Hosea 12:9-14

12:9 “I am the Lord your God ¹  who brought you ²  out of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. ³ 

12:10 I spoke to the prophets;

I myself revealed many visions; ⁴ 

I spoke in parables ⁵  through ⁶  the prophets.”

12:11 Is there idolatry ⁷  in Gilead? ⁸ 

Certainly its inhabitants ⁹  will come to nothing! ¹⁰ 

Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?

Surely their altars will be like stones heaped up on a plowed field!

Jacob in Aram, Israel in Egypt, and Ephraim in Trouble

12:12 Jacob fled to the country of Aram,

then Israel worked ¹¹  to acquire a wife;

he tended sheep to pay for her.

12:13 The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt by a prophet,

and due to a prophet ¹²  Israel ¹³  was preserved alive. ¹⁴ 

12:14 But Ephraim bitterly ¹⁵  provoked him to anger;

so he will hold him accountable for the blood he has shed, ¹⁶ 

his Lord ¹⁷  will repay him for the contempt he has shown. ¹⁸ 

[12:9]  ¹ sn The Lord answers Ephraim’s self-assertion (“I am rich!”) with the self-introduction formula (“I am the Lord your God!”) which introduces judgment oracles and ethical instructions.

[12:9]  ² tn Or “[Ever since you came] out of Egypt”; CEV “just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.”

[12:9]  ³ tn Heb “as in the days of meeting” (כִּימֵי מוֹעֵד, kime mo’ed). This phrase might refer to “time of the festival” (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5; cf. NASB, NRSV, NLT) or the Lord’s first “meeting” with Israel in the desert (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). In his announcements about Israel’s future, Hosea uses “as in the days of […]” (כִּימֵי) or “as in the day of […]” (כְּיוֹם, kÿyom) to introduce analogies drawn from Israel’s early history (e.g., Hos 2:5, 17; 9:9; 10:9).

[12:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “I myself multiplied vision[s]”; cf. NASB “I gave numerous visions.”

[12:10]  ⁵ tn There is debate whether אֲדַמֶּה (’adammeh, Piel imperfect 1st person common singular) is derived from I דָמָה (damah, “similitude, parable”) or II דָמָה (“oracle of doom”). The lexicons favor the former (BDB 198 s.v. I דָּמָה 1; HALOT 225-26 s.v. I דמה). Most translators favor “parables” (cf. KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS), but a few opt for “oracles of doom” (cf. NRSV, TEV, CEV).

[12:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “by the hand of”; KJV, ASV “by the ministry of.”

[12:11]  ⁷ tn The noun אָוֶן (’aven) has a broad range of meanings which includes: (1) “wickedness, sin, injustice” (2) “deception, nothingness,” and (3) “idolatry, idolatrous cult” (HALOT 22 s.v. אָוֶן; BDB 19 s.v. אָוֶן). While any of these meanings would fit the present context, the second-half of the verse refers to cultic sins, suggesting that Hosea is denouncing Gilead for its idolatry. Cf. NLT “Gilead is filled with sinners who worship idols.”

[12:11]  ⁸ tn The introductory deictic particle אִם (’im) functions as an interrogative and introduces an interrogative clause: “Is there…?” (see HALOT 60 s.v. אִם 5; BDB 50 s.v. אִם 2). The LXX assumed that אִם was being used in its more common function as a conditional particle: “If there….”

[12:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the inhabitants of Gilead) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:11]  ¹⁰ tn The noun שָׁוְא (shav’, “emptiness, nothing”), which describes the imminent judgment of the people of Gilead, creates a wordplay in Hebrew with the noun אָוֶן (’aven, “nothingness” = idolatry). Because Gilead worshiped “nothingness” (idols), it would become “nothing” (i.e., be destroyed).

[12:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “served” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “earned a wife.”

[12:13]  ¹² tn Heb “by a prophet” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[12:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:13]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “was protected”; NASB “was kept.” The verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “to watch, guard, keep, protect”) is repeated in 12:13-14 HT (12:12-13 ET). This repetition creates parallels between Jacob’s sojourn in Aram and Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness. Jacob “tended = kept” (שָׁמַר) sheep in Aram, and Israel was “preserved = kept” (נִשְׁמָר, nishmar) by Moses in the wilderness.

[12:14]  ¹⁵ tn The noun תַּמְרוּרִים (tamrurim, “bitter things”) functions as an adverbial accusative of manner, modifying the finite verb: “He bitterly provoked Him to anger” (GKC 375 §118.q). The plural form of the noun functions as a plural of intensity: “very bitterly.” For the adverbial function of the accusative, see IBHS 172-73 §10.2.2e.

[12:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “He will leave his blood upon him”; NIV “will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed.”

[12:14]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[12:14]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for his contempt” (so NIV); NRSV “for his insults”; NAB “for his outrage.”