Hosea 1:6

6 And she conceived yet, and childed a daughter. And the Lord said to him, Call thou the name of her Without mercy, for I shall no more lay to, for to have mercy on the house of Israel, but by forgetting I shall forget them. (And she conceived again, and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to him, Call thou her name Loruhamah, or Without mercy, for I shall no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but by forgetting I shall forget all about them.)

Hosea 1:6 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 1:6

And she conceived again, and bare a daughter
One of the weaker sex; denoting the weaker state of the kingdom of Israel after Jeroboam, as Kimchi thinks; Zachariah his son reigning but six months, and Shallum the son of Jabesh, his successor, reigned but one month, ( 2 Kings 15:8 2 Kings 15:13 ) :

and God said unto him, call her name Loruhamah;
which signifies, "she hath not obtained mercy": and what follows explains it to the same sense. The Targum is,

``and they added and did evil works; and he said unto him call their name, who obtained not mercy by their works:''

for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel;
as he had heretofore, sparing them time after time, though they continued to sin against him; but now he would spare them no longer, but deliver them up into the hands of their enemies, as he did a part of them, first into the hands of Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and then to Shalmaneser, ( 2 Kings 15:29 ) ( 2 Kings 17:3 2 Kings 17:6 ) , otherwise, in the latter day, mercy will be shown them again, especially in a spiritual way, when they shall be converted, and believe in Christ, and all Israel shall be saved, as well as possess their own land again; see ( Hosea 1:10 Hosea 1:11 ) ( Romans 11:26 ) : but I will utterly take them away;
out of their land, from being a kingdom and nation, which was done by Shalmaneser, another king of Assyria, ( 2 Kings 17:6 ) , or, "bringing I will bring into them", or "against them" ^F23; that is, an enemy, the same king of Assyria: or, "but forgetting I will forget them" ^F24, as some render it, and remember them no more, till the fulness of time comes: or, "through pardoning I have pardoned", or "spared them" ^F25; that is, in times past. The Targum is,

``but if they return, pardoning I will pardon them;''

which will be done in the latter day.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 (Mhl ava avn) "adducendo adducam contra cos", Munster; "importando importabo eis", Drusius; so Kimchi and Ben Melech.
F24 "Obliviscendo obliviscar eorum", V. L. Pagninus.
F25 "Quamvis omnino condonaverim eis", Piscator; "quamvis haetenus condonando condonaverim eis", so some in Drusius.

Hosea 1:6 In-Context

4 And the Lord said to him, Call thou the name of him Jezreel; for yet a little, and I shall visit the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and I shall make to rest the realm of the house of Israel. (And the Lord said to him, Call thou his name Jezreel; for in a little while, I shall bring the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I shall bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.)

5 And in that day, I shall all-break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. (And on that day, I shall altogether break Israel's bow, or their power, in the Jezreel Valley.)

6 And she conceived yet, and childed a daughter. And the Lord said to him, Call thou the name of her Without mercy, for I shall no more lay to, for to have mercy on the house of Israel, but by forgetting I shall forget them. (And she conceived again, and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to him, Call thou her name Loruhamah, or Without mercy, for I shall no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but by forgetting I shall forget all about them.)

7 And I shall have mercy on the house of Judah, and I shall save them in their Lord God; and I shall not save them in bow, and sword, and battle, and in horses, and in horsemen, either knights. (But I shall have mercy on the house of Judah, and I shall save them by the Lord their God; and I shall not save them by bow, or sword, or battle, or by horses, or by horsemen, or knights.)

8 And (s)he weaned her that was Without mercy. And she conceived, and childed a son to him. (And she weaned Loruhamah. And then she conceived, and gave birth to another son.)