Hosea 2:12

12 and I will lay waste to her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, "They [are] my payment for prostitution, which my lovers gave to me." I will make them a forest, and the wild animals of the field will devour them.

Hosea 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 2:12

And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees
Which are mentioned for the rest, being the most fruitful and beneficial: this was done when Judea was invaded, overrun and wasted, by the Roman army; and when many were cut down, as Josephus observes, to build forts, and cast up mounts against Jerusalem; so that, he, says ^F12, the appearance of the earth was miserable, for what before was adorned with trees and gardens, looked now like a wilderness: whereof she hath said, these are my rewards that my lovers have given
me;
alluding to the hire of harlots, given them by their gallants; these she ascribed, as she did before her bread, water, wool, flax; and oil, ( Hosea 2:5 ) , not to God, the author and giver of them, but to the people her lovers, as the Targum; or to her idols, or to her beloved tenets, and doing according to them; and which is here mentioned as a reason of the divine resentment, and why he destroyed these fruitful trees: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat
them;
make the vines and fig trees like forest trees, barren and unfruitful; the fruitful land of Judea should be turned into a forest, or become like a desert or wilderness, and all the fruits of it should be eaten up by wild beasts; by their enemies, compared to the beasts of the field, particularly the Romans, the fourth beast; see ( Isaiah 56:9 ) ( Daniel 7:7 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 De Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 1. sect. 1.

Hosea 2:12 In-Context

10 And now I will uncover her nakedness before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will rescue her from my hand.

11 And I will put an end to all her mirth, her festivals, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals;

12 and I will lay waste to her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, "They [are] my payment for prostitution, which my lovers gave to me." I will make them a forest, and the wild animals of the field will devour them.

13 {I will punish her} [for] the days of the Baals, to whom she burns incense, and she decked herself [with] her ornamental ring and jewelry, and she went after her lovers, and forgot me --a declaration of Yahweh.

14 Therefore, Look! I [am] going to allure her and bring her [into] the desert, and {I will speak tenderly to her}.

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew "vine"
• [b] Hebrew "fig tree"
• [c] Hebrew "animal"