The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 274

gether, Egypt gnthering them and Memphis The Septuagint has /\"al ,...,,...,0~rre-ra,, C')ni- burying thom; whilo in tho land that gave valent to "And ehall be afflicted " taking- them birth, their once happy homesteads, according to ?erome, yod for 11a11, ;nd daleth riohly decorated and expensively adorned, for resh; while Jerome himself translates o.re left utterly desolate-a heritage for scltote, as if reading l))'J. l!'or the multitude thorns and thistles. of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. Vere. 7-9.-Thoee verses describe the The sonrco of all was sin. The visitation senson and source of punishment. The threatened, which was retributive-a. re- days of visitation are come, the days of compenee--was for the greatness of their recompense are come. Commentators have iniquity. The last clause is thus dependent appropriately compared the Vergilian "Ven it on and closely connected with the first, Sv summa dies, et irrcluctabile tempus," equi- valent to" The final day and inevitable hour ruling the construction first as a preposition - is come." Israel shall know (it): the pro- then as a conjunction : "And because th~ phet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, enmity is great." Ewald says, "If the first Here the prophet and the man of the spirit member states a reason (e.g. by using the (margin) are (1) the false prophets which preposition Sv, on account or, because of', pretended to inspiration, and flattered the and the following infinitive), the meaning people with false hopes and vain promises requires that, whenever a finite verb follows of safety and prosperity; and thus helped the conjunction 'because' shall be employed to confirm them in their sinful courses. in forming the continuation." The hatred The object of Israel's knowledge, though was (a) that of Israel against their fellow- not introduced by 'ki, is the folly of such men, and their God or hls prophetic mes- false prophets, and the madness of such sengers; though others (b) understand it of pretenders to prophetic inspiration. That the hatred of God ago.inst transgressors who ish ruach may be used of a false prophet had provoked his just indignation. The as well as of a true one is proved from ish first exposition (a) suits the context, and is hole'kh ruach, a man walking in the spirit, supported by the following verse. The applied by Micah ii. 11 to one of these watchman of Ephraim was with my God. pretenders: "If a man walking in the spirit This rendering is manifestly inaccurate, ae and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy the first noun is in the absoln le, not in the unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he construct state; the right rendering, there- shall even be the prophet of this people." fore, is either, "A watch.man is Ephxaim Israel is doomed to know by bitter experience with my God;" or, " The watchman, 0 the folly and madness of those prophets Ephraim, is with my God." (1) If we who deceived and duped the people by adopt Aben Ezra's explanation of the pro- lies soon detected, and their own folly and phet and spiritual man as true prophets madness in giving ear to the delusive pros- whom the people jeeringly and scornfully pects they held forth. This explanation called fools, fanatics, and madmen, the agrees with Kimohi's comment : "Then meaning of this clanse of the next verse shall they confess, and say to the prophets presents little difficulty. The prophet of lies, who had led them astray, and had makes common cause with these divided siiid to them, Peace (in time of greatest prophets: his God was their God, and, how- peril)-then shall they say unto them, A ever men treated them, they were under fool the prophet, a madman the man of Divine protection. The sense of the im, spirit." The predicate precedes the subject with, in this co.se is well given by Pusey as for emphasis, and the article prefixed to follows : •• The true prophet was at all times the subject exhausts the class of those false with God. He was with God, as holpen by prophets. (2) Aben Ezra, Ewald, and many God, watching or looking out and on into others understand the prophet and spiritual the future by the help of God. He was man to mean true prophets, whioh the with God, as walkiug with God in a constant people called fools and madmen, nnd treated sense of his presence, and in continual ns such, contemning and persecuting them. communion with him. He was with God, Thus Aben Ezra: "The days of recompense as associated by God with himself in teach- are come to you from God, who will re- ing, warning, correcting, exhorting his compense. you who said to the prophet of people, as the apostle says, ',v e then are God, He 1s a fool, and to the m[ln in whom workers together with him.'" In the next the spirit of God was, He is mad." The clause the ft\lse prophet is described by way word m•shugg<lh is properly the participle of contrast as a snare. (2) The word ;ir;,\i.: Pual used as a subst[lntive and kindred in is properly I\ participle, and Ephraim· is meaning to µ.c/.,,.,.,._ of the 'Greek, from µal- thus exhibited by the prophet as on the poµ.a,, to be frenzied. In confirmation of outlook, (a) not for counsel and help beside (1), comp. Ezek. xiii. 10 and Jer. xxviii, 15; or apart from God, as Gesenius understands aml in fa1·our of (2) 1 2 Kings ix. U. (3) it: but (b) as on the outlook for revAlt\tioos l!O~EA, T 274 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [cH, IX, 1-lT,