Глава 2

1–15. The crimes of Israel and its punishment for them. 16–19. Israel's future repentance. 20–23. Restoring the people's union with God. Os.2:1. Say to your brothers, “My people,” and to your sisters, “She has mercy.” Art. 1 in its content refers to the end of the previous chapter and contains the comforting promise that God’s mercy will be returned to Israel. “Speak” ... the prophet contemplates the people who have been pardoned by God and demands from its members that they address each other with new names (ammi - My people, ruchamah - “She who has been pardoned”), which are given to them by God. Contained at the end of Chapter 1. ( Hos. 1:10, 11 ) and at the beginning of Hos. 2, the prophet’s foreshadowing of the impending change in the fate of Israel was partly fulfilled in the fact of the return from Babylonian captivity, when, under the leadership of David’s descendant Zerubbabel, the remnants of the ten-tribe kingdom united with Judah. But the gaze of the prophet, obviously, penetrates in the verses under consideration into the more distant future, and here it is the prophet who awaits the fulfillment of his predictions. The number of the sons of Israel became like the sand of the sea only when Israel appeared in spirit, when all those who believed in Christ began to join the Church of Christ. The words of the prophet: where they said to them: “you are not my people,” they will say to them: “you are the sons of the living God” was fully realized only when the pagans also became sons of God through joining the Church. Therefore Ap. Peter (1 Pet 2.10) and Paul (Rom 9.26) and cite the words of the prophet Hosea (Hosea 1.10) as a prophecy about the calling of the pagans to sonship with God in Christ. Os.2:2. Sue your mother, sue; for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband; let her put away fornication from her face and adultery from her breasts, Verse 2 begins the denunciation of Israel's crimes. As can be seen from Hos.2:3, 6, 8, the speech is conducted on behalf of Jehovah, and not on behalf of the prophet. "Sue your mother." The prophet represents, under the image of the mother, the whole society of Israel, in relation to which the individual members are children. The prophet's call is addressed to those members who, while an entire nation deviated into idolatry, remained faithful to Jehovah. “Law”, that is, protest, resist wickedness in order to prevent punishment. By repeating the call twice (“sue, sue”), the prophet demonstrates the persistence of this call and the need to quickly follow it. Let her remove fornication from her face: the appeal also applies to Gomer, who obviously violated the marriage covenant with the prophet, and to Israel, who desecrated the covenant with Jehovah. In relation to Israel, fornication is deviation into the service of the Baals. In Greek and glory t. instead led. incl. “let... delete” reads future. vr. and “I will reject.” Hos.2:3. lest I strip her naked and expose her, as on the day of her birth, make her a wilderness, turn her into dry ground, and kill her with thirst. The husband can take away all the gifts from a cheating wife and, as it were, strip her naked. Likewise, Jehovah will deprive an unfaithful people of all his gifts. Israel will again reach the sad situation in which it was “on its birthday” - that is, on the eve of its political independence, during its stay in Egypt (Blessed Theodoret) and at the exodus from Egypt; will become like “a desert and dry land,” that is, it will be deprived of necessary food. The prophet is no doubt referring to the times of captivity. Hos.2:4. And I will not have mercy on her children, because they are children of fornication. Punishment will befall both the whole society ("mother") and individual members ("children"). These children are “children of wickedness,” that is, as St. Ephraim, together with his mother, became mired in her bad deeds. Hos.2:5. For their mother committed fornication and disgraced herself when she conceived them; for she said: “I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and flax, oil and drinks.” The reason for the deviation of mother Israel into fornication (idolatry) lies in the false thought that idols (lovers) give her food, clothing, and everything she needs. Instead of the words “wool and flax” in Slav. from Greek “My vestments and my shrouds.” Hos.2:6. Therefore, behold, I will block her path with thorns and surround her with a fence, and she will not find her paths, “For this” - for deviating into idolatry - “I will block her path with thorns”: an image of the oppression and deprivation that Israel will experience in captivity and which will force it to abandon idolatry (not to find its lovers). Hos.2:7. and he will pursue his lovers, but will not overtake them, and will seek them, but will not find them, and will say: “I will go and return to my first husband; for then it was better for me than now.” “And he will pursue his lovers, but will not overtake them.” The prophet expresses the idea that Israel will zealously serve idols, but will not receive the expected salvation from them. This will make him change his mind (and say) and return to his first husband, i.e., to Jehovah. Hos.2:8. But she did not know that I, I gave her bread and wine and oil and multiplied her silver and gold, from which they made the image of Baal. “They made an image of Baal”, Heb. asu labbaal: ch. asah with the preposition means to do something (Isaiah 1.17) and to use for something (2 Chronicles 24.7). In Art. 8 better understand Ch. asah in the latter meaning. Thus, the prophet denounces Israel for using the silver and gold received from Jehovah to support the cult of the Baals. By the name of Baal, the prophet means all idols, including the golden calves, which in 1 Kings 14.9 are placed along with idols. Os.2:10. And now I will reveal her shame before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will snatch her out of My hand. “Before the eyes of lovers,” that is, before idols who will not help Israel on the day of judgment against them. Os.2:11. And I will put an end to all her merriment, her festivals and her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemnities. The people are threatened with deprivation of holidays that were days of joy. “Her feasts”: probably here we mean the annual holidays - Easter, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Os.2:12. And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she says, “These are the gifts that my lovers gave me.” and I will turn them into a forest, and the beasts of the field will eat them. The words of the prophet can be understood directly about the devastation of gardens and vineyards. But in addition, the grapevine and fig tree among the Old Testament writers are images in general of all the good things sent by God (cf. 1 Kings 4.25; Isaiah 36.16; Joel 2.22). The Prophet threatens to take away these benefits. “My lovers” - that is, idols. Instead of the words and “I will turn them into forest” (lejaar) into slav. “and I will put it in evidence” είς μαρτύριον; obviously, instead of LXX jaar (forest) they read ed (testimony), similar in style. The final words of glory. t. ("both the birds of the air and the creeping things on the earth") are not found either in the original or in translations other than Greek. They probably represent a gloss taken from Hos. 2.18 and inserted into the text from the margins. Os.2:13. And I will punish her for the days of serving the Baals, when she burned incense to them and, adorning herself with earrings and necklaces, went after her lovers, but forgot Me, says the Lord. “And I will punish her for the days of serving the Baals.” At different times and places Baal was worshiped under different forms. The Bible mentions the Baal of the Covenant, baal-berith (Judges 8:33, 9.4), Baal of the flies baal-zevuv (2 Kings 1.2–3), Baal-Peor (baal-peor; Hos 9.10). That is why the prophet uses the plural name of Baal in Hosea 2. number. - Slav. text "useryazi" heb. nesem gr. ενώτια a ring of gold or ivory, which was hung from the nostrils or ears (Gen. 35.4; Ezek. 16.12); "monista", Heb. сhali καθόρμια, neck decoration made of precious stones (Proverbs 25.12; Song 2.1, 7.2). Os.2:14. Therefore, behold, I will draw her away, I will bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak to her heart. The prophet's speech in v. 14–15 is entirely figurative in nature. Therefore, it is not easy to establish its exact meaning. The ancient and modern commentators of Art. 14–15 are understood both as a comforting promise (in bono sensu) and as a threat (in malo sensu). According to the translation of LXX (word: “I will seduce you and make you like a desert”) and according to the explanation of the blessed. Theodoret, in Art. 14 the prophet speaks of captivity, when, having become a captive, the prodigal wife will wander and lose all her blessings (also Gitzig, Ewald). According to the interpretation of blessed. Jerome, the Lord will caress the land of Israel and bring it out of its evils (“I will bring it into the wilderness”). Most commentators understand the words of the prophet in the latter sense, that is, in the sense of a comforting promise. The Prophet likens the future salvation of the people to their miraculous exodus from Egypt and borrows his images from the events of this period. “I will bring her into the desert” ... the prophet means the Arabian desert, where, after leaving Egypt, Israel was raised into the people of God and where the mercies of the Lord were poured out on them. “And I will speak to her heart,” that is, to comfort (cf. Gen. 34.8; Judges 19:3; Is. 40.1–2). Instead of “I will entice her” into glory: “I will seduce you.” LXX understood the verb. patach (to persuade, to seduce) in malo sensu. Os.2:15. And from there I will give her her vineyards and the valley of Achor as a threshold of hope; and she will sing there as in the days of her youth and as in the day of her coming out of the land of Egypt. And I will give her her vineyards from there (mischscham). The vine is an image of blessings sent from God. The prophet wants to say that just as Israel once passed through the desert and entered the land of vineyards, so in the future they will take advantage of precious blessings. "And the valley of Achor as a threshold of hope". The image is borrowed from the time of the Jews' entry into the land of Canaan. Valley of Achor - (Hebrew achor - confusion) a valley located on the northern border of the tribe of Judah, near Jericho (Joshua 15.7). Here the judgment of God was fulfilled on Achan, who hid part of the accursed (Joshua 7.1). After this judgment, the wrath of God turned away from Israel. Thus, the valley of Achor was a monument to how the Lord, after cleansing the guilt of the people through punishing the criminal, again returned His mercy to society (Brodovich). This return of God's mercy to Israel, according to the prophet, will be repeated in the future. “And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,” that is, sing a song of thanksgiving for salvation. The prophet obviously remembers the song sung during the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15.1) and takes his image from here. In glory instead of the words and I will give her vineyards from there (et keramajha) it reads - “and I will give her attraction (κτήματα) from there”: LXX often put the general instead of the specific. Instead of the words “and she will sing (veanethah) there” in glory. from Greek “and he will humble himself (ταπεινωθήσεται) there.” Ch. anah has several meanings: to answer, to sing, to humble oneself. In the meaning of singing, answering, ch. in most ancient translations (Ak. υπακούσει, Feod. άποκριθήσεται, Vul. canet). Hosea 2:16 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call Me, “My husband,” and shalt call Me no more, “Baali.” Os.2:17. And I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and their names will be remembered no more. "Vaali" - "My lord." The prophet foreshadows the restoration of Israel's marriage relationship with Jehovah, that is, the restoration of the Covenant. The name of Baal in v. 16, apparently, is used in its common meaning - master, since it is compared with naritsat. my husband. The prophet wants to express the idea that when Israel's marital relationship with Jehovah is restored to purity, the basis of this relationship will be not so much fear (“you will no longer call me: my Lord”), but rather love (“my husband”). If we take the name of Baal in its own meaning, then the prophet’s thought will be this: the people will not only stop calling Jehovah Baal - and thus confuse them, introducing pagan admixtures into the service of Jehovah - but will also completely forget the name of Baal. Os.2:18. And at that time I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the birds of the air and with the creatures that creep on the earth; I will destroy bow and sword and war from the land, and let them live in safety. The Lord's mercy towards the people will be expressed in the fact that the Lord will, as it were, enter into an alliance with the animals in favor of Israel (cf. Isa 2.4, 35.9; Zech 9.10). At the same time, Jehovah will secure Israel from the people side, since the weapons of war and war itself will be abolished. Os.2:19. And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and judgment, in kindness and mercy. Os.2:20. And I will betroth you to Me in fidelity, and you will know the Lord. “And I will betroth you.” Ch. aras – betrothal is used about betrothal to a maiden (Deut. 20.7, 28.30). Thus, the prophet expresses the idea that Israel will enter into a new marriage union with Jehovah as a chaste virgin, that is, Israel’s sinful past will, by the grace of God, be forgotten. By repeating the words hoop three times, the prophet aims to assure of the inevitable fulfillment of the great promise. Characterizing the new marriage union of Israel with Jehovah, the prophet says that its basis will be truth and judgment (“I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and judgment”), that is, the righteousness of God and His Justice, which cleansed from all that is bad, goodness and mercy (glory: “in mercy and in bounty”). The guarantee of the indissolubility of the union will be the “faithfulness” (emunath) of God, that is, firmness, immutability. The consequence of the restoration of the covenant will be that Israel will know (vejadath) the Lord; euro Ch. jadah expresses the idea not of only theoretical knowledge of God, but of inner unity with him in love. Os.2:21. And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, says the Lord; I will hear the heavens, and they will hear the earth, Os.2:22. and the earth will hear bread and wine and oil; and these shall hear Jezreel. In a number of images, the prophet expresses the idea that Jehovah will hear every request of the pardoned people, and nature, which is in the “hand of God,” will serve the welfare of Israel. There will be complete harmony in the world. “These shall hear Jezreel,” that is, Israel. The prophet calls Israel by the symbolic name Jezreel, meaning the meaning of the last name - “God will sow.” Os.2:23. And I will sow it for Myself on the earth, and I will have mercy on the Unmercied One, and I will say to my people, “You are My people,” and they will say, “You are my God!” During the blessing of Israel, the ominous names of the sons of the prophet - Jezreel, Loruham and Loammi - will be changed into evangelizing names. The prophet’s train of thought and the expressions he chose show that in his comforting promise he means not only the immediate future - liberation from captivity, but also the distant future, which comes with the coming of the Messiah. End of Chapter II represents the revelation of the Messianic promise of Hos. 1.10 and Hos. 2.1, and vv. 23 in the New Testament (1 Pet 2.10; Rom 9.25) is interpreted as a foreshadowing of the calling of the pagans to sonship with God in Christ. You might be interested in: