Hosea 1:9

9 And the LORD said, 1"Call his name Not My People,[a] for 2you are not my people, and I am not your God."[b]

Hosea 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 1:9

Then said God, call his name Loammi
Which Aben Ezra interprets of the children of the ten tribes horn in captivity, who never returned; but it rather signifies the ten tribes themselves, who were carried captive and had this name given them for the reason following: for ye are not my people;
though he had chosen them to be his people above all people, and had distinguished them from others by various blessings and privileges; yet they did not behave as such to him; they did not serve, obey, and worship him, but the calves at Dan and Bethel; and therefore did not deserve the name of his people: hence he says, and I will not be your
or "yours" F1; that is, as we supply it, and so Aben Ezra, "your God"; will not behave toward you as such; will not take you under my care and protection, or continue you in your land, and in the enjoyment of the blessings of it; will not be your King, patron, and defender, but give you up into the hands of your enemies. This respects the captivity of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser, ( 2 Kings 17:6 ) . The Targum is,

``for ye are not my people; because ye do not confirm the words of my law, my word shall not be your help.''

FOOTNOTES:

F1 (Mkl hyha al) "non ero vester", Pagninus; "nec ego sum futurus vester", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

Hosea 1:9 In-Context

7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen."
8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.
9 And the LORD said, "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."
11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Cross References 2

  • 1. ver. 4, 6
  • 2. Hosea 2:23; [Leviticus 26:12]

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Hebrew Lo-ammi, which means not my people
  • [b]. Hebrew I am not yours
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.