10 11 12 13 14 And now I will disclose her vileness in the sight of her lovers ; And none shall deliver her out of mine hand. Her feast, her new-moon, and her sabbath, and And I will destroy her vine and her figtree; Of which she said, These are mine hire And I will make them a forest; And the beasts of the field shall eat them. And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, And decked herself with her † jewels, And went after her lovers, And forgat me; saith Jehovah. ear-rings, and her Notwithstanding, behold, I will allure her, And will lead her to the desert, Hebr. for a forest. ear-ring. † jewel, 12. her vine] "I cannot but think the words and are used here, by a synecdoche, for plantations of vines and fig-trees. Certainly it cannot be said of a single tree, that it is laid waste or made a forest." Horsley. mine hire] Israel attributed her fruitful seasons to her false gods. 13. Baalim] There were different idols worshipped under the name of Baal: as Baal-berith, Baal-zebub, Baal-peor. The -ear-rings] An ornament either for the ear or nose. latter was worn in the left nostril. See the figure of the Ganges in Dow's history of Indostan. v. i. p. lxxvii. 4to. -jewels] The original word is from Arab. ornavit monilibus. See Cast. lex. 14. Notwithstanding] See Noldius §. 6. and Pocock in loc. -allure her] Or persuade her. Though the word commonly signifies, to inveigle, to deceive; it may be used, by an easy metaphor, in a good sense. -to the desert] From the distant countries, to which she was led captive, I will safely conduct her home through the desert. 15 16 And will speak † kindly to her. And from thence will I give her her vineyards, And it shall come to pass in that day, Saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me, § MINE HUSBAND And thou shalt no more call me || MY BAAL, [or, Lord,] For I will take the names of Baalim out of her mouth; 17 Hebr. to her heart. § Ishi. Baali. * Or. Baals. 15. thence] Sc. From the desert. -valley of Achor] This most fertile valley lay to the north of Jericho, not far from Gilgal; and the restoration of it was an earnest of future blessings. Compare Isai. lxv. 9, 10. "The Vale of Achor, though a scene of trouble and distress, was a door of hope to the Israelites under Joshua; for there, immediately after the execution of Achan, God said to Joshua, C Fear not, neither be thou dismayed' (chap. viii. 1.); and promised to support him against Ai, her king and her people. And from this time Joshua drove on his conquests with uninterrupted success. In like manner the tribulations of the Jews, in their present dispersion, shall open to them the door of hope.---and there- i. e. in the wilderness, and in the vale of tribulation, under those circumstances of present difficulty mixed with cheering hope.” Horsley. -sing] Literally, answer in the song, sing alternately, See Præl. Hebr. xix. p. 236. “› Αποκριθήσεται. Theod.” Secker, 16. thou shalt call me] Two MSS. read pn. The versions read she shall call me, twice. -MY BAAL.] The very name, though capable of a good sense, as it signifies husband, or lord, should be avoided by them; because it was also the name of false gods. They should scrupulously avoid idolatry. And this was the fact immediately after their return from Babylon; and it has continued to this day. "Ishi, My Husband, is an appellation of Love; Baali, My Lord, of Subjection and Fear. God hath not given us the spirit of Fear, but of Power and of Love, and of a sound mind.' 2 Tim. i. 7. See Jer. xxiii. 27." See Jer. xxiii. 27." Horsley. And they shall no more be mentioned by their name. 18 And I will make for them a covenant, in that day, 19 20 With the beasts of the field, And with the fowls of the heavens, And with the creeping things of the ground. And I will make them to lie down in safety. Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in justice, and And in kindness, and in tender love: Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in † faithfulness; † Or, truth. 17. -be mentioned] "It is in vain to look for a purity of religious worship, answerable to this prophecy, among the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity. This part of the prophecy, with all the rest, will receive its accomplishment in the converted race in the latter days." Horsley. 