Israel is to be abandoned (9.17; 10.10; 10.15). The fourth part, the culmination of the series and, for many scholars, the culmination of the prophecies of Hosea, initially continues in this vein (11.1–7), but then dramatically shifts from an angry to a compassionate tone (11.8–11).

9.10–17: Israel, grapes in the wilderness found by God (v. 10), is now desiccated (v. 16). 10: First fruit, a reference to Israel's divine election in the wilderness (see Deut 32.10; Jer 2.2–3). Baal-peor, the site of grave disloyalty during the wilderness period (see Num 25.1–18). Thing of shame, a pejorative epithet for Baal. 15: Gilgal, a venerable Israelite shrine near Jericho (e.g., Josh 4.20; 10.43; 1 Sam 7.16); condemned here as the site of illicit worship (4.15; 12.11; Am 4.4; 5.5). Also, at Gilgal the Lord reluctantly acceded to the people's request for a king (1 Sam 10.14–11.25).

10.1–10: Israel, a luxuriant vine (v. 1), is now weedy (v. 4) and overrun with thorns (v. 8). 1–2: In Canaan Israel increased in sin (here adopting illicit religious practices) as it increased in prosperity; cf. Deut 6.10–15. 2: Pillars, standing stones, condemned in Ex 23.24; see 3.4. 4: Empty oaths, Ex 20.7. 5: Calf, 8.5n. Beth-aven, see 4.15n. 8: Aven, 10.5n. Mountains, Cover us …, this phrase will be reused in New Testament depictions of divine judgment (Lk 23.30; Rev 6.16). 9: Gibeah, 9.9n. 10: God is a commander of the nations who will direct them against Israel. Double iniquity, Gibeah's former sin (see 9.9n.) and present guilt.

10.11–15: Heifer Israel now plows wickedness. 11: Trained heifer, compare with 4.16. Spared her … neck, i.e., she was unyoked. 12: Break up your fallow ground, Jer 4.3. Rain is a frequent prophetic symbol of divine restoration and blessing (Isa 44.3; 45.8; 55.10). 13: Contrast Ps 20.7, 44.6, Isa 31.1. 14: Shalman … Beth-arbel, the allusion is unknown, but perhaps refers to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V (see 2 Kings 17.3) or the Moabite king Salamanu. 15: Bethel, see 8.5–6n.

11.1–11: A divine soliloquy: Israel as God's wayward child. This speech employs the culminating, and most intimate, metaphor in the series: Israel as the Lord's child. It also ends this long section, which began in 4.1, on a hopeful note. Here, the divine mood shifts from anger to compassion. 1: Cf. Ex 4.22. 2: Baals, see 2.13n. 3: Cf. 7.15. 5: Return to … Egypt, 8.13; 9.3. 8–9: At the pivotal point of this soliloquy, divine compassion overcomes divine anger. This is perhaps the Bible's strongest affirmation of divine mercy since it occurs without prophetic intercession or despite the people's refusal to return (v. 5), that is, repent. Admah, Zeboiim, cities destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19; Deut 29.23). 10: In contrast with 5.14, this lion's roar is not aggressive but is a summons to its mate or cubs. 11: Doves, contrast 7.11. These doves exhibit a homing instinct. Egypt and Assyria, contrast 9.3.

11.12–12.1: The futility of foreign alliances. 11.12: But Judah still …, perhaps a later addition. 12.1: Cf. 8.7. Treaty with Assyria, see 2 Kings 15.19–20; 17.3. Oil … to Egypt, Samaria was renowned for its olive oil, used here as a commodity of tribute to Egypt, which produced little.

12.2–14.9: Rebellion and restoration. Another major division in the book (like 4.1–12.1), which begins with the announcement of an indictment and ends with an oracle of hope.

12.2–13.16: A divine lawsuit against Israel, which mixes historical retrospection with contemporary critique. For a historical summary with a similar tone, see Ps 106. 12.2: The Lord has an indictment, cf. 4.1. 3: Gen 25.26; 32.22–30. 4–5: Gen 28.11–17; 35.5–8. 7: See Am 8.5. Trader, the Hebrew word can also mean “Canaanite,” thus a doubly condemnatory pun. 8: As if prosperity were proof of virtue. 9: I am the Lord your God, see Ex 20.2; Deut 5.6; Ps 81.10; Isa 43.3. Tents, a customary feature of seasonal rites (Lev 23.34–43; Deut 16.13) and symbolic of the wilderness period, will be all that remains for Israel following the divine punishment. 11: Gilead, see 6.8n.; Gilgal, see 9.15n. 12–13: Jacob … guarded sheep, Gen 29.1–30. 13: By a prophet, the first reference is clearly to Moses; the second may be Moses as well, or Samuel (1 Sam 3.20) or Elijah (1 Kings 18.22). 13.1: An allusion to Ephraim's relative prosperity during much of the Divided Monarchy. 2: Kissing calves, see 8.5–6n.; 1 Kings 19.18. 3: Morning mist, cf. 6.4. 4: See 12.9n. 5: Cf. 11.4. 8: A bear robbed of her cubs, a popular image for ferocity (2 Sam 17.8; Prov 17.12). Lion, see 5.14; 11.10. 9–11: This may refer to the deposing of Hoshea by the Assyrians in 723 bce (2 Kings 17.4). 10: King … may save, read this in light of 13.4: the Lord alone is Israel's savior. Give me a king, Israel requested human leadership; see 1 Sam 8.6,19; 12.13,17. 11: I gave … a king in my anger, cf. 1 Sam 12. 13: The pain of divine judgment is designed not to kill but to induce new life, yet Israel, unwise, refuses to budge. 14: Sheol, the abode of all the dead, both righteous and unrighteous. Death (Mot), the Canaanite deity of the underworld, is probably referred to here; cf. Job 18.13; Ps 49.14; Isa 28.15; Hab 2.5. In this judgment speech, compassion is hidden, unlike 11.8. 15: Flourish among rushes, alludes to political reliance on Egypt, which will be blown away by the “east wind,” Assyria. The east wind … a blast from the Lord, contrasts the east wind, which was the vehicle of the Lord's deliverance of Israel at the Reed Sea (Ex 14.21; 15.8). 16: The ravages of conquering armies; cf. 10.14; 2 Kings 8.12; Ps 137.9; Am 1.13.

14.1–8: A final plea for repentance and a vision of restoration. 2–3: Take words, i.e., take these words: The prophet coaches Israel in repentance. 3: Horses, cf. Ps 20.7. The work of our hands, see 8.6. Mercy or “pity,” the same root as in Lo-ruhamah/Ruhamah (1.6; 2.1). 5: Dew is a life-sustaining necessity in the dry land of Israel (Ps 133.3); contrast the image in 6.4; 13.3. 6: This fragrance is of the aromatic Lebanese cedar forest; in the next verse, of Lebanese scented wine. 7–8: My shadow, more common is the poetic image of the “shade” under God's wings (Ps 17.8; 36.8); uniquely here, God's shade is that of a great tree. In contrast to the trees used in Canaanite worship (see 4.12n.), God's presence is everlasting, like the abundant foliage of an evergreen.

14.9: A postscript in the style of wisdom literature. For the first half of the verse, cf. Ps 107.43; Jer 9.12; for the second, Prov 10.29.

^a That is God sows

^b That is Not pitied

^a That is Not my people

^b Heb I am not yours

^c Ch 2.1 in Heb

^d Heb rise up from

^e Ch 2.3 in Heb

^f Gk: Heb brothers

^g That is My people

^h Gk Vg: Heb sisters

ⁱ That is Pitied

^j Gk Syr: Heb your

^a That is, “My master”

^b Heb them

^c Heb break

^d That is God sows

^a Cn: Heb her

^b That is Not pitied

^c That is Not my people

^d Gk: Heb a homer of barley and a lethech of barley

^e Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Ancient Heb tradition: MT I will change

^b Cn Compare Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Heb her

^b Gk Syr: Heb sacrifices

^c Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^d Heb Israel and Ephraim

^e Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Cn: Heb to a king who will contend

^b Gk Syr: Heb your

^c Cn: Heb like

^d Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^e Syr: Heb are a company

^a Gk Syr: Heb brought near

^b Or humbles

^c Meaning of Heb uncertain

^d Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Or shall go up in flames

^c Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^d Gk: Heb To exultation

^a Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Cn Compare Gk: Heb shall know

^a Heb he

^b Gk Syr: Heb calves

^c Cn: Heb exult

^d Cn: Heb to a king who will contend

^e Cn: Heb counsel

^f Cn Compare Gk: Heb In my desire

^g Gk: Heb bound

^a Gk: Heb they

^b Gk: Heb them

^c Gk Syr Vg: Heb his

^d Or who ease the yoke on their jaws

^e Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Ch 12.1 in Heb

^b Heb roams or rules

^c Gk Syr: Heb us

^d Meaning of Heb uncertain

^e Compare Syr: Heb Gilead

^f Heb lacks sheep

^a Cn Compare Gk: Heb To these they say sacrifices of people

^b Gk Syr: Heb knew

^c Cn: Heb according to their pasture

^d Gk Syr: Heb for in me is your help

^e Gk Syr Vg: Heb I will be

^f Gk Syr: Heb I will be

^g Or among brothers

^a Ch 14.1 in Heb

^b Gk Syr: Heb bulls

^c Cn: Heb like Lebanon

^d Heb his

^e Cn: Heb they shall grow grain

^f Or What more has Ephraim

^g Heb him

^h Heb your fruit