Chapter Four

1–4. Corruption of Israel. 5–10. The coming judgment over the people. 11–14. The nation’s sexual depravity (unchastity) and spiritual (serving idols). 15–19. Warning to Judah and the impending destruction of Israel.

Hosea 4:1. Hear the word of the Lord, sons of Israel, for the Lord has a judgment against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth and no mercy and no knowledge of God in the land. The prophet’s address is directed to the “children of Israel,” or to the inhabitants of the ten-tribe kingdom. The prophet announces the Lord’s complaint against the inhabitants of this kingdom (“this land”). The complaint arises from the fact that in the land there is “no truth” (emeth), meaning sincerity in words and actions, “nor mercy” (chesed) toward the poor and suffering, “nor knowledge of God” (knowledge of God, Slavonic “knowledge of the Divine”). The prophet Hosea understands the knowledge of God not merely in the sense of theoretical knowledge of God’s essence and attributes (since such knowledge existed), but in the sense of the apprehension of God and inner union with Him in love. The absence of such knowledge of God is the cause of the absence of truth and mercy and the spread of those transgressions which the prophet exposes further.

Hosea 4:2. Swearing and deceit and murder and theft and adultery have spread widely, and blood follows upon blood. Cf. Hos 4:18. “Swearing,” meaning false swearing.

Hosea 4:3. Therefore this land shall mourn, and all who dwell in it shall languish, with the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, even the fish of the sea shall perish. The prophet proclaims the punishment coming upon the people. This punishment will affect not only men but also animals. “Shall languish,” meaning shall perish. The punishment will consist in the devastation of the land of Israel, resulting in the death of both people and animals. The cause of this devastation will apparently be an invasion by enemies, and specifically by the Assyrians, who later destroyed the Northern Kingdom. The words of the Slavonic text: “and with reptiles of the earth” have no correspondence either in the original or in ancient translations. It is probable this is an addition that originally arose in the margin (cf. Hos 2:18) and was later incorporated into the text.

Hosea 4:4. But let no one contend, and let no one rebuke another; and your people are like those who contend with a priest. The meaning of this verse is unclear and is interpreted variously. Apparently in verse 4 the prophet forbids Israel to dispute the judgment pronounced above. Since the Israelites were inclined to justify themselves and consider the punishment undeserved, the prophet warns them, saying: “let no one contend.” “For your people are like those contending with the priest.” “Your people” — the ten-tribe people of Israel, conceived as a person. According to the Law of Moses, the priest was the judge of the people, who rendered final decisions. One who did not submit to the decision of the priest’s court was, according to the law, subject to death (Deut 17:8-13). And Israel, rising up against God’s determinations, becomes like those audacious people who dispute the priest’s decisions, and deserves the punishment appointed them. The Slavonic text’s expression “as it were a spurned priest,” which does not give a clear meaning, represents a translation from the Greek. In the Greek text, instead of the present ώς αντιλεγόμενος ιερεύς, it was probably previously ώς´ αντ. ιερεύσι, “with priests.”

Hosea 4:5. And you shall fall by day, and the prophet shall fall with you by night, and I will destroy your mother. Destruction will come both day and night. The people (“you shall fall”) will fall, and the prophets will fall with the people — of course, the false prophets who led the people into sin. “I will destroy your mother” — a figurative expression by which the prophet foretells the destruction of the kingdom and people; mother stands for the people or kingdom. Instead of the last expression the Slavonic text reads: “in the night I have made like” (Hebrew vedamithi — ωμοΐωσα) “your mother.” This reading, which does not give a clear meaning, arose because the LXX understood the Hebrew verb damah in the sense of “to be like,” whereas the verb has another meaning more suited to the context of this passage, namely — to cease, to stop, to end, to destroy.

Hosea 4:6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from serving as priest to Me; and since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. According to verse 6, the people will be destroyed because of lack of knowledge of God and because of their unwillingness to gain this knowledge from the source of the knowledge of God — the law, due to their rejection of the law. Instead of the Russian “destroyed shall be My people,” the Slavonic reads: “My people have become like.” This reading arose because the LXX mistakenly produced the Hebrew verb nidmu as in verse 5, from the root damah in the sense “to become like.”

Hosea 4:7. As much as they multiplied, so much do they sin against Me; I will turn their glory into shame. The more the Israelite people increased in number, the more their sins grew quantitatively. For this reason their glory, which rested on their great numbers, will be taken from them and turned into shame.

Hosea 4:8. They feed on the sin of My people and are greedy for their iniquity. Hosea 4:9. And what happens to the people will happen to the priest; and I will punish him according to his ways and repay him for his deeds. The prophet’s speech in verse 8 is addressed to the priests: “They feed on the sin of My people,” meaning they feed on the sacrifices for sins of the people (Lev 6:26). Therefore they desire an increase in the number of sins, because with this the number of sin offerings increases. But since the priests do not differ in their life from the people, the same punishment that falls on the people will fall on them.

Hosea 4:10. They shall eat but not be satisfied; they shall play the harlot but not increase, because they have abandoned service to the Lord. Because of their abandonment of service to Jehovah, the priests will not satisfy their greed, and the people will not increase. Instead of the last expression in the Slavonic text it reads: “and shall not be healed.” It is probable that the LXX, instead of the Hebrew paraz (to multiply), read taraz (to heal, -self).

Hosea 4:11. Harlotry, wine, and strong drink have taken away understanding. Hosea 4:12. My people consult their wooden idols, and their staff gives them oracles, for a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, and they have played the harlot, abandoning their God. Devoting themselves to sensual pleasures, the people at the same time engaged in senseless divination practices. “Consult their wooden idols,” meaning they inquire of idols made of wood, or specifically teraphim, which were credited with the power to foretell the future (Hos 3:4; Zech 10:2). The Slavonic reading: “by marks they inquired” arose from an erroneous Greek reading. In the words “their walking stick gives them answers” the prophet has in mind that method of divination about the future called rhabdomancy or divining by rod. Divination by means of a rod was widespread among many ancient peoples and took various forms. Pagan divinations were connected with the service of pagan gods, which the prophet in verse 12 calls harlotry.

Hosea 4:13. On the mountaintops they sacrifice and on the hills they burn incense under oak and poplar and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant; therefore your daughters play the harlot and your brides commit adultery. Mountaintops, hills, and the shade of large trees were favorite places for pagan idolatry (cf. Num 33:52; Deut 12:12; Isa 15:2 and others). The Slavonic: “and under a poplar” corresponds to the Hebrew libneh, Greek λεύκη (LXX) white poplar, πεύκη (Symmachus, Theodotion), pine. In the Northern Kingdom the worship of Astarte, which was connected with unchastity, predominated, and to which the “daughters” and “daughters-in-law” surrendered themselves.

Hosea 4:14. I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot, nor your brides when they commit adultery, for the men themselves consort with harlots and sacrifice with cult prostitutes, and a foolish people comes to ruin. According to the prophet, the Lord will leave the daughters and daughters-in-law unpunished (Slavonic: “I will not visit”), because the fathers, on whom rests the primary responsibility for their children, are even worse than they in regard to unchastity. Obligated by the law to appear at the sanctuary with their wives for sacrifice, they brought harlots with them. The ending of the verse in the Slavonic text, differing from the Russian reading, says: “and people with understanding consort with harlots” which is an accurate translation from the Greek (ό λάως συνιών συνεπλέκετο μετά πόρνης). The reading ό συνιών (understanding one) arose from an error in Greek from the original ού συνιών as in the commentary of Ephrem the Syrian and in several manuscripts with Noah. The reading σονεπλ. μετά πόρνης arose, as scholars suppose, from an incorrect understanding of the Hebrew verb labat (to fall, to go to ruin), taken by the LXX in the sense of to be joined, to copulate, and from the transfer from the next verse of the word im soneh (“if you play the harlot”), understood in the sense of im sonah, with a harlot.

Hosea 4:15. If you play the harlot, Israel, do not let Judah become guilty; and do not go to Gilgal, and do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear, “As the Lord lives! The prophet exhorts Judah — (the Judean kingdom) not to take part in idolatry and the unchastity of the Israelites. “Do not go to Gilgal.” Gilgals (wheel, circle) were originally called certain monuments that consisted of a group of large stones arranged in a circle. Later the word became the name of localities that were marked by such monuments; there were several such localities (Josh 4:19; Deut 11:30). According to the opinion of most commentators, in the prophet Hosea in the verse under consideration a Gilgal is meant that was located between the Jordan and Jericho at the site of the hill Jilgileh. This Gilgal was full of sacred memories: here Joshua placed a monument to the miraculous crossing of the Jordan (Josh 4:1), the tabernacle stood temporarily (Josh 6:1), the people were circumcised and the first Passover was celebrated in the land of Canaan (Josh 5:3); Samuel held court here (1 Sam 7:16). It is natural that this Gilgal became a place of worship of the calves. “Do not ascend to Bethel,” Slavonic “to the house of the gods.” By Bethel the prophet means Bethel (cf. Amos 4:4), another place of calf worship. This city, glorious for its historical memories (Gen 12:8; Judg 20:18; 1 Sam 7:16; 2 Sam 2:3) once serving, as its name shows, as the house of God, from the time Jeroboam I established the worship of calves there, became a house of idols beith aven. It is with this latter name, which expresses the true character of the city, that the prophet replaces its main historical name. The Hebrew beith aven is translated by the LXX as the house of the gods, Slavonic: “the house of the gods.” The LXX translation arose from assumptions different from those of the Masorites regarding the vowels under the word aven, which the LXX read as if it were ōn. It is possible that the LXX also wished to point out an analogy between Bethel and Egyptian On or Heliopolis, where, as in Bethel, a sacred bull (Mnevis) was worshipped. — Warning the inhabitants of the Judean kingdom not to participate in the worship of calves, the prophet also forbids them the oath in the name of Jehovah, for with their inclination toward idolatry, such an oath would be nothing but hypocrisy and impiety.

Hosea 4:16. For as a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn; will the Lord now pasture them like lambs in a broad pasture? Like a heifer not accustomed to the yoke, or according to the Slavonic text pricked by a gadfly (“goaded by a goad”), Israel stubbornly resists the yoke of the law. Therefore the Lord will allow Israel to go free, will leave it in the position of a lamb in a broad pasture (Slavonic: “in an open space”), that is, will leave it defenseless, will provide it, like a lamb, as prey for beasts of prey — the pagan nations. The interrogative form of the last sentence should, in accordance with the testimony of ancient translations and commentators, be turned into an affirmative statement.

Hosea 4:17. Ephraim is devoted to idols; leave him alone! The name Ephraim in verse 17 designates the entire Northern Kingdom, of which the tribe of Ephraim was the most powerful. The words “let him alone” are addressed by the prophet, it is to be thought, to Judah. The Slavonic text’s reading: “prepare yourself obstacles” (instead of the Russian “let him alone”) arose, according to scholars’ supposition, from an erroneous reading of the Hebrew hannach-lo (“let him alone”).

Hosea 4:18. Their drinking is vile; completely have they given themselves to harlotry; their rulers love shame. The speech continues about the corruption of Israel. Instead of the Hebrew text reading “debauchery” (properly “has reached extremity”) “their drinking” the Slavonic text has: “they chose the Canaanites.” It is thought that instead of the Hebrew savcam (sove — wine, drunkenness) the LXX read sevaim, Sabeans, whom they identified with Canaanites; the word “chose” (ηρέτισε) arose from chavar (“joined”) of the preceding verse through the transfer of the word and rearrangement of letters (vachar, to choose). “Their princes”: from the Hebrew literally — “their shields,” meaning those of Ephraim — a figurative expression for the rulers of the land. Instead of maginnejcha (its shields) the LXX probably read migconam, εκ φρυάγματος αυτής, from its pride. Hence in the Slavonic: “loved shame (idolatry) from their fear” (φρύαγμα, neighing, audacity, pride).

Hosea 4:19. The wind shall wrap them in its wings, and they shall be ashamed of their sacrifices. “The wind will wrap them in its wings.” Under the image of the east wind (cf. Hos 12:1) the prophet represents the enemies who will invade the country like a destructive wind, and lead the people into captivity. Then the people’s hope in their idol sacrifices will prove futile and will only bring shame.