Notes (NET Translation)
4:1 Listen to the LORD’s message, you Israelites! For the LORD has a covenant lawsuit against the people of Israel. For there is neither faithfulness nor loyalty in the land, nor do they acknowledge God.
Verses 1-3 introduce a covenant lawsuit (rîb) against the Israelites: the accusation is made (v. 1), the evidence is provided (v. 2), and the judgment is pronounced (v. 3). Yahweh is both prosecutor and judge. We should not envision an actual courtroom setting, however. What we have is an accusation against Israel.
The meaning of ʾĕmet (“faithfulness”) “is not merely loyalty, although it often includes that, but it is instead the wholesomeness of soul that comes from a life that follows principle rather than expediency. It is a determination to know the truth and live by it.”1 The word ḥesed (“loyalty”) “connotes consistently doing good for another based on a prior commitment to love, and it often means ‘mercy’ or ‘grace.’ The quality of ḥesed is not simply a matter of fulfilling one’s duties to a covenant obligation; it is going beyond legal obligations to give kindness freely to those with whom one relates.”2 “A people without knowledge of God are a people who have embraced false teaching about God and/or who have no living connection to God.”3
4:2 There is only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery. They resort to violence and bloodshed.
The sins of v. 2a correspond to sins in the Ten Commandments:
- Cursing corresponds to using Yahweh’s name in vain (Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11)
- Lying corresponds to giving false testimony (Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20)
- Murder (Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17)
- Stealing (Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19)
- Adultery (Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18)
“Cursing” refers to denouncing or wishing evil on someone, possibly by invoking Yahweh’s name. “Lying” involves all dishonesty, not just false testimony in court. The sense of the first part of v. 2b appears to be of breaking boundaries. Perhaps the sins of v. 2a break out in the land or violence/bloodshed breaks out in the land. The second part of v. 2b is literally, “bloodshed touches [follows] bloodshed.”
4:3 Therefore the land will mourn, and all its inhabitants will perish. The wild animals, the birds of the sky, and even the fish in the sea will perish.
“Therefore” indicates that what follows is a consequence of Israel’s sin. The perishing of animals may be seen as the undoing of creation (earth, sky, sea). The Hebrew word translated “perish” can also be translated “languish, waste away.”
4:4 Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else, for my case is against you priests!
Verses 4-10 contain accusations against the corrupt priesthood, “the institution which was supposed to mediate faithfully between God and his people.”4 The precise meaning of v. 4 is somewhat difficult to determine. It may mean it is not necessary for anyone else to accuse the priests or that the priests cannot pass the blame onto others.
4:5 You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; you have destroyed your own people.
“The metaphor of stumbling (kāšal) indicates failure to walk the right path.”5 False prophets are mentioned alongside the priests as another class of religious leader. The MT of v. 5c is literally, “and I will destroy your mother.” The stumbling of the priests and prophets will lead to the destruction of the nation (mother). Recall the wife/mother representing Israel in chs. 1-2.
4:6 You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants.
“Part of the responsibility of the priests was to teach the law; ignoring the law would thereby disqualify them from office.”6 “Your descendants” probably refers to those who follow the same corrupt path as the priests, not to the literal children of the priests (although the priesthood was hereditary). An ending to the priesthood may be in view.
4:7 The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace!
Verse 7a may allude to the prosperity under Jeroboam II when cultic institutions grew (cf. 8:11). “[N]o doubt many considered the increased numbers of priests, their increased power, and the increased interest in formal worship to be signs of spiritual vitality. To the contrary, Hosea retorts, the more religious leadership the nation had, the worse they became.”7 Verse 7b is literally, “I will change their glory into disgrace.” It means God will show that idol worship is a shameful practice (cf. 10:5).
4:8 They feed on the sin offerings of my people; their appetites long for their iniquity!
The priest who officiated the sacrifice had a right to a portion of the sacrificed animal. But this verse suggests the priests were encouraging sin so that they could benefit from the sin offerings and/or taking more of the sacrificial animal than they were entitled to. The word ḥaṭṭāʾt can refer to both sin and a sin offering so there is a play on words in v. 8a.
4:9 I will deal with the people and priests together: I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds.
The Hebrew of v. 9a may contain a proverb (literally, “like people, like priest”). “The priesthood cannot evade responsibility by claiming special privileges. Nor can the people escape judgment by blaming the priests.”8
4:10 They will eat, but not be satisfied; they will engage in prostitution, but not increase in numbers because they have abandoned the LORD by pursuing other gods.
The eating metaphor refers back to v. 8 and the prostitution metaphor refers back to 1:2; 2:2-4 (2:4-6 MT). The curse is that of unfulfilled expectation. Hunger and infertility are stock covenant curses (Deut 28:17-18; 32:24-28). Metaphorically, God will take away the prosperity of the priests and participation in the fertility cult will not lead to fertility. The end of v. 10b is difficult in the MT.
4:11 Old and new wine take away the understanding of my people.
This verse provides a transition between sections. It may have been a proverb. Perhaps there is an allusion to drinking at a festival. The cult has become one of debauchery and self-indulgence.
4:12 They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.
Verses 12-14 contain accusations against the false cult of the northern kingdom, although the priests are still in mind as practitioners in said cult. Verse 12a refers to some kind of divination but we can’t be sure what kind. Hebrew ʿēṣ is the general term for “wood” and may refer to wooden idols. Hebrew maqqēl refers to something that can be carried by hand, such as a staff.
4:13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!
Mountaintops, hills, and under trees were common places for Canaanite altars. Altars may have been placed in high places so as to be closer to the gods. Trees may have represented fertility. “The significance of the particular trees mentioned seems to be primarily their size and the effectiveness of the shade they offer.”9 “Daughters” and “daughters-in-law” are in synonymous parallelism and refer to women in general. It is not clear if “prostitution” and “adultery” are still metaphorical or are now literal. Verse 14 appears to describe the men as literally consorting with harlots and temple prostitutes.
4:14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men consort with harlots; they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. It is true: “A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”
God’s response that he will not punish the women is surprising. “It is inconceivable that the women could be exculpated, even if the men were primarily responsible.”10 Andersen, Freedman, and Stuart understand it as a question, “Shall I not punish your daughters?” Dearman understands it to mean, “I will not punish only your daughters.”
Garrett writes:
The point that these women would not suffer punishment is more rhetorical than literal; the women were not spared the horrors that engulfed Israel when it fell to Assyria. The rhetorical effect, however, is powerful. Those in the ancient Near East took adultery by women very seriously and often applied a double standard, as in Gen 38:24, where Judah, who had recently made use of the services of a prostitute, demanded that Tamar be burned to death for prostituting herself. Here Yahweh is in effect saying: “Why should I be outraged when young women commit adultery? They only learned it from their husbands!”11
Routledge adopts the position of Moon:
He argues that the men here continues to refer to the priests, and notes that under the law promiscuous daughters of priests were punished primarily because of the shame their actions brought on their fathers (e.g. Lev. 21:9) and thus on the priestly office. Here, though, punishment that was intended to protect the holiness of the priesthood becomes meaningless, because the priests themselves behave in the same shameful way.12
The men appear to be condemned for literal sexual intercourse with harlots and temple prostitutes. The men probably offered sacrifices with the temple prostitutes and then had sexual intercourse with them as a ritual act of sympathetic magic designed to stimulate the fertility gods to fertilize the land. References to temple/cult prostitutes can be found in Gen 38:21-22; Deut 23:17; 1 Kgs 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kgs 23:7; Laws of Hammurabi 110, 127, 178-182; Middle Assyrian Laws 40.
Verse 14c has little logical connection to what precedes it. Structurally, it functions as a response to v. 11, a transitional verse in its own right. The “people that lacks understanding” echoes the people who do not acknowledge God (4:1, 6).
4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty! Do not journey to Gilgal. Do not go up to Beth Aven. Do not swear, “As surely as the LORD lives!”
It seems there is still hope for Judah to avoid judgment. Gilgal and Beth Aven (literally, “House of Trouble,” a sarcastic nickname for Bethel, “House of God”) were two major northern sanctuary centers. Amos makes a similar statement: “Do not seek Bethel. Do not visit Gilgal” (Amos 5:5). It is implied that false religion is practiced at both sites (cf. Amos 3:14; 4:4; 5:5-6; 7:13). Bethel was one of the sites where Jeroboam I set up a golden calf, causing Israel to sin (1 Kgs 12-13). The swearing of an oath was not inherently wrong (Deut 6:13; 10:20; Judg 8:19; Ruth 3:13; 1 Sam 14:39; 20:3; 2 Sam 14:11; 15:21; 1 Kgs 2:2, 24; 2 Chr 18:13; Jer 4:2; 5:2; 12:16; 23:7; 38:16; Amos 8:14). But swearing an oath using the divine name is wrong if one is breaking the covenant with Yahweh.
4:16 Israel has rebelled like a stubborn heifer! Soon the LORD will put them out to pasture like a lamb in a broad field.
Verse 16b is difficult to interpret because we expect some kind of judgment or punishment. Dearman’s interpretation may be best but is still contested:
Israel’s stubborn stupidity with regard to YHWH means that the rhetorical question with which the verse concludes has a negative answer. Take a stubborn cow to an open pasture? How could she then be controlled? Although the feeding opportunities would be good for the cow (she needs it to produce milk and to bear calves), her recalcitrance would make it a disaster. Context is the clue that the verse concludes with a rhetorical question; there is no grammatical marker such as an interrogative h. This seems preferable to interpreting the shepherding imagery in a pasture as somehow judgmental.13
4:17 Ephraim has attached himself to idols; Do not go near him!
Ephraim (the largest northern tribe) is another name for Israel (the northern kingdom). Verse 17b “may be aimed at priests, urging them to cease their corrupting behaviour, or it may continue the warning to Judah to stay clear of Israel’s corrupting influence. It may also be directed at Hosea, expressing frustration that Israel is so in thrall to idols as to be beyond any correction (cf. 5:4, 6).”14 Perhaps there is an idea of abandonment or rejection (cf. Deut 31:18; 32:20). “Readers should not take the comment as evidence that Ephraim is being let off the hook, but more to the point that the people are given over to their own devices and consequences.”15
4:18 They consume their alcohol, then engage in cult prostitution; they dearly love their shameful behavior.
The MT is difficult. The second clause may just refer to infidelity to Yahweh in general, not cult prostitution specifically.
4:19 A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings; they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship.
The “whirlwind” plays on the “wind of prostitution” in v. 12. Israel is in the grip of false worship and/or the whirlwind will be an instrument of divine judgment. Perhaps there is the idea of being swept away into exile.
Bibliography
Andersen, Francis I., and David Noel Freedman. Hosea: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. The Anchor Yale Bible 24. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008.
Dearman, J. Andrew. The Book of Hosea. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
Garrett, Duane A. Hosea, Joel. The New American Commentary 19A. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997.
Routledge, Robin. Hosea: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 24. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020.
Stuart, Douglas. Hosea-Jonah. Word Biblical Commentary 31. Dallas: Word Books, 1987.
- Garrett 1997, 109 ↩
- Garrett 1997, 110 ↩
- Garrett 1997, 110 ↩
- Stuart 1987, 77 ↩
- Routledge 2020, 79 ↩
- Routledge 2020, 80 ↩
- Garrett 1997, 119 ↩
- Routledge 2020, 81 ↩
- Routledge 2020, 83 ↩
- Andersen & Freedman 2008, 369 ↩
- Garrett 1997, 124 ↩
- Routledge 2020, 84 ↩
- Dearman 2010, 168 ↩
- Routledge 2020, 86 ↩
- Dearman 2010, 168 ↩
Biblical Scholarship 