Discovery BoxHosea 4:15
Context4:15 Although you, O Israel, commit adultery,
do not let Judah become guilty!
Do not journey to Gilgal!
Do not go up to Beth Aven! 1
Do not swear, “As surely as the Lord lives!”
Hosea 10:5
Context10:5 The inhabitants 2 of Samaria will lament 3 over the calf idol 4 of Beth Aven. 5
Its people will mourn over it;
its idolatrous priests will wail 6 over it, 7
because its splendor will be taken from them 8 into exile.
Hosea 10:8
Context10:8 The high places of the “House 9 of Wickedness” 10 will be destroyed;
it is the place where Israel sins.
Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Joshua 7:2
Context7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho 11 to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel 12 ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.
Joshua 7:1
Context7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. 13 Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, 14 son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. 15 The Lord was furious with the Israelites. 16
Joshua 12:1
Context12:1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites defeated and drove from their land 17 on the east side of the Jordan, 18 from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern Arabah:
[4:15] 1 sn Beth Aven means “house of wickedness” in Hebrew; it is a polemic reference to “Bethel,” which means “house of God.” Cf. CEV “at sinful Bethel.”
[10:5] 2 tc The MT reads the singular construct noun שְׁכַן (shÿkhan, “the inhabitant [of Samaria]”), while the LXX and Syriac reflect the plural construct noun שְׁכַנֵי (shÿkhane, “the inhabitants [of Samaria]”). The singular noun may be a collective referring to the population of Samaria as a whole (BDB 1015 s.v. שָׁכֵן; e.g., Isa 33:24). Most English translations view this as a reference to the inhabitants of the city as a whole (KJV, RSV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJPS, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[10:5] 3 tc The MT reads יָגוּרוּ (yaguru, Qal imperfect 3rd person common plural from III גוּר, gur, “to dread”; see BDB 159 s.v. III גוּר 1). This reading is followed by most English versions but is syntactically awkward because III גוּר (“to dread”) is used nowhere else with the preposition לְ (lamed, “they are in dread for…”?). BDB suggests reading יָנוּדוּ (yanudu, Qal imperfect 3rd person common plural from נוּד, nud, “to lament”; BDB 626 s.v. נוּד 2.a) which harmonizes better with the parallelism with אָבַל (’aval, “to mourn”) in the following line. The verb נוּד (“to lament”) is used with the preposition לְ in the idiom “to lament for” (e.g., Isa 51:19; Jer 15:5; 16:5; 48:17; Nah 3:7). This involves simple orthographic confusion between ג (gimel) and נ (nun), as well as ר (resh) and ד (dalet) which were often confused by the scribes.
[10:5] 4 tc The MT reads the plural לְעֶגְלוֹת (lÿ’eglot, “for the calves”), while some Greek versions (LXX, Theodotion) and the Syriac reflect the singular לְעֵגֶל (“for the calf [calf idol]”). The singular reading is preferred on the basis of internal evidence: the oracle denounces the calf idol worship of Samaria. The plural form probably arose due to the ambiguity of the term “calf” when a scribe did not realize that the term was being used as a metonymy for the worship of the Egyptian calf goddess. Most recent English versions adopt the singular form and relate it to the calf goddess cult (RSV, NASB, NIV, NCV, NJPS, TEV, CEV, NLT); however, older English versions follow the MT plural (KJV, ASV).
[10:5] 5 sn See the note on the place name Beth Aven in 4:15.
[10:5] 6 tc The MT appears to read יָגִילוּ (yagilu, “they will rejoice”; Qal imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from גִּיל, gil, “to rejoice”), but this is likely an example of semantic polarization. See F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman, Hosea (AB), 556-67. The BHS editors propose the reading יְיֵלִילוּ (yÿyelilu, “they will lament”; Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine plural from יָלַל, yalal, “to lament”), which also appears in Hos 7:14. If this reading is original, the textual variant may be attributed to: (1) orthographic confusion between ל (lamed) and ג (gimel), and (2) haplography or dittography of י (yod). English versions are split; some follow the MT (KJV, ASV, NIV, NJPS), others the proposed emendation (RSV, NASB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).
[10:5] 7 tc This line division follows the MT rather than the line division suggested by the BHS editors.
[10:5] 8 tn Heb “from it” (so NAB, NRSV).
[10:8] 9 tn Alternately, “Aven” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) for the city name “Beth Aven.” The term “Beth” (house) does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied (e.g., Hos 4:15). It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[10:8] 10 tc The MT reads בָּמוֹת אָוֶן (bamot ’aven, “high places of Aven”); however, several Hebrew
[7:2] 11 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[7:2] 12 map For the location of Bethel see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[7:1] 13 tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the
[7:1] 14 tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).
[7:1] 15 tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the
[7:1] 16 tn Heb “the anger of the
[12:1] 17 tn Heb “and took possession of their land.”
[12:1] 18 tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun.”
