Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant
Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. Hos. 6:5
Therefore...
עַל
‛al
A preposition meaning upon, over, against, by, to, for. The various nuances of this preposition are wide-ranging, and the context determines its exact meaning and usage. Here are some basics: on, upon (Gen. 1:11, 1:26; Exo. 20:12; 2Sam. 4:7); in front of (Gen. 18:8; Exo. 27:21); to, unto plus mî, "to whom" (Jer. 6:10); with zô’ṯ or kēn following, it means because of, therefore with respect to, concerning (Gen. 20:3; Ruth 4:7); as or according to (Psm. 110:4); besides or over against (Exo. 20:3); to come on (one's) heart, means to come to mind, to think of (Jer. 3:16); to add to, in addition to yāsap̱ ‛al (Gen. 28:9; 31:50; Deu. 19:9); it has the sense of with, met with (Exo. 3:18). Other phrases include: ke‛al-ḵōl, according to all (Isa. 63:7); from upon, upon, e.g., a camel (Gen. 2:5; 19:24; 24:64); ‛al-belî, that . . . not (Gen. 31:20); ‛al-’ašer, because (Exo. 32:35). It is used to indicate God's provincial care, His hand on ‛al someone (Neh. 2:8); and to indicate a burden on someone (Exo. 5:8; 21:22; Job 7:20; Psm. 42:6; Isa. 1:14). It indicates the thing one speaks about or is concerned with when used with verbs of speaking, hearing (Jdg. 9:3; Jer. 16:3). It has the sense of eminence or exaltation, above (Deu. 26:19; Psm. 57:5,6, Psm. 57:11,12). It indicates what one exercises authority over (Isa. 22:15). It is used in the idiom, to fall asleep, sleep falls on someone (Gen. 2:21; 15:12); and of the activity of the mind setting on ‛al something (2Sam. 14:1; Jer. 22:17; Mal. 3:13). It is used of an army attacking against ‛al a foe (Gen. 34:25; Deu. 19:11; Amos 7:9).
have I hewed... God’s measures to bring His disloyal people to repentance had been extreme (cf. Amos 4:6-11). His words of judgment, spoken through the prophets, had brought sudden death and destruction on many people (cf. Jer. 1:10; 5:14). I have severely, continually, and not tiring by the prophets reproved, warned, and threatened. Your hearts have been like knotty trees, or hardest stones: I have made my prophets like laborers, and, my words like axes or hammers to cut off the knots, and to hew off the roughness which make unfit for use. But all to no purpose, the desired effect hath not been attained.
חָצַב
ḥāṣaḇ, חָצֵב
ḥāṣēḇ, חֹצֵב
ḥōṣēḇ
I. A verb meaning to cut, to strike, to hew, to quarry. It is used of cutting out cisterns to hold water (Deu. 6:11; 2Chr. 26:10; Neh. 9:25); or of digging out copper from the hills (Deu. 8:9). It describes the process of engraving a rock (Job 19:24); or of chopping or cutting wood with an ax (Isa. 10:15). Tombs were cut or hewn out of rock (Isa. 22:16). Metaphorically, it describes the Lord's voice hewing out flames of fire (Psm. 29:7); and of wisdom hewing out her seven pillars of wisdom (Pro. 9:1). Israel was the Lord's wine vat hewn out by Him (Isa. 5:2). He hewed His people from a rock (Isa. 51:1) but had been forced to hew them in pieces by the words of the prophets (Hos. 6:5).
II. A masculine noun denoting the person who cuts stones, a mason, a stone cutter. It designates those who help construct projects by preparing cut or hewn stones as building material (1Kgs. 5:15,29), especially in the construction of the Temple or in its repair (2Kgs. 12:12,13; 1Chr. 22:2, 22:15; 2Chr. 2:2,1, 2:18,17; 24:12). They were used in the construction of the second Temple (Ezra 3:7).
them by the prophets...
