Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Bible Commentaries
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Ellicott's Commentary
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliographical Information
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Hosea 8". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/ebc/hosea-8.html. 1905.
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Hosea 8". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://studylight.org/
Whole Bible (44)Old Testament (1)Individual Books (7)
Introduction
VIII.
A continuation of the same indictment along a new line of illustration. Jehovah bids the prophet put the trumpet to his lips and blow a shrill blast, announcing the approach of disaster.
Verse 1
(1) Eagle.âThe image of swiftness (Jeremiah 4:13; Jeremiah 48:40). So Assyria shall come swooping down on Samaria, to which Hosea, though with some irony, gives the name âHouse of Jehovah,â recognising that the calf was meant to be symbolic in some sense of Israelâs God. (See, however, Note on Hosea 9:15.)
Verse 2
(2) Should be rendered, To me they cry, My God, we know Thee, we Israel.
Verse 3
(3) Cast off.âJehovahâs reply to Israelâs hollow repentance. The word âcast offâ means a scornful loathing of what is putrescent or obscene. âThe thing that is goodâ is the name of God, which is the salvation of Israel (Aben Ezra).
Verse 4
(4) Set up kings.âIt is possible that the prophet alludes to the history of the northern kingdom as a whole. Though the revolt of the Ten Tribes received Divine sanction (1 Kings 11:9-11), it was obviously contrary to the Divine and prophetic idea which associated the growth of true religion with the line of David (Hosea 3:5). But it is best to regard the passage as referring to the short reigns of usurpers and to the foul murders which disgraced the annals of the northern kingdom since the death of Jeroboam II. Jehovah repudiates all participation in their anarchy.
Knew it not.âShould be, knew them notâviz., the gold and silver splendours wherewith Israel had adorned its apostacy.
Verse 5
(5) Thy calf . . . hath cast thee off.âRather, is loathsome, Nothing can exceed the scorn of this outburst. The last clause should be rendered, How long are ye unable to attain purity? The attribution of consuming fire to God is not peculiar to the prophet. (Comp. Hebrews 12:29.)
Verse 6
(6) It is best to abandon the Masoretic punctuation, and translate, For it (i.e., the calf) is from Israel (not of Divine origin); as for it, an artificer made it, and it is no god. Yea, the calf of Samaria shall be shattered to fragments (literally, become splinters or fine dust).
Verse 7
(7) Wind . . . whirlwind.âThe great law of Divine retribution, the punishment for sin being often a greater facility in sinningâindifference to God becoming enmity, forgetfulness of duty or truth becoming violent recoil from both. âWindâ expresses what is empty and fruitless, and the pronoun âitâ refers, in accordance with the metaphor, to such unproductive seed.
It hath no stalk.âNot even incipient prosperity, as in the days of Jeroboam II. âThe growth shall yield no grain,â as we might express the play of words in the Hebrew.
Verse 8
(8) Vessel wherein is no pleasureâi.e., worthless (comp. Jeremiah 48:38; Psalms 31:13; 2 Timothy 2:20); a vessel devoted to vilest uses, or smashed up as worthless.
Verse 9
(9) Gone up to Assyria.âThe word thus translated is elsewhere used for âgoing upâ to the sanctuary of the Lord. (See Note on Hosea 7:11.) Wild ass is the image of untamed waywardness (Job 39:5, sea.) it is described by Wetzstein as inhabiting the steppes, a creature of dirty yellow colour, with long ears and no horns, and a head resembling a gazelleâs. Its pace is so swift that no huntsman can overtake it. It is seldom seen alone, but in herds of several hundreds. From Jeremiah 2:24 we infer that the animal wanders alone after the object of its lust. Israel, like a solitary wild ass, seeks strange loves, courts strange alliances. On the last clause, see Ezekiel 16:32-34. Ephraim pays abnormally for her own shame.
Verse 10
(10) There is much difference of opinion as to the interpretation of this verse. Much depends on the reference of the word âthem.â We prefer to regard it as referring to Ephraim rather than to the nations (i.e., Assyria and Egypt). Render, I will gather them (Israel) together, so that in a short time they may delay (this translation approved by Ewald, Wünsche, and Simson) to render the tribute burden due to the king of princes (i.e., the Assyrian monarch). âGather them together,â i.e., in restraint, so that they cannot roam so wildly, seeking help (Ewald). This accords with Hosea 2:8-9; Hosea 3:4. Such non-payment of tribute actually occurred a few years later (2 Kings 17:4). Others render it: I will gather these nations (of the East) round about her to look scornfully on her ruin, and they shall sorrow a little (used ironically) at the imposition of the king of the princes.
Verse 11
(11) Many altars.âMultiplication of altars was condemned in the law (Deuteronomy 12:5 seq.). The narrative in Joshua 22:0 shows that unity of altar and sanctuary was essential to the unity of the nation. The last clause should be rendered, he had altars for sinning. The worship of God was degraded into the sensuous approaching Baal-worship. In the first clause sin equals transgression, in the last transgression plus guilt and peril.
Verses 12-13
(12, 13) The rendering should be, though I write for him a multitude of my precepts. The tense âI writeâ is imperfect, and represents the continuous processâthe prophetic teaching as well as the ancient Mosaic law. In the wild lust for a foreign religion the pure and spiritual Mosaic worship and the religious influence of prophecy had been forgotten. It seemed something âstrange;â as Christâs cross and claims have been accounted strange by so-called Christians.
Verse 13
(13) They sacrifice flesh . . .âShould be, âThey sacrifice the sacrifices of my giftsâflesh, and eat it.â Clear reference to the Mosaic institute. Ye shall go back to Egypt, says the prophet, and there learn again the bitter lessons of the pastâeither the positive return to Egypt or the disastrous hankering after Egyptian alliances.
Verse 14
(14) Temples.âThe word here used for temple is used sixty times for Jehovahâs temple. The building of these temple-palaces was a distinct sin against the unity of the Godhead.
Judah hath multiplied fenced cities.âReferred to by Sennacherib, in the inscription relating to the campaign of 701 B.C. âForty-six of his (Hezekiahâs) strong cities, fortresses . . . I besieged, I captured.â These were erected by Uzziah and Jotham (2 Chronicles 26:10; 2 Chronicles 27:4). With the allusions to Israelâs temples (palaces) compare Amos 3:11; Amos 3:15.