Hosea 14:4-8

4-8. The sentiments expressed in Hosea 14:1-3, are essentially different from those expressed in Hosea 6:1-3. The latter were superficial; to them Jehovah could give no favorable response; the prayer in Hosea 14:2-3, gives evidence of Israel’s sincerity; to it he responds with the promise of gracious redemption. The response is not addressed directly to Israel, but to the prophet; the former is referred to in the third person.

Heal The people’s condition is likened to a disease which requires the presence of a physician (Hosea 6:1).

Backsliding In Hosea 6:1, the people express the hope that Jehovah will heal, not their sin, but the damage caused by sin. Some commentators see in Hosea 14:4 a, a reference to this expectation that Jehovah will restore their prosperity. That Jehovah will heal all “the damage which their backsliding has brought upon them” is undoubtedly true (5-7), but Jehovah will do something more; he will remove the cause of the calamity the spirit of apostasy which is responsible for the present hopeless condition (Hosea 11:7; compare Jeremiah 31:31-33).

Freely Spontaneously. They need not purchase his love as they purchased the favor of Assyria and Egypt.

Mine anger is turned away The change of attitude on the part of Israel has made it possible for Jehovah to manifest himself again in love and mercy (Hosea 12:14). 4b belongs really to Hosea 14:5, and not to 4a. The two clauses in 4a form a complete parallelism, similarly 4b and 5a form a parallelism. Because Jehovah’s anger is turned away he will be as dew unto Israel. The disease healed, the ruins of the past removed, a life of prosperity and peace may begin; to it Jehovah will give his blessing.

Dew “The dews of Syrian nights are excessive; on many mornings it looks as if there had been a heavy rain.” This dew is of great importance in Palestine, since it is the only slackening of the drought which the country feels from May till October. In view of this fact it is only natural that dew should become a symbol of that which is refreshing, quickening, and invigorating (Psalms 133:3). Jehovah will put new energy and life into Israel (compare Micah 5:7). The figure of dew is used in Hosea 6:4, with an entirely different meaning.

The following verses (5-7) describe under various figures the splendor of the temporal and spiritual prosperity of the regenerated people.

Grow as the lily R.V., “blossom.” The figure suggests beauty (Song of Solomon 2:1-2; Matthew 6:28-29) and stateliness; perhaps also rapidity of multiplication. Pliny states that the lily is unsurpassed in its fecundity, one single root often producing fifty bulbs.

Cast forth That they may strike far and deep.

His roots as Lebanon Mountains are represented as having roots (Job 28:9); therefore the comparison may be with Lebanon itself, or the prophet may think of the cedars of Lebanon. In either case it is a figure of stability.

His branches Better, his saplings (compare Isaiah 53:2, “tender plant”); the shoots that spring up from the roots around the parent stem.

Shall spread Israel is not to be a single tree, but a whole garden.

As the olive tree The olive tree ranks high for its beauty. It is an evergreen, and its leaves have a beautiful appearance; the “arrangement of colors makes an olive tree at a little distance appear as if covered with a filmy veil of silver gauze, which gives a soft dreamy sheen to the landscape (Jeremiah 11:16).” The additional thought of serviceableness may be implied (see on Joel 1:10).

His smell as Lebanon Lebanon is rendered fragrant by its cedars and aromatic shrubs (Song of Solomon 4:11). A figure of the delight with which God and man will look upon Israel.

The interpretation of Hosea 14:7 is uncertain. Most modern commentators consider the text corrupt and attempt emendations. The English translations do not reproduce the Hebrew correctly. If the translation is changed, fairly good sense may be had from the present text; render: “They that dwell under his shadow shall again bring to life corn; they shall blossom as the vine.” The mixed figures in the two clauses namely, the representation of one and the same person, on the one hand, as cultivating corn, on the other hand, as flourishing like a vine are thought by some to constitute a serious objection to the correctness of the Hebrew text, but this is not conclusive; even Isaiah is at times inconsistent in his use of figures (Isaiah 5:24).

His shadow The shadow of Israel.

They that dwell The individual Israelites. The nation is pictured as a tree under whose shadow its members dwell. In a similar manner the mother, Israel, is distinguished from the children, the individual Israelites (Hosea 2:2).

Revive Better, bring to life a picture of abundant fertility and prosperity (Hosea 10:1; Psalms 128:3).

The scent thereof Of the vine, Israel. Literally, his memorial, or, renown.

The wine of Lebanon Even Pliny speaks of the excellence of this wine; and more recent travelers praise it very highly (Ezekiel 27:18). G.A. Smith and others do not consider Hosea 14:7 a continuation of Jehovah’s promises in Hosea 14:5-6, but an utterance of the prophet. The former reads, following in part the LXX., “They (Israel) shall return and dwell in his (Jehovah’s) shadow; they shall live well watered as a garden; till they flourish like a vine, and be fragrant like the wine of Lebanon.”