Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people
Either locally, by dwelling among them, as some of them at least
might do among the Syrians; or carnally, by intermarrying with
them, contrary to the command of God; or civilly, by entering
into alliances and confederacies with them, as Pekah the son of
Remaliah king of Israel did with Rezin king of Syria, ( Isaiah 7:2 Isaiah 7:5 ) ; or by
seeking to them for help, calling to Egypt, and going to Assyria,
as in ( Hosea
7:11 ) ; so Aben Ezra; or morally, by learning their manners,
and conforming to their customs, especially in religious things:
though some understand this as a punishment threatened them for
their above sins, that they should be carried captive into
foreign lands, and so be mixed among the people, and which is
Jarchi's sense: but it is rather to be considered as their evil
in joining with other nations in their superstition, idolatry,
and other impieties; and it is highly offensive to God when his
professing people mix themselves with the world, keep company
with the men of it, fashion themselves according to them, do as
they do, and wilfully go into their conversation, and repeat it,
and continue therein, and resolve to do so: for so it may be
rendered, "he will mix himself" F18; it denotes a voluntary act,
repeated and persisted in with obstinacy; Ephraim is a cake
not turned;
like a cake that is laid on coats, if it is not turned, the
nether part will be burnt, and the upper part unbaked, and so be
good for noticing; not fit to be eaten, being nothing indeed,
neither bread nor dough; and so may signify, that Ephraim having
introduced much of the superstition and idolatry of the Gentiles
into religious worship, was nothing in religion, neither fish nor
flesh, as is proverbially said of persons and things of which
nothing can be made; they worshipped the calves at Dan and
Bethel, and Yet swore by the name of the Lord; they halted
between two opinions, and were of neither; they were like the
hotch potch inhabitants of Samaria in later times, that came in
their place, that feared the Lord, and served their own gods: and
such professors of religion there are, who are nothing in
religion; nothing in principle, they have no scheme of
principles; they are neither one thing nor another; they are
nothing in experience; if they have a form of godliness, they
deny the power of it; they are nothing in practice, all they do
is to be seen of men; they are neither hot nor cold, especially
not throughout, or on both sides, like a cake unturned; but are
lukewarm and indifferent, and therefore very disagreeable to the
Lord. Some take this to be expressive of punishment, and not of
fault; either of their partial captivity by Tiglathpileser, when
only a part of them was carried captive; or of the swift and
total destruction of them by their enemies, who would be like
hungry and half starved persons, who meeting with a cake on the
coals half baked, snatch it up, and eat it, not staying for the
turning and baking it on the other side; and thus it should be
with them. So the Targum,
``the house of Ephraim is like to a cake baked on coals, which before it is turned is eaten.''