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tc (1:1) The textual problems in Hosea are virtually unparalleled in the OT. The Masoretic Text (MT), represented by the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), which served as the basis for both BHK and BHS, and the Aleppo Codex (ca. A.D. 952), are textually corrupt by all accounts and have a multitude of scribal errors. Many medieval Masoretic MSS preserve textual variants that differ from the Leningrad and Aleppo Codices. The Qumran materials (4QXIIc,d,g) contain numerous textual variants that differ from the MT; unfortunately, these texts are quite fragmentary (frequently in the very place that an important textual problem appears). The textual tradition and translation quality of the LXX and the early Greek recensions (Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion) is mixed; in some places they are inferior to the MT but in other places they preserve a better reading. The textual apparatus of BHK and BHS contains many proposed emendations based on the versions (Greek, Syriac, Latin, Aramaic) that often appear to be superior readings than what is preserved in the MT. In numerous cases, the MT readings are so difficult morphologically, syntactically, and contextually that conservative conjectural emendations are necessary to make sense of the text. Most major English translations (e.g., KJV, NKJV, NEB, RSV, NRSV, ASV, NASB, NJPS, NIV, TEV, CEV) adopt either occasionally or frequently textual variants reflected in the versions and occasionally adopt conservative conjectural emendations proposed in BHK and/or BHS. However, many of the textual problems in Hosea are so difficult that the English translations frequently are split among themselves. With this in mind, the present translation of Hosea must necessarily be viewed as only preliminary. Further work on the text and translation of Hosea is needed, not only in terms of the NET Bible but in Hosea studies in general. Perhaps the text of Hosea will be better clarified when the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project completes work on the book of Hosea. For further study of textual problems in Hosea, see D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 5:228-71.
2tn (1:1) Heb "The word of the LORD which was to Hosea." The words "This is" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3tn (1:1) Heb "in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah."
4sn (1:1) Joash is a variation of the name Jehoash.
5tn (1:1) Heb "in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel."
6tn (1:2) The construct noun tLjt ("beginning of") displays a wider use of the construct state here, preceding a perfect verb rbD "he spoke" (Piel perfect 3ms) rather than a genitive noun. This is an unusual temporal construction (GKC §130.d). It may be rendered, "When he (= the LORD) began to speak." This time-determinative was not correctly understood by the LXX or by the KJV: "The beginning of the word of the LORD."
7tn (1:2) The preposition B (bet) on uvohB is instrumental (BDB 89 III.2.b): "by, with, through Hosea" rather than "to Hosea." This focuses on the entire prophetic revelation through Hosea to Israel.
8tn (1:2) Heb "the LORD."
9tn (1:2) Heb "to Hosea."
10tn (1:2) Heb "Go take for yourself."
11tn (1:2) Heb "a wife of harlotries." The noun hnz means "prostitute; harlot" (HALOT 1:275). The term does not refer to mere adultery which is expressed by the root [an ("adultery"); cf. HALOT 2:658. The plural noun <ynWnz (literally, "harlotries") is an example of the plural of character or plural of repeated behavior. The phrase "wife of harlotries" (<ynWnz tva) probably refers to a prostitute, possibly a temple prostitute serving at a Baal temple.
12tn (1:2) Heb "and children of harlotries."
13tn (1:2) Heb "the land." The term "the land" is frequently used as a synecdoche of container (= the land of Israel) for the contained (= the people of Israel).
14tn (1:2) Heb "prostitution." The construction hnzt hnz (infinitive absolute + imperfect of the same root) repeats the root hnz ("harlotry") for rhetorical emphasis. Israel was guilty of gross spiritual prostitution by apostatizing away from Yahweh. The verb hnz is used in a concrete sense to refer to a spouse being unfaithful in a marriage relationship (HALOT 1:275.1), and figuratively "to be unfaithful" in a relationship with God by prostituting themselves with other gods and worshiping idols (Exod 34:15; Lev 17:7; 20:5, 6; Deut 31:16; Judg 8:27, 33; 21:17; 1 Chr 5:25; Ezek 6:9; 20:30; 23:30; Hos 4:15; Ps 106:39) (HALOT 1:275.2).
15tn (1:2) Heb "from after."
16tn (1:3) Heb "so he went and took" (jQYw ElYw).
17tn (1:4) Heb "I will visit." The verb dqP ("to visit") has a very broad range of meanings: (1) "to pay attention to; to look at" (a) favorably: to look after; to provide for; to care for; (b) unfavorably: to seek vengeance for; to punish for; (2) militarily: (a) "to muster; to enroll"; (b) "to inspect; to review"; (3) leadership: (a) "to rule over; to oversee"; (b) Hiphil: "to appoint an overseer" (see BDB 823; HALOT 3:955-58). In this context, the nuance "to punish" or "to take vengeance" (see 1b above) is most appropriate.
18tn (1:4) Heb "house."
19tn (1:4) The plural form of <D ("blood") refers to "bloodshed" (BDB 196.f). This is an example of a plural of abnormal condition (GKC §124.n). The plural is used to represent natural objects which are found in an unnatural or abnormal condition. The plural is used because the natural object is normally found as a whole or in one unit; but in the abnormal condition the object is found in many parts. Normally, blood is contained as a whole within the body. However, when a brutal murder occurs, blood is shed and literally spilled all over the place.
20tn (1:4) Heb "I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu."
21tn (1:4) Heb "the kingdom of the house of Israel."
22sn (1:4) The proper name laurzy ("Jezreel") sounds like larcy ("Israel"). This phonetic wordplay associates the sin at Jezreel with the judgment on Israel, stressing poetic justice.
23tn (1:5) Heb "in that day."
24tn (1:5) Heb "I will break the bow." The phrase "break the bow" (tvq-ta yTrbvw) is figurative. The term tvq ("bow") frequently refers to the warrior's weapon (2 Sam 22:35; Ps 18:35; Job 20:24; Hos 2:20; Zech 9:10; 10:4). The reference to the warrior's bow is a synecdoche of specific (bow) for general (military weaponry or power) (see HALOT 3:1155.3). The noun tvq ("bow") is used figuratively for "power" several times (e.g., Gen 49:24; 1 Sam 2:4; Jer 49:35; Job 29:20; Ps 37:15) (BDB 906.1e).
25tn (1:6) Heb "Then he said"; the referent (the LORD) does not appear in Hebrew, but has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26sn (1:6) The negative particle al ("no, not") and the root <jr ("compassion") are repeated in 1:6, creating a wordplay between the name Lo-Ruhamah (literally "No-Pity") and the announcement of divine judgment, "I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel."
27tn (1:6) Heb "house."
28tn (1:6) The particle yK probably denotes cause or result here (GKC §166.c; BDB 473.3.c).
29tn (1:6) The verb acn ("to take away") frequently denotes "to forgive" = to take away sin (BDB 671.3c). The construction aCa acn (infinitive absolute + imperfect of the same root) repeats the root acn ("to forgive") for rhetorical emphasis, stressing the divine resolution not to forgive Israel.
30tn (1:6) The phrase "their guilt" does not appear in Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The ellipsis of the accusative direct object of aCa acn ("I will certainly take away") is an example of brachyology. The accusative "guilt" must be supplied frequently with acn (see BDB 671.3c) (e.g., Num 14:19; Isa 2:9; Ps 99:8).
31tn (1:7) Heb "house."
32tn (1:7) The word order in this line is rhetorical, emphasizing the divine decision to withhold pity from Israel but to bestow it upon Judah. The accusative (direct object), which is introduced by a disjunctive vav (to denote contrast), appears before the verb: <jra hdWdy tyB-taw (Heb "but upon the house of Judah I will show pity").
33tn (1:7) Heb "by war."
34sn (1:7) These military weapons are examples of the metonymy of adjunct for subject (= warfare).
35tn (1:8) The preterite lmgTw (literally, "and she weaned") functions in a synchronic sense with the following preterite rhTw (literally, "and she conceived") and may be treated in translation as a dependent temporal clause: "When she had weaned...she conceived."
36tn (1:9) Heb "Then he said"; the referent (the LORD) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
37tn (1:9) The independent personal pronoun <Ta ("you") is a plural form, referring to the people of Israel as a whole.
38tn (1:9) The pronominal suffix on the preposition <kl ("your") is a plural form, referring to the people of Israel as a whole.
39tc (1:9) The MT reads <kl hyha-al ("I will not be yours"). The editors of BHS suggest emending the text to <kyhla-al ("I will not be your God"). The emendation creates a tighter parallel with the preceding yMu al <Ta ("you are not my people"). The MT should be retained.
tn (1:9) Heb "I am not yours." The divine name "God" is supplied in the translation.
sn (1:9) This is an allusion to Yahweh's promise to Moses Emu hyha ("I will be with you") (Exod 3:12, 14). In effect, it is a negation of Exod 3:12, 14 and a cancellation of Israel's status as vassal of Yahweh in the conditional Mosaic covenant.
1sn (2:1) Beginning with 1:10, the verse numbers through 2:23 in the English Bible differ by two from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 1:10 ET = 2:1 HT, 1:11 ET = 2:2 HT, 2:1 ET = 2:3 HT, etc., through 2:23 ET = 2:25 HT. Beginning with 3:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
2tn (2:1) The vav prefixed to hyhw functions in an adversative sense: "however" (see Williams, Hebrew Syntax, §432).
3tn (2:1) Heb "sons."
4tn (2:1) Heb "in the place" (<wqmB). BDB suggests that <wqmB (preposition B + noun <wqm) is an idiom carrying a concessive sense: "instead of" (BDB 880.7b) (e.g., Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1). However, HALOT suggests that it functions in a locative sense: "in the same place" (HALOT 2:626.2b) (e.g., 1 Kgs 21:19; Isa 33:21; Hos 2:1).
5tn (2:1) The predicate nominative, "You are...," is supplied in the translation.
6tn (2:1) Heb "sons."
7tn (1:11) Heb "sons" (also later in this verse).
8tn (1:11) Heb "head."
9tn (1:11) Alternatively, "gain possession of the land" or "rise up from the land." This clause may be understood in two ways: (1) Israel will gain ascendancy over the land or conquer the land (e.g., Exod 1:10) or (2) Israel will be "planted" in the land (Hos 2:24-25).
10tn (1:11) Or "For."
11tn (2:1) Heb "Say to...." The imperative Wrma (Qal imperative mpl) functions rhetorically, as an example of erotesis of one verbal form (imperative) for another (indicative). The imperative is used as a rhetorical device to emphasize the certainty of a future action.
12sn (2:1) The suffixes on the nouns <kyja ("your brother") and <kytwja ("your sister") are both plural forms. The brother/sister imagery is being applied to Israel and Judah collectively.
13tn (2:2) Heb "Plead with your mother, plead!" The imperative Wbyr ("plead!") is repeated twice in this line for emphasis. This rhetorical expression is handled in a woodenly literal sense by most translations: "Plead...plead!" (NRSV) or "Contend...contend!" (NASB).
14sn (2:2) The suffix on the noun <kMa ("your mother") is a plural form (2 mpl). The children of Gomer represent the "children" (= people) of Israel; Gomer represents the nation as a whole.
15tn (2:2) The particle yK introduces a parenthetical explanatory clause.
sn (2:2) The reason that Hosea (representing the LORD) calls upon his children (representing the children of Israel) to plead with Gomer (representing the nation as a whole), rather than pleading directly with her himself, is because Hosea (= the LORD) has turned his back on his unfaithful wife (= Israel). He no longer has a relationship with her ("for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband") because she abandoned him for her lovers.
16tn (2:2) The dependent volitive sequence of imperative followed by vav + jussive (Wbyr followed by rstw) creates a purpose clause: "so that she might turn away." Purpose clauses in contemporary English are frequently translated by an English infinitive, and that has been followed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
17tn (2:2) Heb "put away her adulteries from her face." The plural noun hynWnz ("adulteries") is an example of the plural of repeated (or habitual) action: she has had multiple adulterous affairs.
18tn (2:2) Heb "[put away] her immoral behavior from between her breasts."
19tn (2:3) Heb "and kill her with thirst." The vav prefixed to the verb (hyTmhw) introduces a purpose/result clause: "in order to make her die of thirst" (purpose) or "and thus make her die of thirst" (result).
20tn (2:4) Heb "her sons."
sn (2:4) The word order is rhetorical: the accusative hynB-taw ("her sons") is thrown forward.
21tn (2:4) Heb "sons of adulteries."
sn (2:4) The word order is rhetorical: the construct clause <ynWnz ynb ("sons of adulteries"), which functions as the predicate nominative, is thrown forward, before the independent personal pronoun hMh ("they"), which functions as the subject, to focus on the immoral character of her children.
22tn (2:5) Heb "I will go after."
23sn (2:5) This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods.
24tn (2:5) Heb "my drinks."
25tn (2:6) The deictic particle ynnh ("Behold!") introduces a future-time reference participle that refers to imminent future action: "I am about to."
26tn (2:6) Heb "I will hedge up her way."
27tn (2:6) Heb "I will wall in her wall." The cognate accusative construction HrdG-ta yTrdgw ("I will wall in her wall") is an emphatic literary device. The 3fs suffix on the noun functions as a dative of disadvantage: "as a wall against her" (Davidson, Hebrew Syntax, 3 remark 2). The expression means "I will build a wall to bar her way." It is handled variously: "I will make a wall" (KJV), "I will build a wall" (TEV), "I will build a wall against her" (RSV, NRSV, NASB), "I will wall her in" (NIV).
28tn (2:6) The disjunctive clause (object followed by negated verb) introduces a purpose/result clause.
29tn (2:6) Heb "her paths."
30tn (2:7) Heb "overtake."
31tn (2:7) In the Hebrew text the accusative direct object pronoun <ta ("them") is omitted/elided for balanced poetic parallelism. The LXX supplies aujtou" ("them"); but it is not necessary to emend the MT because this is a poetic literary convention, not a textual problem.
32tn (2:7) Heb "I will go and return." The two verbs joined with vav form a verbal hendiadys. Normally, the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense (GKC §§120.d, h). The Hebrew phrase hbWvaw hkla ("I will go and I will return") connotes, "I will return again." As cohortatives, both verbs emphasize the resolution of the speaker.
33tn (2:7) Heb "to my man, the first."
34tn (2:7) Or, "because it was better for me then than now."
35tn (2:8) Or "For"; or "But."
36tn (2:8) The phrase "until now" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
37tn (2:8) Heb "she does not know"; or "she does not acknowledge."
38tn (2:8) The 1cs independent personal pronoun ykna ("I") is emphatic, since the subject of this verbal clause is already explicit in the verb yTtn (Qal perfect 1cs: "I gave").
39tn (2:8) The phrase "that it was I who" does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
40sn (2:8) The third person plural here is an obvious reference to the Israelites who had been unfaithful to the LORD in spite of all that he had done for them. To maintain the imagery of Israel as the prostitute, a third feminine singular would be called for; in the interest of literary consistency this has been supplied in some translations (cf. NLT).
41tn (2:8) Heb "for Baal."
42tn (2:9) Heb "I will return and I will take." The two verbs joined with vav conjunction form a verbal hendiadys in which the first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense (GKC §§120.d, h): yTjqlw bWva means "I will take back."
43tn (2:9) Heb "in its time."
44tn (2:9) Heb "in its season."
45tn (2:9) The words "which I had provided" are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
46tn (2:9) Heb "to cover her nakedness."
sn (2:9) This announcement of judgment drips with irony and forcefully communicates poetic justice: the punishment will fit the crime. The Israelites were literally uncovering their nakedness in temple prostitution in the Baal fertility cult rituals. Yahweh will, in effect, give them what they wanted (nakedness) but not in the way they wanted it: Yahweh will withhold the agricultural fertility they sought from Baal which would lead to nakedness from impoverishment.
47tn (2:10) The particle hTu often refers to the imminent or the impending future: "very soon" (BDB 774.1b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).
48tn (2:10) Heb "her lewdness."
49tn (2:10) Heb "out of my hand."
50tn (2:12) Heb "my wages."
51tn (2:12) Heb "I will turn them."
52tn (2:12) Heb "the beasts of the field" (also in v. 18).
53tn (2:13) Heb "the days of the Baals, to whom she burned incense."
54tn (2:13) The vav prefixed to a non-verb (ytaw) introduces a disjunctive contrastive clause, which communicates a strong rhetorical tenor.
55tn (2:13) The accusative direct object pronoun ytaw ("me") is emphatic in the word order of this clause, emphasizing the heinous inappropriateness of Israel's departure from the LORD.
56tn (2:14) The participle hyTpm (Piel participle ms + 3fs suffix: htP "to allure") following the deictic particle hNh ("Now!") describes an event that will occur in the immediate or near future.
57tn (2:14) Following the future-time referent participle (hyTpm) is a string of perfects introduced by vav consecutive that refer to future events.
58tn (2:15) Heb "Valley of Achor," so named because of the unfortunate incident recorded in Josh 7:1-26 (the name is explained in v. 26).
59tn (2:15) Heb "door" or "doorway." Unlike the days of Joshua, when Achan's sin jeopardized Israel's mission and cast a dark shadow over the nation, Israel's future return to the land will be marked by renewed hope.
60tn (2:15) Heb "as in the days of her youth."
61tn (2:15) Heb "as in the days when."
62tn (2:16) Heb "And in that day."
63tc (2:16) The MT reads yarqT "you will call" (Qal imperfect 2fs). The versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all reflect an alternate Vorlage of yl arqt "she will call me" (Qal imperfect 3fs following by preposition l + 1cs pronominal suffix). This textual variant undoubtedly arose under the influence of yl yarqt which follows. Most English translations follow the reading of the versions.
64tn (2:16) Hosea plays on the terms vya (ish) and luB (Baal) here. The term yvya is a title of affection (Gen 2:23; 3:6, 16) as the counterpart to hVa ("woman; wife"). The term yluB emphasizes the husband's legal position (Exod 21:3; Deut 22:22; 24:4). The relationship will no longer be conditioned on the outward legal commitment but on a new inward bond of mutual affection and love.
65tc (2:16) The MT reads yl yarqT "you will call me" (Qal imperfect 2fs following by preposition l + 1cs pronominal suffix). The versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all reflect an alternate Vorlage of yl arqt "she will call me" (Qal imperfect 3fs following by preposition l + 1cs pronominal suffix). This textual variant is related to the preceding textual issue (see preceding textual note).
66sn (2:16) Hosea plays upon the terms yluB ("my master") and <yluBh ("the Baals") which are derived from the root luB ("master; lord"). This wordplay is especially effective because the term luB can refer to one's husband and is also the name of the Canaanite storm god Baal. Referring to a spouse the term normally means "husband; master." It was a common, ordinary, non-pejorative term that was frequently used in an interchangeable manner with vya ("husband; man"). Due to its similarity in sound to the abhorrent Canaanite fertility god Baal, the repentant Israelites would be so spiritually sensitive that they would refrain from even uttering this neutral term for fear of recalling their former idolatry. The purpose of the exile is to end Israel's worship of Baal and to remove syncretism.
67tn (2:17) The vav consecutive prefixed to ytrshw "I will remove" (vav consecutive + Hiphil perfect 1cs) introduces an explanatory clause.
68tn (2:17) Heb "the Baals." The singular term luB refers to the Canaanite god Baal himself, while the plural form <yluBh refers to the manifestations of the god (idols) (BDB 108b.1).
69tn (2:17) Heb "from her mouth."
70tn (2:17) Heb "they will no longer be mentioned by their name."
71tn (2:18) Heb "And in that day."
72tn (2:18) Heb "I will break."
73tn (2:18) Heb "bow and sword and warfare." The first two terms in the triad hmjlmW brjw tvqw (literally, "bow and sword and warfare") are examples of synecdoche of specific (= bow and sword) for general (= weapons of warfare). However, they might be examples of metonymy (= bow and sword) of association (= warfare).
74tn (2:18) Heb "and I will cause them to lie down in safety."
75tn (2:19) Heb "I will betroth you to me," here and in the following lines.
76tn (2:19) The preposition B (bet), which is repeated throughout 2:19-20 [21-22], denotes price paid (BDB 90.III.3) (e.g., Ezek 3:14). Hosea alludes to the payment of bridal gifts. The LORD will impute the moral character to Israel that will be necessary for a successful covenant relationship (contra to 4:1).
77tn (2:20) The vav consecutive on the suffix conjugation verb Tudyw ("then you will know") introduces a result clause.
78tn (2:20) Or "know." The term udy ("know, acknowledge") is often used in covenant contexts. It can refer to the suzerain's acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his vassal or to the vassal's acknowledgment of his covenant obligations to his suzerain. When used in reference to a vassal, the verb "know" is metonymical (cause for effect) for "obey." See H. Huffmann, "Treaty Background of Hebrew YADA´," BASOR 181.
79tc (2:20) The MT reads hwhy ("the LORD"); however, many Hebrew MSS read yna yK ("that it is I"), as also reflected in the Latin Vulgate.
80tn (2:21) Heb "And in that day."
81tn (2:21) The verb hnu, which is used throughout 2:23-24, is related to the root hnu I "to answer, listen attentively, react willingly" (BDB 772.1b; HALOT 2:852.3b).
82tn (2:21) Heb "and they." The plural pronoun is used because it refers back to the term translated "sky," which is a dual form in Hebrew.
83tn (2:22) Heb "Jezreel." The use of the name laurzy ("Jezreel") creates a powerful three-fold wordplay: (1) The proper name laurzy ("Jezreel") is a phonetic wordplay on the similar sounding name larcy ("Israel"): God will answer Israel, that is, Jezreel. (2) The name laurzy ("Jezreel") plays on the verb urz ("to sow, plant"), the immediately following word: hyTurzW (vav + Qal perfect 1cs + 3fs suffix: "I will sow/plant her"). This wordplay creates a popular etymology for laurzy meaning, "God sows/plants," which fits well into the agricultural fertility imagery in 2:21-23 [2:23-25]. (3) This positive connotation of laurzy ("Jezreel") in 2:21-23[23-25] reverses the negative connotation of laurzy ("Jezreel") in 1:4-5 (bloodshed of Jehu in the Jezreel Valley).
84tn (2:23) Heb "for myself."
85tn (2:23) The Hebrew text, carrying out the reference to the son born in 1:8-9, uses the third masculine singular pronoun here; some English translations use third plural ("they") in keeping with the immediate context, which refers to reestablished Israel (cf. NASB, NIV).
86tn (2:23) The words "You are" do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are implied. It is necessary to supply the phrase in the translation to prevent the reader from understanding the predicate "my God" as an exclamation.
1tn (3:1) Heb "Go again! Love!"
2tn (3:1) Heb "a woman." The probable referent is Gomer.
3tc (3:1) The MT vocalizes tbha as a construct form of the Qal passive participle, and takes ur as a genitive of agent: "who is loved by ur." However, the versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all vocalize tbha as an absolute form of the Qal active participle, and take ur as the accusative direct object: "who loves ur." The English translations consistently follow the MT. The editors of BHS suggest the revocalization but with some reservation. For discussion of the vocalization, see D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 230.
tn (3:1) Heb "a woman who is loved by a companion" (ur tbha hVa). The substantival participle tbha ("one who is loved") is in apposition to hVa ("a woman"). The genitive noun ur ("companion") functions as the agent of the preceding construct noun: "who is loved by a companion" (ur tbha).
4tn (3:1) The meaning of the noun ur is debated because it has a broad range of meanings: (1) "friend," (2) "lover," (3) "companion," (4) "neighbor," and (5) "another" (HALOT 3:1255; BDB 945-46). The Hebrew lexicons favor the nuance "lover; paramour" here (HALOT 3:1255.2; BDB 946.1). Most scholars adopt the same approach; however, a few suggest that ur does not refer to another man, but to her husband (= Hosea). Both approaches are reflected in English translations: "a woman who is loved by her husband" (NASB), "though she is loved by another" (NIV), "a woman who is beloved of a paramour" (RSV), "a woman beloved of her friend" (KJV), "a woman who, while befriended by a companion" (NJPS), "a woman who is committing adultery with a lover" (TEV), "an unfaithful woman who has a lover" (CEV).
5tn (3:1) Heb "love a woman who is loved of a lover and is an adulteress."
6tn (3:1) Heb "like the love of the LORD." The genitive after the construct functions as a subjective genitive.
7tn (3:1) Heb "sons of Israel."
8tn (3:1) Heb "they are lovers of cakes of raisins."
9tc (3:2) The LXX reads "a homer of barley and a measure of wine," a reading followed by several English translations (e.g., NRSV, NLT).
tn (3:2) Heb "a homer of barley and a lethech of barley." A homer was about 5 bushels (180 liters) and a lethech about 2.5 bushels (90 liters).
10tn (3:3) Heb "and you will not be for."
11tn (3:4) Heb "sons of Israel"; the same expression occurs in the following verse.
12tn (3:5) Heb "David their king."
sn (1:2) It is not clear whether Hosea was predicting a restoration of Davidic kingship over Israel and Judah (e.g., Jer 17:25; 22:2) or referring to the ultimate Davidic king, namely, the Messiah, who will fulfill the conditions of the Davidic covenant and inaugurate/fulfill the blessings of the Davidic covenant for Israel. The Messiah is frequently pictured as the "New David" because he would fulfill the ideals of the Davidic covenant and be everything that David and his descendants were commissioned to be (e.g., Isa 9:76; 16:5; Jer 23:5-6; 30:9; 33:15-16; Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24-25).
13tn (3:5) Heb "his goodness."
14tn (3:5) Heb "in the end of the days."
1tn (4:1) Heb "sons of Israel."
2tn (4:1) The noun byr ("dispute, lawsuit") is used in two contexts: (1) non-legal contexts: (a) "dispute" between individuals (e.g., Gen 13:7; Isa 58:1; Jer 15:10) or (b) "brawl; quarrel" between people (e.g., Exod 17:7; Deut 25:1); and (2) legal contexts: (a) "lawsuit; legal process" (e.g., Exod 23:3-6; Deut 19:17; 21:5; Ezek 44:24; Ps 35:23), (b) "lawsuit; legal case" (e.g., Deut 1:12; 17:8; Prov 18:17; 25:9), and (c) God's "lawsuit" on behalf of a person or against his own people (Hos 4:1; 12:3; Mic 6:2) (HALOT 3:1225-26). The term in Hosea refers to a covenant lawsuit in which Yahweh the suzerain lodges a legal case against his disobedient vassal, accusing Israel and Judah of breach of covenant which will elicit the covenant curses.
3tn (4:1) Heb "with the inhabitants of the land."
4tn (4:1) Heb "there is no truthfulness nor loyalty nor knowledge of God in the land." Here "knowledge" of God refers to recognizing his authority and obeying his will.
5tn (4:2) Heb "they break out and bloodshed touches bloodshed." The Hebrew term JrP ("to break out") refers to violent and wicked actions (BDB 829.7; HALOT 3:972.6c). It is used elsewhere in a concrete sense to describe breaking through physical barriers. Here it is used figuratively to describe breaking moral barriers and restraints.
6tn (4:3) Or "languish."
7tn (4:3) Heb "the beasts of the field."
8tn (4:4) Or "Let no one contend or accuse."
9tc (4:4) The MT reads /hk ybyrmK ;Muw "And your people [are] like those who contend against the priest." This is reflected in the LXX and the versions; however, it is syntactically awkward and makes little contextual sense. Several text-critics suggest that the text be emended to read /hk ybyr ;Muw "My contention is with/against you, O priest!" This involves (1) the revocalization of ;Mu ("your people") to ;Mu ("with/against you") and (2) positing dittography (letter written twice instead of once) of k (kaf) between original ybyr ;Muw to create ybyrk ;Muw (MT). The BHS editors suggest that the MT is corrupt and should be emended. However, the editors of the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project retain the MT reading with a "B" rating. Likewise, the English translations are split: (1) "for thy people are as they that strive with the priest" (KJV), "for your people are like those who contend with the priest" (NASB), "for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest" (NIV); (2) "for with you is my contention, O priest" (RSV), "for this your people has a grievance against [you], O priest!" (NJPS), "my complaint is against you priests" (TEV), "My case is against you, the priests!" (CEV).
tn (4:4) The singular noun /hK ("priest") may be understood as a singular of number, referring to a singular individual (perhaps the high priest); however, it is more likely that it functions as a collective singular, referring to the priesthood as a whole (e.g., 4:7-10). Collective singular forms alternate with plural forms throughout the oracle against the priests in 4:4-10.
10tc (4:5) The MT reads ;Ma ytymdw ("and I will destroy your mother"); however, the text should probably be emended to ;Mu tymdw ("and you have destroyed your own people"). The 2ms form tymdw ("and you have destroyed") is preserved in several medieval Hebrew MSS and reflected in Jerome's Vulgate. For discussion in favor of the MT reading, see D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 232.
tn (4:5) Or "and I will destroy your mother."
11tn (4:6) Heb "they have destroyed" or "my people are destroyed."
12tn (4:6) Heb "Because you reject knowledge."
13tn (4:6) Heb "have forgotten."
14tn (4:6) Heb "forget."
15tc (4:7) The MT reads ryma "I will change, exchange" (Hiphil imperfect 1cs from rrm "to change, exchange"). However, an alternate scribal tradition (tiqquneh sopherim, that is, an intentional scribal change when the Masoretes believed that the received consonantal reading was corrupt) preserves the reading Wrymh "they have exchanged" (Hiphil perfect 3cpl from rrm). This alternate scribal tradition is also found in the Targum and reflected in the Syriac Peshitta. Several translations follow the MT: "I will change their glory into shame" (KJV, RSV, NASB) and "I will turn your honor into disgrace" (TEV); however, others adopt the alternate tradition: "they changed their glory into shame" (NRSV) and "they exchanged their Glory for something shameful" (NIV). For discussion in favor of the MT reading, see D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 232.
16tn (4:9) Heb "And it shall be, like people, like priest."
17tn (4:10) Heb "by guarding harlotry." The translation assumes that the first word of v. 11 in the Hebrew text is to be taken with the infinitive at the end of v. 10.
18tn (4:11) Heb "take away the heart of my people." The translation assumes that the first word of v. 12 in the Hebrew text is to be construed with the noun at the end of v. 11.
19tn (4:12) The term "spiritual" does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is supplied in the translation for clarification.
20tn (4:13) The phrase "they sacrifice" does not appear in the Hebrew text here but is implied by parallelism; it is provided in the translation for the sake of clarity.
21tn (4:14) The words "it is true" are supplied in the translation to indicate that this is a conclusion drawn on the preceding behavior.
22sn (4:15) Beth-Aven means "house of wickedness" in Hebrew; it is a polemic reference to "Bethel," which means "house of God."
23tn (4:16) The Hebrew verb "has rebelled" (rrs) can also mean "to be stubborn." This is the same root used in the simile: "like a stubborn (hrrs) heifer." The similarity between Israel and a stubborn heifer is emphasized by the repetition of the same term.
24tn (4:16) The particle hTu often refers to the imminent or the impending future: "very soon" (BDB 774.1b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).
25tn (4:16) Or "How can the LORD feed them like a lamb in a meadow?" The syntax of this line is difficult and has been understood in two ways: (1) declarative statement as an announcement of judgment (BDB 774.1b): "Now the LORD will feed them like a lamb in the broad field" and (2) rhetorical question lamenting the uncooperative spirit of Israel: "How can the LORD feed them like a lamb in a meadow?"), designed to produce a negative answer ("He cannot feed them...!"). However, this statement lacks an explicit interrogative marker. Although Hosea occasionally asks a rhetorical question without an explicit interrogative marker (e.g., 10:9; 13:14a), he normally does use a rhetorical particle to introduce rhetorical questions (e.g., 6:4; 8:5; 9:5, 14; 11:8; 13:9-10, 14b). Elsewhere, Hosea uses the introductory temporal adverb hTu ("soon") to introduce announcements of imminent future judgment (2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2) and accusations of sin (5:3; 13:2). Although Israel has been as rebellious as a stubborn heifer, the LORD will indeed gain control of Israel: they will be like lambs (weakened and defeated) when he puts them out to pasture in a broad field (= exile).
26tn (4:19) Heb "their altars" or "their sacrifices." <tojbZ ("altars; sacrifices") is a metonymy of association for Israel's apostate idolatrous Baal worship.
1tn (5:1) Heb "O house of Israel."
2tn (5:1) Heb "O house of the king."
3tn (5:1) Heb "for the judgment is to you"; or "For this accusation is against you."
4sn (5:1) The noun jP ("trap") is used (1) literally of a bird-trap, used in similes and metaphors (Amos 3:5; Prov 7:23; Eccl 9:12), and (2) figuratively to refer to (a) calamities and plots (Job 18:9; 22:10; Pss 91:3; 119:110; 124:7; 140:6; 141:9; 142:4; Prov 22:5; Isa 24:17-18; Jer 18:22; 48:43-44; Hos 9:8) and (b) a source of calamity (Josh 23:13; Pss 11:6; 69:23; Isa 8:14; Hos 5:1) (BDB 809).
5tn (5:1) Heb "you were a trap to Mizpah."
6sn (5:1) The noun tvr ("net") is used (1) literally of a net used to catch birds (Prov 1:17) and (2) in figurative descriptions of the wicked plotting to ensnare their victims (Prov 29:5; Pss 9:16; 10:9; 25:15; 31:5; 35:7; 57:7; 140:6; Job 18:8) (BDB 440).
7tn (5:1) Heb "and a net spread out over Tabor."
8tc (5:2) The MT reads Wqymuh <yfc hfjvw "and rebels have made deep the slaughter." The BHS editors propose Wqymuh <yFVh tjvw "they have made the pit of Shittim [= place of idolatry] deep" (see BDB 1006). This involves: (1) phonological confusion between the similar sounding consonants t and f, (2) redivision of words to take h as the article with <yFVh rather than feminine noun ending of hfjvw, and (3) revocalization of <yFVh with the two daghes fortes.
tn (5:2) Heb "and those who revolt have gone deep into slaughter."
9tn (5:2) Heb "but I am discipline to all of them."
10tn (5:3) The phrase "all too well" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
11tn (5:3) The phrase "the evil of" does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) use of the term "Israel." It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
12tn (5:3) Or "Israel has become corrupt."
13tn (5:4) Heb "a spirit of harlotries."
14tn (5:4) Heb "is in their heart."
15tn (5:5) Heb "will stumble." The verb lvK ("to stumble; to stagger; to totter") is used figuratively to describe distress (Isa 59:10; Ps 107:12), the debilitating effects of misfortune and calamity (Isa 5:27), and toil in exile (Lam 5:13). It is often used figuratively to describe the overthrow of a people/nation through divine judgment (Isa 8:15; Jer 6:21; 50:32; Hos 4:5; 5:5; 14:2). The Niphal stem, used here, is also frequently used in reference to divine judgment: "be overthrown," of nations, armies (Jer 6:15; 8:12; Dan 11:19, 33, 34, 41) (BDB 505.1b). This figurative use of lvK ("to stumble") is often used in collocation with lpn ("to fall") (Isa 3:8; 31:3; 8:15; Jer 6:15; Dan 11:19).
16tn (5:5) Or "in."
17tn (5:5) Heb "will stumble." The term lvK appeared in the preceding line (Niphal "be overthrown") and now appears here (Qal "will stumble"). The repetition of lvK emphasizes that a similar fate will befall Judah because it failed to learn its lesson from God's judgment on Israel. The verb lvK ("to stumble") does not describe the moral stumbling of Judah, but the effect of God's judgment (Isa 8:15; Jer 6:21; 50:32; Hos 4:5; 5:5; 14:2), and the toil of exile (Lam 5:13).
18sn (5:6) The terms flocks and herds are used figuratively for animal sacrifices (metonymy of association). Hosea describes the futility of seeking God's favor with mere ritual sacrifice without the prerequisite moral obedience (e.g., 1 Sam 15:24; Ps 50:6-8; 51:17-18; Isa 1:12; Mic 6:6-8).
19tn (5:6) Heb "they go out to seek the LORD."
20tn (5:6) Heb "the LORD"; the phrase "the favor of" does not appear in Hebrew here, but is supplied for the sake of clarity. It is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) referent to the LORD, the source of favor and forgiveness.
21tn (5:7) Heb "dealt treacherously against."
22tn (5:7) The particle hTu often refers to the imminent or the impending future: "very soon" (BDB 774.1b). In Hosea it normally introduces imminent judgment (Hos 2:12; 4:16; 5:7; 8:8, 13; 10:2).
23sn (5:8) See the note on the place name Beth-Aven in 4:15.
24tc (5:8) The MT reads the anomalous /ymynB ;yrja ("behind you, O Benjamin"). The LXX reads exesth which might reflect an alternate textual tradition of /ymynB Wdrjh ("Tremble in fear, O Benjamin") (the verb form would be a Hiphil imperative 2mpl from rdj "to tremble, be terrified") (BDB 353). For discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report of the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 236.
25tn (5:9) Heb "day of rebuke."
26tn (5:9) The verb yTudoh (Hiphil perfect 1cs from udy Qal: "to know," Hiphil: "to make known, declare") here functions as (1) an instantaneous perfect, representing an action being performed at the same instant that the speaker utters the statement (e.g., Gen 14:22; Deut 8:19; 26:3; 2 Sam 17:11; 19:30; Ps 143:6); or (2) an epistolary perfect, representing a situation in past time from the viewpoint of the recipient of the message, but in present time from the viewpoint of the writer (e.g., 1 Kgs 15:19; 2 Chr 2:12). For functions of the perfect tense (suffix-conjugation), see IBHS 30.5.1.
27tn (5:9) The substantival use of the Niphal participle hnman ("that which is sure") refers to an event that will occur in the future (BDB 52.2).
28tn (5:10) Heb "like water." The term <ym ("water") often refers to literal flood waters (Gen 7:7, 10; 8:3, 7-9; Isa 54:9) and figuratively describes the LORD's judgment that totally destroys the wicked (BDB 566.4k).
29tn (5:11) The verb qvu ("to oppress") may refer to (1) oppressing the poor and defenseless (BDB 798.1), or more likely to (2) oppression of one nation by another as the judgment of God (Deut 28:29, 33; 1 Chr 16:21; Pss 105:14; 119:121, 122; Isa 52:4; Jer 50:33; Hos 5:11) (BDB 798.2). The Qal passive participles qWvu ("oppressed") and JWxr ("crushed") might refer to a present situation (so KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); however, the context suggests that they refer to a future situation. When a participle is used in reference to the future, it often denotes an imminent future situation, and may be rendered, "about to" (e.g., Gen 6:17; 15:14; 20:3; 37:30; 41:25; 49:29; Exod 9:17-18; Deut 28:31; 1 Sam 3:11; 1 Kgs 2:2; 20:22; 2 Kgs 7:2). For functions of the participle, see IBHS 37.6f.
30sn (5:11) The term JWxr ("crushed") is a metaphor for weakness (e.g., 2 Kgs 18:21; Isa 36:6; 42:3) and oppression (e.g., Deut 28:33; 1 Sam 12:3, 4; Amos 4:1; Isa 58:6). Here it is used as a figure to describe the devastating effects of the LORD's judgment.
31tn (5:11) Heb "crushed of judgment" (fPvm JWxr). The second term is a genitive of cause (crushed because of judgment or under judgment) rather than respect (crushed in judgment).
32tn (5:11) The meaning of the Hebrew term translated "worthless idols" is uncertain.
33tn (5:12) The noun bqr ("rottenness, decay") refers to wood rot caused by the ravages of worms (BDB 955). The related noun /obQr refers to "rotten wood" (Job 41:19).
34tn (5:13) Hosea employs three preterites (vayyiqtol forms) in verse 13ab to describe a past-time situation.
35tn (5:13) Heb "went to."
36tn (5:13) Heb "sent to."
37tc (5:13) The MT reads bry Elm ("a contentious king"). The stative adjective bry ("contentious") is a bit awkward. The words should be redivided as an archaic genitive-construct br yklm ("great king") which preserves the old genitive ending (malki). See the translation note on 10:6.
38tn (5:13) Heb "your wound will not depart from you." Hosea personifies Ephraim's "wound" as if it could depart from the sickly Ephraim. Ephraim's sinful action in relying upon an Assyrian treaty for protection will not dispense with its problems.
