XIII. (1) There is a difference of opinion as to the construction and rendering of this verse. We adopt the interpretation, _When Ephraim uttered terror, he rebelled in Israel; then he committed sin through Baal, and died._ This points to the revolt of the Ten Tribes, and the consequent abandonment... [ Continue Reading ]
Ewald, following the hint of the LXX. (who had a slightly different text), renders “according to their pattern of idols.” (Comp. the language of satire in Psalms 115; Isaiah 44:10.) MEN THAT SACRIFICE. — More accurately, _sacrificers from among men._ Others would render “sacrificers of men.” But th... [ Continue Reading ]
EARLY DEW... — Better, dew _that early passeth away, like chaff that flies in a whirlwind from the threshing-floor, and like smoke from the window_ (_i.e.,_ the lattice beneath the roof through which it vanished).... [ Continue Reading ]
The LXX. have an addition which was not found by Jerome in any Hebrew copy of his day, and was pronounced by him to be spurious: “I am the Lord thy God, that establisheth the heavens and createth the earth, whose hands have fashioned all the host of heaven; but I did not show them to thee that thou... [ Continue Reading ]
ACCORDING TO THEIR PASTURE. — Rather, _As they pastured_. (Comp. the language of Deuteronomy 8:7; Deuteronomy 31:20; Deuteronomy 32:15.) The gifts of Divine love concealing the giver.... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL BE... — More correctly, _have become_... _as a panther in the way do I lie in wait._ The idea of this and the following verses is that of a Divine judgment suspended over Israel, destined soon to fall with overwhelming ruin (721 B.C.). The English version follows the interpretation of the Tar... [ Continue Reading ]
The same imagery is continued to describe the destructive wrath of the Lord. “The caul of the heart” means here the covering of the heart, not the pericardium, but the breast in which the claws of the beast are fastened.... [ Continue Reading ]
IN ME... HELP. — The close of this verse is rhetorically abrupt, which is altogether missed in the English version. Render, _but against Me thy help._ We must supply “Thou hast rebelled,” the construction being the same as in Hosea 13:16. “Thy captivity, O Israel, is from thee; thy redemption is fro... [ Continue Reading ]
The rendering should be,_ Where, pray, is thy king, that he may save thee?_ &c. The original demand for a king who should be a visible token to Israel of protection against their surrounding foes was adverse to the true spirit of the kingdom of God upon earth, and, though granted, proved to the unit... [ Continue Reading ]
GAVE... TOOK. — The past tenses should be present: “I give...” “take away.” The whole succession of Israelite kings, who generation after generation had been taken away, some by violent death, would close with Hoshea, who was to disappear as “a fragment on a stormy sea” (Hosea 10:7).... [ Continue Reading ]
BOUND UP... HID. — The binding up and hiding away of Ephraim’s sin as in a secret place, for ultimate disclosure, prepares us for the terrible words that follow.... [ Continue Reading ]
TRAVAILING WOMAN. — Ephraim is first addressed as a travailing woman; but the imagery passes to the condition of the unborn child, which tarries just where it should issue into the light of the world. Lack of seasonable repentance increases the danger at this critical stage of Israel’s destiny. The... [ Continue Reading ]
O DEATH... O GRAVE. — The rendering should be, _Where is thy plague, O death? Where is thy sting, O Sheol?_ as the LXX. have it, and as it is quoted in 1 Corinthians 15:55. The rendering of the English version is, however, supported by the Targum, Symmachus, Jerome, and many modern expositors. But t... [ Continue Reading ]
FRUITFUL. — Observe the play on Ephraim’s name. WIND OF THE LORD stands in apposition to _east wind._ Render _a wind of the Lord rising from the wilderness._ The armies of Assyria are referred to. BECOME DESOLATE. — Or rather, _suffer punishment._ Thus rolls the thunder of Divine judgment in one l... [ Continue Reading ]