When He would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered — thieves within, troops without, adulterers all, a cake not turned; Ephraim mixes himself among the peoples, a silly dove without understanding: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria — 'Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me.'
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
When I would heal Israel, Then is the iniquity of Ephraim uncovered, And the wickedness of Samaria, For they commit falsehood; And the thief enters in, And the troop of robbers makes a raid without.
verse value 4119
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Israel" (לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל, 6 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "when·I·heal" (כְּרׇפְאִ֣י), "then·is·uncovered" (וְנִגְלָ֞ה), "and·wickedness·of" (וְרָע֣וֹת). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 48x in Hosea); "to·Israel" (root ישראל, 39x in Hosea); "Ephraim" (root אפרים, 37x in Hosea). First appearance of the root שמרון ("Samaria") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'lie', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 5 words.
Rashi
“When I would heal Israel.” When I desire to save them and to heal their sins, it is revealed before Me that they constantly practice falsehood, and thieves are always among them, stealing the property of their fellow men; moreover, they send out their bands of robbers to the highways to rob people.
Ibn Ezra
As for “healer” – because it is said, “For He will wound, and He will bind up,” [the verse] states: “When I will heal them,” [indicating that] He stood before the wicked in their hearts, so that they have not abandoned Him until now.
For they have wrought vanity: by night they steal, and by day bands of marauders plunder outside the cities.
Radak
When I heal Israel, and a thief will come, a band will plunder outside. Its interpretation is as its translation:
Metzudat David
Like a healer. Just as it arose in my heart to heal Israel from the affliction of their distress, then the sin of Ephraim was revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria which they practiced—namely, falsehood. That is to say, immediately the sin came forth and brought accusation against them.
And a thief shall enter. One of them, out of the arrogance of his heart, will enter and strip the clothes of a group of men in public, before the eyes of all, and he will not fear anyone. Even though initially he was a thief who performed his deed in secret, ultimately he will act in broad daylight.
Metzudat Zion
He shall strip off [a garment]: The matter of removing the garment is like [the verse] “and he shall strip off his garments” (Leviticus 6:4):
Malbim
As it is compared to “Healing Israel,” it alludes to the verse above which states, “For Judah He will perform the kindness of the harvest,” when He brings back their captivity. In contrast, it says regarding Israel, “For Israel He will not perform the kindness of the harvest.” For at the time that I desire to heal Israel and to also bring back their captivity, then “the sin of Ephraim will be revealed.” Instead of their sin being concealed initially, they will begin to sin openly and publicly. For when the Lord did good to Israel in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, at which time He brought back the captivity of Israel and their border from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of the Arabah, they began to sin publicly. And “the sin of Ephraim” refers to what they sinned in matters of faith between man and God, and “the evil deeds of Samaria” refers to the evil they committed between man and his fellow. And it explains in relation to “the sin of Ephraim will be revealed”: “They practiced falsehood upon falsehood” in the faith of the Lord and in making idols. And in relation to “the evil deeds of Samaria will be revealed,” it says, “And a thief will come, a band will plunder outside.” Whereas previously only one thief would come, and even he would come like a thief, stealing in secret where no one sees, now a band will plunder. Not only will one thief come, but a band will plunder; and they will not come like a thief in stealth, but rather they will plunder outside, openly, in the sight of the sun.
And let them not say to their heart— I remember all their wickedness; Now their own doings have beset them about, They are before My face.
verse value 2824
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. The shortest word is "now" (עַתָּה֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·let·them·not·say" (וּבַל־יֹֽאמְרוּ֙, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·let·them·not·say" (וּבַל־יֹֽאמְרוּ֙), "to·their·heart" (לִלְבָבָ֔ם), "I·remembered" (זָכָ֑רְתִּי). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "were" (root היה, 28x in Hosea); "and·let·them·not·say" (root אמר, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·remembered', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: וּבַל־יֹֽאמְרוּ֙ [and·let·them·not·say] (295) + לִלְבָבָ֔ם [to·their·heart] (104) + כׇּל־רָעָתָ֖ם [all·their·wickedness] (760) + זָכָ֑רְתִּי [I·remembered] (637) + עַתָּה֙ [now] (475) + סְבָב֣וּם [they·turned·them] (110) + מַעַלְלֵיהֶ֔ם [their·deeds] (225) + נֶ֥גֶד [before] (57) + פָּנַ֖י [my·face] (140) + הָיֽוּ [were] (21) = 2824.
Rashi
"And they shall not say to their heart." They do not set their hearts to consider that all their evil is written as a record before Him.
Ibn Ezra
"And they think that I do not see them" — they suppose that I do not see them, and they do not know that their deeds surround them, and they are before My face.
Radak
"And let them not say in their heart." They do not think in their heart, "I have remembered all their evil":
"Now their deeds have turned against them, before My face." Now their evil deeds will turn against them, for they were before My face and did not hide from Me; and when they receive their punishment, they will recognize that I knew everything, and that I am the One who brings their retribution upon their own heads.
Metzudat David
"And let them not say in their heart." They do not think in their heart that I remember all their evil; behold, now their evil deeds surround them on every side, and they are before My face, and I see them.
Malbim
And do not say to your hearts, meaning: At the time when it was bad for them, they were thinking in their hearts that I remember their evil and am punishing them, and therefore their evil was not revealed so much. But at the time when I desired to heal them and I expanded their borders, they should not say to their hearts anymore that I remembered all their evil, and they think that I have forgotten their evil and will not punish them, and therefore they will commit sins in public. However, He says: Why do I need to remember their previous evil? Are they not now surrounded by their deeds? Are they not surrounded by their evil deeds that they are doing now, which are before My face? They are standing before My face in the present, and there is no need at all to remember the earlier sins.
They make the king glad with their wickedness, And the princes with their lies.
verse value 2107
Insights
Verse structure: 4 words, 25 letters. The shortest word is "princes" (שָׂרִֽים, 4 letters) and the longest is "they·gladden·the·king" (יְשַׂמְּחוּ־מֶ֑לֶךְ, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "with·their·wickedness" (בְּרָעָתָ֖ם), "they·gladden·the·king" (יְשַׂמְּחוּ־מֶ֑לֶךְ), "and·with·their·lies" (וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶ֖ם). 4 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·gladden·the·king', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 2 words. Full calculation: בְּרָעָתָ֖ם [with·their·wickedness] (712) + יְשַׂמְּחוּ־מֶ֑לֶךְ [they·gladden·the·king] (454) + וּבְכַחֲשֵׁיהֶ֖ם [and·with·their·lies] (391) + שָׂרִֽים [princes] (550) = 2107.
Rashi
“Let the kings rejoice.” Their King takes pleasure in the evil that they are doing.
Ibn Ezra
"In their wickedness they shall rejoice" – the king and princes who will crown him.
Radak
"When they did evil, the king rejoiced." This refers to when they aligned themselves with Jeroboam regarding the matter of the calves; he rejoiced over them.
And in their lying: For they lied against the Lord, saying, “These are your gods, O Israel.” Likewise, the princes who supported Jeroboam in that counsel rejoiced. Alternatively, it means that every day they delighted their king with the evil they committed through oppression and injustice, for his hand was also with them. And in their lying: because they denied and deceived one another, they delighted the princes, for they too supported their hands.
Metzudat David
"In their evil." In that they do the evil, they delight the King of Israel, for the matter is acceptable before Him and He takes pleasure in it.
"And in their lies." Through the deeds of falsehoods, they delight the princes.
Metzudat Zion
And in their deceit. In their falsehoods:
Malbim
“ברעתם” (In their evil): From then on, the prophet will begin to recount the manner of their downfall at the hands of the king of Assyria, who exiled them from their land. First, he will recount the cause that brought about all of this. The primary cause of this was that they rebelled against their kings and killed them. Initially, Shallum, son of Jabesh, conspired and killed Zechariah, son of Jeroboam, and struck him down in the presence of the people. Then Menachem, son of Gadi, rose up against him, killed him, and reigned in his place. This was the cause that brought Pul, king of Assyria, against the land, and Menachem gave him a thousand talents of silver to strengthen his hand in the kingdom (2 Kings 15:19). Afterwards, Pekach, son of Remaliah, conspired against Pekahiah, son of Menachem, killed him, and reigned in his place. Then Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, rose up against him and exiled Zebulun and Naphtali. This occurred during the time of Ahaz (as stated above, 2 Kings 16). Afterwards, Hoshea, son of Elah, struck Pekach and reigned in his place. Then Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, rose up against him, and Hoshea became his servant. The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt. The king of Assyria detained him, imprisoned him in the house of custody, besieged Samaria, and exiled Israel to Assyria (2 Kings 17). It is written in the words of the book that even the conspiracy that the king of Assyria found in Hoshea was due to the informing of the sons of Israel, who rebelled against Hoshea and plotted schemes to destroy him. They disclosed to the king of Assyria that he was planning to rebel against him. Regarding these matters, the seer poured out the words of his prophecies from here until the end of the book. According to this, we shall come to the explanation. He says: “In the time that they were still faithful to their king,” and “in their evil” refers to the kings striving to gladden the heart of the king through their evil deeds, and the hearts of the princes through their lies. This was before the rebellion, at that time.
They are all adulterers, As an oven heated by the baker, Who ceases to stir From the kneading of the dough until it be leavened.
verse value 3660
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. The shortest word is "all·of·them" (כֻּלָּם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "until·it·is·leavened" (עַד־חֻמְצָתֽוֹ, 7 letters). 10 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "adulterers" (מְנָ֣אֲפִ֔ים), "like" (כְּמ֣וֹ), "furnace" (תַנּ֔וּר). 11 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root כמו ("like") in Hosea. First appearance of the root תנור ("furnace") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·baker', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: כֻּלָּם֙ [all·of·them] (90) + מְנָ֣אֲפִ֔ים [adulterers] (221) + כְּמ֣וֹ [like] (66) + תַנּ֔וּר [furnace] (656) + בֹּעֵ֖רָה [burning] (277) + מֵאֹפֶ֑ה [from·the·baker] (126) + יִשְׁבּ֣וֹת [he·ceases] (718) + מֵעִ֔יר [rousing] (320) + מִלּ֥וּשׁ [from·kneading] (376) + בָּצֵ֖ק [dough] (192) + עַד־חֻמְצָתֽוֹ [until·it·is·leavened] (618) = 3660.
Rashi
"Burning, baked." This teaches that just as they were heated immediately from the baker's hand, so too is their [evil] inclination burning within them.
“Yeshavot me’ir” – And the Targum rendered it as “I am unable to dwell in it.” This follows the language of the biblical verse, and according to its meaning, it refers to their evil inclination, which used to stir them up.
“From kneading the dough until it sours.” From the moment he calculates in his heart the evil—how he will carry it out—he ceases [from other activity] and sleeps until morning, which is when he is able to perform it. This is like a baker who ceases from kneading the dough until it has soured, at which point he is able to bake it. And similarly it is stated (Micah 2:1): “Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! At morning light they do it, because it is in the power of their hand.”
Ibn Ezra
"All of them" – even their king is with them.
And “tannur” – it is a masculine noun; therefore, the word “vo’erah” is accented on the penultimate syllable, just as in “laylah,” “nachalah,” and “avar al nafshenu.” And this verse is reversed in its accentuation, and its cantillation is as follows: “Like a baker’s oven, burning hot, kneading the dough until it sours, until the baker rests from his toil,” for it requires much kindling and heating.
Radak
All of them are adulterers. The king, along with the princes, and also the people, hearken to them. And he likened the heat of adultery to the heat of fire, saying that they are like an oven that is burning. "M'ofeh" means that the baker burned it and heated it up to bake bread in it. And the greatest heat of the oven and its heating occurs during the time that the baker ceases rousing the women who bake in it, so as to heat it—and that time is from kneading the dough until it leavens. For when they place the wood in the oven to heat it, he commands the women to knead, and he refrains from rousing them until the dough leavens, as he estimates in his heart, and then he rouses them to come with their dough to bake. And this is the measure of the oven's heating. And he said that they burn with adultery like the oven at the time of its heating.
Boreh. It is accented on the penultimate syllable; the letter ayin is stressed, and the heh is added because the word tanur is masculine.
“From rousing.” As in “from arousing,” and Jonathan rendered [in the Targum]: “All of them are desirous,” etc. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained: “He ceases from rousing”—the inclination that arouses them—if it ceases, will not cease for a long time, but only from the time of kneading the dough until it becomes leavened.
חמצתו. An infinitive on the pattern of “le-chemlah alekha” (“to have compassion on you”), or a noun on the pattern of “tum’ah” (“uncleanness”).
Metzudat David
Like an oven. The heat of immorality burns within them, like an oven that is heated by the baker’s fire.
“Yeshavot me’ir” – The evil inclination that incites them to immorality “rests” from the kneading of the dough until it becomes leavened, so that it is fit for baking. That is to say, it does not cease from immorality from the time one intends [to engage in it], except until there is a possibility in his hand to carry it out, and no more. And since they compared it to the oven, it uses the language of what falls into the oven: for the oven does not cease from baking except until the dough becomes leavened, and no more.
Metzudat Zion
"bo'era." The word is from the root of "he'arah" and "hisak" (burning and kindling):
“Yeshavot.” The matter is one of prevention and nullification.
From rousing. From the language of awakening:
Malush. From the term for kneading, which is the preparation of the dough, as it is said: "Knead and make cakes" (Genesis 18:6).
Batzek. Dough, as it is written: “his dough” (Exodus 12:34).
Its sourness. From the word chametz:
Malbim
"They are all adulterers" – they all engage in adultery, like a baker tending a fiery oven. The metaphor compares the inclination toward sexual immorality to the flame of fire that ignites, heats, and warms the oven; so too does it kindle the fire of lust for sexual intercourse. The baker who heats the oven sits there all night, continually stoking the fire. If he dozes off, he has an attendant who rouses him from his sleep so that he does not allow the oven to grow cold. He is unable to sleep except when he is kneading fresh dough and waiting for the dough to ferment until it is ready for baking; only then, while kneading the dough until it ferments, does the attendant cease rousing him from sleep and does not awaken him. This signifies that the power of desire does not leave us for a moment, but arouses our lust at every turn, and does not cease except for a brief period from the time of the act of adultery until the power of the desire subsides. All this they do at a time when they are at peace with the king and the princes, but...
On the day of our king The princes make him sick with the heat of wine, He stretches out his hand with scorners.
verse value 2400
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 36 letters. Verse gematria: 2400 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "day" (י֣וֹם, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·scorners" (אֶת־לֹצְצִֽים, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "our·king" (מַלְכֵּ֔נוּ), "they·made·sick" (הֶחֱל֥וּ), "heat" (חֲמַ֣ת). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "day" (root יום, 28x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·wine', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: י֣וֹם [day] (56) + מַלְכֵּ֔נוּ [our·king] (146) + הֶחֱל֥וּ [they·made·sick] (49) + שָׂרִ֖ים [princes] (550) + חֲמַ֣ת [heat] (448) + מִיָּ֑יִן [from·wine] (110) + מָשַׁ֥ךְ [he·drew] (360) + יָד֖וֹ [his·hand] (20) + אֶת־לֹצְצִֽים [with·scorners] (661) = 2400.
Rashi
"the day of our king." On the day that they were anointing their kings:
"The princes have begun." Our princes have become ill.
“Chamot mayin.” From the heat of the wine that is boiling in them, and the King withdraws His hand from the good and upright ones, so as not to join them with the wicked.
Ibn Ezra
"Day" – Let them anoint their king, so that they will call that day "Our King's Day." They will make him drink wine, and then his hand will be extended to the "lutzim" (those who suck/draw out). And this word is from the doubled verbs, meaning it is "lutz" (to suck/draw out). But if it were "milutzim," it would be from the verbs that are "ayin" (ע) verbs, from the root "letz" (לץ), whose root is "litz" (ליץ). Therefore, it is from the doubled "lamed" (ל) verbs, and therefore "tofeifot" and "mitofefot" have two roots.
And the word "chalu" (began) is "machli" (they began), just as "hara'u" (they showed) and "malchenu" (our king) – the former is the passive participle and the latter is the active participle.
“The princes began” — they removed the king from his drunkenness, and similarly: “A sickness afflicted the heart” — the verb “afflicted” is in the Hiphil stem, which is the causative form of “to afflict.”
And the meaning of “chamat mayin” (the heat of wine) is with a missing bet in “chamat,” while “mayin” (wine) means the wineskin is full of wine; and its interpretation is: just as “min” (from) is attached, so too, just as “delet” (door) and “sa’gor deletcha ba’adecha” (shut your door behind you) and “ve’ha’ed maspeach chamecha” (and the witness seals your anger) and even “shakar” (intoxicating drink), which is of this same meaning.
Radak
“Day of our king.” The day on which they would anoint a king; they would call that day “the day of our king.” He said: What was the business of the princes with him? Was it not to speak about matters of valor and defeating enemies, and to establish justice, as is the law of a king who is a free man? Rather, what was their business? Eating and drinking, until the king, due to excessive drinking of wine, became intoxicated. This is the “wrath of wine” mentioned in the verse. One would come with a wineskin full of wine, and another would come with a wineskin, and they would pour wine for the king until they made him drunk. And he, due to his excessive drinking, would extend his hand to the jesters and joke with them. And my master and father, of blessed memory, wrote: At first he called them “princes” before they became drunk, and afterward he called them “jesters.”
Chamat. From [the verse] "and he filled the chamot with water" (Exodus 16:23), but it is a single root; and "lotzatzim" is a description in the form of "notzatzim," like the gleaming of copper.
Metzudat David
"Day of our king." This means: On the day of the king of Israel’s joy—whether his birthday or the day of his coronation—the princes fell ill because they became intoxicated from wine, for they had been made to drink excessively, and they became sick from the abundance of drunkenness.
"He stretched out his hand." Each one withdrew his hand from the governance of the state to associate with the scoffers.
Metzudat Zion
They were made ill. From the root ח-ל-י:
Chamath. It is a skin-bottle, and likewise, "and a skin of water" (Genesis 21:14):
"Who mock" – from the word "mock."
Malbim
"Our day is the day of our king" – on the day of the king’s downfall, the day of the rebellion when they sought to kill him. On the night preceding the day of the rebellion, they did not engage in adultery, for then the conspirators assembled to consult one another on how to carry out the schemes of their hearts. As they conferred, they drank wine all night with the princes, until the princes became ill from the wine. Consequently, the king’s princes were unable to stand guard, to be vigilant against the conspiracy, and to protect the king’s person. This is what the verse states: "Then the princes who had made them ill through the heat of wine" – meaning, through the heating effect of the wine. For the wine extended its hand to the "luzzim" (the drinkers), for then the power of the wine prevailed, and it drew the "luzzim" along with all their camps.
For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait; Their baker sleeps all the night, In the morning it burns as a flaming fire.
verse value 2896
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "their·heart" (לִבָּ֖ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "all·night" (כׇּל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "for·they·made·ready" (כִּֽי־קֵרְב֧וּ), "in·their·ambush" (בְּאׇרְבָּ֑ם), "all·night" (כׇּל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙). 12 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root לב ("their·heart") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·their·ambush', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 8 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־קֵרְב֧וּ [for·they·made·ready] (338) + כַתַּנּ֛וּר [as·the·oven] (676) + לִבָּ֖ם [their·heart] (72) + בְּאׇרְבָּ֑ם [in·their·ambush] (245) + כׇּל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ [all·night] (130) + יָשֵׁ֣ן [old] (360) + אֹֽפֵהֶ֔ם [their·baker] (126) + בֹּ֕קֶר [morning] (302) + ה֥וּא [it] (12) + בֹעֵ֖ר [burning] (272) + כְּאֵ֥שׁ [as·fire·of] (321) + לֶהָבָֽה [flame] (42) = 2896.
Rashi
"For their heart is like an oven to them, in their lying in wait." They prepared and set their hearts through the deed of their ambush, like an oven that one prepares and heats for baking.
All night long, their baker sleeps. Their baker, who stoked the oven, after they had prepared their hearts and calculated the final outcome of the evil—how they would carry it out:
"ישן אופיהם" – meaning, they sleep until morning, and in the morning they burn like fire until they have completed their evil.
Ibn Ezra
"Ki" – this term alludes to their evil thoughts, which they contemplate throughout the night. Indeed, their hearts are hot like an oven; yet every baker sleeps during the night and only kindles the oven in the morning. But these people do not let their hearts rest; rather, they scheme throughout the night.
Radak
“For their heart is like an oven, in their lying in wait.” Their heart, which is burning like an oven, they brought it near through their lying in wait. That is to say, they brought it near to the deed of evil. That is to say, they set their heart to think evil thoughts, that they would do the evil after the thought. And this is “in their lying in wait,” for he who wishes to plunder and rob lies in wait first, so that they will not guard against him, and the thought is in the ambush.
"All night long, their bakers sleep." The heart is the vessel of thought, and the power that operates within it is the "baker," by way of metaphor. Just as the baker heats the oven at night, and in the morning finds the wood burning and bakes in it the bread, which is the ultimate purpose of the heating process, and indeed the baker sleeps at night after having placed the wood in the oven, for he has no task until morning; so too the "baker" in the matter of the metaphor, which is the power of thought, sleeps at night. That is to say, it lies down and rests, so that the thought does not come into action until morning. And the thinker calls him "sleeping" because there is no physical exertion in thought.
“Morning” means “burning.” That is to say, they are eager in the morning to do the evil that they had plotted during the night. And similarly it is said: “Those who plot evil upon their beds, when morning dawns they do it, for they have the power to do so.”
Metzudat David
"For they were close." [This refers to those] who brought themselves close and prepared their hearts to lie in wait for one another, just as a baker prepares the oven for heating.
"Their nature is like that of a sleeping baker." The baker sleeps all night, and when morning dawns, he ignites a flame in the oven, like a fire that raises a flame. This means that while he lacks the means to act, he rests and is idle; but as soon as he has the power to act, he immediately does so.
Metzudat Zion
"Draw near." This means: Prepare yourselves.
בארבם. The word is derived from the root אורב, meaning "to lie in wait" or "to ambush."
"their baker." The word is derived from the root "to bake."
Malbim
For they drew near: On that very night they drew near their hearts, which were like an oven prepared to be heated by the flames of fire; they drew near their hearts to one another. This means that each one revealed the secrets of his heart and disclosed their secrets to one another at the time they lay in wait to kill the king, and in what manner they would kill him. Therefore, all that night their "baker" slept; they did not arouse on that night the baker, which is the yetzer of lust and immorality, and they left him to sleep and rest on that night, for they did not engage in adultery but only in matters of rebellion and murder. But in the morning he burns like a flame of fire: In the morning, when the rebellion was completed and they had killed the king, the oven—which is their heart and their drawing near—was ignited. It was not ignited by the fire made for heating the oven to bake bread in it, but rather it was ignited by a flame of fire, for the way of the flame is to consume and devour everything that draws near to it from afar. This is to say that the power that was aroused then was not that of the yetzer of lust, but rather the aroused power of the spirit of anger, in jealousy, wrath, and murder, to kill, destroy, and annihilate. For then.
They are all hot as an oven, And devour their judges; All their kings are fallen, There is none among them that calls to Me.
verse value 2549
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "all·of·them" (כֻּלָּ֤ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "their·judges" (אֶת־שֹׁפְטֵיהֶ֑ם, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "they·will·be·hot" (יֵחַ֙מּוּ֙), "their·judges" (אֶת־שֹׁפְטֵיהֶ֑ם), "all·their·kings" (כׇּל־מַלְכֵיהֶ֣ם). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "among·them" (root הם, 31x in Hosea). First appearance of the root נפל ("they·fell") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·judges', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: כֻּלָּ֤ם [all·of·them] (90) + יֵחַ֙מּוּ֙ [they·will·be·hot] (64) + כַּתַּנּ֔וּר [as·the·oven] (676) + וְאָכְל֖וּ [and·they·shall·eat] (63) + אֶת־שֹׁפְטֵיהֶ֑ם [their·judges] (845) + כׇּל־מַלְכֵיהֶ֣ם [all·their·kings] (195) + נָפָ֔לוּ [they·fell] (166) + אֵין־קֹרֵ֥א [none·calling] (362) + בָהֶ֖ם [among·them] (47) + אֵלָֽי [to·me] (41) = 2549.
Rashi
“And they ate their judges.” They killed their Sanhedrin, because the latter were protesting against them. And what came of it? “All their kings fell,” because they did not call upon Him. And in the Jerusalem Talmud, in Tractate Avodah Zarah, they expounded: On the day they made Jeroboam king, the princes began to become drunk with wine, as it is explicitly stated: “They said to him, ‘Arise and make for us gods.’” He said to them, “Now it is evening time,” meaning that it is now a time of drunkenness; perhaps you are drunk now, but tomorrow you will return to your senses. They went and returned in the morning. This is what is meant by “When they approach like an oven,” etc. He said to them, “I am afraid of your Sanhedrin.” They said to him, “We will kill them.” This is what is meant by “And they ate their judges.”
“He stretched out His hand…”: Whenever a righteous person would appear, two accusing angels would be stationed against him, and they would say to him, “Which generation is beloved more than all the generations?” And he would say to them, “The generation of the wilderness.” And they would say to him, “And did they not serve idolatry?” And he would say to them, “Because they were beloved, they were not punished.” And they would say to him, “Be careful, for the King desires to do likewise; be silent!”
Ibn Ezra
"All of them" – the reason is that these devour those, even their judges conspire against their kings; therefore it is written.
Radak
"All of them shall be as an oven." The parable is clear, and its counterpart is in the matter he said, "And they shall eat up my judges," for fire consumes. The matter is that through their evil deeds, they consume and destroy their judges, so that they do not execute judgment in the city, because due to the multitude of the wicked, they are unable to carry out their judgment. Moreover, the wicked flatter them, and they do not reprove them, since they see that their hand is strong. And the punishment upon them is because they do not remove themselves from all judgment; rather, they judge those who have power in their hands, and they leave alone those who do not have power in their hands. And similarly, it is said in the prophecy of Isaiah: "The orphan shall not be judged, and the cause of the widow shall not come to them."
“All their kings have fallen.” This refers to the kings of Israel who fell, each at the hands of the other, for the one who killed the king would reign in his stead. They also fell into the hands of their enemies, the kings of the nations. Nevertheless, they did not call out to Me. They should have reasoned in their hearts: “Behold, our king has no power to save us from our distress; let us return to the Lord, for He will save us.” And some explain “them” as referring to the kings: even though they saw themselves falling into the hands of the idolaters, none of them called out to Me and returned from his sin. Jonathan’s Targum translates: “And they consumed their judges,” and in the Aramaic: “They condemned their judges to death.”
Metzudat David
“[They shall be] like an oven.” The evil inclination heats them up to transgression, like a burning oven.
"And they shall eat." They killed the Sanhedrin because they protested against them, and therefore all their kings fell. Nevertheless, there is none among them who will call out to Me to return from his way.
Metzudat Zion
Yachmu. The word is derived from the root chom:
And they ate. This means: they killed.
Malbim
They shall all be heated like an oven; thus, the baker did not come to kindle the oven, for they themselves were the oven, and they themselves were heated by the flame, which is the flame of the rebellion that was like a consuming fire, and they devoured their judges. In this manner, all their kings fell, for they killed all their kings through conspiracy and rebellion. Thus, Zechariah son of Jeroboam was killed, and Shallum son of Jabesh, and Pekahiah son of Menahem, and Pekah son of Remaliah. Likewise, Hoshea went into captivity at the hand of the enemy through the aforementioned rebellion. This was the cause of their exile and destruction, and this happened to them because there was no one calling upon Me, for they and their kings were wicked idolaters.
Ephraim, he mixes himself with the peoples; Ephraim is become a cake not turned.
verse value 1570
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "he" (ה֣וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "mixes·himself" (יִתְבּוֹלָ֑ל, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 331: Ephraim, Ephraim. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "among·the·peoples" (בָּעַמִּ֖ים), "mixes·himself" (יִתְבּוֹלָ֑ל), "disc·or·cake" (עֻגָ֖ה). The root אפרים appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Ephraim" (root אפרים, 37x in Hosea); "was" (root היה, 28x in Hosea); "among·the·peoples" (root עם, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'mixes·himself', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: אֶפְרַ֕יִם [Ephraim] (331) + בָּעַמִּ֖ים [among·the·peoples] (162) + ה֣וּא [he] (12) + יִתְבּוֹלָ֑ל [mixes·himself] (478) + אֶפְרַ֛יִם [Ephraim] (331) + הָיָ֥ה [was] (20) + עֻגָ֖ה [disc·or·cake] (78) + בְּלִ֥י [without] (42) + הֲפוּכָֽה [turned] (116) = 1570.
Rashi
“Yitbalal.” He will be confused in exile among the nations:
“An omer cake that was not turned over.” Jonathan rendered it as “a thin cake that is eaten before it is turned over.” An omer cake is a thin cake that is baked on the embers.
Ibn Ezra
Ephraim, he will be mingled—like something that is mixed and blended. The meaning is that they seek help from the nations, one for the sake of the other, and this is what is meant by: “they called to Egypt; to Assyria they went.” Therefore, he will be mingled among the peoples, like something mixed and blended, and Egypt is the one calling out.
And the meaning of "a cake that has not been turned over" is: it shall be burned when it is not turned over. And the reason is: regarding their counsel, and because their imagination and heart are like an oven, so their counsel is likened to a cake.
Radak
"Ephraim is among the nations, he is mingled." This is similar to "For there the Lord confused the language of all the earth" (Genesis 11:9), which refers to a matter of confusion and mixing. That is to say, he is mixed in with the idolaters, whom the Blessed Holy One had separated from them, yet they mingled with them and acted according to their deeds.
“Ogah without being turned over.” Just as a cake baked on the coals, if one does not turn it over, becomes burnt underneath and is not cooked on top, so too is a plan that is not correct: if one does not turn it from matter to matter until one sets it upon its wheels, it fails. Thus was Ephraim in his counsel to worship the calves and other gods; he did not discern, nor did he choose the good. And Jonathan rendered it: “From her charrat, for until it is turned over, it is eaten.”
Metzudat David
"He shall be absorbed." He mingled among the nations and learned their deeds.
“Like a cake that is not turned over.” Just as a cake baked on the embers, when they do not turn it from one side to the other, becomes partly burnt and partly undercooked, so too he does not examine his deeds to ensure they are characterized by balance and uprightness.
Metzudat Zion
"יתבולל" – the term derives from the root meaning confusion and mixing, as in "the Lord confused" (Genesis 11:9).
"Ogah." [The word] "chararah," and likewise, "and make cakes" (ibid. 18:
Malbim
Ephraim: And because of the fact that they killed their kings, it came about through this that Ephraim would be absorbed and mixed among the nations. For Menachem called upon the king of Assyria to assist him regarding the monarchy. And when Pekah conspired against Pekahiah, the son of Menachem, the king of Assyria came to fight his battle. And in the course of fighting the battle of the king of Judah, he exiled the land of Naphtali. And afterwards, when Hoshea killed Pekah, [the Assyrian king] came against Hoshea, as stated above in verse 3. And this they brought upon themselves through the killing of their kings. And therefore, Ephraim was like a cake that was not turned over. For until now he spoke in the parable of the oven, saying in his rhetoric that despite all this, they were not baked in the oven heated by the fire of Your wrath; rather, it was like a cake baked on coals, which requires being turned over several times so that it bakes on all sides. And if it was not turned over, it has two deficiencies: on the lower side, adjacent to the coals, the coals will burn the cake, and on the upper side it is not yet baked and is unfit for eating. The application of the parable will be explained in the subsequent verse.
Strangers have devoured his strength, And he knows it not; Indeed, gray hairs are here and there upon him, And he knows it not.
verse value 1294
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 41 letters. Notable word values: "and·he" (וְה֖וּא) = 18, chai, 'life'. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "also·age" (גַּם־שֵׂיבָה֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 84: knew, knew. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "they·ate" (אָכְל֤וּ), "his·strength" (כֹּח֔וֹ), "also·age" (גַּם־שֵׂיבָה֙). The root הוא appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'knew', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: אָכְל֤וּ [they·ate] (57) + זָרִים֙ [strangers] (257) + כֹּח֔וֹ [his·strength] (34) + וְה֖וּא [and·he] (18) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + יָדָ֑ע [knew] (84) + גַּם־שֵׂיבָה֙ [also·age] (360) + זָ֣רְקָה [scattered] (312) + בּ֔וֹ [in·him] (8) + וְה֖וּא [and·he] (18) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + יָדָֽע [knew] (84) = 1294.
Rashi
And he did not know. He did not take to heart that the kings of Aram had devoured him in the days of Jehoahaz, as it is stated (2 Kings 13:7): "For Hazael, king of Aram, afflicted them all the days of Jehoahaz... and he made them like the dust under the feet," and nevertheless, Jeroboam his son did not return from the knowledge (or: evil, according to one manuscript) of his father.
“Even white hair is scattered.” The Targum of Jonathan: “Even weakness has bowed us down, and they do not look.”
Ibn Ezra
"Akhalu" – The meaning is regarding the bribes that they gave to Assyria and Egypt, as it is written concerning the kings.
And the meaning of “even old age” is that their strength was weakened and their wealth was lost.
“זרקה בו” – The offspring cast upon him gray hair, for gray hair comes from the offspring of man.
Radak
"Strangers ate of his strength." As it is written in the Book of Kings:
"And he knew not." He did not know that all this came upon him because of his sin, and he did not return from his wickedness.
"Even white hair has been sprinkled upon him." For a person returns from the way of evil in the days of old age, for he sees that his strength is exhausted and he goes in the way of all the earth, and he returns before his death. And the prolonged distress seemed to them like a long time in the days of old age. And it said, "even in the end, in the days of Pekah and Hoshea son of Elah," who were at the end of their days, like a person upon whom white hair has been sprinkled; nevertheless, they did not return from their evil way.
"זרקה בו" – the verb is intransitive, as if it said "נזרקה בו" (it was cast into him). And the Sage, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, explained that "זרקה בו" refers to the offspring. And Jonathan rendered it: "even its weakness," etc.
Metzudat David
"Strangers have eaten." The idolaters took from his land, and he does not take it to heart, as if he were unaware of it.
Also, old age was cast upon him. A weakening of strength was cast upon him in the face of the enemy, like an old man, and he did not take it to heart.
Metzudat Zion
"Gray hair." It is even more than old age:
Zerqah. This means that it was cast out.
Malbim
They consumed from the well the thing to which the metaphor refers: just as a cake, without being turned over, is eaten from its lower side by the embers—this being an analogy in which a foreign power, namely the power of the fire, consumes the power of the cake—so too did strangers consume his strength, and he did not know it. For the king of Assyria consumed their strength, took their wealth, and exiled them. And just as this cake was not baked from above, and it is kneaded loosely and is soft, so too did white hair strike the son, and he did not know it. For they resembled an elderly man whose power of life has been burned away and the marrow of whose bones has been consumed, whose temperament is weak and whose limbs are feeble; so too did they become weak in themselves, and their might was drained away, like an old man whose strength has been exhausted.
And the pride of Israel testifies to his face; But they have not returned to Hashem their God, Nor sought Him, for all this.
verse value 2283
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "and·not" (וְלֹ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "exaltation·Israel" (גְאֽוֹן־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·not·they·returned" (וְלֹא־שָׁ֙בוּ֙), "they·sought·him" (בִקְשֻׁ֖הוּ), "in·all·this" (בְּכׇל־זֹֽאת). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 46x in Hosea); "their·God" (root אלהים, 21x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·face', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְעָנָ֥ה [and·testifies] (131) + גְאֽוֹן־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [exaltation·Israel] (601) + בְּפָנָ֑יו [in·his·face] (148) + וְלֹא־שָׁ֙בוּ֙ [and·not·they·returned] (345) + אֶל־יְהֹוָ֣ה [to·Hashem] (57) + אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֔ם [their·God] (91) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + בִקְשֻׁ֖הוּ [they·sought·him] (413) + בְּכׇל־זֹֽאת [in·all·this] (460) = 2283.
Rashi
And the glory of Israel answered before Him. And He struck the glory of Israel, and they saw a language of poverty. And this "answered" is not a future tense but a past tense, like "And one called to another" (Isaiah 6:3), "I heard the voice of one calling to another," and like "And he made him a coat of many colors" (Genesis 37:3). And even this is a past tense: they have already been diminished and humbled, and yet they have not returned to the Lord.
Ibn Ezra
And he answered – I have explained it.
"And they did not return to the Lord" – like the poor who have nothing left to give to the nations, so that the nations might help them.
Radak
And He answered. We explained it above:
Metzudat David
And he answered. He will humble himself:
"The pride of Israel before him." This means that with his own eyes he saw the humbling and subjugation of his pride, and nevertheless they did not return to the LORD.
“Nevertheless.” Despite all this calamity that has befallen them, they did not seek Him, and still they have not taken to heart the lesson.
Metzudat Zion
And he shall be humbled. The word connotes humbling, as in "you refused to humble yourself before Me" (Exodus 10:3).
Gaon. From the language of pride and exaltation:
Malbim
And he answers in response to what was written above (H' H'), that at the time when the Pride of Israel is humbled before Him, then with their flocks and herds they will go to seek the Lord and return in repentance. He now says: Even though the Pride of Israel is humbled before Him, nevertheless they did not submit themselves to the Lord, nor did they return to the Lord to repent, nor did they seek Him through sacrifices and prayer. Rather, they sought help from the nations.
And Ephraim is become like a silly dove, without understanding; They call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.
verse value 2292
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "heart" (לֵ֑ב, 2 letters) and the longest is "Ephraim" (אֶפְרַ֔יִם, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 61: nothing, walked. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "as·dove" (כְּיוֹנָ֥ה), "being·spacious" (פוֹתָ֖ה), "heart" (לֵ֑ב). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Ephraim" (root אפרים, 37x in Hosea); "and·it·was" (root היה, 28x in Hosea); "walked" (root הלך, 22x in Hosea). First appearance of the root מצרים ("Egypt") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'heart', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֣י [and·it·was] (31) + אֶפְרַ֔יִם [Ephraim] (331) + כְּיוֹנָ֥ה [as·dove] (91) + פוֹתָ֖ה [being·spacious] (491) + אֵ֣ין [nothing] (61) + לֵ֑ב [heart] (32) + מִצְרַ֥יִם [Egypt] (380) + קָרָ֖אוּ [call] (307) + אַשּׁ֥וּר [Assyria] (507) + הָלָֽכוּ [walked] (61) = 2292.
Rashi
They do not have a heart to distinguish what is good for them and what is bad for them.
"Mitzrayim kero." To those who had done them evil from of old, they call for help:
“Assyria they went.” They went to the king of Assyria, that he might help them.
Ibn Ezra
"And Ephraim" – in his lightness of mind and lack of understanding, for they went to Egypt and Assyria to seek help, and they did not know that as they went, "I will spread My net over them, and I will bring them down like a bird in the sky." And behold, I will catch them, for they will not be able to escape. Therefore, He said "over them" (aleihem) and not "to them" (lahem). And because He mentioned "like a dove," He said: "Like a bird in the sky I will bring them down."
Radak
“And Ephraim.” The verse compares him to a dove caught in a net due to its foolishness, for it lacks the understanding to realize that when it comes to gather the grains, a net is spread there to catch it. So too with Ephraim: when they went seeking help from Assyria or from Egypt, they were going to their own detriment, for they sought help from the nations rather than from God, blessed be He, who holds all things in His hand. And when they thought to rely on them, they fell into the net of God, blessed be He. This is what the verse states: “When they go, I will spread My net over them.” The dove is mentioned, and the same applies to other birds as well; however, the dove is specified because it lacks a gallbladder, and thus it is as if it walks in innocence, not suspecting the evil that will befall it. Jonathan, the Aramaic translator, rendered it: “And the house of Israel were like a dove, simple-hearted, etc.” The author of the Arukh explained that “shrikhta” means weeping and scratching one’s face. He compared it to the Arabic term used for a woman who weeps and scratches her face, which is “shrikha.”
Metzudat David
Like a dove that is easily deceived. A dove that is easily deceived, as if it were without a heart, because it hastens to descend into the net to eat the seeds within it, and it does not discern that there it will be caught. So too is Ephraim, for they called upon Egypt to come to their aid, and they went to Assyria to seek refuge in its shadow, and they do not understand that it is for their harm.
Metzudat Zion
"Poteh" [entices]. The word is in the form of enticement, and therefore the simple-minded person is called "peti" because he is easily enticed.
Malbim
And Ephraim is like a dove, easily deceived; for there is no heart to do all things without heart and understanding. For Egypt called out to Assyria, and they went. After they had been under the dominion of Assyria, they should not have called upon Egypt for help. For this was the cause of their exile: the King of Assyria discovered a conspiracy by Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, King of Egypt. Therefore, "and he confined him in prison, and besieged Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria." And there was yet another foolishness in this: after he had called upon Egypt, Hoshea went to Assyria. For so it implies from what is written in II Kings (17:4): "And the King of Assyria confined him, and put him in prison. And the King of Assyria went up throughout the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years." This implies that Hoshea went to meet the King of Assyria as a servant and submitted himself, and there he confined him and did not allow him to return to Samaria; only then did he advance against the land. For if Hoshea had remained in Samaria, he could not have imprisoned him, since he would have been required to besiege Samaria for three years. And this was a very great foolishness: after he knew in his own heart that he had rebelled against him and sent to Egypt, he should not have gone to Assyria and surrendered himself into his hand. And this is what it says:
Even as they go, I will spread My net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation has been made to hear.
verse value 4366
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "as" (כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר, 4 letters) and the longest is "I·will·bring·them·down" (אוֹרִידֵ֑ם, 6 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "as" (כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר), "I·will·spread" (אֶפְר֤וֹשׂ), "my·net" (רִשְׁתִּ֔י). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·them" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "they·go" (root הלך, 22x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·bring·them·down', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר [as] (521) + יֵלֵ֗כוּ [they·go] (66) + אֶפְר֤וֹשׂ [I·will·spread] (587) + עֲלֵיהֶם֙ [upon·them] (155) + רִשְׁתִּ֔י [my·net] (910) + כְּע֥וֹף [as·birds·of] (176) + הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם [heaven] (395) + אוֹרִידֵ֑ם [I·will·bring·them·down] (261) + אַיְסִירֵ֕ם [I·will·chastise·them] (321) + כְּשֵׁ֖מַע [as·report] (430) + לַעֲדָתָֽם [to·their·community] (544) = 4366.
Rashi
"As they shall go." To Egypt:
“I will spread My net over them, like a bird in the sky.” Just as the eagle and the falcon rise above a bird and bring it down to the ground, so too will I bring them down to Egypt through Nebuchadnezzar.
Their punishment is as it says, “I will bring upon them afflictions according to all that I have spoken to their community by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.” For they are destined to say to him, “Pray, I beg you, on our behalf... and let the Lord your God make known to us all that He will do to us, whether good or bad...” And He said to them, “If you set your faces to go to Egypt, then the sword from which you are afraid will overtake you there,” and so on with the entire matter.
“His fetters.” The term denotes suffering, and Menachem interprets it as meaning “bondage,” citing “I will break your bonds” (Jeremiah 30:8). But Donash interprets it as meaning “suffering,” akin to “to discipline you” (Leviticus 26:18). The second yod in *issiram* is added, just as it is added in *yeyashiru*, as in “Your eyelids shall look straight ahead” (Proverbs 4:25). Another interpretation is: like a bird of the sky caught in a net hung on the beams; and once they are in the net, the net is lowered.
Ibn Ezra
“Eisaram” – like “isram,” but it is from the additional construction (binyan hif'il), and they did not replace the yod with a vav, as in: “ve’afpecha yishiru negdecha” (“and your eyelids shall be straightened before you”), and it does not say “osisram” like “oshivem” (“I will seat them”) or “oridem” (“I will bring them down”). Rather, they maintained the word in its construction, whose root is y-s-r, or the future form “yisr.” And the meaning is: I will discipline those who go to Egypt; then they will become like a report to their community, who dwell in their land.
Radak
As it is said: “As a bird of the heavens, I will bring them down within the net.”
I will punish them according to the decree of their assembly. I will bring them under the dominion of the nations, just as I warned their assembly in the wilderness with the words of reproof and curses written in the Torah: if they do not heed the words of the Torah.
Metzudat David
"As they go." To Egypt and to Assyria, to seek help:
"I will spread [My net], etc." And they stumbled in it on the way as they went: meaning, that very journey would become for them a stumbling block.
“Like a bird,” etc. The manner of a bird caught in a net suspended from above is to fall and descend to the ground together with the net; therefore, He compared them to a bird and said, “I will bring them down to the land,” for they will be caught in the net and fall with it to the ground.
"Isirim." I will chastise them, as I heard from their tradition regarding the words of the oath written in the Torah:
Metzudat Zion
Their punishment. The word is related to the term "yissurim" (afflictions/punishments):
Malbim
As they went in the manner in which they went to Assyria, this was from the Lord, so that thereby "I will spread My net over them like a bird of the heavens, I will bring them down." In this, they are likened to a bird of the heavens, which it is impossible for the hunter’s hand to reach from the heights of the heavens; only when a net is spread over it does the bird descend into the net and is caught there. So too, it was not possible for the hand of the king of Assyria to reach them in Samaria, a fortified city. Yet they were seduced, like a dove seduced, to descend from their place into the net—that is, to go to the king of Assyria—and there they were caught in the net and imprisoned in a dungeon. And this was under the providence of the Lord, who led them astray. "Their imprisonment" is the measure of what is written: "When they hear, let them be imprisoned according to their congregation, and I will redeem them," meaning that even then they still had a remedy if they had heeded My reproof and My admonition. This is what is stated by "When they hear." That is to say, I thought that if they would heed reproof, then "their imprisonment according to their congregation" means that one says to them in this manner: "Speak reproof to them," namely, that I would say to them that they should see that...
Woe to them! for they have strayed from Me; Destruction to them! for they have transgressed against Me; Shall I then redeem them, Seeing they have spoken lies against Me?
verse value 1872
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 54 letters. Verse gematria: 1872 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "destruction" (שֹׁ֥ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "for·they·strayed" (כִּֽי־נָדְד֣וּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 75: to·them, to·them. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "woe! alas! oh!" (א֤וֹי), "for·they·strayed" (כִּֽי־נָדְד֣וּ), "destruction" (שֹׁ֥ד). The root הם appears 3 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·them" (root הם, 31x in Hosea); "against·me" (root על, 28x in Hosea). First appearance of the root פשע ("for·they·transgressed") in Hosea. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'against·Me', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 6 words. Full calculation: א֤וֹי [woe! alas! oh!] (17) + לָהֶם֙ [to·them] (75) + כִּֽי־נָדְד֣וּ [for·they·strayed] (94) + מִמֶּ֔נִּי [from·me] (140) + שֹׁ֥ד [destruction] (304) + לָהֶ֖ם [to·them] (75) + כִּי־פָ֣שְׁעוּ [for·they·transgressed] (486) + בִ֑י [against·Me] (12) + וְאָנֹכִ֣י [and·I] (87) + אֶפְדֵּ֔ם [I·will·ransom·them] (125) + וְהֵ֕מָּה [and·they] (56) + דִּבְּר֥וּ [spoke] (212) + עָלַ֖י [against·me] (110) + כְּזָבִֽים [lies] (79) = 1872.
Rashi
"And I will redeem them." I desired to redeem them from the evil in which they are.
"And they spoke lies against me." They said, "Jeremiah, you speak falsely; the Lord did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt.'" (Jeremiah 43:2)
Ibn Ezra
"Oy" – The reason for the word "wandered" is that they were fleeing, lest plunder come upon them.
"And I" – in My heart and in My thoughts, I intended to redeem them, whereas they were saying: "For all my heart is set on doing them harm."
Radak
"Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me"—from the service of My Sanctuary to the worship of the calves; and this is transgression and rebellion against Me.
"And I will redeem them." It was in My heart to redeem them from their distresses, but they spoke falsely against Me, as it is said, "And the children of Israel deceived," for they said that He does not know and does not watch over their deeds, whether they do good or evil. Therefore, I did not watch over them, and I hid My face from them, and it was to devour.
Metzudat David
They have wandered far from Me. They have wandered, meaning they have gone away from Me:
"Plunder for them." The plunderer shall come upon them, and he is Assyria.
"And I will redeem them." In My heart it was to redeem them from their distress, but they spoke falsehoods against Me, for they lied regarding My providence, as it is stated: "And the children of Israel did secretly things against the Lord their God..." (II Kings 17:9).
Metzudat Zion
"Naddeu." The matter of movement:
Shod. A matter of oppression and robbery:
Apdom. From the language of redemption:
Malbim
"Woe to them, because they have strayed from Me; thus I will punish them with My discipline, and yet I will redeem them." When they hear this discipline and return to Me through it, by setting their hearts to understand what sin brings about, through this I will redeem them immediately from the hand of the King of Assyria. But "they speak lies against Me"; they were not disciplined by this to heed the reproof, nor did they set their hearts to realize that the evil came upon them because they strayed from the Lord. Rather, they spoke lies concerning the Lord, denying Divine providence and punishment.
And they have not cried to Me with their heart, Though they wail upon their beds; They assemble themselves for corn and wine, they rebel against Me.
verse value 3567
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "though" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "upon·their·beds" (עַל־מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָ֑ם, 9 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "and·not·they·cried" (וְלֹא־זָעֲק֤וּ), "in·their·heart" (בְּלִבָּ֔ם), "they·wail" (יְיֵלִ֖ילוּ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "though" (root כי, 48x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·their·beds', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וְלֹא־זָעֲק֤וּ [and·not·they·cried] (220) + אֵלַי֙ [to·me] (41) + בְּלִבָּ֔ם [in·their·heart] (74) + כִּ֥י [though] (30) + יְיֵלִ֖ילוּ [they·wail] (96) + עַל־מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָ֑ם [upon·their·beds] (908) + עַל־דָּגָ֧ן [for·corn] (157) + וְתִיר֛וֹשׁ [wine] (922) + יִתְגּוֹרָ֖רוּ [they·assemble·themselves] (825) + יָס֥וּרוּ [they·will·turn·aside] (282) + בִֽי [against·Me] (12) = 3567.
Rashi
"When they shall wail upon their beds." For therefore shall wailing come upon them; so the Targum [translates it].
They shall be driven out. They have granaries of grain; therefore, they shall depart and rebel against Me:
Ibn Ezra
And not—the meaning is that when I would redeem them, they wailed upon their beds and said: “Woe to them for the evil that has befallen them!” They will not cry out to Me as a sick person cries out to the physician.
And the meaning of "upon grain and new wine they shall be gathered" is that they will assemble on that day to eat and drink, similar to the phrase "they were destroyed from the granaries."
"Yisuru bi" – They will speak evil against Me, and behold, at night they will not cry out to Me, and by day they rebel to speak falsehoods.
Radak
"And they did not cry out to Me with their heart." According to their thoughts, which they think that I do not hear their cry, and I do not know their good or their bad.
"When they shall wail upon their couches." When they are upon their beds, and they are thinking about the evil that will come upon them, they shall wail and weep over their dire circumstances, yet they do not consider that the evil comes from Me, because they have transgressed against Me.
“Upon grain and new wine they shall be gathered.” When grain or new wine comes into the city to be sold, all will gather around it because of the famine in the city; yet even so, they will depart from it.
They shall be gathered. The matter of gathering and joining is like [the verses]: “They shall surely gather” and “the mighty gather against me.”
Yisuru. From the verse "For a rebellious and defiant child" (Deuteronomy 21:18), which derives from two roots: *sur* and *sarar*. And the Targum translates [the phrase] "on grain and new wine" as "with abundant growth," etc.
Metzudat David
"When they wail." When they wail upon their beds, weeping and complaining about their troubles, then they do not cry out to Me in their hearts, for they deny Divine providence.
Regarding grain. On account of the deficiency of grain and new wine, they go wandering into other lands to dwell there, and they rebel and transgress against Me, for they say, "It is a mere chance occurrence, and the Lord did not bring all this about."
Metzudat Zion
They shall wail. From the word "lamentation."
On grain. For the sake of grain:
They shall sojourn. From the term for sojourning:
"Yisaru." The word derives from the root of "serirah" and "meridah," meaning rebellion and revolt.
Malbim
And they did not cry out to Me with their hearts; even at the time when they wail upon their beds, due to the multitude of their troubles, they are merely murmuring, but they do not cry out to the Lord to pray before Him. And even if they cry out to Him, it is not from their hearts, but only from the lips outward. Over grain and new wine they wander; they wander from place to place in order to obtain grain and new wine. And they shall rebel against Me; that is to say, they shall act as rebellious sons, like the stubborn and rebellious son who does not heed the voice of his father, and he is a glutton and a drunkard.
Though I have trained and strengthened their arms, Yet do they devise evil against Me.
verse value 2638
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "and·I" (וַאֲנִ֣י, 4 letters) and the longest is "they·devise·evil" (יְחַשְּׁבוּ־רָֽע, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "I·trained" (יִסַּ֔רְתִּי), "I·strengthened" (חִזַּ֖קְתִּי), "their·arms" (זְרוֹעֹתָ֑ם). 6 unique roots are used. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·arms', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַאֲנִ֣י [and·I] (67) + יִסַּ֔רְתִּי [I·trained] (680) + חִזַּ֖קְתִּי [I·strengthened] (525) + זְרוֹעֹתָ֑ם [their·arms] (723) + וְאֵלַ֖י [and·to·me] (47) + יְחַשְּׁבוּ־רָֽע [they·devise·evil] (596) = 2638.
Rashi
“And I disciplined them with a strong arm.” With My fear, through My prophets, to hearken to them in that which they discipline them, and their arms shall be strengthened.
Ibn Ezra
"And I disciplined" – The meaning is that I disciplined them not for their harm, but only to strengthen their arms, as it is said: "And I trained Ephraim."
Radak
"And I disciplined them." When they had good fortune and were strong against their enemies, it was I who disciplined them and strengthened their arms, yet they devised evil against Me, for they said that it was not from Me that their good or bad fortune came, but rather that it was merely chance.
"Yisarti." Like "musar" in the phrase "musar melekhem" (the discipline of kings), and "musarot" in the phrase "musarot erud" (the bonds of the strong), the matter is one of binding, and the bond is the strengthening of the thing. And Jonathan [the Aramaic translator] rendered it: "And as that which I bring, etc."
Metzudat David
"And I have disciplined them." And when I bound their arms to strengthen them well, behold, they thought evil against Me, saying, "It did not come from Him," and regarding both the bad and the good, they attribute them to chance.
Metzudat Zion
"Yasarti." The matter of binding, as in "for we will surely bind you" (Judges 15:13), and it is a matter of strength, for the binding of the thing is its strength.
Malbim
“And I have disciplined,”—what is the nature of the discipline that I imposed upon this rebellious and obstinate son? It was with the intention that I conceived, namely that thereby I would strengthen their arms, so that through this they would return in repentance, and I would strengthen their hand, as it is stated: “I will bind them to their people, and I will redeem them.” But they devise evil against Me, in that they think that I am acting with malice, and they do not consider that My intention is for their good.
They return, but not upwards; They are become like a deceitful bow; Their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue; This shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.
verse value 3856
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 57 letters. Notable word values: "this" (ז֥וֹ) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "they·will·return" (יָשׁ֣וּבוּ, 5 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Hosea. Unique to this verse in Hosea (hapax): "like·a·bow·of" (כְּקֶ֣שֶׁת), "laxness" (רְמִיָּ֔ה), "their·princes" (שָׂרֵיהֶ֖ם). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 49x in Hosea); "upward" (root על, 28x in Hosea); "were" (root היה, 28x in Hosea). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'their·tongue', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 4 words.
Rashi
"They shall return, not in vain." They returned to Egypt, but it did not benefit them; therefore, the letter ayin in "al" is dotted with a qamats, like in (2 Samuel 23:1) "the man who was exalted," where "al" denotes exaltation and is not attached to the following word.
They were like a deceitful bow. When He desired to shoot an arrow at the north, He would shoot toward the south.
"Their princes shall fall by the sword." Johanan son of Kareah (Jeremiah 43:4), and all the soldiers who returned to Egypt.
“From the anger of their tongue.” A harsh expression with which they responded to Jeremiah:
This is their mockery. For they mocked them in the land of Egypt, saying, “Why have you come to us, that we should dwell here, to bring calamity upon us?” And is it not written, “You shall not see them again” (Exodus 14:13)?
Ibn Ezra
"They shall return" – the meaning is that they shall return to Egypt, not out of necessity, but only to inform against their leaders; and this is the meaning of "they were like a deceitful bow," and the proof is "from the anger of their tongue."
"This is their mockery" – The interpretation that seems most plausible to me is that the final mem serves as a marker indicating "men of the tongue."
Radak
They will return not upon. It is with a qamats, like “was established upon”; therefore it is an adjective, like “Supreme,” and its interpretation is: when distress comes upon them, they will return to cry out to the idolatrous nations, “Not to You, for I am Supreme over all.”
They were like a deceitful bow. This is a description or a name, and it refers to the matter of deceit. That is to say, the bow that deceives, which will deceive the archer who draws it: he will shoot in one direction, and then immediately turn his hand to shoot in another direction. The deceit is attributed to the bow, even though it is the archer who performs the deceit, since he is the one performing the action, even if he does so through another agent. Similarly, the Children of Israel at times would return to the good path, and in an instant they would return to the evil path. Thus, they are like the bow, by way of analogy, and the false prophets are like the archer, by way of analogy, for it was through them that they returned to the evil path. For thus we see in the matter of Elijah: after he performed the true test, all the people said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” And yet, they almost returned to serving the Baals and the calves.
"And their princes shall fall by the sword because of the wrath of their tongue." Their princes: those who lead them in an evil path and say to them, "When the enemy comes upon us, let us go to Egypt and seek their help." And this is "the wrath of their tongue": that they are angry with God through these words, and what will come to them?
“They shall fall by the sword.” On the road, and this journeying is a mockery to them in the land of Egypt, for they mock and jest when they come to seek help from them. And so it is stated in the prophecy of Isaiah: “The burden concerning the beasts of the Negeb,” etc., “Lions, both young and old, among them,” etc. From them the wild beasts ate, and from them they fell by the sword of the enemy.
This [verse] is [written] with a cholam, and likewise [the verse] “and My assembly” is [written] with a cholam, and it is like “this.”
Metzudat David
They will return not to the Lord. This refers to those who do not position themselves against the Supreme, Blessed be He, but rather against chance; and they are like a deceitful bow that does not shoot the arrow toward the place to which it was initially aimed, but rather in the opposite direction. So too, they do not attribute matters to Divine Providence, for suddenly they turn away from it and deny it, attributing everything to chance.
They shall fall. Therefore, their princes shall fall by the sword of the enemy:
“From the anger of their tongue.” This means: because of what they speak with their tongue—words that are an abomination to the Lord—since they deny, saying, “The Lord does not observe.”
"This is their mockery." With this measure they were seized while they were still in the land of Egypt, for even then they were as if they mocked the true faith, since they denied Divine providence.
Metzudat Zion
"Al" – from the term "elyon" (the Most High); and similarly, "hukam al" (raised on high) (II Samuel 23:1).
As a deceitful bow. This means a deceitful man, for the way of the deceitful hunter is to turn his bow to another side so that the beast will not flee, and suddenly he turns it toward the beast and shoots at it.
From anger. It refers to wrath and fury.
Malbim
“they shall not return to Egypt” — they shall return from the net (mentioned above: “I will spread My net over them like a bird in the sky; I will bring them down”). But this bird, after it returns from the net, shall not return “to Egypt,” i.e., to fly upward; rather, it shall go from this net to another net. For indeed they fled from the net of Egypt to the net of Assyria. “They were like a deceitful bow; their princes shall fall by the sword because of the arrogance of their tongue.” The grammatical construction is: “Their princes were like a deceitful bow.” And this refers to the princes who went to the king of Assyria and slandered Hoshea son of Elah, who had rebelled against him and sent a gift to So, king of Egypt. They thought that by this they would shoot the arrow of their bow at Hoshea. But afterward the king of Assyria besieged Samaria and killed them. And thus they were compared to a deceitful bow, for whoever shoots an arrow with it, the arrow returns to the heart of the shooter. Likewise, the arrows of their tongue returned to their own hearts. And this means: their princes, who shot arrows with the arrogance of their tongue through the slander they spoke about their king, they themselves shall fall by the sword at the hands of the king of Assyria. And thus they were compared to a deceitful bow. “This is their scorn in the land of Egypt” — just as they were mocked in Egypt, so too were they mocked with that same mockery in Egypt, for there they were mocked, saying that they were like a deceitful bow.
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Metzudat Zion
Malbim