39tn (5:15) The verb Wmvay (Qal imperfect 3mpl from <va "to be guilty") means "to bear their punishment" (Ps 34:22-23; Prov 30:10; Isa 24:6; Jer 2:3; Hos 5:15; 10:2; 14:1; Zech 11:5; Ezek 6:6 (BDB 79.3). Most translate as "admit their guilt" (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, CEV).
40tn (5:15) Heb "seek my face."
1tn (6:1) "has struck."
2tn (6:2) The Piel of hyj may mean: (1) to keep/preserve persons alive from the threat of premature death (1 Kgs 20:31; Ezek 13:18; 18:27); (2) to restore the dead to physical life (Deut 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6); or (3) to restore the dying back to life from the threat of death (Ps 71:20) (BDB 311).
3tn (6:2) Heb "after two days." The expression "after two days" is an idiom meaning "after a short time" (see, e.g., Judg 11:4) (BDB 399.5.a).
4tn (6:2) Heb "on the third day," which parallels "after two days" and means "in a little while." The 2-3 sequence is an example of graded numerical parallelism (Prov 30:15-16, 18-19, 21-23, 24-28, 29-31). This expresses the unrepentant overconfidence of Israel that the LORD's discipline of Israel would be relatively short and that he would restore them quickly.
5tn (6:3) The object is omitted in the Hebrew text, but supplied in the translation for clarity.
6tn (6:3) Heb "let us pursue in order to know." The Hebrew term [dr ("to pursue") is used figuratively: "to aim to secure" (BDB 923.2). It describes the pursuit of a moral goal: "Do not pervert justice...nor accept a bribe...pursue [[dr] justice" (Deut 16:20); "those who pursue [[dr] righteousness and who seek [vqB] the LORD" (Isa 51:1); "He who pursues [[dr] righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor" (Prov 21:20); "Seek [vqB] peace and pursue [[dr] it" (Ps 34:15); "they slander me when I pursue [[dr] good" (Ps 38:21).
7tn (6:3) The infinitive construct with l denotes purpose: "to know" (tudl).
8tn (6:4) The vav prefixed to <kDsjw ("your faithfulness") functions in an explanatory sense.
9tn (6:4) Heb "your faithfulness is like a morning cloud" (rqB-/nuK <kDsjw). The Hebrew poets and prophets frequently refer to the morning clouds as a simile for transitoriness (e.g., Job 7:9; Isa 44:22; Hos 6:4; 13:3) (BDB 778.c). For discussion of this phenomena in Palestine, see Chaplin, PEQ (1883): 19.
10tn (6:4) Heb "the dew departing early" (BDB 1014). The Hiphil participle <yKvm means "to depart early" (Gen 19:27; Josh 8:14; Judg 19:9). The idiom means "early morning" (1 Sam 17:16).
11tn (6:5) The two suffix conjugation verbs yTbxj (Qal perfect 1 cs from bxj "to cut into pieces") and <yTgrh (Qal perfect 1cs + 3mpl suffix from grj "to kill") are used in reference to future-time events. These are examples of the so-called "prophetic perfect" which emphasizes the certainty of the future event (e.g., Num 24:17; Josh 10:19; Isa 8:23; 9:1). For this function of the perfect, see IBHS 30.1.d.
12tn (6:5) Heb "by the prophets." The prophets are pictured as the executioners of Israel and Judah because they announced their imminent destruction. The prophetic word was endowed with the power of fulfillment.
13tn (6:5) Heb "them." The shift from the 2ms referents ("your" and "you") in 6:4-5 to the 3mpl referent ("them") is an example of enallage, a poetic device used for emphasis.
14tn (6:5) Heb "with the words of my mouth."
15tn (6:5) The disjunctive vav prefixed to the noun (;yfPvmW) has an explanatory function.
16tc (6:5) The MT reads axy roa ;yfPvmW ("and your judgments [are] a light [which] goes forth") which is enigmatic and syntactically awkward. The LXX reads kai to krima mou wJ" fw" ("my judgment goes forth like light") which reflects axy roaK yfpvmw ("my judgment goes forth like the light") and posits only a simple misdivision of words. This is reflected in the Syriac Peshitta and Aramaic Targum. See D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 238.
17tn (6:5) The noun roa ("light") is used here in reference to the morning light or dawn (e.g., Judg 16:2; 19:26; 1 Sam 14:36; 25:34, 36; 2 Sam 17:22; 23:4; 2 Kgs 7:9; Neh 8:3; Job 24:14; Prov 4:18; Mic 2:1) rather than lightning (cf. NIV). This continues the early morning imagery used throughout 6:2-5.
sn (6:5) In 6:3 unrepentant Israel uttered an over-confident boast that the LORD would rescue the nation from calamity as certainly as the "light of the dawn" (rjv) "comes forth" (axy) every morning. Playing upon the early morning imagery, the LORD responded in 6:4 that Israel's prerequisite repentance was as fleeting as the early morning dew. Now in 6:5, the LORD announces that He will indeed appear as certainly as the morning; however, it will not be to rescue but punish Israel: punishment will "come forth" (axy) like the "light of the dawn" (roa).
18tn (6:6) The phrase "I delight" does not appear in Hebrew text in this line, but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.
19sn (6:6) Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice nor cultic ritual, and advocate obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were "an aroma pleasing" to the LORD (Lev 1:9, 13).
20tn (6:7) Or "Like Adam"; or "Like [sinful] men." The MT reads <daK ("like Adam" or "as [sinful] men"); however, the editors of BHS suggest this reflects orthographic confusion of <daB ("at Adam"), as suggested by the locative adverb <v ("there") in the following line. However, <v sometimes functions in a non-locative sense similar to the deictic particle hNh ("Behold!"). The singular noun <da has been taken in several different ways: (1) proper name: "like Adam" (<daK), (2) collective singular: "like [sinful] men" (<daK), (3) proper location: "at Adam," referring to a city in the Jordan Valley (Josh 3:16), emending comparative K to locative B ("at"): "at Adam" (<daB). BDB suggests the collective sense, referring to sinful men (Num 5:6; 1 Kgs 8:46; 2 Chr 6:36; Jer 10:14; Job 31:33; Hos 6:7) (BDB 9.2). The English translations are divided: "like Adam" (NASB, NIV, KJV margin, RSV margin, TEV margin), "at Adam" (RSV, TEV, CEV), and "like men" (KJV).
21tn (6:7) The verb rbu refers here to breaking a covenant and carries the nuance "to overstep, transgress" (BDB 717.1.i).
22tn (6:7) The adverb <v normally functions in a locative sense meaning "there" (BDB 1027). However, in poetry <v sometimes functions in a non-locative sense, to introduce expressions of astonishment or when a scene is vividly visualized in the writer's imagination or (see BDB 1027.1ab), somewhat similar to the deictic particle hNh ("Behold!"): "See [<v] how the evildoers lie fallen!" (Ps 36:13); "Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter! See [<v]! The shouting of the warrior!" (Zeph 1:14); "They saw [War] her and were astonished... See [<v] how trembling seized them!" (Ps 48:7). In some cases, it introduces emphatic statements in a manner similar to hNh ("Behold!"): "Come and see [WarW Wkl] what God has done...Behold [<v], let us rejoice in him!" (Ps 66:6); "See/Behold [<v]! I will make a horn grow for David" (Ps 132:17). The translation "Oh how!" in Hosea 6:7 is less visual than the Hebrew idiom <v ("See! See how!"), but it more closely approximates the parallel English idiom of astonishment.
23tn (6:7) The verb dgB ("to act treacherously") is often used in reference to faithlessness in covenant relationships (BDB 93).
24tn (6:8) The participle phrase /wa yluP ("workers of wickedness") emphasizes continual (uninterrupted) habitual action. This particular use of the participle is an ironic play on the professional occupation function (see IBHS 37.2). In effect, the major "professional guild" in Gilead is evildoing; the people are producers of evil!
25tn (6:8) Heb "it is foot-tracked with blood."
26tn (6:11) Heb "a harvest is appointed for you also, O Judah."
27tc (6:11) In the verse divisions of the MT (Leningrad Codex and Aleppo Codex), this is the last line of 6:11. However, the BHK and BHS editors suggest that it belongs with the beginning of 7:1. The versions (Greek, Syriac, Latin) all reflect textual traditions that connect it with 6:11. The English translations are divided: (1) connect it with 6:11 (KJV, NASB); (2) connect it with 7:1 (RSV, NIV, NJPS, CEV, TEV). The parallelism between this line and 7:1a favors connecting it with 7:1.
1tn (7:2) Heb "and they do not say in their heart."
2tn (7:2) Heb "they [the sinful deeds] are before my face."
3tc (7:4) The MT reads <ypanm "adulterers" (Piel participle mpl from [an, "to commit adultery"), which does not seem to fit the context. The original reading was probably <ypwa "bakers" (Qal participle mpl from hpa, "to bake"), which harmonizes well with the baker/oven/fire motif in 7:4-7. The textual deviation was caused by: (1) confusion of n (nun) and w (vav), (2) metathesis of n/w (nun/vav) and a (alef), and (3) dittography of m (mem) from the preceding word: original <ypwa <lk ("all of them are bakers") was confused for <ypanm <lk ("all of them are adulterers"). In spite of this most English translations follow the MT's reading here.
4tc (7:4) The MT preserves the enigmatic m hrub rwnt wmk ("Like a burning oven, from...?"). The adjectival participle hrub ("burning") is feminine while the noun rwnt ("oven") that it modifies is masculine. The BHS editors solve this problem by simply redividing the words: <h rub rwnt wmk ("they are like a burning oven").
5tn (7:5) Heb "the day of."
6tc (7:5) The MT preserves the awkward 1cpl suffix reading WnKlm ("our king"). The BHS editors suggest reading the 3mpl suffix <Klm ("their king"), as reflected in the Aramaic Targum.
7tc (7:5) The MT vocalizes the consonants wljh as Hiphil perfect 3cpl from hlj I "to become sick." However, this is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest revocalizing it as Hiphil infinitive construct + 3ms suffix from llj "to begin" or Hiphil perfect 3cpl from llj "to begin." For a discussion of this textual problem, see D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 240.
tn (7:5) Heb "when their king began [to reign]."
8tn (7:5) Heb "he joined hands."
9tn (7:8) The words "like flour" are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied by the imagery.
10tn (7:8) Heb "a cake of bread not turned." This metaphor compares Ephraim to a ruined cake of bread that was not turned over in time to avoid being scorched and burned (see BDB 728).
11tn (7:9) Heb "foreigners consume his strength."
12tn (7:13) Heb "redeem."
13tn (7:14) Heb "they do not cry out to me in their heart."
14tc (7:14) The MT reads WrrwGty which is either (1) Hitpolel imperfect 3mpl "they assembly themselves" from rwG I "to sojourn" (BDB 157) or (2) Hitpolel imperfect 3mpl "they excite themselves" from rwG II "to stir up" (BDB 158). However, the Hebrew lexicographers suggest that both of these options are unlikely. Several other Hebrew MSS preserve an alternate textual tradition of wddwgty which is Hitpolel imperfect 3cpl "they slash themselves" from ddG "to cut" (BDB 151), as also reflected in the LXX. This reflects the pagan Canaanite cultic practice of priests cutting themselves and draining their blood on the ground to elicit agricultural fertility by resurrecting the slain fertility god Baal from the underworld (Deut 14:1; 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5).
15tn (7:15) Heb "their arms."
16tc (7:16) The MT reads the enigmatic lu al WbWvy which is taken variously: "they turn, but not upward" (NASB); "they do not turn to the Most High" (NIV); "they turn, but not to the Most High" (KJV). The BHS editors suggest luBl WbWvy ("they turn to Baal"; so RSV) or luYlBl WbWvy ("they turn to Belial"; so TEV) which is reflected by the LXX.
17tn (7:16) Heb "because their tongue." The term "tongue" is used figuratively, as a metonymy of cause (= tongue) for the effect (= prayers to Baal).
18tn (7:16) Heb "this [will] be for scorn in the land of Egypt."
1tn (8:1) Heb "A horn unto your gums!"
2tn (8:1) Or perhaps "A vulture." Some identify the species indicated by the Hebrew term rv#n\ (n\v#r) as the griffon vulture (cf. NEB, NRSV).
3tn (8:1) Heb "my covenant."
4tn (8:4) Heb "but without me."
5tn (8:4) Heb "but I did not know."
6tn (8:4) Heb "in order to be cut off." The text gives the impression that they made the idols for this purpose, but the language is ironic and sarcastic, bringing out the futility of their efforts. One could paraphrase, "they made idols...but only so that they might be destroyed." Though they had other plans for the idols, God's judgment would bring their intentions to naught.
7tn (8:5) Heb "How long will they be able to be free from punishment?" This rhetorical question affirms that Israel will not survive much longer until God punishes it.
8tn (8:9) Or "has hired herself out to lovers."
9tn (8:10) Or "they have hired themselves out to lovers."
10tn (8:10) The Piel stem of Jbq is often used in a positive sense, meaning "to regather" a dispersed people (HALOT 3:1063.3.a; BDB 868.1a). However, in Hosea 8:10 it is used in a negative sense, meaning "to assemble (people) for judgment" (e.g., Ezek 20:34; Hos 9:6) (HALOT 3:1063.3.e.i). JPS renders the line: "I will hold them fast" (in judgment, see the parallel in 9:6).
11tn (8:10) The vav consecutive + preterite WLjYw (Hiphil preterite 3cpl from llj "to begin") denotes temporal subordination to the preceding clause: "then...."
12tn (8:10) Heb "a king of princes."
13tn (8:12) Heb "foreign" or "alien."
14tn (8:13) Heb "does not accept them."
1tn (9:1) Heb "do not rejoice unto jubilation."
2tn (9:1) Heb "you have committed adultery."
3tn (9:1) Heb "you love the wages of the prostitute."
4tn (9:2) Heb "them"; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5tn (9:2) Heb "her." This is taken as a collective singular.
6tn (9:6) The deictic particle hNh ("Behold!") is used frequently in prophetic announcements, introducing a solemn or important declaration, particularly in threats of judgment (BDB 244.b.b).
7tn (9:6) The conjunction yK introduces a concessive clause: "Although, when, if, even if" (BDB 473.2.c.b). It has a force approximating "even if," but it represents a situation as more likely to occur than <a ("if"). The concessive use of yK is normally followed by an imperfect, but occasionally by a perfect, as is the case here (e.g., Mic 7:8; Nah 1:10; Pss 21:12; 119:83).
8tn (9:6) The verb Jbq ("to gather together") should be nuanced "grab hold" in this context (HALOT 3:1063). This pictures personified Egypt taking the fugitives prisoner.
9tn (9:6) Heb "the treasured things of their silver."
10tn (9:6) Heb "their tents."
11tn (9:7) Heb "the days of the visitation."
12tn (9:7) Heb "has come" (WaB). The two perfect tense (suffix-conjugation) verbs WaB (Qal perfect 3cpl from awB "to come") repeated in this verse are both examples of the so-called "prophetic perfect" function: the perfect, which connotes completed or factual action, is used in reference to future events to emphasize the certainty of the announced event taking place.
13tn (9:7) Heb "the days of the retribution."
14tn (9:7) Heb "has come."
15tc (9:7) The Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex (the MT MS employed for BHS) both place the athnah (colon-divider) after larcy wudy ("Let Israel know!"), indicating that this line belongs with 9:7a. However, the LXX reads kakwqhsetai which reflects an underlying Vorlage of wury (Qal imperfect 3cpl from ury "to cry"), as opposed to the MT wudy (Qal jussive 3cpl from udy "to know"). The Old Greek connects larcy wury ("Israel cries out") with the following lines, which appear to be quotations of Israel mocking Hosea. Aquila (ejgnw) and Symmachus (gnwsetai) both reflect the proto-MT tradition. For a discussion of this textual and syntactical problem, see H. W. Wolff, Hosea, 150.
16tn (9:7) Or "is distraught."
17tn (9:7) Heb "the man of the Spirit."
18tn (9:7) Or "is driven to despair." The term uGvm (Pual participle ms from ugv "to be mad") may be understood in two senses: (1) predicate adjective: "to be maddened," as a figure of speech: to be driven to despair (Deut 28:34) or (2) substantive: "a madman," referring to prophets who attempted to enter into a prophetic state through whipping themselves into a frenzy (1 Sam 21:16; 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26) (see BDB 993). The prophetic context of 9:7 favors the latter option. Apparently, the general populace viewed these mantics with suspicion and questioned the legitimacy of their claim to be a true prophet (e.g., 2 Kgs 9:11; Jer 29:26).
19tn (9:7) Heb "great."
20tc (9:8) The Leningrad Codex (the MT MS used for BHS) and Aleppo Codex both place the athnah (colon divider) after yhla ("my God"), and connect aybn ("prophet") with the following colon. On the other hand, BHS suggests that aybn ("prophet") belongs with the first colon. For discussion of this syntactical problem, see F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB 24 ), 533-34.
21tc (9:8) The syntax of this line is difficult and the text is questionable. The major options include: (1) Adopt the MT vocalization and BHS line division: aybn yhla <u <yrpa hpx "The prophet is a watchman over Ephraim with my God [= on behalf of God]." There are two problems with this: (a) Although BHS places aybn ("prophet") with this colon, the Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex both connect aybn ("prophet") with the next colon. (b) The phrase yhla <u "with my God" is difficult to explain. (2) Adopt the MT vocalization and the MT line division: yhla <u <yrpa hpx ("Ephraim is a watchman with my God"). The problem with this, of course, is that Ephraim hardly fits the description of a prophetic watchman. (3) Revocalize the MT and adopt BHS line division: aybn yhla <u <yrpa hpx ("Ephraim--the people of my God!--lies in ambush for the prophet." This involves: (a) revocalization of the preposition <u ("with") to the noun <u ("people"), (b) taking yhla-<u ("people of my God") in apposition to <yrpa ("Ephraim"), and (c) nuancing hpx as "to lie in wait (=set ambush)" (e.g., Ps 37:32). This is contextually attractive and harmonizes well with the following line: "traps are laid along all of his paths." However, it has two problems: (a) no textual evidence supporting the revocalization of <u as "people" and (b) the unusual nuance "to lie in wait" for hpx occurs only in Ps 37:32, where it takes the preposition l (i.e., "to lie in wait for the righteous") (HALOT 3:1044.4). (4) Emend yhla ("my God") to lha ("tent"), as suggested in the BHS textual apparatus: aybn lha <u <yrpa hpx ("Ephraim spies on the prophet's tent"). The verb hpx may mean "to spy" (BDB 859; HALOT 3:1044.3); however, the preposition <u does not normally mean "upon" and hpx is not used with <u elsewhere.
22tn (9:8) Or "Ephraim is a watchman with my God."
23tn (9:8) Heb "with my God."
24tn (9:8) Heb "bird trap of a bird catcher" or "snare of a fowler."
25tc (9:8) Or "The prophet is like a trap along all of his paths." The Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex (MS used in BHS) both connect aybn ("prophet") with this colon. On the other hand, BHS places aybn ("prophet") at the end of the preceding colon.
26tn (9:8) Heb "house." The term tyb ("house") is used as a figure of speech, referring to either (1) the temple or official sanctuaries or (2) the land of Israel (e.g., Hos 9:15).
27tn (9:9) More literally, "they are deeply corrupted." The two verbs Wtjv-Wqymuh (literally, "they have made deep, they act corruptly") are coordinated without a conjunction vav to form a verbal hendiadys: the second verb represents the main idea, while the first functions adverbially (GKC §120.g). Here Gesenius suggests: "they are deeply/radically corrupted." Several translations mirror the syntax of this hendiadys: "They have deeply corrupted themselves" (KJV, RSV), "they have been grievously corrupt" (NJPS), and "they are hopelessly evil" (TEV). Others reverse the syntax for the sake of a more graphic English idiom: "they have gone deep in depravity" (NASB) and "they have sunk deep into corruption" (NIV). Some translations fail to represent the hendiadys at all: "You are brutal and corrupt" (CEV). The translation "they are deeply corrupted" mirrors the Hebrew syntax, but "they have sunk deep into corruption" is a more graphic English idiom.
28tn (9:10) Heb "fathers."
29tn (9:11) Heb "their glory."
30tn (9:11) Heb "no childbearing, no pregnancy, no conception." The preposition /m prefixed to the three parallel nouns functions in a privative sense, indicating deprivation (BDB 583.7).
31tn (9:12) Heb "I will bereave them from a man."
32tc (9:13) The MT is corrupt in 9:13. The BHS editors suggest emending the text to follow the LXX reading. See D. Barthelemy, Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 250-51.
33tn (9:14) Heb "breasts that shrivel up dry."
34tn (9:15) Heb "from my house."
35tn (9:16) Or perhaps, following the plant metaphor, "will be blighted."
1tn (10:1) The phrase "to Baal" does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
2tn (10:2) Heb "he"; the referent (the LORD) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3tc (10:4) The referent of the 3cpl verb WrBD ("they utter") is the ms noun ElMhw ("a king" in v. 3) which is used generically, representing all human kings of Israel to which the 3cpl verb refers. Although this is a bit syntactically awkward, it is not necessary to emend the MT to the 3ms verb form rbD ("he utters") as the BHS editors suggest. The LXX , however, reads the singular form lalwn ("uttering").
4tn (10:4) Heb "they speak words." The cognate accusative construction <yrbd WrBD (literally, "they speak words") is an idiom that means "they speak mere words" or "they utter empty words," that is, they make empty promises (e.g., Isa 58:13) (BDB 181.2). The immediately following collocated phrase awv twla ("swearing an empty oath") confirms this nuance. The LXX understood this idiom in the same way: lalwn rJhmata proqaseia" yeudei" ("speaking false professions as his words").
5tn (10:4) The two infinitive absolutes tola (Qal infinitive absolute from hla II "to swear an oath" BDB 46) and trK (Qal infinitive absolute from trk "to make [a covenant]" BDB 503.4), which appear without conjunctions, continue the description of the action of the preceding finite verb WrBD (Piel perfect 3cpl from rbD "to speak"). Although the infinitives continue the description of the action of the finite verb, they call special attention to the action of the infinitive rather than the action of the finite verb. See IBHS 35.5.2.b.
6tn (10:4) The word "empty" is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
7tn (10:4) The noun var II refers to a "poisonous plant" (Deut 29:17; Hos 10:4) or "bitter herb" (Ps 69:22; Lam 3:5) (BDB 912.1; HALOT 3:1167.1).
8tc (10:5) The MT reads the singular construct noun /kv "the inhabitant [of Samaria]," while the LXX and Syriac reflect the plural construct noun ynkv "the inhabitants [of Samaria]." The singular noun may be a collective referring to the population of Samaria as a whole (BDB 1015) (e.g., Isa 33:24). Most English translations view this as a reference to the inhabitants of the city as a whole (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJPS, TEV, CEV).
9tc (10:5) The MT reads WrWgy (Qal imperfect 3cpl from rWg III "to dread" BDB 159.1). This is syntactically awkward because rWg III ("to dread") is used nowhere else with the preposition l ("they are in dread for..."?). BDB suggests reading WdWny (Qal imperfect 3cpl from dWn "to lament" BDB 626.2.a) which harmonizes better with the parallelism with lba ("to mourn") in the following line. The verb dWn ("to lament") is used with the preposition l in the idiom "to lament for" (e.g., Isa 51:19; Jer 15:5; 16:5; 48:17; Nah 3:7). This involves simple orthographic confusion between g and n, as well as r and d which were often confused by the scribes.
10tc (10:5) The MT reads the plural tolgul "for the calves," while some Greek versions (LXX, Theodotion) and the Syriac reflect the singular lgul "for the calf [calf idol]." The singular reading is preferred on the basis of internal evidence: the oracle denounces the calf idol worship of Samaria. The plural form probably arose due to the ambiguity of the term "calf" when a scribe did not realize that the term was being used as a metonymy for the worship of the Egyptian calf goddess. Most English translations adopt the singular form and relate it to the calf goddess cult (RSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS, TEV, CEV); however, older translations follow the MT plural (KJV).
11sn (10:5) See the note on the place name Beth-Aven in 4:15.
12tc (10:5) The MT appears to read Wlygy "they will rejoice" (Qal imperfect 3mpl from lyg "to rejoice"), but this is likely an example of semantic polarization. See Andersen and Freedman, Hosea, 556-67. The BHS editors propose the reading Wlylyy "they will lament" (Hiphil imperfect 3mpl from lly "to lament"), which also appears in Hos 7:14. If this reading is original, the textual variant may be attributed to: (1) orthographic confusion between l and g, and (2) haplography (letter written once which should have been written twice) or dittography (letter written twice that should have been written once) of y (yod). English translations are split; some follow the MT (KJV, NIV, NJPS, CEV), others emend (RSV, NASB, TEV).
13tc (10:5) This line division follows the MT rather than the line division suggested by the BHS editors.
14tn (10:5) Heb "from it."
15tn (10:6) The antecedent of the 3ms direct object pronoun otoa ("it") is probably the calf idol of Beth-Aven mentioned in 10:5a. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16tc (10:6) The MT reads bry Elm ("a king who contends"?) which is syntactically awkward: Elm "king" followed by bry "let him contend!" (Qal jussive 3ms from byr "to contend"). The MT is probably guilty of faulty word division. As the BHS editors suggest, the original reading is br yklm ("the great king"). The suffixed y (yod) on yklm is the remnant of the old genitive ending. This is the equivalent of the Assyrian royal epithet sarru rabbu ("the great king").
17tn (10:6) The preposition /m functions in a causal sense (logical cause): "because of" or "on account of" (e.g., Exod 2:23; Deut 7:7; Nah 3:4) (see BDB 580.2.f; HALOT 2:598.6).
18tn (10:6) The meaning of the root of otxum (preposition /m + fs noun hxu + 3ms suffix) is debated. There are three options: (1) "its counsel" from hxu I "counsel; advice; plan" (BDB 420; HALOT 2:867.3.a); (2) "its disobedience" from hxu II "disobedience" (however, the existence of this root is debated) (HALOT 2:867); and (3) "its wooden idol" from hxu III "wood" (Jer 6:6) referring to the wooden idol/effigy (calf idol in 10:5), a stick of wood covered with gold (HALOT 3:867). The last option is favored contextually: (a) the idol is called "a stick of wood" in Hosea 4:12, and (b) the calf idol (probably the referent) of the cult is mentioned in 10:5. The translations are split: (1) "his idol" (RSV, NRSV), "its wooden idols" (NIV), "image" (NJPS margin), "that idol" (CEV); and (2) "his own counsel" (KJV), "its own counsel" (NASB), "his plans" (NJPS), "advice" (TEV).
19tn (10:7) The term hmdn (Niphal participle fs) is derived from hmd II (BDB)//III (HALOT) "be cut off, cease to exist, be destroyed" (BDB 198; HALOT 1:225). The Niphal form hmdn "will be destroyed" is paralleled by the Niphal Wdmvnw "will be destroyed" in 10:8. Several translations nuance the literal wording for the sake of the idiom: "will float away like a twig on the surface of water" (NIV), "like a twig in a stream...will be swept away" (CEV), "will be carried off like a chip of wood on water" (TEV).
20tn (10:7) The noun [xq II is a hapax legomenon (a term that occurs only once). Historically, it has been understood in two different ways: (1) "foam" (Vulgate, Aquila, Symmachus) and (2) "snapped-off twig" (LXX, Theodotion, Syriac Peshitta). Both interpretations make sense in the light of the simile. The latter has more support because of the related verb [xq "to cut off, chop off" used in reference to wood (BDB 893; HALOT 3:1125) and the related feminine noun hpxq "stump; splinter" of fig-tree (BDB 893; HALOT 3:1125). Translations differ along these lines: (1) "foam" (KJV, NJPS) and (2) "chip" (RSV, TEV), "stick" (NASB), "twig" (NIV, CEV).
21tn (10:8) Alternately, "Aven" for the city name "Beth-Aven." The term "Beth" (= house) does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied (e.g., Hos 4:15). It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
22tc (10:8) The MT reads /wa tomb ("high-places of Aven"); however, several Hebrew MSS read /wa-tb tomb ("high-places of Beth-Aven"). In Hosea 4:15 the name /wa-tb "Beth-Aven" (Heb "house of wickedness") is a wordplay on "Bethel" (Heb "house of God"). It is possible that /wa-tb tomb ("high-places of Beth-Aven") was original: tb ("house") dropped out as an unintentional scribal error by haplography (letters written once that should have been written twice) due to presence of the consonants tb in the preceding word twmb ("high-places").
tn (10:8) Heb "high places of wickedness" (/wa tomb). The noun /wa ("wickedness") is an attributive genitive: "wicked high places."
23tn (10:9) Heb "days."
24tn (10:10) Heb "in my desire."
25tc (10:10) The MT reads <rSaw (vav conjunction + Niphal imperfect 1cs + 3mpl suffix from rsa "to bind"). The LXX reads paideusai aujtou" ("to discipline them") which reflects a Vorlage of <rSya (Qal imperfect 1cs + 3mpl suffix from rsy "to discipline" BDB 416.3). The textual variant was caused by orthographic confusion between w and y with metathesis of the two letters.
26tn (10:10) Heb "Nations will be gathered together against them."
27tn (10:10) The verb rsa ("to bind") often refers to conquered peoples being bound as prisoners (BDB 63). Here it is used figuratively to describe the Israelites being taken into exile.
28tc (10:10) The Kethib is <tnyu ytvl ("for their two eyes"), while the Qere reads <tnou ytvl ("for their two sins"). The phrase "two sins" could refer to (1) the sinful episode at Gibeah and the subsequent war between the tribe of Benjamin and the other tribes (Judges 19-21), or (2) the entire Gibeah incident (Judges 19-21) and Israel's subsequent failure to repent up to the time of Hosea: "the time of Gibeah" (= first sin) and "there you have remained" (= second sin).
29tc (10:11) The MT is unintelligible: bWf-lu^ ("upon a fine [thing]"?). The BHS editors suggest the revocalization bWf-lu) ("a fine yoke"). The noun lu ("yoke") also appears in 11:4 in a metaphor which also compares Israel to a young heifer.
30tn (10:11) Or "Judah will plow."
31tn (10:11) Or "Jacob will break up."
32tn (10:12) Or "righteousness."
33tc (10:13) The MT reads the enigmatic ;Krdb ("in your own way") which does not seem to fit the context or the parallelism with ;yrwBG brB ("in your multitude of warriors"). The BHS editors suggest the original reading was ;Bkrb ("in your chariots"). If this is correct, the textual corruption was caused by orthographic confusion between bKr ("chariot") and krD ("way").
34tn (10:13) The phrase "you have relied" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding line.
35tn (10:14) Heb "as the devastation of Shalman." The genitive noun /mlv ("Shalman") functions as a subjective genitive: "as Shalman devastated [Beth Arbel]."
36tn (10:15) Heb "when the dawn is cut off" or "when the day ceases."
37tn (10:15) The root hmd ("to be cut off, cease to exist, be destroyed" BDB 198; HALOT 1:225) is repeated in the Hebrew text. The form hm)d+n] (Niphal infinitive absolute) appears in the first colon, and the form hm*d+n] (Niphal perfect 3ms) appears in the second colon. This striking repetition creates a dramatic wordplay: "The moment the dawn ceases to exist (= at the break of dawn), the king of Israel will cease to exist."
1tn (11:1) The words "like a son" are not in the Hebrew text, but are necessary to clarify what sort of love is intended.
2tc (11:1) The MT reads ynb ("My son"); however, the LXX reflects wynb ("his sons"). The MT may be retained.
3tc (11:2) The MT reads Warq "they called" (Qal perfect 3cpl from arq "to call"); however, the LXX and Syriac reflect yarqK "as I called" (preposition K + Qal infinitive construct from arq + 1cs suffix). The presence of the resumptive adverb /K ("even so") in the following clause supports the alternate textual tradition reflected in the LXX and Syriac.
4tc (11:2) The MT reads <hynPm "from them" (preposition + mpl noun + 3mpl suffix); however, the LXX and Syriac reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition of <h ynpm "they [went away] from me" (preposition + mpl noun + 1cs suffix, followed by 3mpl independent personal pronoun). The textual variant was caused simply by faulty word division.
5tn (11:3) Or "taught Ephraim to walk." The verb yTlGrt "I taught [him] to walk, I led [him]" (Tiphil perfect 1cs from lgr "to walk") is an unusual verb stem: the Tiphil (properly Taphel) is attested three times in Biblical Hebrew (Hos 11:3; Jer 12:5; 22:15) and once in Biblical Aramaic (Ezra 4:7) (see GKC §55.h).
6tn (11:3) Or "that it was I who had healed them."
7tn (11:4) Or "humane cords" or "cords of human kindness." The noun <da is traditionally related to <da I ("man") and translated either literally or figuratively (metonymy of association: humane compassion): "cords of a man" (KJV, RSV margin, NASB), "cords of human kindness" (NIV), "human ties" (NJPS), "cords of compassion" (RSV). It is better to relate it to <da II "leather" (HALOT 1:14), as the parallelism with hbha II ("leather") suggests (see below). This homonymic root is well attested in Arabic ´adam ("skin") and ´adim ("tanned skin; leather"). This better fits the context of 11:4 which compares Israel to a heifer: the LORD led him with leather cords, lifted the yoke from his neck, and fed him. Elsewhere, Hosea compares Israel to a stubborn cow (4:6) and harnessed heifer (10:11).
8tn (11:4) Or "ropes of love." The noun hbha is traditionally related to hbha I "love" (BDB 13.2). This approach is adopted by most English translations: "bands of love" (KJV, RSV), "bonds of love" (NASB), "ties of love" (NIV), "cords of love" (NJPS). However, it is probably better to derive hbha from the homonymic root hbha II "leather" (HALOT 1:18). This root is attested in Arabic and Ugaritic. It probably occurs in the description of Solomon's sedan chair: "upholstered with purple linen, and lined with leather" (Song 3:10). This fits the context of 11:4 which compares Israel to a young heifer: the LORD led him with leather ropes, lifted the yoke from his neck, and bent down to feed him. Elsewhere, Hosea compares Israel to a stubborn cow (4:6) and a young heifer harnessed for plowing (10:11). This is supported by the parallelism with <da II "leather" (HALOT 1:14). Of course, this might be an example of a homonymic wordplay on both roots: "ropes of leather / love." For discussions of hbha II, see G. R. Driver, "Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament," JBL 55 (1936): 111; Canaanite Myths and Legends (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1978), 133; S. E. Loewenstamm, Thesaurus of the Language of the Bible (Magnus Press: Jerusalem, 1957-59), 1:39; D. Grossberg, "Canticles 3:10 in the Light of a Homeric Analogue and Biblical Poetics," BTB 11 (1981): 75-76. For homonymic wordplays, see W. G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984), 237-38; J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament (London: Oxford Press, 1968), 151-55.
9tn (11:4) Heb "And I was to them like those who lift a yoke."
10tn (11:4) Heb "their jaws."
11tn (11:4) Heb "him."
12tc (11:5) Or "Will they not return to Egypt?" Following the LXX and BHS, the MT al ("not") should probably be read as ol ("to him") and connected to the end of 11:4 rather than the beginning of 11:5. The textual confusion between al ("not") and ol ("to him") probably reflects an unintentional scribal error due to a mistake in hearing (e.g., Kethib/Qere in Ps 100:3).
13tn (11:5) Heb "Assyria, he will be his [= Israel's] king."
14sn (11:5) Heb "return." The root bWv ("to turn, return") appears at the beginning and ending of this verse, creating an inclusio. This repetition produces an ironic wordplay: because Israel refuses to "return" to God or "turn" from its sin, it will "return" to Egypt. The punishment fits the crime.
15tn (11:7) The term <yaWlt (Qal passive participle mpl from alT "to hang") literally means "[My people] are hung up" (BDB 1067). The verb alT // hlT ("to hang") is often used in a concrete sense to describe hanging an item on a peg (Ps 137:2; Song 4:4; Isa 22:24; Ezek 15:3; 27:10) or the impaling of the body of an executed criminal (Gen 40:19, 22; 41:13; Deut 21:22, 23; Josh 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sam 21:12; Esth 2:23; 5:14; 6:4; 7:9, 10; 8:7; 9:13, 14, 25). It is used figuratively here to describe Israel's moral inability to detach itself from apostasy. Several English translations capture the sense well: "My people are bent on turning away from me" (RSV, NASB), "My people are determined to turn from me" (NIV), "My people are determined to reject me" (CEV), "My people persist in its defection from me" (NJPS), and "they insist on turning away from me" (TEV).
16tn (11:7) 1cs suffix on the noun ytbWvm (literally, "turning of me") functions as an objective genitive: "turning away from me."
17tc (11:7) The meaning and syntax of the MT is enigmatic: Wh arqy lu-law ("they call upwards to him"). The BHS editors suggest reading aWhw arqy luB-law ("they call to Baal, but he..."), connecting the 3ms independent personal pronoun aWhw ("but he...") with the following clause. The early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus), as well as the Aramaic Targum and the Vulgate, vocalized lu) as "yoke" (as in 11:4): "they cry out because of [their] yoke" (adopted by TEV).
18tn (11:8) The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 34.1.a.
19tn (11:8) The phrase yBl ylu EPhn is an idiom that can be taken in two ways: (1) emotional sense: to describe a tumult of emotions, not just a clash of ideas, that are afflicting a person (Lam 1:20) (HALOT 1:253.1c) and (2) volitional sense: to describe a decisive change of policy, that is, a reversal of sentiment from amity to hatred (Exod 14:5; Ps 105:25) (BDB 245.1; HALOT 1:253.3). The English translations alternate between these two: (1) emotional discomfort and tension over the prospect of destroying Israel: "my heart is turned within me" (KJV), "my heart recoils within me" (RSV), "my heart is turned over within me" (NASB); and (2) volitional reversal of previous decision to totally destroy Israel: "I have had a change of heart" (NJPS), "my heart is changed within me" (NIV), and "my heart will not let me do it!" (TEV). The lexicons suggest that the idiom describes a decisive change of heart (reversal of decision to totally destroy Israel once and for all) rather than emotional turbulence of God shifting back and forth between whether to destroy or spare Israel (BDB 245.1b; HALOT 1:253.3). This volitional nuance is supported by the modal function of the 1cs imperfects in 11:8 ("I will not carry out My fierce anger...I will not destroy Ephraim...I will not come in wrath") and by the prophetic announcement of future restoration in 11:10-11. Clearly, a dramatic reversal both in tone and in divine intention occurs between 11:5-11.
20tn (11:8) The Niphal of rmK means "to grow warm, tender" (BDB 485), as its use in a simile with the oven demonstrates (Lam 5:10). It is used several times to describe the arousal of the most tender affection (Gen 43:30; 1 Kgs 3:26; Hos 11:8) (BDB 485.1; HALOT 2:482.1).
21tn (11:9) The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 34.1.a.
22tn (11:10) When the verb drj ("to tremble") is used with prepositions of direction, it denotes "to go or come trembling" (BDB 353.4) (e.g., Gen 42:28; 1 Sam 13:7; 16:4; 21:2; Hos 11:10, 11). Thus, the phrase <Ym Wdrjyw means "to come trembling from the west."
23tn (11:11) For the meaning of drj ("to tremble") with prepositions of direction, see 11:10 above.
24sn (12:1) Beginning with 11:12, the verse numbers through 12:14 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 11:12 ET = 12:1 HT, 12:1 ET = 12:2 HT, etc., through 12:14 ET = 12:15 HT. From 13:1 to 13:16 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
25tn (12:1) The phrase "has surrounded me" does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding line. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons, smoothness and readability.
26tn (12:1) The verb dWr ("to roam about freely") is used in a concrete sense to refer to someone wandering restlessly and roaming back and forth (BDB 923) (Judg 11:37). Here, it is used figuratively, possibly with positive connotations, as indicated by the preposition <u ("with"), to indicate accompaniment: "but Judah still goes about with God" (HALOT 3:1194). Some English translations render it positively: "Judah still walks with God" (RSV); "Judah is restive under God" (REB); "but Judah stands firm with God" (NJPS); "but Judah remains faithful" (CEV); "but Judah yet ruleth with God" (KJV). Others adopt the negative connotation "to wander restlessly" and nuance <u in an adversative sense ("against"): "Judah is unruly against God" (NIV) and "the people of Judah are still rebelling against me" (TEV).
1tn (12:1) Heb "a treaty."
2tn (12:1) The phrase "as tribute" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.
3tn (12:2) The noun byr ("dispute") is used in two contexts: (1) non-legal contexts: (a) "dispute" between individuals (e.g., Gen 13:7; Isa 58:1; Jer 15:10) or (b) "brawl, quarrel" between people (e.g., Exod 17:7; Deut 25:1); and (2) legal contexts: (a) "lawsuit, legal process" (e.g., (Exod 23:3-6; Deut 19:17; 21:5; Ezek 44:24; Ps 35:23), (b) "lawsuit, legal case" (e.g., Deut 1:12; 17:8; Prov 18:17; 25:9), and (c) God's "lawsuit" on behalf of a person or against His own people (Hos 4:1; 12:3; Mic 6:2) (HALOT 3:1225-26). The term in Hosea refers to a covenant lawsuit in which Yahweh the suzerain lodges a legal case against his disobedient vassal, accusing Israel and Judah of breach of covenant which will elicit the covenant curses.
4tn (12:3) The verb hrc means "to strive, contend" (HALOT 3:1354) or "to persevere, persist" (BDB 975) with (<u) God (see Gen 32:29; Hos 12:4) (HALOT 3:1354).
5tc (12:4) The MT vocalizes the consonantal text rcYw (vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3ms from rWc "to see"); however, parallelism with hrc ("he contended") in 12:3 suggested that it be vocalized as rcYw (vav consecutive + Qal preterite 3ms from hrc "to strive, contend").
6tn (12:4) Heb "him"; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7tc (12:4) The Leningrad Codex and the Allepo Codex both read 1cpl Wn<u ("with us"). The LXX and Peshitta both reflect an alternate Hebrew Vorlage of 3ms o<u ("with him"). The BHS editors suggest emending the MT in favor of the Greek and Syriac. The internal evidence of 12:4-5 favors the 3ms reading. It is likely that the 1cpl Wn- reading on Wn<u arose due to a misunderstanding of the 3ms Wn- suffix on Wnaxmy "he found him" (Qal imperfect 3ms + 3ms suffix) which was probably misunderstood as the 1cpl suffix: "he found us." Several translations follow the LXX and Syriac: "there he spoke with him" (RSV, NEB, NIV, NJPS, TEV). Others follow the MT: "there he spoke with us" (KJV, NASB, CEV). The Hebrew University Old Testament Project, which tends to preserve the MT whenever possible, adopts the MT reading but gives it only a "C" rating: see D. Barthelemy, ed. et al., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 5:262-63.
8tn (12:5) Heb "[is] his memorial name."
9tn (12:6) The verb bWvt (Qal imperfect 2ms from bWv "to return") functions as an imperfect of moral obligation, introducing the following imperatives (e.g., Gen 20:9; Exod 4:15). For this function of the imperfect, see IBHS 31.4.g.
10tn (12:6) The verb hWqw (vav + Piel imperative 2ms from hwq "to wait for") means "to hope for, wait for, look eagerly for" (BDB 875.1; HALOT 3:1082.2.b). The Qal meaning refers to a general hope; the Piel meaning refers to hope directed towards a target, or hope inserted within a sequence of expectation and fulfillment. When the Piel is used in reference to a thing, it refers to waiting expectantly for something to occur (e.g., Gen 49:18; Isa 5:2, 4, 7; 59:9, 11; Jer 8:15; 13:16; 14:19; Ps 69:21; Job 3:9; 6:19; 11:20). When it is used in reference to God, it refers to the people of God waiting expectantly for God to do something or to fulfill His promise (e.g., Pss 25:5, 21; 27:14; 37:34; 40:2; 52:11; 130:5; Isa 8:17; 25:9; 26:8; 33:2; 51:5; 60:9; Hos 12:7). The personal object can be introduced by the preposition l "for" (HALOT 3:1082.2.a) or la "for" (HALOT 3:1082.2.b) (e.g., Pss 27:142; 37:34; Isa 51:5; Hos 12:7). The point seems to be that if Israel will repent and practice moral righteousness, it can look to God in confident expectation that He will intervene on her behalf by relenting from judgment and restoring the covenant blessings.
11tn (12:6) The phrase "to return to you" does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied; it is provided in the translation for clarification. This ellipsis fills out the implicit connotations of the verb hwq ("to wait for").
12tn (12:7) Heb "the merchant loves to cheat." The Hebrew has singular forms (noun and verb) which are used generically to refer to all Israelite merchants and traders in general. The singular noun /unK II "a merchant; a trader" (BDB 488) is used in a generic sense to refer to the merchant class of Israel as a whole (e.g., Ezek 16:29; 17:4; Zeph 1:11).
13tn (12:7) Heb "The merchant--in his hand are scales of deceit--loves to defraud." The present translation redivides the Hebrew line division to produce a smoother English rendering.
14tn (12:8) Heb "says."
15tn (12:8) Heb "I have found wealth for myself." The verb axm ("to find") is repeated in 12:8 to create a wordplay. The Israelites have "found" (axm) wealth for themselves (= become wealthy) (v. 8a) through dishonest business practices (v. 7). Nevertheless, they claim that no guilt can be "found" (axm) in anything they have done in gaining their wealth (v. 8b).
16tc (12:8) The MT reads the 1cs suffix on the noun yuygy "my labors/gains" (mpl noun + 1cs suffix). The LXX's oiJ ponoi aujtou ("his labors") assumes a 3ms suffix on the noun Wyuygy "his labors/gains" (mpl noun + 3ms suffix). The BHS editors suggest adopting the LXX reading. The textual decision is based upon whether or not this line continues the speech of Ephraim (favors 1cs suffix) or whether these are the words of the prophet (favors 3ms suffix). See the following translator's note for explanation of the two rival textual options for the line as a whole.
tn (12:8) Heb "In all my gains/labors" (yuygy). The noun uygy has a two-fold range of meanings: (1) "toil, labor" and (2) metonymical result of toil: "product, produce, gain, acquired property" (= wealth gained by labor) (BDB 388; HALOT 1:385-86). Normally, only one of the categories of meaning is present in any usage; however, it is possible that intentional semantic ambiguity is present in this usage because the context invokes both ideas: action + wealth.
17tn (12:8) The phrase yl /oa ytaxm ("I have found wealth for myself" = I have become wealthy) forms a wordplay with /ou yl Waxm al ("they will not find guilt in me"). The repetition of yl axm is enhanced by the paronomasia between the similar sounding nouns /ou ("guilt") and /oa ("wealth"). The wordplay emphasizes that Israel's acquisition of wealth cannot be divorced from his guilt in dishonest business practices. Israel has difficulty in protesting his innocence that he is not guilty (/ou) of the dishonest acquisition of wealth (/wa).
18tc (12:8) The MT reads: afj-rva /ou yl-waxmy al yuygy-lK ("[in] all my gains, they will not find guilt in me which would be sin"). The LXX reflects afj-rva /oul ol-oaxmy al Wyuygy-lk ("in all his labors, he cannot offset his guilt which is sin"). Some translations follow the LXX: "but all his riches can never offset the guilt he has incurred" (RSV), "None of his gains shall atone for the guilt of his sins" (NEB). Most follow the MT: "In all my labours they shall find none iniquity in me that were sin" (KJV); "In all my labors they will find in me no iniquity, which would be sin" (NASB); "With all my wealth they will not find in me any iniquity or sin" (NIV); "All my gains do not amount to an offense which is real guilt" (NJPS); "No one can accuse us [sic] of getting rich dishonestly" (TEV); "I earned it all on my own, without committing a sin" (CEV). See D. Barthelemy, ed. et al., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 5:262-63.
tn (12:8) Heb "In all my gains/labors, no one can find in me any guilt which is sin."
19sn (12:9) The LORD answers Ephraim's self-assertion ("I am rich!") with the self-introduction formula ("I am the LORD your God!") which introduces judgment oracles and ethical instructions.
20tn (12:9) Or "[Ever since you came] out of Egypt."
21tn (12:9) Heb "as in the days of meeting" (duom ymyK). This phrase might refer to "time of the festival" (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5) or the LORD's first "meeting" with Israel in the desert. In his announcements about Israel's future, Hosea uses "as in the days of [...]" (ymyK) or "as in the day of [...]" (<oyK) to introduce analogies drawn from Israel's early history (e.g., Hos 2:5, 17; 9:9; 10:9).
22tn (12:10) Heb "I myself multiplied vision[s]."
23tn (12:10) There is debate whether hmda (Piel imperfect 1cs) is derived from hmd I ("similitude, parable") or hmd II ("oracle of doom"). The lexicons favor the former (BDB 198.1; HALOT 1:225-26). Most translators favor "parables" (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS), but a few opt for "oracles of doom" (TEV, CEV).
24tn (12:10) Heb "by the hand of."
25tn (12:11) The noun /wa has a broad range of meanings which includes: (1) "wickedness, sin, injustice" (2) "deception, nothingness," and (3) "idolatry, idolatrous cult" (HALOT 1:22; BDB 19). While any of these meanings would fit, the second-half of the verse refers to cultic sins, suggesting that Hosea is denouncing Gilead for its idolatry.
26tn (12:11) The introductory deictic particle <a functions as an interrogative and introduces an interrogative clause: "Is there...?" (see HALOT 1:60.5; BDB 50.2). The LXX assumed that <a was being used in its more common function as a conditional particle: "If there...."
27tn (12:11) Heb "they are."
28tn (12:11) The noun awv ("emptiness, nothing"), which describes the imminent judgment of the people of Gilead, creates a wordplay with the noun /wa ("nothingness" = idolatry). Because Gilead worshiped "nothingness" (= idols), it would become "nothing" (= be destroyed).
29tn (12:12) Heb "served."
30tn (12:13) Heb "by a prophet."
31tn (12:13) Heb "he"; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32tn (12:13) Heb "was protected." The verb rmv ("to watch, guard, keep, protect") is repeated in 12:12-13[13-14]. This repetition creates parallels between Jacob's sojourn in Aram and Israel's sojourn in the wilderness. Jacob "tended = kept" (rmv) sheep in Aram, and Israel was "preserved = kept" (rmvn) by Moses in the wilderness.
33tn (12:14) The noun <yrWrmT ("bitter things") functions as an adverbial accusative of manner, modifying the finite verb: "He bitterly provoked Him to anger" (GKC §118.q). The plural form of the noun functions as a plural of intensity: "very bitterly." For the adverbial function of the accusative, see IBHS 10.2.2.e.
34tn (12:14) Heb "He will leave his blood upon him."
35tn (12:14) The Hebrew term translated "Lord" here is yn´d{a& (a&d{n´y).
36tn (12:14) Heb "for his contempt."
1sn (13:1) In Hosea the name "Ephraim" does not refer to the tribe, but to the region of Mount Ephraim where the royal residence of Samaria was located. It functions as a synecdoche of location (= Mount Ephraim) for its inhabitants (= the king of Samaria) (e.g., 5:13; 8:8, 10).
2tn (13:1) The rulers of Ephraim (= Samaria) issued many political decisions in the 8th century B.C. which brought "terror" to the other regions of the Northern Kingdom, as well as to Judah: "hearts shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (Isa 7:2; 2 Kgs 16:5).
3tn (13:1) The noun ttr ("terror, trembling") appears only here in OT (BDB 958; HALOT 3:1301). However, it is attested in 1QH 4:33 where it means "trembling" and is used as a synonym with dur ("quaking"). It also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew, meaning "trembling" (Dalman, AW 409b). This is the meaning reflected in the Greek recensions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, as well as Jerome's Latin Vulgate.
4tc (13:1) The MT vocalizes the consonantal text as ac*n´ "he exalted" (Qal perfect 3ms) which is syntactically awkward. The LXX and Syriac reflect a vocalization tradition of aC*n] "he was exalted" (Niphal perfect 3ms). The BHS editors suggest that this revocalization should be adopted.
5tn (13:2) The phrase afjl Wpsoy ("they add to sin") is an idiom meaning either (1) "they sin more and more" or (2) "they continue to sin" (see BDB 415.2a; HALOT 2:418.3b). The English translations are split: (1) "they sin more and more" (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV) and (2) "they go on sinning" (NJPS), "they continue to sin" (CEV), "they still keep on sinning" (TEV).
6tn (13:2) The term <nWbtK "according to their skill" (preposition K + fs noun hnWbt + 3mpl suffix) is an abbreviated form of <tnWtK (GKC §91.e). hnWbt means "understanding, faculty, skill" (BDB 108.1). It refers to a builder skillfully constructing a house (Prov 24:3), God skillfully fashioning creation (Ps 136:5; Prov 3:19) and a craftsman skillfully making an idol (Hos 13:2).
7tn (13:2) Heb "They say about them." Another possible rendering for the line is: "It is said of them--those men who sacrifice, "They kiss calves!" The phrase <da yjbz ("those men who sacrifice") functions either (1) as the subject of the verb /WqVy ("they kiss") in the quotation in the direct discourse: "It is said of them, `Those men who sacrifice kiss calves!" or (2) in apposition to the indirect object 3mpl suffix <hl ("about them"): "It is said of them, that is, those men who sacrifice...."
8tn (13:2) Heb "Those among men who offer sacrifices." The genitive-construct <da yjbz ("the sacrificers of men") is misunderstood by NIV as an objective genitive phrase: "they offer human sacrifice." Such a classification is questionable: (1) Nowhere else in the book does Hosea accuse Israel of human sacrifice, and (2) archaeological evidence does not provide any evidence of human sacrifice in the Northern Kingdom during Iron Age I (1200-722 B.C.). This phrase should be classified as a genitive of species: the genitive represents the whole class or kind of a species (= men) and the construct represents a part of the whole or subspecies within the whole (= those who sacrifice): "those among men who offer sacrifice" (= those who offer sacrifices). The expression "a fool of men" in Prov 15:20 provides a similar example: the genitive represents the whole class/species (= men) and the construct represents a part of the whole/subspecies (= a fool): "a foolish man." This is the tactic adopted by most English translations: "the men that sacrifice" (KJV), "the men who sacrifice" (NASB), "they appoint men to sacrifice [to them]" (NJPS).
9tn (13:2) Heb "They kiss calves!" The verb /WqVy may be parsed as an imperfect ("they kiss [calves]") or jussive ("let them kiss [calves]!").
sn (13:2) Paragogic nun endings (/ + WqVy) are attached to imperfects to connote rhetorical emphasis. It is used either (1) to mark out an action that is contrary to normal practice and deviates from normal expectations (= those who worship the calf idol are, in effect, kissing calves!), or (2) to express strong emotion (disgust!) at the action of the calf idolaters (= they kiss calves!). For function of paragogic nun, see IBHS 31.7.1.
10tn (13:3) Heb "they will be like."
11tn (13:3) The phrase rqB /nuK ("like a cloud of the morning") occurs also in Hos 6:4 in a similar simile. The Hebrew poets and prophets refer to morning clouds as a simile for transitoriness (Job 7:9; Isa 44:22; Hos 6:4; 13:3) (HALOT 2:858.1b; BDB 778.c).
12tn (13:3) Heb "like the early rising dew that goes away."
13tn (13:3) Heb "storm-driven away." The verb rus (Poel imperfect 3ms from rus "to storm") often refers to the intense action of strong, raging storm winds (e.g., Jon 1:11, 13). The related nouns refer to "heavy gale," "storm wind," and "high wind" (BDB 704; HALOT 2:762). The verb is used figuratively to describe the intensity of God's destruction of the wicked whom He will "blow away" (Isa 54:11; Hos 13:3; Hab 3:14; Zech 7:14) (BDB 704; HALOT 2:762).
14tc (13:5) The MT reads ;yTudy (Qal perfect 1cs + 2ms suffix from udy "to know"). The LXX and Syriac reflect an alternate textual tradition of ;ytyur (Qal perfect 1cs + 2ms suffix from hur "to feed").
tn (13:5) Heb "I knew you."
15tn (13:5) Heb "land of intense drought" or "intensely thirsty land." The noun tobalT occurs in the OT only here. It probably means "drought" (BDB 520). The related Arabic verb means "to be thirsty" and the related Arabic noun means "a stony tract of land." The plural form (singular = hbalT) is a plural of intensity: "a [land] of intense drought." The term functions as an attributive genitive, modifying the construct Jra ("land"). The phrase is variously rendered: "land of drought" (KJV, RSV, NASB), "thirsty land" (NJPS), "thirsty desert" (CEV), "dry, desert land" (TEV), and the metonymical (effect for cause) "land of burning heat" (NIV).
16tc (13:6) The MT reads <tyurmK "according to their pasturage" (preposition K + noun urm "pasture" + 3mpl suffix). Text-critics propose: (1) <ytyur omk "as I pastured them" (preposition womK + Qal perfect 1cs hur "to pasture, feed" + 3mpl suffix) and (2) <twur omk "when they had pastured" (preposition omK + Qal perfect 3mpl from hur). Some translations follow the MT: "according to their pasture" (KJV), "as they had their pasture" (NASB), "when you entered the good land" (TEV). Others adopt the first emendation: "when I fed them" (NIV), "I feed you [sic = them]" (CEV). Still others follow the second emendation: "but when they had fed to the full" (RSV), "when they grazed" (NJPS).
17tn (13:6) Heb "their heart became exalted."
18tn (13:7) The vav consecutive + preterite form yhaw introduces a consequential or result clause.
19tn (13:7) Heb "So I will be like a lion to them."
20tc (13:9) The MT reads ;tjv "he destroyed you" (Piel perfect 3ms from tjv "to destroy," with a 2ms suffix). The BHS editors suggest ;ytjv "I will destroy you" (Piel perfect 1cs + 2ms suffix"). Contextually, this fits: If the LORD is intent on destroying Israel, there is no one who will be able to rescue her from him.
21tc (13:9) The MT reads ;rzub yb-yK ("but in me is your help"). The LXX and Syriac reflect ;rzub ym-yK ("For who will help you?"). The interrogative ym ("Who?") harmonizes well with the interrogatives in 13:9-10 and should be adopted, as the BHS editors suggest.
22tc (13:10) The MT reads the enigmatic yha "I want to be [your king]" (apocopated Qal imperfect 1cs from hyh "to be") which makes little sense and conflicts with the 3ms form in the dependent clause: "that he might save you" (;uyvoyw). All the versions (Greek, Syriac, Vulgate) read the interrogative particle hYa ("where?") which the BHS editors endorse. The textual corruption was caused by metathesis of the y and h. Few translations follow the MT: "I will be thy/your king" (KJV, NKJV). Most emend the text: "Where is your king?" (RSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS, CEV).
23tn (13:10) The phrase "Where are...?" does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding lines. It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and for stylistic reasons and smoothness.
24tn (13:11) The prefix-conjugation verb /Ta ("I gave") refers to past-time action, specifying a definite past event (enthronement of Saul); therefore, this should be classified as a preterite. While imperfects are occasionally used in reference to past-time events, they depict repeated action in the past. See IBHS 31.2 and 31.6.
25tn (13:12) The noun /ou has a three-fold range of meanings: (1) "iniquity" (2) "guilt" and (3) "punishment" (BDB 730). The oracle of 13:12-13 announces that Israel's punishment, though momentarily withheld, will suddenly come upon her like labor pains that will kill her.
26tn (13:12) Heb "has been bound." rrx ("to bind") refers elsewhere to the action of scribes binding a document into a sealed scroll of safekeeping (Isa 8:16) (HALOT 3:1058.1; BDB 864.1). Here it figuratively depicts the record of Israel's sins being written down and permanently bound in a sealed scroll for safekeeping. The guilt of Israel's sin will be retained.
27tn (13:14) Some liberty has been taken in the translation of the first two lines of this verse to reflect the interpretation adopted. There are three interpretive options to v. 14: (1) In spite of Israel's sins, the LORD will redeem them from the threat of death and destruction (e.g., 11:8). However, against this view, the last line of 13:14 probably means that the LORD will not show compassion to Israel. (2) The LORD announces the triumphant victory over death through resurrection. However, although Paul uses the wording of Hosea 13:14 as an illustration of victory over death, the context of Hosea's message is the imminent judgment in 723-722 B.C. (3) The first two lines of 13:14 are rhetorical questions without explicit interrogative markers, implying negative answers: "I will not rescue them!" The next two lines in 13:14 are words of encouragement to Death and Sheol to destroy Israel. The final line announces that the LORD will not show compassion on Israel; he will not spare her.
28tn (13:14) Heb "Where, O Death, are your plagues?"
29tn (13:14) Heb "Where, O Sheol, is your destruction?"
sn (13:14) The two rhetorical questions in 13:14b function as words of encouragement, inviting personified Death and Sheol to draw near like foreign invading armies to attack and kill Israel.
30tn (13:14) Heb "Compassion will be hidden from my eyes."
31tc (13:15) The MT reads ayrpy <yja /B ("he flourishes [as] a son of brothers"), which is awkward syntactically and enigmatic contextually. The Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions reflect a Vorlage of ryrpy <yha /yB "he causes division between brothers." The BHS editors suggest the MT confused the common term ja ("brother") for the rarer term Wja "marsh plant, reed plant" (Job 8:11) and "reed bed" (Gen 41:2, 18) (HALOT 1:31). This is an Egyptian loanword which is also attested in Ugaritic and Old Aramaic. The original text probably read either ayrpm WjaK "he flourishes like a reed plant" (comparative K + noun Wja "reed" followed by Hiphil participle ms from arp "to flourish") or ayrpm Wja /yB "he flourishes among the reeds" (preposition /yb "between," ms noun Wja "reed," Hiphil participle ms from arp). The confusion over Wja ("reed-plant") probably led to secondary scribal errors: (1) faulty word-division of ayrpm Wja to ayrpy <Wja, and (2) secondary orthographic confusion of y (yod) and w (vav) between <Wja and resultant <yja. For discussion, see D. Barthelemy, ed., et al., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (New York: United Bible Societies, 1980), 5:268-69. Several translations retain the MT: "even though he flourishes among his brothers" (NIV), "though he be fruitful among his brethren" (KJV), "no matter how much you prosper more than the other tribes" (CEV). Others adopt one of the two emendations: (1) "though he flourishes among the reeds" (NEB, NASB, NJPS), and (2) "even though he flourishes like weeds" (TEV), "though he may flourish as the reed plant" (RSV).
tn (13:15) Or "among the reed plants."
32tc (13:15) The MT vobyw "will be ashamed" (vav + Qal imperfect 3ms: voB "to be ashamed") does not fit the context. The LXX, Syriac and Vulgate reflect a Vorlage of vyboyw "will dry up" (vav + Hiphil imperfect 3ms: vby "to be dry"). This fits well with the parallel brjyw "will become dry" (vav + Qal imperfect 3ms from brj "to be dry"): brj|| vby Isa 42:15; 44:27; Jer 51:36) (HALOT 2:384.1).
33tn (13:15) The term "wind" does not appear in the Hebrew text but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
34sn (14:1) Beginning with 13:16, the verse numbers through 14:9 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 13:16 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:1 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:9 ET = 14:10 HT. Thus ch. 14 in the Hebrew Bible has 10 verses.
35tn (14:1) Or "must bear its guilt."
36tn (14:1) Heb "his." This is a collective singular.
1tn (14:1) Heb "For you have stumbled in your iniquity."
2tn (14:2) Heb "Take words with you and return to the LORD."
3tn (14:2) The word order /ou aCT-lK is syntactically awkward. The BHS editors suggest rearranging the word order: /ou-lK aCT ("Forgive all [our] iniquity!"). However, Gesenius suggests that lK ("all") does not function as the construct in the genitive phrase /ou-lK ("all [our] iniquity"); it functions adverbially modifying the verb aCT ("Completely forgive!") (GKC §128.e).
4sn (14:2) The repetition of the root jql creates a striking wordplay in 14:2. If Israel will bring (jql) its confession to God, he will accept (jql) repentant Israel and completely forgive its sin.
5tn (14:2) Heb "and accept [our] speech." The word bof is often confused with the common homonymic root bwf I "good" (BDB 373). However, this is probably bwf IV "word, speech" (HALOT 2:372), a hapax legomenon that is related to the verb bbf "to speak" (HALOT 2:367) and the noun hBf "rumor" (HALOT 2:367). The term bwf "word; speech" refers to the repentant prayer mentioned in 14:1-3. Most translations relate it to bwf I and treat it as (1) accusative direct object: "accept that which is good" (RSV, NJPS), "accept our good sacrifices" (CEV), or (2) adverbial accusative of manner: "receive [us] graciously" (KJV, NASB, NIV). Only TEV adopts this tactic: "accept our prayer."
6tc (14:2) The MT reads <yrp ("bulls"), but the LXX reflects yrp ("fruit"): "that we may offer the fruit of [our] lips [as sacrifices to you]." Although the Greek expression in Heb 13:15 (karpon ceilewn, "the fruit of lips") reflects this LXX phrase, the MT makes good sense as it stands; NT usage of the LXX should not be decisive in resolving OT textual problems. The noun <yrp ("bulls") functions as an adverbial accusative of state.
7tn (14:3) Heb "For the orphan is shown compassion by you."
8sn (14:4) The noun htbWvm "waywardness" is from the same root as hbWv "return!" in 14:1[2]. This repetition of bWv creates a wordplay which emphasizes reciprocity: if Israel will return (hbWv ) to the LORD, he will cure her of the tendency to turn away (htbWvm) from him.
9tn (14:4) The noun hbdn ("voluntariness; free-will offering") is an adverbial accusative of manner: "freely, voluntarily" (BDB 621.1).
10sn (14:4) The verb bv "will turn" (Qal perfect 3ms from bWv "to turn") continues the wordplay on bWv in 14:1-4[2-5]. If Israel will "return" (bWv) to the LORD, he will heal Israel's tendency to "turn away" (htbWvm) and "turn" (bv) from his anger.
11tn (14:5) Heb "like Lebanon" (also in the following verse). The phrase "a cedar of" does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity.
12tn (14:7) Hosea uses the similar sounding terms ybvy Wbvy ("the dwellers will return") to create a wordplay (paronomasia) between the roots bWv ("to return") and bvy ("to dwell; to reside").
13tn (14:7) Heb "they will cause the grain to live" or "they will revive the grain."
14tn (14:8) The Hebrew expression dou yl-hm is a formula of repudiation/emphatic denial that God has anything in common with idols: "I want to have nothing to do with [...] any more!" (e.g., Judg 11:12; 2 Sam 16:10; 19:23; 1 Kgs 17:18; 2 Kgs 3:13; 2 Chr 35:21; Jer 2:18; Ps 50:16) (BDB 553.1.b.c).
15tn (14:8) The term "like" does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
16tn (14:8) Heb "your fruit is found in me."
17tn (14:9) The shortened form of the prefix-conjugation verb /byw indicates that it is a jussive rather than an imperfect. When a jussive comes from a superior to an inferior, it may connote exhortation and instruction or advice and counsel. For the functions of the jussive, see IBHS 34.3.