Hosea 12

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments cumulatively containing all verses of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including 4Q82 (4QXII^g; 25 BCE) with extant verses 1–14 (verses 1–15 in Masoretic Text).

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^B; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; ${\displaystyle {\mathfrak {G}}}$^Q; 6th century).

Verse 1

"Ephraim feeds on the wind,

And pursues the east wind;

He daily increases lies and desolation.

Also they make a covenant with the Assyrians,

And oil is carried to Egypt.

• "East wind": in Palestine is coming from Arabia and the Far East, over large sandy area, scorching, destructive to vegetation Psalm 48:7, and also having the force of the whirlwind (Job 27:21; cf. Jeremiah 18:17).
• "Oil is carried into Egypt" refers to rich and precious oils used to procure Egypt's friendship. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary notes that "Palestine was famed for oil", cf. Ezekiel 27:17: Judah and Israel traded with you (Tyre); they exchanged wheat from Minnith and confections, honey, olive oil and balm for your wares. Isaiah's prophecies condemned such associations with Egypt.

Verses 3-5

³ In the womb he took his brother by the heel,

and in his manhood he strove with God.

⁴ He strove with the angel and prevailed;

he wept and sought his favor.

He met God at Bethel,

and there God spoke with us—

⁵ the Lord, the God of hosts,

the Lord is his memorial name.

Hosea recalls events from the life and narrative of the patriarch Jacob from Genesis 25 (Jacob was born holding his brother Esau's heel), 28 (his dream at Bethel) and 32 (where Jacob wrestled with a man who blessed him). The Jerusalem Bible adds in verse 3 that he "supplanted his brother", a reference to him taking Esau's birthright for a bowl of stew (Genesis 27). For "he wept and sought his favour" (Hosea 12:4), the same version notes that "Genesis 32:24-28 does not speak of tears and entreaties: Hosea is probably hinting at some trick on Jacob's part."

Verse 9

And I that am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt

will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles,

as in the days of the solemn feast.

This verse consists of two parts which in the original are coordinated. It is better to translate thus:

And I am the Lord thy God, from the land of Egypt:

I will yet make thee to dwell in tabernacles,

as in the days of the solemn feast.

Kimchi interprets the phrase "dwell in tabernacles" as a promise, perhaps rendered with an implied threat, that even so God is "ready to bring Israel forth out of the captivity where [they] will be, as God brought Israel forth out of the land of Egypt, and made them dwell in tents in the wilderness, God is ready again to bring Israel forth out of the lands of the Gentiles, to cause them to dwell in tents in the wilderness along the way, until they shall return to their land in peace".

• "As in the days of the solemn feast": alluding to the feast of tabernacles, which commemorates the Israelites dwelling in tents in the wilderness (Leviticus 23:42), which may refer to Jesus Christ's incarnation, expressed as 'his tabernacling' among men in human nature (John 1:14; cf. Zechariah 14:16). The materials to make the tabernacles are willows trees of the brook, palm trees, olive trees, and myrtle trees, according to Leviticus 23:40.

Verse 12

And Jacob fled into the country of Syria,

and Israel served for a wife,

and for a wife he kept sheep.

The "country of Syria", or "field of Syria", (שדה ארם, śə-ḏêh 'ă-rām) is the same as "Padan-Aram" ("Padan" means "field" in Arabic and "Aram" is Syria), the place to which Jacob fled from Esau (Genesis 28:1). "Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep" refers to the period which Jacob spent as a shepherd working for Laban, his uncle, to marry his two wives, Leah and Rachel, Laban's daughters. He served for seven years for each wife (Genesis 29:1–30).

Verse 13

And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,

and by a prophet was he preserved.

• "By a prophet" denotes Moses (Numbers 12:6–8; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18).
• "Preserved": or "kept"; there is an allusion to the same Hebrew word in Hosea 12:12, "kept sheep"; Israel was kept by God as His flock, even as Jacob kept sheep (Psalm 80:1; Isaiah 63:11).

Jewish

• Hosea 12 Hebrew with Parallel English
• Hosea 12 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian

• Hosea 12 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate Archived 2017-02-11 at the Wayback Machine