The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 242

idolBLroue alliances. The expreslJion, "going and from mn equivalent to nJr;i~ F:), tn up," 1111 udee to going t~ the interior of the hire or bargain, makes little difference in country, or to the capital of the monarch the general senee of the clause. And they Assyria now owned as sovereign, or to a shall sorrow a little for the burden of the pl11ce of refuge. The hiring of lovers, or king of princes. Thie fixes with more defi- lover, by Ephraim stigmatizes their shameful niteness the meaning of the foregoing conduct as that of a shameless he.riot. who, member of the verse. According to (1) instead of receiving, bestows presents on this rendering of 1Sr,• (Qeri) Hiph. from ',i;i, lovers, or ne the reward of endearments. "a little" would require to be taken ironi- Ver. 10.-Yee., though they ha.ve hired cally; it is better, therefore, to render it among the ne.tioDB, now will I gather them. " in a little time." The burden is not that Instead of "have hired," "sue" would of taxation or even deportation, but ot" make the sense more obvious. But who oppression in exile. The oppressor is the are they of whom it is here said, "I will monarch of Assyria., who asks boastingly, gather them "? (1) The nations, among "Are not my princes altogether kings ? " whom Ephraim he.s been suing for endea.r- Another (2) translation is, "They will begin ments from paramours, shall be gathered to diminish on account of the burden of the together to effect the hurt or ruin of king of princes.'' According to this the Ephraim; while for this explanation Ezek. xvi. 37, is cited e.s parallel : "Behold, verb 1Sn•1 is future of Hiph. S;;;-, from SSrl, therefore, I will gather e.11 thy lovers, with to be~;-and c~i;, is either an i~finitive for whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all !0!70, or rather a verbal acljecti ve; and the them that thou he.et loved, with all them se~~e is that they begin to be or become that thou hast hated; I will even gather fewer in consequence of the Assyrian's them round about against thee, and will oppression. But (3) taking the verb from discover thy nakedness unto them, that the so.me root S~n cognate with Greek xci- they may see all thy nakedness." But (2) >,.ri,,,, loose, set free, Gesenius translates, others maintain that the pe1·sons gathered "And they (the hostile nations) shall pre- are the Ephre.imites whom the Lord will sently force them from the burden ( i.e. the "ather, that is to say, (a) will bring them all unpleasant dominion) of the king.'' The together among the nations, leading them Septuagint (4) read n~9r;i instead of Nf:!?z;l. thither; and to this exposition eh. ix. 6 is and a copula. between, i.e. "and princes;" and thought to furnish a parallel, at least as far render, Keil ,co,rdo-oucr, ,...,,,p~v TOU xpi«v /3a.t11>-.ea. as the meaning of the verb "to gather" is Kal ltpxovTras, equivalent to "And they shall concerned : "Egypt shall gather them up, cease a little to anoint a king and princes." Memphis shall bury them." (b) Or the Our ohoice must lie between (1) and (2) in Ephraimites shall be gathered together to interpreting this difficult clause; there is a be led away in chains and dispersed among modification of (1) worth mentioning; it is: the nations; ( c) or shall be gathered for "They shall in a little while sorrow for the death and to perish by sword and famine; or burden which they pay (i.e. the tribute ( d) to be gathered together unto Samaria and which they pay) kings and princes," viz. oilher fortified cities, in order to be taken to- all of them, the two concluding words being gether and carried by their enemies nway into thus in apposition to tile subject of the captivity. (3) Re.shi understands the gather- verb. On the whole, we prefer the rendering ing together of Israel, but in the sense of a of the clause in the Authorized Version, as promise : " 'fhough they have sued for both grammatical and supplying a sense endearments among the nations, I will consistent with the context. The prophet gather them out of the nations among foretells that Israel would ere long feel which they have been dispersed, as the painfully the sorrowful consequences of same verb, y:ip, is used in Is:i.. !iv. and Jer. their goinoo to Assyria aud suing there for xxxi. 10, viz. 'I will not delay their de- help. Oppressed by a yearly tribute to the liverance.'" Thie exposition is not in Assyrian king, they would smart under the harmony with the context, from which we yoke, and long to be free. expeot a threat of punishment mther than Vers.11, 12.-These tw~ verses are olos~ly n promise of reward. Both Kimchi and oonneoted with the precedrng verse a.nd with Aben Ezra favour exposition (1): "What each other. Ver. 11 not only accounts for, benefit is it to them, asks the prophet, that but justifies, the thre11t of puuish!11ent. ~- they sue among the nations? For soon I nounccd in ver. 10 by reference to Ephraim s will gather the nations 11go.inst them to sin • and var. 12 shows the inexcusableness 0 carry them into oaptivity.'' Thus Kim- of Ephraim in thus sinning. :Because d1i and somewhat simihuly Aben Ezra. Ephraim hath me.de many altars to sin, Whether wo tuke the verb !IS pointed with altars shall be unto him to sin. Instead of daghosh in the tav, and so from ]nJ, to give, the oue BO.nctuary with its a.Har in the place that is, gifts to lovers, or without dnghesh, which tbe Lold their God would choose out HOSEA, R  THE BOOK O'r 'ROS'EA'. [cft! Vli:J:,'l....._U,