נָבִיא
nāḇiy’
A masculine noun meaning a prophet, a spokesman. The meaning is consistently one of prophet and inspired spokesman. Moses was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament (Deu. 34:10) and the example for all later prophets. He displayed every aspect of a true prophet, both in his call, his work, his faithfulness, and, at times, his doubts. Only Abraham is called a prophet before Moses (Gen. 20:7).
Moses received a call from God to speak His words and perform a specific task (see Exo. 3:4, 3:10; 4:17, 4:29; 5:1) with the promise that the Lord would be with him and help him accomplish it (see Exo. 3:12, 3:20; 4:12, 4:14-16). He responded, though reluctantly (see Exo. 3:11, 3:13; 4:1), and God did what He had said He would do (see Exo. 6:1; 14:30-31; 40:34, 40:38). Moses' prophetic voice spoke to Israel of the past (see Deu. 1-3), the present (see Deu. 4:1; Deu. 26:18), and the future (see Deu. 31:20-22), as would every major prophet after him. This pattern, or much of it, is found in the case of every true prophet (see Isa. 6; Jer. 1; Ezk. 1-3; Hos. 1:2; Amos 7:14-15; Jon. 1:1). All the true prophets stood in the counsel of God to receive their messages (see 1Kgs. 22:19; Jer. 23:22; Amos 3:7).
This word describes one who was raised up by God and, as such, could only proclaim that which the Lord gave him to say. A prophet could not contradict the Law of the Lord or speak from his own mind or heart. To do so was to be a false prophet (Jer. 14:14; 23:16, 23:26, 23:30). What a prophet declared had to come true, or he was false (Deu. 18:22; Jer. 23:9).
The noun is found parallel to two other words meaning a seer, a prophet ḥōzeh, rō’eh [1Sam. 9:9; 2Sam. 24:11]), which tends to stress the visionary or perceptive aspects of a prophet's experiences. There were "sons of the prophets," a phrase indicating bands or companies of prophets, "son" in this case meaning a member (1Kgs. 20:35; 2Kgs. 2:3, 2:5; 4:1). Kings sometimes had a group of prophets around them (1Kgs. 22:22; 2Chr. 18:21-22). Prophets were designated from Israel (Ezk. 13:2, 13:4); Samaria (Jer. 23:13); and Jerusalem (Zep. 3:4). In an unusual development, David set aside some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to serve as prophets. Their prophesying was accompanied with musical instruments and possibly was brought on and aided by these instruments. This phenomenon is described mainly in the book of 2 Chronicles (see 2Chr. 20:14; 29:30). Evidently, Zechariah, the priest, also prophesied in that era. But Moses himself desired that all God's people have the Spirit of God on them, as did the prophets (Num. 11:29).
by
the prophets... Some that was before Hosea. Jeroboam I was by a
prophet reproved and threatened for this idolatry, in which Israel
persisted, and to which Judah did too often fall. And through the
space of two hundred years, from Jeroboam I to Hosea’s time, many
other prophets were sent, whose names, and some memoirs of them, we
have. Such as Ahijah, Jehu, Hanani, Elijah, and Elisha, these and
such like were the prophets that did hew crooked and knotty Israel.
I have slain... Some say the false prophets are the persons meant here, whom God did slay for their sin, seducing Israel to, and confirming them in, idolatry. Indeed, Elijah’s sincere zeal did cut off so many (1 Kings 18:22, 40), and Jehu’s counterfeit zeal cut off so many (2 Kings 10:21, 25), that it could never be forgotten among that people. So the thing is true, many false prophets were slain for this sin; yet the persons in our text were not these false prophets, but they were the people of Israel and Judah, the idolatrous, refractory hypocrites among them, whom God threatened with death and that by the sword of enemies.
הָרַג
hārag̱
A verb meaning to kill, murder, slay. It carries a wide variety of usages. Its first use in the Bible is in the fratricide of Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:8). The word is employed for war and slaughter (Jos. 8:24; 1Kgs. 9:16; Est. 8:11); God's killing in judgment (Gen. 20:4; Exo. 13:15; Amos 2:3); humans killing animals (Lev. 20:15; Num. 22:29); animals killing humans (2Kgs. 17:25; Job 20:16).
them by the words...
