Hosea 11:1

“When Israel was a boy, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”
Hosea 11:1 · direct translation from the Hebrew

God remembers teaching Israel to walk, taking them by the armsWho God Is God as a father teaching his child to walk, drawing him with cords of loveLove

With the Hebrew beneath

WhenכִּיIsraelיִשְׂרָאֵלwas a boy,נַעַרI loved him,וָאֹהֲבֵהוּand out of EgyptוּמִמִּצְרַיִםI calledקָרָאתִיmy son.לִבְנִי

Quotation · Matthew 2:15

Go to Matthew 2:15

Matthew quotes the second half of Hosea 11:1 with a fulfillment formula. In Hosea, “my son” is Israel, whom YHWH called out of Egypt.

Formula: ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος “so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, when he says” (Matthew 2:15)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς Ἡρῴδου ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος Ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐκάλεσα τὸν υἱόν μου

Hebrew (Masoretic text): כִּי נַעַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וָאֹהֲבֵהוּ וּמִמִּצְרַיִם קָרָאתִי לִבְנִי

This passage could not be located with certainty in the transcription of the Septuagint we use, so it is not compared.

Hosea 11:1, word by word

Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael

Israel

Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.

Where else “yisrael” appears

was a boyנַעַרnaar

boy

A child or a young man who is still growing and does not rule a household.

Where else “naar” appears

I loved himאֹהֲבֵohave

love God

The love between God and his people.

Where else “ohave” appears

and out of Egyptמִּצְרַיִםmitsrayim

Egypt, Mizraim

See it on the map Where else “mitsrayim” appears

I calledקָרָאתִיkarati

call

To raise the voice to someone so that he comes, or to invite him.

Where else “karati” appears

my sonבְנִveni

son

The male born of a father and mother; in the plural, also sons and daughters.

Where else “veni” appears

Translation note

Matthew 2:15 quotes this verse.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Matthew 2:15

Matthew quotes the second half of Hosea 11:1 with a fulfillment formula. In Hosea, “my son” is Israel, whom YHWH called out of Egypt.

See them side by side

Hosea 11:1

¹When Israel was a boy, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Matthew 2:15

¹⁵and he was there until the death of Herod, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, when he says, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Places in this verse

Approximate location. A “?” means it is not known for sure where it was.

Egypt
Today: Egypt (Nile Valley)
A country in northeast Africa along the Nile River, southwest of Israel.
Joseph was sold into it, and his family went down to live there (Gen 37:28; 46:6). God brought Israel out of it with a mighty hand (Exod 12:41). The child Jesus fled there with his parents (Matt 2:14).
Genesis 12:10 Genesis 37:28 Exodus 12:41 Matthew 2:14

The context

1 · This verse (above)

2They called to them; so they went from before them; to the Baals they sacrificed, and to the carved images they burned incense.

Read all of Hosea 11

How to use it