Comments on Hosea 3 With regard to the implied symbolism of the marriage, this chapter reads in a straightforward manner (cf. v. 1, 4), in contrast to ch. 1-2. As such, it provides a very plain interpretation on what is happening in those chapters. However, with regard to the literal aspects of the chapter, it is problematic. We can compare the KJV with the JPS to discover the difficulties, especially note v. 2-3: First, the KJV: 1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. Second, the JPS: 1 The Lord said to me further, "Go, befriend a woman who, while befriended by a companion, consorts with others, just as the Lord befriends the Israelites, but they turn to other gods and love the cups of the grape." 2 Then I hired her for fifteen [shekels of] silver, a homer of barley, and a lethech of barley; 3 and I stipulated with her, "In return, you are to go a long time without either fornicating or marrying; even I [shall not cohabit] with you." 4 For the Israelites shall go a long time without king and without officials, without sacrifice and without cult pillars, and without ephod and teraphim. 5 Afterward, the Israelites will turn back and will seek the Lord their God and David their king and they will thrill over the Lord and over His bounty in the days to come. What is not clear is whether Hosea is hiring her as a prostitute or whether he is in fact marrying her in v. 2-3. The KJV, and other modern Christian scholarly translations, suggest it is marriage and the payment would therefore be the bride price. The JPS rendering suggests it is the hiring of a prostitute and in exchange for the hiring she is to not to prostitute herself for a long time. The problem in determining the exact meaning is the obscurity of two Hebrew terms used. First, in v. 2, the Hebrew term in question is "karah" (rendered "bought" in the KJV and "hired" in the JPS). The term is used only four other times, twice in Deut. 2:6, and once each in 2 Kings 6:23, Job 41:6. The context in those other appearances is a purchase or trade resulting in ownership, and not a temporary hiring. Second, the Hebrew term "ish" in v. 3 (rendered "man" in the KJV and paraphrased to "marrying" in the JPS implying "husband"), as it can mean both "man" and "husband". While the "ish" is completely ambiguous and permits the latitude in translation the JPS uses, the "karah" is not. It suggests ownership. I suspect what has happened here is neither a wedding, nor the hiring of a prostitute. I suspect Hosea has purchased this woman as a concubine from the man she committed adultery on. Verse 1 suggests as much and the implied ownership of "karah" backs it up. Concubinage would also grant Hosea the rights he takes advantage of in v. 3 where he denies her any sexual activity with anyone including himself. He could not rightfully deny that a full-fledged wife, or make that kind of demand on a prostitute and have any substantive legal basis, even if he did pay her wages under contract. Ezek. 23 and Jer. 3:8 which both use a two wife theme similar to Hosea's. However, there the two wives represent Ephraim (Northern Ten) and Judah (Southern Two). Here the two wives represent the changing relationship of the Lord with Ephraim alone. v1 instructs Hosea to take a second wife, or in this case I argue a concubine in addition to his first wife, a woman prone to adultery. This is to represent the Lord's love for Israel, but her abandoning Him for idolatry. Thus, it is very plain that Hosea's literal marriages are symbolic of Israel's relationship with the Lord. Using the JPS translation, some comments on v. 1 from the JPS translation footnotes: On "Go, befriend...befriends the Israelites", the JPS states: For "befriend" see Deut. 10:19. For God's befriending Israel, see Hos. 2:10. On "to other gods and love the cups of the grape", the JPS states: Meaning of Hebrew uncertain; emendation yields "'to other gods.' And so I befriended a woman of lust." v2 "fifteen shekels", the life of a slave was valued at 30 shekels of silver (cf. Exod. 21:32), thus indicating the relative value of an adulterous wife. v3 Hosea informs her she will now be staying under his roof, but she will not be cohabiting with him, and she will not be permitted to be with any man. The symbolism here is the sack of Israel. In the first marriage Hosea represents the Lord's present relationship with Israel, they are still wedded but the wife is unfaithful. In this concubinage Hosea represents the Lord's imminent change in relationship with Israel, as He is about to bring Assyria up to sack her and cut her off from her present idolatry, and end Israel's existence as a nation. She has cheated on her husband (the Lord), and so she will be sold off to another (the Lord turns her over to Assyria) and left without any support (Israel ceases to exist as a nation). But, if the Lord is turning Israel over to Assyria, shouldn't Hosea represent Assyria then and not the Lord? Not really. As v. 5 indicates, the Lord never completely cuts Israel off, he only cuts her off from the present adultery/idolatry. This is what Hosea is doing. v4 Israel will be dissolved as a nation so they will be deprived of their corrupt leaders and idolatry. It is important to review some of the history here. Right from the start of Israel's secession from Judah under Jeroboam, national idolatry was imposed (1 Kings 12). The Northern Ten never recovered from this. Her kings were an uninterrupted series of idolatrous miscreants who never brought about reform as did some of the kings of Judah. Thus, Israel would be bereaved of both their present kings and priests. v5 After the punishment imposed upon them, Israel will repent and seek reconciliation with the Lord and political unity with Judah, and subsequently be blessed by the Lord, cp. Micah 4-5. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.