Hosea 9

Chap. IX. Ver. 1—17. Israel’s guilty conduct, and the miseries it produced.—“In this chapter, the captivity and dispersion of Israel is again threatened, the prospect of which fills the Prophet with such terror, as to make him wish their women should be barren, rather than bring forth children to slavery or slaughter. He begins with reproving them for their sacrifices and rejoicings on their corn-floors, by which they ascribed to idols, as the heathen did, the praise of all their plenty; for which reason, they are threatened with famine, and devoted to exile in a land where they should be polluted, and want means of worshipping the God of their fathers, or observing the solemnities of his appointment.

Nay, more, they shall fall before the destroyer, (some of them) be buried in Egypt, and leave their own pleasant places desolate. The time, too, is declared to be at hand, according to God’s revelation by ‘the watchman,’ (or true Prophet,) whatever might be alleged by false prophets who pretended to have the Spirit, but who in fact ensnared the souls of others, and like the men of Gibeah, drew deep guilt on themselves. In the succeeding verses, God is introduced declaring his early favour for his people, and the delight he took in their obedience; but now they had so deeply revolted, all their glory will take wing, God will forsake them, and their offspring be devoted to destruction; to destruction twice repeated, to intimate its being both sure and terrible.’—Dr. J.

Notes on the verses

Chap. IX. Ver. 4. The bread of mourners.—Coarse and scanty; “the bread of affliction.” (Psalms 80:5). All food became polluted in the house where death entered. (Numbers 19:14).—The bread for their soul—That is, their

Ver. 6. The pleasant places for their silver.—See margin. “*(Purchased) with their silver.” Bs,.

Ver. 7. The prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad.—There being no verb in the Original: Newcome and others render this verse, which doubtless refers to the false prophets, in the past tense, “Was foolish, was mad.”—The great hatred which they had to the house of God, ver. 8. =

Ver. 8. The watchman of Ephraim.—The true prophet, (Ezekiel 3:17).—The prophet—That is, the false prophet (as in ver. 7.) is snare; a perpetual snare to the people.—And hatred in.—Newcome, &c. “Against.” The false prophets preferred the idolatrous worship of the high places to the sacred altar at Jerusalem. This was evidently before the captivity. Townsend places it B. C. 725.;

Ver. 10. As the first ripe—See (Jeremiah 24:2).—Baal-peor.—See (Numbers 25:3), &c.,

Ver. 11. From the birth.—Boothroyd, “There shall be no birth, no pregnancy, no conception;” i.e. there shall be no increase. To the same effect Newcome, Wheeler, &c.

Ver. 12. Though—Boothroyd, &c.

Ver. 13. Ephraim, as I saw (or see) Tyrus.—Samaria was situated on a high and pleasant hill. See (1 Kings 16:24).

Ver. 15. Gilgal.—A place infamous for idolatry, and where it is supposed one of “the golden calves” was some time placed. See (Hosea 4:15); also (Amos 4:4); v. 5. Calmet.

Ver. 16. The beloved fruit.—Their darling offspring.