1.
Hear ye this, O priests; and hearken, ye house of Israel; and give ye ear, O house of the king; for judgment is toward you, because ye have been a snare on Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor.
Hear . . . O priests. This is a call to the priests and others, as Hosea 4:1-5 was also a call to Israel.
judgment is toward you = judgment is denounced upon you.
Mizpah. There were five places with this name: (1) Now Suf (Genesis 31:49 . Judges 10:17 ; Judges 11:11 , Judges 11:29 , Judges 11:34 ; Judges 20:1 , Judges 20:3 ; Judges 21:1 , Judges 21:6 , Judges 21:8 ). (2) In Moab (1 Samuel 22:3 ), not identified. (3) The land (or valley) of Moab, now el Bukei'a (Joshua 11:3 ). (4) In Judah, not identified (Joshua 15:38 ). (5) In Benjamin, not identified (Joshua 18:26 . Jdg 22:1-3 ; Judges 21:1 , Judges 21:5 , Jdg 21:8 ; 1 Samuel 7:5-16 ; 1 Samuel 10:17 . 1Ki 15:22 ; 2 Kings 25:23 , 2 Kings 25:25 ; 2 Chronicles 16:6 . Nehemiah 3:7 , Nehemiah 3:15 , Nehemiah 3:19 . Jeremiah 40:6-15 ; Jeremiah 41:1-16 , and in this passage, Hosea 5:1 ). Mizpah was a symbol of keeping apart, not of meeting again, as erroneously used to-day. Tabor is on the west of Jordan and not connected with Ephraim; but Tabor means a mound; so that the idolatrous altar may have been called Mizpah, while Tabor was the "mound" of Genesis 31 , both belonging to the same district. Hosea is said to have been buried at Mizpah.
2.
And the revolters are profound to make slaughter, though I have been a rebuker of them all.
revolters = apostates.
are profound to make slaughter = have deeply designed a slaughter.
though I have been, &c. = and I [will denounce] chastisement to them all. The Ellipsis thus supplied explains "these difficult words".
3.
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
Ephraim , the largest of the ten tribes, is put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of the Part), App-6 , for the whole.
whoredom = idolatry. See note on Hosea 1:2 .
4.
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD.
frame = fashion.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4 .
the spirit of whoredoms. See note on Hosea 4:12 , Hosea 4:19 .
spirit. Hebrew. ruach.
not known. See note on Hosea 2:20 .
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. (with 'eth) = Jehovah Himself App-4 .
5.
And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.
the pride of Israel. An appellation of Jehovah = the excellency, or the glory of Israel. He in Whom Israel should have gloried; so again in Hosea 7:10 . Compare Amos 8:7 , where it is "the Excellency of Jacob".
his: i. e. Ephraim's, or Israel's.
iniquity. Hebrew ' avah . App-44 .
6.
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
go. seek the LORD. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 10:9 ).
seek the Lord. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:29 ). App-92 .
withdrawn Himself. Heb . halaz; not sur ("depart") in Hosea 9:12 .
7.
They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
strange = apostates (who had become as foreigners). Heb . sur. See note on Proverbs 5:3 .
children = sons.
a month. A short time will complete their dispossession. Shallum reigned just a month (2 Kings 15:13 ).
8.
Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Beth-aven, after thee, O Benjamin.
cornet = horn.
Beth-aven. See note on Hosea 4:15 .
after thee, &c. Apparently a war-cry = "[Look] behind thee, O Benjamin! "Compare Judges 5:14 ; Judges 20:40 .
9.
Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be.
10.
The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound: therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water.
that remove, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 19:14 ; Deuteronomy 27:17 ). App-92 Elsewhere only in Job 24:2 .Proverbs 22:28 ; Proverbs 23:10 .
bound = boundary, or landmark.
11.
Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment.
oppressed and broken. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:33 ).
willingly = willfully.
walked after = followed (perseveringly).
the commandment. Note the Ellipsis : "the [idolatrous] commandment [of Jeroboam]" (1 Kings 12:28 . 2 Kings 10:29-31 ). Compare Micah 6:16 . Aramaean, Septuagint, and Syriac read "falsehood". Vulgate reads "filthiness", reading zo in pl, for zav.
12.
Therefore will I be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness.
Therefore will I be = For I [am].
rottenness: or, a worm.
13.
When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.
king Jareb. Professor Sayce ( Higher Criticism and the Monuments, pp 416, 417) thinks "Jareb" may he the birth-name of the usurper Sargon II, the successor of Shalmaneser. Shalmaneser did not take Samaria, but his successor did, as stated in an inscription found in the palace which he built near Nineveh. This gets rid of several fanciful hypotheses as to the meaning of "Jareb" besides explaining an historical difficulty Compare Hosea 10:6 .
14.
For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
I will. Some codices read "and I will".
take away = carry off.
him. Omit.
15.
I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
till they acknowledge their offence. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:40-42 ). National repentance is the condition of Israel's restoration.
Seek My face. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:29 ). App-92 .
seek Me early. This expression, though not found in the Pentateuch, occurs in Job 7:21 ; Job 8:5 ; Job 24:5 .Psalms 63:1 ; Psalms 78:34 .Proverbs 1:28 ; Proverbs 7:15 ; Proverbs 8:17 ; Proverbs 11:27 ; Proverbs 13:24 . Hebrew rising up before dawn to seek. Not the same word as in the preceding clause. Supply the ellipsis after "early": "[they shall say] 'Come'", &c.