אֵמֶר
’ēmer
A masculine noun meaning word, speech, saying. The primary meaning is something said. The word is used like dāḇār; however, it occurs (with the exception of Jos. 24:27) only in poetry, usually in the plural, often in the phrase "the words of my mouth" (Deu. 32:1; Psm. 19:14,15). Words are seen as taking from their context qualities such as truth (Pro. 22:21); beauty (Gen. 49:21); deception (Isa. 32:7); knowledge (Pro. 23:12). This word may refer to God's words (Job 6:10; Psm. 138:4) as well as people's words.
of my mouth...
פֶּה
peh
A masculine singular noun meaning mouth. Besides the literal meaning, this term is used as the instrument of speech and figuratively for speech itself. When Moses claimed to be an ineffective speaker, he was heavy of mouth (Exo. 4:10); the psalmist also uses peh to mean speech (Psm. 49:13,14; Ecc. 10:13; Isa. 29:13). The word is rendered edge in the expression the mouth of the sword (Jdg. 4:16; Pro. 5:4); or in some measurements from edge to edge or end to end (2Kgs. 10:21; 21:16; Ezra 9:11). It is also used for other openings like those in caves, gates, wells, or sacks. In land and inheritance references, it is translated as share or portion (Deu. 21:17; 2Kgs. 2:9; Zec. 13:8). With the preposition le, it means in proportion to or according to.
thy judgments are... Meaning the punishments threatened, the miseries foretold, which fell upon this people, did so fully answer the prediction, that everyone might see them clear as the light, and as constantly executed as the morning (See Zep. 3:5).
מִשְׁפָּט
mišpāṭ
A masculine noun meaning a judgment, a legal decision, a legal case, a claim, proper, rectitude. The word connotes several variations in meanings depending on the context. It is used to describe a legal decision or judgment rendered: it describes a legal decision given by God to be followed by the people (Isa. 58:2; Zep. 2:3; Mal. 2:17). These decisions could come through the use of the Urim and Thummim (Num. 27:21). The high priest wore a pouch called the breastpiece of justice, containing the Urim and Thummim by which decisions were obtained from the Lord (Exo. 28:30). Doing what was right and just in the Lord's eyes was far more important than presenting sacrifices to Him (Gen. 18:19; Pro. 21:3, 21:15). God was declared to be the Judge of the whole earth who rendered justice faithfully (Gen. 18:25; Isa. 30:18). In the plural form, the word describes legal judgments, cases, examples, laws, and specifications.
The word describes the legal case or cause presented by someone. The Servant spoken of by Isaiah asked who brought his case of justice against him (Isa. 50:8); Job brought his case to vindicate himself (Job 13:18; 23:4). The legal claim or control in a situation is also described by the word. Samuel warned the people of the civil and legal demands a king would place on them (1Sam. 8:9); Moses gave legislation to protect the rightful claim of daughters (Exo. 21:9). The Hebrew word also described the legal right to property (Jer. 32:8). Not surprisingly, the place where judgments were rendered was also described by this word; disputes were to be taken to the place of judgment (Deu. 25:1). Solomon built a hall of justice where he served as judge (1Kgs. 7:7).
The word also describes plans or instructions: it describes the building plans for the Tabernacle (Exo. 35-40); and the specifications for the Temple (1Kgs. 6:38); the instructions the angelic messenger gave to Samson's parents about how he was to be brought up (Jdg. 13:12). In a more abstract sense, it depicts the manner of life a people followed, such as the Sidonians (Jdg. 18:7; 1Sam. 2:13).
The word means simple justice in some contexts, often in parallel with synonymous words, such as ḥōq or ṣeḏeq, meaning ordinance or righteousness. It describes justice as one thing Jerusalem was to be filled with along with righteousness (Isa. 1:21). Justice and righteousness characterize the Lord's throne (Psm. 89:14,15); and these were coupled with love and faithfulness (cf. Psm. 101:1; 111:7). Executing or doing justice was the central goal that Yahweh had for His people (Jer. 7:5; Ezk. 18:8), for that equaled righteousness (Ezk. 18:9).
