Глава 12

1–2. Israel's false policy. 3–4. Memories of the forefather Jacob. 5–14. Exposing the ingratitude of Israel and announcing punishment for it. Os.12:1. Ephraim feeds the wind and chases the east wind, every day he multiplies lies and ruin; They make an alliance with Asshur, and oil is transported to Egypt. Ch. XII-XIV constitutes a new section of the prophet’s speeches. In them, Hosea denounces the people for wickedness and idolatry and announces the onset of punishment. The image of the wind (kadim - east wind) - which Ephraim is chasing, in v. 1 means that Ephraim is pursuing unattainable goals. In this case, the prophet actually means the conclusion of alliances with foreigners, from whom Israel waits in vain for help. - Instead of the words “the wind grazes” in glory. “evil spirit”, since LXX words. roch (“grazes”) was read as raa (from ra – thin, evil). The words “multiplies lies and ruin” (schod) into glory. rendered: “vain and vain multiply” LXX schod, apparently read as schav (lie, vanity). Hos.12:2. But the Lord also has judgment with Judah, and He will visit Jacob according to his ways and reward him according to his deeds. In Art. 2 the prophet remembers Judas, who also faces punishment. “He will visit Jacob”: by law the prophet means the ten-tribe kingdom, and by visiting Judah he means the future punishment of the Jews. – Mention of Judas in v. The third seems to the newest commentators (Novak, Goonaker) to disrupt the flow of prophetic speech, the subject of which is Israel. Therefore, it is assumed that the name of Judah was put by later scribes instead of the name of Israel. Hos.12:3. Even in his mother’s womb he kicked his brother, and when he grew up he fought with God. Hos.12:4. He fought with the Angel - and prevailed; wept and begged Him; in Bethel He found us and spoke to us there. In Art. 4–5 the prophet remembers Jacob, by whose name he is in v. 3 called the people. The prophet's mention of the forefather of the Jewish people is understood differently. According to some commentators (Umbreit, Hitzig, Novak), the prophet wants to say that from the very beginning, even in the person of his ancestor, who kicked his brother and fought with God, Israel showed deception and violence (Gen. 25.26, 32.25–29). But the prophet could not consider Jacob’s crying and supplication (“he cried and begged Him”) as an expression of cunning or violence on the part of Jacob. Therefore, other interpreters understand the prophet’s mention of Jacob in a different sense, namely in the fact that with his desire for the birthright and to receive the blessing of God through this, and his struggle with God, in which Jacob won through crying and prayer, “the forefather left an example of imitation and a guarantee of salvation for those who bear his name” (Brodovich). Instead of the words “having matured” (beono - in a fortress, having attained strength), “he fought with God” in glory: “his labors strengthened him towards God”; euro sarah to fight, compete (Genesis 32.28) LXX translated through ενίσχυσε - came into strength, strengthened. He fought with an Angel - precisely with the Angel of Jehovah, who is none other than God himself or the divine Logos in his Old Testament action (A. Glagolev, Old Testament Biblical Teaching about Angels K. 1900). “He cried and begged Him” (in the glory. “Mi”): it is believed that the prophet here fills in the narrative of the book. Genesis (Genesis 32.24–29) based on the words of the Genesis writer himself: Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” He found us in Bethel and spoke to us there. We are talking about the patriarch Jacob, but Jacob is seen as the bearer of the entire Israeli people; That’s why the prophet uses the 1st person pronoun, plural. h. ("us", with us). The prophet’s thought is that the promises given to Jacob at Bethel, upon his return from Mesopotamia, also belong to the people of Israel. - LXX understood the words of the prophet directly about the people and therefore translated: “in his house (in Bethel) I found Me.” – One of the new commentators (Goonaker) believes Art. 3–4 a popular song, which speaks of the glory of Israel and which the prophet puts into the mouth of the people. The following words are the prophet’s answer to this song. Hos.12:5. And the Lord is the God of hosts; Jehovah is His name. In Art. 5 the prophet substantiates the thought expressed at the end of the previous verse. The promises made at Bethel belong to the seed of Jacob, because the Lord is God almighty, unchangeable. “God of Hosts” (zabah, militia, army.) – Lord of the armies of heaven (Gen. 32.2), the luminaries (Is. 40.26; Ps. 102.21, 148.2), and the armies of the earth (Is. 24.21–23, 27.1; Ex. 7.4, 7.41): a name expressing an idea the omnipotence of God. - “Instead of words, Jehovah (Jehovah) is His name” in glory. “His memory will be”, since LXX instead of the name of God they read ch. Ihjeh (will be), and sl. sichro (his name) was taken in the literal meaning - “memory”. Hos.12:6. Turn also to your God; observe mercy and judgment and trust in your God always. Advice to Israel. “Watch (slav. “supply”) mercy and judgment” – chesed – love, misihpat – justice. Instead of the words “trust in God” in glory. “come closer to God.” Hos.12:7. The Canaanite with a false balance in his hand loves to offend; Hos.12:8. and Ephraim says: “However, I became rich; I have accumulated property for myself, although in all my labors they will not find anything illegal that would be a sin.” According to the prophet, Israel, instead of being the people of God, became a Canaanite - a merchant who set himself the goal of enrichment and profit through deception and violence. Moreover, Israel’s blindness is so great that it does not see anything illegal or sinful in acquiring property through deception (cf. Lev. 19:36; Deut. 25.18–16). Canaanite - from Heb. Canaan (as in Slav.): as a proper name - the word Canaan is used in the Bible to designate a country (Exodus 15.15; Numbers 13.29) and to designate a people; due to the fact that the inhabitants of Canaan, namely the Phoenicians, were mainly engaged in trade, the word Canaan received the meaning of a common noun - merchant, trader (Isa 23.8; Zeph 1.11), Instead of the words “accumulated property for himself” (on) in glory. “gained coolness”: LXX produced on, as suggested (Schleisner) from Arabic. root and translated through αναψυχή. End of Art. LXX was translated into the 3rd person. Hos.12:9. And I, the Lord your God, from the very land of Egypt, will again make you dwell in booths, as in the days of the festival. Israel was proud that he had become rich through his labor. But in reality, the Lord, from the time of the exodus from Egypt, is the only source of Israel’s prosperity. And because the people have forgotten this, they will be punished. “I will make you dwell in booths as in the days of the festival.” It is not entirely clear whether the prophet’s words contain threat or consolation. The prophet appears to be speaking of the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Israelites were to live in booths in remembrance of God having made them live in booths after being brought out of Egypt (Lev. 23:42–43). Staying in the Tabernacles, i.e. reminded the people both of the difficult journey through the desert and of the beneficent miraculous leadership of God. Therefore, in Art. 9 figurative expression can be understood in the sense that the people will suffer divine punishment, they will again, as it were, be taken into the desert, but their hope for divine guidance will not be taken away (Brodovich). Os.12:10. I spoke to the prophets, and multiplied the visions, and through the prophets used parables. The prophet reveals the idea that the Lord is Israel's benefactor. Instead of the words “through the prophets he used parables,” bejad hannebiim adammeh in glory. “in the hands of the prophets we became like”; LXX translated the text literally. Goonaker, respectively Os 4.6, 6.15 in adammeh sees ch. daman destroy, destroy and translates: through the prophets (messengers of the will of God) I will destroy them. Os.12:11. If Gilead became Aven, then they became vain, they slaughtered bulls in Gilgal, and their altars stood like heaps of stones on the boundaries of the field. Art. 11 is quite difficult to understand. Apparently, this is the prophet’s thought. The Lord admonished Israel through the prophets, but Israel remained deaf to the words of God and shied away from serving Jehovah both in Gilead (eastern Jordanian part) and in Gilgal (western Jordanian part). “If Gilead became aven, then they became vain” (schave): more precisely from Hebrew. – “If Gilead was worthless (aven), then they were nothing”; schave, apparently used about insignificance in the sense of physical destruction, which, i.e. the prophet threatens Israel. – LXX instead of aven (nonentity) we read ain (no); from here to glory t.: “unless there is Gilead.” - “They slaughtered bulls in Gilgal” (schevanm sibbechu). The Prophet denounces Israel not for slaughtering the bulls, but for sacrificing in an illegal place, which was to be served only by Jerusalem (cf. Hos 4.15, 9.15). Instead of the words "in Gilgal" LXX read έν Γαλααδ, in Gilead. Instead of schevarim (calves), the LXX read sarim (princes) and connected the sentence with the previous one; from here to glory: “because there was a lie in Gilgal, princes were required to lay treasures.” Vulgate. the last words read: bobus immolantes, offering sacrifices to calves. Due to differences in translations, some commentators suggest instead of schevarim sedim, demons (“sacrifice to demons”). “Their altars stood like heaps of stones on the borders of a field.” Altars are compared to those heaps (gallim) that are made up of stones dug up during the cultivation of the earth. The prophet's speech, containing a play on words (galgal will turn into gallim), refers to the future and contains a threat of the destruction of the altars of Israel: LXX the word gallim was translated χελώναι, turtles; from here to slav.: “Like jelly on the whole earth, flatter.” Os.12:12. Jacob fled to the fields of Syria, and Israel served for a wife, and kept sheep for a wife. Os.12:13. Through the prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and through the prophet He protected it. The prophet again turns to past times. The meaning of the speech in Art. 12–13 are understood differently. According to some interpreters (Ewald), the prophet demonstrates the Lord’s protective attitude both towards the forefather of the Israeli people (v. 12) and towards Israel itself. According to others (Brodovich), the prophet contrasts the fate of the forefather of Israel with the fate of Israel itself: Jacob had to flee to a foreign country and, like a slave, guard the sheep; but his descendants were miraculously brought out of Egypt and protected by God through the prophets. With this contrast, Hosea points to God's love for Israel in order to emphasize the latter's ingratitude. You might be interested in: