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Hosea Chapter
Ten
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO HOSEA 10
This
chapter is of the same argument with the former
and others before that;
setting forth the sins of the ten tribes
and threatening them with the
judgments of God for them; and exhorting them to repentance
and works of
righteousness. They are charged with unfruitfulness and ingratitude; increasing
in idolatry
as they increased in temporal good things
Hosea 10:1; with a
divided heart
and with irreverence of God
and their king; and with false
swearing
covenant breaking
and injustice
Hosea 10:2; and are
threatened with a removal of their king
and with the destruction of their
idols
and places of idolatry
which should cause fear in the common people
and mourning among the priests
Hosea 10:1. It is
observed
that their sin had been of long continuance
though the Lord had been
kind and good unto them
in chastising them in love
giving them good laws
sending his prophets to exhort them to repentance and reformation
but all in
vain
Hosea 10:9;
wherefore they are threatened with the spoiling of their fortresses
the
destruction of the people
and the cutting off of their king
Hosea 10:14.
Hosea 10:1 Israel empties his
vine; He brings forth fruit for himself. According to the multitude of his
fruit He has increased the altars; According to the bounty of his land They
have embellished his sacred pillars.
YLT 1`An empty vine [is] Israel
Fruit he maketh like to himself
According to the abundance of his fruit
He
hath multiplied for the altars
According to the goodness of his land
They
have made goodly standing-pillars.
Israel is an empty vine
.... The people of Israel
are often compared to a vine
and such an one from whence fruit might be
expected
being planted in a good soil
and well taken care of; see Psalm 80:8; but
proved an "empty vine"
empty of fruit; not of temporal good things
for a multitude of such fruit it is afterwards said to have; but of spiritual
fruit
of the fruit of grace
and of good works
being destitute of the Spirit
of God
and his grace; and
having no spiritual moisture
was incapable of
bringing forth good fruit: or
"an emptying vine"F15גפן בוקק "vitis
evacuans"
Drusius
Rivetus
Schmidt; so Stockius
p. 149. ; that casts
its fruit before it is ripe; these people
what fruit they had
they made an
ill use of it; even of their temporal good things; they emptied themselves of
their wealth and riches
by sending presents
or paying tribute
to foreign
princes for their alliance
friendship
and help; or by consuming it on their
idols
and in their idolatrous worship. The Targum renders it
"a
spoiled vineF16So Calvin. ;'
spoiled
by their enemies
who robbed them of their wealth and riches
and trampled them
under foot. The Septuagint version
and those that follow that
understand it
in a sense quite the reverse
rendering it
"a flourishing vine";
putting forth branches
leaves
and fruit; and which the learned Pocock
confirms from the use of the word in the Arabic language: but then it follows
he bringeth forth fruit unto himself; all the good
works done by them were not to the praise and glory of God
as fruits of
righteousness are
which come by Jesus Christ; but were done to be seen of men
and to gain their applause and esteem
and so were for themselves; and all
their temporal good things they abounded with were not made use of in the
service of God
and for the promoting of his glory
and of true religion among
them; but either consumed on their own lusts
or in the service of idols: or
"the fruit is like unto himself"F17פרי
ישוה לו "fructum
aequat sibi"
Mercerus; "fracture facit similem sibi"
Schmidt.
; as was the vine
so was its fruit: the vine was empty
and devoid of
goodness
and so the fruit it produced. The Targum is
"the
fruit of their works was the cause of their being carried captive:'
according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the
altars: as the Israelites increased in riches and wealth
their land
bringing forth in great abundance
they erected the greater number of altars to
their idols
and multiplied their sacrifices to them; this was the ill use they
made of what fruit they did produce:
according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images; of richer
metal
and more ornamented
and more of them
according to the plenty of good
things
corn
and wine
and oil
their land produced; thus abusing the
providential goodness of God to such vile purposes!
Hosea 10:2 2 Their
heart is divided; Now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He
will ruin their sacred pillars.
YLT 2Their heart hath been
divided
now they are guilty
He doth break down their altars
He doth destroy their
standing-pillars.
