Hosea continues describing the unfaithfulness of Israel and Judah and God's desire to bring them back to Him.
Hosea 11:12-12:2, Pursuing Egypt and Assyria
Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
the house of Israel with deceit.
And Judah is unruly against God,
even against the faithful Holy One.
Ephraim feeds on the wind;
he pursues the east wind all day
and multiplies lies and violence.
He makes a treaty with Assyria
and sends olive oil to Egypt.
The LORD has a charge to bring against Judah;
he will punish Jacob according to his ways
and repay him according to his deeds.
The Masoretic text begins this chapter with the last verse of chapter 11. Ephraim/Israel and Judah, despite all God has done, are rebellious, dealing in lies and deceit. They rely on ill-advised diplomacy with their two powerful neighbors, Egypt on the west and Assyria on the east. (This comes to a head a few decades later when King Hoshea's alliance with Egypt draws the attention of Assyria; see 2 Kings 17:3-4.)
Hosea 12:3-7, Jacob wrestled with God
In the womb he grasped his brother's heel;
as a man he struggled with God.
He struggled with the angel
and overcame him;
he wept and begged for his favor.
He found him at Bethel
and talked with him there
--the LORD God Almighty,
the LORD is his name of renown!
But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.
The merchant uses dishonest scales;
he loves to defraud.
The people of Israel have inherited the stubbornness of their forefather Jacob. Hosea describes major events from Jacob's life, from his birth (Genesis 25:26) to wrestling with the angel of God (Genesis 32:24-29.) Jacob's descendants, in their stubbornness, act dishonestly and do not return to YHWH.
Hosea 12:8, Ephraim's boast
Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich;
I have become wealthy.
With all my wealth
they will not find in me any iniquity or sin."
Hosea 12:9-10, Back to tents?
"I am the LORD your God,
[who brought you] out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
as in the days of your appointed feasts.
I spoke to the prophets,
gave them many visions
and told parables through them."
YHWH reminds the people of Israel that it was He who brought them out of Egypt and gave them real homes in Palestine. But if they ignore Him, He can return them to the tent life of the nomadic tribes. (Wood suggests that there is an allusion to the Feast of Tabernacles, during which time the Israelites remembered their travels during the Exodus.)
Hosea 12:11, Gilead
Is Gilead wicked?
Its people are worthless!
Do they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal?
Their altars will be like piles of stones
on a plowed field.
The questions are rhetorical; Gilead has been wicked, as they offer to other gods. (Gilead, east of the Jordan and Gilgal, on the west, represent all of Israel/Samaria.)
Hosea 12:12-14, A wandering Aramean
Jacob fled to the country of Aram;
Israel served to get a wife,
and to pay for her he tended sheep.
The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt,
by a prophet he cared for him.
But Ephraim has bitterly provoked him to anger;
his Lord will leave upon him the guilt of his bloodshed
and will repay him for his contempt.
The Israelites have long been identified as wandering Arameans. Jacob fled to Aram and then served Laban for Rachel. Moses then brought the people out of Egypt -- all these actions are indications of God's guiding love for Jacob and his descendants. Yet Ephraim (Israel) turns his back on God's goodness.
A shepherd image runs throughout this passage. Jacob, out of love for Rachel, "tended sheep." YHWH, out of love for the Israelites, set up Moses to "care for" them.
First published June 19, 2025; updated June 19, 2025
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