Hosea 2:2

The faithlessness of Israel, Hosea 2:2-5.

2. Plead [“Contend”] The urgency of the appeal is indicated by its repetition. The individual Israelites who are still sensitive to the divine influence are addressed; they are urged to “exert a corrective, reforming influence on the corrupt aggregate” in order to avoid more serious consequences. The nation is called their mother Out of love to her they should work for her best interests.

She is not my wife, neither am I her husband The marriage tie is already dissolved through her whoredom; and unless she repents there is no reason why she should not be utterly cast off.

Out of her sight Literally from her face; as the next clause shows, to be understood literally. The expression of the countenance reveals the character (Jeremiah 3:3).

Adulteries from between her breasts Interpreted by some as referring to the wearing of amulets between the breasts in honor of the deities with whom the Israelites committed adultery; but of such a custom we have no knowledge. It is better understood as another bold expression of her adulterous character, the shameless uncovering of the breast. Another possible interpretation is to regard the abstract adultery used for the concrete adulterer, a usage not uncommon in Hebrew. The adulterer who lies between the breasts (Song of Solomon 1:13) is to be driven away. 3. If this is not done she must suffer the consequences of her wrongdoing.

Lest I strip her naked Seems to have been one way of punishing an adulteress (Ezekiel 16:38-39).

As in the day that she was born At the time of the Exodus; then Israel had nothing. All she acquired subsequently she owed to Jehovah; but if she continues in her disloyalty to him he will withdraw his support, and she will relapse into a state of complete destitution.

Wilderness In punishment for Israel’s adulteries the land will be robbed of its glory and fertility; the fruitful fields will be turned into a dreary desert. The same thought is expressed in the next clause: as a result of drought the land will become utterly desolate. People and land are not kept apart; both will suffer.

The last clause of Hosea 2:3 should be combined with the first clause of Hosea 2:4.

And slay her with thirst The final punishment of an adulteress was death (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22; Ezekiel 16:40). In this case Israel, or rather the land, will perish of thirst, that is, drought.

Her children The inhabitants of the land must share in the punishment of the mother, because they are children of whoredoms. As said above, the children are the individual Israelites; in their individual capacity they manifest the same tendencies as the nation as a whole. The phrase, therefore, means not simply children born of a mother with unchaste tendencies, but children possessing such tendencies, and indulging in unchaste practices.

The guilt of Israel is described further in Hosea 2:5; the verse thus supplies the ground for the earnest appeal in Hosea 2:2.

Played the harlot Openly she violated her obligations to Jehovah; such conduct is rightly called shameful. It was also premeditated; deaf to all exhortations, she declared firmly,

I will go after my lovers Or, paramours. By these are meant not the surrounding nations, but the Baalim (Hosea 2:13), the gods of the native Canaanites. Among the latter no supreme deity seems to have been worshiped; separate districts each had its own deity. The worship of these probably arose in connection with agriculture. “The local Baals fertilized each his own district by his streams and springs, and hence they were the owners this is the meaning of the term Baal of these naturally fertile spots.” In time they were regarded also as the spenders of rain; and the Baals were worshiped as the givers of fertility and prosperity. When the Israelites came into the land they, though nominally continuing to worship Jehovah, were to some extent influenced by the natives, so that they came to see in these Baalim the givers of “every good and perfect gift,” and to pay them the homage belonging exclusively to Jehovah. Herein consisted their whoredom which the prophet condemns. The Baal against whom Elijah fought was an entirely different deity. Several products are enumerated as being ascribed to the power of the Baalim. These, the most important, are only samples; everything else was thought to come from them.

Bread Food.

Water Because of its scarcity prized very highly by an agricultural people.

Wool and flax From which clothing was made.

Oil See on Joel 1:10.

Drink Literally, drinks. Wine and other drinks made of fruit, such as dates, figs, raisins. Food, clothing, and articles of luxury were all traced to the Baalim. For this disloyalty to Jehovah, Israel must be punished. Jehovah must vindicate himself.