Hosea 12:11

‘Is Gilead wicked?

They are altogether false.

In Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks,

Yes, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.'

His indictment of Israel continues. Is Gilead (representing the east of Jordan) wicked? The answer is ‘yes, they are altogether false'. In Hosea 6:8 Gilead is seen as tainted with blood. Furthermore in Gilgal (compare Hosea 4:15; Hosea 9:15), representing Israel west of Jordan, they sacrifice bullocks on a multiplicity of altars. Indeed their altars are as numerous as piles of stones in the furrows of the field. Each field would be divided up between owners of various strips, and each owner would pile up loose stones in small piles when clearing his land. Thus a field would be dotted with a multitude of small piles. In the same way Gilgal was dotted with a multitude of altars.

There is a double emphasis on assonance. Gilead and Gilgal, which themselves assonate, both contain consonants also found in galal (heaps). This was probably one reason, along with their association with great evil (Hosea 6:8; Hosea 9:15), why they were selected as representative of rebellious Israel.