Hosea 11:1–4
God remembers teaching Israel to walk, taking them by the arms
Study it word by word1When Israel was a boy, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
2They called to them; so they went from before them; to the Baals they sacrificed, and to the carved images they burned incense.
3And I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them.
4With cords of humankind I drew them, with ropes of love; and I was to them like those who lift the yoke from their jaws; and I bent down to him and fed him.
In its context
…
5He will not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria, he will be his king, because they refused to return.
6And the sword will whirl in his cities, and it will finish off his bars, and devour them because of their counsels.
Its words in the original
- נַעַרnaar· young man, servant
Boy, young man; also a servant or attendant.
- יִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael· 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.
- אֹהֲבֵohave· love
Love, have affection for someone: a parent for a child, a husband for a wife, a friend for a friend, a person for God; also like, desire.
- מִּצְרַיִםmitsrayim· Egypt, Mizraim
Mizraim, the Hebrew name of Egypt; also the Egyptians. As a person, a son of Ham, ancestor of the Egyptians.
- קָרָאתִיkarati· call, proclaim
Call: speak out to someone, summon, invite, give a name, proclaim; also read aloud. "Call on the name of YHWH" is to pray to him and worship him.
- בְנִveni· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- הָלְכוּhalchu· go, walk
Go, walk, come. Figuratively, the way one lives ("walk with God").
- פְּנֵיpene· face, presence
Face. From there "surface" (the face of something) and "presence" (being before someone's face); with a preposition it means "before" or "in front of".
- בְּעָלִיםbealim· Baal
Baal: the god of the Canaanites, to whom they attributed the rain and the harvests. The word means "lord, owner." The Bible names him as a foreign god whom Israel was not to serve.
- יְזַבֵּחוּyezabechu· sacrifice
Sacrifice: slaughter an animal to offer it to God.
- פְּסִלִיםpesilim· carved image
Carved image: the figure of a god carved in wood or stone.
- יְקַטֵּרוּyekateru· offer up in smoke
Offer up in smoke: burn an offering or incense on the altar so that it rises as smoke. Also said of burning incense to other gods.
- תִרְגַּלְתִּיtirgalti· teach to walk
To teach to walk, lead a child by the hand as it learns to walk.
- אֶפְרַיִםefrayim· Ephraim
Ephraim, the second son of Joseph; also the tribe that came from him and its land, and later a name of the northern kingdom. The name sounds like "be fruitful".
- קָחָkaach· take
Take: seize, take along, receive. Also "take a wife" (marry).
- זְרוֹעֹתָיzerootay· arm
Arm; an image of strength.
- יָדְעוּyadu· know
Know. Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").
- רְפָאתִיrefati· heal
Heal, cure; restore.
- חַבְלֵיchavle· region, cord, pain
In its first sense a cord, especially a measuring line; from there a region or portion measured with it; also a snare, a band of people, or the pains of birth.
- אָדָםadam· human being, man, Adam
The Hebrew word "adam". It has three uses: (1) humanity in general, men and women alike: "human beings" (Genesis 1:27); (2) a particular man; in Genesis 2-4, the first man, "the man"; (3) the personal name of that first man, "Adam". In Hebrew "adam" sounds like "adamah", the ground he was formed from (Genesis 2:7).
- אֶמְשְׁכֵemshche· draw, drag; prolong
Draw, pull, drag out; also prolong, sound a long note.
- עֲבֹתוֹתavotot· cord; thick foliage
Cord, braided rope. In Ezekiel 19:11 and 31:3, thick boughs, dense foliage.
- אַהֲבָהahava· love
Love: the affection that joins one person to another; also the love of YHWH for his people.
- אֶהְיֶהehye· be, become, happen
Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".
- מְרִימֵיmerime· be high, lift up
Be high, rise; in the causative form, lift up, raise, exalt.
- עֹלol· yoke
Yoke: the wooden piece joining two oxen; figuratively, being subject to another.
- לְחֵיleche· jaw, cheek
Jaw, cheek.
- אַטat· stretch out, turn aside
Stretch out, spread; pitch a tent. Also bend, incline; turn aside, pervert (justice).
- אוֹכִילochil· eat
Eat; also consume, devour (said of fire or the sword).