Their heart is divided
.... Some say from Hoshea
their king
who would have reformed them from their idolatry
and returned them
to the true worship of God; but of that there is no proof; better from one
another
their affections being alienated from each other
by their discords
and animosities
their conspiracies against their kings
and the murders of
them
and the civil wars among themselves; they also not being of one mind
but
disagreeing in their sentiments about their idols; some being for one
and some
for another: or rather from God himself
from the fear of him
from his worship
and service; or from the law
as the Targum; or their hearts were divided
between God and their idols
as in Ahab's time between God and Baal; they
pretended to worship God when they worshipped the calves
and so shared the
service between them; or it may be rendered
"their heart flatters"F18חלק לבם "adblanditur cor
eorum"
Schmidt. them; as if they had done that which was right and good
and were guilty of no evil
nor would any punishment be inflicted on them:
now shall they be found faulty; be convicted of their
sin and folly
and appear guilty; when they shall be punished for their
idolatry
and their idols not able to save them
as the destruction of them
next mentioned will fully evince: or
"now shall they become
desolate"F19עתה יאשמו
"nunc desolabuntur"
Pagninus
Montanus
Munster
Drusius; so Kimchi
and Ben Melech. their land shall be desolate
and they carried captive:
he shall break down their altars
he shall spoil their images: that is
the
king of Assyria shall do all this
or God by him: or
"behead their
altars"F20יערף "decollabit"
Drusius
Piscator
Tarnovius
De Dieu; "decervicabit"
Cocceius. ;
take off the top of them
as the Targum; the horns of them
which might be made
of gold
or other ornaments which were of value; and therefore became the
plunder of the enemy; and who also would break in pieces their images
for the
sake of the metal
gold or silver
of which they were made; as was usually done
by conquerors
and to show their entire power over the conquered
that even
their gods could not deliver them out of their hands.
Hosea 10:3 3 For
now they say
“We have no king
Because we did not fear the Lord. And as for a
king
what would he do for us?”
YLT 3For now they say: We have
no king
Because we have not feared Jehovah
And the king -- what doth he for
us?
For now they shall say
we have no king
.... This they
would say
either when they had one; but by their conduct and behaviour said
they had none; because they had no regard unto him
no affection for him
and
reverence of him; but everyone did what was right in his own eyes: or during
the interregnum
between the murder of Pekah
which was in the twentieth year
of Jotham
and the settlement of Hoshea
which was in the twelfth of Ahaz; see 2 Kings 15:30; or
when the land of Israel was invaded
and their king was shut up in prison
and
Samaria besieged
so that it was as if they had no king; they had none to
protect and defend them
to sally out at the head of them against the enemy
and fight their battles for them; or rather when the city was taken
the altars
broke down
their images spoiled
and they and their king carried captive:
because we feared not the Lord: did not serve and
worship him
but idols; and this sin
casting off the fear of the Lord
was the
source and cause of all their troubles and sorrows; of the invasion of their
land; of the besieging and taking their city
and having no king to rule over
them
and protect them:
what then should a king do to us? if they had one
he
could be of no service to them; for since they had offended God
the King of
kings
and made him their enemy
what could an earthly king
a weak mortal man
do for them
or against him? it was now all over with them
and they could have
no expectation of help and deliverance.
Hosea 10:4 4 They
have spoken words
Swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs
up like hemlock in the furrows of the field.
YLT 4They have spoken words
To
swear falsehood in making a covenant
And flourished as a poisonous herb hath
judgment
on the furrows of a field.
They have spoken words
swearing falsely in making a covenant
.... Those are
other crimes they were guilty of
for which the wrath of God could not be
awarded from them by a king
if they had one
or by any other. They had used
vain and idle words in their common talk and conversation; and lying and
deceitful ones to one another in trade and commerce
in contracts and promises;
and so had deceived and overreached one another: they had belched out many
"oaths of vanity"F21אלות שוא "execrationes vanitatis"
Schmidt. : or vain
oaths and curses; their mouths had been full of cursing and bitterness; and
they made covenants with God
and their king
and with other kings and princes
and with one another
and had not kept them; and now for these things God had a
controversy with them:
thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field; either the
judgment of God
his wrath and vengeance for the above sins
rose up and spread
itself in all their cities
towns
and villages; or rather the judgment and
justice they pretended to execute
instead of being what it should have been
useful and beneficial to the people
like a wholesome herb
sprung up like
hemlock
bitter and poisonous
and spread itself in all parts of the kingdom.
Injustice is meant; see Amos 6:12.
Hosea 10:5 5 The
inhabitants of Samaria fear Because of the calf[a] of Beth
Aven. For its people mourn for it
And its priests shriek for it— Because its
glory has departed from it.
YLT 5For the calves of Beth-Aven
fear do inhabitants of Samaria
Surely mourned on account of it hath its
people
And its priests on account of it leap about
Because of its honour
for
it hath removed from it
The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of
Bethaven
.... Or
"the cow calves"F23לעגלות "vaccas
V. L. "ad. vitulas"
Pagninus
Montanus; "propter vitulas"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; "ob vitulas
Cocceius.
as in the original; so called by way of
derision
and to denote their weakness and inability to help their worshippers;
and so Bethel
where one of these calves was
is here
as elsewhere
called
Bethaven; that is
the house of iniquity
or of an idol
by way of contempt;
and may take in Dan also
where was the other calf
since both are mentioned;
unless the plural is put for the singular: now the land of Israel being invaded
by the enemy
the inhabitants of Samaria
which was the metropolis of the
nation
the king
nobles
and common people that dwelt there
and were
worshippers of the calves
were in pain lest they should be taken by the enemy;
or because they were
these places falling into his hands before Samaria was
besieged
or at least taken; and these calves being broken to pieces
which
they had worshipped
and put their trust in
they were afraid the ruin of
themselves and children would be next
and was not very far off:
for the people thereof shall mourn over it; either the
people of Samaria
the same with the inhabitants of it; or rather the people of
Bethaven
where the idol was; but now was broke to pieces
or carried away;
though it is generally interpreted of the people of the calf
the worshippers
of it
who would mourn over it
or for the loss of it
being taken away from
them
and disposed of as in Hosea 10:6. The
JewsF24Seder Olam Rabba
c. 22. p. 60
61. have a tradition
that
in the twentieth year of Pekah king of Israel
Tiglathpileser king of Assyria
came and took away the golden calf in Dan; and
in the twelfth year of Ahaz
another king of Assyria (Shalmaneser) came and took away the golden calf at
Bethel:
and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it; the
Chemarims
as in Zephaniah 1:4; or
"black"F25כמריו "atrati
ejus"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ones
because of their meagre
and sordid countenances
or black clothing: the same word the Jews use for
Popish monks: here it designs the priests of Bethaven
or the calf
who before
this time rejoiced on account of it
because of the sacrifices and presents of
the people to it
and the good living they got in the service of it; but now
would mourn
as well as the people
and more
because of being deprived of
their livelihood. Some read the words without the supplement "that
the
priests thereof rejoiced on it"; which some interpret according to a
tradition of the Jews mentioned by Jerom
though by no other
as I can find;
that the priests stole away the golden calves
and put brasen and glided ones
in the place of them; so that when they were carried away the people mourned
taking them to be the true golden calves; but the priests made themselves merry
with their subtle device
and rejoiced that their fraud was not detected; but
rather the word here used
as Pocock and others have observed
is of that kind
which has contrary senses
and signifies both to mourn and to rejoice; and here
to mourn
as perhaps also in Job 3:22; and so
Ben Melech observes
that there are some of their interpreters who understand
it here in the sense of mourning:
for the glory of it
because it is departed from it; either
because of the glory of the calf
which was gone from it
the veneration it was
had in
the worship which was given to it
and the gems and ornaments that were
about it; or rather the glory of Bethaven
and also of Samaria
and indeed of
all Israel
which was carried captive from them; that is
the calf
which was
their god
in which they gloried
and put their trust and confidence in.
Hosea 10:6 6 The idol also shall be carried to
Assyria As a present for King Jareb. Ephraim shall receive shame
And
Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
YLT 6Also it to Asshur is
carried
a present to a warlike king
Shame doth Ephraim receive
And ashamed
is Israel of its own counsel.
It shall also be carried unto Assyria for a present to King
Jareb
.... Or
"he himself"F26גם
אותו "etiam ipsemet"
Pagninus
Montanus;
"etiam ipse"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator; "etiam
ille"
Cocceius; "etiam ille ipse"
Schmidt. ; not the people of
Samaria
or of Bethaven
or of the calf
but the calf itself; which
being all
of gold
was sent a present to the king of Assyria
here called Jareb; either
Assyria
or the king of it; See Gill on Hosea 5:13; this
was done either by the people of Israel themselves
to appease the king of
Assyria; or rather by the Assyrian army
who reserved the plunder of this as a
proper present to their king and conqueror
to whom not only nations
but the
gods of nations
were subject:
Ephraim shall receive shame; for worshipping such an
idol
when they shall see it broke to pieces
and the gold of it made a present
to the Assyrian king
and that it could not save them
nor itself:
and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel; of giving in
to such idolatry
contrary to the counsel
mind
and will of God; or of the
counsel which they and Jeroboam took to set up the calves at Dan and Bethel
and thereby to keep the people from going up to Jerusalem
1 Kings 12:28; as
well as of their counsel and covenant with the king of Egypt against the king
of Assyria
2 Kings 17:4.
Hosea 10:7 7 As for Samaria
her king is cut
off Like a twig on the water.
YLT 7Cut off is Samaria! Its
king [is] as a chip on the face of the waters.
As for Samaria
.... The
metropolis of the ten tribes of Israel
and here put for the whole kingdom:
her king is cut off; which some understand of
Pekah
who was killed by Hoshea; others of several of their kings cut off one
after another
very suddenly and quickly
as the metaphor after used shows; or
rather Hoshea the last king is meant
who was cut off by the king of Assyria;
the present tense is used for the future
to denote the certainty of it. Aben
Ezra thinks the verb "cut off" is to be repeated
Samaria is
"cut off
her king is cut off"; both king and kingdom
destroyed. So the Targum
"Samaria
is cut off with her king:'
as the foam upon the water; as any light thing
flowing upon it; as the bark of a tree
as Kimchi and Abarbinel; or as the scum
upon a boiling pot of water
as Jarchi
and the Targum; or as foam
which is an
assemblage of bubbles upon the water; such are kings and kingdoms
swell
look
big and high for a while; but are mere bubbles
empty things; and are often
suddenly
quickly
and easily destroyed; so Samaria and her king were by the
Assyrian army; the Lord of hosts
the King of kings
being against them.
Hosea 10:8 8 Also
the high places of Aven
the sin of Israel
Shall be destroyed. The thorn and
thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains
“Cover
us!” And to the hills
“Fall on us!”
YLT 8And destroyed have been
high places of Aven
the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their
altars
And they have said to hills
Cover us
And to heights
Fall upon us.
The high places also of Aven
.... Bethel
which is not
only as before called Bethaven
the house of iniquity; but Aven
iniquity
itself; the high places of it were the temple and altars built there for
idolatrous service
which were usually set on hills and mountains:
the sin of Israel shall be destroyed; that is
which high places are the sin of Israel
the occasion of sin unto them; and
where they committed sin
the sin of idolatry
in worshipping the calves; these
should be thrown down
demolished
and no longer used:
the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; lying in
ruins
these shall grow upon them
the people and priests being carried captive
that used to sacrifice upon them; but now they shall lie deserted by them
being destroyed by the enemy:
and they shall say to the mountains
cover us; and to the hills
fall on us; not that the high places and altars shall say so in a figurative
sense
according to R. Moses in Aben Ezra; but
as Japhet
they that worshipped
there
the priests and people of Samaria
Bethaven
and even of all Israel
because of their great distress; and
as persons in the utmost consternation
and in despair
and confounded
and ashamed
shall call to the mountains and
hills where they have been guilty of idolatry to hide and cover them from the
wrath of God; see Luke 23:30 Revelation 6:16.
Hosea 10:9 9 “O
Israel
you have sinned from the days of Gibeah; There they stood. The battle
in Gibeah against the children of iniquity[b] Did not
overtake them.
YLT 9From the days of Gibeah
thou hast sinned
O Israel
There they have stood
Not overtake them in Gibeah
doth battle
Because of sons of perverseness.
O Israel
thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah
.... This has
no respect
as the Targum
and others
to Gibeah of Saul
of which place he
was
and the choosing him to be king; but to the affair of the Levite and his
concubine at Gibeah in the days of the judges
and what followed upon it
Judges 19:1;
suggesting
that the sins of Israel were not new ones; they were the same with
what were committed formerly
as early as the history referred to
and had been
continued ever since; the measure of which were now filling up: or
as Aben
Ezra and Abarbinel interpret it
"thou hast sinned more than the days of
Gibeah"; were guilty of more idolatry
inhumanity
and impurity
than in
those times; and yet the grossest of sins
particularly unnatural lusts
were
then committed:
there they stood; either the men of Gibeah continued in their
sins
and did not repent of them; and stood in their own defence against the
tribes of Israel
and the Benjamites stood also with them
and by them; and
stood two battles
and were conquerors in them; and
though beaten in the
third
were not wholly destroyed
as now the Israelites would be: or the tribes
of Israel stood
and continued in
and connived at
the idolatry of the Levite;
or rather stood sluggish and slothful
and were not eagar to fight with the
Benjamites
who took part with the men of Gibeah; which were their sins
for
which they were worsted in the two first battles
and in which the present
Israelites imitated them:
the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not
overtake them; the two first battles against the men of Gibeah and the
Benjamites
who are the children of iniquity
the one the actors
and the other
the abettors and patrons of it
did not succeed against them
but the
Israelites were overcome; and the third battle
in which they got the day
did
not overtake them so as utterly to cut them off; for six hundred persons made
their escape; but
in the present case prophesied of
it is suggested
that as
their sins were as great or greater than theirs
their ruin should be entire
and complete: or the sense is
that they were backward to go to battle; they
were not eager upon it; they did not at once espouse the cause of the Levite;
they did not stir in it till he had done that unheard of thing
cutting his
concubine into twelve pieces
and sending them to the twelve tribes of Israel;
and then they were not overly anxious
but sought the Lord
as if it was a
doubtful case; which backwardness was resented in their ill success at first;
and the same slow disposition to punish vice had continued with them ever since;
so Schmidt.
Hosea 10:10 10 When
it is My desire
I will chasten them. Peoples shall be gathered against
them When I bind them for their two transgressions.[c]
YLT 10When I desire
then I do
bind them
And gathered against them have peoples
When they bind themselves to
their two iniquities.
It is in my desire
that I should chastise them
.... Or
"bind them"F1ואסרם "et
vel ut vinciam eos"
Junius
& Tremellius
Drusius
Grotius; "colligabo eos"
Cocceius.
and
carry them captive; and by so doing correct them for their sins they have so
long continued in: this the Lord had in his heart to do
and was determined
upon it
and would do it with pleasure
for the glorifying of his justice
since they had so long and so much abused his clemency and goodness:
and the people shall be gathered against them; the
Assyrians
who
at the command of the Lord
would come and invade their land
besiege their city
and take it
and bind them
and carry them captive:
when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows; when
like
heifers untamed
and bound in a yoke to plough
do not make and keep in one
furrow
but turn out to the right or left
and make cross furrows; so it is
intimated that this was the reason why the Lord would correct Israel
and
suffer the nations to gather together against them
and carry them captive
because they did not plough in one furrow
or keep in the true and pure worship
of God; but made two furrows
worshipping partly God
and partly idols: or
"when they"
their enemies
"shall bind them"
being
gathered against them
and carry them captive
they shall make them plough in "two
furrows"
the one up
and the other down; and to this hard service they
shall keep them continually. There is a double reading of this clause; the
"Cetib"
or textual writing or reading
is
"to their two
eyes"
or "fountains": alluding
as Jarchi observes
to the
binding of the yoke on oxen on each side of their eyes: or to the fountains in
the land of Israel
the abundance of wine
milk
and honey; for the sake of
which the people got together
broke in upon them
and bound them
in order to
drink of. So GussetiusF2Comment. Ebr. p. 591
892. renders the
words
"and they shall bind them to drink of their fountains". The
"Keri" or marginal reading is
"their two iniquities";
which the Septuagint follows
rendering it
"in
chastising them
or when they are chastised for their two iniquities;'
so
the Vulgate Latin
Syriac
and Arabic versions; meaning either their
worshipping the two calves at Dan and Bethel; or their corporeal and spiritual
adultery; or their forsaking the true God
and worshipping idols; see Jeremiah 2:13.
Schmidt understands all this
not as a punishment threatened
but as an
instance of the love of God to them
in chastising them in a loving and
fatherly way; which had a good effect upon them
and brought them to
repentance; partly in the times of the judges
but more especially in the days
of Samuel
when they behaved well; and particularly in the reigns of David and
Solomon; and when the people were gathered
not "against"
but
"to" them; either became proselytes to them
or tributaries
or
coveted their friendship; and when they themselves lived in great concord
in
one kingdom
under one king
like oxen ploughing in two contiguous furrows.
Hosea 10:11 11 Ephraim
is a trained heifer That loves to thresh grain; But I harnessed
her fair neck
I will make Ephraim pull a plow. Judah shall plow; Jacob
shall break his clods.”
YLT 11And Ephraim [is] a trained
heifer -- loving to thresh
And I -- I have passed over on the goodness of its
neck
I cause [one] to ride Ephraim
Plough doth Judah
harrow for him doth
Jacob.
And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught
and
loveth to tread out the corn
.... Like a heifer taught
to bear the yoke
and to plough; but learned it not
as the Targum; does not
like it; chooses to tread out the corn where it can feed upon it
its mouth not
being then muzzled
according to the law; oxen or heifers were used both in
ploughing and treading out corn
to which the allusion is. The sense is
that
Ephraim or the ten tribes were taught to bear the yoke of the law
and yield
obedience to it
and perform good works; but did not like such a course of
life; had no further regard for religion than as they found their own worldly
profit and advantage in it: or they did not care to labour much in it; they
liked the fruit and advantage arising from working
rather than the work
itself; and thus
like a heifer
doing little
and living well
they grew fat
increased in power
wealth
and riches; and so became proud and haughty
and
kicked against the house of David
and rent themselves from it; and set up a
kingdom of their own
and lived and reigned according to their own will and
pleasure
like a heifer without yoke and muzzle:
but I passed over upon her fair neck; or
"the
goodness of her neck"F3על טוב צוארה "super bonitatem
cervicis ejus"
Montanus; "super bonitatem colli ipsius"
Schmidt; "super praestantiam"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator. ;
which is expressive of the flourishing and opulent state and condition of the
ten tribes
especially in the times of Jeroboam the second
which made them
proud and haughty: but the Lord was determined to humble them
and first in a
more light and gentle manner; or caused the rod of correction to pass over them
more lightly; or put upon them a more easy yoke of affliction
by causing Pul
king of Assyria to come against them; and to get rid of whom a present was
given him
exacted of the people; and afterwards Tiglathpileser
another king
of Assyria
who carried captive part of their land; and this not having its
proper effect
the Lord was determined to proceed against them in a heavier
manner:
I will make Ephraim to ride; some
taking the future
for the past
render it
"I have made Ephraim to ride"F4ארכיב "equitare feci"
Munster
Rivet. ; that is
to rule and govern
having royal dignity and power given them
and that greater
than that of Judah; and ride over the tribes of Judah and Benjamin
who were
