The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 272

EXPOSITION. OHAPTER IX. Ver. 3.-They 6&11 not dwell in the Lord'a land; but Ephraim shall retnrn to Vere. 1-0 contain e. we.ming age.inst Egypt, and they ahall eat unolean thin"• in security CLrieing from temporary prosperity. A1syria. The Lord's land was C.:a~am~ Ver. 1.-Rejoioe not, 0 Israel, for joy, BI which Jehovah chose to dwell there bv other paople. 'fhe occe.eion on which the visi_ble symbol of the Shechinah-g!ory, and pl'ophct penned this. section WILB some idole.- which he gave to Israel as his people. Is- trous merry-mCLking in connection with rael expected to have it for e. permanent h1trvest, e.nd not e.ny change of political place of abode, but that hope wits frustrated sittmtion. (1) The literal rendering of the by their sin. The remaining clauses of the first clause is, rejoice not 11,n/o ezultation, or verse ~ay be understood either (l) that ezceedingly, as the same expression is tre.ns- Ephraim would return to Egypt t.o obtain lated in Job iii. 22; it is thus clime.ctic. (2) auxiliaries, but to no purpose,-for they The old versions take el-gil as imperative, and would be ca.r:ried away captive and be com- read ',tq thus: µ.11Si ib,pp,dvtivl· 1equivalent pelled to eat unclean things in the land ot to·" nor make merty;" and the Vulge.te he.a Assyria; or (2) the prophet three.tens that noli ezultare; b'llfa! is conl!tructed with the some of them would go as exiles int.o Egypt, fufure; not with1l1'1e impewtive. Age.in, and others of them into Assyria. This some read·. b• inatiad of le•, and so render, latter explanation is much t.o be prnferred ; "among the peopfell':' the words 'being e.d- while with regard to Egypt the threatening dres~ed, not to Israel in. exile, 1;,ut still resi- thus understood would re-echo an older pro. dent 'in·their ownle.nd:·' For thou hast gone phecy in Deut. xxviii 68, " The Lord shall a-who1ing from· thy God, thou· hast loved e. bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by 1·ew:e.rd npon every' corn-ftoor. (1) Accord- the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou ing to this, which is'the common·rendering, slmlt see it no more age.in : and there ye the cle.use with ki assigns a ree.son for their shall be sold nnto your enemies for bondmen foregoing such joy. But (2) Ewald and and bondwomen, and no man shall buy others translate by "that or for that 1bou you." In Assyria also they wonld be he.et committed whoredom," understanding obliged to eat things ceremonially unclean, this ole.use to expre!is the object of their joy. e.s it would be impossible to conform to the We prefer the former, for their faithlessness requirements of the Law, according to which and foul idolatry were sufficient reasons to the ea.ting of certain animals was prohibited. prevent Israel indulging in the joy of har- There is yet (3) another interpretation, vest. The blessings of the harvest were which takes Assyria to be the place of exile, regarded by thein -as rewards for the wor- while Egypt figuratively represent3 the ship of their idol-gods, in other words, as condition of that exile, namely, a. state of gifts from Bae.lim and • Ashte.roth or other hard bondage and sore oppression, such o.s idols, and thus as ethnan, a harlot's hire: Israel endured in Egypt in the days of yore. not as tokens e.nd· pledges of the favour of Vera. 4, 5.-They shall not o:ffer wine Jehovah. • offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be Vet. 2.-The ftoor and the wine-press shall pleasing nnto hlm: their aaoriftces shall be not feed them, e.nd the new wine shall fail unto them as the bread of mourners ; all in her. Thus Israel was not to enjoy the that eat thereof shall be polluted. H,wiug blessings of the harvest ; the corn and oil predicted their inability to observe thu and new wine, or corn and wine, would not ritual distinctions between clean and un- prove e.s e.bum!CLnt as · they expected or clean, whieh tLte L:i.w prescribed, whether plenty would be succeeded by scarcity; or, from the tyranny of their oppressors or from rather, the people woul,l be prevented scCLrcity, or from the absenco of sanctifica- onjoying the abundant produce of their land tion by the presentution of the firstfrnits, in consequence of being car:riecl awCLy cap- the prophet proceeds to predict their ces- tive to Assyria, as seems implied in the sation altogether. Such is the prophet's following· verse. The ftoor nn,l press- picture of their miserable position in As- whether wine-press. or rather oil-press, u syria. It is aptly remarked by Grotiua that the mention of new wine follows-are put "they foiled to pour out libations to thti for their contents by e. common figure of Lord when they coulcl; now the time shall speeoh. The expression, " foil in her " is come when they may wish to make such literally," lie to her," and has many p~ral- libations, but cannot." Acconliug to tho lets; as, "The labour of the olive shall Mnssoretio punctuation and the co=on foil [morgin, 'lie'],'' and Horace's "fund us rendering, (1) w!:iich is thCLt of the Authorized menclCLx," equivalent to'' a farm that belies Version, the people theU1Selves a.re the sub- his hopes." ject of the second verb. 'fhey were neither 2;2 'l'HE BOOK OF HOSEA. [OH, IX, 1-17,