Hosea 1:1
Read Hosea 1:1 Using Other Translations
What does Hosea 1:1 mean?
Whose name isHosea 1:2
The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea
Or "in Hosea" F9; which was internally revealed to
him, and was inspired into him, by the Holy Ghost, who first
spoke in him, and then by him; not that Hosea was the first of
the prophets to whom the word of the Lord came; for there were
Moses, Samuel, David, and others, before him; nor the first of
the minor prophets, for Jonah, Joel, and Amos; are by some
thought to be before him; nor the first of those contemporary
with him, as the Jewish writers interpret it, which is not
certain, at least not all of them; but the meaning is, that what
follows is the first part of his prophecy, or what it began with;
by which it appears he was put upon hard service at first, to
prophesy against Israel, an idolatrous people, and to do it in
such a manner as must be disagreeable to a young man:
and the Lord said to Hosea, go, take thee a wife of
whoredoms and
children of whoredoms;
a woman given to whoredom, a notorious strumpet, one taken out of
the stews, and children that were spurious and illegitimate, not
born in lawful wedlock. Some think this was really done; that the
prophet took a whore, and cohabited with her, or married her
which, though forbidden a high priest, was not forbid to a
prophet; and had it been against a law, yet the Lord commanding
it made it lawful, as in the cases of Abraham's slaying his son,
and the Israelites borrowing jewels of the Egyptians; but this
seems not likely, since it would not only look like countenancing
whoredom, which is contrary to the holy law of God; but must be
very dishonourable to the prophet, and render him contemptible to
the people; and, besides, would not answer the end proposed, to
reprove the spiritual adultery or idolatry of Israel, but rather
serve to confirm in it; for how should that appear criminal and
abominable to them, which was commanded the prophet by the Lord?
others think that the woman he is bid to marry, though before
marriage a harlot, was afterwards reformed; but this is directly
contrary to ( Hosea 3:1 ) and besides,
the children born of her, whether reformed or not, yet in lawful
wedlock could not be called children of whoredom; nor would the
above end be answered by it, since such a person would be no fit
representative of Israel committing spiritual adultery or
idolatry, and continuing in it; and moreover, whether this or the
former was the case, the prophecy must be many years delivering;
it must be near a year before the first child was born, and the
same space must be between the birth of each; so that here must
be a long and frequent interruption of the prophecy, which does
not seem likely: nor is it probable that he took his own wife,
which is the opinion of others, and gave her the character of a
whore, and his children with her, and called them children of
whoredom, in order to represent and reprove the idolatry of
Israel: what Maimonides {k}, and the Jewish writers in general,
give into, is more agreeable, that this was all done in the
vision of prophecy; that it so seemed to the prophet in vision to
be really done, and so he related it to the people; but this is
liable to objection, that such an impure scene of things should
be represented to the mind of the prophet by the Holy Spirit of
God; nor can the relation of it be thought to have any good
effect upon the people, who would be ready to mock at him, and
reproach him for it. It seems best therefore to understand the
whole as a parable, and that the prophet, in a parabolical way,
is bid to represent the treachery, unfaithfulness, and spiritual
adultery of the people of Israel, under the feigned name of an
unchaste woman, and of children begotten in fornication; and to
show unto them that their case was as if he had taken a woman out
of the stews, and her bastards with her; or as if a wife married
by him had defiled his bed, and brought him a spurious brood of
children. So the Targum interprets it,
``go, prophesy a prophecy against the inhabitants of the idolatrous city, who add to sin:''for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord;
or
``for the inhabitants of the land erring, erred from the worship of the Lord,''as the Targum; that is, the inhabitants of the land of Israel have committed idolatry, which is often in Scripture signified by adultery and whoredom; as an adulterous woman deals treacherously with her husband, so these people had dealt with God, who stood in such a relation to them; see ( Jeremiah 3:1 Jeremiah 3:6 Jeremiah 3:9 ) ( Ezekiel 16:17 Ezekiel 16:26 Ezekiel 16:28 Ezekiel 16:29 ) , this interprets the parable, and shows the reason of using the following symbols and emblems.
F9 (evwhb) (en wshe) , Sept.; in Hosea, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius, Tarnovius.
F11 Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. 46. Aben Ezra & Kimchi in loc.