sometimes very much afflicted by them; and this is thought to be the sense of
the following phrases
Judah shall plough
and Jacob shall break his clods; or
"break the clods for him"F5ישדד לו "occabit ei"
De Dieu; "occabit
illi?" Schmidt. ; for Ephraim while he rides
and uses them very hard; as
in the days of Joash and Pekah
kings of Israel
when many of the tribes of
Judah were slain by them
2 Kings 14:12; but
rather the meaning is
"I will cause to ride on Ephraim"F6"Equitare
faciam in Ephraim"
Lyra
Tarnovius; "equitare faciam super
Ephraim"
so some in Calvin. ; that is
the Assyrians shall ride upon
them
get the dominion over them
carry them captive
and use them to hard
service and bondage
as a heifer rid upon by a severe rider while ploughing;
and the other tribes shall not escape
though they shall not be so hardly dealt
with: "Judah shall plough
and Jacob shall break his clods"; these
shall be carried captive into Babylon
and employed in hard and servile work
but more tolerable; as ploughing and breaking clods are easier than to ride
upon; and as they had hope of deliverance at the end of seventy years; whereas
no promise of return was made to the ten tribes
which is the sense some give;
but Pocock and others think that these words regard the tender and gentle
methods God took with these people to bring them to obedience to his law.
Ephraim being teachable like a heifer
he took hold of her fair neck
and
stroked it to encourage her
and accustom her to the hand
and to the yoke; and
then put the yoke of his law upon them
add trained them up in his
institutions
and used also gentle methods to keep them in obedience; and also
set Judah to "plough"
and Jacob to "break the clods"
prescribed for them; and employed them in good works
in the duties of
religion
from whence answerable fruit might have been expected; saying to them
by his prophets
as follows:
Hosea 10:12 12 Sow
for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground
For it
is time to seek the Lord
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
YLT 12Sow for yourselves in
righteousness
Reap according to loving-kindness
Till for yourselves tillage
of knowledge
To seek Jehovah
Till he come and shew righteousness to you.
Saw to yourselves in righteousness
.... Not the seed of
grace
which bad men have not
and cannot saw it; and which good men need not
it being sown in them already
and remaining; rather the seed of the word
which should be laid up in their hearts
dwell richly in them
and be kept and
retained by them; though it is best of all to understand it of works of
righteousness; as sowing to the flesh is doing the works of the flesh
or
carnal and sinful acts; so sowing "unto righteousness"F7לצדקה "ad justitiam"
Pagninus
Montanus
Munster
Calvin
Junius & Tremellius
Drusius
Tarnovius
Cocceius.
as it
may be rendered
is doing works of righteousness; living soberly and
righteously; doing works according to the word of righteousness
from good
principles
and with good views
with a view to the glory of God: and which
will be "sowing to themselves"
turn to their own account; for though
such works are not profitable to God
as to merit anything at his hands; yet
they are not only profitable to others
but to those that do them; for though
not "for"
yet "in keeping" the commands of God there is
"great reward"
Psalm 19:11. Reap
in mercy; or "according to mercy"F8לפי
חסד "ad os miserecordiae"
Montanus;
"secundum misericordiam"
Pagninus; "secundum pietatem"
Cocceius
Schmidt. not according to the merit of works
for there is none in
them; but according to the mercy of God
to which all blessings
temporal
spiritual
and eternaL
are owing; and such who sow to the Spirit
or spiritual
things
shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting; not as the reward of debt
but of grace; not as of merit
but as owing to the mercy of Christ
Galatians 6:9 Judges 1:21;
break up your fallow ground; that is
of their
hearts; which were like ground unopened
unbroken
not filled and manured
nor
sown with seed
but overrun with weeds and thistles; and so were they
hard and
impenitent
destitute of grace
and full of sin and wickedness
and stood in
need of being renewed in the spirit of their minds; which this exhortation is
designed to convince them of
and to stir them up to make use of proper methods
of obtaining it
through the efficacious grace of God; see Jeremiah 4:5;
for it is time to seek the Lord: for his
grace; as the husbandman seeks
prays
and waits for rain
when he has tilled
his ground
and sowed his seed
to water it
and make it fruitful
that he may
have a good reaping time
a plentiful harvest; and as there is a time to seek
for the one
so for the other:
till he come and rain righteousness upon you; that is
Christ
whose coming is as the rain
Hosea 6:3; and who
when he should come
whether personally by his incarnation
or spiritually by
his gracious presence
would rain a plentiful rain of the doctrines of grace
and the blessings of it
such as peace pardon
righteousness
and eternal life
by him; particularly the justifying righteousness wrought out by him
which is
fully manifested in the Gospel
the ministration of that righteousness
and is
applied unto
and put upon
all them that believe: or "till he come and teach
you righteousness"F9ויורה צדק לכם "et doceat justitiam
vos"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
Cocceius
Schmidt. ; as Christ did when
come; he taught the word of righteousness in general
and the righteousness of
God in particular
and directed men to seek it; declared he came to fulfil all
righteousness
and taught men to believe in him for it
and that he is their
righteousness
and the end of the law for it; as well as he taught them to live
righteously and godly; see Joel 2:23. The
Targum is
"O
house of Israel
do for yourselves good works; walk in the way of truth;
establish for yourselves the doctrine of the law; behold
at all times the
prophets say to you
return to the fear of the Lord; now shall he be revealed
and bring righteousness to you.'
But
these exhortations were vain and fruitless
as appears by what follows:
Hosea 10:13 13 You
have plowed wickedness; You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of
lies
Because you trusted in your own way
In the multitude of your mighty men.
YLT 13Ye have ploughed
wickedness
Perversity ye have reaped
Ye have eaten the fruit of lying
For
thou hast trusted in thy way
In the abundance of thy might.
Ye have ploughed wickedness
.... Contrived it
and
took a great deal of pains to commit it; by ploughing sowed it
and which
sprung up in a plentiful crop: it may denote their first sins
from whence all
others arose; as their irreligion and infidelity; their apostasy from God;
their idolatry and contempt of his word and prophets:
ye have reaped iniquity; abundance of other sins
have sprung up from thence; a large harvest of them have been reaped and got
in; or great numbers of other sins have been committed; one sin leads on to
another
and these proceed "ad infinitum"; wickedness is of an
increasing nature
and grows worse and worse
and proceeds to more ungodliness:
many understand this of the punishment or reward of sin:
ye have eaten the fruit of lies; as a sweet morsel though
bread of deceit; which could not profit them
nor yield them in the issue the
pleasure it promised them
and they hoped for from it:
because thou didst trust in thy way; in the worship of their
idols
and in their alliances with neighbouring nations
and promised
themselves great prosperity and happiness from hence:
and in the multitude of thy mighty men; their valiant
soldiers
their numerous armies
and the generals of them
well skilled in war
and courageous; and also in their auxiliaries
which they had from the
Egyptians and others; these they put their confidences in
to protect them; and
so in their garrisons and fortresses
as the following words show:
Hosea 10:14 14 Therefore
tumult shall arise among your people
And all your fortresses shall be
plundered As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle— A mother dashed
in pieces upon her children.
YLT 14And rise doth a tumult
among thy people
And all thy fortresses are spoiled
As the spoiling of
Shalman of Beth-Arbel
In a day of battle
Mother against sons dashed in
pieces.
Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people
.... Because
of their wickedness and vain confidence
the Assyrian army should invade them;
which would cause a tumultuous noise to be made throughout the tribes in all
cities and towns
a cry
a howling
and lamentation; especially among fearful
and timorous ones as women and children; who would be thrown into a panic at
hearing the news of a powerful foreign enemy entering their country
and laying
waste all before them; a voice of clamour
as Jarchi observes
crying
flee
flee:
and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled; the strong
holds
in which they put their confidence for safety; everyone of these should
be taken and demolished by the enemy
in all parts of the kingdom; so that
there should be none left to flee unto no place of retreat:
as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle; that is
Shalmaneser king of Assyria
his name being abbreviated
as Bethaven is called
Aven
Hosea 10:8; who had
lately
though there in no account of it elsewhere
spoiled this place
demolished its fortresses
and destroyed the inhabitants of it; which is
thought to be either the city of Arbel beyond Jordan
in the Apocrypha:
"Who
went forth by the way that leadeth to Galgala
and pitched their tents before
Masaloth
which is in Arbela
and after they had won it
they slew much
people.' (1 Maccabees 9:2)
which
JosephusF11Antiqu. l. 12. c. 11. sect. 1. & l. 14. c. 15. sect.
