The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 400

)utter by "Thy destruction, 0 Iarnol; but in Vere. 10, 11.-!srllf)] lrn,l Rhown contempt me la thy help," the noun being of the form for ,Je~ovah by p~1tting confidence in king-s i?,;i ,~p.. The explanation of Rashi, who of their own choice, yet these kings could undorsta.nds (c) the vorb as second person not afford them help, whence the questionR preterite Piel with suffix, is: "' Heca.use thon of ver. 10. The usual rendering ie at fault. ha.et e.cted unfaithfully e.gBinst me, thou I will be th:, King. Thie aho11Jd rather be, ha.et rebelled age.inst thy help.' The }!'here noto is thy kintJ 1 though ehi muy be Scripturo uses brevity, but he who nnder- either verb 07. adverb. Where is any other ste.nrls the la.ngue.ge of Scripture will recall that may save thee in e.ll thy cities l Better to mind tha.t •::i •::i is 'beca.uee age.inst me toke both clauses together e.nd in connection, is the rebellion with which thou hast re- time : Where, now, i8 thy lciWJ, thr,t he may belled. And if thou ahould•t se.y, What save thee in all thy mties1 (1) The wor/1 ehi we does it concern thee? Age.inst thy help take, with Ewald, to be a dialectic va,-iation hast thou rebelled when thou didst rebel for i1'.N., or shortened form 'N., and th ia is age.inst me.'" Kimchi remarks in the two strengthened by Ni;:~, equivalent to the beth, servile the.t one of them would suffice, Greek 'ff"<Yre OT Latin tandem, for sake of e.nd that the sense might have been ex- emphasis. The purpose for which the pressed by ,,!JI •:i •::i or 7-nv:i 'lN •::i. All the Israelites had asked a. king was tbe.t he disaster and destruction previously men- might "judge them and go out before them tioned e.re charged on Israel's misconduct; to fight their battles" (1 8am. viii. 20). The they had brought e.11 upon themselves by queation, then, does not indicate the want of a. their rebellion age.inst Jehovah who would king, or the prevalence of a. state of anarchy, otherwise have been their Shield e.nd De- but the.t e. crisis had come when such a king liverer. The sense is well expressed by as they had requested should exhibit h.is Calvin thus: "How comes it, and whe.t is prowess and display his power. It is as the reason, the.t I do not now help thee though the prophet e.sked, or rather God by according to my usual mnnner? Thou he.at his servant," Where is now the king that can indeed found me hitherto to be thy De- defend the besieged cities, or deliver tbe liverer. • . . How comes it now that I have attacked fortresses; and defeat the Assyrian cast thee e.we.y, that thou criest in vain, and foeman who is now threatening both? Or that no one brings thee e.ny help? How where are the judges (shoph'tim), o:r the comes it that thou e.rt thus forsaken, e.nd princes (sarim), who conatitute his cabinet or receivest no relief whatever from my hand, royal counsellors sharing in the counsels of as thou he.at been wont to do ? And doubt- state, and administering the o.fiiw-s of the less I should never be wanting to thee, if kingdom under him?" The answer implied thou would est allow me; but thou closest is that those visible helps, on which Israel the door against me, e.nd by thy wickedness had so con.fideutly calculated, turned out spurnest my favour, so that it cannot come valueless; the kingly coustitntion on which to thee. It then follows, that thou art now they had set their heart proved a fail nre, as destroyed through thine own fault: (3) fe.r as help and deliverance were concerne,L Something then bath destroyed thee.'' It (2) Kimchi and others take 'i1N as fust will be observed that the rebellion against person future of the verb ,,,;,; thus: "I Jehovah here complained of is not that of shall be established for ever, but where is e.ll Israel, when they are said to have re- thy king? Whereas thou didst reject my jected Jehovah by asking a Iring of Samuel; kingdom, and demanded a king who should but the defection of the ten tribes that oast so. ve you ; e.nd it should be he that would oft' their e.llegie.nce to the house of David eave yon in all your cities e.ge.inst which the and me.de Jeroboam their king. enemies came." Vera. 10-16.-The concluding verse is at Ver. 11.-I gave thee a king in mine once e. conclusion and commencement-an anger, and took him away in my wre.th. inference from what preceded, e.nd the be- The imperfects 'MN and •pN here e.re correctly ginning of a second lino of proof showing explained by Keil as denoting " o.n action that, while their ruin was by themselves that is repeated again and again, for wh.ich their restoration would be by God. Whe~ we should use the present; and refer to ai. the kings and princes whom they hod sin- the kings that the kingdom of the ten tri!.f.,, fully sought, e.nd who he.d been given to had received and was receiving still, and to them in anger would fail, God himself their removal.'' Hitzig calls it here tho would be their King, as is stated in vers. historical present. Jerome, Aben Ezra., and 10 on~ ~l: ]!'~rthor, when in consequence K imchi refer the first clause to Saul ao of their rn1qu1t1e& treasured up, their sorrows given in anger; e.nd the second to Zedekiah o.nd sufferings would be extreme, as stated as token e.we.y in wrath. in vers. 12 e.nd 13, yet they would be rnised Ver. 12.-The iniquity of Ephraim i:; up oe out of their gmvee, e.s promise,! in bound up; his sin is hid. 'fliis verse i, in. ver. H. tended to remove all (loubt 111bout the punish- HOSEA. 2 I) 402 THE BOOK OF HOSEA. [ OIi, XIII, 1-16,