The Divine Lamp

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Hosea 9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the desert, I saw their fathers like the first fruits of the fig tree. The reference to “first fruits” a “grapes” shows that the prophet still has the theme of the harvest feast of Tabernacles in mind (see previous post). The feast of Tabernacles was dedicated to God and celebrated the fall harvest in recognition that the fruits of the land-and indeed, the land itself-were gifts from God. However, the people had perverted this celebration with Baalism. Baal was a fertility god who was worshiped with sexual rites. In performing these rites the devotees believed that baal would send down the rain, conceived of as his seed (sperm) and impregnate the land, making it fertile. For more on Baal see my comments on Hosea 1:2 here. For more on Tabernacles see my comments on Hosea 9:1-9; especially those on verse 1.

Finding grapes in the desert and the coming of the first fruits of the fig tree are things to take great joy in; and joy was one of the hallmarks of the Tabernacles feast. God, in describing Israel in this fashion is witnessing to their initial devotion to Him, a theme already alluded to in the second half of Hosea 2:17. God once took delight in his people, as the farmer delights in and celebrates the first fruits of the harvest, but they went in to Beelphegor (i.e., Baal-Peor) and alienated themselves to that confusion, and became abominable, as those things were, which they loved.

In Numbers 25:1-18 we read of the crime of Baal-Peor and its aftermath. At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles the people would reflect upon the events in the desert, especially recalling the various rebellions narrated in Exodus 16-17; 32-34; Numbers 11-25. The events at Baal-Peor are, as it were, the capstone upon these rebellions.

They alienated themselves to that confusion. The text reads literally: “They consecrated themselves to shame. Consecration is a cultic word meaning “set apart.” The idea was that Israel was to be consecrated, set apart from all that was profane, instead, they set (alienated) themselves apart from God by the rites of Baal, who is here described as “shame.” This word is used to describe Baal in Jeremiah 3:24; 11:13. As a result of this “consecration,” the people became “abominable,” like “those things were, which they loved.” The term translated here as “abominable” is shiqquwts, which is pronounced shik-kuts, an obvious word-play on the Hebrew word for Taernacles: Sukkuth. The term “abominable is often employed in reference to idols (Deut 29:16; Isaiah 66:3).

Hosea 9:11 As for Ephraim, their glory hath flown away like a bird from birth, and from the womb, and from conception. See the NAB and RSV translations offered in the pop-up box. Ephraim was the largest of the tribes of the northern kingdom and is, as here, often used to refer to the entire kingdom. Children are described here as “glory,” but it is a glory that has (or will) fled away from the people. The irony is obvious: having participated in pagan fertility rites the people of God will become infertile (see the covenant curses in Deut 28:18).

Hosea 9:12 And though they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men. This could be taken two ways: (1) the childlessness threatened in the previous verse will effect the people’s existing children (i.e., their children will have no children), or, (2) the children will begin to die off. The NAB translation supports #1, while the RSV supports #2.

Yea, and woe to them, when I shall depart from them. The flying away of the glory of children will be the result of God’s departure from the people. One of the hallmarks of the feast of Tabernacles is that it celebrated God’s presence with the people. This presence was manifested by God’s glory (Exodus 33:18; 1 Kings 8:11). The departure of that glory/presence was a sign of disfavor. See Ezekiel chapters 10 and 11 where the departure of God’s glory from Jerusalem signifies the impending doom of the city (avoid the NAB translation here).

Hosea 9:13 The Douay-Rheims (like the NAB) is translating the Hebrew text of this verse. For a translation of the Greek see the RSV. The nation, once as beautiful and prosperous as Tyre, will suffer defeat at the hands of an enemy (”the murderer”). Tyre was an island nation devoted to the worship of Baal, and it naturally attributed its fortunes to this devotion. King Ahab (Achab) of Israel was married to Jezebel (Jezabel), a Tyrian who supported the cult of Baal in Israel with disastrous consequences

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Hosea 9:1 Rejoice not, O Israel: rejoice not as the nations do. The reference to the cornfloor (threshingfloor) in this verse, along with the reference to wine in verse 2, and “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land” in verse 3, indicates that the prophet has in mind the feast of Sukkoth (also called Feast of Ingathering, or Booths, or Tabernacles. See Ex 23:16; Deut 16:13-15; ). This was a harvest festival which was closely connected to the remembrance of the desert wanderings and the gift of the promised land. It was to be a time of thanksgiving, joy, and merrymaking. According to Deut 26:1-11, a person was to bring a basket of items harvested to the place where God chose to dwell (Jerusalem) and give it to the priest while stating: `I declare this day to the LORD your God that I have come into the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ The priest was to take the basket and place it before the altar, at which point the offerer was to recite the following: `A wandering Aramean was my father (i.e. Abraham); and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 7 Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; 8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O LORD, hast given me.’

Note the close connection between the wandering and exile status of the people in times past, and the current possession of the land.

The Israelites are told to rejoice not as the nations do because they have been unfaithful to God, loving a harlot’s hire upon every threshing floor. Pagan harvest celebrations, especially those connected to the fertility god Baal, took place at threshing floors as a matter of convenience, for it was at such places that the grain was separated from the stalks. They also took place at wine presses as well (vs 2). The rites often involved sexual practices. By engaging in such rites on the pretext of celebrating the feast of Tabernacles, the people were committing harlotry against the covenant with God, which was often portrayed in term of marriage. Covenant infidelity thus came to be compared to marital infidelity, an important aspect of this book (see Hosea 2:1-25).

Hosea 9:2 The (threshing) floor and the winpress shall not feed them, and the wine shall deceive them. Recalls the threats in chapter 2. God will take away the land’s abundance as a sign that He-not the Baals-is responsible for the fruitful harvest.

The wine shall deceive them. “Deceive” could also be translated as “fail”; many think this is a better translation (but see Hosea 4:10-11; Isaiah 5:11-12). An abundance of wine was a sign of God’s favor (Deut 7:13; Hosea :10; Proverbs 3:7-12). Lack of wine was a sign of God’s displeasure (Deut 28:30, 39; Hosea 2:11; Amos 5:11).

Hosea 9:3 They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land. Once again the threat of exile looms (see Hosea 7:12, 16; 8:13).

Ephraim is returned to Egypt, and hath eaten unclean things among the Assyrians. The RSV reads: “But Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.” Is and hath in the DR version reflects the tenses used in both the Hebrew and Greek versions of the prophet, however, often in the prophets tenses denoting existing (i.e., is) or accomplished (i.e., hath, has) facts are used of future realities, emphasizing that what is being promised, threatened, or stated will in fact occur. Such a meaning is brought out by the RSV, NAB, and other translations. “Ephraim shall return to Egypt” does not mean that Israel will be exiled there. Egypt, because of the Hebrew’s experience of bondage to the Egyptians and their god’s, became a metaphor for bondage to any pagan nation and its gods. Assyria will become the new Egypt, a new place of bondage for Israel.

Note that the threat of exile and the eating of unclean food indicates a reversal of what the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated.

Hosea 9:4 They shall not offer wine to the Lord. Libations of wine were a prominent ritual during Tabernacles. The people were engaging in the worship of God as a mere pretext, but even this pretext will be taken away.

Their sacrifices shall be like the bread of mourners. The joy of the Feast of Tabernacles will come to an end because the people have perverted it. This is a reference to the pagan practice of offering bread to the dead (see Deut 26:14). In an Exile situation all sacrificial meat would become unclean.

All that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord. The DR translation used here is over-literal, and does not take account of the various meanings of the Hebrew nephesh., or its Greek equivalent. The RSV reads: “For their bread shall be for their hunger only; it shall not come into the house of the Lord.” The NAB reads: Such food as they have shall be for themselves; it cannot enter the house of the Lord.” Since nephesh can mean “life”, the text is probably meant to indicate that the food the people eat will be of benefit only for their temporal well-being (”for themselves”, “for their hunger only”). It can and will have no sacrificial value and cannot enter the house (temple) of God, which the people would be separated from anyways, in the event of exile.

Hosea 8:5 Even if they desire to celebrate the feast correctly, in exile there will be no opportunity to do so.

Hosea 9:6 They are gone because of destruction (Note the present tense; see note on vs 3) refers to the people no longer being in the promised land, unable to go to the temple of Jerusalem for the proper worship of God on the feast. This will surely come about because Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them. As already noted, Egypt is a symbolic reference to exile. Memphis was a leading city of Egypt. In the prophet’s mind, Egypt is a symbol of Assyria where the people will die in exile.

Nettles shall inherit their precious silver, the bur shall be in their tabernacles. In Hosea 2:8 we read that God had given the people their silver, but they attributed it to the Baals. In Hosea 8:4 we read that with the silver they made idols. This pagan paraphernalia will be left behind when they go into exile (see Isaiah 2:18-20). The Garden land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8) will become a wasteland, overgrown by weeds. Inherit represents the Hebrew word yarash, which can also mean “take possession” or “impoverish.” The last possibility is, I think, the best. The idols of the fertility gods who were thought to give the land its fruitful abundance will be impoverished by worthless growth. Their nothingness will then be seen. The tabernacles where the people once dwelt to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles (which they perverted) will become overgrown with thorns. The fact that thorns will dwell in the tabernacles (i.e., dwellings) where the people were to dwell in thanksgiving for the inheritance of the garden land and its produce is highly ironic. Reflected in this passage is the disobedience of Adam (Gen 3:17-19, 23).

Hosea 9:7 The days of visitation…the days of repaying are come. God is about to manifest his judgment against the people.

Know ye, O Israel, that the prophet was foolish…for the multitude of thy iniquity, and the multitude of thy madness. Intense sarcasm. In Hosea 4:5-6 the prophets were condemned for willfully rejecting knowledge of God and His law. The people were in fact not unaware of this: “The prophet was foolish, the spiritual man was mad, FOR the multitude of thy iniquity, and the multitude of thy madness.” It appears that the prophets had succumbed to the will of the people, telling them what they wanted to hear, rather than what they needed to hear (Concerning the northern kingdom’s rejection of prophecy see Amos 2:12; Amos 7:10-17).

Hosea 9:8 The watchman of Ephraim (i.e., the prophets to the northern kingdom of Israel), was with my God (once faithful), but now: the prophet is become a snare of ruin upon all his (Ephraim’s) ways. Madness is in the house of his God. “House” here refers to the northern kingdom rather than to the temple in Jerusalem. Madness means insanity, here understood as a willful rejection of the knowledge of God. The word could also be translated as hatred. It should be noted that many modern translations and commentators amend this rather difficult verse so that it reads as a rejection of the prophets by the people.

Hosea 9:9 Gabaa in the DR version means Gibeah, the birthplace of Saul, the first King of the chosen people (1 Sam 10:17-26); he was also a prophet (1 Sam 10:9-13) and proved to be a stinker at both. He usurped the priestly/prophetic function of Samuel and, as a consequence, lost any chance of maintaining his kingship or establishing a dynasty (1 Sam 10:8, 13:8-14). He fell into insanity which manifested itself in hatred against David (1 Sam 18:6-16). The reference to Gabaa (Gibeah) suggests Hosea’s dissatisfaction with the prophets and monarchs of the northern kingdom. Gibeah was also the place of a heinous sexual crime in judges 19:22-28. The events instigated there culminated in the event at Shiloh, where women were kidnapped to become wives. This took place during the Feast of Tabernacles (Judges 21:15-25). This last passage ends with the words “In those days their was no king in Israel; everyone did what he thought best.” The implication is that a worthy monarch could have avoided the happening of such events. All in all, the reference to Gabaa (Gibeah) show the prophet’s abhorrence of the incompetence of the prophetic and royal powers in the north.

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Hosea 8:5 Here begins the Prophets account of the Lord’s speech to Israel. The NAB reads “Cast away your calf, O Samaria!” This is a possible rendering, but the text could also be taken as “He (i.e., God) has rejected your calf, O Samaria!” ” Either way it is apparent that the false worship in Samaria is going to take another beating. However one chooses to translate the Hebrew zanahti here, a clear link is provided with verse 3 which spoke of the Israelites having “rejected” or “thrown away” (Hebrew: zanah) that which was good for them (the right worship of God).

The calf of Samaria. According to 1 Kings 12:26-33, Jeroboam, son of Nebat (i.e., Jeroboam the first, 922-901 BC), established cultic shrines (temples) at Dan and Bethel. There is little biblical evidence for there being a cultic center in the city of Samaria, though it should be noted that Samaria did not become the capitol of the northern kingdom until the reign of Omri, some fifty years after the time of Jeroboam. It would be highly unusual for a captiol to be without such a center. It should also be noted that a nations capitol is often named as a synonym for the whole nation; in such a case, “the calf of Samaria” could refer to all the shrines of false worship in the northern kingdom. In Hosea 10:5 the people of Samaria are said to fear for the calf of Beth-aven, a pejorative term for the cultic center at Bethel.

My wrath is kindled against them. What follows gives some of the reasons for God’s anger.

How long will the be incapable of being cleansed? This is certainly a reference to their insincere conversion and false piety (see Hosea 6:1-10).

Hosea 8:6 For itself is an invention of Israel. This is probably meant to convey the idea that the falseness of the calf idol is an invention, unreal, like their piety and conversion.

A workman mad it, and it is no god. No doubt meant to recall the prohibition against idols (Exodus 20:4-5; Deut 5:8-10). Man made idols were often ridiculed by the wise men and prophets of God (Wisdom 10:13-19; Isaiah 44:9-20).

The calf of Samaria shall be turned into spider’s webs. Other translations read “shall be broken in pieces,” or “shall go up in flames.” I suspect the last possibility is the most likely, since it links nicely with the statement that God’s wrath is kindled in verse 5.

Hosea 8:7 Idols are as empty and transitory as the wind, and one reaps what one sows. The wind image highlights the “vacuous nature” of idolatry (Marvin Sweeney). According to the book of Deuteronomy, the people were ensured of abundant and fruitful harvests if they maintained a right relationship with God under terms of His covenant (Deut 28:4). Failure to do this would bring crop failure (Deut 28:15-18, 38-44). Part of the problem in Israel was that its false worship of the true God-bad enough in itself- was often synchronized with worship of Baal, a fertility God who was though to make the land fruitful (Hosea 2:5). In order to prove that it was not the Baal’s who made the land fruitful God promised to show his power over the land (Hosea 2:6-13).

If it should yield, stranger will eat it. See Deut 28:29-33. Note especially verse 33 of the text.

Hosea 8:8 Israel is swallowed up… among the nations. Those who thought they consumed the fruits of the promised land by the power of the Baal’s will be swallowed up by idolatrous nations. The previous verse threatened despoilment of crops by their enemies, this build upon that with an obvious play on words: “Strangers will eat it…Israel is swallowed up…among the nations.”

Like an unclean vessel. “Vessel” is a term often used for paraphernalia employed in religious observances. Often times, a defeated nation’s temples were pillaged and the objects used in worship were taken to the victor nation’s shrines for display or use in the worship of their gods.

Note: Exile is clearly being threatened here (especially verse 7), but the prophet has a more immediate concern; notice that the wording of verse 8 is present, not future: “Israel is swallowed up.” The immediate concern is with the foreign alliances Israel has made with pagan nations. Such alliances entailed the invoking of these nations gods and will lead to the punishment of exile.

Hosea 8:9-10 Israel is “swallowed up” even now because of its political alliance with Assyria. Yahweh (God) should have been its so lover, however, like a senseless jackass the nation has wandered to other nations (and their gods). Like a harlot it has sought out other lovers (recall the marriage motif in chapters 1-3).

The text of verse 10 is highly problematic and variously translated and interpreted. Gathering could refer to the bringing of the people back from exile (Micah 2:12); but it is also used for the gathering of the people’s lovers (pagan nations) for the purpose of punishment (Ezek 16:37). They shall rest a while from the burden of kings and princes could mean that the people would be given relief from bad rulers. The meaning then could be: “I will gather the people to myself (i.e., lead them to conversion) to avoid their exile; and will do away with their rulers.” If this is the sense, then what is being alluded to here is probably the reunification of the northern kingdom of Israel with the Davidic kingdom of Judah.

However, the word behind the translation “they shall rest” can have sexual connotations. “They shall rest a while from the burden of kings and princes” could also be translated as: “They are profaned a little from sexual relations with kings…” The meaning of the verse then might be: They have hired themselves out as a harlot to the nations, so I will gather them together for judgment, for they have profaned themselves with foreign kings and princes.”

Hosea 8:11 Multiplication of altars was forbidden by Deut 12:4-14.

Hosea 8:12-13 The rendering of verse 12 by the NAB and the RSV is too be preferred to that of the DR translation. The Law of God has been considered something foreign by his people who have chosen foreign gods. Because of this, God has no regard for their sacrifice and will lead the people into exile. In verse 9 the people were said to”go up to Assyria,” as a result, they will now “return to Egypt.” This should not be construed as an actual exile in Egypt, rather, Egypt is the symbol of slavery and servitude to foreigners. The Israelites were already in that situation voluntarily by their alliance with Egypt; the prophet is here suggesting that it would turn worse, and the people would experience something similar to the bondage in Egypt.

Hosea 8:14 The focus of most of the criticism in Hosea is against Israel, but Judah is occasionally critiqued as well. Israel forgot its maker and built many temples. Judah has fortified many citites; the law forbid both the multiplication of temples and militarism. Israel, it would seem, was putting its trust in false gods; whereas Judah was putting its trust in martial arms.

The text is divided into three parts: A) Verses 1-4, in which God, through his Prophet, announces the charge of Israel’s violation of the covenant; B) verses 5-13a, God, through the prophet, lays down specific charges against Israel; C), verses 13b-14, the punishment of Israel (and Judah) is announced.  In this post I will examine the first part, vss 1-4.
Vs. 1  Set the trumpet to thy mouth.  As an eagle he comes against the house of Yahweh, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.  As verse 2 makes clear, the words are directed towards Israel.  The reference to the trumpet reminds us of the words addressed to Benjamin in 5:8.  The trumpet (Hebrew: shofar, ram’s horn) was both a cultic instrument, (Ps. 98:6; Num 29:1) and a military alarm/call-to-arms (Num 10:9; Judges 6:34).  The eagle would perhaps read better as vulture, a bird of prey which feasts upon carrion, for Israel, as a result of its breaking of the covenant, will be “swallowed up (vs 8).  The Hebrew nesher  is derived from a root meaning to lacerate, implying any type of bird which rends the flesh of its prey.  Who the he is who comes against the House of Yahweh is is not stated; however, birds of prey, especially the eagle, were symbols used by the Assyrian kings to symbolize their military might.  God, it appears, is threatening to use Assyria as an instrument of punishment for covenant transgression.  The House of Yahweh is probably to be understood as  an ironic reference to the false shrines established in the Northern Kingdom at Dan and Bethel.  The construction of these shrines were soundly condemned by numerous prophets and were not truly the House of Yahweh.  The law laid down that worship and sacrifice was to take place only at the spot chosen by God (see Deut 12:1-14).  Likewise, the law forbid the making of idols, and the sanctuaries in the north contained altars in the shape of bulls or calves, recalling the sin of the golden calf during the Exodus (see vss 5, 6; Ex 32; 1 Kings 12:26-33).  Transgression implies open, known, pre-meditated rebellion.  This makes the following verse rather telling.
Vs 2  They shall cry unto me, ‘My God, we Israel know thee’.  Brings up once again the theme of Israel’s insincerity in its covenant relations with God (see 5:15-6:4).  The text is somewhat awkward, given the singular “my” in conjunction with the plural “we.”

Vs 3  Israel has cast off that which is good; the enemy shall pursue him.  The word translated cast off has the meaning of “throw away” and is a reference to their rejection of God and/or the covenant (recall verse 1).  As has been noted several times in my notes, being pursued by an enemy is one of the major punishments for covenant infidelity as laid down in the Book of Deuteronomy 28.

Vs 4  They have set up kings, but not by me, they have made princes, and I knew it not; with their silver and their gold they have made idols, and so they will be cut off.  The reigning king of Israel at the start of Hosea’s ministry was Jeroboam II, a descendant of King Jehu whom God had established on the throne and to whom he promised a 4 generation line of succession.   To whom then, does the text refer?  To previous or post Jeroboam II kings?  Either is possible, especially the latter.  After the reign of Jeroboam II a series of 6 kings came to the throne over a period of 20 years.  Of that number, 4 were assassinated and two were removed by the Assyrians.  Personally, I like the suggestion of Marvin Sweeney who thinks the kings and princes referred to are a reference to the various political alliances Israel formed with pagan nations.  Israel tended to be subservient in these relationships and, therefore, at the beck and call of these foreign rulers.  As we have already seen in previous notes, the Prophet has condemned such alliances several times.  Such alliances were covenantal and entailed swearing oaths and offering sacrifices to the foreign gods and honoring them in ones own country, hence the statement with their silver and gold they have made idols.  These alliances fostered trade, bringing wealth (silver and gold) to Israel (see 12:1-2).    Having cast off that which is good (God and covenant vs 3) they will in turn be cut off.

Vs 5

7:13. Woe to them!

7:14. They haven’t cried to me with their heart,

7:15. Though I have taught and strengthened their arms,

7:16. They return, but not to the Most High.

Due to time constraints the current post will not be as detailed as my previous notes. I hope to correct that in the near future. To read my other notes on Hosea click the link above, under the blog’s title.

Ephraim, he mixes himself among the nations.
Ephraim is a pancake not turned over.
Strangers have devoured his strength,

The pride of Israel testifies to his face;

“Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding.

When they go, I will spread my net on them.
I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.
I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard.

I seldom quote from commentaries but I liked how the Navarre Bible Commentary summarizes this passage:

The third oracle (7:8-12) is a prophetic denunciation of the policy of making pacts with foreign countries. What the oracle says is very much like what an earlier oracle says (cf. 5:1-15); political alliances with foreigners were never merely that: they always ended with Israel’s religion being contaminated and the Lord being neglected. Here again Hosea uses a parable-that of the “cakes not turned”; the underneath part gets burnt but the top remains uncooked: in other words, the pacts with Assyria and Egypt are useless: they damage one part of Israel and do no good to the other; Israel, like a silly pigeon (cf. v. 11), has gone looking for strange novelties instead of returning to her Lord; now he is going to hunt her and chastise her (v. 12). This passage must have been very vivid to Hosea’s contemporaries; they knew how bad things were going for them, and it was all their own fault. The prophet is not detached from what is happening around him; it grieves him deeply. And when we read these words now, they lead us to check whether personally or collectively we are not as empty-headed as Ephraim; maybe we, too, fail to see the hand of God in the world we live in.

Ephraim, he mixes himself among the nations… Ephraim was the largest of the northern tribes and is often, as here, used to stand for the entire northern kingdom. The prophets often condemned political alliances with pagans, for such alliances entailed swearing oaths to the gods of those peoples. The word for “mixes” is used in Exodus to describe the mixing of oil with flour for the purpose of offering cakes (of bread) as a sacrifice to God. When the prophet describes Ephraim as a (pan)cake not turned, the implication is that it has become a useless sacrifice to other gods.

