8. Yet I am become, &c.] Rather, I have only become rich, have found me out substance: none of my gains shall find out iniquity against me; which were sin! In the face of the accusation of v. 7 founded upon manifest fact, Ephraim unblushingly affirms his innocency: he had done nothing wrong: all that he had done was that he got rich: 'none of his gains would be found to fasten guilt upon him. "Substance:" the same Hebrew word, generally "strength," is rendered "goods" in Job xx. Io. "Gains:" the Hebrew noun, which occurs often, never (with the exception of Gen. xxxi. 42) means 66 labour," but always "the gains of labour" (Deut. xxviii. 33; Ps. cxxviii. 2; Isai. xlv. 14, &c.). The tone of Ephraim's words reminds us of the "money-loving" Pharisees in Luke xvi. 14, 15. "Which were sin:" this may be taken in two ways; either, connecting it with "iniquity,"—"(iniquity) which can reckon as sin; i.e. which deserves to be severely visited; or, "if iniquity were found in any of my ways of getting rich, that would indeed be sin." According to this, Ephraim protests that he would not do anything wrong on any account: "un yévoiro." The tone of conscious innocence thus assumed, is like the pious "Blessed be the Lord," in Zech. xi. 5. In respect to the historical bearing of this verse, we may observe that Ephraim, speaking as a nation, might use such language during the gleam of national prosperity which belonged to the era of Jeroboam II., but hardly in the period of public decline and wretchedness which marked the later time of Hosea's prophesying. But perhaps it is the language of money-getting individuals only; if so, it might have been used at any time.

9. And I that am the LORD, &c.] Rather, "And yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt: I will yet again, &c.". The first clause is a complete sentence, as the precisely same words are ch. xiii. 4. The words, "thy God from the land of Egypt," imply the fact, that Israel owed its very existence as a nation to that which Jehovah did for them at the exodus. He therefore was the only proper Source to which they should look for good things to come to them: that is, those things were to be sought, not in the ways of fraud or violence, but of obedience to His laws and of dependence upon His blessing. The God that gave them their wealth could also take it away, and was now ready to do so. VOL. VI.

And I that am the LORD thy God 9 from the land of Egypt will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of the solemn feast.

10 I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions,

will yet make thee to dwell, &c.] i.e. by severe and yet merciful discipline your worldliness shall be chastised out of you. The "solemn feast " here referred to must be the Feast of Tabernacles, which in 1 K. viii. 2; 2 Chro. vii. 8, is similarly referred to simply as "the feast;" being, of all others, the most remarkable, both for the degree in which the people then departed from their customary habits of life, and for its protracted and extreme joyousness. Cp. Lev. xxiii. 43. Israel was to forfeit all her blessings in punishment for her misuse of them (ch. ii. 9—13). But after she had been stripped of her worldly all by "returning into Egypt" (ch. viii. 13, ix. 6), she should be again brought out of captivity, and then, feeling that she was cast upon the care of One all-sufficient to bless, she should "sing" in the wilderness, "as in the day when she went up out of the land of Egypt" (ch. ii. 14, 15). To the fleshly mind this was a threatening; to the true theocratic spirit it was a word of promise. For in fact the sentiment which the Feast of Tabernacles was designed to instil into the Israelitish mind, was that of contented and even joyous recognition of Jehovah as the Giver and Possessor of all that they enjoyed, and of happy dependence upon Him as His guests, as "strangers and sojourners with Him." That such a sentiment really was called forth in the pious few, is shewn by the striking passages which Dr Pusey in his note on this verse has quoted from Dachs Succa,' one of which is as follows: "Because, at the time of the gathering of the increase from the field, man wishes to go from the field to his house to make a fixed abode there, the law was anxious, lest on account of this fixed abode, his heart should be lifted up at having found a sort of palace,

6

and he should wax fat and kick.' Therefore

it is written, all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths.' Whoso begins to think himself a citizen in this world, and not a foreigner, him God biddeth, leaving his ordinary dwelling, to remove into a temporary lodging, in order that, leaving these thoughts, he may learn to acknowledge that he is only a stranger in this world and not a citizen, in that he dwells as in a stranger's hut, and so should not attribute too much to the shadow of his beams, but 'dwell under the shadow of the Almighty.' R. Sal. Ephr. Keli Yakar in Lev. l. c. in 'Dachs,' p. 546.

