Hosea 10 - Introduction
_ISRAEL IS REPROVED AND THREATENED FOR THEIR IMPIETY AND IDOLATRY._ _Before Christ 740._... [ Continue Reading ]
_ISRAEL IS REPROVED AND THREATENED FOR THEIR IMPIETY AND IDOLATRY._ _Before Christ 740._... [ Continue Reading ]
ISRAEL IS AN EMPTY VINE— Houbigant, after most of the ancients, reads, _Israel was a fertile vine, which abounded in fruit;_ but, fruitful as it was, it abused the blessings of God to the purposes of sin and idolatry.... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW SHALL THEY BE FOUND FAULTY— _Now shall they undergo their punishment._... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR NOW, &C.— _Surely presently shall they say, We have no king, because we feared not the_ JEHOVAH; _and a king, what could he do for us?_ "After Israel shall be brought into captivity, and shall have no king over their nation, they shall then acknowledge that this misfortune has happened to them t... [ Continue Reading ]
THUS JUDGMENT SPRINGETH, &C.— "Injustice, being publicly countenanced, encourages the same practices in the dealings of private men." Thus injustice increaseth everywhere, as bitter and poisonous weeds spring up in a field where there is no care taken to destroy them. The word ראשׁ _rosh,_ is in som... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL FEAR BECAUSE, &C.— _Have feared, because of the famous calf,_ &c. _For the people mourn over it: its priests are distressed, because its glory is departed from it._ Houbigant; who, for _king Jareb,_ reads, _the king the avenger,_ as in chap. Hosea 5:13 and instead of _Ephraim shall receive sha... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HIGH PLACES— _The altars,_ &c. The latter part of the verse is expressive of the confusion and despair to which the Israelites should be reduced by the destruction of their country. Our Saviour has made use of the same words to denote the extremity of the Jews in their last siege; and St. John i... [ Continue Reading ]
O ISRAEL, THOU HAST SINNED— _Even from the days of Gibeah, the sin of Israel flourisheth; from which if they had then abstained, they would not have provoked war in Gibeah, because of wicked men._ Houbigant. The meaning, according to this translation, seems to be, that the Israelites, when they reve... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS IN MY DESIRE, &C.— Houbigant renders it, _I will come and chastise them: the nations shall assemble against them, when I shall chastise them for their two transgressions;_ meaning the two calves of _Dan_ and _Beth-el._ _IN THEIR TWO FURROWS_— Those who adopt these words in their literal sense... [ Continue Reading ]
AND EPHRAIM, &C.— Houbigant renders the verse thus, _Ephraim is a heifer, accustomed to tread out the corn, which she loves; but I will submit her neck to the yoke: I will tame Ephraim. Judah shall plough for himself; Jacob for himself shall break up the ground;_ as much as to say, "Ephraim loves tr... [ Continue Reading ]
SOW TO YOURSELVES IN RIGHTEOUSNESS— "Employ yourselves in works of justice and charity; and then, through the mercy of JEHOVAH, you may still hope to reap the fruits of your repentance and reformation." Instead of _Reap in mercy,_ Houbigant reads, _Reap in benevolence;_ leaving handfuls for the poor... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE THOU DID TRUST, &C.— Houbigant begins the 14th verse with this clause: _Because thou didst trust,_ &c. _Therefore,_ &c. And after Grotius, he reads, _As Shalman was spoiled by the hand of Jerub-baal_ [or _Gideon_] _in the day of battle; the mother shall be dashed in pieces with her children.... [ Continue Reading ]
SO SHALL BETH-EL DO UNTO YOU— "This is the fruit of your worshipping the golden calves at Beth-el. As it has happened to the city above mentioned, so shall it happen to you, because of your iniquities." Houbigant reads the verse, after the LXX, _So shall it be done unto you, O house of Israel, for t... [ Continue Reading ]