Hosea 10

General context

"Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself"; as fruit and land increased, so did altars and "goodly images." Their heart is divided, and he will break down the altars and spoil the images. They will say, "We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?" They swear falsely in making a covenant, and judgment springs up "as hemlock in the furrows of the field." Samaria's inhabitants will fear "because of the calves of Beth-aven"; the people and its priests mourn over it because its glory has departed. "It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb." Samaria's king is "cut off as the foam upon the water." The high places of Aven will be destroyed, thorn and thistle on their altars, and "they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us." Israel has sinned "from the days of Gibeah." The speaker desires to chastise them, and peoples will be gathered against them. Ephraim is a taught heifer that loves to tread out corn; "I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods." Then a command: "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord." But "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity," trusting in "the multitude of thy mighty men." A tumult will arise and fortresses be spoiled "as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children." So shall Beth-el do to them; "in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off."

Cited passages: Hosea 10:1, Hosea 10:2, Hosea 10:3, Hosea 10:4, Hosea 10:5, Hosea 10:6, Hosea 10:7, Hosea 10:8, Hosea 10:9, Hosea 10:10, Hosea 10:11, Hosea 10:12, Hosea 10:13, Hosea 10:14, Hosea 10:15

Hosea 10 (KJV)

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Historical context

Places and names in this chapter are Samaria, Beth-aven, Assyria, king Jareb, Aven, Gibeah, Judah, Jacob, Shalman, Beth-arbel and Beth-el. Shalman and Beth-arbel occur only here in Hosea, inside a comparison, "as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel"; the text gives no other information about who Shalman was or when that battle happened. King Jareb was already named in 5:13 as the one Ephraim "sent to"; here the calf is carried to him as a present, and the text still does not identify him. Beth-aven was named in 4:15 and 5:8. Verse 5 speaks of "the calves" in the plural and then "it" and "the glory thereof" in the singular; the printed text moves between the two without comment. The king of Samaria in verse 7 and "the king of Israel" in verse 15 are unnamed. The people's future words in verse 3, "We have no king," are quoted by the speaker, not narrated as an event. The words "Cover us" and "Fall on us" recur in Luke 23:30, where Jesus says people will "begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us." The phrase "bind themselves in their two furrows" is obscure as printed. The Lord is referred to in the third person early in the chapter, "he shall break down their altars," and speaks in the first person from verse 10, "It is in my desire" and "I passed over upon her fair neck."

Cited passages: Hosea 10:14, Hosea 5:13, Hosea 10:6, Hosea 4:15, Hosea 5:8, Hosea 10:5, Hosea 10:7, Hosea 10:15, Hosea 10:3, Luke 23:30, Hosea 10:10, Hosea 10:2, Hosea 10:11

Literary context

Farm images carry the chapter. It opens with a vine whose fruit goes to altars and images, continues with hemlock in furrows, a heifer that treads corn, plowing and breaking clods, and reaches its center in the command to sow righteousness and "break up your fallow ground." The very next verse reverses the command word by word: "Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity." Altars and images come in pairs: made in verse 1, broken and spoiled in verse 2, overgrown with thorn and thistle in verse 8. Kings recur: the imagined confession "We have no king," the present sent to king Jareb, Samaria's king as foam on water, and the closing line in which the king of Israel is cut off "in a morning." Gibeah, named in 9:9 for corruption, returns in 10:9 as the starting point of sin. Verse 8 gives the people speech of despair, "Cover us," and verse 12 the only hopeful imperative in the chapter, "it is time to seek the Lord," placed just before the account of Beth-arbel's dashed mother and children. The heifer that "loveth to tread out the corn" answers the "backsliding heifer" of 4:16.

Cited passages: Hosea 10:1, Hosea 10:4, Hosea 10:11, Hosea 10:12, Hosea 10:13, Hosea 10:2, Hosea 10:8, Hosea 10:3, Hosea 10:7, Hosea 10:15, Hosea 9:9, Hosea 10:9, Hosea 10:14, Hosea 4:16

Key moments

1. An empty vine (Hosea 10:1). Israel's increasing fruit is matched by increasing altars and goodly images.
2. We have no king (Hosea 10:3). The people are pictured admitting they have no king because they did not fear the Lord.
3. The calves of Beth-aven (Hosea 10:5). Samaria fears for its calf, whose glory departs and whose people and priests mourn.
4. Cover us (Hosea 10:8). With thorns on their altars, they will ask the mountains to cover them and the hills to fall on them.
5. A heifer taught to tread (Hosea 10:11). Ephraim is a trained heifer, and Ephraim, Judah and Jacob are set to ride, plow and break clods.
6. Break up fallow ground (Hosea 10:12). The call to sow righteousness and seek the Lord until he rains righteousness.
7. As Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel (Hosea 10:14). Fortresses will be spoiled as at Beth-arbel, where the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

For reflection

The people are pictured saying, "We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?" What does the chapter suggest they had expected a king to do for them?

People in this chapter

• Jacob
• Judah

Also indexed here:

• Ephraim
• Shalmaneser
• Tiglath-pileser