View source for Hosea 12

{{Short description|Chapter 12 of the Book of Hosea}}
{{Bible chapter|letname= Hosea 12 |previouslink= Hosea 11 |previousletter= chapter 11 |nextlink= Hosea 13 |nextletter= chapter 13 |book=[[Book of Hosea]] |biblepart=[[Old Testament]] | booknum= 28 |category= [[Nevi'im]] | filename= 4Q166.jpg | size=250px | name= 4Q166, 1st century BC |caption=<div style="width: 250px; text-align: center; line-height: 1em">4Q166 "The Hosea Commentary Scroll", late first century B.C.</div>}}

'''Hosea 12''' is the twelfth chapter of the [[Book of Hosea]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]] or the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]].<ref name=Halley>Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an abbreviated Bible commentary. 24th edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1965. p. 356</ref><ref name=Holman>Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012.</ref> In the Hebrew Bible it is a part of the [[Twelve Minor Prophets|Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets]].<ref>[[Bruce M. Metzger|Metzger, Bruce M.]], et al. ''The Oxford Companion to the Bible''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.</ref><ref>Keck, Leander E. 1996. ''The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VII''. Nashville: Abingdon.</ref> This chapter contains prophecies attributed to the prophet [[Hosea]], son of [[Beeri]], delivered about the time when the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim)]] sought the aid of the Egyptian king So, in violation of her covenant with Assyria (Hosea 12:1). References to contemporary events sit alongside allusions to the [[patriarchal age]] in Israel's history.<ref>[[Jerusalem Bible]] (1966), Footnote a at Hosea 12:1</ref> Hosea exhorts the country's leaders to follow their father [[Jacob]]'s persevering prayerfulness, "which brought God's favor upon him". The [[Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary]] notes that "as God is [[immutability (theology)|unchangeable]], He will show the same favor to Jacob's posterity as He did to Jacob, if, like him, they seek God".<ref name=jfb/> 

== Text ==
The original text was written in [[Biblical Hebrew|Hebrew]]. [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|This chapter is divided into]] 14 verses in English Christian Bibles, but 15 verses in the Hebrew Bible, which includes Hosea 11:12 as verse 1.<ref>[https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1311.htm Book of Hosea chapter 11] and [https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1312.htm chapter 12] of The Hebrew Bible in Hebrew and English according to the [[JPS 1917]] edition</ref><ref>Note on Hosea 11:12 in the [[New English Translation|NET Bible]]</ref> This article generally follows the common numbering in Christian English Bible versions, with notes to the numbering in Hebrew Bible versions. For verse 1 in the Hebrew Bible see [[Hosea 11:12]].

===Textual witnesses===
Some early [[biblical manuscript|manuscripts]] containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the [[Masoretic Text]] tradition, which includes the [[Codex Cairensis]] (895), [[Codex Babylonicus Petropolitanus|the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets]] (916), [[Aleppo Codex]] (10th century), [[Leningrad Codex|Codex Leningradensis]] (1008).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=35-37}} Fragments cumulatively containing all verses of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], including 4Q82 (4QXII<sup>g</sup>; 25 BCE) with extant verses 1–14 (verses 1–15 in Masoretic Text).{{sfn|Ulrich|2010|pp=596–597}}<ref name=thewaytoyahuweh>[https://thewaytoyahuweh.com/dead-sea-scrolls/general-info/#hosea Dead sea scrolls - Hosea]</ref>{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2008|p=39}}<ref>[https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-archive/manuscript/4Q82-1 4Q82 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library]</ref>

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'''; <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>B</sup>; 4th century), [[Codex Alexandrinus]] ('''A'''; <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>A</sup>; 5th century) and [[Codex Marchalianus]] ('''Q'''; <math> \mathfrak{G}</math><sup>Q</sup>; 6th century).{{sfn|Würthwein|1995|pp=73-74}}{{efn|Book of Hosea is missing from the extant [[Codex Sinaiticus]].<ref>{{cite book| last= Shepherd|first= Michael |title= A Commentary on the Book of the Twelve: The Minor Prophets | series= Kregel Exegetical Library | publisher= Kregel Academic | year= 2018 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_iNZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|isbn= 978-0825444593 | page= 13}}</ref>}}

==Contents and commentary==
===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.''<ref>{{bibleverse|Hosea|12:1|NKJV}}: [[New King James Version]]</ref>
* "East wind": in Palestine is coming from Arabia and the Far East, over large sandy area, scorching, destructive to vegetation {{bibleverse|Psalm|48:7|KJV}}, and also having the force of the whirlwind ({{bibleverse|Job|27:21|KJV}}; cf. {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|18:17|KJV}}).<ref name=barnes>[[Albert Barnes (theologian)|Barnes, Albert]]. Notes on the Old Testament. London, Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.{{PD-notice}}</ref>
* "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, Lebanon|Tyre]]); they exchanged wheat from [[Minnith]] and confections, honey, [[olive oil]] and balm for your wares''.<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|27:17|NIV}}: [[New International Version]]</ref> [[Isaiah]]'s prophecies condemned such associations with Egypt.<ref name=jfb>Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Fausset, and David Brown, ''[https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/hosea/12.htm Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible]'' on Hosea 12, 1871.{{PD-notice}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|Isaiah|30:2,6|NKJV}}; {{bibleverse-nb|Isaiah|31:1|NKJV}})</ref>

