Israel Accused and Promised Restoration
Hosea 2:2-23
Hos.2.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונקבצו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ובני: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יחדו: ADV
- ושמו: CONJ,NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ראש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- ועלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מן: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יזרעאל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezek.37:15-22 (structural): The prophetic image of two sticks (Judah and Joseph/Ephraim) becoming one nation under one shepherd/king echoes the language of Judah and Israel being gathered and having 'one head' (one ruler).
- Jer.3:18 (thematic): Speaks of a future time when the house of Judah and the house of Israel will come together and walk with one another—a direct thematic parallel of reunification and joint return from exile.
- Isa.11:11-12 (thematic): Foretells God’s gathering of the dispersed of Israel and Judah from the lands and assembling them as one—a shared motif of restoration and national reunification.
- Zech.10:6-7 (allusion): Promises God will strengthen Judah and save Ephraim/Joseph, bring them together and restore them—language close to 'gathering' the two houses and unifying them under divine deliverance.
Alternative generated candidates
- Gather together, O children of Judah and children of Israel; appoint for yourselves one head, and go up from the land; for the day of Jezreel is great.
- Let the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel be gathered together; appoint for them one head, and let them go up from the land—for great is the day of Jezreel.
Hos.2.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לאחיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUF,2,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ולאחותיכם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- רחמה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,f
Parallels
- Hos.1:6-9 (verbal): The earlier naming of the children as Lo-ruhamah (not pitied) and Lo-ammi (not my people); Hosea 2:3 reverses that negative naming by commanding the names 'Ammi' and 'Rakhama'.
- Hos.2:23 (Heb. 2:1) (verbal): Explicit restoration formula — 'I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; I will say to those who were not my people, “You are my people”' — directly parallels the renaming in 2:3.
- Rom.9:25-26 (quotation): Paul cites Hosea's language ('I will call them My people who were not My people...') to show Gentile inclusion; a direct New Testament quotation of the restoration theme in Hosea.
- 1 Pet.2:10 (quotation): Peter echoes Hosea's reversal ('Once you were not a people... now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy... now you have received mercy'), applying Hosea's renaming/restoration to the church.
- Jer.30:22 (thematic): Jeremiah's promise 'You shall be my people, and I will be your God' echoes the same covenantal reversal and restoration of relationship expressed by Hosea's renaming.
Alternative generated candidates
- Say to your brothers, ‘My people,’ and to your sisters, ‘Compassion.’
- Say to your brothers, “Ammi” (my people), and to your sisters, “Ruhamah” (she who is pitied).
Hos.2.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ריבו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- באמכם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss,2,m,pl
- ריבו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אשתי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אישה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותסר: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- זנוניה: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss,3,f,sg
- מפניה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss,3,f,sg
- ונאפופיה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss,3,f,sg
- מבין: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שדיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs,poss,3,f,pl
Parallels
- Hos.2.2-3 (structural): Immediate context—continues the same summons to 'contend with your mother' and the marriage/whoredom imagery; closely parallels language and intent of v.4.
- Hos.1.2 (structural): Foundational oracle that establishes Israel as a 'wife of whoredom'—the prophetic marriage metaphor that v.4 invokes.
- Jer.3.8 (verbal): God gives faithless Israel a 'certificate of divorce' because of adultery—parallels the declaration 'she is not my wife / I am not her husband' and the divorce motif.
- Ezek.16:15-22 (thematic): Ezekiel's extended allegory of Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife who prostitutes herself to lovers—shares the indictment of spiritual adultery and images of sexual/ritual unfaithfulness.
- Ezek.23:2-10 (thematic): Parallel allegory of two sisters (Israel and Judah) prostituting themselves to foreign nations; explicit sexual imagery and accusations of whoredom similar to Hosea's charge.
Alternative generated candidates
- Contend with your mother; contend—she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Remove her whorings from her face and her adulteries from between her breasts.
