'Plead with your mother, plead' — the faithless wife pursues her lovers for bread and water, wool and flax, not knowing it was her Husband who gave the corn and wine; her way is hedged with thorns until she says 'I will go and return to my first husband' — and the valley of Achor becomes a door of hope: 'I will betroth you to Me for ever... in righteousness, and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in compassion.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that, instead of that which was said to them: ‘You are not My people’, it shall be said to them: ‘You are the children of the living God.’
verse value 4171
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 79 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְֽ֠הָיָ֠ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "sea" (הַיָּ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Israel" (בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 75: to·them, to·them. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "number" (מִסְפַּ֤ר), "sons·of·Israel" (בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙), "like·the·sand·of" (כְּח֣וֹל). The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "to·them" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root ים ("sea") in Hosea. First appearance of the root איל ("God·living") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'be·numbered', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 10 words.
Rashi
“And it shall come to pass.” What is the relevance of placing a passage of calamity and a passage of consolation adjacent to one another in a single discourse? Our Sages explained in Tractate Pesachim that Hosea himself became aware that he had sinned by saying, “I will exchange them,” and he arose and sought mercy for them. And in the Sifrei of the School of Rav, in the parashah of “Israel dwelt in Shittim,” we learned: Rabbi says, there are passages that are adjacent to one another yet distant from one another as far as the east is from the west. For example: “You are not My people, and I will not be your God,” followed by “The children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea.” What is the relevance of this passage next to that one? It is like a parable of a king who became angry with his wife and sent for the scribe to come and write her a bill of divorce. Before the scribe arrived, the king reconciled with his wife. The king said, “Is it possible that this scribe will leave here with a divided heart, meaning his heart is divided and he will wonder, saying, ‘Why did he send for him?’” He said to him, “Come and write for her that I am doubling her ketubah.” And according to its simple meaning, this is the reason for their adjacency: “You are not My people, and I will not be your God” — I will regard Myself as if I am not yours, and you will go into exile among the nations. And even there you will multiply and grow, and there you will return to your heart to return to Me, as it is stated through Moses (Deuteronomy 30): “And you shall return to your heart among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you,” and “The Lord your God will restore your captivity.” So too here: “And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together.”
Ibn Ezra
"And it shall come to pass" – this passage is connected [to the preceding one], for in the place where they were exiled, they will beget many children; only, they do not fear the Name.
And the explanation of "and it shall be" is in the sense of "in place of," as in: "because you did not serve." And the meaning is: they call themselves children of the living God, but they are truly not My people, on account of their evil deeds.
Radak
"And the number of the children of Israel." Although they are now called "not My people," there will yet come a time when the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand, which cannot be measured nor counted; it cannot be measured, all the more so that it cannot be counted. And likewise, "there is no truth and no kindness." The language of measurement applies to the sand and to the stars; it does not apply except to the language of counting. Therefore, the prophet Jeremiah divided them when he compared both, saying, "which cannot be counted, the host of heaven, nor measured, the sand of the sea." And although he said this parable regarding two families of Israel, and this prophet said it regarding all of Israel, there is no cause for wonder in this, for in both cases it is a manner of hyperbole, and the intent in them is nothing other than the matter of multitude.
“And it shall come to pass in the place where it is said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ instead of what is said to them at this time, ‘You are not My people,’ on account of their evil deeds.”
He said to them. At that time:
Children of the living God. For when they return to the Lord, He will return their exile and have mercy on them.
And the meaning of “sons of the living God” is that in this era they make themselves sons of other gods that are not alive, and even the living ones among them, which are the constellations, are not alive except in that they are the cause of life for them, but He, blessed be He, is alive without any cause or reason. And Jonathan translated in the place according to its plain meaning: “And it was in the place where the hearts of the nations were revealed, when they transgressed the Torah, and it was said to them: ‘You are not My people,’ and they sat, and it was said to them: ‘The people of the living God.’”
Metzudat David
“And it shall be that the number...” — In the time of the Redemption, the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And our Sages of blessed memory said that after Hosea had fathered these [children], the Omnipresent said to him, “Send away your wife...” And he understood by implication that it was not good in the sight of the Lord that he had spoken concerning Israel to replace them with another nation. Therefore, he returned and pleaded for mercy on their behalf.
"Which He will say to them." That which was said about them:
He will say to them. He will further say concerning them: "Children of the Living God, beloved more than the people."
Metzudat Zion
Yimad (shall be measured). From the language of measurement:
To them. Upon them:
Malbim
And this matter was displeasing in the eyes of Hosea, to divorce his wife and his children; therefore, he retracted his previous words and began to argue in favor of Israel. He said to the Name: How can You desire to send away the mother of the congregation and her children? Behold, in the future, the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor counted. This means that although the sand has a number—for it has already been explained that the existence of many things without an end in actuality is impossible (as stated in the Guide for the Perplexed, Part II)—nevertheless, even though it has a number, no person can count it due to its multitude and fineness. And although it is possible to measure it with a measure, even this cannot be done, because much of the sand is hidden in the depths of the sea and in the abysses of the earth, where a person cannot reach. So too, it will not be possible to count Israel, whether due to their multitude or due to their being scattered and hidden in the ends of the earth, until many of the tribes are considered as lost, because no one knows their location, like sand buried in the depths of the seas. And then, in the place where the Lord commanded now to say to them, “You are not My people”—that is, in the place where He exiled them and hid His face from them—then He will say to them that they are the children of the Living God. At that time, all will recognize that their Father is alive and watches over His children with a unique, wondrous providence, by means of which they will endure the duration of the exile. And their seed will be known among the nations, for they are the seed blessed by the Lord.
And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land; for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
verse value 2869
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 65 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אֶחָ֖ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·sons·of·Israel" (וּבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙, 9 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·they·will·be·gathered" (וְ֠נִקְבְּצ֠וּ), "children·of·Judah" (בְּנֵֽי־יְהוּדָ֤ה), "and·sons·of·Israel" (וּבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙). The root בן appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 48x in Hosea); "to·them" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "day" (root יום, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root קבץ ("and·they·will·be·gathered") in Hosea. First appearance of the root יחד ("together") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·land', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְ֠נִקְבְּצ֠וּ [and·they·will·be·gathered] (254) + בְּנֵֽי־יְהוּדָ֤ה [children·of·Judah] (92) + וּבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ [and·sons·of·Israel] (609) + יַחְדָּ֔ו [together] (28) + וְשָׂמ֥וּ [and·they·will·appoint] (352) + לָהֶ֛ם [to·them] (75) + רֹ֥אשׁ [head] (501) + אֶחָ֖ד [one] (13) + וְעָל֣וּ [and·shall·come·up] (112) + מִן־הָאָ֑רֶץ [from·the·land] (386) + כִּ֥י [for] (30) + גָד֖וֹל [great] (43) + י֥וֹם [day] (56) + יִזְרְעֶֽאל [Jezreel] (318) = 2869.
Rashi
One head. David, their king:
"For the day is great." The gathering of their seed:
Ibn Ezra
"ונקבצו" – The meaning is "and they were gathered," indicating that Sennacherib captured many of the men of Judah; and so it is written: "For he captured all the fortified cities of Judah."
"And they appointed for themselves one head" — this is Sennacherib.
"And they shall go up from the land, for great is the day of Yizre'el" — This teaches that the iniquity of the House of Israel was visited upon them, and behold, everything is to their reproach and not to their praise. Alternatively, the meaning is: "for great will be the day of their doom, like the day of Yizre'el." But one who interprets it as "greater than the day of Yizre'el" does not follow the proper rules of language, for the mem would be omitted, which would reverse the meaning. Furthermore: the mem in "ki gadol" (for great) serves as a grammatical marker, and there is no masculine noun that lacks a mem.
Radak
“And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together.” This refers to the ingathering of the exiles in the days of the Messiah, for in the Second Temple period only Judah and Benjamin returned, those who had been exiled to Babylonia; thus, the children of Judah and the children of Israel were not gathered together.
And they appointed for them one head. This is the Messiah King, and so too the Targum: "And they appointed for them one head from the House of David."
“And they shall go up from the land.” They shall go up from the land of their exile to their land. Those commentators who interpret this matter as referring to the exile are not correct, for what relevance does “and they shall have one head” have to those who will go into exile? Furthermore, the phrase “and they shall go up from the land” is problematic, for it should have said “and they shall go down” or “and they shall go out,” since the Land of Israel is higher than all the lands, and one who comes to it goes up, whereas one who leaves it goes down. This is explained to mean that “and they shall go up from the land” as meaning after they have gone up from the land, similar to the usage in “And you, You were angry, and we sinned,” and “He descended from making the sin-offering and the burnt-offering,” and “He raised worms and rotted,” and similar cases. For the Messiah will not be their head until they are in Jerusalem. And there are those who interpret “one head” as referring to the prophet Elijah, who will bring them up from the exile.
"For the day of Jezreel is great." The day when their bow was broken in the Valley of Jezreel is great, and their exile will be very long, and their iniquity will be exhausted in the exile, which will be of long duration. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained: "A long and great time they were sown among the nations, and now I will gather them; therefore He called the name of Israel 'Jezreel,' because God sowed them among the nations." And the Targum translates: "A great day is the day of their gathering."
Metzudat David
"And they shall be gathered." This will be in the days of the Messiah:
"One head." This is the King Messiah.
"And they shall go up." From the lands of exile they shall go up to their land.
"For great is the day of Jezreel." For it will be a great and honorable day, the day of the gathering of Israel, whom God scattered like seeds scattered across the field.
Metzudat Zion
Jezreel. This is a compound word, composed of “zeri’ah” (sowing) and “El” (God).
Malbim
“And they shall be gathered together,” and afterwards, in the end of days, the scattered ones will be gathered: those among the children of Judah who were exiled in the destruction of the First Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, who did not all return in the days of Ezra, and those among the children of Israel, who are the Ten Tribes that were exiled by the king of Assyria. All of them will be gathered from the places of their dispersion and will be united as one people. They will also appoint for themselves a single leader, who is the Messiah son of Joseph, who will be their leader initially (as it is stated in Ezekiel, chapter 37). “They shall go up from the land” means they will ascend from the general population of the land among which they are scattered, to the Land of Israel. For great is the Day of Jezreel; then the name of the first son, who was called Jezreel to indicate God’s judgment upon them, will be fulfilled in a different manner, as it is stated (in verse 25), “I will sow her for Myself in the land.” It will be called by the name Jezreel in the sense of sowing. The exile will be like sowing grain seeds deep in the earth, and it seems to the sower that the seeds have rotted and decayed, and afterwards they sprout and grow and produce fruit, grain, multiplied many times. So too, the exiles who were sown in the lands of the nations, with a multitude as numerous as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted, together with the converts who join them, as our Sages of blessed memory stated, will sprout forth. And the Day of Jezreel is the day when this sowing, which God sowed in the land, will be revealed, and they will lift up their sheaves. This day will be very great due to the miracles and wonders that the Lord will perform on that day before the eyes of all the nations.
Say you to your brethren: ‘Ammi’; and to your sisters, ‘Ruhamah.’
verse value 1250
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 26 letters. Verse gematria: 1250 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "my·people" (עַמִּ֑י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·to·your·sisters" (וְלַאֲחוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "to·your·brothers" (לַאֲחֵיכֶ֖ם), "and·to·your·sisters" (וְלַאֲחוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "say" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea); "my·people" (root עם, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·people', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: אִמְר֥וּ [say] (247) + לַאֲחֵיכֶ֖ם [to·your·brothers] (109) + עַמִּ֑י [my·people] (120) + וְלַאֲחוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם [and·to·your·sisters] (521) + רֻחָֽמָה [was·wombed] (253) = 1250.
Rashi
“Say to your brethren, ‘My people’” – as its Targum renders: “Return to My Torah, and I will have compassion on your congregation.”
Ibn Ezra
They said: In the manner of: “And Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud’” (1 Kings 18:27); “Rejoice, young man, in your youth” (Ecclesiastes 11:9); “Come to Bethel” (Amos 4:4); and many such examples. Therefore, after it, it says: “Rebuke your mother, rebuke her” (Isaiah 5:12). How can you be “sons of the living God,” while your mother has committed harlotry? They are the Patriarchs.
Radak
“Say to your brethren, ‘My people.’” Rabbi Saadia Gaon, of blessed memory, explained: [The verse] says to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, “Your brethren, the Ten Tribes, who were called ‘not My people’ when they did evil in the eyes of the Lord, [now,] at the time of the return from exile, [God] says to them, ‘My people.’”
And to your sister, Ruhamah. And since the parable was in terms of a son and a daughter, it says "your brothers" and "your sisters." And the word "and your sister" is in the singular form alone, for it should have said in two plurals, "your sisters," like "your brothers, your sisters."
Metzudat David
They said: “You, the sons of Judah and Benjamin, said of your brothers, the sons of the Ten Tribes, ‘They are not My people, just as you are not My people’—even though I hastened to exile them from you and called them ‘Not My People’ at that time.” And so too did they speak with compassion concerning your sisters, the women of the Ten Tribes.
Malbim
That is to say, "After the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, etc." Therefore, I command the sons and the daughters: tell your brothers (whom you intended to call by the name 'Lo-Ammi') that they are 'My People,' and tell your sisters (whom you intended to call by the name 'Lo-Ruchama') that she is 'Ruchama' (Obtaining Mercy). This is because in the future they will be with the Lord, and the Lord will have mercy on them. With this, he argued against the Lord, who had intended that she send away her wife and that they call their children 'Lo-Ruchama' and 'Lo-Ammi.' He requests that the Lord say to them, 'You are My People,' regarding the future time.
Plead with your mother, plead; For she is not My wife, neither am I her husband; And let her put away her harlotries from her face, And her adulteries from between her breasts;
verse value 3399
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·her·adultery" (וְנַאֲפוּפֶ֖יהָ, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 218: strive, strive. 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "with·your·mother" (בְאִמְּכֶם֙), "for·she" (כִּי־הִיא֙), "my·wife" (אִשְׁתִּ֔י). The root ריב appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea). First appearance of the root ריב ("strive") in Hosea. First appearance of the root אם ("with·your·mother") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·husband', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
"Contend with your mother." Referring to your present congregation, which is a mother to the generations to come.
“Between her breasts.” This is the custom of adulteresses, who place [amulets] between their breasts. And Jonathan [ben Uzziel] rendered in the Targum: “And the worship of her error is between her walls.”
Ibn Ezra
"Riv'u" – The prophet is reprimanding the exiles, perhaps so that they will return and God will restore their exile, or he is reprimanding these generations prior to their exile.
Zoniyah – the ayin is doubled, just as in the word "binah hagiyah" (intellectual understanding).
"Ve-na'afufeha" ["her adulteries"]: The lamed [the final root letter] is doubled, just as in the word "sagrir" ["incessant rain"], which likewise doubles its final root letter.
Radak
"Your quarrel is with your mother." Now he returns to the words of reproof that he said at the beginning. And since he compared the Congregation of Israel to a promiscuous woman, and those born in each generation are children of promiscuity, he said in response to the children of promiscuity: "Your quarrel is with your mother." The Congregation is likened to a mother in a general sense, and the particulars are likened to sons. The matter is that they should quarrel with one another in order to return them to the good path.
For she is not my wife, since she has committed adultery under my roof.
And remove her harlotry from before her. Since He likened her to a harlot, He wrote concerning her, “the ways of harlots,” for the way of a harlot is to adorn her face with various cosmetics, so that she may appear beautiful in the eyes of her lovers.
“And she was surrounded by adulterers.” This refers to the idolatry of the nations, which Ezekiel mentioned, saying, “their [virgin] breasts were pressed there,” for this too is among the ways of harlots. And “face” is an allegory for the prophets, for the people would exchange the prophets of the Lord for false prophets, and these are the harlots. And “breasts” is an allegory for the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, as explained in the book of Ezekiel; and they would exchange them for the decrees of the nations, and these are the adulterers.
Metzudat David
"Your contention is with your husband, your contention." The entire congregation together shall call her "wife," and it is as if He said to the righteous of the generation: "Raise a dispute with the entire congregation concerning the wickedness of her ways, for from now on she is not my wife, for she has turned away from Me, and I am not her husband to provide for her needs."
"Vatisar." This verb refers back to the beginning of the verse, to say: "Rebuke her, so that she will abandon her harlotry," etc. This means that she will no longer paint her face for the purpose of harlotry with others, nor will she place perfumes between her breasts that emit a pleasant fragrance to inflame the hearts of adulterers. This means that from now on she will abandon her ways. And since she is compared to a harlot, the language used is that which is applied to a harlot.
Metzudat Zion
“Ishah.” Her husband:
ונאפופיה. From the language of adultery:
Malbim
“Rebuke her” (meaning, “Answer the Lord”): If so, you, the children, should rebuke your mother and admonish her regarding her harlotry. For as long as she is not my wife and is a harlot after others, I am not her husband, and the children are not my sons. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you, the children, to contend with your mother so that she may improve her ways. This serves as a response to Hosea, indicating that it is incumbent upon the prophets, and Hosea is among them, to contend with the “mother,” namely the Synagogue, to admonish her and return her to what is good and proper. “Rebuke her” means that you should remove her harlotry from before her face; this refers to the idolatry that she practices in public, to the extent that the matters of harlotry are visible upon her face. And “her nakedness is uncovered between her breasts” refers to the desire for adultery itself, which is concealed between her breasts; these are the evil inclination toward idolatry and the evil inclination toward illicit sexual relations.
Lest I strip her naked, And set her as in the day that she was born, And make her as a wilderness, And set her like a dry land, And slay her with thirst.
verse value 4298
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "dryness" (צִיָּ֔ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "lest·I·strip·her" (פֶּן־אַפְשִׁיטֶ֣נָּה, 9 letters). 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "lest·I·strip·her" (פֶּן־אַפְשִׁיטֶ֣נָּה), "naked" (עֲרֻמָּ֔ה), "and·I·will·set·her" (וְהִ֨צַּגְתִּ֔יהָ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·day·of" (root יום, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root שום ("and·I·will·make·her") in Hosea. First appearance of the root מדבר ("as·the·wilderness") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'she·was·born', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: פֶּן־אַפְשִׁיטֶ֣נָּה [lest·I·strip·her] (585) + עֲרֻמָּ֔ה [naked] (315) + וְהִ֨צַּגְתִּ֔יהָ [and·I·will·set·her] (519) + כְּי֖וֹם [as·day·of] (76) + הִוָּֽלְדָ֑הּ [she·was·born] (50) + וְשַׂמְתִּ֣יהָ [and·I·will·make·her] (761) + כַמִּדְבָּ֗ר [as·the·wilderness] (266) + וְשַׁתִּ֙הָ֙ [and·I·will·set·her] (711) + כְּאֶ֣רֶץ [as·land] (311) + צִיָּ֔ה [dryness] (105) + וַהֲמִתִּ֖יהָ [and·I·will·kill·her] (466) + בַּצָּמָֽא [in·the·thirst] (133) = 4298.
Rashi
“On the day of your birth.” This refers to the day that He found you in Egypt, as it is explicitly stated in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16:4): “As for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, and you were cast out into the open field, for you were loathed, on the day you were born; no eye pitied you.”
As it is said: “The decrees that I have decreed upon them in the wilderness—there they shall perish and there they shall die” (Numbers 14:35).
And I will kill her. And I will kill her:
Ibn Ezra
“Lest, as on the day of birth” – when they were in Egypt, as Ezekiel recalled: “Naked and bare.”
And I set them before him – like: And he set the rods before him.
"And I will make it like the wilderness" – there is no person in it.
And the meaning of "in thirst" is: because she says, "I will give my bread and my water and my drink."
Radak
Lest I strip her naked, and I leave her naked:
“And I will set her forth as on the day of her birth.” I will establish her in a state of nakedness, as on the day she was born, just as it is said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb.” The matter is expressed in a double manner with different words, and it is in the manner of an allegory, just as Ezekiel said, “On the day of your birth,” and he said, “And you were naked and bare,” and he said, “And I clothed you with embroidered fabric,” and the entire matter is as it stands. The allegory of birth refers to the time when they were in Egypt as slaves, as we explained there.
“And I will make it like a wilderness.” This means it will be ownerless, available to all; furthermore, no sustenance or human need will be found in it. So too, I will remove all My good things from them, and they will become ownerless, available to all, as it is stated: “And I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured.” It also alludes to the destruction of the land, as it is stated: “It shall be desolate like a wilderness.”
“And she is like a parched land.” The matter is expressed twice with different words, as it also says, “And He made her thirsty with drought,” for the desert is a place of drought in which there are no waters. And it is possible that “with drought” is an allegory for the cessation of Torah and prophecy, as it is stated regarding the kings of the nations: “There is no Torah, nor have their prophets found a vision from the Lord.” And “drought” is an allegory for the cessation of Torah, commandments, and prophecy, as it is stated: “Not for bread were they hungry, nor for water were they thirsty, but to hear the words of the Lord.”
Metzudat David
“Lest I strip her naked.” For if she does not abandon her ways, I may strip off her garments from upon her, and she will remain naked. And the matter of the shame that is brought upon a harlot is explained, because she is likened to a harlot.
And I will present her: I will stand her forth without clothing and covering, as she was on the day she was born. And the matter is repeated in what is stated:
As it is stated: "Like the wilderness." It is ownerless for all, just as the wilderness is.
Like a thirsty land. The matter is repeated in what is stated:
Metzudat Zion
“Apshitna.” The matter of removing the garment is like “and he shall strip off his garments” (Leviticus 6:4):
And I will set her. A matter of standing, as in “you shall set him apart alone” (Judges 7:5):
And I will make her. A matter of placing, as in “that I may set these My signs” (Exodus 10:1):
Tziah. Desolation:
Malbim
“Lest, if you do not remove her harlotry from before her, then, since she is not my wife, I am not her husband, as stated above; and thus, I will strip her naked and take from her the garments that I gave her.” Now, the prophet depicts the standing of the people at the time when the Lord chose them in Egypt, as an abandoned girl whom her fathers cast out naked, wallowing in her blood, into the wilderness. And the Lord passed by her, washed her from her blood, clothed her in garments, took her as a wife, and brought her into a city of dwelling, into a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is stated (Ezekiel 16): “On the day you were born, your cord was not cut…” and “I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood…” and “You were naked and bare,” and “I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness, and I clothed you with embroidered work…” And according to this, he says that after the fact that through her harlotry the marriage is annulled, then I will strip her naked, just as she was naked and bare, and even more than that, for “I will expose her as on the day of her birth,” when she was wallowing in her blood; and also “I will make her like a wilderness and a dry land,” until she dies of thirst. This means that I will return her to the exile among the nations, which is the metaphor of the wilderness, and there she will wallow in the blood of the slain; and I will take from her the garments that I gave her, which is the indwelling of the Divine Presence and providence, and all her vessels of glory.
And I will not have compassion upon her children; For they are children of harlotry.
verse value 1059
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·her·children" (וְאֶת־בָּנֶ֖יהָ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·her·children" (וְאֶת־בָּנֶ֖יהָ), "for·children" (כִּֽי־בְנֵ֥י). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "for·children" (root כי, 48x in Hosea); "abundance" (root הם, 31x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·show·compassion', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאֶת־בָּנֶ֖יהָ [and·her·children] (474) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + אֲרַחֵ֑ם [I·will·show·compassion] (249) + כִּֽי־בְנֵ֥י [for·children] (92) + זְנוּנִ֖ים [adultery] (163) + הֵֽמָּה [abundance] (50) = 1059.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will not have mercy on her children" – these are the ones who will go into exile.
Radak
"And I will not have mercy on her children." As we have explained, the congregation as a whole is called "mother," and the individual members are called "children," or "the offspring"—that is, each generation that follows the customs of the first generation, which served foreign gods.
Metzudat David
"And their sons." This means that even the righteous among them, I will not show mercy.
“for they are the children of harlots.” Because the verse employs the simile of a harlot, it uses the language of one who falls with a harlot, for whom there is no one to have compassion on his children. Even though they themselves have not sinned, nevertheless they suffer for the sin of their mothers. That is to say, even the righteous will be punished for the sin of the nation as a whole.
Malbim
“And His children”—and consequently, I will not have mercy even on her children. In the allegory, this means that I will not spare even the righteous among them, for after the congregation as a whole has abandoned Him, the world is judged according to its majority, and they too are considered children of harlotry.
For their mother has played the harlot, She that conceived them has done shamefully; For she said: ‘I will go after my lovers, That give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink.’
verse value 4827
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·my·drink" (וְשִׁקּוּיָֽי, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: for, for. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "has·played·the·harlot" (זָֽנְתָה֙), "their·mother" (אִמָּ֔ם), "acted·shamefully" (הֹבִ֖ישָׁה). The root כי appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 48x in Hosea); "said" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea); "I·will·go" (root הלך, 22x in Hosea). First appearance of the root אהב ("my·lovers") in Hosea. First appearance of the root נתן ("giving") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'she·who·conceived·them', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 12 words.
Rashi
"Imam. Their congregation:"
“And He has made their conception wither.” This means that when the Sages, who teach them Torah instructions, are ashamed before the am ha’aretz (the common people), for they say to them, “You shall not steal,” yet they steal; “You shall not lend on interest,” yet they lend on interest.
"After my lovers." In the ways of the idolaters:
Ibn Ezra
"For she has disgraced their conception" – and the meaning of "those who love" is a participle that applies to two objects, for they desired that I would love them because of their gifts, and I say: "For from my youth was the new wine, and they brought proof, and my new wine in its season." This is not a correct statement, for "the new wine" and "my new wine" correspond to "and my drink."
And the meaning of “from my waters” is like “[I] ate bread and water,” and the prophet said: “I ate no bread, and I drank no water,” and “Give me water for money.”
Radak
"For their mother has played the harlot; she has put to shame those who conceived them." The Targum: "For they went astray, their congregation, after the false prophets, who were before them."
"After my lovers." Assyria and Egypt, who had a covenant with Israel and rescued them from their enemies, and they went securely on account of the bribes that they gave them. And when they were at peace in their covenant with them, it was as if they were providing for their needs, for with their help they worked their land and went from land to land in peace. And this is [what is meant by] "my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink." And what is said, "she has been dried up," is that she should be ashamed of her deeds and of her lovers in whom she trusted, for they will not benefit her in her time of distress. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained "after my lovers" as referring to the sun, the moon, and the stars, whom they served, and their intention was that these provided their sustenance and supply, as it is said: "And from then on, when we ceased to burn incense to the host of heaven and to pour out libations to it, we lacked everything and were in danger of sword and famine."
"ושקויי" – wine and other beverages:
Metzudat David
"For her mother has played the harlot." This is a general statement: the entire nation has turned away from Me.
"She who conceived them acted shamefully": The mother who conceived them committed an act of shame and disgrace, and this is a double meaning of what was stated:
"After those who love me" – after the adulterers who love me, who give me my portion, etc. – meaning that she placed her trust in the heavenly constellations, thinking that all her influence comes from them.
Metzudat Zion
“Havbisha.” From the language of shame:
Their conception. From the language of pregnancy:
My wool and my flax. From the language of wool and flax:
And "shakuyei." The word is derived from "mashke" (a drink).
Malbim
For her mother committed harlotry, and therefore her children are children of harlots. Although one might say that the majority of sexual relations are with the husband, and even if the mother committed harlotry, the children are valid, nevertheless, the conception of their pregnancy was defiled, such that they are of the status of suspected mamzerim (illegitimate offspring). This is because she said, “I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water.” For the rule that the majority of sexual relations are with the husband applies only if she is a harlot in secret, and if she is still under the authority of her husband and is supported at his table; in that case, he is the primary partner, and the majority of sexual relations are with him. But she has already separated from her husband. This is both because she publicized her harlotry, saying openly, “I will go after my lovers,” and she has left his authority to enter the authority of the harlots; and also because, according to her own words, she is no longer supported by her husband’s resources, but rather receives her sustenance from the harlots, who provide her bread and water, as well as her clothing—they provide wool and linen for her to weave garments—and all her other needs, such as oil for anointing, and beverages for pleasure, like wine and milk. Consequently, the majority of her sexual relations are with the harlots, and her children are children of harlots. The allegorical meaning is that the Congregation of Israel has completely separated from the Holy One, Blessed be He, and serves idolatry openly. She believes that all her abundance and success come from the constellations and zodiac signs, and that God will neither do good nor evil, and that there is no benefit whatsoever in serving Him. In this way, she has become like all the families of the earth, serving wood and stone. Therefore, God will not show mercy even to the righteous among them, and He will cast them all off from before Him.
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns, And I will make a wall against her, That she shall not find her paths.
verse value 4189
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·her·paths" (וּנְתִיבוֹתֶ֖יהָ, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "behold·I·am·hedging" (הִנְנִי־שָׂ֥ךְ), "your·way" (אֶת־דַּרְכֵּ֖ךְ), "in·the·thorns" (בַּסִּירִ֑ים). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea). First appearance of the root כן ("therefore") in Hosea. First appearance of the root דרך ("your·way") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·thorns', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: לָכֵ֛ן [therefore] (100) + הִנְנִי־שָׂ֥ךְ [behold·I·am·hedging] (435) + אֶת־דַּרְכֵּ֖ךְ [your·way] (645) + בַּסִּירִ֑ים [in·the·thorns] (322) + וְגָֽדַרְתִּי֙ [and·I·will·wall·up] (623) + אֶת־גְּדֵרָ֔הּ [her·wall] (613) + וּנְתִיבוֹתֶ֖יהָ [and·her·paths] (889) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תִמְצָֽא [she·shall·find] (531) = 4189.
Rashi
"Behold, I am closing." The term "closing" (shakh) denotes the meaning of shutting, as in "remove its hedge" (Isaiah 5:5), like a hedge of thorns (Proverbs 15:19).
“Your way.” The roads and paths that you walk upon:
Ibn Ezra
Therefore, "shach" – from the root of "lashach," and similarly: "Is not He who wrote in your behalf?"
“Bassirim” – thorns, as it is said: “like the voice of the thorns,” and “until the tangled thorns.”
Her ways – the known places that have signs to recognize her.
"And I will set a hedge for her" – that I will place a fence around her ways, as it is said: "I set a fence for my ways with polished stones."
Radak
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns. So that they will not be able to leave the city because of the sword, and their lovers, namely Assyria and Egypt, will not help them; or according to the interpretation of my master and father, of blessed memory, [they are] the constellations. And behold, her way is as if it were filled with thorns and brambles, so that she cannot pass through it, and as if it were fenced with a hedge, so that she cannot pass through, and she will not find her paths in which she used to walk. And according to this interpretation it is said: “I have hedged up my way with a hedge, and blocked my paths with thorns.”
Shakh. Just as you have written “shakh” on its behalf, a hollow verb (with a weak middle root letter). And since they make a fence for the vineyards and fields from thorns, the action is expressed from it: shakh, shakh, and shakhim. It is known that they are like thorns; likewise, sirim and tzininim are all types of thorns. And the action comes only from shakhim.
Metzudat David
"Therefore. Since it is so, I will bind up your path with thorns, so that you will not be able to walk in it,' meaning: you will not succeed in drawing down influence from the celestial spheres, as if the path were blocked."
"And I will set bounds" etc. The duplication of the matter in what is stated:
"And her paths you shall not find." You shall not find a path or scheme to bring down the divine influence to you.
Metzudat Zion
Shakh. The matter of "gader" is like "remove its hedge" (Isaiah 5:5):
“Bassirim.” Thorns, as it is written: “Like the voice of the thorns” (Ecclesiastes 7:6).
And I will set bounds. From the root of "gader" (to set bounds):
“and her ways.” From the language of “path” and “trail.”
Malbim
Therefore, behold, I will block your path with hedges, according to the number of the efforts that the Lord will make to return her to Him, like the parable of the efforts that a husband will make regarding his wife who commits adultery under him: she has a great, fixed path by which she goes out every day from his house to go to the adulterers, and he blocks the path with hedges so that she cannot walk on it. Yet she still has a place to speak with the adulterers behind the fence, in a place where the fence is breached. And regarding this it says, “And I will hedge her way with thorns.” Yet she still has narrow, specific paths by which she will go out through these paths. He says that He will ruin those paths in such a way that her paths will no longer be found, and by this He will confine her to separate her from the harlots with whom she is involved. And in the allegory, He will change the orders of the constellations and their decrees, and He will fence with a hedge around so that they will not be able to influence her with good and success, and He will ruin all the deeds, charms, and astrological practices that she will do to drain their abundance and blessing. And also, He will place enmity between her and the nations, her neighbors, in whom she trusted that they would come to help her, and from whom she learned their deeds and made a covenant with them. And He will fence against her so that she will not be able to go out to them, join with them, and mingle with them.
And she shall run after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them, And she shall seek them, but shall not find them; Then shall she say: ‘I will go and return to my first husband; For then was it better with me than now.’
verse value 5518
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 76 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "her·lovers" (אֶת־מְאַהֲבֶ֙יהָ֙, 8 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·she·shall·pursue" (וְרִדְּפָ֤ה), "her·lovers" (אֶת־מְאַהֲבֶ֙יהָ֙), "but·not·she·shall·overtake" (וְלֹא־תַשִּׂ֣יג). 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "for" (root כי, 48x in Hosea); "and·she·shall·say" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea). First appearance of the root רדף ("and·she·shall·pursue") in Hosea. First appearance of the root בקש ("and·she·shall·seek·them") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'she·shall·find', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 10 words.
Rashi
“And it shall pursue.” This is from the conjugation of a heavy verb, like (ibid. 12:11) “and a pursuer of the empty,” which is *porfaktsier* in the vernacular, meaning that it will return after them but not overtake them.
“Those who love her.” Egypt and Assyria, and you will not be able to seek help from them.
"And she shall seek them." And she sought them:
Ibn Ezra
“And she shall pursue” – One who says that the dalet is dagesh-ed, for thus it is with every matter that is perpetual, in which a person is engaged and which has no end. Perhaps this grammarian will explain to us: What is the difference between “He who spoke to me” and “The Spirit of the Lord spoke to me,” “I will drive out because of you,” “I will not drive them out,” and “He drove out the man”? These verbal forms are found in both the simple (qal) stem and the intensive (pi’el) stem, and there are many such cases. The correct view is that the simple stem (qal) of radaf always denotes pursuing after the one who flees. The word yirdef in “darkness shall pursue” is ambiguous, applicable to two active meanings. Likewise, “and she shall pursue those who love her” means that she shall pursue after them as they flee from her.
"And you shall seek" – the letter qof lacks a dagesh, because it is from the heavy (pi'el) verb stem; and so too did they write "ba'esh" (in fire) for "your sanctuary" to ease the tongue, therefore these [words] lack a dagesh.
Radak
"And she will pursue." If she pursues the peace and aid of Assyria and Egypt, they will not grant it to her; and if she pursues the constellations—after the false prophets and those who occupy themselves with astrology, to inquire of them regarding the constellations, and she offers sacrifices to them—they will not benefit her.
“And she said, ‘I will go and return to my first husband.’” This statement is not made until she has endured the exile for a long time, as it is written in the Torah: “When you are in distress and all these things have befallen you in the latter days, you shall return to the Lord your God.” For had she said this while still in the Land, she would not have been exiled.
Metzudat David
"And she will pursue." Even if she pursues the constellations of the heavens to offer incense to them, nevertheless she will not succeed in obtaining from them the power to bestow good upon her.
"And you shall seek..." The duplication of the matter in what is stated:
"And she said." From this we learn that she should say: "I will trust in the Holy One, Blessed be He, for from the time that my trust was in Him, I had good fortune; so too from now on."
Metzudat Zion
You will attain. A matter of drawing near:
My husband. My master:
Malbim
“Pursue” (ve-rodafah): In addition to the fact that she will be delayed and hindered, so that she will be unable to go out, the matter will turn out such that even her lovers will distance themselves from her. In this way, initially she will pursue them and not catch them, for they will flee from her; and afterward, they will disappear from her sight entirely, so that when she seeks them, she will not find them. In the allegory, even her natural success and her fortune in battle will distance themselves from her, until they disappear from her sight and she will not know where their place is. Likewise, the aid and the covenant that she had with the nations surrounding her will depart from her. And she says, “I will go and return to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.” However, although necessity will compel her to return to Me, nevertheless she will not recognize her sin. Rather, she will imagine herself like the harlot mentioned above, who, even after her lovers distance themselves from her, and she pursues them and no longer finds them, until finally she is forced to return to her husband’s house, she will not regret her deeds and her harlotry. On the contrary, she will complain about the fact that she is forced to return to her husband’s house. And she will explicitly say that the reason “I will go and return to my first husband” is not because I regret having left his house for the house of the harlots, nor because it is better for me in my husband’s house than in the house of the harlots. On the contrary, in the house of the harlots it was better for me than in my husband’s house. Only because “it was better for me then than now”—from the position I am in now, where the harlots have abandoned me and I currently have no helper or supporter—from this position, it was better for me then in my husband’s house. Even though it was not as good as the position I was in when I was in the house of my lovers, who gave me my bread and my water, which was better for me than my husband’s house. And the allegory is that even after her success has departed and many evils and troubles have befallen her, and she is compelled to return in repentance, she thinks that this came about because fortune and destiny are opposing her and standing against her in a bad battle. And after she has employed all her schemes and idolatrous worship to pursue her lovers and to restore the abundance of fortune to her for good, and it has not helped her, and she is compelled to return to God and take refuge in the shadow of Divine Providence, she will say that taking refuge in the shadow of Divine Providence is only good relative to her current position, where fortune opposes her and stands against her. It is not good relative to the time when fortune looked upon her with a favorable eye, at which time she was prepared to return to her lovers and engage in idolatrous worship.
For she did not know that it was I that gave her The corn, and the wine, and the oil, And multiplied to her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal.
verse value 3809
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 62 letters. Verse gematria: 3809 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·the·wine" (וְהַתִּיר֣וֹשׁ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 35: to·her, to·her. 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·she" (וְהִיא֙), "knew" (יָֽדְעָ֔ה), "I·gave" (נָתַ֣תִּי). The root לה appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "for" (root כי, 48x in Hosea). First appearance of the root ידע ("knew") in Hosea. First appearance of the root לה ("to·her") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·oil', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 6 words.
Rashi
"Did not know." This means she did not take it to heart and pretended as though she did not know.
"And I gave her silver and gold abundantly." And they made it into Baal.
Ibn Ezra
"And she" — until now, for she was saying that the masters to whom she would offer incense had done her good, as it is said, "And from the time we ceased to offer incense to the host of heaven."
“Make them for Baal” – The goldsmiths made forms of gold and silver to beautify Baal. And in Spain, a wise man interpreted “Baal” as the master of the house, the one who grows in the wisdom of the constellations, for so they call the houses of the constellations, and to them they worship, for they are the host of heaven.
Radak
“And she did not know.” For her leaders and the false prophets were misleading her, and all the good she had was from Me alone, for I was sending My blessing in the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and I was sending blessing in the work of their hands, until they had an abundance of silver and gold. “Ephraim waxed fat and kicked,” and they treated silver and gold as their masters, as it is stated: “They adorned him with silver and gold.”
Metzudat David
"And she did not know." From the beginning, she did not set it to her heart to know that I am the One who provides her with the grain, etc., and that everything comes from Me, for there is nothing in the hand of the celestial sphere.
"And silver, etc." Now, the silver and gold with which I multiplied for her, they made into Baal, who is a certain image made for the Host of Heaven, and they used to adorn it with silver and gold, as it is stated: "They adorn it with silver and gold" (Jeremiah 10:4).
Metzudat Zion
And the new wine. So is the term for wine grapes:
And the oil. It is the oil, as it is written: "Your new wine and your oil" (Deuteronomy 11:14).
Malbim
And she did not know: this comes about because she did not realize that even at first, when she served idolatry and enjoyed all good things, this was not due to her lovers or the abundance of the stars, but rather because "I" gave her grain, new wine, and oil. And the meaning is that this is the sign that even now she believes in idolatry and thinks that the good she had initially came from the abundance of the stars and idolatry, and she does not know that Israel do not stand under the celestial constellations, and all the abundance she had was the providence that God gave her grain and new wine, yet they denied the goodness of God, until the time when He greatly increased His kindness toward her through His providence, so much so that "I greatly increased for her silver and gold," and they made silver and gold for Baal-pekesi and Baal-mazevi, which I gave her, not that Baal gave her anything at all. In such a way that the good she had until now was My providence, and the evil that befalls her now is because the providence has withdrawn from her; therefore, the land has swallowed up her produce, and the heavens have withheld their rain.
Therefore will I take back My corn in the time thereof, And My wine in the season thereof, And will snatch away My wool and My flax Given to cover her nakedness.
verse value 5843
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "therefore" (לָכֵ֣ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·my·wine" (וְתִירוֹשִׁ֖י, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·I·will·take" (וְלָקַחְתִּ֤י), "my·grain" (דְגָנִי֙), "in·his·time" (בְּעִתּ֔וֹ). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "I·will·return" (root שוב, 21x in Hosea). First appearance of the root מועד ("in·its·season") in Hosea. First appearance of the root נצל ("and·I·will·deliver") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·its·season', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: לָכֵ֣ן [therefore] (100) + אָשׁ֔וּב [I·will·return] (309) + וְלָקַחְתִּ֤י [and·I·will·take] (554) + דְגָנִי֙ [my·grain] (67) + בְּעִתּ֔וֹ [in·his·time] (478) + וְתִירוֹשִׁ֖י [and·my·wine] (932) + בְּמוֹעֲד֑וֹ [in·its·season] (128) + וְהִצַּלְתִּי֙ [and·I·will·deliver] (541) + צַמְרִ֣י [my·wool] (340) + וּפִשְׁתִּ֔י [and·My·flax] (796) + לְכַסּ֖וֹת [to·cover] (516) + אֶת־עֶרְוָתָֽהּ [her·nakedness] (1082) = 5843.
Rashi
At its proper time. At the time when the cooking of the fruits is completed:
And I will save. From her:
Wool and linen. That which was for covering her nakedness. Every instance of the word "tzalah" (saving/reservation) in Scripture denotes a contribution and setting aside, and this proves it, as it is written: "And God took away the livestock of your father" (Genesis 31:9), and "all the wealth that He saved" (ibid.).
Ibn Ezra
Therefore – the meaning of “in its time” is that I will bring its enemies to take it.
“And I will save” – meaning, “and I will separate”; so too is all the language of “saving.”
"And I will save her wool and flax" – that I provided for her to cover her nakedness.
Radak
Therefore, I will return. So that you may know that it was Mine to bestow upon her the good: her grain in its season and her new wine in its appointed time. I will send upon them a curse at the time of harvest and at the time of vintage, reversing the blessing that I used to send upon them. And likewise, in all the work of their hands, I will send a curse. And whoever profits, profits only for a pierced pouch, and they will have no bread to eat and no garment to wear to cover their nakedness. For the wool and the linen that I gave her to cover her nakedness, I will withdraw from her, and so too does the Targum [render it]. And the matter of "and I will remove" is like the matter of "which God saved our father," [referring to] the sense of removal and negation.
Metzudat David
"Therefore. Since she has acted thus, I will return to take back the grain that I gave her:"
"At its appointed time." At the time when the ripening is completed, I will take from them by means of hail and locusts, and the like.
"In its season." At the time of the firstfruits:
“And I will take away.” [This refers to] removing from them the wool and linen that I gave her to cover her nakedness, for the sheep will die and she will have no wool, and the flax will wither and she will have no garment to wear.
Metzudat Zion
At its appointed time. In its proper season:
"And I will deliver." The subject matter of the passage is similar to [the verse] "Have you not indeed reserved for yourself a blessing?" (Genesis 27:36).
“Her nakedness is uncovered”:
Malbim
Therefore I will return, says the Lord. For this reason He will perform deeds with them through which they will recognize that their obligation and their evil are not due to the cosmic order, but rather through Divine Providence. For until now, when He withheld the heavens from sending rain, they thought that this occurred because of nature and the cosmic order, and that the Lord did not act in all this. Therefore, He will do the opposite: He will give rain upon the earth, and the earth will yield its produce, until they see that according to nature and the cosmic order, they are prepared to receive good and blessing, and that there will be grain and bread in the land. Yet, at the time when the grain and the new wine are fully ripened, the Lord will return and take them away from them. And this is what it says: "Therefore I will return and take away my grain in its season." The grain that was ripening at the time of harvest, I will return and take it back, and thereby they will know that this evil is of a providential nature. Likewise, "and I will save my wool and my flax," which have already been completed, and are already ready to cover their nakedness; I will snatch them away and take them from them. And then they will see that even though their lovers, namely the stars of the cosmic order and the laws of nature, are assisting her to do good for her, nevertheless they will not be able to benefit her or save her from the hand of the Lord. And this is what it says:
And now will I uncover her shame in the sight of her lovers, And none shall deliver her out of My hand.
verse value 2248
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 42 letters. The shortest word is "now" (וְעַתָּ֛ה, 4 letters) and the longest is "not·he·shall·deliver·her" (לֹא־יַצִּילֶ֥נָּה, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "I·will·uncover" (אֲגַלֶּ֥ה), "her·shame" (אֶת־נַבְלֻתָ֖הּ), "to·eyes·of" (לְעֵינֵ֣י). 8 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root גלה ("I·will·uncover") in Hosea. First appearance of the root עין ("to·eyes·of") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·lovers', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְעַתָּ֛ה [now] (481) + אֲגַלֶּ֥ה [I·will·uncover] (39) + אֶת־נַבְלֻתָ֖הּ [her·shame] (888) + לְעֵינֵ֣י [to·eyes·of] (170) + מְאַהֲבֶ֑יהָ [her·lovers] (63) + וְאִ֖ישׁ [and·man] (317) + לֹא־יַצִּילֶ֥נָּה [not·he·shall·deliver·her] (226) + מִיָּדִֽי [from·my·hand] (64) = 2248.
Rashi
"And no man shall deliver her out of My hand." Even the merit of their fathers has ceased.
Ibn Ezra
"And now I will reveal her nakedness" – from the root of "carcass" (nevelah), on the pattern of "for childhood and gray hair are vanity" (hevel), for the exposure of nakedness is a disgrace (nevelah).
Radak
And now I will uncover her shame. Her beauty and her evil deeds will be exposed when I hide My face from her.
“Before the eyes of her lovers.” That they shall not save her. And according to the explanation of my master and father, of blessed memory, “Before the eyes of the sun.”
"And no man shall deliver her out of his hand." "Man" refers to any of her lovers; and according to the Midrash, it even expresses wonder that the merit of the Fathers does not save her.
Metzudat David
“And now, when I strip away the wool and linen, I shall reveal her nakedness like bare skin to the eyes of the heavenly host, and no one shall save her from My hand”—meaning: no one shall be able to bestow good upon her without My will.
Metzudat Zion
Her disgrace. Its meaning is something ugly and shameful; and likewise, “And I will cast detestable things upon you and disgrace you” (Nahum 3:6):
Malbim
“And now I will expose her nakedness before the eyes of her lovers,” meaning that even though her lovers, who are the constellations of the zodiac, stand by her side and their gaze is upon her for good, nevertheless I will strip off her garments and expose her nakedness, and no one will rescue her from My hand. Through this you will understand that they have no power against the Holy One, blessed be He. Not only are they unable to give anything without the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, but they also cannot help it that the good which she has already attained will remain in her possession.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, Her feasts, her new moons, and her sabbaths, And all her appointed seasons.
verse value 2651
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 33 letters. The shortest word is "her·festival" (חַגָּ֖הּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·exultation" (כׇּל־מְשׂוֹשָׂ֔הּ, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "all·exultation" (כׇּל־מְשׂוֹשָׂ֔הּ), "her·festival" (חַגָּ֖הּ), "her·month" (חׇדְשָׁ֣הּ). The root שבת appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root כל ("and·them·of") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·her·sabbath', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי֙ [and·I·will·banish] (723) + כׇּל־מְשׂוֹשָׂ֔הּ [all·exultation] (701) + חַגָּ֖הּ [her·festival] (16) + חׇדְשָׁ֣הּ [her·month] (317) + וְשַׁבַּתָּ֑הּ [and·her·sabbath] (713) + וְכֹ֖ל [and·them·of] (56) + מוֹעֲדָֽהּ [her·meeting] (125) = 2651.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will cause to cease" – so that two yuds should not be joined; one of them is missing, and thus it is written "Shavat" [it ceased], for the root of "Shavat" is thus, and "and I will cut for them a covenant," for the root of "karati" [I cut] is thus. And it does not appear that two yuds should be joined to say "Vehashbateti" [and I will cause to cease] and "Vekarati" [and I will cut], for that would have been the proper form.
"Chadashah" – this refers to the beginning of the month, when the moon is renewed. Similarly, the letter vav in the word "Tav" is either missing or absorbed when the tav is dagesh-ed, as in "Tav shevat."
Radak
“And I will cause to cease.” For in times of distress, there is no new moon and no Sabbath; and the New Moons and Sabbaths, on which there was an additional offering, were days of joy. Likewise, the festivals and appointed times, which were days of rest and joy, will not have joy in them due to the multitude of afflictions.
"And all your appointed times." He said "your festivals" after having said "your appointed times," and the appointed times are festivals. And similarly, Ezekiel says, "in your festivals and in your appointed times," because there is a festival that is not an appointed time, but rather a joy, in which a person rejoices, eats, drinks, and calls it a festival, as it is written, "And Solomon made a feast at that time," etc. The seven days and the seven days—behold, he called the seven days of the dedication of the Temple a festival. And similarly, they eat, drink, and celebrate. And there is also an appointed time that is not a festival, as it is written, "For signs and for appointed times, at the appointed time I will return to you." And likewise, any time that a person sets with his fellow, as it is written, "At the appointed time which they had appointed." And Rav Saadia Gaon, of blessed memory, explained: "Your festivals" refers to the three pilgrimage festivals, and "all your appointed times" refers to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Shemini Atzeret.
Metzudat David
And I will cause to cease. I will abolish all its joy: the joy of its festival, its new moon, and its Sabbath.
“And all its appointed times” – these are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Shavuot.
Metzudat Zion
And I will cause to cease. The matter is one of nullification:
Her mirth. Her joy:
Malbim
"And I will cause to cease" — this is the second point: that I will abolish every constellation, namely the days of the festivals and their months, during which they celebrated idolatry, thinking that these times are days of success and days when the stars will exert a good and blessed influence. I will abolish these days, for they will turn into days of distress and darkness. From this you will recognize that good fortune and blessing do not depend on the celestial constellations, but only on the Lord, who changes the times and arranges the stars in their watches according to His will.
And I will lay waste her vines and her fig-trees, Whereof she has said: ‘These are my hire That my lovers have given me’; And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field shall eat them.
verse value 6494
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֔י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·make·desolate" (וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִ֗י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: which, that. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·I·will·make·desolate" (וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִ֗י), "her·vine" (גַּפְנָהּ֙), "and·her·fig" (וּתְאֵ֣נָתָ֔הּ). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "abundance" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "said" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea). First appearance of the root גפן ("her·vine") in Hosea. First appearance of the root אכל ("and·will·eat·them") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·lovers', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Rashi
“And I will make it desolate.” The term is in the style of “desolation.”
Her hire. Like the word "ethnan" (wages):
“And I will make them into a forest.” This means that the animals walk there and eat the fruits.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will make them cease" – "I will give": the aleph is an additional letter. And Rabbi Marinos said: it is like the "ethnan" (wages) of a harlot.
Radak
"And I will make her a desolation, and her vines and her fig trees." This refers to what she said: "They are mine." Because she declared, "From my lovers I receive the grain, the new wine, the oil, and all that is good," I will make her a desolation, and she will know whether that good came from Me or from them.
“I will give.” Since He compared it to a harlot, that good thing is called “her hire,” like the fee of a harlot; and not “her hire,” like the fee of a harlot; and not “I will give,” like the fee of a harlot, and their meaning is like terms and conditions, and its root is “give,” and the aleph is added. And Jonathan translated, “I will give precious things.” And he mentioned the vine and the fig tree, because grapes and figs are the best of human food after grain, and he already mentioned, “And I will take away my grain in its season.”
“And you shall become desolate like a forest.” This means that wild beasts will enter it; therefore, “you shall eat the beasts of the field.” And this is due to the desolation of the land. Alternatively, it compares the enemies to the beasts of the field.
Metzudat David
And I will make it desolate. I will make the place of the vines and fig trees a desolation.
“Etannah.” Since the verse compared her to a harlot, it uses the term “etnan” (wages of a harlot), and our Sages of blessed memory meant that she said that what came to her was from the influence of the celestial spheres.
“And you shall make them a forest.” I will make the orchards ownerless, like a forest, and the beasts of the field will eat the fruit. This means that the enemy will take everything.
Metzudat Zion
And I will make desolate. From the language of desolation:
Etnah (her hire). From the language of “etnan”; and so the harlot's payment is called, as in “the hire of a harlot” (Deuteronomy 23:18):
Malbim
“And I will make her vine and her fig tree a desolation.” This is the third [punishment], in that not only will He withhold the produce of the land, but He will also lay waste the land itself and its select fruit-bearing trees, namely the vine and the fig tree. This is because she said, “I will give them to my lovers, who gave me my food and drink.” For she attributes even the inheritance of the land to her lovers, like a harlot who brazenly claims that the dowry her husband gave her was actually payment she received from her lovers. Therefore, He will lay waste the fruit-bearing trees and turn them into a forest where wild beasts gather, and they will eat their fruit. The allegorical meaning is that savage nations, whom Sennacherib settled there, will gather there and eat the fruit of their vine and fig tree. The overall allegorical meaning of all this is that after she said, “I will go and return to my first husband,” which refers to the time when they began to repent somewhat in the days of Hoshea son of Elah, who abolished the guards that the kings of Israel had stationed to prevent people from going up for the Pilgrimage Festivals, God saw that their repentance was incomplete and their hearts still inclined toward idolatry. They merely thought that their astrological luck was opposing them. Therefore, He brought upon them the king of Assyria, who destroyed their land time and again, and strangers took possession of them.
And I will visit upon her the days of the Baalim, Wherein she offered to them, And decked herself with her ear-rings and her jewels, And went after her lovers, And forgot Me, says Hashem.
verse value 5274
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 75 letters. Verse gematria: 5274 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "wherein" (אֲשֶׁ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "utterance·of·Hashem" (נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "on" (עָלֶ֗יהָ), "the·days·of" (אֶת־יְמֵ֤י), "she·offered" (תַּקְטִ֣יר). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "utterance·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea); "to·them" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "on" (root על, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root על ("on") in Hosea. First appearance of the root בעלים ("the·Baalim") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'her·lovers', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 3 words.
Rashi
"And I will visit upon her": The reward for her calamity.
“The days of the owners in which you shall offer.” The perpetual [offering] for them, and it is a present tense.
"And she adorned her nose-ring and her ornament." This is the language of "ornamentation," like a harlot who adorns herself in anticipation of her adulterers.
And her adornment. It is an Arabic term, meaning ornamentation.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will visit" – and the meaning is "and I will punish" – is like the parable of a harlot who places a nose-ring on her nose and a chain around her neck, to beautify herself and find favor in the eyes of the adulterer.
Radak
"And I will visit upon her." For the sins of their iniquity in exile, I will visit upon her the time that she served other masters, and I will prolong their exile as punishment for having abandoned My service and served other gods. Moreover, this punishment will apply even to their children's children, even though they themselves will not serve idolatry in exile. Such is the judgment of their punishment, because their children's children will not be wholehearted in the service of God and in His commandments during the exile. Therefore, the sin of their ancestors, who served idolatry, will be combined with their own sin. As it is stated in the Torah: "And they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, for their treachery with which they dealt treacherously against Me."
"And she adorned her nose and pierced her ears." Because the verse likened her to a harlot, it states of her the deeds of a harlot, who adorns herself with beautiful ornaments in order to appear attractive in the eyes of her lovers.
"Vechilitah." From "vachali ketem" (an ornament of fine gold). And the Targum [renders it] "ubchilita," [meaning] in the purification of one of the purified witnesses; therefore, Jonathan translated it: "and the houses of the soul, and the whispers, and the holy things, and the purification."
Metzudat David
"And I will visit upon her" – I will bring to account against her the days during which she burned incense for her lovers, in order to repay recompense in proportion to the multitude of those days.
“And she adorned herself.” And what is meant by “she adorned herself with her ornaments and went after her lovers”? It refers to the fact that she served and offered sacrifices to the constellations of the heavens. And since the verse compares her to a harlot, it employs language that is used of a harlot, who adorns herself in order to be loved by the adulterers.
And as for Me, she has forgotten. She did not set it upon her heart to serve Me.
Metzudat Zion
"And I will remember." From the language of remembrance:
And she adorned herself. From the language of ornament and adornment, as in “and you decked yourself with ornaments” (Ezekiel 23:40):
Nizmah. It is a noun denoting an ornament, just like "nezem zahav" (Proverbs 25:12):
And her ornament. A matter of some adornment, as in “an ornament of fine gold” (ibid.):
Malbim
"And I will visit upon her" – this teaches that in the end, He saw that all the schemes He devised to make her recognize that the evil coming upon her was the punishment of His providence, all of these were of no avail whatsoever. For I saw that when I visited upon her the days of the husbands, during which she would burn bread [as an offering] to punish them for her sake, she did not thereby return to Me. Rather, she took her nose-ring and her bracelet and went after her lovers. She was like a harlot whose husband stripped off all her garments and took all her jewelry so that she would not go after the harlots, and only one nose-ring and one bracelet remained to her; and she took the remaining nose-ring and bracelet in order to go after her lovers. So too, at the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, punished them in the days of Hoshea son of Elah, and the king of Assyria took all that was theirs, they did not return to the Lord. Rather, they sent to So, king of Egypt, and persisted in idolatry, and they forgot Me. For thereby she did not return to the Lord who struck her; rather, she sought help from the nations and salvation from the service of foreign gods.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her, And bring her into the wilderness, And speak tenderly to her.
verse value 2262
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. Verse gematria: 2262 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "therefore" (לָכֵ֗ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·bring·her" (וְהֹלַכְתִּ֖יהָ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "they" (הִנֵּ֤ה), "alluring·her" (מְפַתֶּ֔יהָ), "and·I·will·bring·her" (וְהֹלַכְתִּ֖יהָ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·her·heart" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "and·I·will·bring·her" (root הלך, 22x in Hosea). First appearance of the root דבר ("and·I·will·speak") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·wilderness', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: לָכֵ֗ן [therefore] (100) + הִנֵּ֤ה [they] (60) + אָנֹכִי֙ [I] (81) + מְפַתֶּ֔יהָ [alluring·her] (535) + וְהֹלַכְתִּ֖יהָ [and·I·will·bring·her] (476) + הַמִּדְבָּ֑ר [the·wilderness] (251) + וְדִבַּרְתִּ֖י [and·I·will·speak] (622) + עַל־לִבָּֽהּ [upon·her·heart] (137) = 2262.
Rashi
Therefore, behold, I will allure her. When she is enticed to be drawn after Me (in the vernacular, “lozanier” [to entice]), what is the enticement? That I will lead her into the desert, which is to her like a desert and a land of drought, and there I will restore her heart, that she may recognize that it is good for her when she did My will, more than when she rebelled against Me.
Ibn Ezra
Therefore—once you will know that all this evil came upon her because she forgot Me and did not know at first that I had dealt kindly with her, and in her saying, “I will go and return to my first husband,” then I will entice her with words.
And I will bring her into my land, which is like a wilderness.
Radak
"Therefore, behold, I will entice her": with a yod in place of a lamed, in the pa'al conjugation. The matter is that I will place in her heart to return in repentance while she is still in exile. This is akin to the concept of "enticement," for one who entices his fellow leads him away from the knowledge he previously held to a different knowledge. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, leads Israel away from the mindset they had in exile—chasing after lust and the evil inclination—and places in their hearts to abandon evil and choose good. Regarding this it is stated: "And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
"And I will lead them into the wilderness." This is what the prophet Ezekiel said: "And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face."
“And I will speak to her heart.” I will comfort her from the sorrow of the exile that she endured.
Metzudat David
Therefore. Because she has forgotten Me, I will seduce her and lead her into the wilderness, to a place where there are no people, and there I will speak to her heart with words of reconciliation. And since He compared her to a woman who committed adultery under her husband, He used language that applies to such a woman, namely that the husband seduces her to go after him into the wilderness, to a place where there are no people, so that no one will hear what they say. And there He reconciles her with good words, so that she will abandon her ways. That is to say, the Omnipresent will arouse their hearts to return to His worship.
Metzudat Zion
“Her seducer.” From the language of seduction and incitement:
Malbim
Therefore, behold, I will allure her and lead her into the wilderness. He compares her to the parable of an adulteress whose husband saw that all the stratagems he devised to separate her from the adulterers were of no avail. He will entice her to bring her out of the settled area, where the adulterers are pursuing her, to the wilderness, where she will not find a man with whom to commit adultery, and she will be secluded with her husband alone. And there I will speak to her heart to return her to My love. This alludes to what is stated in Ezekiel (20:35): “And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will judge you face to face.” These are the exiles to which they will be exiled among the nations. For even though they will be among the nations, they will be as if they are in a desolate wilderness, for the nations will distance themselves from them. They will be hungry and thirsty, surrounded by serpents and scorpions that sting them. And there He said, “And I will bring you under the covenant,” etc. This is what is meant by His leading them to the wilderness, where they will be under the watchful care of the Lord, and there He will speak to their hearts that they return to Him.
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, And the valley of Achor for a door of hope; And she shall respond there, as in the days of her youth, And as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
verse value 6500
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 72 letters. Verse gematria: 6500 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "to·her" (לָ֤הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·land·of·Egypt" (מֵאֶרֶץ־מִצְרָֽיִם, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 511: hope, her·going·up. 12 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·I·will·give" (וְנָתַ֨תִּי), "her·vineyards" (אֶת־כְּרָמֶ֙יהָ֙), "from·there" (מִשָּׁ֔ם). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·days·of" (root יום, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root ענה ("and·she·shall·declare") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hope', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 7 words.
Rashi
“Her vineyards.” The Targum renders this as “his governors and leaders.” Similarly, “they do not go through the way of the vineyards” (Job 24:18), and similarly, “I did not tend my own vineyards” (Song of Songs 1:6). Another interpretation: “And I will lead her through the wilderness to the wilderness of Sihon and Og.” In this same style, prophecy was uttered (Ezekiel 20:35), as it is stated: “And I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you, as I judged your fathers; and I will bring you under the decree of the covenant, and I will purge from among you the rebels…” And the worthy ones I will preserve. This is what is meant by “his vineyards.”
"And the valley of Achor." The depth of troubles that are murky there, I will give to her as the "Opening of Hope," so that from those troubles she will set her heart to return to Me.
"And she shall dwell there." The term denotes residence, as in "the den of lions" (Nahum 2:12).
"As the days of her youth." [This refers to] the many days that she dwelled in Egypt.
"And on the day that she went up..." – This refers to her cry to Me from Egypt; since she was in bondage and I redeemed her, so too is it now.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will give her vineyards..." – He reversed it and said, "And I will make her vineyard a desolation."
“And beneath the valley of Achzor” – because it was made turbid by it; and it is the Valley of Jezreel, which will return to the opening of hope.
And she shall answer – she shall play music and sing, as it says: “And Miriam answered them.” And there are those who say: “And she shall vow there,” from the root of “to dwell” (as in “and he shall spread out his dwelling”), as it is written: “He answers the desolate ones in their widows,” but this is far-fetched in my eyes.
Radak
“And I will give her vineyards from there.” From the wilderness I will give her all her land as it was for her, meaning that I will promise her there, in the wilderness, to do good to her in her land, because in the wilderness the nations will test them, and the rebels and transgressors will be destroyed, and the remainder will be afraid; therefore they will need consolation and words to comfort their hearts, that God, blessed be He, will give them their land as it was at first. Therefore it says, “And I will speak to her heart.” And although we explained that the consolation will be from the suffering she endured in exile, all of this serves both purposes. And what is mentioned regarding “her vineyards” is because in the punishment it said, “And I will make her vineyard a wilderness,” so in the consolation it says “her vineyards.”
“And the Valley of Achzor to the Entrance of Hope.” Because at the beginning of their entry into the Land, in the days of Joshua, this sin occurred to them, namely the matter of Achan. He assured them that they would not fear upon entering the Land, and that no sin would befall them, for all of them would be refined and purified, since in the wilderness the nations refine them. And that Valley of Achzor would no longer be called by that name, for its name is a reproach; rather, it would be called by a name of praise, which is the Entrance of Hope. And the reason it says “Entrance” and does not say “Valley,” as it was previously, is that it would serve for them as an entrance, for from there they would enter the Land, as they did initially, and it would be for them a hope and a good end. Therefore, they would call it the Entrance of Hope. And the Sage Rabbi Abraham [ibn Ezra] interpreted “Valley of Achzor” as the Valley of Jezreel, which they defiled there; it will return to be the Entrance of Hope. And Rashi of blessed memory interpreted it as the depth of the exile, in which they were defiled; I will give it as the Entrance of Hope and trust, that from those troubles I will give them a heart to return to Me. And our Master Saadia Gaon interpreted it as: God, blessed be He, will perform wonders in the valley in which Achan was killed; at that time they will call it the Entrance of Hope, and they will sing praises to God, blessed be He, for the wonders. And this is what it says: “And she will sing there,” and Miriam answered them.
“Like the days of her youth.” This is akin to the miracle that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed for Israel in the days of Sisera, as it is stated: “Then sang Deborah” (Judges 5:1). Similarly, with regard to David, of blessed memory, it is said: “And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song” (2 Samuel 22:1).
“And on the day that they went up from the land of Egypt.” This is the Song of Moses at the Sea of Reeds.
Metzudat David
From there. From the journey through this wilderness, from the love that comes from there, meaning: from the stirring of the heart, “Return to Me, and I will return to you, and I will restore your vineyards.”
"And the Valley of Achor." The valleys that were foul and ruined while they were in exile will return to be a "Gate of Hope," meaning they will become desirable like a pleasant gate, to which people will aspire to come, etc.
"And she answered from there." [This refers to the verse] "Raise a voice of song in the vineyards," just as she sang in her youth, meaning, before they were exiled from it.
"And on the day of its going up." Just as it ministered on the day of its going up from the land of Egypt, when they ruled with joyous hearts the Song of the Sea.
Metzudat Zion
Echor. It denotes a matter of corruption, as it is written: “and the valley of echor” (Isaiah 65:10).
And she answered. Its meaning is the raising of the voice in song, as it says: "And Miriam answered them" (Exodus 15:21).
Malbim
"And I will give her vineyards from there"—the vineyards that He had taken from them, as it is stated, "I will make her vineyard and her fig tree desolate"—He will give them back from there. The parable grasps the idea that there the husband will return to love his wife while she is in a covenant with him, and He will return to her the vineyards that He had taken from her because of her harlotry. And in the allegory, He likens it to the days of their exodus from the land of Egypt, when He brought them out into the wilderness, and there they received the Torah and faith, and they were under His special providence; and there they saw His signs and His deeds. And there the harlots are not found, for the constellations will not exert good influence there; they will make their power void. For according to nature, there is no bread and water there, nor even vine and fig tree. But "I will give her her vineyards," meaning I will provide for her sustenance and needs. For in their exile, according to nature, they are bound to lack all good, since they were prevented from acquiring fields and vineyards and establishing livestock and property. Only through the wondrous providence of the Lord will they have a remnant and find all their necessities. And it also alludes to the spiritual vineyards, which are the Torah and faith, for which they risked their lives during their exile in the days of slaughter and persecution. These are the vineyards about which He speaks in the Song, saying, "My vineyard, which is mine, I have not kept," as I have explained in my commentary there. Until finally, "I will give them the Valley of Achor for a door of hope," so that He will remove from them the hardship of bondage in the end of days, and they will find favor and grace in all places of their exile, and they will begin to hope for freedom and redemption. And its name will answer, "As in the days of her youth," meaning the miracles that were performed for them in former days will return. And "the days of her youth" alludes to the miracles that were theirs in ancient times, such as at the time of the conquest of the land and at the time the Temple was built in the days of Solomon. And "as on the day she came up out of the land of Egypt" refers to the miracles that were performed for them in Egypt and at the Sea of Reeds.
And it shall be at that day, says Hashem, That you shall call Me Ishi, And shall call Me no more Baali.
verse value 2230
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 45 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֤ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "again" (ע֖וֹד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·not·you·will·call·to·me" (וְלֹא־תִקְרְאִי־לִ֥י, 10 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "on·that·day" (בַיּוֹם־הַהוּא֙), "you·will·call" (תִּקְרְאִ֖י), "my·husband" (אִישִׁ֑י). The root קרא appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "utterance·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 28x in Hosea); "on·that·day" (root יום, 28x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'my·husband', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֤ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + בַיּוֹם־הַהוּא֙ [on·that·day] (75) + נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה [utterance·of·Hashem] (117) + תִּקְרְאִ֖י [you·will·call] (711) + אִישִׁ֑י [my·husband] (321) + וְלֹא־תִקְרְאִי־לִ֥י [and·not·you·will·call·to·me] (788) + ע֖וֹד [again] (80) + בַּעְלִֽי [Baali] (112) = 2230.
Rashi
"You shall call [Me] 'Ishi' [my husband]," etc. "You shall serve Me out of love and not out of fear." The term "Ishi" is an expression of marital relationship and the affection of youth.
"Ba'alei" – a term denoting lordship and awe. And our Rabbis explained it as: like a bride in her father-in-law’s house, and not like a bride in her father’s house.
Ibn Ezra
“And it shall be, you will call Me my Husband, and you will no longer call Me ‘Husband’”—for so it is written, “the days of the husbands.” And Rabbi Marinos said: Even a name that is in doubt, such as “ba’al,” which is the name of a pagan deity, or as in “when a young man marries,” you shall no longer remember.
Radak
"And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord, that you shall call Me 'My Husband.'" This means: you shall call Me "Husband," for the husband of a woman is called "Husband," just as with the phrase "Elkanah, her husband", and the Congregation of Israel is likened to a married woman. And "Ba'al" is a common name, for they used to call the idolatrous deity "Ba'al"; therefore He said, "And you shall no longer call Me 'My Ba'al,'" in order to remove the name of Ba'al from her mouth. And our Sages of blessed memory interpreted it as: like a bride in her father-in-law's house, and not like a bride in her own father's house.
Metzudat David
"Call me my husband." Call me in the language of "ish" (husband) and not in the language of "ba'al" (master/owner). And this is because the term "ba'al" is shared with the name for idolatry (an idol made for the heavenly host). Therefore, this name should not be heard from her mouth.
Malbim
“And it shall come to pass on that day,” says the Lord, “that you shall call Me ‘My Husband’” (אישי). The term “Master” (בעל) indicates dominion and ownership, that He rules over the thing because it is His and belongs to Him; whereas the term “Husband” (איש) indicates love, intimacy, and marital union. Until now, there was no intimacy between the Lord and them, and His providence was concealed and veiled by a natural screen. They served Him out of fear and called Him “My Master” (בעלי) on account of His dominion over them. In this state, they would sometimes direct their gaze toward His servants, who serve as intermediaries for the bounty that reaches them from Him through their agency, and they would fear and honor those intermediaries as well. But in the future, He will walk among them and bestow His blessings upon them without any intermediary, just as a husband unites with his wife. As our Sages of blessed memory stated in the tractate Eruvin: “It will be like a bride in her father-in-law’s house, and not like a bride in her father’s house,” for His dwelling place will be in this lower world, to cause His glory to reside among them. They will receive the divine bounty face to face, and they will serve out of love, and will not fear or honor anyone other than Him.
For I will take away the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, And they shall no more be mentioned by their name.
verse value 2862
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. Verse gematria: 2862 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "again" (ע֖וֹד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·not·they·shall·be·mentioned" (וְלֹא־יִזָּכְר֥וּ, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·I·will·remove" (וַהֲסִרֹתִ֛י), "the·names·of" (אֶת־שְׁמ֥וֹת), "from·her·mouth" (מִפִּ֑יהָ). 7 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root זכר ("and·not·they·shall·be·mentioned") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·her·mouth', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַהֲסִרֹתִ֛י [and·I·will·remove] (681) + אֶת־שְׁמ֥וֹת [the·names·of] (1147) + הַבְּעָלִ֖ים [the·Baalim] (157) + מִפִּ֑יהָ [from·her·mouth] (135) + וְלֹא־יִזָּכְר֥וּ [and·not·they·shall·be·mentioned] (280) + ע֖וֹד [again] (80) + בִּשְׁמָֽם [in·their·name] (382) = 2862.
Rashi
"And they shall no longer be remembered." [This means that] Israel shall no longer be remembered by the names of their masters, or [alternatively,] the masters shall no longer be remembered by the names of Israel, to say that they are deities for them; or [it means that] the name of the masters shall no longer be remembered, as it is stated (Isaiah 2:18): "And the idols shall completely vanish."
Ibn Ezra
"And I will remove" – in the manner of "And the Lord your God will circumcise" (Deuteronomy 30:6), for when the penitent returns from his sin, the Holy One, blessed be He, assists him and brings him back with a whole heart.
Radak
“And I will remove.” The meaning of “And I will remove” is that God, blessed be He, united the heart of Israel to fear His Name alone, and He will assist them in this, in accordance with the principle stated: “One who comes to purify himself, others assist him.” He said, “From her mouth,” and He said, “You shall call,” for such is the manner of Scripture to address both directly and indirectly. And He repeated the matter in different words, saying, “And they shall no longer remember by their name.” And Rabbi Saadia Gaon, of blessed memory, explained: “From her mouth” means from the mouth of Israel; “And they shall no longer remember by their name” means by the mouth of the nations of the world, for even the nations will not serve foreign gods at that time, as it is stated: “For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the Name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.” And he further explained: “From her mouth” means from the mouth of the generation of salvation; “And they shall no longer remember” means by the mouth of future generations. And He said “by their name” because they have a name other than “Owner.”
Metzudat David
"And I will remove." This means that I will place in their hearts the intention to remove from their mouths the names of the owners, even without specific intent directed toward the idol of the nations.
"And they shall not be remembered." The owners shall no longer be remembered by the names by which they were called; rather, they shall be referred to in a derogatory manner.
Malbim
“And I will remove” (ve-ha-siroti), and thereby I will remove the names of the masters from his mouth, for he will no longer know the intermediaries that convey abundance and blessing to him from her supreme husband; and besides this, they will no longer be mentioned by their name, for then the entire world will be under the providence of the Lord, not under the system, until the service of the masters is abolished completely.
And in that day will I make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, And with the creeping things of the ground; And I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the land, And will make them to lie down safely.
verse value 6386
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 86 letters. The shortest word is "to·them" (לָהֶ֤ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·make·them·lie·down" (וְהִשְׁכַּבְתִּ֖ים, 8 letters). 11 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·I·will·cut" (וְכָרַתִּ֨י), "with·beast" (עִם־חַיַּ֤ת), "and·with·flying·creatures" (וְעִם־ע֣וֹף). 18 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "in·the·day" (root יום, 28x in Hosea); "with·beast" (root עם, 22x in Hosea). First appearance of the root כרת ("and·I·will·cut") in Hosea. First appearance of the root ברית ("covenant") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'ground', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Rashi
"With the beasts of the field." [This implies that] I will abolish harmful creatures from the world, as it is stated there (Isaiah 11:9): "They will neither harm nor destroy," etc.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will cut off" – This is the opposite of "and you shall eat the beasts of the field."
"And a bow, and a sword, and every weapon of war" – just as it says, "Those who eat at my table have put me to shame" (Psalm 41:10), because it first mentioned, "And I will break the bow of Israel," and behold, the reason is that they sat in security.
Radak
"And I will cut." This is to be understood in the manner of the verse, "With the stones of the field shall I make a covenant with you, and with the beasts of the field shall I make peace with you," and as it is stated in the prophecy of Isaiah, "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb," and the entire matter is as explained there.
"And with the birds of the heavens." Like locusts and others, so that they should not eat their fruits and their crops.
"And the creeping thing of the earth." Like snakes and scorpions.
“bow and sword”: Just as it is stated, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares.”
“and for war.” As its Targum [translates it]: “and for the work of battle”; or, its interpretation is: all other instruments of war, besides the bow and the sword that were mentioned.
Metzudat David
"And I will make My covenant with them..." This means that the beasts of the field, etc., shall not destroy them, as if [God] had made a covenant of peace with them.
"I will break." This means: I will abolish the instruments of war, and the war itself.
Metzudat Zion
“and creeping things.” These are small creatures with short legs. And similarly, “creeping things and winged birds” (Psalms 148:10).
Malbim
I will remember for them the covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, that the system and nature will no longer rule over human beings, but only over the beast and the bird, which will remain under the governance of nature, not human beings, according to the explanation of Abarbanel. And even according to its simple meaning, it will say that no evil will be found in the world then, neither from creatures with will, for a covenant will be made for them with the evil beasts that they will not harm (and this is also an allusion to wild men, like beasts of prey, who devoured them in ancient times), nor will evils from creatures with free choice be found then, for I will break the bow, the sword, and war from the land. And thereby, “I will make them lie down in safety.” And so it says in Ezekiel (chapter 34): “And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and I will cause evil beasts to cease from the land, and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness.” And so in the promises of the Master of the Prophets (Leviticus 26:6): “And I will cause evil beasts to cease from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.”
And I will betroth you to Me for ever; Indeed, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness, and in justice, And in lovingkindness, and in compassion.
verse value 3149
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·betroth·you" (וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 937: and·I·will·betroth·you, and·I·will·betroth·you. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "to·ever" (לְעוֹלָ֑ם), "in·justice" (בְּצֶ֣דֶק), "and·in·judgment" (וּבְמִשְׁפָּ֔ט). The root ארש appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root ארש ("and·I·will·betroth·you") in Hosea. First appearance of the root משפט ("and·in·judgment") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·ever', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ [and·I·will·betroth·you] (937) + לִ֖י [to·me] (40) + לְעוֹלָ֑ם [to·ever] (176) + וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ [and·I·will·betroth·you] (937) + לִי֙ [to·me] (40) + בְּצֶ֣דֶק [in·justice] (196) + וּבְמִשְׁפָּ֔ט [and·in·judgment] (437) + וּבְחֶ֖סֶד [and·in·mercy·of] (80) + וּֽבְרַחֲמִֽים [and·in·compassion] (306) = 3149.
Rashi
"Righteousness and justice." That you shall conduct yourselves with them:
“And with kindness and with mercy.” This means that He will bring them to you from Me through them. Regarding Abraham our father it is written (Genesis 18:19): “For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice.” Corresponding to these, He gave to his sons kindness and mercy from the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said (Deuteronomy 13:18): “And the Lord your God will give you mercy, and the Lord your God will keep for you the covenant and the kindness” (ibid. 17). When they ceased from righteousness and justice, as it is said (Amos 5:7): “You who turn justice to gall, and cast righteousness to the ground,” even the Holy One, blessed be He, withdrew from them kindness and mercy, as it is said (Jeremiah 15:1): “For I have withdrawn My peace from this people, kindness and mercy.” And when they return to do righteousness and justice, as it is said (Isaiah 1:27): “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,” the Holy One, blessed be He, adds to them mercy and kindness, makes them a crown for the four [tribes], and seats them at their head.
Ibn Ezra
“And I will betroth you” – like one who is betrothed to a man. Some say: [It means] that you will do righteousness and justice, and I, too, will do kindness and mercy, and there is no need [for anything further].
Radak
"And I will betroth you." This corresponds to what is stated: "a wife of harlotries." And the verse mentions three times "And I will betroth you," corresponding to the three exiles from which Israel was exiled: the exile of Egypt, the exile of Babylon, and this exile in which we are today. And at every time of their departure from exile, the Holy One, blessed be He, was as if betrothing them. The first betrothed ones, when He brought them out of Egypt, did not endure forever, for they were exiled; therefore, against this He said, "And I will betroth you to Me forever." And the second betrothed ones, when He brought them out of Babylon, were not in righteousness and justice, for they were doing evil, as it is written that there were among them those who profaned the Sabbath and took foreign wives, and they were enslaving their brothers and their fields; behold, there was not in them righteousness and justice, kindness and mercy. Therefore, against this He said, "And I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice," that they should be doing so, for they will return in repentance, as it is written, "And you shall return to the Lord your God."
Metzudat David
"And I will betroth you." I will take you to be my betrothed forever, and I will no longer reject you.
"In righteousness and justice." On account of the righteousness and justice that you will perform then, and on account of the kindness and mercy that I will show you; for the righteousness and justice that you perform will not be sufficient to merit such abundant goodness for you, but I will yet act with kindness and mercy.
Metzudat Zion
“And I will betroth you.” The language of betrothal:
Malbim
"And I will betroth you to Me forever" — then I will betroth you anew, as it is stated, "And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you." And the new betrothal will be distinct from the previous one, as it is stated, "And I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel." For the previous betrothal was only for a time, because they were destined to sin and to nullify the bond, as it is stated, "When you have begotten sons and grandsons... you shall perish quickly...," and as it is written, "This people will rise up and play the harlot after the strange gods... and My anger will be kindled against them...," but then they will no longer sin, and the bond will not be nullified. And this is what it says, "And I will betroth you to Me forever." And this will be accomplished by the fact that "I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice." For the perfection of man depends on two matters: a) matters between man and his fellow, and b) matters between man and the Divine. And regarding matters between man and his fellow, it says that they will then practice righteousness and justice. For justice is that which one conducts according to the strict line of the law, and righteousness is that which one conducts beyond the strict line of the law. And by the fact that you bring these two precious matters, which are righteousness and justice, the betrothed One will bring to them in return also two precious gifts, which are loving-kindness and mercy. The Master of Mercy will look upon the lowliness of the object of mercy and the humble, and will deal with him as is fitting, and this corresponds to justice. And the Master of Loving-Kindness will not look upon the recipient as to whether he is worthy, but will deal with him solely on the basis of His attribute of loving-kindness, and this corresponds to the righteousness that they will practice.
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness; And you shall know Hashem.
verse value 1998
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 26 letters. Verse gematria: 1998 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·betroth·you" (וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "in·faithfulness" (בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה), "and·you·shall·know" (וְיָדַ֖עַתְּ). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·faithfulness', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 2 words. Full calculation: וְאֵרַשְׂתִּ֥יךְ [and·I·will·betroth·you] (937) + לִ֖י [to·me] (40) + בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה [in·faithfulness] (104) + וְיָדַ֖עַתְּ [and·you·shall·know] (490) + אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (427) = 1998.
Rashi
"And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness." In reward for the faithfulness with which you believed in exile in the promises made through the prophets.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness" – You shall be to Me alone, in faithfulness.
"And you shall know the Lord" – the opposite of "and she did not know."
Radak
"And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness." Its meaning is in steadfastness, that it will never be shaken, just as "faithfulness" (emunah) is equivalent to "reliable" (ne'eman).
And you shall know the Lord. As it is stated, “For they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.”
Metzudat David
“Through faith.” In reward for the faith that you believed in Me:
"And you shall know." This means: then you will attain a great level of understanding to know God.
Malbim
"And I will betroth you to Me": Regarding the commandments between man and the Divine, their foundation depends on faith, that one believe in the Lord, in His Torah, and in His promises. And this is what is stated: "And I will betroth you to Me in faith." And after the bride brings this gift in her hand, which is faith, He will bring to her in return a gift from His side, that she may know the Lord, that He will reveal to her His signs and wonders and the indwelling of His Presence among them, until they know the Lord with clear knowledge, like a thing perceived by the senses, so that they will no longer need faith, for faith is in a matter in which there is no clear knowledge, only tradition. But they will have knowledge to know the Lord, which is greater than faith.
And it shall come to pass in that day, I will respond, says Hashem, I will respond to the heavens, And they shall respond to the earth;
verse value 2150
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 47 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2150 is divisible by 86, the value of Elohim. The shortest word is "and·abundance" (וְהֵ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "says·Hashem" (נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 126: I·will·answer, I·will·answer. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "the·heavens" (אֶת־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם), "the·earth" (אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ). The root ענה appears 3 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "says·Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea); "and·abundance" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 28x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·heavens', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָיָ֣ה [and·it·shall·be] (26) + בַּיּ֣וֹם [in·the·day] (58) + הַה֗וּא [that] (17) + אֶֽעֱנֶה֙ [I·will·answer] (126) + נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה [says·Hashem] (117) + אֶעֱנֶ֖ה [I·will·answer] (126) + אֶת־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם [the·heavens] (796) + וְהֵ֖ם [and·abundance] (51) + יַעֲנ֥וּ [they·will·answer] (136) + אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ [the·earth] (697) = 2150.
Rashi
"I will answer the heavens." To pour out upon the firmament the portion of goodness that is suspended in the Divine utterance, and they shall answer by pouring forth waters upon the earth.
Ibn Ezra
"And I will answer" – just as it says, "And the silver shall answer for all" – meaning, it will provide.
And the meaning of "I will answer" is that it denotes a continuous action, as in the phrase "The rivers lift up," as I have explained.
“I will answer to the heavens” – [This implies a reversal:] “And I will make your heavens like iron.”
"And they shall answer the earth" – meaning that they will provide its dew and rains in their proper season.
Radak
"And it shall come to pass on that day." "I will answer the heavens," just as it is stated, "And I will take away my grain." He says that then, in the time of salvation, the heavens will give their dew and the earth will yield its produce. And he says, "I will answer the heavens," which had been withheld while they were upon the earth, as in the days of Ahab. Upon their return to the land in the time of salvation, they will no longer be withheld. And he says, "I will answer," as if the heavens were asking to give rain according to their proper order, and I will answer them and command them to give rain according to their proper order, rains of blessing. And this is what "I will answer" means: that My will will be with them.
“And they shall answer the earth.” As if the earth were asking for rain and longing for it.
Metzudat David
"I will answer..." And he returns to explain, "I will answer the heavens," for when the heavens are withheld, it is as if they were to ask permission to send down the rain, and He says that He will reply to their inquiry by granting it, and command them to send down the rain.
And they shall answer. For the parched earth is as though it asks for rain, and the heavens will answer its request by sending down the rain.
Metzudat Zion
"I will answer." From the root meaning "poor" (ani), and [from the sense of] responding to a question:
Malbim
“And it shall come to pass in that day, I will answer,” declares the Lord: He depicts in His speech that the seed sown in the earth asks and requests from the grain and the wine. For the request of the seed is that it produce fruit of produce, and that the grain and the wine grow from the seed that was sown. And the grain and the wine ask and request from the earth, for their aim is that the earth give its strength to them and nurse them with its moisture, its fat, and its milk of oil. And the earth asks and requests from the heavens that the heavens give abundant rains, the former rain and the latter rain in their season, and the heat of the sun and the frost of the months. And the heavens ask and request from the Lord, who gives the rain in its season according to His providence and decree; for although according to nature it is fitting that rains should sometimes be withheld by the decree of providence, as it is said, “And I also withheld from you the rain yet three months before the harvest,” at that time sometimes no answer comes to the seed from the grain, the wine, and the new wine, such as when there is mildew, rust, locusts, or caterpillars which destroy the produce of the land. And sometimes no answer comes to the grain and the wine from the earth, when the strength of the soil is exhausted, as it is said, “When you work the land, it will no longer yield its strength to you.” And sometimes no answer comes from the heavens to the earth, when there is a time of drought and dryness according to nature and there is no rain. And sometimes no answer comes from the Lord to the heavens, when He withholds the rain due to providence and there is no rain of blessing. But then He will answer all of them, an answer to those who ask, and their requests will be fulfilled for all their desires. And this will be through the general providential answer that will come from the Lord. This is what is meant by, “And it shall come to pass in that day, I will answer,” declares the Lord. And thereby all four mentioned above will be aroused to give an answer properly. The first is that the providential answer will come to the heavens. This is what is meant by, “I will answer the heavens.” And this is that He will command to pour out providential rain with His providential blessing. And they will answer the earth, so that even the heavens and the celestial orders will align with the blessing, until there will be no need to violate nature and destroy it, for they will be ready to answer the earth and grant its request.
And the earth shall respond to the corn, and the wine, and the oil; And they shall respond to Jezreel.
verse value 4241
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "and·abundance" (וְהֵ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·the·wine" (וְאֶת־הַתִּיר֣וֹשׁ, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·the·land" (וְהָאָ֣רֶץ), "will·answer" (תַּעֲנֶ֔ה), "the·corn" (אֶת־הַדָּגָ֖ן). The root ענה appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·abundance" (root הם, 31x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·the·oil', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְהָאָ֣רֶץ [and·the·land] (302) + תַּעֲנֶ֔ה [will·answer] (525) + אֶת־הַדָּגָ֖ן [the·corn] (463) + וְאֶת־הַתִּיר֣וֹשׁ [and·the·wine] (1328) + וְאֶת־הַיִּצְהָ֑ר [and·the·oil] (717) + וְהֵ֖ם [and·abundance] (51) + יַעֲנ֥וּ [they·will·answer] (136) + אֶֽת־יִזְרְעֶֽאל [Jezreel] (719) = 4241.
Rashi
“[The word] Jezreel.” This refers to the exiles who were sown and then gathered.
Ibn Ezra
“And they shall answer Jezreel” – the name of the place mentioned, which will return to its former state of being populated by a large number of people.
Radak
“And the land shall yield its produce”: That it will give its crop, “and the tree of the field will yield its fruit.”
“And they shall answer for the sins of Israel.” For when goodness is abundant, their inhabitants are numerous; when the desolate places are filled with the flocks of Israel, in the time of retribution He called the name of Israel “Yizre’el,” because they were scattered among the nations; and in the time of salvation He also calls them “Yizre’el,” because they were sown in their land. Therefore, He said after it, “And I will sow her to Me in the land.” And the Targum translated the matter thus: “And it shall be in that time…”
Metzudat David
"And the land shall answer." For because of the dryness of the land, it is as if the seeds and the fruit-bearing trees ask to sprout and bear fruit, and the land answers their request to sprout, etc.
And they shall answer to Jezreel. To Israel, whom God sowed and scattered throughout the land, who inquire concerning the sprouting of the seeds, etc. Behold, the grain, the new wine, and the oil shall answer their inquiry, and they shall sprout and bear fruit.
Malbim
“And the earth shall yield its fruit” – that the strength of the soil and the richness of the field will increase until they fulfill the demand for grain and wine, thereby providing them with a yield.
And they shall answer for the sins of Jezreel: they shall fulfill the request of the seed that was sown to bear fruit of produce.
And I will sow her to Me in the land; And I will have compassion upon her that had not obtained compassion; And I will say to them that were not My people: ‘You are My people’; And they shall say: ‘You are my God.’
verse value 4059
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְה֖וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִּי֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·I·will·sow·her" (וּזְרַעְתִּ֤יהָ, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·I·will·sow·her" (וּזְרַעְתִּ֤יהָ), "and·I·will·show·compassion" (וְרִחַמְתִּ֖י), "and·I·say" (וְאָמַרְתִּ֤י). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·not·my·people" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "and·I·say" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea); "my·God" (root אלהים, 21x in Hosea). First appearance of the root זרע ("and·I·will·sow·her") in Hosea. First appearance of the root אתה ("my·people·you") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'pitied', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּזְרַעְתִּ֤יהָ [and·I·will·sow·her] (698) + לִּי֙ [to·me] (40) + בָּאָ֔רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + וְרִחַמְתִּ֖י [and·I·will·show·compassion] (664) + אֶת־לֹ֣א [not] (432) + רֻחָ֑מָה [pitied] (253) + וְאָמַרְתִּ֤י [and·I·say] (657) + לְלֹֽא־עַמִּי֙ [to·not·my·people] (181) + עַמִּי־אַ֔תָּה [my·people·you] (526) + וְה֖וּא [and·he] (18) + יֹאמַ֥ר [will·say] (251) + אֱלֹהָֽי [my·God] (46) = 4059.
Rashi
"And I will sow her for Me": Just as one who sows a seah brings in many koren, so too will many converts be added to them in the Land of Israel.
Ibn Ezra
And I will sow them – that they will multiply and increase like the seed of the earth.
"And I will have mercy on those who were not shown mercy" – these are the Patriarchs.
“And I said, ‘Not to My people’” — these are those who were born in their exile, and this prophecy is for the future. Or, it is connected, meaning: if the exiles had returned from their evil ways, they would have returned to their land. And do not wonder to say: After the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed upon them that they would stand in exile for many years, how could they return?! For behold, Jeremiah said concerning Jerusalem: “It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon,” and this is a command: “Do justice,” and if you do so, the Temple will not be destroyed; but if you do not do so, it will become a desolation.
Radak
"And I will sow her for Myself in the land." That they will be numerous like the seed of the land, and they will be to Me not as they were at the beginning. And the Targum translated, "And I will establish you," etc. And our Sages of blessed memory explained, "In the land of the nations." As it was said: Rabbi Eliezer said, the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not exile Israel among the nations except so that converts would be added to them, as it is stated: "And I will sow her for Myself in the land." Does a person sow a seah of wheat except in order to bring in many kor?
Metzudat David
"And I will sow them for Myself in the land." This is in contrast to the fact that they were sown in another land; now, I will sow them in their own land.
You are not pitied. You are the people whom I did not pity:
"My people" – to those concerning whom I said, "Not My people," behold, then I shall say concerning them, "You are My people," and He will say concerning Me, "You are my God," and in You I believe.
Malbim
“And I will sow her for myself in the land.” Now he explains that what was stated in the parable—that an answer will come from the Lord and descend downward until the grain and the new wine answer Yizre’el—also has an application to the sowing with which God sowed the House of Israel. And this will be the sign for changing also the names of the three sons (mentioned in section 1) for the good. The first son, whose name was called Yizre’el, which indicated sowing and scattering in the land of their captivity, will be changed to indicate the sowing that the Lord will sow in the land, which will be dedicated to Him. It will resemble one who sows a kav of wheat and brings forth many korim; so too they will multiply, grow, and increase, and converts will be added to them, and they will produce the fruit of holy produce for the Lord, for glory and for splendor, as it was stated above: “And the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea.” And through this, the land will answer the grain that grows from the sowing, to become the Plant of the Lord, for beauty and for honor.
And regarding the daughter whom he named Lo-Ruhamah, “And I will have mercy on Lo-Ruhamah,” meaning that He will have mercy on the exile of the Ten Tribes. This corresponds to the answering of the heavens, for mercy is less than loving-kindness and indicates hidden miracles and providence clothed in the attire of nature, which is attributed to the heavens. And regarding the son whom He commanded to be named Lo-Ammi, who represent the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, He says to Lo-Ammi, “You are My people.” And in contrast to what was said, “For you are not My people, and I will not be to you,” He will say, “My God.” For upon the tribe of Judah, My Divine Presence will be revealed openly, so that miracles will not be clothed in the way of nature, but rather in open, divine providence. And this corresponds to the answering of the Lord, who will answer the heavens to pour forth the abundance of His will from His holy dwelling.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim