Table of Contents
Hosea 13
Hosea 13
1 When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.
2 And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
3 Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney.
4 Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
5 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
6 According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion: as a leopard by the way will I observe them:
8 I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
9 O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
10 I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes?
11 I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
12 The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.
13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
15 Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
16 Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
Notes
Cross Reference
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>When Ephraim spoke with trembling</b> When Jeroboam showed zeal for the Omnipresent and spoke harshly against Solomon, and tremblingly, for Solomon was a great king. <b>he became exalted in Israel</b> Thence he merited to be elevated to he king over Israel. <b>when he became guilty through Baal</b> As soon as he assumed greatness and became guilty with Baal. <b>he died</b> i.e., Jeroboam’s dynasty was terminated, and so was Ahab’s dynasty. Jonathan renders: When one of the house of Ephraim would speak, fear would seize the nations. They were great among Israel, but when they sinned by worshipping idols, they were slain.</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>And now</b> Jehu’s dynasty, who saw all this, continue to sin. <b>according to their pattern</b> Heb. כִּתְבוּנָם. <b>Those who sacrifice man may kiss the calves</b> The priests of Molech say to Israel, “Whoever sacrifices his son to the idol is worthy of kissing the calf” for he has offered him a precious gift. So did our Sages explain this in Sanhedrin (63b), and it fits the wording of the verse better than Jonathan’s translation.</html>
Verse 3
<html><b>and like dew that passes away early</b> Jonathan renders: And like dew, the water of which evaporates. <b>like chaff that is driven with the wind out of the threshingfloor</b> Jonathan renders: Like chaff which the wind blows from the threshingfloor. {e wind lifts up.}</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>And I am the Lord your God</b> and you should not have rebelled against Me</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>I knew you</b> I set My heart to know your necessity, and I provided you. <b>deprivation</b> Heb. תַלְאוּבֹת. There is no similarity to this in Scripture, and its interpretation is, according to the context, תֵּל, a heap, שֶאוֹבִין, where they long for all good and do not find it.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>When they grazed</b> When they entered the land of their pasture and they were sated, then… <b>they were sated and their heart became haughty</b> (Ex. 7:20) “And he lifted (וַיָרֶם) the staff,” is an expression of lifting something else. “Became haughty (וַיָרָם)” here means that he himself was lifted.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>by the way I will lurk</b> Heb. אָשּׁוּר. Every instance of אָשּׁוּר in Scripture is punctuated with a “dagesh,” but this one is “weak,” since it is not a place name but it means, “I will lurk and ambush.” Comp. (Num. 24:17) “I see him (אֲשּׁוּרֶנוּ) but not near.”</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>as a bereaving bear</b> Heb. שַׁכּוּל. Like שּׁוֹכֵל, as you say חָנּוּן, gracious, and רַחוּם, merciful, so שַּׁכּוּל, i.e., entirely attired with bereavements and ready to bereave people. <b>and I will rend the enclosure of their heart</b> like the habit of the bear, which holds its nails on the chest and rends until the heart. Another explanation: <b>the enclosure of the heart</b> Their heart which is closed from understanding to return to Me.</html>
Verse 9
<html><b>You have destroyed yourself, O Israel</b> Heb. שִּׁחֶתְךָ. <b>for against Me</b> you have rebelled: you have rebelled against your help. This is an ellipsis, but [to] one who understands the language of the Scriptures, it makes sense. For against Me was the rebellion which you rebelled, and if you ask, “What does it mean to You?” Against your help you rebelled when you rebelled against Me.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>I will be, where is your king?</b> Heb. אֱהִי מַלְכְּךָ אֵפוֹא. Jonathan renders: Where is your king? But I say that it is unnecessary to interpret it other than its apparent meaning. I will be standing from afar to see where your king is, for I will make Myself see what your end will be, where your savior is.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up</b> I did not overlook it; it is laid up with Me.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>for [it is] a time</b> For a time of trouble has come upon him, from which he will not be able to stand and endure. <b>in the birthstool of the children</b> upon which the woman in confinement sits to give birth. And in Old French they call a birthstool sele. <b>in the birthstool of the children</b> i.e., in the birthstool made for the birth of children.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>From the clutches of the grave I would ransom them</b> I am He Who would ransom them from the clutches of the grave and redeem them from death, but now… <b>I will be your words of death</b> Heb. אֱהִי דְבָרֶיךָ. I will place Myself to speak of you words of death. <b>I will decree…upon you</b> Heb. קָטָבְךָ. I will decree upon you the decree of the grave. <b>Remorse shall be hidden from My eyes</b> Heb. נֹחַם. I will not regret this evil. נֹחֵם is an expression of regret (נִחוּם), and the “mem” is a radical like the “mem” of נֹעַם, pleasantness, for the accent is on the first syllable, and the “heth” is vowelized with a “pattah.” Were it an expression of resting (נָח), with the “mem” serving as a suffix denoting the plural, the accent would be under the “heth,” and it would be vowelized with a “kamatz” [like כֹּחָם their strength; רוּחָם, their spirit.]</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>For though he flourish among the marshes</b> Heb. כִּי הוּא בֵּין אַחִים יַפְרִיא. Jonathan renders: For they are called sons, but they increased corrupt deeds. אַחִים An expression of an evil thing. Comp. (Ezekiel 21:20) “Woe! (אָח) It is made for a blade.” Also (ibid. 6:11) “And say, ‘Woe!’ (אָח) to all the… abominations.” יַפְרִיא An expression similar to (Deut. 29:17) פֹּרֶה רֹאשׁ וְלַעֲנָה, that hears (פֹּרַה) hemlock and wormwood.” But I say that אַחִים is an expression similar to (Gen. 41:2) “And they grazed in the marsh (בָּאָחוּ).” <b>For though he flourish among the marshes</b> Heb. יַפְרִיא. Blossoms and grows in the marsh. Among the marshes, among those growing in the marshes, which always flourish. And, since He compares him to a marsh, He says: An east wind shall come… and his spring shall dry up. Another explanation: For he decreased among the brothers, i.e., Jeroboam. He was a son who decreased the brotherhood [other versions: the heritage] of Israel. Through him, they were divided into two kingdoms. Decreased יַפְרִיע. An expression similar to (Gen. 16:12) “One who decreases men (פֶּרֶא אָדָם) .” <b>an east wind shall come</b> A king, strong as the east wind, shall come up by the word of the Lord from the way of the desert. <b>he shall plunder</b> That king shall plunder the treasures of all coveted vessels.</html>