- Contend with your mother; contend—for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her put away her harlotries from before her, and the tokens of her prostitution from between her breasts.
Hos.2.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פן: CONJ
- אפשיטנה: VERB,hiphil,imperfect,1,m,sg
- ערמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והצגתיה: VERB,hiphil,imperfect,1,m,sg
- כיום: ADV
- הולדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושמתיה: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg+PRON,3,f,sg
- כמדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ושתה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- כארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ציה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והמתיה: VERB,hiphil,imperfect,1,m,sg
- בצמא: PREP+ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:22-24 (verbal): Ezekiel depicts Yahweh 'uncovering' Jerusalem's nakedness and handing her over to lovers, exposing and shaming the city—closely paralleling Hosea's language of stripping, exposure like the day of birth, and desolation.
- Isaiah 47:3 (verbal): Isaiah pronounces that Babylon's 'nakedness shall be uncovered' and she will be put to shame; the same motif of stripping and humiliation echoes Hosea's threat to make her bare and disgraced.
- Deuteronomy 28:23-24 (thematic): As part of covenant curses, Deuteronomy pictures the land afflicted by drought and consuming heat so crops wither and people suffer thirst—paralleling Hosea's image of making Israel like a desert and slaying her with thirst.
- Joel 1:10-12 (thematic): Joel describes the land laid waste, vines and fields failing and sustenance drying up—the motif of desolation and thirst mirrors Hosea's depiction of Israel becoming a dry, thirsty wilderness under judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Lest I strip her naked and expose her as on the day of her birth; I will make her like a wilderness, set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
- Lest I strip her naked and expose her as on the day she was born; I will make her like a wilderness, a dry land, and I will kill her with thirst.
Hos.2.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואת: CONJ
- בניה: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss3,m
- לא: PART_NEG
- ארחם: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- זנונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 2:2 (structural): Immediate context: the chapter opens with an accusation of Israel's adultery and judicial summons; 2:6 continues the theme by announcing judgment and withholding mercy from her children because of that unfaithfulness.
- Hosea 9:14 (thematic): A later Hosea passage where God speaks of cursing offspring (miscarrying wombs, bereavement) as a consequence of Israel's sin—parallels the idea of God refusing compassion toward children 'of harlotry.'
- Ezekiel 16:44-45 (thematic): Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem as an adulterous woman and observes that the daughter shares the mother's shame ('As is the mother, so is her daughter'), linking female unfaithfulness with the stigma and punishment that affect offspring.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (allusion): Jeremiah recounts God divorcing faithless Israel for whoredom and the resultant judgment; the language of marital unfaithfulness and its national consequences parallels Hosea's linkage of harlotry with penalty upon the children.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will have no compassion on her children, for they are children of whoredom.
- I will have no compassion on her children, for they are children of harlotry.
Hos.2.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- זנתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אמם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הבישה: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,f,sg
- הורתם: VERB,hif,perf,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- אמרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אלכה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- מאהבי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נתני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לחמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ומימי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- צמרי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופשתי: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שמני: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg,obj:1s
- ושקויי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:15-17 (verbal): God accuses Jerusalem of using the gifts he gave (oil, perfumes, fine clothing) to furnish her lovers—language and charge closely parallel Israel using God’s provisions for Baal.
- Ezekiel 16:13-14 (thematic): Describes Yahweh lavishly providing for Jerusalem (food, clothing, jewelry), paralleling Hosea’s contrast between divine provision and Israel’s unfaithfulness.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (thematic): Israel is charged with abandoning the LORD, the 'fountain of living waters,' and seeking broken cisterns—thematic parallel of seeking other 'lovers' despite God’s provision.
- Deuteronomy 8:11-14 (verbal): A warning not to forget the LORD when he blesses you with food, increase, and prosperity—parallels Hosea’s point that God’s gifts were forgotten as Israel pursued other gods.
- Psalm 106:20-22 (thematic): Recounts Israel exchanging God’s glory for idols and forgetting God despite his deeds—echoes Hosea’s theme of gratitude and faithfulness betrayed by idolatrous pursuit of 'lovers.'
Alternative generated candidates
- For their mother has played the harlot and shamed the conception of her children; she said, ‘I will go after my lovers—who give me my bread, my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
- For their mother has played the harlot; she who conceived them has been ashamed—she said, “I will go after my lovers; they give me my bread, my water, my wool, my flax, my oil, and my drink.”
Hos.2.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- שך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דרכך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- בסירים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וגדרתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- גדרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ונתיבותיה: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,suff-3fs
- לא: PART_NEG
- תמצא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 22:5 (verbal): Uses similar imagery of 'thorns and snares' in the way—both describe obstacles placed in the path of the wicked/perverse, echoing Hosea's hedging of her way with thorns.
- Isaiah 5:6 (thematic): God's judgment pictured as making a place overgrown with briers and thorns so that no one can pass—parallels Hosea's motif of blocking paths as punitive consequence.
- Genesis 3:24 (structural): God prevents access by placing guardians/obstacles (cherubim and flaming sword) to the tree of life; thematically akin to God 'hedging' or fencing a way to bar return or access.
- Proverbs 2:18 (thematic): Speaks of a woman's house whose 'paths lead down to death'; echoes Hosea's language of paths and the danger/obstruction associated with following sinful ways.
- Isaiah 59:8 (thematic): Describes people who 'do not know the way of peace' and whose 'paths are crooked'—resonates with Hosea's image of lost or blocked paths as a judgment on wayward conduct.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns and wall in her paths, so that she shall not find her paths.
- Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns, and I will build a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
Hos.2.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ורדפה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מאהביה: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3f
- ולא: CONJ
- תשיג: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ובקשתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- תמצא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ואמרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אלכה: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- ואשובה: VERB,qal,imperfect,1,sg
- אל: NEG
- אישי: NOUN,m,sg,pr1s
- הראשון: ADJ,m,sg,def
- כי: CONJ
- טוב: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אז: ADV
- מעתה: ADV
Parallels
- Jer.3.1 (verbal): Uses the same legal/marital formula about returning to a 'first husband' to address Israel's adultery and call her to repent and return to God.
- Hosea 3.1 (structural): Within Hosea the prophet is told to pursue and love an adulterous woman — continuing the marriage/return motif and God's retrieval of unfaithful Israel.
- Jer.2.2 (thematic): Speaks of Israel's 'espousals' and early faithful love for Yahweh, an implicit contrast with later adultery and the summons to return to the first relationship.
- Ezek.16.8-14 (allusion): God's courtship and formal taking of Israel as wife (and his later provision contrasted with her harlotry) parallels the bride/harlot and husband imagery in Hosea 2:9.
- Rev.2.4-5 (allusion): The NT admonition to 'remember from where you have fallen' and 'return to your first works/first love' echoes the call in Hosea to return to the first husband — a return to original fidelity.
Alternative generated candidates
- She will chase after her lovers but not overtake them; she will seek them and not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now.’
- She will chase after her lovers but will not overtake them; she will seek them but will not find them. Then she will say, “I will go back to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.”
Hos.2.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיא: CONJ+PRON,3,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- נתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- הדגן: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והתירוש: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- והיצהר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- וכסף: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הרביתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,_,sg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- וזהב: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לבעל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 32:3-4 (verbal): The people give their gold to be cast into an image (the golden calf); like Hos.2:10, precious metals given by the people are turned into an idol.
- Ezekiel 16:13-19 (thematic): God describes lavishing Jerusalem with grain, oil, silver and gold and then Israel using those gifts for idols and prostitution—closely parallel to Hosea’s theme of divine bounty diverted to Baal.
- Judges 8:27 (thematic): Gideon fashions an ephod from the gold of victory that becomes a snare to Israel (idolatrous devotion to a sacred object), echoing Hosea’s point that God’s gifts are misused for false worship.
