{"commentary":{"id":"adam-clarke","name":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clarke","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"92e28c9363c876d215e296f2fe04abb3ab7e34a2aacebdf06bd62ae79c6e3dba","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":57,"totalNumberOfChapters":854,"totalNumberOfVerses":13318,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"HOS","commentaryId":"adam-clarke","name":"Hosea","commonName":"Hosea","introduction":"Introduction to the Book of the Prophet Hosea Hosea, the son of Beeri, is the first of the minor prophets. Epiphanius says that he was of the town of Belemoth, in the tribe of Issachar; which is no other, in all probability, than Beelmeon, towards Esdraelon, in this tribe. The rabbins say that Bura was his father, who is mentioned in the Chronicles, and was prince of the tribe of Reuben at the time when Tiglath-pileser carried some of the tribes of Israel into captivity. But if it be so, Hosea must be said to be of the tribe of Reuben; and a native of Beelmeon, beyond Jordan. This prophet lived in the kingdom of Samaria; and his prophecies for the most part have a view to this state, though there are likewise some particular things which concern the kingdom of Judah. We read, in the introduction to his prophecy, that he prophesied under the kings of Judah, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and under Jeroboam II., king of Israel. If he prophesied in the reign of all these princes, he must have lived a very long time; for there are a hundred and twelve years from the beginning of Uzziah's reign to the end of Hezekiah's reign. Uzziah began to reign A.M. 3194, and Hezekiah's reign ended in 3306. Add, if you please, twenty or five and twenty years, which might be the age of Hosea when he began to prophesy; and this will make one hundred and thirty-two, or one hundred and thirty-seven years. And if we were to take ten years from Uzziah, and as many from Hezekiah, during which Hosea might not have prophesied, there will still remain one hundred and twelve, or one hundred and fifteen years. In the whole collection of Hosea's prophecies, we find nothing which proves that he prophesied so long. And, besides, why should his prophecies be dated in the title by the reigns of the kings of Judah, when he did not live under their dominion? It is therefore very probable that this title is not Hosea's, but some ancient transcriber's; and that the true beginning of this prophet's work is at these words: \"The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea.\" It is our opinion that he began about the end of Jeroboam's reign, who was the second king of Israel of this name. See Calmet. St. Jerome and many others believe Hosea to be the oldest prophet, whose writings are in our possession; and that he was witness to the first captivity of the four tribes carried away by Tiglath-pileser, and the extinction of the kingdom of Samaria by Shalmaneser. St. Jerome will have it that he prophesied even afterwards. The first verses of 1: have a view to the death of Zechariah, king of Israel, and son of Jeroboam II: From the sixth verse of the first chapter to the third chapter, is a prediction of the captivity of Israel: but after he has foretold this captivity, he declares the return and end of it. He inveighs strongly against the disorders which prevailed in the kingdom of the ten tribes. It appears that in his time there were idols; not only at Dan, Beth-el, and Samaria, but likewise at Gilgal, upon Tabor, at Sichem, Beer-sheba, and upon the mountains of Gilead. He speaks of the Israelites as of a people entirely corrupted, and the measure of whose sins was filled up; he foretells that their golden calves should be pulled down, cast upon the ground, and carried into Assyria. He reflects, with the same severity, upon the irregularities which reigned in Judah. He stands up against those who went to worship false gods at Gilgal. He speaks of Sennacherib's invading the territories of Judah. He foretells that the people of Judah should still continue some time in their country after the captivity of the ten tribes; but that after this they themselves should likewise be carried captives beyond the Euphrates, from whence the Lord would bring them back after a certain number of years. The style of Hosea is obscure, and his expressions often dubious and perplexed. The things whereof he speaks contribute farther to his obscurity, by reason of their distance, and our ignorance of the history of those times. In the beginning of Hosea's prophecy, we read that the Lord directed him \"to take unto him a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms;\" that is, to marry a woman who, before her marriages had lived a debauched life, but who, after her marriage, should retire from all bad conversation, and whose children should be legitimate, notwithstanding that, by reason of the blemish which their mother had contracted by her former life, they were called the children of whoredoms. This prostitute woman, and the children who were to be born of her, were a figure and a kind of real prophecy which described the idolatry and infidelity of Samaria and the ten tribes, formerly the Lord's spouse, but who afterwards became idolatrous and corrupt. The children of this faithless woman are children of prostitution, since they imitate the idolatry of their mother. God gives these children the names of Jezreel, God will disperse; Lo-rechamah, or Without mercy; and Lo-ammi, Thou art no longer my people; to show, - 1. That God was going to revenge upon the house of Jehu, king of Israel, the sins which he had committed at Jezreel, when he usurped the kingdom of the ten tribes. 2. That the Lord would treat his idolatrous and sinful people without mercy. 3. That he would reject them, and no more look upon them as his people. Hosea is concise, sententious, and abrupt. It is his manner to omit the connexive and adversative particles; an observation which we should recollect when we observe them occasionally supplied by versions or manuscripts. These are among the causes of that obscurity for which he is remarkable: but the greatest difficulties arise from the corrupt readings which deform the printed text. He chiefly addresses Israel; but introduces frequent mention of Judah. He not only inveighs against the vices of the people, but sharply arraigns the conduct of their kings, princes, and priests. Like many of the Hebrew prophets, he tempers denunciations of God's vengeance against an idolatrous and vicious people, with promises of abundant mercies in store for them; and his transitions from one of these subjects to the other are rapid and unexpected. He abounds with short and lively comparisons; and, like the best Greek and Roman writers, often omits the particle of similitude. These comparisons he sometimes accumulates in the spirit of that poetry which is most admired. See Hos 6:3, Hos 6:4; Hos 9:10; Hos 11:11; Hos 13:3; Hos 14:5-7. He has often a Great Force of Expression. See Hos 1:7; Hos 2:3, Hos 2:18, Hos 2:21, Hos 2:22; Hos 4:2; Hos 6:5; Hos 11:4; Hos 12:1. He is sometimes Highly Animated. See Hos 4:14; Hos 5:8; Hos 8:1; Hos 9:5, Hos 9:14; Hos 13:10, Hos 13:14. Many Beautiful Passages occur in this prophet, as in the Similes throughout; in the Allegories, Hos 2:2, Hos 2:20; Hos 7:11, Hos 7:12, Hos 8:7; Hos 10:11, Hos 10:12, Hos 10:13; Hos 13:15; in the Pathos, Hos 11:3; and Hos 11:8, Hos 11:9; in the Figures, Hos 13:12; Hos 14:2. There are also some parts which are truly Sublime, as Hos 5:14, Hos 5:15; Hos 8:7; Hos 10:8; Hos 13:7, Hos 13:8. I have already, at the beginning of Isaiah, given a table of the chronological succession of all the prophets: that of Archbishop Newcome on the twelve minor prophets I subjoin here, because it contains some differences from the preceding. Order and Time in Which the Twelve Minor Prophets Flourished 1. Jonah Prophesied between 823 b.c. and 783 b.c. in the reign of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. See Kg2 14:25. 2. Amos prophesied from about 823 b.c. to about 785 b.c. in the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in that of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. See Amo 1:1. 3. Hosea flourished from about 809 b.c. to about 698 b.c., in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in that of Jeroboam II., king of Israel. See Hos 1:1. [But see the observations in the preceding page]. 4. Micah flourished between 757 b.c. and 698 b.c., in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. See Mic 1:1. 5. Nahum is supposed to have prophesied between 720 b.c. and 698 b.c., in the reign of Hezekiah. 6. Joel is supposed to have prophesied between 697 b.c. and 660 b.c., in the reign of Manasseh. 7. Zephaniah prophesied between 640 b.c. and 609 b.c., in the reign of Josiah. See Zep 1:1. 8. Habakkuk is thought to have prophesied between 606 b.c. and 598 b.c., in the reign of Jehoiakim. 9. Obadiah prophesied soon after 587 b.c., between the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and the destruction of the Edomites by the same prince. 10. Haggai prophesied about 520 b.c. after the return from Babylon. See Hag 1:1. 11. Zechariah prophesied from 520 b.c. to about 518 b.c.; and was contemporary with Haggai. See Zac 1:1. 12. Malachi is generally believed to have prophesied about 436 b.c.","order":28,"numberOfChapters":14,"sha256":"ad6e9db2657bfb265f036f75c9682794db22037a7bd0d26810cdd9e4ce3ec580","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":14,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/14.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":14},"totalNumberOfVerses":151},"chapter":{"number":10,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["Israel is an empty vine - Or, a vine that casteth its grapes.\nHe bringeth forth fruit - Or, he laid up fruit for himself. He abused the blessings of God to the purposes of idolatry. He was prosperous; but his prosperity corrupted his heart.\nAccording to the multitude of his fruit - He became idolatrous in proportion to his prosperity; and in proportion to their wealth was the costliness of their images, and the expensiveness of their idol worship.\nTrue is the homely saying of old Quarles: - \n\"So God's best gifts, usurp'd by wicked ones,\nTo poison turn, by their con-ta-gi-ons.\"\nAnother poet, of a higher order, but worse school, says: - \nEffodiuntur opes, irritamenta malorum.\nOvid.\nOf which the words of St. Paul are nearly a literal rendering: - \nῬιζα γαρ πανθων των κακων εστιν ἡ θιλαργυρια.\n\"For the love of money is the root of all these evils\"\nTi1 6:10.\nPity that this beautiful metal, on which God has bestowed such a large portion of mineral perfection, and then hid in the earth, should, on its being digged up by man, become the incentive to so many vices, and draw away his heart from the Creator of all things, and the fountain of ineffable perfection and goodness. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["Their heart is divided - They wish to serve God and Mammon, Jehovah and Baal: but this is impossible. Now God will do in judgment what they should have done in contrition, \"break down their altars, and spoil their images.\" \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":3,"content":["We have no king - We have rejected the King of kings; and had we any king, he would be of no service to us in this state, as he would be a captive like ourselves; nor could we have the approbation of God, as we now justly lie under his displeasure. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["They have spoken words - Vain, empty, deceitful words.\nSwearing falsely - This refers to the alliances made with strange powers, to whom they promised fidelity without intending to be faithful; and from whom they promised themselves protection and support, notwithstanding God was against them, and they knew it. All their words were vain, and in the end as bitter as gall.\nJudgment springeth up as hemlock - As our land lies without cultivation, so that we have nothing but noxious weeds instead of crops; so we have no administration of justice. What is done in this way is a perversion of law, and is as hurtful to society as hemlock would be to animal life. All this may refer to the anarchy that was in the kingdom of Israel before Hoshea's reign, and which lasted, according to Archbishop Usher, nine years. They then, literally, \"had no king.\" \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear - According to Calmet, shall worship the calves of Beth-aven; those set up by Jeroboam, at Beth-el. Fear is often taken for religious reverence.\nThe people thereof shall mourn - On seeing the object of their worship carried into captivity, as well as themselves.\nAnd the priests thereof - כמרים kemarim. The priests of Samaria, says Calmet, are here called kemarim, that is, black coats, or shouters, because they made loud cries in their sacrifices. Instead of יגילו yagilu, \"they shall rejoice;\" learned men propose ילילו yalilu, \"shall howl,\" which is likely to be the true reading, but it is not supported by any of the MSS. yet discovered. But the exigentia loci, the necessity of the place, requires some such word. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["A present to King Jareb - See on Hos 5:13 (note). If this be a proper name, the person intended is not known in history: but it is most likely that Pul, king of Assyria, is intended, to whom Menahem, king of Israel, appears to have given one of the golden calves, to insure his assistance. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":7,"content":["Her king is cut off as the foam - As lightly as a puff of wind blows off the foam that is formed below by a fall of water, so shall the kings of Israel be cut off. We have already seen that not less than four of them died by assassination in a very short time. See on Hos 7:7 (note). \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["The high-places - Idol temples.\nOf Aven - Beth-aven.\nThe thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars - Owing to the uncultivated and unfrequented state of the land, and of their places of idol worship, the people being all carried away into captivity.\n\"And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, And to the hills, Fall on us.\"\n\"This sublime description of fear and distress our Lord had in view, Luk 23:30, which may be a reference, and not a quotation. However, the Septuagint, in the Codex Alexandrinus, has the same order of words as occurs in the evangelist. The parallelism makes the passages more beautiful than Rev 6:16; and Isa 2:19 wants the animated dramatic form. That there is a reference to the caverns that abounded in the mountainous countries of Palestine, see the note on Isa 2:19 (note).\" - Newcome. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["Thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah - This is another reference to the horrible rape and murder of the Levite's wife, Jdg 19:13, Jdg 19:14.\nThere they stood - Only one tribe was nearly destroyed, viz., that of Benjamin. They were the criminals, the children of iniquity; the others were faultless, and stood only for the rights of justice and mercy. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":10,"content":["When they shall bind themselves in their two furrows - \"When they are chastised for their two iniquities,\" i.e., the calves in Dan and Beth-el. - Newcome. But this double iniquity may refer to what Jeremiah says, Jer 11:13 : \"My people have committed two evils.\" - \n1. They have forsaken me.\n2. They have joined themselves to idols. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":11,"content":["Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught - One thoroughly broken in to the yoke.\nAnd loveth to tread out - Goes peaceably in the yoke; and is pleased because, not being muzzled, she eats of the corn.\nI passed over upon her fair neck - I brought the yoke upon it, that she should not tread out the corn merely, but draw the plough and drag the harrow. These operations of husbandry are all referred to here, with some others. Ephraim shall tread out the corn, that there may be seed for the fields.\nJudah shall plough - That the furrows may receive it.\nJacob shall break his clods - Harrow - that the seed may be covered with the mould.\nIsrael very frequently made great depredations on Judah; and as this heifer loved to tread out the corn, and not plough, it is therefore added that he should be made to plough, be put under the yoke, namely, that of the Assyrians. What is added, \"Judah and Jacob shall plough for themselves,\" means, that Judah should not now plough for Israel, but for himself; as Israel shall no more make depredations upon him. - Dodd. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":12,"content":["Sow to yourselves in righteousness - Let the seed you sow be of the best kind, and in just measure.\nReap in mercy - By the blessing of God on this ploughing, sowing, and harrowing, you may expect a good crop in harvest.\nBreak up your fallow ground - Do not be satisfied with a slight furrow; let the land that was fallowed (slightly ploughed) be broken up again with a deep furrow.\nFor it is time to seek the Lord - This should be immediately done: the season is passing; and if you do not get the seed in the ground, the early rain will be past, and your fields will be unfruitful.\nRain righteousness upon you - God will give you the early rain in due time, and in proper measure. Here are the metaphors, and the application cannot be difficult.. Here are ploughing, fallowing, sowing, harrowing, watering, reaping, threshing, and feeding on the produce of well-directed labor. All may be applied to the human heart, and the work of God upon it. Correction, contrition, conversion, receiving the grace of Christ, bringing forth fruit, etc. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":13,"content":["Ye have ploughed wickedness - Ye have labored sinfully.\nYe have reaped iniquity - The punishment due to your iniquity.\nYe have eaten the fruit of lies - Your false worship and your false gods have brought you into captivity and misery.\nBecause thou didst trust in thy way - Didst confide in thy own counsels, and in thy mighty men, and not in the God who made you. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":14,"content":["Shall a tumult arise - The enemy shall soon fall upon thy people, and take all thy fortified places.\nAs Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel - Some think that this refers to Jerubbaal, or Gideon's victory over Zalmunna, general of the Midianites; see Jdg 7:8. Others think that an allusion is made here to the destruction of Arbela, a city of Armenia, by Shalmaneser, here called Shalman; and this while he was only general of the Assyrian forces, and not yet king. I think the history to which this refers is unknown. It seems that it was distinguished by some remarkable ferocities.\nThe mother was dashed in pieces upon her children - But when, where, how, and by whom, still remain unknown. Conjecture in such a case must be useless. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":15,"content":["So shall Beth-el do unto you - This shall be the consequence of your idolatry.\nIn a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off - Suddenly, unexpectedly. Hoshea, the king of Israel, shall be cut off by the Assyrians. There are some allusions to facts in this chapter, which cannot be easily verified, as we have not sufficient acquaintance with the history of those times.\n\n"]}],"introduction":"This chapter treats of the same subject, but elegantly varied. It begins with comparing Israel to a fruitful vine but corrupted by too much prosperity, Hos 10:1. It next reproves and threatens them for their idolatry, Hos 10:2; anarchy, Hos 10:3; and breach of covenant, Hos 10:4. Their idolatry is then enlarged on; and its fatal consequences declared in terms full of sublimity and pathos, Hos 10:5-8. God is now introduced complaining of their excessive guilt; and threatening them with captivity in terms that bear a manifest allusion to their favourite idolatry, the worshiping the similitude of a calf or heifer, Hos 10:9-11. Upon which the prophet, in a beautiful allegory suggested by the preceding metaphors, exhorts them to repentance; and warns them of the dreadful consequences of their evil courses, if obstinately persisted in, Hos 10:12-15. \n"},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/10.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":10},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/11.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":11},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/9.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":9},"numberOfVerses":15}