The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 273

Rhle to offer drink offerings, a part for the destruction : Emt ■ha.11 gather them up, wholr of the meat offe1ings and unbloody ltemphill ■hall bury them. 'fhoir futuro oblations; nor, if they did, could they hope exile was seen in prophotio vision ; nnd in for accept,moo for them 11w1ty from the sanc- consequence and b0011uee of its corto.inty ho t111try and its central altl\r. (2) Hitzig speaks of it ~ l)aving already taken place. supplies 71i~keyhens, their drink offerings, The destruotion 1s the desolation nnd wast- from the foregoing clause, as subject to the ing of their native land, because of ,vhioh, "l"Nb of the following one, aud the verb is ex- or a.way from whioh and leaving it behind, plained by some in the sense of "mire." If they are gone. The land of thoir banish- (3) we neglect the segholta, and make zibh- ment was the land of their bondage. There, chehem the subject, the meaning is clearer, far from the fa.ud of thoir birth, they were and !he contrast between the unbloody and doomed to die o.nd to be gathered together bloody offerings more obvious; thus: "They for a common burial. Memphis was the will not pour out lil.Jatione of wine to ancient capital of Lower Egypt; its situa- Jehovah, nor mll their B11Crifices [equiva- tion was on the western bank of the Nile, lent to • bloody oblations'] please him," e.nd eonth of Old Cairo. There its ruins are that is to say, not ench as were Rctually still seen, with extensive hUJ'ial-grounds, offered, but such as they might feel dis- while amid those ruins ill the village of posed to offer. The same noun may be re- 111:itrahenni. Kimchi identifies Moph with peated in next clause; thus, their sacrifices, N oph. The pleasant ple.ces for their silver, or rather slauc-btered meats, are unto him nettles shall poeseBS them : thorns shall be ns bread of mourners, or, what is better, :in their te.bernaoles. The literal render:ing their food (supplied from k< lechem) shall of the first clause is, (1) their cherished be unto them like bread of mourner,. delight of silver. By this some understand Mourners' bread is that eaten at II funeral (a) silver idols; (b) others, valuables in feast, or meal by persons monrning for the silver; (o) the Jewish commentators, the dead, and which was lega.lly unclean, since houses of the precious treasUJ'es of their 11 corpse defiled the holl8e in which it was silver-so Rashi; "Their precious buildings and o.11 who entered it for seven days, e.s we where their silver treasures were "-so read in Numb. xiL 14, "This is the law, Kimchi; (d) Jerome understands their when a mo.n dieth in a tent: all that come mansions e.nd all the ornaments of their into the tent, e.nd e.11 the.t is in the tent, mansions purchased by silver; Keil also 11hall be unclean seven de.ye." Of course, has, "houses ornamented and filled with the all who partook of the food would be pol- precious metals." Thie explanation is pretty luted; eo with that of Israel in exile, being generally accepted, and appears to us to unsancti:fied by 1the offering of fustf:ruite. deserve the preference. Their former J'or their bree.d for their aoul shall not oome homes, so pleasant e.nd so richly decorated, :into the home of the Lord. "Their bread vrere so utterly desolate e.nd deserted that for their soul," that ill, for e.ppee.sing their thorns and thistles overspread them. Bnt appetite, whatsoever their soul lneted after, (2) the sentence ill differently trnnslated or bread for the preservation of their life, and explained by Rosenmiiller and some would not come into the house of the Lord others; thus: "Moph (Memphis) will bury to be Ba.ncti.fied by representative offer:inge. them out of desire for their silver." Thill What will ye do :in the 1olem.n day, e.nd :in violent di vulaion destroys the parallelism of the day of the feut of the Lord 1 On such the second hemistich, besides ignoring the occasions they would feel the misery of athnach. The LXX., again (ll), puzzled their position most keenly. Away in a far by the word ma.chmad, mistook it for e. pro- foreign land. withont temple and without per ne.me : " Therefore, behold, they go ritual, they would bewail the lose of their forth from the trouble of Egypt, and Mem- annual celebrations, their national festivals phis shall receive them, and Machmae and religious solemnities-those holide.y- (Ma,X>La:s) shall bury them." Giving e. de- times of general joy e.nd spiritual gladness. cided preference to (1) (d), we have a thrill- The distinction between moed and chag ill ing picture of distress. First comes the variously given. (1) By Grotiue and Rosen- destruction of their native city; having miiller moed is referred to one of tlie tliree looked their last look on the ruins where annual feasts-Passover, Pentecost, and once stood their home, they have 11et forth Tabernacles; and cllllg to any of the other -a miserable band of pilgrims-to the laud feasts, including the new moon. (2) Others of the stranger, and that stranger their con- restrict chag to the Feast of Tabernacles, or queror and oppressor; they have reached harvest festive.I, the most joyous of the1n the place of exile, there to find, not a home, e.11. Keil makes tLe word8 synonymous, but a grave, and not e. single grave for each, except tl,at in chag festival joy ie ma.de e.ccording to the Jews' mode of sepnlture to prominent. the present de.y, but a common place of Ver. 6.-:ror, lo, they are gone beo&ulB of burial into which they are huddled to- err. 1x. 1-17.] 'l'HE BOOK OF HOSEA. 273