18. a covenant] Sc. of security from the evils which, in the days of my vengeance, arose from these causes. Horsley understands this figuratively, of the final conversion of the most ignorant and vicious of the heathens to the true faith; the effect of which will be that they will live in peace and friendship with the reestablished nation of the Jews. --will I break] The Hebrews often use a verb which is applicable to some of the substantives placed after it, but not to all. See Mal. iii. 5. Mich. vi. 15. Zeph. i. 17. So Homer: Εδεση τε πιονα μήλα, Οίνον τ εξαιτον μελιηδέα. מלחמה cum שבת Conveniret melius » Confer Ps. xlvi. 10." Secker. "A noun 19. And in kindness] Not only allotting what is just and right; but bestowing what is kind and affectionate. substantive after the verb ws with prefixed, denotes the dowry, or that which the Man gives to obtain his spouse of her parents. Christ gave Christ gave for the espousal of the Church his bride, PT, his own justice; Down, his perfect obedience to the law; 70, exuberant kindness; ; tender love; MEN, faithfulness, steddy adherence to his part in the covenant between the Holy Three." Horsley. 20. in faithfulness] There shall subsist an inviolable fidelity. 21 And thou shalt know Jehovah. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear the heavens; And they shall hear the earth; 22 And the earth shall hear the corn, And the choice wine, and the oil; And they shall hear Jezreel. know] Experience the exuberant goodness of Jehovah. 21. I will hear the heavens] When they ask as it were, to send their rain on the earth. -the earth] When it supplicates, as it were, for rain. 22. the corn &c.] When they wish as it were, to supply the wants of man. -Jezreel] All nature shall hear, and minister to, the people whom God shall plant in their own land. There is an implication in this passage that the Israelites had lately experienced unfruitful seasons; as Amos had foretold, c. i. 2. iv. 7-9. vi. 12. The metaphors in this and the preceding verse are strong; but not without parallel ones in the best writers of antiquity. Euripides has And Έρα δύο σεμνός κράνος, πληρωμενο Tibullus thus addresses the Nile: Quoted by Grot, in loc. Te propter nullos tellus tua postulat imbres; And Vergil has, El. i. vii. Quoted by Lively in loc. Neque audit currus habenas. Georg. i. "And it shall be in that day, I will perform my part, saith Jehovah-I will perform my part upon the Heavens; and they shall perform their part upon the earth; and the earth shall perform her part upon the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall perform their part for the JEZRAEL [the seed of God].” Horsley's version. 6 Note. "The primary and most proper meaning of the verb my I take to be to re-act:' But more largely it predicates reciprocal, correspondent, or cor-relate action. Thus it signifies the proper action of one thing upon another, according to established physical sympathies in the material world; or, among 23 1 And I will plant her unto me in the land; OBTAINED-MERCY; And I will say to them who were || NOT-MY-PEOple, And they shall say, Thou art MY GOD. CHAP. III. MOREOVER Jehovah said unto me: Beloved by another, and an adulteress, * Ammi. Hebr. Or. sow. § Lo-rubamah. || Lo-Ammi. the. intelligent beings, according to the rule of moral order. And in this passage it is applied, first to the action of God himself upon the powers of Nature; then, to the subordinate action of the parts of Nature upon one another; and last of all, to the subservience of the elements and their physical productions, to the benefit of man, and ultimately by the direction of God's over ruling providence, to the exclusive benefit of the godly." Horsley. 23. will plant] The original word alludes to, and explains, the word Jezreel as used c. i. 11, and here in the foregoing verse. "The myriads of the natural Israel, converted by the preaching of the Apostles, were the first seed of the Universal Church. And there is reason to believe, that the restoration of the converted Jews will be the occasion and means of a prodigious influx of new converts from the Gentiles in the latter ages, Rom. xi. 12 and 15. Thus the Jezräel of the Natural Israel from the first have been, and to the last will prove, a sced sown of God for himself in the earth." Horsley. CHAP. III. 1. Go again] It may well be supposed that this injunction was given after the death of Hosea's former wife. -a woman] "A wife." Dr. Wheeler. Beloved by another] A lover of evil. ó. Ar. Syr. See. Gen. xxv. 28. Or, one that loveth another. Or, according to the present pointing; and sixteen or seventeen MSS. which read and Vulg. beloved by another. The attachment of the Israelites to their idols is referred to. -adulteress] In the spiritual sense of forsaking God. ; |