4. In Vita sua
sect. 69. p. 922
934. calls a city of Galilee
and sometimes a
village; and which
according to him
was not far from Sipphore
and in lower
Galilee near to which thieves and robbers dwelt in caves and dens
difficult to
come at; and so a Jewish writerF12Juchasin
fol. 65. 1. places Arbel
between Sipphore and Tiberias; and elsewhereF13T. Hieros. Beracot
fol. 2
3. & Taaniot
fol. 69. 2. Shirhashirim Rabba
fol. 34. 3. mention
is made of the valley of Arbel
near to these places: and JeromF14De
locis Heb. fol. 87. L. says
there was the village Arbel beyond Jordan
on the
borders of Pella
a city of Palestine; and another of this name in the large
plain
nine miles from the town of Legio: and he also speaks of an Arbela
the
border of the tribe of Judah to the east; perhaps the same with Harbaalah
whence Arbela
or the mount of Baalah
Joshua 15:11; now
one or other of these places might be laid waste by this king of Assyria
in
the first year of Hoshea
when he came up against him
and made him tributary:
though some think Arbela in Assyria or Armenia is meant
famous for the utter
defeat of Darius by Alexander
four hundred years after this
when it might
have been rebuilt
and become considerable again: some of the Jewish writersF15Juchasin
ut supra. (fol. 65. 1.) say there was a place near Nineveh so called; Benjamin
of Tudela saysF16Itinerar. p. 62.
from Nineveh to Arbel is one
"parsa"
or four miles: and othersF17Juchasin
ib. (fol.
65. 1.) R. Joseph Kimchi in David Kimchi in loc. think Samaria itself is meant;
but that cannot be
since the destruction of that city is here prophesied of
which should be as this: some conjecture it was the temple of a deity called Arbel
as Schmidt: but
be it what or where it will
here was a great devastation and
slaughter made; which at this time was well known
and to which the desolation
that would be made in the land of Israel is compared. The Vulgate Latin version
is
"as Salmana was wasted by the house of him who judged Baal in the day
of battle"; which patrons and defenders of interpret of the slaughter of
Zalmunna by Jerubbaal
that is
Gideon; but the names of the one and the other
are very different; nor does the text speak of the slaughter of a prince
but
of the destruction of a city
and not of Shalman
but of Arbel; and refers not
to an ancient
but recent history. Mr. WhistonF18Chronological
Tables
cent. 8. places the spoil of Arbela in the year 3272 A.M. or before
Christ 732;
the mother was dashed in pieces with her children: women big
with child
or having their children in their arms
had no mercy shown them
but were destroyed together; so it had been at Arbel
and would be again in
Israel
which was dreadful to think of: according to Kimchi and Ben Melech
Arbel was the name of a great man in those days
whose family
meant by beth or
a house
was thus cruelly destroyed.
Hosea 10:15 15 Thus
it shall be done to you
O Bethel
Because of your great wickedness. At dawn
the king of Israel Shall be cut off utterly.
YLT 15Thus hath Beth-El done to
you
Because of the evil of your wickedness
In the dawn cut off utterly is a
king of Israel!
So shall Bethel do unto you
because of your great wickedness
.... Or
"because of the evil of your evil"F19מפני
רעת רעתכם "propter
malitiam malitiae vestrae"
Pagninus
Cocceius
Schmidt. ; their extreme
wickedness
and exceeding sinfulness; the evil of evils they were guilty of was
their idolatry
their worshipping the calf at Bethel; and this was the cause of
all their ruin: God was the cause of it; the king of Assyria the instrument;
but the procuring or meritorious cause was their abominable wickedness at
Bethel; which therefore should be as Betharbel; yea
the whole land should be
on the account of that
like unto it
or be spoiled as that was. Or the words
may be rendered
"so will he do unto you
O Bethel"F20ככה עשה לכם
בית־אל "sic faciet vobis
Deus
O
Bethel"
Drusius; "sic faciet vobis Salman
O Bethel"
Schmidt. ; that is
either God
or Shalman or Shalmaneser
shall do the same to
Bethel as he did to Betharbel; utterly destroy it and its inhabitants
showing
no mercy to age or sex;
in a morning shall the king of Israel be utterly cut off; meaning
Hoshea the last king of Israel
and the kingdom entirely destroyed; so that
afterwards there was no more king in Israel
nor has been to this day; there
was not only an utter destruction of that king
but of all kingly power and
government
and ever since the children of Israel have been without a king
Hosea 3:4; and this
was to be done
and was done
in a "morning": in the beginning of his
reign
as Joseph Kimchi; but this seems not so well to agree with the history
since it was in the ninth year of his reign that Samaria was taken: but the
sense is
either that it would be certainly done
as sure as the morning came;
or suddenly and quickly
as the morning light breaks forth; or in the morning
of prosperity
when they were expecting light and good days
from their
alliance with the king of Egypt
against the king of Assyria.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)