The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 334

the orii:-inBI !.l{IDse of the word, 1md expl11,ina tmnele.te (S) the second cle.uee RB follows: it Al! follows: "Litemlly, hung to it I 88 "But God shall be angry with his preoioua we I'll:,', '11, man's whole heing hangs on & thing11, and ehall not at all exl\lt him," thing.' A thing hung to or on 11,notber hl\ving probably road iri.' i•~P,~ ~,t-',~l· swa\"B to and fro within certain limits, but its relation to that on which it is hung Ver. 8.-Kow shall I give thee upf remains immot'able. It.s power of motion Ephraim I how ah.all I deliver thee, Iar&el i@ restrained within these limits. So how shall I make thee as Admah 1 how Ismel. @o the sinner, however he veer to aha.11 I set thee a1 Zeboim I 'fhis verse 11,nd fro in the details and circumstances of paves the way for transition to promise, his sin, is fixed and immomble in his ad- Although the Israelites on account of such hercnoe to his sin itself." Though Ra.shi conduct had merited complete annihilo.tiou, and the Targum of Jonathan n111.ke ;i:rni-o yet Jehovah, for his love and meroy's so.ke, as synonymous with n:m:-n, thus: "When substitutes grace for justioe, and will not the prophets teBOh them to return to me, destroy them from oft' the face of the 13arth. they &re in suspense whether t.o return or One rendering (1) gives the olause the turn not to return; with difficulty do they re- of an exclamation rather than of an interro• turn to me,"-they are, howcrnr, distin- gation; thus: "How readily and justly could guished as turning away from nnd turning I [or should I, or how thoroughly could I if I to God-m·ersion from &nil conversion to punished thy rebellion e.s I deserved] give him; while the suffix •:- is objective, that is, thee up to destruction!" We prefer (2) the ordinary rendering, by which it is treated e.s a " My people &re hung to &post&tizing from question: " How sball I give thee up t.o the me." The phrase ~l'-";,i:! is v&riously inter- power of the enemy, and not only that, but preted, by some ns (I)" upwards," the pro- destroy thee?" Calvin's exposition seems phets being the subject; thus Re.shi: "To indeed to favour the former : "Here,'' he the m&tter that is &hove him (Israel) the says, "God consults what he is to do with prophets call him unitedly; but my people the people ; and first, indeed, he shows that do not lift themselves np nor desire to do it was hie purpose to exeoute vengeance it.'' Corruption was so deeply seated in such ne the Israelites deserved, even wholly Israel, that the idle mass g&ve no response to destroy them ; but' yet he assumes tho to the voice of the prophets urging them ch!U'acter of one deliberating, that none upwards. (2) Aben Ezr& and Kimchi both might think that he hastily fell into anger, take ~l' as an adjective, and synonymons or thl\t, being soon excited by exoeesive with j",~~. the Most High. Kimchi explains fury, he devoted to ruin those who had lightly sinned, or were guilty of no great as follows : " He says, My people oscillate crimes. . . . By these expressions of the between distress and freedom; sometimes text God shows what the Israelites deserved, distress comes upon them, and again they and that he was now inclined to inflict the are in the condition of freedom, and this punishment of which they were worthy, anll takes place for their backsliding from me, as yet not without repentance, or at least n?t if he said, because of the backsliding and without hesitation. He afterwards adds lD rebellion which they practise age.inst me. the next clause, This I wi'll not do; my heart . . . The prophets call them constantly to is witl1in me changed." Mine hea.rt is return to God most high." So Aben Ezra.: turned within me, my repentings e.re kindled " The interpretation is, the callers call him together. The ',.11, literally, "upon," "with," to the Most High, and they a.re the prophets of God; but they e.11 in one way raise then "in " or " within : " "My heart is turn~ or ~hanged from anger to pity in me." not the bee.Ai." (3) Jerome takes it for ',jl, The expression, 119.:;,~ iri~, signifies, according a yoke, anrl renders accordingly : " But to Rashi, "one warmed," as in Gen. xliii. 30, a yoke shall he imposed on them together, where this same word is rendered in the that is not taken away." The verb oi;ii,; Authorized Version," yearned:" "Hie bowels signifies, (I) according to Geeenius and many did yearn upon his brother," or •• warmed others, " to celebrate with praises," or towards." But (2) many modern interpreters " extol." It is rather (2) "to lift one's self understand the word in the sense of" gather- up." "rise upwards; " nor is it nece889l'y ing themselves together:" "The feelings of with this sense to supply izitti, his he84, compassion gathered themselves together;" with Grotius, nor yet to underste.nd it nich-umim, from Piel o.r:i.i, a noun of the form written for or in the sense of ooii•, with 11:Jn, Iese definite than rachifmim, bowels, es Jostph Kimchi. Similarly the 'syria.c: the seat of the emotions, "g-nthered them• "They call him to God, but tliey think selves together," or" were excited all at once." together, conspire, and do not raise them- The cities of the plain included Admah and eelves." 'fhe word in• is •• all together," Zeboim, Sodom e.nd Gomorrah, ell of whioh, and therefore 111,,~: is'' no one.'' The LX~. in consequen.ce of their sins, were ·overthrow11, mr. xr. 1-12,] THE BOOK OF HOSEA. 336