- Deuteronomy 28:12 (thematic): As part of covenant blessing God promises agricultural abundance and material prosperity (open his good treasury); Hosea’s list of grain, wine, oil, silver and gold echoes these covenantal blessings now squandered on Baal.
Alternative generated candidates
- And she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied her silver and gold—which they made for Baal.
- She does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied for her silver and gold—which they made for Baal.
Hos.2.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- אשוב: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- ולקחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- דגני: NOUN,m,sg,suff-1cs
- בעתו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3ms
- ותירושי: NOUN,m,sg,suff-1cs
- במועדו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,suff-3ms
- והצלתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,m,sg
- צמרי: NOUN,m,sg,suff-1cs
- ופשתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff-1cs
- לכסות: VERB,qal,inf
- את: PRT,acc
- ערותה: NOUN,f,sg,suff-3fs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:38-40 (thematic): Like Hosea’s threat to withdraw grain and wine, Deuteronomy lists agricultural curses (failed harvests, diminished crops) as divine punishment for covenant unfaithfulness.
- Amos 4:7-8 (thematic): God’s selective withholding of rain and foodstuffs in Amos parallels Hosea’s image of God taking away grain and wine to discipline Israel.
- Ezekiel 16:7-13, 22-23 (thematic): Ezekiel uses the clothing/exposure motif—God clothing Jerusalem with fine garments and later uncovering her shame—echoing Hosea’s recovery of wool and flax to cover nakedness and the theme of divine provision withdrawn or restored.
- Genesis 3:7 (thematic): The image of covering nakedness (Adam and Eve sewing fig leaves) resonates with Hosea’s language of wool and flax used to cover exposed shame, linking nakedness/covering to moral status and vulnerability.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore I will take back my grain in its season and my new wine in its time; I will take away my wool and my flax, with which to cover her nakedness.
- Therefore I will take back my grain in its season and my new wine in its appointed time; I will take away my wool and my flax which were to cover her nakedness.
Hos.2.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועתה: CONJ
- אגלה: VERB,qal,impf,1,c,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- נבלתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,f,sg
- לעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- מאהביה: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,f,sg
- ואיש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יצילנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,obj3f
- מידי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:37-39 (verbal): Uses the same prostitution/harlotry imagery and judgment language—God exposes the city's lewdness, brings shame on her lovers, and gives her into painful punishment (parallel to exposing her to lovers and no one rescuing her).
- Ezekiel 23:25-30 (thematic): Describes Israel and Judah as harlot sisters who are handed over to enemies and lovers, exposed and humiliated—echoes Hosea’s theme of divine exposure and helplessness before judgment.
- Isaiah 47:3-4 (thematic): Speaks of a proud city whose nakedness and shame will be uncovered and who will have no one to save her—parallels the public exposure and inability of anyone to rescue her from God’s hand.
- Jeremiah 3:8-9 (allusion): God speaks of divorcing an unfaithful Israel who goes after other lovers; the marital/adultery metaphor and the imposition of covenantal consequences parallel Hosea’s portrayal of Israel’s exposure and judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Now I will uncover her lewdness before the sight of her lovers; no man shall deliver her out of my hand.
- Now I will uncover her shame before the eyes of her lovers; no one shall deliver her out of my hand.
Hos.2.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשבתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,com,sg
- כל: DET
- משושה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חגה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,fs
- חדשה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ושבתה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,fs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- מועדה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,fs
Parallels
- Amos 5:21-23 (thematic): God rejects Israel’s religious festivals and music despite their ritual observance—parallels Hosea’s declaration that her feasts and mirth will be taken away as judgment.
- Isaiah 1:13-14 (verbal): Isaiah denounces the new moons and appointed feasts as detestable to the LORD—language and theme closely mirror Hosea’s promise to make new moons, sabbaths and festivals cease.