Devoured his strength…gray hairs… (see Hosea 5:12; Rev 3:17). In seeking its strength in military and political alliances, the kingdom was in fact becoming weak, for its real protector, God, was cast aside, and, in virtue of the covenant, forced to punish them (see Deuteronomy 8:19-20).

They have not returned to Yahweh… Recalls the scathing denunciation of their feigned conversion in chapter 6. Significantly, that condemnation followed immediately upon the critique of their foreign alliances with Egypt and Assyria-the same context as here.

Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding… As in Isaiah 1:3 the Hebrew text implies that the lack of understanding is intentional.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture texts are taken from the WEB Bible.

7:3  They make the King glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.
7:4  They are all adulterers.  They are burning like an oven that the baker stops stirring, from the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened.
7:5  On the day of our king, the princes made themselves sick with the heat of wine.  He joined his hand with mockers.
7:6  For they have prepared their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait.  Their baker sleeps all night.  In the morning it consumes it burns as a flaming fire.
7:7  They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges.  All their kings have fallen.  There is no one among them who calls to me.

In 1:4-5 the prophet had predicted the downfall of the dynasty of Jehu and of the northern kingdom of Israel.  Apparently, the former was the start of the latter.  After the death of Jeroboam II, of the dynasty of Jehu, six kings would reign in Israel over a span of just twenty years.  Of these, four would be assassinated; one would be removed by the king of Assyria, and the last would be taken into exile by the Assyrians when the kingdom was destroyed.  Here the prophet is speaking about the political intrigue of wicked men who deal treacherously with the king in order to gain his confidence and thus more easily kill him.

Many scholars interpret the text a focusing on a specific king and his assassin.  The most common candidates are Pekahiah, who was assassinated by Pekah, who then seized the throne.  Some others attribute the text to Menahem’s assassination of Shallum or Hoshea’s assassination of Pekah.  Clearly, there is no scarcity of candidates, and for me it seems that we should best interpret the text as a general prophecy of what was to come, rather than as referring to a specific event.

Vs 3  They make the king glad with their wickedness… A righteous king would not be gladdened by wickedness; the king’s own sins have set him up for his fall to wicked men.  The same can be said of his “princes” (heirs or men of position in the kingdom’s administration).

Vs 4  They are adulterers.  They are burning like an oven that the baker stops stirring.  An odd combination of metaphors.  Perhaps the idea is: Just as a man burns with lust after a woman, so too, these men burn with lust for murder and the kingship.  More likely, the two metaphors are to be taken as separate; adultery being a reference to feigned friendship, for an adulterer fakes fidelity to his wife while cheating on her.

The whole text of vs 4 is badly corrupted and a number of interpretations are possible-e.g., the passions of the intriguers are like an oven that burns its contents; their mood is uncertain like an oven whose fire burns down and does not bake the bread enough; like a baker who puts yeast in the dough and then banks the fire to keep the dough warm without baking it, they repress their passions until everything is ready and they can deliver the decisive blow.  The extension of the oven image in vss 6-7a would seem to support this last interpretation.  (Jerome Biblical Commentary 15:19)

vs 5  On the day of our king, the princes made themselves sick with the heat of wine.  He (the king) joined his hands with mockers.  “The day of our king” is most likely either a reference to the day of his enthronement, or to the celebration of its anniversary.  On such a day, their is drunkenness among the princes (the king’s advisers?) who should have been watching out for the king’s interests.   Instead, the king associates with irreligious men whom he thinks are friends.

Vss 6-7  See the quotation from the JBC above.  Note also the phrase “all their kings have fallen;” a possible indication that the text should not be taken as referring to a specific king, as I noted above.

All quotes are from the WEB Bible unless noted otherwise. All links, unless noted otherwise, are from the RSV.

Read the text: RSV. Douay-Rheims Youngs WEB

NOTES

6:8 Gilead- This is the only time the city of Gilead is mentioned in the Bible, where it was situated is unknown, if it existed at all. Gilead is elsewhere spoken of as a territory. It was situated it the Trans-Jordain region and was settled by the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. It is possible that the whole territory is being described as a city or, the important city of Ramoth, which was in Gilead, is being spoken of. It was in this city that Jehu, whose dynasty is condemned by Hosea (1:4-5), came to power. This may have something to do with the harsh words directed towards the territory which seems to have been the first to experience God’s displeasure during Jehu’s reign (2 Kings 10:31-33).

The inhabitants are described as those who work iniquity. Iniquity translates aven, which is used elsewhere in the pejorative term Beth-aven (house of iniquity) as a designation for the shrine at Bethel (4:15). Perhaps the iniquity referred to is the fact that they continue to frequent the false shrine in direct violation of the covenant.

Vs 9 As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so the company of priests murder in the way toward Shechem committing shameful crimes. In Deuteronomy 27 Moses laid down regulations for a covenant renewal ceremony which was to take place at shechem. Such a renewal ceremony is spoken of as taking place under Joshua’ leadership in Joshua 24. It was also at Shechem that the split between the ten northern tribes and the two southern tribes took place( 1 Kings 12). The split was willed by God as punishment for Solomon’s sins (1 Kings 11:11-13) , but it was only intended as a political split, the North quickly turned it into a religious schism, complete with false priests (1 Kings 12:26-32). The murder of people may refer to the spiritual deaths caused by the priests rather than to actual homicide. The phrase shameful crimes translates the word zimma, which can refer to the forming of plots (Is 2:7), or the act of adultery (Ez 16:27), or other sexual indecencies (Lev 20:14). Since covenant infidelity is often portrayed as adultery or sexual promiscuity (recall the first 3 chapters of Hosea), the crime may here be understood as such.

Vs 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing. There is prostitution in Ephraim. Israel is defiled. Prostitution and defiled have sexual connotation, building on verse 9. Horrible thing is a term used to denote moral and religious corruption (Jer 5:30).

Vs 11 Also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, when I restore the fortunes of my people. Though Hosea is concerned with the northern kingdom primarily, the southern kingdom of Judah does not escape completely from his concern. The restoration of the people of God, which would also include the reunification of the two kingdoms under a Davidic king (see 3:5), necessitates a cleansing of Judah.

7:1-2

Vs 1  When I would heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, also the wickedness of Samaria; for they commit falsehood, and the theif enters in, and the gang of robbers ravages outside.  
Vs 2  They don’t consider in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness.  Now their own deeds have engulfed them.  They are before my face.

When I would heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered… hearkens back to 5:13-14, where the people are said to seek foreign alliances for “healing” (rather than God).  The phrasing here obscures somewhat the basic meaning: “I desire to heal Israel but their perversity stands in my way.”  Basically, these two verses sum up the content of chapter 6, which focused on the peoples feigned conversion and “religiosity.”

They don’t consider…that I remember all their wickedness.  “They don’t consider” reminds us that a basic theme of Hosea is that the people have willfully rejected knowledge of God (4:1, 6).  God certainly will not forgive sins willfully un-repented of.  They are always present to God (”They are before my face).

To see my notes on other books and passages of the Bible consult the notes listed under “categories” in the left hand margin.

In my last post, I noted that God, not Assyria, was the real source of the punishment the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had experienced, and would continue to experience. The purpose of this punishment is made clear in the verse which opens the text we are looking at today.

Read 5:15-6:7

5:15 In verse 14 God had compared himself to a lion in relation to both kingdoms (Israel and Judah). I noted that such a designation was ironic, since the might of the Assyrian empire was often symbolized by a lion. In reality, it is God who is behind the troubles Israel and Judah are facing, Assyria is merely his instrument of punishment. Even more ironic is the fact that elsewhere in the Bible, God is often referred to as the Shepherd of his People (e.g. Psalms 23:1-3; 95:7 ; 100:3; Micah 7:14), and, it was, of course, a shepherds duty to protect the flock from lions and other wild beasts (1 Sam 17:34; Acts 20:28-30). God, however, makes it clear that he will not protect his flock but will attack it through Assyria.

Thus God is not willing to intervene and save his people. Instead, like a sated lion he will return to his place (the temple). At this point the lion imagery begins to break down as the purpose of his lion like action (attacking the flock) becomes clear. God wants his people to admit to their guilt (asham). Asham is a Hebrew verb meaning to be guilty. The noun form of the word is often used in cultic contexts and refers to the guilt offering (see Lev 5:6-7). To seek God is a technical term for approaching him in the temple for purpose of worship. God has brought distress upon the people for the purpose of bringing them to repentance and right worship

6:1-3 The people understand this fact, but, amazingly do not really act upon it! God, through his prophet tells us the prayer they will offer, and it is a beautiful prayer indeed; but it is worthless.

The people talk about returning to the Lord, realizing that he has torn and stricken them (like a lion), but that he will also heal and bandage them. In other words, they show they know the purpose of the punishment, and they (seemingly) show trust in God’s mercy, acknowledging that a return to the Lord will lead to a quick response on his part (two days; three). His responding to them, they say, is a sure as the dawn, and as refreshing and life giving as a spring rain.

6:4-7 But God sees through all their fine words and sentiments. They are not truly repentant, and they are not trusting in God’s mercy. Rather, they are trusting in their own presumptions about God. They described God’s response as being as sure as the dawn, but they themselves are mere morning clouds which the rising of the sun burns off, for they have no substance to them. They described God’s response in terms of a refreshing and life-giving spring rain, but they are nothing more than a light dew, soon evaporated by the rising sun.

This lack of love (hesed: covenant love, fidelity) is why God has sent the people prophets with words and threats and promises of judgment.

Since they despised God’s gentler warnings and measures, He used severer.. He hewed them, He says, as men hew stones out of the quarry, and with hard blows and sharp instruments overcome the hardness of the stone which they have to work. Their piety and goodness were light and unsubstantial as a summer cloud; their stony hearts were hjarder than material stone. The stone takes the shape which man would give it; God hews these people* in vain; they* will not receive the image of God, for which and in which they were* framed.

“God, elsewhere also, likens the force and vehemence of his word to ‘a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces;’ ‘a sword which pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit.’ He continually hammered, beat upon, disquieted them, and so vexed them (as they thought) even unto death, not allowing them to rest in their sins, not suffering them to enjoy themselves in them, but forcing them (as it were) to part with things which they loved as their lives and would as soon part with their souls as with them.” (E.B. Pusey, THE MINOR PROPHETS. public domain book. Italic texts marked with * represent amendments by me)

For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice- This statement, much abused, is not a repudiation of sacrifice iteself, but, rather, a repudiation of the belief that sacrifice can be done without being based upon covenant hesed (love, fidelity).

But at Adam they transgressed the covenant, there they dealt faithlessly with me- the Masoretic text reads “like Adam”. Some see this as a reference to Adam’s sin of eating the fruit in the garden, however, the words “there they dealt faithlessly with me”, suggests that “Adam” is to be understood as a place name, rather than as a person. Adam is a place name ( a city) associated with the crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 3:16). This crossing of the Jordan represented God’s fulfillment of his covenant promises. It also brought into force the covenant obligations the chosen people agreed to take upon themselves. Perhaps Hosea is not referring to one specific sin. Rather, he is implying that the people, from the very start of their existence in the promised land, were not faithful to these obligations.

I was very pressed for time today, so this entry was both brief and clumsy.  When I edit my various notes on the Bible I hope to redo this post considerably.

Read the text

The historical circumstances to which the text refers are obscure, giving rise to many theories and conjectures.

Vs 8 The horn is a reference to the shofar, a rams horn blown to announce a cultic assembly or as a warning that an enemy is approaching. Gibeah and Ramah were Judean frontier towns on the border between Israel and Judah. They were in very close proximity to Beth-aven (i.e. a pejorative term for Bethel, a cultic center in Israel). Some scholars speculate that at the time of Hosea, Gibeah and Ramah had been annexed to Israel and that this text is predicting an attack on Israel from Judah. The Judean army would have traveled up the Jerusalem road, attacking the cities in the order they are mentioned. There is little if any historical evidence for this. Perhaps we should not read to much into the order of the towns.

Sometime during the early 8th century Israel established an alliance with Assyria. During the reign of Pekah, it sought to break free of that alliance. Pekah formed an alliance with king Rezin of Aram to oppose Assyria and tried to get the Kingdom of Judah to join as well. When the king of Judah refused, Israel/Aram attacked, and Judah promptly appealed to Assyria for help. The result of all of this was that Aram was destroyed, Israel was devastated, forced to pay heavy tribute to Assyria, and forced to give up the region of Galilee to that kingdom as well. Judah was forced into a vassalage relation with Assyria, and forced to pay tribute. Verse 8 may be referring to this event. The call to the tribe of Benjamin (allied with Judah) to “look behind you” would then be a warning that the fate which befell Israel (forced vassalage, heavy tribute) would also befall Judah, which in fact happened.

Vs 9 Ephraim was the largest of the northern tribes and the term is often used to refer to the Northern Kingdom as a whole. such is the case here.

Vs 10 Judah is accused of moving a landmark (boundary-line); an act condemned by the law (Dt 19:14). This probably refers to the aftermath of its appeal to Assyria for help. This appeal led to a loss of part of the Holy Land (the Galilee region I mentioned earlier).

Vs 11 In spite of Judah’s actions, ultimately, Ephraim (Israel) has only itself to blame.

Vs 12 Due to the moral and religious corruption in the two kingdoms God is slowly bringing about their demise.

Vs 13 Most translations speak (correctly, I think) of Israel (Ephraim) going to Assyria, and Judah going to the great king. The translation I linked to speaks only of Ephraim. “The Great King” was a title given to the rulers of Assyria. Both kingdoms are being condemned for aligning themselves with this empire. Had Israel relied on God rather than on Assyria it never would have sought to end its pact with that empire. Had Judah relied on God in it’s troubles with Israel/Aram it never would have been forced into vassalage and tribute payment by Assyria.

Vs 14 Very ironic. The lion was a symbol of Assyrian might. As an instrument of Salvation it had failed both kingdom, turning instead into a ravager, like a lion. But in reality, Assyrian might has become an instrument in the hands of God to punish his people. He is the true lion attacking the kingdoms (see Amos 1:2; 3:12)

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