Hosea 1:8

8 And she weaneth Lo-Ruhamah, and conceiveth, and beareth a son;

Hosea 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 1:8

Now when she had weaned Loruhamah
That is, when Gomer had weaned her daughter of this name, ( Hosea 1:6 ) . This some interpret of the people of Israel being deprived of the word and ordinances, compared to milk and breasts, having a famine of them; and so were like children weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts; though others think this is expressive of the patience of God in bearing with this people, after he had before threatened them with the subversion of their kingdom and state; and even after the prophecy had took place in part, in causing the kingdom to cease in the house of Jehu, he bore with them about forty years before they were entirely carried captive; suckling and weaning, before the conception and birth of another child, denoting some stop and stay; but rather this intends the taking away some part of the land of Israel, as a child when weaning is taken away from its mother; and may respect the carrying captive many of the Israelites in divers parts, particularly out of Gilead, Galilee, and Naphtali, by Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, ( 2 Kings 15:29 ) . This cannot be understood of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon, as Cocceius; for this is a resumption and continuation of the prophecy concerning the ten tribes, after inserting a promise of the salvation of Judah, in the preceding verse: she conceived and bare a son:
according to Kimchi, as the weaning of Loruhamah points at the times of weakness, from Zachariah the son of Jeroboam to the times of Pekahiah, when the reigns were short and troublesome; so this son conceived and born represents the state of the nation in the times of Pekah; who reigned twenty years, and was too powerful for the kingdom of Judah, slew multitudes of them, and carried others captive, and assisted Rezin king of Syria against Ahaz king of Judah: but, according to the series of the prophecy, it seems best to agree with the times of Hoshea king of Israel, who was not so bad as some of his predecessors; was a man of spirit and courage; cast off the Assyrian yoke, and neglected to give presents to the king of Assyria; and Samaria in his time held out a three years' siege against that king, ( 2 Kings 17:1-5 ) . The Targum is,

``and the generation of them who are carried captive among the nations are found not to have obtained mercy by their works, but they added and did evil works.''

Hosea 1:8 In-Context

6 And she conceiveth again, and beareth a daughter, and He saith to him, `Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I add no more to pity the house of Israel, for I do utterly take them away;

7 and the house of Judah I pity, and have saved them by Jehovah their God, and do not save them by bow, and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.'

8 And she weaneth Lo-Ruhamah, and conceiveth, and beareth a son;

9 and He saith, `Call his name Lo-Ammi, for ye [are] not My people, and I am not for you;

10 and the number of the sons of Israel hath been as the sand of the sea, that is not measured nor numbered, and it hath come to pass in the place where it is said to them, Ye [are] not My people, it is said to them, Sons of the Living God;