- Jeremiah 44:17-19 (thematic): Jerusalem’s people persist in offering cakes and libations to the 'queen of heaven' (idolatrous ritual feasts), illustrating the same syncretistic festival practice that prompts the punitive cessation in Hosea.
- Ezekiel 23:37-39 (thematic): Ezekiel condemns prostitution and idolatrous rites tied to false cultic celebrations and announces punitive removal of protection and blessing—parallels Hosea’s linking of cultic corruption with the end of festivals and joy.
- Hosea 2:11-12 (structural): Immediate context: verses before and after describe cutting off her grain, wine and altars and ending her sacrifices and songs—these verses form the same unit announcing cessation of her festivals and mirth as divine judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will also cause all her gaiety to cease—her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts.
- I will remove all her celebrations—her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her appointed festivals.
Hos.2.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והשמתי: CONJ+VERB,hiph,perf,1,m,sg
- גפנה: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- ותאנתה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,suff
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אמרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אתנה: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נתנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- מאהבי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff
- ושמתים: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg,obj:3mp
- ליער: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואכלתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- חית: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): Vineyard imagery and divine judgment/expectation—God as vinedresser who removes or judges an unfruitful vineyard echoes Hosea’s references to vine and fig trees and Israel’s failed fruitfulness.
- Jeremiah 2:2-3 (thematic): Speaks of Israel’s early love and following God in the wilderness—parallels Hosea’s motif of drawing/leading Israel into the wilderness for relationship and restoration.
- Jeremiah 2:21 (verbal): Uses the language of planting a vine (God’s planting of Israel) and the people’s degeneration—direct verbal parallel to Hosea’s vine imagery and divine action toward Israel.
- Ezekiel 20:35-37 (thematic): God declares He will bring Israel into the wilderness to judge and purify them—echoes Hosea’s bringing into the wilderness as a setting for confrontation and restoration.
- Jeremiah 31:3 (verbal): ‘I have loved you… therefore I have drawn you’—the language of God’s drawing/alluring Israel for restoration closely parallels Hosea’s promise to allure and bring the people into the wilderness.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will make her vineyards and her fig trees a wilderness, which she said were her wages that her lovers gave her; I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
- I will make the vine and the fig tree that she said were hers, that her lovers gave her, into a wilderness; I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
Hos.2.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ופקדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- הבעלים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- תקטיר: VERB,qal,impf,3,_,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ותעד: VERB,qal,impf,3,_,sg
- נזמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחליתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- מאהביה: NOUN,m,pl,poss
- ואתי: PRON,1,m,sg
- שכחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:20-21 (verbal): Both passages depict Israel’s prostitution/idolatry linked with giving up children—Ezekiel explicitly accuses Israel of handing sons and daughters over to be sacrificed, echoing Hosea’s theme of apostasy tied to family loss.
- Ezekiel 23:37 (thematic): Ezekiel’s extended prostitute metaphor (Israel/ Judah pursuing foreign ‘lovers’ and abominable deeds) parallels Hosea’s image of the wife going after lovers/Baalim and the resulting divine judgment.
- Jeremiah 3:6-10 (thematic): Jeremiah describes Israel’s adultery with foreign gods and God’s response (divorce/exile), closely paralleling Hosea’s portrayal of unfaithfulness to YHWH by pursuing Baalim and the consequent punitive actions.
- Psalm 106:37-39 (verbal): The psalm records Israel’s defilement through idolatry and even sacrificing children to idols—language and concern that mirror Hosea’s linkage of Baal-worship and the ruination of Israel’s offspring.
- Judges 2:17 (thematic): Judges summarizes the recurring pattern: Israel abandons YHWH and serves Baal/Ashtaroth, bringing judgment—the same cycle of infidelity to which Hosea’s ‘days of the Baalim’ alludes.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will visit on her the days of the Baals—when she burned incense to them, adorned herself with her ring, went after her lovers, and forgot me, says the LORD.
- I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, when she burned incense to them, adorned herself with necklaces and jewelry, went after her lovers, and forgot me, declares the LORD.
Hos.2.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- הנה: PART
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- מפתיה: VERB,piel,ptcp,msc,sg,with_obj_3f
- והלכתיה: VERB,hiphil,ptcp,msc,sg,with_obj_3f
- המדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- ודברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- על: PREP
- לבה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+suf:3,f
Parallels
- Isaiah 40:1 (verbal): Both texts use God’s language of speaking comfort to Israel (‘Comfort, comfort my people’ vs. ‘I will… speak to her heart’), linking divine consolatory speech.
- Jeremiah 31:3 (verbal): Jeremiah describes God’s drawing/loving Israel (‘with everlasting love I have loved you; I drew you with lovingkindness’), paralleling Hosea’s motif of God’s alluring/drawing of the covenant partner.
- Ezekiel 20:35 (verbal): Ezekiel speaks of bringing Israel into the wilderness to judge/plead with them (‘I will bring you into the wilderness… and plead with you face to face’), echoing Hosea’s imagery of bringing into the wilderness and intimate address.
- Song of Songs 2:10-14 (allusion): The language of wooing, calling the beloved away into a secluded place and speaking to her heart resonates with the bridegroom-bride imagery in Song of Songs, an intertextual model for Hosea’s divine courtship of Israel.
- John 6:44 (thematic): The NT theme that the Father ‘draws’ people to the Son parallels Hosea’s notion of God’s active alluring/drawing of Israel, transferring the motif of divine initiative in reconciliation into a Christian context.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore, behold, I will allure her; I will bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her heart.
- Therefore, behold—I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
Hos.2.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כרמיה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- משם: PREP
- ואת: CONJ
- עמק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עכור: ADJ,m,sg
- לפתח: PREP
- תקוה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וענתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- שמה: ADV
- כימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs+sim
- נעוריה: NOUN,m,pl,cs+PRON,3,f,sg
- וכיום: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cs
- עלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:2 (verbal): Uses the same language of remembering "the devotion/love of your youth," echoing Hosea's phrase about returning to the days of her youth.
- Hosea 11:1 (allusion): Invokes the Exodus motif—"called out of Egypt"—parallel to Hosea's reference to Israel's coming up out of the land of Egypt as formative early days.
- Isaiah 65:10 (verbal): Also mentions the Valley of Achor in a positive, restorative sense (a place for flocks/herds), paralleling Hosea's transformation of Achor into a door of hope.
- Joshua 7:24–26 (thematic): Original negative context for the Valley of Achor (Achan's sin and punishment); Hosea deliberately reinterprets this cursed place into one of hope and restoration.
- Amos 9:14–15 (thematic): Shares the restoration theme—return of the people, renewal of the land and settling in former days—similar to Hosea's promise of vineyards, renewal and revival like the days of youth.
Alternative generated candidates
- There I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope; she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, as on the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
- There I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope; she shall answer there as in the days of her youth, as on the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
Hos.2.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- תקראי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- אישי: NOUN,m,sg,pr1s
- ולא: CONJ
- תקראי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- עוד: ADV
- בעלי: NOUN,m,pl,construct
Parallels
- Isa.54.5 (verbal): God explicitly called the husband of Zion/Israel (“thy Maker is thy husband”), paralleling Hosea’s naming of God as 'Ishi' (my husband).
- Isa.62.4-5 (thematic): Restoration language renaming Zion and wedding imagery (‘as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride’), echoing the shift from estrangement to a marital relationship with God.
- Ezek.16.8 (allusion): God’s act of taking Israel as his wife and entering a covenant (‘I spread my skirt... and entered into a covenant with thee; thou becamest mine’) uses the same marriage-as-covenant motif behind calling God ‘Ishi.’
- Hos.2.19-20 (structural): Immediate context and continuation of Hos.2.18: God vows betrothal and faithfulness (‘I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness’), explaining the significance of being called 'Ishi.'
- Jer.2.2 (thematic): Jeremiah recalls Israel’s youthful ‘love’ and betrothal to the LORD—using nuptial imagery to describe the covenant relationship that Hosea also restores by renaming God 'Ishi.'
Alternative generated candidates
- In that day, says the LORD, you shall call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call me ‘My Baal.’
- On that day, declares the LORD, you shall call me “Ishi” (my husband), and no longer call me “Baal.”
Hos.2.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והסרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- שמות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הבעלים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- מפיה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,f,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יזכרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- בשמם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 16:4 (verbal): Uses the same mouth/lips imagery: 'I will not take their names on my lips,' paralleling Hosea's removal of the Baals' names from her mouth.
- Judges 6:25-26 (structural): Gideon's tearing down of his father's altar to Baal and cutting down the Asherah is a concrete enactment of removing Baal worship—parallel to God removing Baal's name from Israel.
- Deuteronomy 12:2-3 (thematic): Commands the destruction of foreign altars, pillars and idols so Israel will not worship other gods—themeless parallel to eliminating Baal's presence/names.
- Zephaniah 1:4-5 (thematic): Prophetic judgment against those who worship Baal and astral deities; like Hosea, Zephaniah promises removal of Baal influence among the people.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (thematic): Contrasts the lifelessness and futility of idols with the LORD; thematically echoes the notion that the names/power of Baal will be nullified and not remembered.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.
- I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by their name no more.
Hos.2.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- עם: PREP
- חית: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ועם: CONJ+PREP
- עוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ורמש: CONJ+NOUN,masc,sg,const
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- וקשת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וחרב: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ומלחמה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשבור: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- מן: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והשכבתים: VERB,hiph,impf,1,_,sg
- לבטח: ADV
Parallels
- Isaiah 11:6-9 (thematic): Vision of animals living peacefully (wolf with lamb, lion with calf) and the end of harm; parallels Hosea’s covenant with beasts and promise that creatures will ‘lie down safely.’
- Isaiah 2:4 (verbal): Declaration that nations will ‘beat their swords into plowshares’ and ‘learn war no more,’ echoing Hosea’s breaking of the bow and sword and the removal of battle from the earth.
- Micah 4:3 (quotation): Near-verbatim parallel to Isaiah 2:4 about turning swords into ploughshares and ceasing war; thematically matches Hosea’s promise to end warfare and establish safety.
- Zechariah 9:10 (verbal): God will ‘cut off the bow’ and remove warfare, speaking peace to the nations—language and imagery closely parallel to Hosea’s breaking of bow and sword and the promise of peace.
Alternative generated candidates
- On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the earth; I will break the bow and the sword and war from the land, and they shall lie down in safety.
- I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and make them lie down in safety.
Hos.2.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וארשתיך: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וארשתיך: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בצדק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובמשפט: PREP
- ובחסד: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וברחמים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ezek.16:8 (structural): God’s language of passing by, swearing and entering a covenant with Israel uses the same betrothal/covenant marriage framework—God claims Israel as his bride (parallel covenant-betrothal imagery).
- Isa.54:5 (thematic): God is presented as Israel’s husband/creator who espouses and will have compassion on her—echoes the ‘betroth you to me forever’ and husband-bride motif.
- Isa.62:4-5 (thematic): The image of Israel’s vindication and being ‘married’ to the LORD (and God’s rejoicing over her like a bridegroom over a bride) parallels the betrothal and joy expressed in Hosea.
- Jer.31:3 (thematic): The declaration of everlasting love and faithful commitment (‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’) resonates with Hosea’s promise to betroth Israel ‘forever’ in steadfast love and mercy.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
- I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness, in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy.
Hos.2.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וארשתיך: VERB,hiph,impf,1,-,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- באמונה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 6:7 (verbal): Uses similar covenantal language — 'I will take you to me... and you shall know that I am the LORD' — linking divine claim, covenant relationship and knowledge of YHWH.
- Jeremiah 31:33-34 (thematic): Speaks of a renewed covenant in which God writes his law on hearts and 'they shall all know me,' paralleling Hosea's promise of betrothal/faithfulness and knowing the LORD.
- Ezekiel 16:8 (allusion): Employs the betrothal/marriage metaphor for God's covenant with Israel — God 'entered into a covenant' and claimed Israel as his, echoing Hosea's betrothal imagery.
- Ezekiel 36:26-28 (thematic): Promises inner renewal, God's presence and the reversal of exile so that Israel 'shall be my people, and I will be your God,' connecting covenant restoration with knowing God.
- Isaiah 54:5 (thematic): Uses husband/creator language ('your Maker is your husband') to describe God's faithful relationship to Israel, paralleling Hosea's nuptial imagery of betrothal in faithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.
- I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the LORD.
Hos.2.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- אענה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אענה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- והם: CONJ+PRON,3,m,pl
- יענו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut. 32:1 (verbal): Moses summons the heavens and earth to hear his song—an explicit verbal pattern of addressing the cosmos as witnesses like Hosea’s appeal to the heavens and earth.
- Isa. 1:2 (verbal): God calls ‘heavens’ and ‘earth’ to hear his charge against Israel, using the same motif of heaven/earth hearing or answering the divine word.
- Isa. 44:23 (verbal): ‘Sing for joy, O heavens; and rejoice, O earth’—a closely parallel image of the heavens and earth rejoicing/responding to the LORD’s act of restoration.
- Ps. 148:1-6 (thematic): A biblical hymn calling the heavens and all cosmic powers to praise the LORD; shares the theme of the whole creation responding to God’s action.
- Joel 2:23-24 (thematic): God promises restoration—sending former and latter rains so the land rejoices; parallels Hosea’s promise that God will ‘answer the heavens’ and they in turn ‘answer the earth’ with blessing.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall be in that day—‘I will answer,’ says the LORD—I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.
- And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the LORD, that I will answer— I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.
Gather, O sons of Judah, gather, O sons of Israel; appoint for yourselves one leader, and go up from the land—for the great day of Jezreel is near.
Say to your brothers, ‘My people,’ and to your sisters, ‘Shown mercy.’
Contend with your mother; contend—she is not my wife, and I am not her husband; let her strip off her harlotry from her face and her adulteries from between her breasts.
Lest I strip her naked and expose her as on the day she was born; I will make her like a wilderness, set her like dry land, and put her to death with thirst.
I will have no mercy on her sons, for they are sons of harlotry.
Her mother played the harlot and shamed the one who bore her, for she said, ‘I will go after my lovers; they give me my bread, my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns and wall up her paths so that she shall not find her way.
She will pursue her lovers and not overtake them; she will seek them and not find them, and then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband—for then it was better for me than now.’ And she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and multiplied silver for her and gold—which they made for Baal.
Therefore I will take back my grain in its season and my new wine in its appointed time; I will also take back my wool and my flax, intended to cover her nakedness. And now I will uncover her shame before her lovers, and none of them shall deliver her from my hand.
I will remove all her mirth, her feast days, her new moons, and all her appointed festivals.
I will make her vineyards and her fig trees a wilderness—of which she said, ‘They are my wages that my lovers gave me’—and I will make them a waste, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
I will visit upon her the days of the Baals—when she burned incense to them, adorned herself with earrings and jewelry, went after her lovers, and forgot me, declares the LORD.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
I will give her vineyards from there and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as on the day she came up from the land of Egypt.
On that day, declares the LORD, you shall call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call me ‘My Baal.’
I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more.
I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and will make them lie down in safety.
I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you shall know the LORD. And it shall come to pass on that day—‘I will answer,’ declares the LORD—‘I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth.’