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Hosea 13

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Ephraim's Apostasy and Decline 1–3

1
When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died. ​
2
And now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, even idols according to their own understanding, all of them the work of the craftsmen: they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves. ​
3
Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the dew that passeth early away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the threshing-floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. ​

God is the Only Savior 4–6

4
Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no god but me, and besides me there is no saviour. ​
5
I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought. ​
6
According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they forgotten me. ​

The Fierce Judgment of God 7–8

7
Therefore am I unto them as a lion; as a leopard will I watch by the way; ​
8
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart; and there will I devour them like a lioness; the wild beast shall tear them. ​

Israel's Self-Destruction and Failed Kings 9–11

9
It is thy destruction, O Israel, that thou art against me, against thy help. ​
10
Where now is thy king, that he may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges, of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? ​
11
I have given thee a king in mine anger, and have taken him away in my wrath. ​

Judgment, Unwisdom, and Redemption 12–14

12
The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is laid up in store. ​
13
The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for it is time he should not tarry in the place of the breaking forth of children. ​
14
I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, where are thy plagues? O Sheol, where is thy destruction? repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. ​

Final Destruction of Samaria 15–16

15
Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the breath of Jehovah coming up from the wilderness; and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall make spoil of the treasure of all goodly vessels. ​
16
Samaria shall bear her guilt; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword; their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Hosea 13

Verse 1

he offended in Baal, he died — Ephraim had been set above his elder brother by Jacob: 'his younger brother shall be greater than he' (Gen 48:19). 'Trembling' (rethet) occurs only here. 'Offended' is asham, to incur guilt, which returns in v.16 as 'become desolate'. Baal's altar stood in Samaria, built by Ahab (1 Kgs 16:32).

Verse 2

kiss the calves — Jeroboam made 'two calves of gold' and set them in Bethel and Dan (1 Kgs 12:28–29). To kiss an image was homage, as 'every mouth which hath not kissed him' marks those who had not bowed to Baal (1 Kgs 19:18). The idols are 'the work of the craftsmen', as in 8:6, 'the workman made it; therefore it is not God'.

Verse 3

morning cloud… early dew — The first two images are those used of Ephraim's goodness in 6:4, 'as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away'. The chaff recalls 'the chaff which the wind driveth away' (Ps 1:4). 'Chimney' is arubbah, a lattice or opening, rendered 'windows' in Mal 3:10.

Verse 4

no saviour beside me — 'I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt' echoes the words of 12:9. 'Saviour' comes from yasha, to save, as in Isa 43:11, 'beside me there is no saviour'. The name Jesus is given for the same reason: 'he shall save his people from their sins' (Matt 1:21).

Verse 5

I did know thee — Yada, to know, is the knowing of care: 'he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness… thou hast lacked nothing' (Deut 2:7). It is the word of 'You only have I known of all the families of the earth' (Amos 3:2). 'Great drought' (talubah) occurs only here.

Verse 6

they were filled — The steps of Deut 8:12–14 are all here in the same verbs: 'art full' (saba), 'lifted up' (rum) and 'forget' (shakach), as in 'thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God'. 'Pasture' (mir'it) is a flock's feeding, as in 'the sheep of his pasture' (Ps 100:3).

Verse 7

a lion… a leopard — The LORD who fed them as a flock in v.6 now takes the part of the beasts that attack flocks, as 'a lion' in 5:14. 'Lion' is shachal, 'leopard' is namer, and 'observe' is shur, to watch, the verb used again in 14:8 where he 'observed' the returning Ephraim.

Verse 8

a bear that is bereaved — A bear 'robbed of her whelps' is the picture of fierce anger (2 Sam 17:8; Prov 17:12). 'Caul of their heart' is segor, the enclosure around it. 'Tear' is baqa, the verb of v.16 ('ripped up'), and the 'wild beast' is literally the 'beast of the field', as in 2:12, 'the beasts of the field shall eat them'.

Verse 9

thou hast destroyed thyself — Shachat is to ruin or corrupt, and the ruin is Israel's own. 'In me is thine help' uses ezer, the word of 'My help cometh from the LORD' (Ps 121:2) and of 'the shield of thy help' (Deut 33:29).

Verse 10

I will be thy king — 'Save' is yasha, the verb of 'saviour' in v.4. The 'judges' and the request 'Give me a king and princes' recall 1 Sam 8:5–6, answered with 'they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them' (1 Sam 8:7). 'I will be' (ehi) is the same word as 'I will be thy plagues' in v.14.

Verse 11

I gave thee a king in mine anger — Samuel told the people, 'ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you' (1 Sam 10:19). Of the northern kings the LORD says, 'They have set up kings, but not by me' (Hos 8:4), and 'all their kings are fallen' (7:7). 'Anger' is aph and 'wrath' is ebrah, an outburst of rage.

Verse 12

bound up… hid — Tsarar is to bind up and tsaphan to hide away by storing, so Ephraim's iniquity is kept like treasure. 'Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?' (Deut 32:34). Job says, 'My transgression is sealed up in a bag' (Job 14:17), and Paul, 'treasurest up unto thyself wrath' (Rom 2:5).

Verse 13

the sorrows of a travailing woman — Birth pangs are Scripture's picture of coming judgment (Isa 13:8; Mic 4:9–10). 'Sorrows' is chebel, the word of Isa 13:8. The 'unwise son' does not come forth in time, as in 'the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth' (Isa 37:3). 'Place of the breaking forth' is mishber, the opening of the womb.

Verse 14

O death, I will be thy plagues — Paul echoes the words in the resurrection chapter: 'O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?' (1 Cor 15:55). 'Ransom' is padah, the verb of 'God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave' (Ps 49:15). 'Plagues' is deber, as in Amos 4:10, and 'repentance' (nocham) occurs only here.

Verse 15

fruitful among his brethren — 'Fruitful' (para) echoes the name Ephraim, 'double fruit', given because 'God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction' (Gen 41:52). The 'east wind' (qadim) is the wind Ephraim followed in 12:1. Here it is 'the wind of the LORD', and it dries the spring as the east wind 'dried up her fruit' in Ezek 19:12.

Verse 16

Samaria shall become desolate — Asham, the verb of 'offended' in v.1, is here 'become desolate', so guilt and desolation share one word. The fall came when 'the king of Assyria took Samaria' (2 Kgs 17:6). 'Ripped up' is baqa, as of what Menahem did at Tiphsah (2 Kgs 15:16) and what Ammon is judged for in Amos 1:13.