10. by the prophets] lit. unto the pro

H H

phets. The Hebrew preposition commonly means "upon; but it is often used for "unto," as Ps. xviii. 41; Neh. vi. 3; Jer. XXV. 2. Of course, it is implied, as in the common phrase "the word of the Lord came to such a one," that the speech of God inwardly addressed to the prophet was designed to be communicated by him to others,

and I have multiplied visions] and I, even 1, have multiplied visions. "Vision," as in Isai. i. 1; Obad. 1; Nahum i. 1; it includes all forms of Divine communication made to "seers." This second clause points to the great abundance with which such communications had been made. The insertion of the pronoun "I," emphasizes the fact that the Almighty had Himself thus stooped to His people.

and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets] Lit. by the hand, as Exod. ix. 35; Isai. xx. 2. The "similitudes" or 66 com. parisons" were those parables, either of words, or of actions real or visionary, by which the prophets so frequently declared the Divine will. This clause marks the condescending pains which Jehovah took to make things plain to His people's understanding. The prominency which Hosea gives to "prophets " as the medium of Divine communication, naming them twice in this verse, and twice again in v. 13, seems designed to confront unbelieving gainsayers.

11. Is there iniquity, &c.] Rather, Is Gilead iniquity? mere vanity are they

become [like the thing which they worship: cp. ch. ix. 10, note]: in Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks continually. Likewise shall their altars be as stone-heaps upon the furrows of the field. The former hemistich is taken up with affirming the prevalence of idolatry: the second denounces the coming desolation of these idolaters. "Gilead" and "Gilgal" are specified as being, the one on the eastern, the other on the western side

of Jordan: they thus serve to exemplify the whole kingdom (cp. ch. v. 1 and note). A further motive for their specification lies in the paronomasia which the prophet has in view. "Gilead" is "heap of witness;" see Gen. xxxi. 46, 48, and 25. "Gilgal" might sound as "heaping heap;" see Josh. iv. 20. Likewise (says the prophet) shall their altars, both at "Heap of Witness" and at “ Heaping Heap," be in ruins, reduced to "heaps" of

66

useless stones such as are gathered by the careful husbandman from his ploughed field. "Heaps" describes ruin in Jer. ix. 11, xxvi. 18. The ruin of the altars infers the utter desolation of the country. "Gilead" has already been noted by Hosea for its "iniquity" (ch. vi. 8): possibly that passage supplies a starting point for this verse: as if it were, "Is Gilead iniquity as it has been already described?" For Gilgal as a centre of idolatrous worship see ch. iv. 15, ix. 15. "Sacrifice bullocks continually; " the conjugation of the verb expresses custom or frequency; and "bullocks" marks the sumptuousness of the offerings. Of course, this sacrificing of bullocks must be understood with that idolatrous qualification which in actual fact attached to it as performed at Gilgal. The verse admits of a considerable variety of interpretation; and it is impossible to feel quite sure of the precise import of the several clauses. The view above given has in the main the sanction of Pococke, Dr Pusey, and Wünsche.

12. And Jacob, &c.] Rather, "But Jacob, &c." The meaning of the whole verse is this: And all this idolatry of Ephraim affronts that very history of its first coming into being, which shews that Israel owes all to Jehovah's goodness.

country of Syria] Lit., "field of Aram." The thought of this verse is, the utter destitution originally of the founder of the nation. It forms together with the next verse a brief "A Syrian abstract of Deut. xxvi. 5—9. (Aramite) ready to perish was my father;" by whom Jacob is plainly intended, not Abraham, who was the progenitor of other nations as well. The several terms used in this verse are culled from the history as given in Genesis. "Fled" from Gen. xxvii. 43, XXXV. I. "Field of Aram" is no doubt identical with "Padan Aram 2, &c.) whether "Padan or "arable land." land" wife" from Gen. xxix. 18, 20. "served" occurs perpetually in describing Jacob's relation to Laban. "Kept (sheep) from Gen. xxx. 31, which reads literally “I will again feed thy flock (and) keep."

(Gen. xxviii.

means "table "Served for a The verb

13. Israel] The import of the word passes from the patriarch to the nation,

by a prophet] i.e. "not by bow nor by sword nor by battle, by horses nor by horse

reproach shall his Lord return unto him,

in Num. xi. 31, "let fall;" Ezek. xxix. 5, "leave thrown;" ibid. xxxii. 4, "leave." It also means "leave," as A. V. here renders it: taken so, it means, "will not purge it away."

and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him] Or, and his blasphemy shall his Lord return upon him. "His blasphemy," or "reproach," is Ephraim's gainsaying of Jehovah's true worship. Comp. Isai. lxv. 7, "have blasphemed me upon the hills," namely, by idolatrous rites. "His Lord," or "Master," as the word is rendered 1 K. xxii. 17; Mal. i. 6. Jehovah is meant, who though renounced by Ephraim, was nevertheless (so the word as here introduced indicates) his "Master" still.

tical in meaning with , from which it borrows the future in v. 4, and which in Esther i. 22 is rendered "bear rule; " in Isai. xxxii. 1 and Prov. viii. 16, "rule;" and in Num. xvi. 13, in the hithpahel, "make thyself a prince." From also comes the very common word, "prince," or, more frequently, "captain." These two verbs are sisters to ,"reign," in Judg. ix. 22, and

CHAPTER XIII.

1 Ephraim's glory, by reason of idolatry, vanisheth. 5 God's anger for their unkindness. 9 A promise of God's mercy. 15 A judgment for rebellion.

CHAP. XIII. 1. When Ephraim, &c.] Rather, When Ephraim spake, there was fear; he, even he, lifted up himself in Israel; but he became guilty concerning Baal, and died. The meaning of the former hemistich is somewhat doubtful in consequence of the uncertain sense of the Hebrew word (retheth) rendered "trembling." It occurs nowhere else. But the import of the same root in Syriac, the use of retet found only in Jer. xlix. 24 ("fear"), and the uniform tradition of the Jews, assign to it the sense of "terror," "trembling;" and this can hardly be surrendered for Ewald's conjectural rendering, "rebellion." To render the clause, "When Ephraim spake trembling" or "with trembling," i.e. humbly, would give to the tribe of Ephraim, which seems here to be meant, a character out of harmony alike with Hosea's description of it in ch. v. 5 and with the history. It is better, therefore, with the great majority of commentators to render, "When Ephraim spake,

in Hos. viii. 4, in the hiphil, "make princes." It thus appears that means "to be prince, chieftain, captain;" and hence, when followed by "with" (Nas here, Dy as Gen. xxxii. 28), or by "against" (as in v. 4), it passes on to mean "to assert one's rank with another," "vie," " contend," by which last words it is here translated by Luther, Mendelssohn, Stier, Ewald, Keil, and others.

there was fear;" his words were listened to with deference, through the power with which he could back them. Cp. Job xxix. 21, 22. For this preeminency of the tribe of Ephraim see Gen. xlix. 26; Deut. xxxiii. 17; Judg. viii. 1, xii. 1. It is indirectly intimated that Ephraim's elevation led to his religious defection and his ruin. And the history shews that it was so. For it was his tribal ambition which prompted him to adopt that calf-worship which paved the way at length to the worship of Baal. Accordingly there follows, "he, even he (who like him?), lifted up himself in Israel; ""lifted up" being used intransitively as in Ps. lxxxix. 9 ("arise"). "Became guilty in, or concerning, Baal;" so the same verb is rendered, Ezek. xxii. 4, "become guilty in thy blood." "Baal," not the golden calves, but the false gods, to the worship of which these opened the way: cp. ch. ii. 8, 13, xi. 2. "Died," incurred the doom (Gen. iii. 17) of extinction: cp. Amos ii. 2. 2. And now...craftsmen] Rather, "And

now, they sin more and more, and have made
them of their silver molten images; in
their understanding idols, the work of
the craftsmen all of it!" "Now," at the very
present time, the evil is still growing. "Mol-
ten images," as Deut. ix. 12; 2 K. xvii. 16;
2 Chro. xxviii. 2. The misuse thus made of
"their silver" is noted also ch. viii. 4. Jero-
boam's calves are not here spoken of: they
were of gold. "In their understanding;" the
prophet says it in mockery, that they should
apply their skill and intelligence to so senseless
a work. Another reading of the Hebrew not
so well authenticated gives, "according to
their understanding," i. e. "according to no-
tions of their own." "The work of craftsmen

all of it!" there is nothing whatever in the

idol but what the craftsmen have made: no
divinity; no sense even. Cp. ch. viii. 6.

they say of them, &c.] Rather, of them
those are saying, Sacrificing men,
they kiss calves! i.e. We hear people say
ing of Israelites, "While they sacrifice men,
they adore calves!" "Of them;" the same
preposition is in the Hebrew found in Gen.
XX. 13, "say of me;" Ps. iii. 2, "say of my
soul." It is not meant that human sacrifices
were offered to the calves, of which there is
no evidence: what is noted is, that the Israel-
ites were so senseless in religion, that while
they slaughtered in sacrifice men, they honour-
ed brute beasts with the homage of adoration,
reversing, as Aben Ezra observes, the proper
order of things, according to which they should
slaughter calves and (in love) kiss men. The
practice of human sacrifices is mentioned in
2 K. xvii. 17; Ps. cvi. 37, 38 and elsewhere.
See note on 2 K. xvi. 3. "Kiss," in adora-
tion, as 1 K. xix. 18; Ps. ii. 12; Job xxxi.
26, 27. It has been the practice of idolaters,
both in heathenism (see Cic. 'In Verrem,' Act.
II. Lib. IV. 43) and in Roman Catholic coun-
tries, thus to express affectionate adoration.

3. the early dew that passeth away] Rather,
dew which early passeth away. The
tone of indignant derision passes into that of
stern wrath. The inflexibility of the purpose
to punish is expressed by the accumulation of
four several images, all describing utter exter-
mination. The "morning cloud" and "dew"
vanish wholly and rapidly in the heat of the

sun: cp. ch. vi. 4. The image of "chaft
whirled away by the blast from the threshing-
floor" occurs repeatedly, as Ps. i. 4, xxxv. 5 ;
Isai. xvii. 13. The utter dissipation of

"smoke" is referred to in Ps. lxviii. 2.

chimney] Rather, lattice. "The smoke
was commonly let escape through lattice-
work placed under the wall-plate of the roof."
Wünsche,

4. Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land
uplifted to strike is once more stayed, to try
of Egypt] Again the tone changes. The arm
the effect of renewed remonstrance. Cp. ch.
xi. 9.
We had the same words, ch. xii. 9,
and used with the same design, of pointing
beginning of her history,-at all times, all-
out Jehovah as Israel's God from the very
sufficient to bless and to save. How senseless
then, and how unthankful, to look to other
gods!

and thou shalt know, &c.] In the whole
history of the nation, thou canst discover the
presence and delivering power of no other god
except Jehovah. Cp. Isai. xliv. 6, 8, 9, xlv.
5, 6.

5. I did know, &c.] Or, "I it was that
knew thee in the wilderness, in the land of
parching thirst." Marvellous, and plainly
Divine, was the way in which thou wast cared
for in the wilderness, fed with manna from
heaven and having water given thee to drink
out of the hard rocks. There manifestly was
a God there who took note of thee: that God
was I and none else. "Know;" with a preg-
nant sense, implying converse, as in Ps. cxliv.
3; Amos iii. 2; Deut. xxxiv. 10, ii. 7, to
which last passage the prophet possibly alludes.
The Hebrew word rendered in A. V. "great
drought" occurs nowhere else: its root, in
Arabic, means "to be athirst." Cp. Deut.
viii. 15, xxxii. 10.

6. According to...filled] Or, "According
as they were pastured, so they waxed
full," i. e. according to the care lavished upon
them, so did they prosper. Lit. "According
to their pasturing;" for the Hebrew noun
never signifies the pasture-ground, but either
the shepherd's action, as Ps. c. 3, "sheep of
his pasture," or the flock, as Jer. x. 21
("flocks").