Genesis 48:19

48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude of nations.”

Numbers 26:34

26:34 These were the families of Manasseh; those numbered of them were 52,700.

Numbers 26:37

26:37 These were the families of the Ephraimites, according to those numbered of them, 32,500. These were the descendants of Joseph by their families.

Hosea 5:3

5:3 I know Ephraim all too well;

the evil of Israel is not hidden from me.

For you have engaged in prostitution, O Ephraim;

Israel has defiled itself.

Hosea 6:4

Transitory Faithfulness and Imminent Judgment

6:4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?

What am I going to do with you, O Judah?

For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist;

it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew!

Hosea 7:1

7:1 whenever I want to heal Israel,

the sin of Ephraim is revealed,

and the evil deeds of Samaria are exposed.

For they do what is wrong;

thieves break into houses,

and gangs rob people out in the streets.


tn Heb “fullness.”

sn The Manassehites increased from 32,200 to 52,700.

sn This is a significant reduction from the first count of 40,500.

tn The phrase “all too well” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity and stylistic reasons.

tn The phrase “the evil of” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the metonymical (cause-effect) use of the term “Israel.” It is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “what they have done is not hidden from me.”

tn Or “Israel has become corrupt”; NCV “has made itself unclean”; TEV “are unfit to worship me.”

tn The vav prefixed to וְחַסְדְּכֶם (vÿkhasdÿkhem, “your faithfulness”) functions in an explanatory sense (“For”).

tn Heb “your faithfulness [so NCV; NASB “your loyalty”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “your love”] is like a morning cloud” (וְחַסְדְּכֶם כַּעֲנַן־בֹּקֶר, vÿkhasdÿkhem kaanan-boqer).

tn Heb “the dew departing early” (BDB 1014 s.v. שָׁכַם); cf. NRSV “the dew that goes away early.” The Hiphil participle מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) means “to depart early” (Gen 19:27; Josh 8:14; Judg 19:9). The idiom means “early morning” (1 Sam 17:16).