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The Prophets · Old Testament

Hosea 7

Hosea 7: the heated oven, the cake not turned and the silly dove

General context

When the Lord would have healed Israel, Ephraim's iniquity and "the wickedness of Samaria" were discovered: falsehood, a thief within and robbers outside. They do not consider that the speaker remembers their wickedness; their doings "are before my face." They make the king glad with wickedness and the princes with lies. "They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker." In the day of "our king" the princes made him sick with wine, and he stretched out his hand with scorners. Their heart is like an oven; the baker sleeps all night and in the morning it burns. They have devoured their judges, "all their kings are fallen," and none calls on the speaker. Ephraim has mixed with the peoples; "Ephraim is a cake not turned." Strangers devour his strength and he does not know it; gray hairs are on him and he does not know. The pride of Israel testifies to his face, and they do not return or seek the Lord. Ephraim is "like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria." The speaker will spread his net and bring them down like fowls. "Woe unto them! for they have fled from me"; though redeemed, they speak lies. They have not cried with their heart but "howled upon their beds," assembling for corn and wine. Though the speaker strengthened their arms, they imagine mischief. "They return, but not to the most High"; like a deceitful bow, their princes will fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue, "this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt."

Cited passages: Hosea 7:1, Hosea 7:2, Hosea 7:3, Hosea 7:4, Hosea 7:5, Hosea 7:6, Hosea 7:7, Hosea 7:8, Hosea 7:9, Hosea 7:10, Hosea 7:11, Hosea 7:12, Hosea 7:13, Hosea 7:14, Hosea 7:15, Hosea 7:16

Hosea 7 (KJV)

1When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.

2And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

3They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

4They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

5In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

6For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

7They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

8Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

9Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

10And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.

11Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

13Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

14And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

15Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

16They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

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Historical context

Samaria is named in verse 1, and Egypt and Assyria are named as the two powers Ephraim calls to and goes to; the chapter treats the appeal to both as evidence of a dove "without heart." The king in verse 3 and "our king" in verse 5 are not named, and verse 7's "all their kings are fallen" does not say which kings or how they fell. The phrase "our king" occurs inside speech that is otherwise the Lord's first person, "I remember," "I will spread my net," and the text gives no marker for the change of pronoun. Judah is not mentioned in this chapter. The oven scenes describe a baker who kneads dough, "ceaseth from raising" until it is leavened, and sleeps all night, and an oven that burns in the morning; the text applies these to adulterers and to those who lie in wait, without naming a plot or an event. Verse 13 says "I have redeemed them" without saying when. The closing threat sends their princes to fall by the sword and their derision to "the land of Egypt"; no date is given.

Cited passages: Hosea 7:1, Hosea 7:11, Hosea 7:3, Hosea 7:5, Hosea 7:7, Hosea 7:2, Hosea 7:4, Hosea 7:13, Hosea 7:16

Literary context

The oven governs the first half: "as an oven heated by the baker," "their heart like an oven," "all hot as an oven," and then the baking turns to the product, "a cake not turned." The refrain "he knoweth it not" and "he knoweth not" in verse 9 states twice what Ephraim misses. Return is denied twice in two different ways: "they do not return to the Lord their God" and "They return, but not to the most High." Bird images follow the oven, a silly dove, fowls brought down by a net. The bow, which chapter 1 broke and chapter 2 promised to break, reappears here as "a deceitful bow." Verse 13 is the only place in the chapter with an exclamation, "Woe unto them!", and it sits between the net and the beds. The chapter begins with the Lord wanting to heal and ends with princes falling by the sword, and there is no promise in between, which matches chapters 4 to 6 and differs from chapters 1 to 3.

Cited passages: Hosea 7:4, Hosea 7:6, Hosea 7:7, Hosea 7:8, Hosea 7:9, Hosea 7:10, Hosea 7:16, Hosea 7:11, Hosea 7:13, Hosea 7:1

Key moments

  1. Healing uncovers iniquity (Hosea 7:1). When the Lord would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim and wickedness of Samaria are discovered.
  2. The heated oven (Hosea 7:4). They are all adulterers, like an oven a baker has heated.
  3. Kings fallen, none calling (Hosea 7:7). They have devoured their judges, all their kings are fallen, and no one calls on the Lord.
  4. A cake not turned (Hosea 7:8). Ephraim has mixed among the peoples and is a cake not turned.
  5. A silly dove (Hosea 7:11). Ephraim calls to Egypt and goes to Assyria like a dove without heart.
  6. Howling on their beds (Hosea 7:14). They howl on their beds and gather for corn and wine but do not cry to the Lord with their heart.
  7. A deceitful bow (Hosea 7:16). They return but not to the most High, and their princes will fall by the sword.

For reflection

Verse 14 separates crying to the Lord with the heart from howling on their beds and assembling for corn and wine. What in the chapter shows the difference between the two, if both are loud?

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