The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 364

of his own good pleasure had chosen thom." him strength; and afterwards he wrestled A hen Ezra and Kimohi explain the seizing with the angol, and he (the angel) did not of EsRu's h<'el by Jacob as owing to the im- prevail over him, although one angel slew pe.rtation of Di\'ine power, but as a sign of the whole host of ABByria, nnd from his victory O\'cr his enemies. We must reject sight the children of men flee in terror aa (1) for the following reRsons: (a) The rcfcr- David who was frightened ; how much wo.s en<'e is J1ot to Gen. xinii., where Jacob's it to wrestle with him.' The meaning is overreMhing Esau is J'C<'mded, but to Gen. that o.ll tho children of the world should xxv. 26, where it is written, "After thu.t know that his (Jacob's) seed shall endure came his brother out, anJ his band took for ever, and in t110 end conquer hie onemies. hold on Esau's heel;" (b) the patriarchs are But Ephraim thinks that Ephraim himself always exhibitecl as patterns of piety- has found the power." The comment of besidee, Hosea ne,•er employs the name Kimchi on the first po.rt of the vorse is muoh Israel in any but an honournhle sense. tbo same with tho.t of Aben Ezra just oited; We must elect between (2) and (3); and we while on the concluding clnuse he remarks, inoline to (2), as the gist of the pa888.g0 is "And yet another sign I have shown him to exhibit Jacob's earnestness in ~ceking to be a sign to hi~ children after him, for I the Di~ine blessing as an example to his gave him strength to wrestle with the angel posterity. Already in his mother's womb, and to be a prince in relation to him as if before he saw the light of the world even in he wo.s in the same rank with him. And his condition of unconsciousness, he had this sign I showed Lim that his sous would laid bold of the heel of Lis elder brother be the portion of J ehovu.h alone, that star Eeau, in order to anticipate him as the first- and angel should not prevail over them all born, and thereby appropriate the Divine the time they would do my pleo.sure, and by promises. The seoond clause describes how the signs of the heavens they should not be with zeal, by labour and effort, he had terrified, for they have no strength (physical) strug;;led for the position of pre-eminence, nor power (moral) over them, because the sorely struggling for the Divine blessing. providence of God most blessed cleaves to In the m11turity of his manhood he wrestled them during all the period they would do with God, or r11ther with the angel of the my will, nor shall they succumb to any co,·enant, and prevailed so that hie name accident of time." Wll.S che.nged to Israel This picture the Ver. 4.-Yea, he had power over the prophet presents to J acoh's posterity for angel, and prevailed : he wept, and made their imitation, "ith implied promise of like supplioa.tion unto him. As Jac9b's position happy result. Though Aben Ezra and at birth symbolized the pre-eminence which Kimchi, in their exposition of the verse, God's electing love had in store for him, rather explain in their own way the signifi- and as in his manhood's prime he put fo1·th cance of the original e~ent as recorded in such earnestness and energy to obtain the Genesis than the application which the blessing, so Isra.el, by the ex:amplo of their prophet here makes of it, yet it may not be forefather, arc encouraged to like strenuous out of pl.e.ce to subjoin their comments, exe1iion with like certainty of success. The which are as follows: Aben Ezra, "With example is more fully described a.nd dwelt respect to him who explains 'in the womb' on in this verse for the purpose of m,ore in the sense that Jehovah then decreed the powerfully stimulating the Israelites of the matter of the birthright and blessing, I prophet's day to imitate it. From this verse know not how the meaning of ' in the womb ' we learn the following facts : ( l) the na- beo.rs on that, as the Scripture says, • Before ture of the conflict as of e. spiritual kind; I formed thee in the womb I knew thee.' (2) the visible embodiment of the invisible According to my opinion it should be taken deity, so that the angel is not e.n entire accordiug to its literal sense, th11.t 'he took identification with God in the preceding his brother by the heel in the womb;' and verse, but the organ of Divine w:mifeotation; this is made clear by • and Lis hand took and (3) the weapons used, or tho means hold on E.au's heeL' Now the purport is, employed, namely, weeping and supplica- • Why do the sons of Jaoob not remember tion, in e. word, the instrnmentulity of that I chose their father, and effected pre- prayer; and (4) the trne wuy of pl'eve.iling eminence for him over all that are born? with God, which is real humility and sin- For when he was in the womb I gave him cere supplication, not stiffneckecl and de- strength to lay hold of the heel, and this fiant resistance to the Divine will and word, was as the working of a miracle, for the like that of Israel at the period in quostiou. fcetus Las, in the womb and at the time of Thls verse '' is," according to Abon Ezrn, the up~riiug of the matrix, no strength to "an explanation how he put fol'th prowee• lay Lold of anytliing until it eom011 forth with God." Kimchi regards it as "thG frun, ti,e womL iuto the air of the world. repetition of the sawo thought for the pur, Aud Ju! when he was in the womb I gave pose of intensifying, for it was a grc~t CII, XII. 1-14.] THE BOOK OF HOSEA.