These arrogant people of God had tried to stand against the God that made them. The prophets cut them down with warnings from God, if they did not repent. God spoke judgment against them, and they were punished for their sins. The Light does away with darkness. The Light of God was applied to get rid of sin in their lives.
are as the light...
אוֹר
’ôr
A masculine noun meaning light. In a literal sense, it is used primarily to refer to light from heavenly bodies (Jer. 31:35; Ezk. 32:7) but also for light itself (Gen. 1:3; Ecc. 12:2). The pillar of fire was a light for the wandering Israelites (Exo. 13:21). One day God, who is clothed with light (a manifestation of His splendor), will replace the light of the heavens with His own light (Psm. 104:2; Isa. 60:19-20; cf. Rev. 21:23; 22:5). Light is always used as a positive symbol, such as for good fortune (Job 30:26); victory (Mic. 7:8-9); justice and righteousness (Isa. 59:9); guidance (Psm. 119:105); and a bearer of deliverance (Isa. 49:6). Expressions involving light include the light of one's face, meaning someone's favor (Psm. 44:3,4); to see light, meaning to live (Psm. 49:19,20); and to walk in the light, meaning to live by God's known standards (Isa. 2:5).
that goeth forth...
יוֹצֵאת
yôṣē’ṯ, יָצָא
yāṣā’
I. A feminine noun meaning captivity. It is used of going forth from one's homeland into exile (Psm. 144:14). God's blessing on His people could prevent this from happening.
II. A verb meaning basically to go out or to come in. It is used in many settings and contexts and is nuanced by those settings. It is used of the rising or coming forth of the sun or stars (Gen. 19:23; Neh. 4:21,15); of the birth and coming out of a child (Gen. 25:26); of the springing up of plants (1Kgs. 4:33; 5:13). It indicates general motion or movement, stepping forth for various purposes (1Sam. 17:4; 2Sam. 16:5); to set out (Exo. 17:9); to set out in a military sense (Deu. 20:1; 1Sam. 8:20; 1Chr. 5:18; Pro. 30:27). Of birds it is used with šûḇ, to return, to mean to fly back and forth or here and there (Gen. 8:7).
It has many figurative uses: "to come out from" yāṣā’+ min means to be descended from (Gen. 10:14); to die is described as one's soul, life, going out, away (Gen. 35:18; Ezk. 26:18); to lack courage, to fail occurs when one's heart goes out (Gen. 42:28). The beginning of the year is described as the (old) year going out (Exo. 23:16); it is used of the effects of something wearing off (1Sam. 25:37). It is used of manna "coming out of one's nose," meaning becoming sick over excessive eating of a food (Num. 11:20). It describes the removal of dross from a metal (Pro. 25:4), purifying it.
It has several nuanced meanings in different settings: to escape free (1Sam. 14:41); to leave, to go away (Dan. 10:20). The removal of a scoffer causes a quarrel to cease, to go away (Pro. 22:10). It indicates the freeing of a slave (Lev. 25:25). The context in all its uses affects its meaning and translations. In its use as a causal stem verb, it takes on the idea of causing to go out, to go forth (Gen. 15:5; Jos. 2:3); to take away (Gen. 48:12); to lead an army (2Sam. 5:2). Or it indicates bringing forth, producing plants from the ground (Gen. 1:12); a weapon by an iron worker or smith (Isa. 54:16). Or it may, in the personal sphere, indicate bringing forth one's spirit or breath, indicating that a person makes his or her feelings known (Pro. 29:11), as is characteristic of a fool. It is used with the word justice to mean to bring forth or execute justice (Isa. 42:1, 42:3). In its passive uses, it indicates that someone or something is led forth (Gen. 38:25; Ezk. 14:22; cf. Ezk. 38:22).
God’s measures to bring His disloyal people to repentance had been extreme (cf. Amos 4:6-11). His words of judgment, spoken through the prophets, had brought sudden death and destruction on many people (cf. Jer. 1:10; 5:14).
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