{"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":12,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["Ephraim feedeth on wind - He forms and follows empty and unstable counsels.\nFolloweth after the east wind - They are not only empty, but dangerous and destructive. The east wind was, and still is, in all countries, a parching, wasting, injurious wind.\nHe daily increaseth lies - He promises himself safety from foreign alliances. He \"made a covenant with the Assyrians,\" and sent a subsidy of \"oil to Egypt.\" The latter abandoned him; the former oppressed him. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah - The rest of the prophecy belongs both to Judah and Israel. He reproaches both with their ingratitude, and threatens them with God's anger. In order to make their infidelity the more hateful, and their malice the more sensible, he opposes to them the righteousness, obedience, and piety of their father Jacob. He recalls to their minds the benefits they had received since they returned from Egypt. He speaks afterwards of their kings; and how, in their ingratitude, they refused to have him for their monarch. Having mentioned this fact, he subjoins reflections, exhortations, invectives, and threatenings, and continues this subject in this and the two following chapters. - Calmet. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":3,"content":["He took his brother by the heel - See on Gen 25:26 (note); Gen 32:24 (note), etc. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["He had power over the Angel - Who represented the invisible Jehovah.\nHe wept, and made supplication - He entreated with tears that God would bless him; and he prevailed. The circumstance of his weeping is not mentioned in Genesis.\nHe found him in Beth-el - It was there that God made those glorious promises to Jacob relative to his posterity. See Gen 28:13-15. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["The Lord is his memorial - He is the same God as when Jacob so successfully wrestled with him. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["Therefore turn thou to thy God - Because he is the same, and cannot change. Seek him as faithfully and as fervently as Jacob did, and you will find him the same merciful and compassionate Being. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":7,"content":["He is a merchant - Or a Canaanite; referring to the Phoenicians, famous for their traffic. Ephraim is as corrupt as those heathenish traffickers were. He kept, as many in all ages have done, a weight and a weight; a heavy one to buy with and a light one to sell by. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["I am become rich - They boasted in their riches, notwithstanding the unjust manner in which they were acquired.\nIn all my labors they shall find none iniquity in me - This is frequently the language of merchants, tradesmen, etc. None are so full of professions of equity and justice, while all the time they are endeavoring to overreach, both in buying and selling. \"Sir, I cannot afford it at that price.\" \"It is not mine for that money.\" \"I assure you that it cost me more than you offer.\" \"I am sorry I cannot take your money; but if I did, I should lose by the article,\" etc., etc., etc. I have heard such language over and over, when I knew every word was false. Truth is a sacred thing in the sight of God; but who regards it as he should? There are, however, many noble exceptions among merchants and tradesmen. Bp. Newcome gives another turn to the subject, by translating: - \n\"All his labors shall not be found profitable unto him,\nFor the iniquity wherewith he hath sinned.\" \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["And I - the Lord thy God - I who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, will again make thee to dwell in tabernacles. This appears to be a threatening. I will reduce you to as miserable a state in the land of your captivity, as you often were through your transgressions in the wilderness. This was the opinion of some of the ancients on this verse; and the context requires it to be understood in this way. I do not think that the feast of tabernacles is referred to. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":10,"content":["I have also spoken - I have used every means, and employed every method, to instruct and save you. I have sent prophets, who spake plainly, exhorting, warning, and beseeching you to return to me. They have had Divine visions, which they have declared and interpreted. They have used similitudes, symbols, metaphors, allegories, etc., in order to fix your attention, and bring you back to your duty and interest. And, alas! all is in vain; you have not profited by my condescension. This text St. Paul seems to have had full in view, when he wrote, Heb 1:1 (note): \"God who, at Sundry Times and in Divers Manners, spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets.\" See the note on the above.\nDr. Dodd supposes that there are three distinct kinds of prophecy mentioned here:\n1. Immediate inspiration, when God declares the very words.\n2. Vision; a representation of external objects to the mind, in as lively a manner as if there were conveyed by the senses.\n3. Parables and apt resemblances. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":11,"content":["Iniquity in Gilead - Gilgal and Gilead are equally iniquitous, and equally idolatrous. Gilead, which was beyond Jordan, had already been brought under subjection by Tiglath-Pileser. Gilgal, which was on this side Jordan, shall share the same fate; because it is now as idolatrous as the other.\nTheir altars are as heaps - They occur everywhere. The whole land is given to idolatry. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":12,"content":["Served for a wife - Seven years for Rachel.\nFor a wife he kept sheep - Seven years for Leah; having been cheated by Laban, who gave him first Leah, instead of Rachel; and afterwards made him serve seven years more before he would confirm his first engagement. Critics complain of want of connection here. Why is this isolated fact predicted? Thus, in a detached sentence, the prophet speaks of the low estate of their ancestors, and how amply the providence of God had preserved and provided for them. This is all the connection the place requires. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":13,"content":["By a prophet (Moses) the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet (Joshua) was he preserved - Joshua succeeded Moses, and brought the Israelites into the promised land; and when they passed the Jordan at Gilgal, he received the covenant of circumcision; and yet this same place was now made by them the seat of idolatry! How blind and how ungrateful! \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":14,"content":["Therefore shall he leave his blood upon him - He will not remove his guilt. These are similar to our Lord's words, Joh 3:36; Joh 9:41 : \"He that believeth not on the Son of God, shall not see life, for the wrath of God Abideth On Him\" - shall not be removed by any remission, as he rejects the only way in which he can be saved. Because ye say, We see; therefore, Your Sin Remaineth, i.e., it still stands charged against you. Your miseries and destruction are of your own procuring; your perdition is of yourselves. God is as merciful as he is just.\n\n"]}],"introduction":"The prophet, in very pointed terms, describes the unprofitableness and destruction attending vicious courses; particularly such as Ephraim pursued, who forsook God, and courted the alliance of idolatrous princes, Hos 12:1. Judah is also reproved, Hos 12:2. He is reminded of the extraordinary favor of God to his father Jacob, in giving him the birthright; and exhorted, after his example, to wrestle with God (the Angel of the covenant, the same unchangeable Jehovah) for a blessing; and to love mercy and execute justice, Hos 12:3-4. Ephraim is accused of pursuing practices that are deceitful, although pretending to integrity, Hos 12:7, Hos 12:8. God then threatens to deprive this people of their possessions, Hos 12:9, as they had rejected every means of reformation, Hos 12:10, and given themselves up to gross impieties, Hos 12:11. And, as an aggravation of their guilt, they are reminded from what humble beginnings they had been raised, Hos 12:12, Hos 12:13. The Divine judgments about to fall upon Israel are declared to be the result of great provocation, Hos 12:14. \n"},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/12.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":12},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/13.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":13},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/HOS/11.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"HOS","chapter":11},"numberOfVerses":14}