The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 101

owest." And, deaf to the.t fellow-serv11nt's and murderere; eo pa,ritsim has the sense ,oC, supplications, cast him into prison till he µi.urderers l\nd robbtirs.. It is better, there- ebould pay the debt. The intimate con- fore, to take tho verb here as a present nection of the knowledgc of God with the perfect connecting past and present, and to Yirtues in question is <'onfirmed by the Pro- translate it" breakthrough,"br" into," that is, phet ,Tcremi11h, "Did not thv father eat as burglars into houses. So B:imchi, though and drink. 11nd do judgment and justiee, Rud figi!ratively : '" They break thl'Ough the w11ll then it WAS w<>ll with him? He jud~ed the wlnch is the fence bf the Law, and muHiply cause of the poor and needy ; then it was transgrees\one." Similarly, De Wette 'has well with him : was not this to know me, "Gewaltthl\t iiber eie; i• and Manrilr like• ~nith the Lnrd?" wise: "Jure.re et mentiri, et uccidere et Yer. 2.-Having given a picture of Tsrael furari et adultere.ri I ,Viohntei' agunt et so.n- neg-atirnly, he next prcse11ts the positiY(I guines so.nguines altingunt.!' ThE!M,e.a_soretie s,de. The absence of tbe ,·irtnes speoifie!l 1 QCcentuation favoure (putting at~nac/1 o.t implies tbe presence of the opposite vices. naopt) this construction; while the .~text, i~ In the most vivid and impr,·ssive manner which speaks of bloodshed, quite i:ii. keep- the prophet, in~tead of enumerating pro- ing with 11cts of violence. ' .• . ·, RRicnll~ the v:ioos so prevalent ~t 'the time, ' Vers. 3-5.-Theso v~r~es' reiat.;: with cxpre,-se~ them more (lmphatically by •'a, much partioularity,' the s~ift'~r'i11gs coI1Be- spccics of cxclamation,using (l) infinitives ab- quent on sins, especiil.Ily s\\ch as are speci- solute inst.ea<l of finite verbs; thus: "Swe11r- fied in the preceding verses. The mourning ing. and l~ing, nnd murdering, and steal- of the land mentioned in ver. 3 may be ing. and committing adultery." They me.y, understood either figuratively or literally. however, be regarded as in the nomine.tive If in the former way, there are mo.ny Scrip- ns subjects to ::':.. Instead of either supply- ture parallels which.represent nature in full ing- 111;:-\ to allot.or closely connecting" allot" accord with human feelings; sympathizing with· the verb" to lie," which immediately with man, now in joy, again-fa sorrow; ·ror follows, it is .better to understand the two example : •• The little hills rejoice on every verbeseparnltily, as expressing two difterent side;" the valleys "shout for joy, they also species of sin; that is, swearing or cursing, sing;" on the other band, "The ,earth and lying. So the Septuagint renders them ruoumeth and fedeth away, the wbrld·-Ian- by the noUilll ~a. ,ral ,t,•v6as, equivalent to guisheth e.nd fe.deth away, the he.ught; •· cursing and lying;" as also the Ohaldee, people of the earth do languish." •But,if "they swear fe.lsely and lie." The com- the expression bo taken literally, it 'conveys mandments which the children of Israel a solemn fact, and one in perfect ho.rmony thus violated were the third, the ninth, the with the entire tone and character of the old sixth, the eighth, and the seventh. {2) economy, according to which moral evil The coustruction, adopted in the LXX., Vul- transmutes itself into. physioe.l. evil, and im- gate, and by Luther in his version, takes prel!Ses itself in dismal characters on: the the infinitives (noune.l expressious of habi- face of inanimate nature.. Th'.e Hebrew corn~ tual or continued actions} as nominatives mentators seem to undE>rstand the statement to the verb parateu ; thus : " Cursing, and literally ; thus Rashi : " The land shall be.: lying, and murder, e.nd theft, and adultery laid waste, and there shall be great mourn• abound (,c,x.,,,,,_. 0:1' •""•xvru.,) in tbe'Jand;" ing: " likewise Kimchi: "The land of Israel " Maledictum, et JDBndacium, et homici- &11all be laid waste and desolated." 'fhe dium, et furtum, et adulterium inundaver- latter has this further oomment: "After the llllt;" and Luther translates, ·•Gottesliistern, land of Israel shall have been laid waste, Luger, Morder, Stehlen, and Ehebrechenhat man and beast shall be ilnt off out of it. •But iiberhand genom.men." The common mode llllder the beasts of the field the prophet (3) of constructing the infinitives indepen- does not mean the wild beasts, bnt the.large dently as above in {l) or gerundively as in domestic animals which dwe!J with the sons the Authorized Version, and in either case of men, .likewise c111led n•n. It is also posa understanding an indefinite subject to Bible that even the beasts that roam et large parauu, is preferable on the whole ; thus : e!l:e included, for the wild beast dees hot "By swearing, etc., they break out." The come to inhabit.ed plo.ceA that are laid wute, , allusion to the water overflowing its banks unless they are partially inhabited."- He and spreading in all directiOl'.lll, implied in also adds, in reference to the fowls of ,heaven,, the Septuagint Version, is approved by " When he speaks of the fowls of heaven, it Jerom~ in h,s Commentary: "He (the pro• is .beeause most of the fowls do not dwell phet) did not say est, but, to demonstra.te in the wilderness, but in inhabited places, the abundance of crimes, introduced inun• where they find seeds and fruits o.nd blos- daverunt ( overflowed)." ,The common mean• soJDB of trees. Or the fowls of heaven al"e ing of parat. is to tear or break-break in mentioned by way of hyperbole to represent' upon, especially with violence, u robbel'II the matter in. ii.II totality; and; accordin~, on. 1v. 1-19.J THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 9'.)