===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.''<ref>{{bibleverse|Hosea|12:9|KJV}} [[King James Version|KJV]]</ref>
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.''<ref name=pulpit>Joseph S. Exell; Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones (Editors). The [[Pulpit Commentary]]. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890.{{PD-notice}}</ref>
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".<ref name=pulpit/> 
* "As in the days of the solemn feast": alluding to the [[Sukkot|feast of tabernacles]], which commemorates the Israelites dwelling in tents in the wilderness ({{bibleverse|Leviticus|23:42|KJV}}), which may refer to [[Jesus Christ]]'s incarnation, expressed as 'his [[tabernacle|tabernacling]]' among men in human nature ([[John 1:14]]; cf. {{bibleverse|Zechariah|14:16|KJV}}).<ref name=gill/> The materials to make the tabernacles are willows trees of the brook, palm trees, olive trees, and myrtle trees, according to {{bibleverse|Leviticus|23:40|KJV}}.<ref name=gill>[[John Gill (theologian)|John Gill]]. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Exposition of the Old and New Testament. Published in 1746-1763.{{PD-notice}}</ref>

===Verse 12===
: '' And Jacob fled into the country of Syria,''
:: ''and Israel served for a wife,''
:: ''and for a wife he kept sheep.''<ref>{{bibleverse|Hosea|12:12|KJV}}: KJV</ref>
* "Country of Syria": or "field of Syria"<ref>"agrum Aram", Montanus; "in agrum Syriae", Vatablus, Drusius, Rivet, Schmidt.{{clarify|date=December 2023}}</ref> ({{Script/Hebrew|שדה ארם}}, {{Strong-number|śə-ḏêh|H|07704}} {{Strong-number|'ă-rām|H|00758}}) the same with "[[Paddan Aram|Padan-Aram]]" ("Padan" means "field" in Arabic and "Aram" is Syria), the place to where Jacob fled from his brother Esau ({{bibleverse|Genesis|28:1|KJV}}).<ref name=gill/>
* "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 (Bible)|Laban]], his uncle, to marry his two wives, [[Leah]] and [[Rachel]], Laban's daughters. He served for seven years for each wife ({{bibleverse|Genesis|29:1|KJV}}).<ref name=gill/>

===Verse 13===
:''And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt,''
::''and by a prophet was he preserved.''<ref>{{bibleverse|Hosea|12:13|KJV}}: KJV</ref>
* "By a prophet" denotes [[Moses]] ({{bibleverse|Numbers|12:6-8|KJV}}; {{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|18:15, 18|KJV}}).<ref name=jfb/>
* "Preserved": or "kept"; there is an allusion to the same Hebrew word in [[#Verse 12|Hosea 12:12]], "kept sheep"; Israel was kept by God as His flock, even as Jacob kept sheep ({{bibleverse|Psalm|80:1|KJV}}; {{bibleverse|Isaiah| 63:11|KJV}}).<ref name=jfb/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Bible}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Assyria]]
* [[Gilead]]
* [[Gilgal]]
* [[Egypt]]
* [[Ephraim]]
* [[Jacob]]
* [[Israel]]
* [[Syria]]
{{div col end}}
*Related [[Bible]] parts: [[Genesis 25]], [[Genesis 28]], [[Genesis 29]], [[Genesis 32]], [[Genesis 35]], [[Exodus 14]], [[Jeremiah 7]], [[Hosea 6]], [[Hosea 7]], [[Hosea 8]], [[Hosea 9]], [[Hosea 10]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{Cite book
|last      = Collins
|first     = John J.
|title     = Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures
|publisher = Fortress Press
|year      = 2014
|isbn = 9781451469233
|url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=fbsoBAAAQBAJ
}}
*{{cite book|last= Day | first= John | chapter = 27. Hosea | title=The Oxford Bible Commentary | editor-first1=John| editor-last1=Barton |editor1-link = John Barton (theologian) | editor-first2=John| editor-last2= Muddiman |editor2-link = John Muddiman | publisher = Oxford University Press |edition= first (paperback) | date = 2007 | pages = 571–578 | isbn = 978-0199277186 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ| access-date=February 6, 2019}}
* {{Cite book|title = A Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature|last = Fitzmyer|first = Joseph A.|author-link= Joseph Fitzmyer |publisher = William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TILXeWJ2eNAC | year = 2008|isbn = 9780802862419|location = Grand Rapids, MI }}
*{{Cite book
|last      = Hayes
|first     = Christine
|title     = Introduction to the Bible
|publisher = Yale University Press
|year      = 2015
|isbn = 978-0300188271
|url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC
}}
* {{Cite book
| editor-last  = Ulrich
| editor-first = Eugene |editor-link= Eugene Ulrich
| title        = The Biblical Qumran Scrolls: Transcriptions and Textual Variants
| year         = 2010
| publisher    = Brill
| url          = https://archive.org/details/TheBiblicalQumranScrolls}}
*{{cite book | last = Würthwein | first = Ernst | author-link = Ernst Würthwein | title = The Text of the Old Testament | publisher = Wm. B. Eerdmans |location = Grand Rapids, MI | year=  1995 | translator-first1 = Erroll F.| translator-last1 = Rhodes |isbn = 0-8028-0788-7 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC | access-date= January 26, 2019}}

==External links==

===Jewish===
*[http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1312.htm Hosea 12 Hebrew with Parallel English]
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16166 Hosea 12 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary]

===Christian===
*[http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=33&c=12 Hosea 12 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211082432/http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=0&b=33&c=12 |date=2017-02-11 }}

{{Book of Hosea}}

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[[Category:Book of Hosea chapters|12]]