Глава 4

1–4. The corruption of Israel. 5–10. The upcoming judgment of the nations. 11–14. The fornication of the people is carnal (debauchery) and spiritual (serving idols). 15–19. An admonition to Judah and the coming destruction of Israel. Os.4:1. Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel; for the Lord has judgment with the inhabitants of this land, because there is neither truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God on earth. The prophet’s speech is addressed to “the sons of Israel,” or to the inhabitants of the ten-tribe kingdom. The prophet announces the judgment of the Lord with the inhabitants of this kingdom ("this land"). The judgment is caused by the fact that in the land there is “no truth” (emeth), that is, sincerity in words and actions, “no mercy” (chesed) towards the poor and unfortunate, “no knowledge of God” (daath Bohim, glorious knowledge of God). The prophet Hosea understands knowledge of God not in the sense of only theoretical knowledge about the essence of God and His properties (because there was such knowledge of God), but in the sense of comprehension of God and inner unity with Him in love. The lack of such knowledge of God is the reason for the lack of truth and mercy and the spread of those crimes that the prophet further denounces. Hos.4:2. Swearing and deceit, murder and theft, and adultery have become extremely widespread, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Wed. Os 4.18, 6.9, 7.1–2. “Oath”, i.e. a false oath. Hos.4:3. For this reason this land will mourn, and all who live on it will faint, including the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea will perish. The prophet announces the coming punishment for the people. Not only people, but also animals will be subject to this punishment. “They will become exhausted,” that is, they will perish. The punishment will be that the land of Israel will be devastated, with the death of both people and animals. The cause of this devastation, obviously, will be the invasion of enemies and specifically the Assyrians, who subsequently destroyed the kingdom of Israel. Words of glory. text: “and with the creeping things of the earth” have no correspondence for themselves either in the original or in ancient translations. This is probably an addition that appeared initially in the margins (cf. Hos 2.18) and was then introduced into the text. Hos.4:4. But no one argues, no one denounces the other; and your people are like those arguing with a priest. The meaning of the verse is not clear and has been interpreted differently. Apparently in Art. 4 the prophet forbids Israel to contradict the verdict announced above. Since the Israelites were inclined to justify themselves and consider the punishment undeserved, the prophet warns them, saying: “do not argue with anyone.” “And your people are like those arguing with a priest.” “Your people” are the ten-tribe people of Israel, conceived as individuals. The priest, according to the Law of Moses, was the judge of the people, making final decisions. Anyone who does not obey the decision of the priest’s court according to the law is subject to the death penalty (Deut. 17.8–13). And Israel, rebelling against the decrees of God, is likened to those impudent people who argue against the decisions of the priest, and deserve the punishment assigned to them. Expression of glory. The text “like a prophesied priest”, which does not give the exact meaning, is a translation from Greek. In Greek text., probably, instead of the current ώς αντιλεγόμενος ιερεύς it was previously read ώς´ αντ. ιερεύσι, 2so priest ami." Hos.4:5. And you will fall by day, and the prophet will fall with you by night, and I will destroy your mother. Death will occur day and night. The people will fall (“you too will fall”), and the prophets will fall with the people—of course, false prophets who led the people into sin. “I will destroy your mother” is a figurative expression in which the destruction of the kingdom and people is foreshadowed; mother - people or kingdom. Instead of the last expression in glory. The text reads: “I have likened the night” (Heb. vedamithi – ωμοΐωσα) “to your mother.” The reading, which does not give a clear meaning, arose because the LXX adopted Heb. the verb damah means “to be like,” while the verb also has another meaning, more appropriate to the context of the given place, namely, to cease, stop, stop, destroy. Hos.4:6. My people will be destroyed for lack of knowledge: since you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from serving as a priest before Me; and just as you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. According to Art. On the 6th, destruction will befall the people for lack of knowledge about God and for their unwillingness to draw this knowledge from the source of divine knowledge - the law, for rejecting the law. Instead of Russian My people will be destroyed in glory. reads: “becoming like My people.” The latter reading arose because the LXX erroneously Heb. Ch. nidmu was produced as in Art. 5, from the root damah meaning to become like. Hos.4:7. The more they multiply, the more they sin against Me; I will turn their glory into dishonor. The more the people of Israel increased in number, the more their sins increased in number. For this, his glory, based on his numbers, will be taken away from him and turn into disgrace. Hos.4:8. They feed on the sins of My people, and their soul strives for their iniquity. Hos.4:9. And whatever happens to the people, so will it to the priest; And I will punish him according to his ways, and reward him according to his deeds. The prophet's speech in v. 8 refers to the priests “they feed on the sins of My people,” i.e. feed on sacrifices for the sins of the people (Lev.6:26, 10.17). Therefore, they desire an increase in the number of sins, since along with this the number of sacrifices for sins increases. But since the priests do not differ in their lives from the people, they will suffer the same punishment as the people. Os.4:10. They will eat and not be satisfied; They will fornicate and not multiply; for they have abandoned the service of the Lord. For leaving the service of Jehovah, the priests will not satisfy their greed, and the people will not multiply. Instead of the last expression in glory. The text reads: “and they will not be corrected.” Apparently, LXX instead of Heb. iprozu (paraz to multiply) read itrzu (from taraz - to correct, -sya). Hos.4:11. Fornication, wine and drink took possession of their hearts. Hos.4:12. My people question their tree and their rod gives them the answer; for the spirit of fornication led them astray, and by committing fornication they departed from their God. Indulging in sensual pleasures, the people at the same time engaged in meaningless sorcery. “He asks his tree,” that is, he asks idols made of wood, or, in particular, teraphim, who have acquired the power to predict the future (Hosea 3.4; Zech 10.2). The reading of the glory: “I asked the question in the banner” arose from the erroneous Greek. In the words: “His rod gives him the answer,” the prophet means that method of fortune telling about the future, which is called rhabdomancy and wand divination. Fortune telling by means of a rod was common among many ancient peoples and took various forms. Pagan fortune-telling was combined with the service of pagan gods, which service the prophet calls in Art. 12 fornication. Os.4:13. On the tops of the mountains they offer sacrifices and on the hills they burn incense under the oak and poplar and terebinth, because the shade from them is good; therefore your daughters commit adultery and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. The tops of mountains, hills, and the shade of large trees were favorite places for pagan idolatry (cf. Num 33.52; Deut. 12.12; Isa. 15.2, 14.13, etc.). Slav.: “and under the oil” corresponds to Hebrew. libneh, Greek λεύκη (LXX) white poplar, πεύκη (Sim. Feod.), pine. In the kingdom of Israel, the cult of Astarte prevailed, combined with debauchery, to which the “daughters” and “daughters-in-law” indulged. Hos.4:14. I will leave you to punish your daughters when they commit fornication, and your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because you yourselves are on the side of harlots and offer sacrifices with fornicators, and the ignorant people are perishing. According to the prophet, the Lord will leave daughters-in-law and daughters without punishment (glory: “and I will not sit”), because fathers, who bear the main responsibility for children, are even worse than them in terms of debauchery. Obliged by law to come to the sanctuary with their wives for sacrifice, they brought harlots with them. The end of Art. differs from the reading of the Russian text. in glory the text: “and men who understand entangle themselves with a harlot” is an exact translation from the Greek. ( ό λάως ύ συνιών συνεπλέκετο μετά πήρνης ). The reading about συνιών (meaningful) occurred through an error in the Greek. from the original ού συνιών as in the comment. Ephraim the Syrian and in several codes. at Noam. Reading σονεπλ. μετά πόρνης arose, as is supposed, from a misunderstanding of Heb. Ch. Labat (to fall, go to destruction), adopted by the LXX in the sense of connecting, copulating, and from transferring from the trace. verse of the words im soneh ("if you commit fornication"), understood in the sense of im sonah, with a harlot. Os.4:15. If you, Israel, commit fornication, then let Judas not sin; and do not go to Gilgal, and do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear, “As the Lord lives!” The prophet admonishes Judah - (the kingdom of Judah) not to take part in the idolatry and debauchery of the Israelites. "Do not go to Gilgal". Galgals (wheel, circle) were originally called special monuments that consisted of a group of large stones placed in a circle. Subsequently, the word became the name of localities, which were marked by the names of several such localities (Joshua 4.19, 12.23; Deut. 11.30). According to most interpreters, the prophet Hosea in the verse in question refers to Gilgal, located between the Jordan and Jericho on the site of the Jeljul hill. This Gilgala was full of sacred memories: here Joshua erected a monument to the miraculous crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 4.1), a temporary tabernacle stood (Joshua 6.1), the circumcision of the people was performed and the first Passover was celebrated in the land of Canaan (Joshua 5.3, 10); Samuel carried out judgment here (1 Samuel 7.16, 10.8, 11, 15). Naturally, this Gilgal was made a place of serving the calves. “Do not go up to Beth-aven”, glory. "to the house of Ons". By Beth-aven the prophet means Bethel (cf. Am 4.4, 5.5), another place of serving the calves. This city, famous for its historical memories (Gen. 12.8, 13.3, 11.28–19, 31.13; Judges 20:18, 26–27; 1 Kings 7.16; 2 Kings 2.3), which once served, as its name shows, as the house of God, from the time of the establishment of the cult of bulls in it by Jeroboam I, became the home of idols beitu aven. The last name, expressing the essence of the city, is the prophet and replaces its main historical name. Heb. beith aven in LXX is rendered τον οιών, the word: “to the house of Ons.” The LXX translation arose from assumptions other than those of the Masorets of the vowels under the word аvn, which the LXX read as ών. It is possible that the LXX also wanted to point out the analogy of Bethel with the Egyptian On or Heliopolis, where, as in Bethel, the sacred bull (Mnevis) was revered. – Admonishing the inhabitants of the kingdom of Judah not to join in the service of calves, the prophet forbids them to swear in the name of Jehovah, since with a penchant for idolatry, such an oath would only be hypocrisy and empty sanctification. Os.4:16. For Israel became stubborn like a stubborn heifer; Therefore, will the Lord now feed them like lambs in a wide pasture? Like a heifer not accustomed to the yoke, or according to the text of glory. stung by the gadfly ("stretchem's goad", παροιστρώσα) Israel stubbornly resists the yoke of the law. Therefore, the Lord will grant Israel freedom, leaving him in the position of a lamb on a vast pasture (glory: “in space”), that is, leaving him defenseless, providing him, like a lamb, as prey to wild beasts - pagan nations. The interrogative form of the last sentence, according to the evidence of ancient translations and interpreters, must be turned into the affirmative. Hos.4:17. Ephraim became attached to idols; leave him! In the name of Ephraim in v. 17 denotes the entire kingdom of Israel, of the ten tribes of which Ephraim was the most powerful. The words “leave him” are addressed by the prophet, one must think, to Judas. Reading glory. text: “put yourself in temptations” (instead of the Russian “leave him”) arose, according to the assumption of the exegetes, through an erroneous reading of Heb. hannach-lo ("leave him"). Os.4:18. Their drunkenness is disgusting; they have completely given themselves over to fornication; their princes love the shameful. The talk about the corruption of Israel continues. Instead of reading Heb. text “disgusting” (collection sar has reached the extreme) “their drunkenness” in glory. the text reads: “the chosen one of the Canaanites.” It is believed that instead of Heb. saveam (sove – wine, drunkenness) LXX was read by sevaim, the Saveites, whom they identified with the Canaanites; the word “choice” (ηρέτισε) arose from chavar (“attached”) of the preceding verse by transferring the word and rearranging the letters (vachar, to choose). “Their princes”: from Hebrew. actually - raginnejcha shields of her, i.e. Ephraim, - a figurative expression to designate the rulers of the country. Instead of maginnejcha (her shields) LXX was read; probably migconam, εκ φρυάγματος αυτής, from his pride. Hence in glory: “I loved dishonor (idolatry) out of my trembling” (φρύαγμα, neighing, arrogance, pride). Os.4:19. The wind will sweep them with its wings, and they will be ashamed of their sacrifices. “The wind will cover them with wings.” Under the image of the east wind (cf. Hos 12.1, 13.15), the prophet imagines enemies who will invade the country like a destructive wind and take the people into captivity. Then the people’s hope for idolatry sacrifices will be in vain and will only bring shame. You might be interested in: