Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit multiplied only its altars — the calf of Beth-aven carried to Assyria; 'Sow to yourselves according to righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Hashem, till He come and cause righteousness to rain upon you.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Israel was a luxuriant vine, Which put forth fruit freely: As his fruit increased, He increased his altars; The more goodly his land was, The more goodly were his pillars.
verse value 3726
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 60 letters. Verse gematria: 3726 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "vine" (גֶּ֤פֶן, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·the·altars" (לַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת, 7 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "vine" (גֶּ֤פֶן), "emptying" (בּוֹקֵק֙), "yields·for·itself" (יְשַׁוֶּה־לּ֑וֹ). The root פרי appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 39x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'yields·for·itself', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words. Full calculation: גֶּ֤פֶן [vine] (133) + בּוֹקֵק֙ [emptying] (208) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + פְּרִ֖י [fruit] (290) + יְשַׁוֶּה־לּ֑וֹ [yields·for·itself] (357) + כְּרֹ֣ב [as·abundance] (222) + לְפִרְי֗וֹ [to·his·fruit] (326) + הִרְבָּה֙ [be or become great] (212) + לַֽמִּזְבְּח֔וֹת [to·the·altars] (493) + כְּט֣וֹב [as·being·good] (37) + לְאַרְצ֔וֹ [to·his·land] (327) + הֵיטִ֖יבוּ [they·did·well] (42) + מַצֵּבֽוֹת [pillars] (538) = 3726.
Rashi
Israel is an emptying vine; its fruit resembles it. Israel is compared to a vine that sheds all its good fruit; so too, they have forsaken Me, who am their good fruit, and have equated Me with...
“His fruit shall be like him.” – Fruit that shall be like him, and it shall be good for him.
According to the abundance of his fruit, so did he multiply the altars. When I bestowed upon them goodness and they multiplied in making calves for the altars. Another interpretation: “A vine that was uprooted is Israel; the fruit of his deeds brought it about.” The fruit of his deeds caused him to be uprooted, for the fruit of his deeds was beneficial to him in being uprooted, because they made the altars and they proved beneficial to their own downfall, and this is the language of the Targum:
They improved the monuments. They multiplied the monuments:
Ibn Ezra
A withered vine—this means that it lacks the strength to bear fruit, and thus has no fruit.
"ישוה לו" – He will think that he will bear fruit, and he is like a vine that is cut down, for when I increased its fruit, they increased the altars.
Radak
A vine that is dried up. A vine that has no moisture in it at all, and so too: "boka" and "mevuka."
"Fruit shall be fitting for him." How can He place fruit upon him, when he is like a vine that has been uprooted, for his enemies have plundered him and left him as an empty vessel? How then can he succeed again and increase in children and in wealth?
Like the abundance of his fruit, he multiplied altars. When I increased his fruitfulness and made him successful in wealth and children, he multiplied the making of altars to Baal.
“Like the good of his land.” I was doing good to his land with grain, new wine, and oil, and they did good to stelae, meaning they persisted in erecting stelae to other gods. And similarly, “the good was angry with you.” And some say: It is akin to the matter of vanity and falsehood, meaning the fruit will lie to him, in the manner of what is said, “and new wine will fail him.”
Metzudat David
“Vine,” etc. Behold, Israel is like a vine that has been uprooted and is empty, devoid of moisture and dampness; so too is he devoid of Torah and fear of Heaven.
"Fruit, etc." And is it fitting that the Omnipresent, blessed be He, should provide him with fruit? That is to say, is it fitting for Him to bestow [such a gift]? [This is asked] in a tone of wonder.
As for “the abundance” (kerov): Just as, according to the abundance of its fruit and its beneficial influence, so too did they make many altars to the idolaters; and according to the abundance of good that came to their land, they made good and beautiful altars.
Metzudat Zion
Bokk. The meaning is emptiness, as in “the earth is made desolate and empty” (Isaiah 24:1).
"Yeshaveh." The meaning is that of placing, as in "He sets my feet" (Psalms 18:34):
Matzevot. They are altars of a single stone:
Malbim
Vine: After having mentioned that a severe decree was issued against them, that they would go into exile, he will explain how the matter came about that they were exiled from their land. That the Holy One, blessed be He, cast tumult and rebellion among them, so that they rebelled against their kings, and this was the cause of their exile. And I have already explained (above, sections 7 and 8) that the rebellion with which they rebelled against Shaul, son of Yavish, whom they killed, and likewise afterwards against Hoshea, son of Elah, whom they informed upon to the king of Assyria, who sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, came about because these two kings did not cling to the sins of Jeroboam and desired to abolish the worship of the calves. And through this, the faction that clung to the worship of the calves stood against them. And this was the cause of why the king of Assyria came up against them initially in the days of Menachem, son of Gadi, and of why he came up against them in the end in the days of Hoshea, who exiled all of them. And upon these matters he will bear a vision and a lofty discourse in this section. He said: “A vine, Israel, is desolate.” That is to say, Israel, who were compared to a vine, as it is written: “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill” (Isaiah 5:1). And the Holy One, blessed be He, planted this vine and hoped to produce grapes, but it produced wild clusters, as it is written in Isaiah, chapter 5, and it is explained there: “He looked for judgment, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry.” For the fruit that the Holy One, blessed be He, hoped this vine would produce was judgment and righteousness. But Israel is a vine that is desolate, barren, and sheds the fruit that it should have borne for Him. That is to say, the fruit fitting for Him. For “according to the multitude of its fruit, they multiplied for the altars” of idolatry, and “according to the goodness of its land, they improved its monuments,” which they established for the worship of idols.
Their heart is divided; Now shall they bear their guilt; He will break down their altars, He will spoil their pillars.
verse value 2813
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "divided" (חָלַ֥ק, 3 letters) and the longest is "their·altars" (מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֔ם, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "divided" (חָלַ֥ק), "shall·be·guilty" (יֶאְשָׁ֑מוּ), "may·it·drop" (יַעֲרֹ֣ף). 9 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root אשם ("shall·be·guilty") in Hosea. First appearance of the root שדד ("He·will·spoil") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·be·guilty', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: חָלַ֥ק [divided] (138) + לִבָּ֖ם [their·heart] (72) + עַתָּ֣ה [now] (475) + יֶאְשָׁ֑מוּ [shall·be·guilty] (357) + ה֚וּא [He] (12) + יַעֲרֹ֣ף [may·it·drop] (360) + מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֔ם [their·altars] (503) + יְשֹׁדֵ֖ד [He·will·spoil] (318) + מַצֵּבוֹתָֽם [their·pillars] (578) = 2813.
Rashi
“Divided heart.” From Me:
“Now they shall be held guilty.” This is the matter of “He shall break the neck of their altars”: “ya’arof” means He shall destroy — it is the language of “and they shall break the neck there” (Deuteronomy 21:4) and “then you shall break its neck” (Exodus 13:13) — He shall break their necks. Another interpretation, according to the aggadic midrash: great is peace, for even if Israel served idols, so long as there was peace among them the Satan does not accuse them, as it is said, “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone” (above, 4:17). But hated is dissension, for it is said, “Their heart is divided; now they shall be held guilty” — [then] there is an opening for the Satan to accuse.
Ibn Ezra
Chelek – for they do not have one single portion.
"Now they shall be guilty" – from the root of desolation, like "Shomron shall be guilty," which is akin to: "And the land shall not be desolate," and "their hearts shall be divided," and "their altars shall be cut down," for they multiplied them, as it is said: "and he shall cut it down with the sword."
Radak
“Divided their heart.” From the fear of God and from His Torah, they divided their heart.
"Now they will be held guilty. Therefore, now, in the near future, they will be destroyed:"
They shall be guilty. The matter of desolation; and likewise, Samaria shall be desolate.
"He shall cut down their altars": Just as He divided them, so too shall He cut down their altars; for they multiplied them. "And He shall destroy their standing stones": for they made them good. And this shall be at the time of the Destruction.
"Yera'ef." The matter concerns demolition and breaking; and similarly, "the light was darkened by its clouds," according to the opinion of some commentators.
Chelek. An intransitive verb, like "nachalak":
"Yishadod." It is from the class of verbs that have a doubled root, in a form resembling the quadriliteral (four-letter-root) pattern, and its meaning is destruction and plunder.
Metzudat David
“Divided in heart.” Their hearts were divided, and they separated from the Omnipresent, blessed be He; therefore, now, in the near future, they will become desolate.
"He shall cut off." This means that the Omnipresent, blessed be He, will empower the enemy to destroy their altars and uproot their sacred pillars.
Metzudat Zion
"Chelek." The matter is one of division.
They shall be guilty. The word is from the root of "desolation."
Yeraf. The meaning is destruction, and a similar example is "and they shall slay them" (Deuteronomy 21:4).
"Yashod." The matter of oppression:
Malbim
"Divided," and therefore the Lord divided their heart, meaning that the Lord brought about a separation of hearts and opposing factions among them, and thereby they will now be held guilty, i.e., through this they will receive their punishment, for He will cut down their altars, for this division of heart will cut down their altars and plunder their sacred pillars, meaning that the king who rose up against the chief will uproot the altars of the calves, which is what Jeroboam son of Nebat did, and likewise Hoshea son of Elah, and through this rebellion against the king will arise.
Surely now shall they say: ‘We have no king; For we feared not Hashem; And the king, what can he do for us?’
verse value 2371
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "to·us" (לָ֑נוּ) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "and·surely" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "what·can·he·do·for·us" (מַה־יַּעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽנוּ, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: and·surely, for. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "they·will·say" (יֹֽאמְר֔וּ), "we·feared" (יָרֵ֙אנוּ֙), "and·the·king" (וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְ). The root כי appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "and·surely" (root כי, 48x in Hosea); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: כִּ֤י [and·surely] (30) + עַתָּה֙ [now] (475) + יֹֽאמְר֔וּ [they·will·say] (257) + אֵ֥ין [nothing] (61) + מֶ֖לֶךְ [king] (90) + לָ֑נוּ [to·us] (86) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + יָרֵ֙אנוּ֙ [we·feared] (267) + אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (427) + וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְ [and·the·king] (101) + מַה־יַּעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽנוּ [what·can·he·do·for·us] (516) = 2371.
Rashi
"For now." When the calamity comes upon them, they will say, "We have no king; our king, in whom we trusted, saying that he would go forth first and fight our battles, is of no use to us."
Ibn Ezra
"Ki" – When their hearts were divided, they did not desire to have a king over them and did not fear the Holy One, blessed be He; therefore, they lack awe, and everyone does as he pleases.
Radak
"For now they will say." "Now," in their exile from their land, they will recognize and say, "For we have no king," meaning: as if we have no king, for he has no power to save us from the hands of our enemies, as we had thought when we asked for a king, and he went before us and fought our battles. And the Blessed Holy One was our king, and we had no need of a king, and He would save us from the hands of our enemies, as long as we did His will. But since we did not fear God and abandoned His Torah, what can the king whom we asked for do for us? Behold, he has no power to save us, now that the Blessed Holy One is angry with us because we have sinned against Him. And this is what Israel will confess in their exile.
Metzudat David
"Ki atah" – In the time when the enemy comes, they will say: "Behold, the king is of no use to us in fighting against the enemy, for since we have not shown reverence to God, how can the king save us if we lack the fear of God? For the fear of God and the fear of the king are bound together."
Malbim
“For now they will say, ‘We have no king,’ meaning that by this they will rebel against their king and seek to remove him from his throne. For since they do not fear the Lord, they will claim that they do not agree with the king’s action, which is to abolish the worship of the calves and to establish in its place the worship of the Lord. For they do not fear the Lord, nor do they desire the fear of the Lord or His worship. And if so, what will the king do to us? How will the king compel us to serve the Lord and to fear Him? And this will be the cause of their rebellion against their king. (And in this regard he also said, ‘Divide their heart,’ meaning that now they will be held guilty, for through this division of heart, the guilt of the calves will now rest upon their heads. For until now the guilt rested upon the heads of the kings, who compelled the people to worship the calves. But now that the king wishes to abolish the calves and the people cling to them, surely they will be held guilty, and the blame will rest upon their heads, not upon the heads of the kings).”
They speak words, They swear falsely, they make covenants; Thus judgment springs up as hemlock In the furrows of the field.
verse value 4582
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "upon" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "words" (דְבָרִ֔ים, 5 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "curses" (אָל֥וֹת), "emptiness" (שָׁ֖וְא), "they·make" (כָּרֹ֣ת). The root דבר appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon" (root על, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root פרח ("and·breaks·out") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'covenant', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: דִּבְּר֣וּ [they·spoke] (212) + דְבָרִ֔ים [words] (256) + אָל֥וֹת [curses] (437) + שָׁ֖וְא [emptiness] (307) + כָּרֹ֣ת [they·make] (620) + בְּרִ֑ית [covenant] (612) + וּפָרַ֤ח [and·breaks·out] (294) + כָּרֹאשׁ֙ [as·the·poison] (521) + מִשְׁפָּ֔ט [judgment] (429) + עַ֖ל [upon] (100) + תַּלְמֵ֥י [furrows·of] (480) + שָׂדָֽי [field] (314) = 4582.
Rashi
"Oaths of falsehood." [The verse continues:] "He swears falsely." The word "vanity" (alot) is akin to "cutting" (kerut), a present-tense form. [Thus, the phrase implies] cutting a covenant with idolaters, specifically those who practice Molech worship. Therefore, judgment, affliction, and retribution shall sprout forth against them, like the "alot" plant, which is a bitter herb that sprouts in the furrows of the field. And the Targum [interprets] "in the furrows of the field" as referring to the sin of those who encroach upon the boundaries of fields.
The ridge of the field, which the plow creates, is called a furrow. Another interpretation: “On the furrows of the field” refers to the furrows of the field where they make their altars, as it is stated, “And your altars are like stones on the furrows of the field” (below, 12). There, the judgment of their iniquity shall sprout upon them. Another interpretation: “Oaths of vanity” – all the covenants that they make with one another, they transgress them. And “sprout” – like a head that sprouts on the furrows of the field, which is bitter grass, so their judgments sprout and grow into bitterness for the poor and the destitute. And even Amos said so: “For you have turned justice into gall” (Amos 6:12).
Ibn Ezra
“Speak, false oaths” – a strange way, as if the word is composed of a construct and an absolute form, or perhaps this is due to the guttural letter, and it serves as an allegory for a judgment that was sweet but turned bitter, like: “Those who turn judgment into bitterness, and it shall blossom in their head, a judgment that is not upright.”
On "Telmi" – just as it is said, "Her furrows were filled with water."
And "sadai" (field) – like: field, and the proof is: “Let the field rejoice.”
Radak
“Speak words.” Jeroboam and his associates consulted together as to what they should do to maintain his hold on the monarchy, and they spoke words [to the effect] that the people should not ascend to Jerusalem to the Temple. And regarding this they swore and made a covenant, and their oath was a false oath, an oath to nullify the words of the Torah and the commandments of God, blessed be He, and to make images to worship them.
And it shall blossom as the head of judgment. Therefore, their judgment blossomed as the head, and for affliction, following the way of the root that produces a head and affliction.
“Upon the ears of grain in the fields.” Whatever sprouts for them in the ears of grain in their fields shall be wild garlic and bitter herbs, and this is an allegory for the plagues that will come upon them as this punishment, and this interpretation is proven by the verse that follows it:
Metzudat David
They speak words. They speak words that come to their mind without discrimination, and they swear falsely and make covenants with idolaters.
And it shall flourish. Therefore, judgment of retribution shall flourish upon them, like the bitter herb that springs up quickly in the furrows of the field.
Metzudat Zion
"Alot." From the words "curse" and "oath":
And it shall bud. The language of budding and sprouting.
As "rosh." It is the name of a bitter herb, as in "rosh and wormwood" (Deuteronomy 29:18).
Talmi. It is the furrow formed by plowing; and likewise, “her furrows” (Talmeyha) (Psalms 65:10):
Sadai. Like the word "field":
Malbim
“Speak words” — they spoke among themselves words of rebellion, vain oaths; and thereby they transgressed the oath they had sworn to their king to be faithful to him, for they said that this oath had no validity after he abolished the worship of the golden calves. “A covenant” — the covenant they made among themselves, a covenant of conspiracy to kill Shallum, or to hand over Hoshea into the hand of the king of Assyria to destroy him. “And it sprouted like the head of judgment upon the field of the heart” — meaning, indeed, immediately the judgment of their punishment sprouted forth; the seed of rebellion which they had sown in secret in the depths of the field of their heart grew and sprouted forth and produced fruit of bitter clusters. And the judgment of their punishment sprouted like the head, and it was revealed upon the field of the heart openly, and they immediately received their punishment, as will be explained.
The inhabitants of Samaria shall be in dread For the calves of Beth-aven; For the people thereof shall mourn over it, And the priests thereof shall tremble for it, For its glory, because it is departed from it.
verse value 3293
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "Beth-aven" (בֵּ֣ית, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·its·glory" (עַל־כְּבוֹד֖וֹ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 116: over·it, his·people, over·it. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "for·calves·of" (לְעֶגְלוֹת֙), "they·will·sojourn" (יָג֖וּרוּ), "dwellers·of" (שְׁכַ֣ן). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "over·it" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "his·people" (root עם, 22x in Hosea); "Beth-aven" (root בית, 21x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Samaria', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 9 words.
Rashi
“Unto the chariots of Beth-aven” etc. This refers to the future calamity that will befall the calves in Bethel, which is called Beth-aven in the Book of Joshua.
יגורו. His neighbors in Samaria will fear because of him, for why? Because his people and his idolatrous priests who were over him would always rejoice over his honor, but now they will mourn over his honor, for he has been exiled.
Ibn Ezra
"To the calves" – these are the golden calves that were in Bethel.
יגורו - The inhabitants of Samaria will fear.
"for indeed upon him"—the meaning is that the mourning applies to every calf [idol] in Beth-El when it is destroyed.
And as for his priests—those who today rejoice over him will mourn over him.
"Ki" – the meaning is twofold.
Radak
“to the chariots of Aun.” And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] rendered [in the Targum]: “speaking words of oppression,” etc.
Shaddai. Like a field:
"Alot." It is an infinitive, on the pattern of "ra'ot rabbot" (many seeings).
"Regarding the calves of Beth-aven": These are the calves that Jeroboam made. He refers to them using both masculine and feminine language, because they were nothing but idols. He calls it "Beth-aven" (House of Wickedness), which is Bethel, naming it thus as a term of reproach. He does not mention Dan, because their primary worship was at Beth-aven, as if both [calves] were there. He says concerning the calves of Beth-aven that their worship will be abolished when they are broken, etc.
"They shall dwell in Samaria as strangers": The inhabitants of Samaria shall be afraid. And regarding the mention of "Samaria," even though the calves were not there, since Samaria was the royal capital for the kings of Israel, and they were the ones who upheld the worship of the calves, [the verse implies]: When Bethel is destroyed and the calves do not save them, the inhabitants of Samaria shall be afraid for themselves, because all the land of Israel was captured before Samaria, on which the king of Assyria besieged for three years.
For indeed, upon Him shall His people mourn. Upon the calf that was in Beth-El shall His people mourn, namely, those who worshipped it.
“And his priests shall mourn over him.” “His priests” are his priests who bring near his service, who were initially sixty and rejoiced over him; now they shall mourn in exile, for His glory has departed from Him. And precious is His service: when He breaks it before their eyes, behold, His glory has departed from Him.
Metzudat David
“Regarding the wagons.” On account of the calves of Beth-Aven that were taken into exile, the inhabitants of Samaria will be frightened, saying: “If they could not defend themselves, how will they defend us?”
"For they shall mourn over it. They shall mourn over the calf, because they had believed in it; and even the priests, who had rejoiced over it, behold, now they shall mourn over its honor, for it has been removed from it. For when one is taken captive, where is his honor?"
Metzudat Zion
On the word "to the calves." It is possible that there were many [idols] there made in the likeness of the calf that Jeroboam made, and since they were taken into exile and their strength was weakened, like that of females, it is said, "to the calves."
Beth-aven. It is Bethel, and he named it as a term of reproach.
יגורו. The matter of fear is like "and Moab feared" (Numbers 22):
And as for "their priests" [u-chemaryahu]: Just as the priests of idol-worship are called "priests," so too [the verse states], "and He shall cause the priests to cease" (II Kings 23:5).
Malbim
Regarding “to the calf,” he now explains his words in detail: what was the cause of the rebellion, concerning which it is said, “They spoke these empty words,” and how the judgment and punishment immediately sprang forth. The cause of the rebellion was the “calf of Beth-aven,” namely the calf of Beth-aven, which is the calf that was in Bethel. Because of it, the inhabitants of Samaria gathered together to rebel against their king, since he had abolished its worship. For previously, the people rejoiced over it, along with the priests of the calf, and until now they had celebrated over it. But now they mourned and were distressed over its honor, because it had been removed from them. This was because Hoshea son of Elah had abolished the honor of the calf and permitted the pilgrimage festivals to be observed and the service of the Lord to be performed. This was the cause of the rebellion.
It also shall be carried to Assyria, For a present to King Contentious; Ephraim shall receive shame, And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.
verse value 3753
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "Jareb" (יָרֵ֑ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "also·it" (גַּם־אוֹתוֹ֙, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "also·it" (גַּם־אוֹתוֹ֙), "to·Assyria" (לְאַשּׁ֣וּר), "gift" (מִנְחָ֖ה). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 39x in Hosea); "Ephraim" (root אפרים, 37x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Jareb', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: גַּם־אוֹתוֹ֙ [also·it] (456) + לְאַשּׁ֣וּר [to·Assyria] (537) + יוּבָ֔ל [Jubal] (48) + מִנְחָ֖ה [gift] (103) + לְמֶ֣לֶךְ [to·king] (120) + יָרֵ֑ב [Jareb] (212) + בׇּשְׁנָה֙ [year] (357) + אֶפְרַ֣יִם [Ephraim] (331) + יִקָּ֔ח [will·take] (118) + וְיֵב֥וֹשׁ [and·will·put·to·shame] (324) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + מֵעֲצָתֽוֹ [from·his·counsel] (606) = 3753.
Rashi
"And even it shall be carried to Assyria." This occurred in the twelfth year of Ahaz, when "the Lord sent the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, and he carried them away, the Reubenites and the Gadites" (I Chronicles 5:26, etc.), and he took the golden calves that were in Bethel and went away, to fulfill what is stated: "And even it shall be carried to Assyria."
"Mincha for the king, Yirav" - this refers to Sennacherib:
"In the year, Ephraim shall take." Shame shall Jeroboam take for himself, being from the tribe of Ephraim, having set up this calf for them as a god.
"And Israel was ashamed." From that counsel which they devised to make them, as it is stated (1 Kings 12:28): "The king took counsel, and made two golden calves."
Ibn Ezra
Also – the calf of Samaria.
"To Assyria he shall be exiled" – for he is gold.
In the year – with the addition of the nun, like: she bore seven sons.
Radak
"Also it shall be taken to Assyria." This is an amplification regarding its honor. Since it was mentioned, [the verse] says: "Behold, its honor was exiled from its place." When they break it, even the body of the calf—which is the gold from which it was made—after its form has been broken, they will take it to Assyria to carry it there.
“Minchah for the king Yirav.” And he is the king of Assyria, whose name was Yirav.
"In the year Ephraim shall take." Then Ephraim shall take in shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of their counsel, the counsel that Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim, had devised with them to make the calves; then they shall be ashamed of their counsel.
In the year. Just as in *boshah* (shame), and the nun is added:
Yovel. Like “Yovel,” which denotes the concept of sending away and bringing in. And Rabbi Saadia Gaon, of blessed memory, interpreted it as well to include the calf in Dan, which was revealed first. And Jonathan the Aramaic translator rendered it: “To a king who will contend with them, to a king who will come to avenge them,” meaning: to the king of Assyria, who will contend with them.
Metzudat David
Also it. Just as the people will be taken into exile, so too the calf will be taken into exile to Assyria, to serve as a tribute to the king.
In shame. Then Ephraim shall receive shame for having served them without God:
And he was ashamed, etc. The duplication of the matter in what is stated:
“From his counsel.” That they should take counsel to make the calves:
Metzudat Zion
Yovel. Like the term "yovel" in Isaiah 18:
Yariv. It is Ashur; and likewise, "to king Yariv" (above, 5:).
In shame. From the term for shame:
Malbim
Also, now he explains what was stated, “And it shall blossom like the head of justice,” how they immediately received their punishment, for at the time that the king of Assyria took Hoshea and confined him and imprisoned him in a dungeon, he also took the calf. And the meaning is that it too was carried to Assyria, not only was the king led to Assyria, but the calf was also carried there to serve as tribute to King Jareb. “In the year that Ephraim shall take,” meaning that Assyria shall take the shame of Ephraim, namely his calf, which is to Ephraim a shame and a disgrace. And if so, should not Israel be ashamed of their counsel, that they conspired to rebel against Hoshea and hand him over to Assyria, thinking thereby to restore the worship of the calf to its former state? And yet, by this very act, they caused the calf to be completely exiled.
As for Samaria, her king is cut off, As foam upon the water.
verse value 1410
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "is·cut·off" (נִדְמֶ֥ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "upon·the·face·of·water" (עַל־פְּנֵי־מָֽיִם, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "her·king" (מַלְכָּ֑הּ), "as·foam" (כְּקֶ֖צֶף), "upon·the·face·of·water" (עַל־פְּנֵי־מָֽיִם). 5 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: נִדְמֶ֥ה [is·cut·off] (99) + שֹׁמְר֖וֹן [Samaria] (596) + מַלְכָּ֑הּ [her·king] (95) + כְּקֶ֖צֶף [as·foam] (290) + עַל־פְּנֵי־מָֽיִם [upon·the·face·of·water] (330) = 1410.
Rashi
It appears as though. The king of Samaria was silenced, and he was like foam on the surface of the water, which is called "ashkema" in the vernacular.
Ibn Ezra
"Nadmah" – he serves on behalf of another; and similarly, "Nadmah" is Shomron, "Nadmah" is Malka.
כקצף - like: "And I was angry with My wrath."
Radak
It appears that in Samaria her king has been cut off. “It appears” is in the nifal conjugation, as indicated by the segol vowel; it denotes severance, as we explained regarding the verse “It appears that my people has been cut off.” The meaning is that in Samaria her king was cut off. He endured a siege for several days and was unable to escape from the hand of the king of Assyria, and he went into exile quickly and swiftly.
Like foam upon the face of the waters. And "foam" [katzef] is the bark of the tree, as it is written, "And my fig tree for its bark" [le-katzpah]. And Jonathan translated: "Like boiling water upon the face of the waters." In the language of the Greeks, it is called "iskouma."
Metzudat David
Samaria is likened to her king. The king who is in Samaria is likened to foam, namely the bubbles on the surface of the water that rise up and endure only for a short time; so too, the king will not endure in his kingdom except for a short time.
Metzudat Zion
It appears. The word is from the root of "likeness" and "comparison":
“Like foam.” The Targum translates it as “like boiling,” and they are like bubbles. And because they arise due to the speed of pouring from one vessel to another, and it appears as though the one pouring is angry, it is called in the language “foam.”
Malbim
It appears to explain how he was ashamed of his counsel, because through his counsel the King of Samaria was likened and compared, by way of Samaria, to foam on the surface of water. For when the water boils and churns in the depths, foam and agitation arise on the surface of the water; afterward, the foam disperses and becomes nothing through the water itself, which does not remain in one state. So too, the king arose through the agitation of the people, their anger, and their rebellion against their previous king, for they conspired with Hoshea against Pekah son of Remaliah, killed him, and Hoshea reigned in his place. Afterward, this foam dispersed and went into exile through the people’s informing and the changing of their opinions, since their hearts did not remain in one state. However, through this counsel of theirs—that the king went bound in fetters to the land of Assyria—they did not raise their schemes to thereby strengthen the worship of the golden calf; rather, the opposite occurred.
The high places also of Aven shall be destroyed, Even the sin of Israel. The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; And they shall say to the mountains: ‘Cover us’, And to the hills: ‘Fall on us.’
verse value 4727
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 74 letters. The shortest word is "iniquity" (אָ֗וֶן, 3 letters) and the longest is "upon·their·altars" (עַל־מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֑ם, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 166: fall, on·us. 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·they·will·be·destroyed" (וְנִשְׁמְד֞וּ), "high·places" (בָּמ֣וֹת), "thorn" (ק֣וֹץ). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 39x in Hosea); "on·us" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "and·they·shall·say" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·their·altars', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
"The high places of Aven." "The high places of Bethel":
Thorns and thistles shall grow up on their altars; their worshippers have been exiled, and there is no one left to turn to them.
And they said: Israel:
“To the mountains: cover us!.” So that our enemies should not see us in our shame.
Ibn Ezra
And they shall be destroyed – the high places of the Baalim, when the calves are removed.
And they said – Rabbi Moses said: When it states “they said,” it is expressed metaphorically on account of the altars, similar to the verse “for she heard,” and the meaning is that they would no longer be seen. And Yefet said: And their worshippers said this out of their great distress.
Radak
“And the high places of Aven shall be destroyed.” This means the house of Aven. So too did Jonathan render it: “And they shall be judged at the high places of the house of El.”
The sin-offering of Israel. That it is the sin-offering of Israel:
“Thorns and thistles shall come up on their altars.” On the altars of Israel, which will be destroyed, thorns shall grow.
And they said to the mountains, "Cover him." The Israelites will say, "Cover him," due to the multitude of distress and anguish that will befall them; they will pray that the mountains and hills fall upon them and cover them, so that they may be buried beneath them and not have to endure those afflictions.
Metzudat David
“And they shall be destroyed.” And then the high places in Beth-Aven, which were the sin-offerings of Israel, shall be destroyed.
Thorns and thistles. For no one shall go there, and they shall become a desolation.
And they said to the mountains, "Cover us," so that no one would see them in their disgrace.
Metzudat Zion
And they shall be destroyed. The meaning of destruction:
And thorns. A species of thorns. And similarly, “and thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:18).
Malbim
And they shall be destroyed; by this, the high places that were the sins of Israel shall also be destroyed. Thorns and thistles shall grow upon their altars from now on, for they shall become desolate and ruined, until the altars that stand on the mountains and on the hills shall say to the mountains, “Cover them,” and to the hills, “Fall upon us.” For because of the great desolation, the mountains and the hills shall fall and cover the altars, burying them under heaps of dust. If so, was not their counsel a foolish counsel, utterly useless?
From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; There they stood; No battle was to overtake them in Gibeah, Nor the children of arrogancy.
verse value 2866
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "there" (שָׁ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·overtake·them" (לֹא־תַשִּׂיגֵ֧ם, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "from·days·of" (מִימֵי֙), "they·stood" (עָמָ֔דוּ), "not·overtake·them" (לֹא־תַשִּׂיגֵ֧ם). The root גבעה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 39x in Hosea); "from·days·of" (root יום, 28x in Hosea); "against·sons·of" (root על, 28x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Israel', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: מִימֵי֙ [from·days·of] (100) + הַגִּבְעָ֔ה [the·Gibeah] (85) + חָטָ֖אתָ [you·sinned] (418) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל [Israel] (541) + שָׁ֣ם [there] (340) + עָמָ֔דוּ [they·stood] (120) + לֹא־תַשִּׂיגֵ֧ם [not·overtake·them] (784) + בַּגִּבְעָ֛ה [in·Gibeah] (82) + מִלְחָמָ֖ה [battle] (123) + עַל־בְּנֵ֥י [against·sons·of] (162) + עַֽלְוָֽה [injustice] (111) = 2866.
Rashi
“From the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel.” “Sin-offering” refers to the letter *resh* with a *rafe* (un-doubled) accent, which is feminine and denotes the past tense, like *asah* (she did), *ba’ah* (she came), *azlah* (she went). “The waters of the hill of Benjamin are the sin-offering of Israel,” because the incident of the concubine in Gibeah occurred in the days of Othniel the son of Kenaz, who was the first of the judges in the days of Cushan-rishathaim. And in his days was the idol of Micah. All of this we find in Seder Olam.
There they stood. With that same measure, they seized them from then on:
"You shall not find them in the battle in Gibeah, etc." And since the sin of idolatry was in their hands and they did not take it seriously, therefore their hand was not successful in the war of Gibeah against the sons of Benjamin. And He called them "sons of pride," "sons of arrogance," for they made themselves superior and did not listen to the voice of their brothers to give up the men of Gibeah. And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] interpreted it as referring to the fact that they asked for a king and anointed Saul. But this does not fit for me according to the Hebrew language, and also the rest of the composition of the passage falls in line with the first interpretation.
Ibn Ezra
"From my youth" – this is more like "From the elders I will gain understanding, and from my enemies I will become wise," and the interpretation is: They stood on the sins of their generation as if they had stood with the sons of Benjamin – they were sons of injustice, like injustice, and it became a horror, and it was only horror. And today they will not fear that war will overtake them as it overtook the sons of Benjamin from among the tribes. And this is the writing, like the fragrance of a field, whose meaning is: "Behold the fragrance of my son, whom the Lord has blessed, like the fragrance of a field."
Radak
“Since the days of Gibeah” has been the sin of Israel. For the tribe of Benjamin surrendered themselves to persist in the matter of abomination, and the other tribes were punished because there were among them worshippers of foreign gods.
"There they stood." It may be likened to these wicked ones of this generation, who persist in their wickedness and do not return to what is good. And similarly it is stated above: "They have deepened their pit in the days of Gibeah."
They shall not overtake them. And these [men] think in their hearts that war will not overtake them, just as it overtook the wicked men of Gibeah, when the Israelites came upon those men of iniquity, who were the sons of Benjamin, for they were consumed by their sin; so too, these will be consumed by their sin. And the sword of the enemy will overtake them; they should not think that it will not overtake them.
“Alav.” Like “hifoch” [becomes] “ooleh,” and similarly “zo’ah” [becomes] “za’ovah,” “kevesh” [becomes] “shev,” “smelah” [becomes] “shlemah,” and words similar to them. And Yonatan [the Aramaic translator] interpreted “from the days of Gibeah” as referring to the time when they asked for a king, and he was from Gibeah of Benjamin, and from then on they began to rebel against God, blessed be He. But the verse is not properly explained according to his interpretation.
Metzudat David
"From the days of Gibeah." This means that this sin was in their power from the days of the concubine in Gibeah, for even then the idol of Micah was in their possession.
"There they stood." On this ascent they stood then:
You shall not attain them. Therefore, you shall not attain victory in battle against them on the hill, when they fought against the sons of iniquity, that is, the sons of Benjamin, who strengthened the hands of transgressors.
Metzudat Zion
"Alvah." It is the same word as "Olah" with the letters transposed, just as "Kesev" and "Keves" [are the same word, transposed].
Malbim
“The waters of the hill are the sin of Israel, the high places of Aven and the sin of Israel,” which refers to idolatry. This was already in the hands of Israel even in the days of Gibeah, for even at that time they set up in Dan the idol of Micah. Therefore, Jeroboam placed one of the calves in Dan, since that place had already been established for the worship of the idol from ancient times. And this is what it says there, “There they stood,” meaning that in Dan the high places and idols stood from ancient times. And our Sages of blessed memory already stated that therefore Israel did not succeed in the first two times they fought against Gibeah and zealously defended the honor of the Lord regarding the matter of immorality, because they did not zealously defend against the idol of Micah. And this is what it says, “You shall not attain victory in Gibeah,” concerning the war against the men of Belial. For the war they fought in Gibeah against the men of Belial, who are the men of Benjamin, this war did not attain to the high places of the idol of Micah, for they stood, and they were not abolished at that time. And this is a sign that Israel had already turned away then after idolatry, and therefore they did not zealously defend against it.
When it is My desire, I will chastise them; And the peoples shall be gathered against them, When they are yoked to their two rings.
verse value 3373
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "peoples" (עַמִּ֔ים, 4 letters) and the longest is "in·My·desire" (בְּאַוָּתִ֖י, 5 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "in·My·desire" (בְּאַוָּתִ֖י), "and·I·will·chasten·them" (וְאֶסֳּרֵ֑ם), "and·they·will·be·gathered" (וְאֻסְּפ֤וּ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·them" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "peoples" (root עם, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·I·will·chasten·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 7 words. Full calculation: בְּאַוָּתִ֖י [in·My·desire] (419) + וְאֶסֳּרֵ֑ם [and·I·will·chasten·them] (307) + וְאֻסְּפ֤וּ [and·they·will·be·gathered] (153) + עֲלֵיהֶם֙ [against·them] (155) + עַמִּ֔ים [peoples] (160) + בְּאׇסְרָ֖ם [when·they·are·bound] (303) + לִשְׁתֵּ֥י [to·two·of] (740) + (עינתם) [rings] (570) + עוֹנֹתָֽם [their·rings] (566) = 3373.
Rashi
“Take them and bind them.” According to My will, I always disciplined them, from judge to judge, and delivered them into the hands of their plunderers.
“And they shall gather upon them peoples in their binding for their two sins.” This is because He likened them to a heifer, as it is stated immediately after: “Ephraim is a trained heifer.” Therefore, He likened their afflictions to an ox that is made to toil in plowing and is bound with the yoke of the plow. The pegs of the yoke are perforated and descend, one from here and one from there, beside the two eyes of the ox. And so too does the Targum render it: “As one binds an ox-team upon its two eyes,” where “ox-team” refers to a pair of yoked cattle.
Ibn Ezra
“B’otiy v’aseram” – from the root of “moser,” and the yod is absorbed in the dagesh of the ayin of the verb, as in “before I formed you in the womb” and “for I will pour out waters.” And the meaning is: “And they will gather against them” – how they bound them by means of nations that will gather against them.
And he bound them – like "they will bind" (ya'aseru), meaning tied up.
“for their two sins” – like: “as half of their punishment” (1 Samuel 14:14), “they lengthened it for their punishment” (Psalm 129:3). And the meaning of “two” is because of Judah and Ephraim.
Radak
“Those who are Mine, I will bind.” By My will and My desire I will bind them, since they do not accept admonition from Me through the prophets who reprove them in My name; therefore, I will bind them through nations that will gather against them.
When they were bound for their two sins, just as oxen are bound for plowing:
Their sins. Like “their plowing” (me’aneitahem), which refers to the furrows of the field, called gedudim, and the mounds of earth on either side are called telamim. Now, Judah and Ephraim are compared to two oxen plowing, and I said, “Let them plow well,” but they plowed evil. They bound themselves to one another and joined together to do evil in the sight of the Lord. And He bound them for their two sins: this was when Jehoshaphat married into the house of Ahab, king of Israel, and his son Jehoram did evil in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of the king of Israel. In his days, Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah, and similarly did his son Ahaziah.
"And He disciplined them." Its root is "discipline" from the root Y-S-R, just as in "He shall discipline a mocker." The dagesh in the samekh is for the beauty of the reading, to compensate for the missing yod, which is the first letter of the root, as in "I will pour out water upon the thirsty" and "He formed it with the hammer."
Their springs. It is written with a yod after the ayin, but read with a vav, for the letters of the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) are interchangeable. And Jonathan rendered: “He brought them up with His words,” etc.
Metzudat David
“Behold, I will discipline them.” In My desire to discipline them, and indeed I will truly discipline them.
And they shall gather. Many idolaters will assemble to come against them in battle:
“ba’asram” – At the time that I will bind them to two yokes of the plow, to plow with both together, not like the way plowmen plow one at a time; that is to say, when I will bring upon them double and manifold evil.
Metzudat Zion
In My desire. The word is from the root of desire and longing:
And He afflicted them. The term is derived from the word for afflictions (yissurin).
In their binding. The matter of tying:
Their sins: Like “their furrows” (me’aneitahem), which is the line that the plowman plows along the length of the field, and then returns and makes another like it, and so on until the entire field is finished; as it is said, “They lengthened their furrows” (Psalms 129:3).
Malbim
“and I will bind them,” and therefore, at the time that I intended to discipline and punish them for the sin of idolatry, I did not gather upon them an assembly from the people of Israel to fight against the sinners, for the people of Israel did not zealously guard against idolatry even then, and all the more so now. Therefore, “and I will gather upon them nations”—namely, the host of Assyria—they were gathered upon them in binding them for their two sins. And they bound them with the two yokes of the plowshare, meaning that they placed a heavy yoke upon them and bound them with fetters, just as one binds an ox that plows so that it should plow with two yokes of the plowshare at one time, which is double the strength of the ox; namely, they were forced to labor beyond their strength.
And Ephraim is a heifer well broken, That loves to thresh, And I have passed over upon her fair neck; I will make Ephraim to ride, Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his clods.
verse value 4144
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "heifer" (עֶגְלָ֤ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·Ephraim" (וְאֶפְרַ֜יִם, 6 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "heifer" (עֶגְלָ֤ה), "trained" (מְלֻמָּדָה֙), "loving" (אֹהַ֣בְתִּי). The root אפרים appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Ephraim" (root אפרים, 37x in Hosea). First appearance of the root יעקב ("Jacob") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·neck', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
And Ephraim is a trained heifer. The explanation is in the vernacular: "Eshehu chubrot chubrot" (made in groups), in the place where they train cattle, which they call "dishguleyn" in the vernacular. That is to say, I brought many afflictions upon her, and yet she was not subdued; rather, she always loves to tread in the grain, the place of food and drink, and was not subdued to plow. That is to say, they were not subdued to Torah, but followed the stubbornness of their heart.
"I have loved." The yod is superfluous, just as in "I have stolen" (Genesis 31:39).
"And I passed over the good of her neck." Therefore, I bring upon her kings who will weaken their strength:
"I will make Ephraim ride, and Judah shall plow." If you wish, [understand it as follows:] "I will make Ephraim ride" upon idolatry, and "Judah shall plow" and harrow for himself (Jacob) a plowing of good deeds, as he explains and says, "Plow your field, and sow with the seed of righteousness" (Hosea 10:12).
Ibn Ezra
And Ephraim: I taught him from the beginning to bear the yoke of My commandments.
"And I passed over" – The law is that any plowman who has been good to his neck [i.e., his yoke/oxen] and has joined Ephraim with Judah, shall plow.
Jacob – Jacob: his entire field is his own. By way of parable: “I have commanded you” refers to the Torah, “your seed” refers to sowing, and “they shall reap” refers to the reward.
“Niro” – to remove the thorns and to clear the path of stones; and when you seek the Lord, to water the seed, then the latter rain shall come.
Radak
“And Ephraim is a trained heifer.” Above, it was likened to a cow, as it is stated, “For like a rebellious cow, Israel has rebelled” (Hosea 4:16). And now it is called a heifer, because in her youth she learned from the Holy One, blessed be He, to plow. The plowing, together with the sowing, corresponds to performing deeds, and the harvesting corresponds to the fruit of the deeds. And I taught her to perform good deeds in order to eat well. Yet she refused to plow, that is, to perform good deeds; rather, she desired to eat and enjoy the good that I give her without performing any good deed, but rather for free. She wishes to eat for free. This is what is said, “I loved to thresh, to thresh and not to plow,” so that she might eat at the time of threshing. And behold, she does not act according to the will of her master, but according to her own will and for her own pleasure.
"I have loved" (Ohevati). Like "loving" (Ohevet), and the yod is added because the word is accented on the penultimate syllable (mil'el).
“And I passed over the good of her neck.” When I passed over her to place upon her a yoke, to make her neck fat, I acted so as not to burden her with a heavy load, for the cows that bear a heavy yoke have their necks emaciated. And the meaning is, by way of parable, that I did not burden them with the yoke of the commandments. Or, another interpretation: When I passed over them to divide the yoke of kingship, meaning, when I spoke through the hand of Ahijah the prophet, I passed over the good of her neck, for all Israel were at ease, each under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. And at the time of his death, this is what I said, to divide the kingdom.
“Arkhiv Ephraim.” I said, “Let me place the yoke upon Ephraim,” meaning, to place upon him the royal yoke of Jeroboam, who was from the tribe of Ephraim. And since I placed the yoke upon him, I said that he should do My will and command the people to serve Me and to be under My authority and My commandments that I said to him: “And it shall be, if you will hearken to all that I command you, and walk in My ways…” and “I will build you a sure house…”
"Judah shall plow." For I have already placed the yoke upon him, and I have no choice but that he plow according to My will; for the monarchy was already established in Judah, and it remained so even after the kingdom was divided.
“Yaakov shall plunder for him.” The one who plunders is the one who crushes the clods of earth after the plowman, in order to level the surface of the ground and prepare it for sowing. Similarly, it is said, “If you plunder valleys after you.” If the kings of Ephraim and the kings of Judah had plowed in accordance with the will of God, blessed be He—and plowing is the warning to the people—then the people would have been required to plunder, meaning to prepare their ears and hearts to receive the words of warning, so that they would accept upon themselves the commandments to fulfill them; and this is the sowing. If Jeroboam and Rehoboam had warned the people to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, then Yaakov, which refers to the totality of Israel, would have plundered, meaning they would have prepared their hearts to accept the commandments.
Metzudat David
“And Ephraim.” Behold, Ephraim is like an ox that is trained for its labor to draw the yoke and to plow, yet it loves to tread out the grain in order to eat from the threshing. This means: I taught them the Torah and the commandments, and they desire to receive the reward without performing the deed.
"And I passed over." I passed My hand:
“On the good of her neck.” This means: I sought her neck and saw that it was good and strong, and fit to place the yoke upon it. That is to say: I saw that he is fit to accept upon himself the yoke of the Torah and the commandments. “I will harness Ephraim.” Therefore, I have harnessed the yoke of the Torah upon Ephraim, and also Judah will plow; that is to say, he will engage in the performance of the commandments.
“Jacob will plunder for him.” This means that all of Israel, in their entirety, will crush the clods to cover the seeds on his behalf, so that he may eat its fruit. In other words, they will fulfill the commandments for their own benefit, so that they may receive their reward.
Metzudat Zion
Trained, accustomed. The matter of "habituation" is akin to the phrase "and he taught his cubs to prey" (Ezekiel 19:3):
"I have loved." The yod is superfluous and secondary.
To thresh. From the language of threshing, which is the separation of the grain from the straw.
Arkiv. He said figuratively concerning the matter that is placed from above:
“Yishded.” The matter refers to the crushing of clods to cover the seeds from above; and similarly, “And he shall open and shall devastate his land” (Isaiah 28:24).
Malbim
“And Ephraim is a trained heifer” — Ephraim does not possess the strength of an ox to yoke itself for plowing the earth, for it resembles a calf trained to perform light labor. This is because it loved threshing, for it delights in threshing grain, which is the work of the calf, that dances upon the grain and threshes it, and also eats while threshing; it does not love plowing, which is not the work of a tender calf. The meaning is that it loves to bear a light yoke, such as when it desired to submit itself to the king of Egypt, which was a yoke that was not harsh and a labor that was light, and with this it would eat from the good of the land of Egypt and profit from its trade there, rather than to bear the yoke of the king of Assyria to plow and work in all manner of hard labor. And I passed over the good of its neck, and I still had compassion upon it, for I passed by and saw the good of its neck, that it was fat and tender and unable to bear a heavy yoke. And it was still in my mind not to deliver it over to the nations that would bind it with fetters for its two sins. And I thought that they would place their necks under the yoke to perform My service, which is light labor, and thereby they would not be delivered into the hands of harsh masters. And I thought that they would join with the kingdom of Judah, and both of them would serve the Lord and plow His land, the holy land. And this is what it says, “I thought I would harness Ephraim,” meaning that I would join and attach it to Judah, so that both of them would plow and work together in the Lord’s portion. And I hoped that “Judah would plow and Jacob would harrow,” meaning that Judah, which is trained to plow in the service of the Lord, would perform the plowing, which is the heavy labor, and Jacob, which is not trained to plow the earth, would harrow, which is the labor that follows plowing, passing a second time over the furrows to crush the clods, which is light labor. This means that Judah would prepare the soil of the soul, plowing it until it is ready to receive the sowing of righteousness and good deeds, and after him would come Jacob, who are the Ten Tribes, to complete the work of plowing and preparation. And then.
Sow to yourselves according to righteousness, Reap according to mercy, Break up your fallow ground; For it is time to seek Hashem, Till He come and cause righteousness to rain upon you.
verse value 3847
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לָכֶ֤ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·mouth·of·goodness" (לְפִי־חֶ֔סֶד, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 90: to·you, to·you, to·you. 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "seed" (זִרְע֨וּ), "for·righteousness" (לִצְדָקָה֙), "be·short" (קִצְר֣וּ). The root לכם appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'a·lamp', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 7 words.
Rashi
“Sow for yourselves righteousness.” But you have plowed wickedness, etc.; therefore, “a tumult shall arise among your people.”
"Break up for yourselves a fallow field" (Hosea 10:12). Engage in Torah study, and from there you will learn to walk in the good way, to overcome the evil inclination, just as one plows the field to uproot the roots of the weeds that hinder the grain, during the days of summer, several days before sowing; and then you will set aside time to seek the Lord through the study of Torah.
“Until He comes and teaches you righteousness.” When you will toil in it, He will understand you to reveal its hidden depths to you with righteousness. Another explanation: “Plow your field for you” – perform good deeds before the pressure comes upon you, and this will cause your prayers to be accepted in time of need. Then it will be a fitting time for you to seek the Holy One, blessed be He, for all your needs, for then your cry will be heard, and He will teach you righteousness and rain down charity upon you, as it is said: “He cast them into the sea” (Exodus 15).
Ibn Ezra
"And He will teach you righteousness" – like the phrase "the early rain and the latter rain." And all the commentators say: "Seek My Torah" – and He will come and teach you.
Radak
“Sow for yourselves.” And I said to them: “Sow for yourselves in righteousness, and reap according to steadfast love.” This means: Do what is good in My eyes, and the good reward that you will receive from Me will be greater than your good deeds, just as one who sows an ephah hopes to reap two ephahs or more. Therefore, He said regarding the sowing, “righteousness,” and regarding the reaping, “steadfast love,” because steadfast love exceeds righteousness. And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, it is stated that the reward for acts of loving-kindness is greater than that for righteousness, as it is said: “Sow for yourselves in righteousness, reap according to steadfast love.” One who sows does so with uncertainty—perhaps he will eat, perhaps he will not eat; but one who reaps does so with certainty—he will surely eat.
“Your plowed field is a plowed field.” And after you have reaped, return to plow again and to sow; that is to say, do not cease from your good deeds all the days of your life. And “plowed field” refers to the act of plowing, and Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated it as “plow, plow your plowed field.” And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory, it is stated: “One year it is plowed, and the next year it is sown.” Or alternatively, it is explained: “Your plowed field” is an allegory for arousing hearts to accept words of rebuke, just as a field is plowed to receive the seed.
"Niru." This is an imperative from the hif'il conjugation, and its proper form would be "haniru," but the initial heh of the construction has dropped from it, as is customary in the imperative of hollow verbs (those with vav/yod as the middle root letter), like "simu" and "shitu."
“And now is the time to seek the Lord, until He comes and teaches you righteousness.” Its meaning is as its Targum [renders it]: “In every era, and so on.” And the sage Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: “And now is the time that you shall seek the Lord, to satisfy the seed; then He will come with the latter rain.”
“And He shall teach you righteousness.” Like “rain and dew” (yoreh and malkosh). And some commentators explain: If you seek the Lord to know His Torah and His commandments, He will come and teach you righteousness, in accordance with the principle: “One who comes to purify himself, they assist him.” And my master and father, of blessed memory, wrote: “Reap it according to kindness”—whatever you reap in this world, it will be kindness, until it comes to the World to Come, and He will show you the principal, as our Sages of blessed memory said regarding many commandments: a person eats their fruits in this world, and the principal remains for the World to Come.
Metzudat David
“Sow for yourselves righteousness.” For your own benefit, sow righteousness, so that you may reap its harvest according to the kindness that I do. That is to say: perform acts of charity, and you will receive reward through My kindness, for the recompense for good deeds is also considered an act of kindness, as it is written: “Who has gone before Me, that I should repay him?” (Job 41:3).
"Plow your field for yourselves": This means, remove from your hearts corrupt and false opinions, just as a plowman plows his field to kill the roots of the noxious weeds, so that they may not choke the seed that is sown.
And it is a time to inquire. And they established fixed times to seek the Lord, not at random.
“Until He comes.” This means that they indeed acted in this manner until the Omnipresent, blessed be He, comes and casts righteousness to you from heaven, for your reward will not be withheld.
Metzudat Zion
According to. In proportion to:
Nir. The term refers to plowing, as in “the plowing of the poor” (Proverbs 13:23).
And he cast. The meaning is casting, as in "he cast into the sea" (Exodus 16:
Malbim
“Sow for yourselves in righteousness”: Then you will sow righteousness and the mitzvot that are between a person and the Omnipresent. “And reap according to kindness”: Just as from sowing a single seed one reaps sheaves, so too the reward they will receive will be according to the kindness of the Lord, exceeding the recompense that is due according to truth and justice; rather, it is kindness, which has no limit or measure. And he added to say, “Plow your field”: The plowing is that which one digs deep into the earth to remove the thorns that destroy the crop. So too, you should dig deep into the soul to remove the desires, the evil imaginations, and the false beliefs that destroy the seed of righteousness and the mitzvot that are between a person and the Omnipresent.
"And it is time to seek the Lord." After they have prepared the plowing and the sowing, the time for rain will arrive, at which point one must seek the Lord and beseech His countenance to grant timely rains of the early and latter seasons. That is to say, they should request from Him heavenly abundance and divine aid from above. "Until He comes and pours out," meaning until He comes to you and gives the *moreh*—which is the rain and the *yoreh*—and explains what that *moreh* He will give will be: "Righteousness will rain down for you." The righteousness that He will send to you will be the *moreh* and the rain that He will give. And He clarifies that His intent is not upon the earth in its literal sense, but rather that He will instruct you regarding the soil of your soul; He will satiate your thirsty soul with the showers of His might and the abundance of His holiness, as in the matter of what they said: "Let the heavens drop down dew from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness."
You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped iniquity, You have eaten the fruit of lies; For you did trust in your way, In the multitude of your mighty men.
verse value 5108
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "in·multitude·of" (בְּרֹ֥ב, 3 letters) and the longest is "you·plowed·wickedness" (חֲרַשְׁתֶּם־רֶ֛שַׁע, 8 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "you·plowed·wickedness" (חֲרַשְׁתֶּם־רֶ֛שַׁע), "injustice" (עַוְלָ֥תָה), "you·was·short" (קְצַרְתֶּ֖ם). 9 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'fruit·of·lies', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: חֲרַשְׁתֶּם־רֶ֛שַׁע [you·plowed·wickedness] (1518) + עַוְלָ֥תָה [injustice] (511) + קְצַרְתֶּ֖ם [you·was·short] (830) + אֲכַלְתֶּ֣ם [you·ate] (491) + פְּרִי־כָ֑חַשׁ [fruit·of·lies] (618) + כִּי־בָטַ֥חְתָּ [for·you·trusted] (449) + בְדַרְכְּךָ֖ [in·your·way] (246) + בְּרֹ֥ב [in·multitude·of] (204) + גִּבּוֹרֶֽיךָ [your·mighty·men] (241) = 5108.
Rashi
“You ate the fruit of a withered tree.” You have received the full recompense of your deeds.
Ibn Ezra
“You have plowed [wickedness]”—and all this you did, in that you did not endure My reproach, because you trusted in your mighty men, and for this reason.
Radak
"You have plowed wickedness." The meaning is: You have plowed and sown, for after plowing comes sowing, and both are an allegory for action, as we have explained. He said: You have done the opposite of what I commanded you, for I said, "Sow for yourselves righteousness," and you have plowed wickedness. Therefore, you have reaped vanity; you have eaten the fruit of falsehood. And the reaping is an allegory for reward. And the meaning of "fruit of falsehood" is: the fruit of the falsehood with which you have lied to Me. Or it is explained: "fruit of falsehood" is fruit that denies its expectation, as it is said, "And the new wine shall fail."
"For you trusted in your ways, in the multitude of your mighty men." You trusted in the path that you were walking, which is the path of the wicked and the evil faith; and you also trusted in the multitude of mighty men that were with you, whether from your own people or from Egypt, seeking help from them, and you made flesh your arm, and you did not trust in Me. Therefore, you stumbled. The letter Kaf is a direct allusion to Hosea son of Elah, during whose days Shomron was destroyed and the tribes went into exile.
Metzudat David
“You have devised evil.” This means: Behold, you did not act thus; rather, you devised evil, etc. This means: You planned to do evil, and indeed you carried it out, and so was the recompense.
“Fruit of withering.” The recompense for the deed of falsehood.
"In your way" – In the manner in which you were going to Egypt and to Assyria to seek help, behold, in this you trusted in the multitude of your mighty men, and therefore you did not heed My warnings.
Metzudat Zion
"Avlatah." From the word "iniquity" (avel).
Kachash. Sheker:
Malbim
“You have been deafened, but you have been deafened to evil; therefore, you have reaped its burnt offering, and you have eaten the fruit of deceit. That is to say, you have eaten the fruits of deceit and heresy, for you have denied God. And this comes because you trusted in your way and in the multitude of your mighty men, and you thought that you would be saved through counsel and might in war.”
Therefore shall a tumult arise among your hosts, And all your fortresses shall be spoiled, As Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle; The mother was dashed in pieces with her children.
verse value 3702
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "mother" (אֵ֥ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·all·your·strongholds" (וְכׇל־מִבְצָרֶ֣יךָ, 9 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·will·rise" (וְקָ֣אם), "roar" (שָׁאוֹן֮), "among·your·people" (בְּעַמֶּ֒ךָ֒). 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·day·of" (root יום, 28x in Hosea); "with·children" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "among·your·people" (root עם, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'battle', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְקָ֣אם [and·will·rise] (147) + שָׁאוֹן֮ [roar] (357) + בְּעַמֶּ֒ךָ֒ [among·your·people] (132) + וְכׇל־מִבְצָרֶ֣יךָ [and·all·your·strongholds] (418) + יוּשַּׁ֔ד [will·be·dealt·violently·with] (320) + כְּשֹׁ֧ד [as·destruction·of] (324) + שַֽׁלְמַ֛ן [Shalman] (420) + בֵּ֥ית [Beth] (412) + אַֽרְבֵ֖אל [Arbel] (234) + בְּי֣וֹם [in·day·of] (58) + מִלְחָמָ֑ה [battle] (123) + אֵ֥ם [mother] (41) + עַל־בָּנִ֖ים [with·children] (202) + רֻטָּֽשָׁה [was·dashed·to·pieces] (514) = 3702.
Rashi
And there is a clamor. A voice of supplication: "Flee, flee!"
“Like a bandit raiding the house of Arbel.” Like marauders who come upon a people dwelling in peace, suddenly, by means of an ambush, because they were not vigilant against them to flee from their presence, and they plunder everything.
Beit Arbel. Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated it as "house of ambush," and the letters aleph and lamed are superfluous in it, just as in Yizre'el, which is not the name of a city, for example (above, 2:2), "they answered Yizre'el," and they called it in the language of a city name. So too here, they called it as a type of city name. And likewise Menachem connected it. But Dunash explains it as the name of a place.
“Rotsehah.” It was shattered. And similarly, “young men shall be dashed to pieces” (Isaiah 13:18), and “their infants shall be dashed in pieces” (ibid.). Alternatively: “Rotsehah” means “abandoned,” like “notsehah.”
Ibn Ezra
And behold, "as the spoil of Shalman" – perhaps it refers to Shalmaneser.
Beit Arbal – a place name.
"Ratshah" – a noun [describing] "the mother was dashed upon the children"; and for it to be derived from the root of "orev" (ambush), that has no reason.
Radak
"And there shall be a tumult among your people." Because of your evil, there shall be a tumult among your people; that the enemies will come upon them to destroy them.
And behold: it is written with an aleph, and this is the place of the ayin in the pa'al conjugation.
Sha'on, as in "and the tumult of nations is like the tumult of mighty waters," refers to the concept of a multitude of people.
“Amidst your people.” It is written with a yod, and it is a plural form, meaning: with reference to the tribes.
And all my fortresses shall be plundered. All the fortresses in which you place your trust—each one of them shall be plundered by the hand of the plunderer who will come upon them.
Yoshad. It is from the pa'al conjugation, among the doubled and dagesh verbs, indicating the omission of the doubling; it is written with a vav and with a dagesh.
As the plundering of Shalman upon the house of Arbaal on the day of battle. Shalman was a known enemy in those days, his name being Shalman, and he came upon the house of Arbaal suddenly, plundering it and overthrowing it; the mother fell upon the children, and he left no survivor. And Arbaal was the name of a great man in their days. And Jonathan translated: “A tumult arose among your people,” etc.; he translated Arbaal from the root “and he lay in wait for him.” And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained that Shalman is Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; the house of Arbaal is Samaria, the house that God, blessed be He, lay in wait for and seized in its time of punishment.
"The mother was dashed together with her sons": Because a mother’s compassion for her children is such that, when they seek to kill them, she would throw herself upon them.
“Ratseh” – like “and their little ones shall be dashed to pieces” (ratshu), the matter of casting them upon the ground to shatter them. And our Sages of blessed memory interpreted it as the matter of abandonment, as in the Targum: “You shall let them go and abandon them” (tishmetnah ve-netashtah) – “you shall dash them” (tirteshnah). They said that they were abandoning their wives and children and going away from them on account of the sword and famine. And it says: “Ratseh” – “ratshim” [dashed] of their own accord, “netashim” [abandoned] against their will.
Metzudat David
And it shall be: Therefore, a tumultuous voice of war shall arise among your people, and all your fortresses shall be destroyed by the hands of robbers.
"Like the plunder of Shalman" etc. In those days, a certain man named Shelman was fighting against the house of Arbal and plundered them; he broke the mother [i.e., the mother animal] near the young ones before their eyes, saying, "Just so shall they too be plundered."
Metzudat Zion
And he arose. The word is from the root of "arising."
Shaon. The clamor of war:
Yoshad. From the language of "shadid" and oppression:
Shalman. A proper name:
Beit Arbel. A family name:
Ratseh. The matter of breaking, as in: “And their children shall be dashed in pieces” (Isaiah 13:16):
Malbim
And it came to pass, and at the time that tumult and rebellion arose among your people, who rebelled against their king, therefore all my strongholds were plundered, for by means of the strife that was among them, they handed over the strongholds into the hand of the enemy as the plunder of Shalman, at the time that Shalman plundered the House of Arball, which was a fortress in the kingdom of Ephraim, on a day of battle, for then, on that day of battle, they handed over the fortress into his hand by means of the rebellion and strife that was among them, (and also he called the plunder "the plunder of Shalman" because they handed over the fortress into his hand peacefully, and he behaved toward the men of the fortress as if he had taken them by ambush on a day of battle, and as if he had subdued them with a strong hand), and then, if she broke in pieces the children, and killed all the people, as if he had subdued them with a strong hand.
So has Beth-el done to you Because of your great wickedness; At daybreak is the king of Israel utterly cut off.
verse value 3872
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "like this" (כָּ֗כָה, 3 letters) and the longest is "Beth-el" (בֵּֽית־אֵ֔ל, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 99: utterly, is·cut·off. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "like this" (כָּ֗כָה), "did" (עָשָׂ֤ה), "from·face·of" (מִפְּנֵ֖י). The root רע appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Israel" (root ישראל, 39x in Hosea); "Beth-el" (root בית, 21x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·wickedness', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: כָּ֗כָה [like this] (45) + עָשָׂ֤ה [did] (375) + לָכֶם֙ [to·you] (90) + בֵּֽית־אֵ֔ל [Beth-el] (443) + מִפְּנֵ֖י [from·face·of] (180) + רָעַ֣ת [evil·of] (670) + רָעַתְכֶ֑ם [your·wickedness] (730) + בַּשַּׁ֕חַר [in·the·dawn] (510) + נִדְמֹ֥ה [utterly] (99) + נִדְמָ֖ה [is·cut·off] (99) + מֶ֥לֶךְ [king] (90) + יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (541) = 3872.
Rashi
Thus has Bethel done to you. This entire calamity was brought upon you by the calf that was in Bethel.
“Your evil, your evil.” “Your evil, your evil”: the evil of your wickedness, your intentional transgressions.
"At dawn, it seemed, it seemed." He fell asleep as if it were night, meaning that he lacked strength. And why is this so? Because when Israel was a child, I loved him, and from youth I chose him.
Ibn Ezra
“Thus” – Bethel, where the calf was, which was thus the worst of all their sins, for most of the kings of Israel did not turn away from the sin of Jeroboam.
And the meaning of “in the morning” is that they will be crushed at night, and in the morning their king will be cut off.
Radak
Thus did Bethel do to you. All this was caused to you by Bethel, namely, the calf that you served there.
“Because of the evil of your evils.” This was upon you because of a great evil that was in your evils, namely the sin of the Golden Calf, and your saying, “These are your gods, O Israel.”
"At dawn, cut off, cut off, was the king of Israel." This refers to Hoshea, son of Elah. The meaning of "at dawn" is explained by my master and father, of blessed memory, as referring to the beginning of his reign, in his sixth year, when the king of Assyria imprisoned him. In the seventh year, the Assyrian king went up to Samaria, besieged it for three years, and captured it. Moreover, even prior to that, from the beginning of his reign, he served the king of Assyria and sent him tribute year by year. Jonathan rendered this in the Targum as "in his final days," etc.
It appears that the matter of cutting (karet) is similar to [the verse]: “My people have been cut off.”
This is an infinitive with a prefixed nun, as in the phrase "הנגלה נגליתי" (the revealed One revealed Himself).
Metzudat David
Thus. This thing was done to you by Bethel on account of the knowledge of the calf that resides within it, which is your evil that you have become accustomed to since then, for even in the wilderness you made the calf.
"At dawn." This means: at the beginning of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah, in the sixth year of his kingship, his kingdom was cut off by a decisive severance, for then the king of Assyria besieged him, as it is stated in II Kings.
Metzudat Zion
"At dawn." In the morning:
It is likened to the matter of cutting off and destruction, as it is written: “Moab is confounded” (ibid. 15).
Malbim
Thus has Bethel done to you; this is what Bethel caused you, for the calf that was in Bethel was the root cause of all this. Because of the evil of your evil, this came to pass; because of the evil that came about through your evil, your evil brought evil upon you, for through your evil deeds, evil befell you. In that at dawn it seemed, it seemed that the king of Israel was deceived, because you rebelled against the king, and he was deceived and cut off thereby, and also that it seemed at dawn, for along with the king being deceived, the dawn too was deceived, which is the star of your success, for from then on the light of dawn was darkened for you. And all this was due to Bethel, from where the rebellion sprang, because he sought to abolish the calf that was in Bethel, as stated above.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim