Hosea · Chapter 3

V. 1. Of her friend-Her husband. An adulteress-Either already tainted, or that certainly will be tainted with that vice. According to the love-Let this be the emblem of my love to the children of Israel. And love-Love the feasts of their idols, where they drink wine to excess.

Verse 1. Go yet, love a woman] This is a different command from that mentioned in the first chapter. That denoted the infidelity of the kingdom of Israel, and God’s divorce of them. He gave them up to their enemies, and caused them to be carried into captivity. The woman mentioned here represents one who was a lawful wife joining herself to a paramour; then divorced by her husband; afterwards repenting, and desirous to be joined to her spouse; ceasing from her adulterous commerce, but not yet reconciled to him. This was the state and disposition of the Jews under the Babylonish captivity. Though separated from their own idols, they continued separated from their God. He is still represented as having affectionate feelings towards them; awaiting their full repentance and contrition, in order to renew the marriage covenant. These things are pointed out by the symbolical actions of the prophet.

Beloved of her friend] Or, a lover of evil; or, loving another: for the Hebrew words [r tbha mean one who loves evil or a friend: because [r signifies a friend, or evil, according as it is pointed. The former seems to be its best sense here; [r rea is a friend; [r ra is evil. According to the love of the Lord] This woman, who had proved false to her husband, was still beloved by him, though he could not acknowledge her; as the Israelites were beloved by the Lord, while they were looking after other gods. The flagons of wine were probably such as were used for libations, or drunk in idol feasts. Others think that the words should be translated cakes of dried grapes, sweet cakes, consecrated wafers.

Verse 1. Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman — This is the literal meaning of the Hebrew hva bha Ël dw[, and is the sense in which It is understood by the LXX., who read, eti poreuqhti, kai agaphson gunaika; and by the Vulgate, which renders it, Adhuc vade et dilige mulierem. A different woman from the person whom he had espoused before seems evidently to be intended. Thus St. Jerome and St. Cyril of Alexandria understand the words, considering the connection here spoken of as a new one, formed after the dismission of Gomer; in which opinion they are followed by Estius, Menochius, Tirinus, and many other expositors. The injunction, Archbishop Newcome supposes, was given after the death of Hosea’s former wife. But if not, it was undoubtedly given after she was divorced, for her unfaithfulness to her husband; in consequence of which, according to the law, he could not take her back again. Beloved of her friend — That is, her husband. But the LXX. render the words, agapwsan ponhra, loving evil things; a reading which accords with that of the Arabic and Syriac, and is approved both by Archbishop Newcome and Bishop Horsley; the former of whom renders the clause, A lover of evil, and the latter, addicted to wickedness, observing, “I adopt the rendering of the LXX. and Syriac, which nothing opposes but the Masoretic pointing.” And an adulteress — That is, who had been such, and that not only in the spiritual sense, of forsaking God, but according to the carnal meaning of the term. According to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel — After the manner of Jehovah’s love for the children of Israel, who look to other gods, or, although they look to other gods, and are addicted to goblets of wine. So Bishop Horsley, who observes, that “children of Israel, and house of Israel, are two distinct expressions, to be differently understood. The house of Israel, and sometimes Israel by itself, is a particular appellation of the ten tribes, a distinct kingdom from Judah. But the children of Israel, is a general appellation for the whole race of the Israelites, comprehending both kingdoms. Indeed it was the only general appellation, before the captivity of the ten tribes; afterward, the kingdom of Judah only remaining, Jews came into use as the name of the whole race, which before had been the appropriate name of the kingdom of Judah. It occurs, for the first time 2 Kings 16., in the history of Ahaz. It is true, we read in Hosea 1:11, of the children of Judah, and the children of Israel; but this is only an honourable mention of Judah, as the principal tribe, not as a distinct kingdom. And the true exposition of the expression is, ‘the children of Judah, and all the rest of the children of Israel.’ We find Judah thus particularly mentioned, as a principal part of the people, before the kingdoms were separated: see 2 Samuel 24:1; 1 Kings 4:20, 25. And yet, at that time, Israel was the general name, 1 Kings 4:1.” The expression, And love flagons of wine, implies, that they loved to drink wine in the temples of their idols. They were wont to pour out wine to their false gods, and, it is probable, drank the remainder even to excess. The festivity, or rather dissoluteness, which was used by the heathen in the worship of their gods, seems to have been one principal thing that made the Israelites so fond of their rites of worship. Some think that the words, rendered here flagons, or goblets, of wine, should be translated cakes of dried grapes. The expression, according to the love of the Lord, &c., means, Let this be an emblem of my love to the children of Israel; or, By this I intend to let Israel know how I have loved them, and what returns they have made for my love. How great and constant my love has been to them, and how inconstant and insincere theirs has been to me. The words seem, in general, to express their leaving the service of the true God, and imitating the idolaters, in following after false gods, bodily delights and pleasures, as gluttony, drunkenness, and the like, which the service of idols did not only permit, but require.

Verse 1. Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress. This action is forbidden by the law of Moses, and also by our Saviour. What then would become of the prophet’s moral character? How should two prostituted women, such as this and his former wife, be so fruitful in children? This indicates that those marriages of Hosea, as Jerome believed, were visions only, by which he endeavoured to dissuade his country from idolatry. The woman was the synagogue, her adultery was the worship of Baal; yet all adulteress as she was, she was beloved of her heavenly friend with much longsuffering and tender mercy.

RESTORATION OF THE OUTCAST WIFE AND OF THE OUTCAST PEOPLE, 1-5. In the introductory remarks to Hosea 2:2-23, it was stated that chapter iii is the natural continuation of Hosea 1:1-9; it is so, however, not in the sense that the events recorded in Hosea 3:1ff., followed immediately upon the birth of Lo-ammi (Hosea 1:9), for in chapter 1 nothing is said about the departure of Gomer from the house of Hosea, which is presupposed in Hosea 3:1. The connecting link is easily supplied. Gomer is thought to have fled from her husband’s home, evidently to devote herself more freely to her shameful practices; verse 2 seems to imply that she had become the slave concubine of another. Impelled by love and a divine impulse the prophet proceeds to buy her back.

1. Go yet [“again”] — Connects this command with the one in Hosea 1:2 (Zechariah 1:17; 11:15). Love — As verse 2 shows, practically equivalent to take a wife (Hosea 1:2); the verb is selected because the emphasis throughout is upon the love of Jehovah, and to indicate the character of the new union. By his love the prophet is to overcome the evil tendencies. A woman — The symbolism, the form of expression, and every other consideration make it certain that this woman is Gomer. Were it another the symbolic act would suggest that Jehovah was about to select another spouse in the place of Israel, which is contrary to the thought of Hosea. Beloved of her friend — Or simply, of another. Though she is fickle, and readily accepts the love of another, the prophet is to take her back. LXX. reads the active participle “loving,” which gives good sense; but evil for a friend is no improvement. Adulteress — Such she had become by allowing others to bestow their love upon her. The task imposed upon the prophet was indeed great. According to the love of Jehovah toward [“even as Jehovah loveth”] the children of Israel — The prophet forgave his faithless wife because Jehovah forgave his faithless spouse, Israel; the attitude of Jehovah taught the prophet his own duty in the matter. It is undoubtedly equally true that his own domestic experience enabled Hosea to understand more completely the attitude of Jehovah to his people, an attitude of intense love, though they look to other gods — That is, the Baalim (Hosea 2:5, 13). Flagons of wine — More correctly, R.V., “cakes of raisins”; literally, of (dried) grapes. These are loved not by the gods, but by the Israelites. The reference is to cakes used in connection with the sacrifices (Jeremiah 7:18), partly as offerings to the deity and partly in the feasts accompanying some of the sacrifices. Of this luxury the Israelites were fond; this fondness is used here as illustrating their love for things connected with the worship of the Baalim.

V. 2. Fifteen pieces of silver-It was half the value of a slave, Exodus 21:32. An homer of barley-About fourteen bushels. Of barley-The meanest kind of provision; and suited to a low condition, all this is, to set forth Israel’s indigence and ingratitude, and God’s bounty to Israel.

Verse 2. Fifteen pieces of silver] If they were shekels, the price of this woman was about two pounds five shillings.

A homer of barley] As the homer was about eight bushels, or something more, the homer and half was about twelve or thirteen bushels.

Verse 2. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver — That is, according to the ancient custom, I paid her dower. It was usual among the Hebrews for men to purchase, or pay a consideration for, their wives, either by money or labour; thus Jacob agreed to serve Laban seven years for Rachael. And for a homer of barley, &c. — Sir John Chardin observed in the East, that, in their contracts for temporary wives, there is always the formality of a measure of corn mentioned, over and above the stipulated sum of money. — Harmer, vol. 2:513. The low price at which the prophet purchased this woman, was significative how base and of little value the Israelites were, since their apostacy from the worship of God to idolatry. Or, according to Calvin, “the parsimonious gift, a sum of money which was but half the price of a female slave, and a pittance of black barley bread, typified the hard fare which the Israelites were to expect at the hand of God in their state of exile.”

2. The command is carried out. I bought her — The woman described in verse 1. Why he had to buy her back is not stated, nor is it quite clear. It may have been simply to avoid an altercation with the paramour, or because she had become a slave. Pusey and others suggest that the verb does not imply purchase, but refers to some arrangement on the part of the prophet to provide for the temporary maintenance — until he might restore her to wifehood — of Gomer, whom he found in destitute circumstances, though not in the possession of another. This explanation would remove the necessity of assuming that Gomer had become a slave; it would make natural also the mention of barley, which would serve as food, while the money was to supply other necessities. It is doubtful, however, that such meaning can be assigned to the verb translated I bought; it is better to retain the common rendering. Fifteen pieces (or, shekels) of silver — A shekel of silver is equivalent to about sixty cents; the entire amount being about nine dollars. Homer of barley — According to Ezekiel 45:11, the homer contains ten ephahs or baths (but compare Exodus 16:36); of the bath two calculations have been handed down: that of the rabbis, ascribing to it a capacity of 21.26 quarts, and that of Josephus, who makes it equivalent to 40.62 quarts. The homer would contain ten times that amount. Half homer — Hebrews lethekh. A measure not otherwise known; Hebrew tradition makes it equivalent to a half homer. LXX. renders, “a bottle of wine,” which is accepted by some moderns as original. Admitting the correctness of the Hebrew, Hosea would have paid one homer and a half of barley in addition to the fifteen shekels of silver. The money value of the barley it is difficult to determine. 2 Kings 7:18, helps but little, since the price stated there is not the normal price. If we assume that the ordinary rate was three seahs for one shekel, one homer and a half — forty-five seahs — would cost approximately fifteen shekels; that added to fifteen shekels paid cash would make thirty shekels — according to Exodus 21:32, the value of a slave. Why Hosea paid partly in barley and partly in cash we do not know.

V. 3. Abide for me-Thou shalt wait unmarried, until I espouse thee.

Verse 3. Thou shalt abide for me many days] He did not take her home, but made a contract with her that, if she would abstain from her evil ways, he would take her to himself after a sufficient trial. In the meantime he gave her the money and the barley to subsist upon, that she might not be under the temptation of becoming again unfaithful.

So will I also be for thee.] That is, if thou, Israel, wilt keep thyself separate from thy idolatry, and give me proof, by thy total abstinence from idols, that thou wilt be my faithful worshipper, I will receive thee again, and in the meantime support thee with the necessaries of life while thou art in the land of thy captivity. This is farther illustrated in the following verses.

Verse 3. And I said, Thou shalt abide for me many days — The Vulgate renders this, Dies multos expectabis me, non fornicaberis, Thou shalt wait for me many days; thou shalt not commit fornication. The meaning is, that she should remain in a state of separation from the prophet, and every other man, sequestered and solitary, for many days, that there might be proof of her reformation. Thou shalt not be for another man, so will I also be for thee — As there is nothing in the Hebrew for the word another, so the sentence may be more accurately translated thus, Thou shalt not have a husband, neither will I have thee, namely, for a wife. Bishop Horsley renders it, And thou shalt not have to do with a husband, neither will I with thee; that is, thou shalt continue for some time in a state of widowhood, or without commerce with man. The Hebrew phrase here used, vyal wyht al, properly means, Thou shalt not have a husband, and is so rendered by our interpreters, Ezekiel 44:25. And to the same sense, without the negative particle, Ruth 1:12. Thus the LXX. render it, oude mh genh andri; (compare Romans 7:3;) and so also the Vulgate, et non eris viro. By these conditions, which the prophet makes with the woman whom he takes, that she should humble herself and not go after other men, as formerly, but remain separate from every man, must be meant, with respect to Israel, that though God should separate himself from them for a long time, and humble them by reducing them to a low condition, and restraining them from their idolatry and former luxury; yet he would not so utterly reject them, but that he would, in due time, upon their conversion, again receive them. This was intended, 1st, To be an emblem of the state of the Jews during the Babylonish captivity; when snatched, as it were by force, from the objects of their impure love, they continued in their exile equally separated from their God and their idols; but with this difference, that their God retained toward them sentiments of affection, expecting on their part true repentance. And, 2d, “The condition of the woman, restrained from licentious courses, owned as a wife, but without conjugal rites, admirably represents also the present state of the Jews, manifestly owned as a peculiar people, withheld from idolatry, but as yet without access to God, through the Saviour.” — Horsley.

Ver. 3. Thou shalt abide for me many days. The law allowed a full month at least, between the promise and the marriage. Deuteronomy 21:13. It was often several years. When a man betrothed a woman he usually made her some present, the acceptance of which was regarded as a promise on her part.

3. Gomer cannot be immediately restored to her full privileges as wife. Abide — Remain inactive; in what sense the latter part of the verse states. For me — As my possession. Many days — Until the prophet shall feel assured that he may safely restore her to her full privileges. Shalt not play the harlot — Living, in seclusion, she is to discontinue her shameful career. Not be for another man [“any man’s wife”] — The preceding expression points to the cessation of illegitimate intercourse, but even the legitimate conjugal intercourse is not to be resumed for a while. So will I also be for [“toward”] thee — He will abstain from all intercourse and yet remain loyal to Gomer during the probationary period. That this is the meaning seems evident, though a slight alteration may have to be made to get it from the original.

For the prophet’s purpose it is not necessary to describe further his domestic experience; he turns immediately, verse 4, to the application of the experience described in verse 3. As the reclaimed Gomer must pass through a probationary period, in which, she is compelled to abstain even from legitimate pleasures before she is restored to complete favor, so Israel must pass through a long period of seclusion, when she will be deprived of all her religious and civil institutions, before she can enjoy the blessings of Jehovah pictured in Hosea 2:15ff. Children of Israel — The northern kingdom, to which Hosea primarily addresses himself. Abide — Remain inactive so far as national activities are concerned. The things enumerated are those thought essential to the nation’s life; their withdrawal will be a serious loss. King — The secular as well as the religious head of the nation. Prince — During the period of the monarchy the term designates all civil and military officers, not only members of the royal family. Sacrifice — In the popular conception bringing of sacrifices covered almost all religious requirements; the inability to bring them would appear a very serious loss to the people. For the prophet’s estimate see Hosea 6:6. This threat seems to imply the expectation of an exile; in a foreign and unclean land sacrifices might not be offered (Hosea 9:4). Image [“pillar”] — See on Micah 5:13. Ephod — This term seems to be used in the Old Testament with two distinct meanings. In Exodus 28:6-14, is described the high priest’s ephod or garment; in many passages this is the meaning of the word. There are other passages, however, where this meaning seems unsuitable; for example, Judges 8:24-27. The root meaning of the word is generally thought to be to cover, to overlay. From this it has been inferred that in some passages the ephod is an image of Jehovah overlaid with silver and gold (Judges 8:24-27; 17:5; 1 Samuel 21:10; 23:6, etc.). This would give acceptable sense here. Whatever its exact form, it was undoubtedly something used in connection with the consulting of the oracle. (See article “Ephod” in Hastings’s Dictionary of the Bible.) The statement does not necessarily imply that Hosea regarded the ephod as valuable, or that he considered its removal a serious loss. He puts himself in the place of the people; they would consider the loss of all these things a serious calamity. Teraphim — Another uncertain word. That they were idols is clear from Genesis 31:19, 30; 35:2-4; Judges 17:5, etc. Sometimes they must have been of considerable size (1 Samuel 19:13-16). It is generally thought that they were household gods, and as such they have been compared with the Roman lares and penates. Whether they can be regarded as household deities exclusively must remain uncertain in view of Ezekiel 21:21. That they were the images of ancestors and that they prove the prevalence of ancestor worship in Israel is more than can be naturally inferred from the Old Testament references. Dr. Foote, after careful investigation, concludes that the ephod is a pouch used in connection with the giving of oracles, while the teraphim are the lots used for determining the oracles.

V. 4. For-Now the parable is unfolded, it shall be with Israel as with such a woman, they and she were guilty of adultery, both punished long, both made slaves, kept hardly, and valued meanly, yet in mercy at last pardoned, and re-accepted tho’ after a long time of probation. Without a king-None of their own royal line shall sit on the throne. A prince-Strangers shall be princes and governors over them. Without a sacrifice-Offered according to the law. An image-They could carry none of their images with them, and the Assyrians would not let them make new ones. Ephod-No priest as well as no ephod. And without teraphim-Idolatrous images kept in their private houses, like the Roman household gods; in one word, such should be the state of their captives; they should have nothing of their own either in religious or civil affairs, but be wholly under the power of their conquering enemies.

Verse 4. Many days without a king] Hitherto this prophecy has been literally fulfilled. Since the destruction of the temple by the Romans they have neither had king nor prince, nor any civil government of their own, but have lived in different nations of the earth as mere exiles. They have neither priests nor sacrifices, nor urim nor thummim; no prophet, no oracle, no communication of any kind from God.

Without an image ephod—teraphim] The Septuagint read, Oude oushv qusiav, oude ontov qusiasthriou, oude ierateiav, oude dhlwn: “Without a sacrifice, without an altar, without a priesthood, and without oracles;” that is, the urim and thummim. The Vulgate, Arabic, and Syriac read nearly the same. Instead of hbxm matstsebah, an image, they have evidently read jbzm mizbeach, an altar; the letters of these words being very similar, and easily mistaken for each other. But instead of either, one, if not two, of Kennicott’s MSS. has hjnm minchah, an oblation. What is called image may signify any kind of pillar, such as God forbade them to erect, Leviticus 26:1, lest it should be an incitement to idolatry.

The ephod was the high priest’s garment of ceremony; the teraphim were some kind of amulets, telesms, or idolatrous images; the urim and thummim belonged to the breastplate, which was attached to the ephod. Instead of teraphim some would read seraphim, changing the t tau into c sin; these are an order of the celestial hierarchy. In short, all the time that the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, they seem to have been as wholly without forms of idolatrous worship as they were without the worship of God; and this may be what the prophet designs: they were totally without any kind of public worship, whether true or false. As well without images and teraphim, as they were without sacrifice and ephod, though still idolaters in their hearts. They were in a state of the most miserable darkness, which was to continue many days; and it has continued now nearly eighteen hundred years, and must continue yet longer, till they acknowledge him as their Saviour whom they crucified as a blasphemer.

Verse 4. For the children of Israel shall abide many days — Here begins a more plain and full explication of the symbolical action of the prophet, namely, that it signified what should befall the children of Israel; that they should continue many days in a state of captivity; without a king, as the woman continued without a husband; without the means of worshipping God according to the rites of their law; and yet refraining from idolatry, as the woman refrained from unfaithfulness to her betrothed husband. And this prediction was remarkably fulfilled upon the ten tribes, when made captives by Shalmaneser, (compare Hosea 9:4,) and upon the two remaining tribes, after the destruction of their temple and commonwealth by Nebuchadnezzar, and during their captivity in Babylon. This prophecy has also been fulfilled upon the whole nation of the Jews, from the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus unto this day. From that time, they have had no republic, or civil government of their own; but have lived everywhere like so many exiles, only upon sufferance; they have had neither priest nor sacrifice, their temple being destroyed where only they were to offer sacrifices: and yet the want of a place where to perform the most solemn parts of their public worship, does not tempt them to idolatry, or make them fond of image-worship, or any such idolatrous practice, which was the epidemical sin of their forefathers. This seems the general import of this remarkable prophecy; but the several expressions must be more particularly explained. Without a king — Namely of their own; and without a prince — Without any civil magistrate of their own with supreme authority. And without a sacrifice — Deprived of the means of offering the typical sacrifices of the law, and having, as yet, no share in the true sacrifice of Christ. And without an image — Or, as the LXX. and Vulgate read, without an altar. The Hebrew word, hbxm, here rendered image, seems properly to signify those pillars, which, in the patriarchal ages, were erected to the honour of God, and used as altars. Thus we read, Genesis 28:18, that Jacob, after the divine vision he had had, took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a PILLAR, (Hebrew, hbxm, the same word which is used here,) and poured oil upon the top of it; that is, he made an altar of it to pour out a libation upon it, as a token of gratitude for the vision with which he had been favoured, and to ratify, in a solemn manner, his resolution of serving Jehovah. And again, Genesis 35:14, we find the same word rendered pillar twice, and used in the same sense. And without an ephod — The ephod being one principal part of the high-priest’s garments of consecration and of service, the saying here, that the children of Israel should be without an ephod, seems to signify, that they should be without a high-priest to minister in the priest’s office. And without teraphim — Those interpreters who suppose that the different words here used denote the several ways of lawful worship practised among God’s ancient people, and the means they used of inquiring after the will of God, understand the word teraphim here as signifying the same with the Urim and Thummim, or the oracle placed in the breast-plate of the high-priest; which they think is fitly joined with the ephod, that being often put for the whole priestly habit, and used when there was occasion of consulting God by the high-priest: see 1 Samuel 23:9, and 30:7. This interpretation is followed by the LXX., and it makes an easy and natural sense of the text, namely, that God would deprive the Jews of the principal offices, for the enjoyment of which they chiefly valued themselves, namely, that of the priesthood, and that of prophecy. The Jews had no succession of prophets, for a considerable time before Christ’s coming; and both kingdom and priesthood were taken away, within forty years after Christ’s death.

The word teraphim, however, evidently signifies images, Genesis 31:34, and, it seems, is used of idol-images, Judges 17:5; and some commentators of great note understand it in the same sense here, and indeed interpret also the two preceding expressions as intended of the worship of idols. Thus Archbishop Newcome, “My opinion is, that the teraphim were objects of idolatrous worship; and such, in their state of captivity, the Israelites would not harbour.” Thus also Bishop Horsley, “After much consideration of this passage, and of much that has been written upon it by expositors, I rest in the opinion strenuously maintained by the learned Pocock, in which he agrees with many that went before him, and has the concurrence of many that came after, Luther, Calvin, Vetablus, Drusius, Houbigant, and Archbishop Newcome, with many others of inferior note; I rest, I say, in the opinion, that statue, ephod, and teraphim, are mentioned as principal implements of idolatrous rites. And the sum of this 4th verse is this; that for many ages the Jews would not be their own masters; would be deprived of the exercise of their own religion, in its most essential parts; not embracing the Christian, they would have no share in the true service; and yet would be restrained from idolatry, to which their forefathers had been so prone.” As a confirmation of this interpretation, the bishop observes, that this 4th verse is the exposition of the type of the prophet’s conduct toward his wife; and that, if the restriction of the Jews from idolatry is not mentioned, we have nothing in the exposition answering to that article, Thou shalt not play the harlot.” “This is surely a most astonishing prophecy of events directly contrary to all human probability; yet undeniably taking place, not on a particular occasion, or for a short time, but through very many revolving centuries. How could Hosea have foreseen this, had not God inspired him? And does not this demonstrate the divine inspiration of this prophecy?” — Scott.

Ver. 4. The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king. This period, like “the end of the days” in Daniel 12:13, indicates the cleansing of the sanctuary in the glory of the latter day. It seems an undeviating practice of the prophets, whenever they speak of the ruin of their country, to shelter the church in Christ, her only refuge and hope. This period is not applicable to the Assyrian captivity, because they had idols, nor to the Babylonian, because in ver. 5 the events are connected with the last days. The last days, mentioned in Joel 2:28, are allowed to refer to the times of the Messiah; and the last days, in Isaiah 2:2, refer to the same time. Acts 2:16.

Without a prince. In the Babylonian captivity many of the jews were princes, and others are called elders; but under the present Roman dispersion they have no civil magistrates of rank and power; nor are they numbered among the nations. Neither the christian, nor the mahommedan, nor the heathen powers have honoured them with civil dignities. Without a sacrifice. When David offered sacrifices, after the destroying angel had stayed his hand and spared Jerusalem, fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifices; and this holy fire, with the testimony of prophecy, marked the place which God chose for the habitation of his glory. Therefore, whatever were the wanderings of the jews, they were not to sacrifice out of Jerusalem, unless the spirit of prophecy allowed otherwise, as on Carmel. This prophecy cannot be applied to the Babylonian captivity, for Baruch in Jerusalem then offered burnt offerings for them: chap. 1:10. Without an image. Here criticism is much divided. The versions vary. The LXX read pillar, as in Genesis 28:18. Many of the moderns read statue. It implies however the total disuse of altars and idols; and this makes the prophecy apply with greater force to the Roman dispersion. Without an ephod. This was a part of the priest’s linen. The ephod of the high priest is here understood, which contained the breastplate or pectoral, and the two precious stones worn one on each shoulder. That on the right shoulder is thought to be called the Urim, and that on the left the Thummim.

Without teraphim. The LXX read Urim. But it is objected that teraphim everywhere signifies an image, adored as an idol. See Genesis 31:19. Judges 18:17. It properly signifies household gods. Judges 17:5. Revetus suggests that the teraphim in this text might refer to the calves in Bethel and in Dan, or to Baal. But why may it not refer to the cherubim in the holy place? The Hebrews had their Urim and Thummim, illuminations and perfections in their oracles. By these stones the priest foretold future things. See on Exodus 28:30. The gentiles from the most ancient times had their teraphim, and in corrupter times their image. Now, the jews have neither urim nor teraphim; nor shall their afflictions cease till they bow in the latter day to that David, of whom the first David was but a figure.

RESTORATION OF THE OUTCAST WIFE AND OF THE OUTCAST PEOPLE, 1-5. In the introductory remarks to Hosea 2:2-23, it was stated that chapter iii is the natural continuation of Hosea 1:1-9; it is so, however, not in the sense that the events recorded in Hosea 3:1ff., followed immediately upon the birth of Lo-ammi (Hosea 1:9), for in chapter 1 nothing is said about the departure of Gomer from the house of Hosea, which is presupposed in Hosea 3:1. The connecting link is easily supplied. Gomer is thought to have fled from her husband’s home, evidently to devote herself more freely to her shameful practices; verse 2 seems to imply that she had become the slave concubine of another. Impelled by love and a divine impulse the prophet proceeds to buy her back.

1. Go yet [“again”] — Connects this command with the one in Hosea 1:2 (Zechariah 1:17; 11:15). Love — As verse 2 shows, practically equivalent to take a wife (Hosea 1:2); the verb is selected because the emphasis throughout is upon the love of Jehovah, and to indicate the character of the new union. By his love the prophet is to overcome the evil tendencies. A woman — The symbolism, the form of expression, and every other consideration make it certain that this woman is Gomer. Were it another the symbolic act would suggest that Jehovah was about to select another spouse in the place of Israel, which is contrary to the thought of Hosea. Beloved of her friend — Or simply, of another. Though she is fickle, and readily accepts the love of another, the prophet is to take her back. LXX. reads the active participle “loving,” which gives good sense; but evil for a friend is no improvement. Adulteress — Such she had become by allowing others to bestow their love upon her. The task imposed upon the prophet was indeed great. According to the love of Jehovah toward [“even as Jehovah loveth”] the children of Israel — The prophet forgave his faithless wife because Jehovah forgave his faithless spouse, Israel; the attitude of Jehovah taught the prophet his own duty in the matter. It is undoubtedly equally true that his own domestic experience enabled Hosea to understand more completely the attitude of Jehovah to his people, an attitude of intense love, though they look to other gods — That is, the Baalim (Hosea 2:5, 13). Flagons of wine — More correctly, R.V., “cakes of raisins”; literally, of (dried) grapes. These are loved not by the gods, but by the Israelites. The reference is to cakes used in connection with the sacrifices (Jeremiah 7:18), partly as offerings to the deity and partly in the feasts accompanying some of the sacrifices. Of this luxury the Israelites were fond; this fondness is used here as illustrating their love for things connected with the worship of the Baalim.

V. 5. Return-Repent. And David-The Messiah who is the son of David. And his goodness-God and his goodness; that is, the good and gracious God. God in Christ and with Christ shall be worshipped. The latter days-In the days of the Messiah, in gospel-times.

Verse 5. Afterward shall the children of Israel return] Shall repent of their iniquities, and seek the Lord; lay aside their mock worship, and serve the true God in spirit and in truth.

And David their king] Or as the Targum, “They shall obey the Messiah, the Son of David, their King;” and thus look believingly upon him whom they have pierced, and mourn. And then shall their long spiritual darkness and dismal captivity have an end; but not before. The Messiah, as David, is promised in Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 24:23; 37:22, 24, 25, (where see the notes,) and in this place of Hosea. Some think that the family of David is intended; but if we go to the rigour of the letter, the house of Israel was scarcely ever perfectly submissive to David. And we know that after the death of Solomon they never acknowledged the house of David till they were all carried away captive; and certainly never since. And to say that Zerubbabel is here meant, is not supportable, as the very short and imperfect obedience of the Jews to Zerubbabel can never comport with the high terms of this and similar prophecies. We are obliged, therefore, from the evidence of these prophecies, from the evidence of the above facts, from the evidence of the rabbins themselves, and from the evidence of the New Testament, to consider these texts as applying solely to JESUS CHRIST, the promised MESSIAH, who has been a light to lighten the Gentiles, and will yet be the glory of his people Israel. There is a strange propensity in some men to deny these evidences of Christianity, while they profess to believe its doctrines. HOSEA

Verse 5. Afterward shall the children of Israel return — When they have lived a long time in this state, without any country or government of their own, without any temple or place of worship, and without the liberty and proper means for offering sacrifices; they shall be touched with a true remorse for their former errors, and weary of this forlorn and desolate condition, shall bethink themselves of Jehovah the true God, and shall seek unto him by prayer and supplication. And shall seek David their king — That is, the son of David, the Messiah, often called David by the prophets, as being not only descended from David, but the person in whom all the promises made to David were to receive their full and final accomplishment: see the margin. So the Chaldee paraphrase expounds this and the parallel texts. David was also a type of the Messiah, and therefore the latter is called by the name of David. Thus John the Baptist is called Elias, Malachi 4:5, because he was to resemble him, and to succeed him in his office of reproving the people, and calling them to repentance. The expression cannot be literally understood here, David himself having been dead long before the uttering of this prophecy. And shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days — That is, they shall reverence the Lord, stand in awe of him, and fear to offend him, and shall put their trust in and be grateful for his goodness, manifested in their redemption, their illumination by the gospel, their conversion to God, and their restoration to their own land; and hence they shall yield an entire obedience to him, shall worship and serve him in spirit and in truth, and live to his glory. And this will come to pass in the latter days, or times, of the world: see notes on Isaiah 2:2; Daniel 2:44.

Ver. 5. And David their king. This text cannot properly be applied to Zerubbabel, but to the Messiah it applies with peculiar force. Psalm 132:16. Jeremiah 30:9. Ezekiel 34:24. Acts 15:16, 17. The Chaldaic also applies it in this sense. See the note in Ezekiel, as above.

5. The judgment will bring the people to their senses and prepare them for intimate fellowship with Jehovah. Afterward — After the judgment has exercised its salutary effect. Return, and seek — Not necessarily from exile. The construction is the same as that in Hosea 2:9, where R.V. renders “take back”; here equivalent to seek again — Cured from apostasy, they will return from following the Baalim and seek Jehovah. Him, and him alone, will they recognize as their God. David their king — See Introduction, p. 34. Shall fear [“come with fear unto”] Jehovah — The same verb is translated “shall thrill,” that is, with joyous emotion, in Isaiah 60:5 (compare Jeremiah 33:9; Hosea 11:11); that seems to be the thought here: they will approach Jehovah trembling with joyful anticipation, though a sense of fear is not absent when they think of their former sinfulness. His goodness — As manifested in the restoration of the gifts withdrawn, in his readiness to forgive, and in the pouring out of countless blessings in which the Messianic age abounds (Hosea 2:21, 22; Amos 9:11ff.; Jeremiah 31:11-13, etc.). In the latter days — See on Micah 4:1.