The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 9

1n ,TPlrn 1hRl hia aonB 'l\'Ouln ait npon the itR <'on~trnd stnfo hy tl10 subRtRntlve.l idcn. thrnn<:' In 1h<' fnnrth g<:'nel'fttion, while Jero- of 1.lw suc-c-crding subordinated clnuse; thus: bnRm, ,Jehn'• greRt-gi-11,ndson, w11,a tho Inst "At 1.hc commcn<'ement of • Jehovn.h epake,' king nf thnt dYn11,stv hv whom God vouoh- ,Jehovah said to him." But whe.t is the eefrd help to isrRef his son and RU<'tsessor beginning here mentioned P It c1mnot merm Z<>chnriRh retaining posaeasion of the ldng- thnt Hosea WAS the first of the prophets by dnm only for the short spn('(' of six months. whom God made known hie will to Isrn.el, or The true CRlllte is rRther t-0 be aought in the the first of the minor prophets; for Jonnh, 1·egi<:'ides, nsnrpations, OO<'nsional anarchy, as is rightly inferred from 2 Kings xiv. 25, nnd g<>nera11y unse1Ued sf.Rte of the northern precede,\ him: Joel nlso i~ Ulllle.lly regarded kin.!!dorr-. inRRmuc,h 11,s such inst11,bility 11,nd e.s before him in point of time; neither cnn 1mec,rtainty furnished no Alire or satisfactory it denote his priority to ls11,io.h o.nd Amos, hasis for chronological cnlcul11,tion. Thus who also prophesied in the dnye of Uzzinh. we find th11,t, on the death of ,TcroboRm II., The pie.in mee.niug is thnt whioh becomes th<'re was Rn interregnum of enme dozen obvious when we adopt the right rendering year,.. durillg which, of course. " state of of Gesenius, e.s given nbove, thA.t is, the ntmrch~- prerniled. At length Zech11,riah beginning of the prophecies which Hoseo. ~ucceedecl to the throne; he had reigned was commissioned hv Jehovah to me.ke, only six months when he was murdered by known. The peculiarity of the expression, Shallum. Shallum's reign only la.eted & "in Hosea.," as the word literally means, month, when he WIU! put to death by Mena- deserves attention. Me.urer compares Numb. hem. During his reign often years occurred xii. 2, 6, e.nd 8, to prove tho.t the expression the invasion of Pol. Menahem'e son, signifies speo.king w rather the.n in or by; he P,•kRchiah, hRd only reigned two years also cites other passages to the same purpose, when he wns murdered by Pelre.h, in whose But while the verb" to S,Pe&k," followed by b•, reign Tigl1tth-pileeer invaded the land. and the verb constructed with ll, mo.y coin- Hoshea slew Peka.h. Next followed an in- cide in significe.tion e.t e. certo.in point, it does terval of &nnrchy lasting eight years. Then, not thence follow that they are everywhere ,.ftcr Hoshea's short reign of nine yee.rs, the and e.lwe.ys synonymous. Long ago Jeroine kingdom was destroyed. Thus it we.s only drew attention to the distinction which this in the southern kingdom that e. sufficiently difference of construction enggests. " It is firm foundation for chronologic-e.l reckoning one thing," says that Fe.t)ler, "for the Lord was available. while under these circum- tb sp<'&k in Hosea., another to spee.k to (ll) ste.nces Jerol.Joam'e reign we.s necesse.ry to Hosea.: when it is in Hose& he does not show the prophet's connection with Israel, speak to Hose& himself, but by Hosea to and also the.t the prediction of the fourth others ; but speaking to Hosea denotes com- ,·eree preceded the event foretold. The munication to himself." So \n the New general heading of the whole book is con- Testament (Heh. i. 1) we find· the corre~ tained in this verse ; e.nd Divine e.nthority sponding Greek expression, viz. l, a,bs l\a'A-1,- is thus claimed for the whole, u the prophet tTas 1111rpoqyf,Tais, which the Revised Version to whom the word of the Lord came is only rightly renders, "God he.ving . . . spoken Jehovah'e epokeeme.n. . . . in the prophets." The first verse is the Ver. 2.-The begimiing of the word of the general heading for the whole book; the Lord by (litere.lly, i-n) Hosea. These words first clause of the second verse is the special may be rendered at onoe more literally and heading of the first section of the book, more exactly, (I) "The beginning (of that which extends to the end of the third which) Jehovah spoke by Hosea." Thus chapter. And the Lord said to Rose&, Go, Ge,,enius tre.nslatee, understanding a81ter, take nnto thee a wife of whoredoms, and which is often omitted as e. pronollll in the children of whoredoma. Whether the trans- nominative or accuse.tive, indicating relation, e.ction here enjoined is to be understood o.s and e.s including the antecedent personal or a reality, or e. vision, or e.n e.llegory, he.e been demonstrative prono11n. When tile pronoun keenly debated. To enter fully into th~ thus supplied is in the genitive, the preced- discussion of this point would lead us too ing nonn is in the construct state, e.e here. far from our purporn; nor could it minister (2) Roeenmiiller, without necessity, takes to edification. Though high authorities the noun in the adverbial eense;thus: "In the have maintained it to be e. real occurrence, beginnrng Jehovah epe.ke by Hosea." He we do not see our we.y to concur with their aleo suggests the possibility of dibber being view. A cnnon of interpretation sanctioned a noun of the same mea.uing e.e dabar, but of by Augustine fol'bide the literal e.cc'eptation different formation; while in two manu- of this cowme.nd, for, according to the canon R<'ripts of De Bossi e.nd one of Kennicott referred to, if the language of Scripture the regular form of the construct et.ate of taken literally would involve something davar is expressed. (3) Keil takes the noun incongruous or morally improper, the figuru- us an accusative of time, and accounts for tive sense must be preferred. Again, W4' CR, I, 1-11,] THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 1