Hosea 13:15

Though he be fruitful among [his] brethren,.... This is not spoken of Christ, as some think, who take the words to be a continuation of the prophecy concerning the Redeemer, who should increase his

Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he

Though he, Ephraim, be fruitful, at present, as a flourishing tree seems to be fruitful; things in the state seem to be well settled; peace at home, under Hoshea, and peace abroad with Assyria and Egypt. Among his brethren; and all his brethren surround him, either the rest of the tribes, or the nations who by league are become as his brethren. An east wind shall come; an enemy as pernicious to his estate as the east wind is to fruits shall certainly come; a mighty and violent enemy, called here, the wind of the Lord, the usual superlative among the Hebrews. From the wilderness, which lay south-east from Canaan; and so it speaks a more pernicious quality in these enemies as the southeast winds in that country were of all most hot and blasting, coming over those hot, dry, sandy deserts. His spring, springs of water, which were most needful, and highly valued, shall become dry; shall fail and be cut off, dry up, that there shall be no waters in them. His fountain shall be dried up; the same thing in different words, confirming the certainty hereof. This the resemblance of the Assyrian, and the mischief he shall do to Israel lie shall lay Ephraim desolate, and dry up all his fountains, which were the comfort of that land. He, the Assyrian army, Shalmaneser, shall spoil the treasure, shall rob their treasuries, of all pleasant vessels, and carry away all desirable vessels and furniture, out of all their houses and wardrobes: thus all the glory of Ephraim shall wither whilst it is seemingly flourishing and well-rooted too.

Hosea 13:15 Though he be fruitful among [his] brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the LORD shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.Ver. 15. Though he be fruitful among his brethren] In allusion to his name Ephraim, which signifieth fruitful and flourishing, Genesis 41:52. Confer Genesis 48:16; Genesis 48:19-20; Genesis 49:22. See the like allusions Amos 5:5 Micah 1:10. An east wind shall come] Which is violent and hurtful to the fruits of the earth. The wind of the Lord] A mighty strong wind, meaning that most merciless and impetuous enemy, the Assyrian, sent by the Lord to avenge the quarrel of his covenant. Shall come up from the wilderness] Where the winds blow most fiercely, because they meet with no resistance. And his spring shall become dry, &c.] This is a description of extreme desolation, and it is explained and amplified in the next words. He shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels] He, that is, the Assyrian, not Christ (as Jerome, Mercer, and Ribera will have it), who shall take away from death and hell all matter of glorying. Not the fire of the last day, as Lyra. No, nor Ephraim, as Pareus and Tarnovius carry it: as if it were a promise of their conquest in Christ over all their enemies, corporal and spiritual, dividing the spoil of the converted Gentiles, who shall come in to them with all their desirable things, as some read that text, Haggai 2:7. Confer Amos 9:11-12 Obadiah 1:18 Zechariah 14:14; Zechariah 14:16; Zechariah 14:20-21. That this whole verse containeth a promise of Ephraim’ s reduction to the Church of God I could easily yield; reading it especially, as many good interpreters do, "For he shall fructify among his brethren, after that an east wind coming, a wind of Jehovah coming up from the desert, his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall dry up: the same shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels." This is a similitude (say they) from a piece of ground all dried up and parched, that nothing is able to grow: notably expressing the miserable and distressed estate of this people; that, as an easterly wind, and a tempestuous storm, hath dried them quite and spoiled all their delightful treasures, made them the vilest and most contemptible of the earth. Marcellinus tells of an emperor, that, meeting with some of this nation, and annoyed with the sight and stench of them, cried out, O Marcommani, O Quadi, O Sarmatae, &c., O Mareomans, Quades, and Sarmatians, I have found at length a more loathsome and sordid people than you. All which notwithstanding, Ephraim shall flourish again, and hold up their heads among their brethren, sc. by the merit and spirit of him who ransometh them from the power of the grave, from the dint of death.

(15, 16) Fruitful.—Observe the play on Ephraim’s name. Wind of the Lord stands in apposition to east wind. Render a wind of the Lord rising from the wilderness. The armies of Assyria are referred to. Become desolate.—Or rather, suffer punishment. Thus rolls the thunder of Divine judgment in one last tremendous crash of doom, beyond which scarce anything worse can be thought or said. It is not until the awful silence is reached, after the blast of denunciation, that the prophet hopes that his appeal may not be in vain. In the last chapter, uttered in gentlest mood, he shows a bow of promise painted on the darkness of the storm-cloud.

Verse 15. Though he be fruitful] יפריא yaphri; a paronomasia on the word אפרים ephrayim, which comes from the same root פרה parah, to be fruitful, to sprout, to bud. An east wind shall come] As the east wind parches and blasts all vegetation, so shall Shalmaneser blast and destroy the Israelitish state.

15. Though he be fruitful, &c.] Rather, For though he bear fruit, &c. Evidently there is an allusion to the meaning of the word Ephraim (‘fruitfulness’?); for another see Hosea 14:8. The verse carries on the idea of the last clause of the previous verse. ‘In fact, though his name and his nature indicate fruitfulness, yet a remorselessly severe punishment shall come upon him.’ His ‘brethren’ are his fellow tribes, which are compared to trees. There is another reading (’âkhîm for ’akhîm) ‘among reed-plants’, comp. Genesis 41:2; Genesis 41:18. This is adopted by Delitzsch, and has considerable Rabbinic authority (e.g. that of Rashi and Abulwalîd), but is found in extremely few extant manuscripts. It certainly completes the figure, but is philologically difficult. the wind of the Lord, &c.] Rather, a wind of Jehovah, coming up from the desert. The parching and destructive east or south-east wind is referred to, which blew from the desert (comp. Jeremiah 4:11; Jeremiah 13:24; Job 1:19). It is a figure for the Assyrian conqueror (somewhat as Isaiah 21:1), who at the end of the verse comes forward in his undisguised awfulness. spring] Rather perhaps, reservoir.he shall spoil] ‘He’ is emphatically expressed; ‘he’ whom the east wind figures ‘shall spoil’ (or, plunder). pleasant vessels] Rather, precious vessels (whether jewels, or objects of worked gold or silver, or rarities of any kind).

Though - (literally, “when”) he (shall) be fruitful among his brethren Fruitfulness was God’s promise to Ephraim, and was expressed in his name. It was fulfilled, abused, and, in the height of its fulfillment, was taken away.

Utter destruction the just punishment for Israel’s guilt, Hosea 13:9-16.This discourse closes with another description of the hopelessness of Israel’s condition.