¹tn The words “like a son” are not in the Hebrew text, but are necessary to clarify what sort of love is intended.
²tc The MT reads yn]b= (v^eni, “My son”); however, the LXX reflects wyn`b* (vanav, “his sons”). The MT may be retained as original here because of internal evidence; it is much more appropriate to the context.
<sup>3</sup>tc The MT reads War+q* (qar’u, “they called”; Qal perfect 3cpl from ar^q*, qara’, “to call”); however, the LXX and Syriac reflect ya!r+q*K= (k<sup>e</sup>qar’i, “as I called”; preposition K= (kaf) + Qal infinitive construct from ar^q* + 1cs suffix). The presence of the resumptive adverb /K@ (ken, “even so”) in the following clause supports the alternate textual tradition reflected in the LXX and Syriac.
<sup>4</sup>tc The MT reads <h#yn}P=m! (mipp<sup>e</sup>nehem, “from them”; preposition + mpl noun + 3mpl suffix); however, the LXX and Syriac reflect an alternate Hebrew textual tradition of <h@ yn~P*m! (mippanay hem, “they [went away] from me”; preposition + mpl noun + 1cs suffix, followed by 3mpl independent personal pronoun). The textual variant was caused simply by faulty word division.
<sup>5</sup>tn Or “taught Ephraim to walk.” The verb yT!l=G^r+t! (tirgalti, “I taught [him] to walk, I led [him]”; Tiphil perfect 1cs from lg^r*, ragal, “to walk”) is an unusual verb stem: the Tiphil (properly Taphel) is attested three times in Biblical Hebrew (Hos 11:3; Jer 12:5; 22:15) and once in Biblical Aramaic (Ezra 4:7; see GKC §55.h).
<sup>6</sup>tn Or “that it was I who had healed them.”
<sup>7</sup>tn Or “humane cords” or “cords of human kindness.” The noun <d*a* (’adam) is traditionally related to I <d*a* (“man”) and translated either literally or figuratively (as a metonymy of association for humane compassion): “cords of a man” (KJV, RSV margin, NASB), “cords of human kindness” (NIV), “human ties” (NJPS), “cords of compassion” (RSV). It is better to relate it to II <d*a* (“leather”; HALOT 14 s.v. <d*a*), as the parallelism with II hb*h&a^ (’ahavah, “leather”) suggests (see below). This homonymic root is well attested in Arabic ’adam (“skin”) and ’adim (“tanned skin; leather”). This better fits the context of 11:4 which compares Israel to a heifer: the Lord led him with leather cords, lifted the yoke from his neck, and fed him. Elsewhere, Hosea compares Israel to a stubborn cow and harnessed heifer .
<sup>8</sup>tn Or “ropes of love.” The noun hb*h&a^ (’ahava) is traditionally related to I hb*h&a^ (“love”; BDB 13 s.v. hb*h&a^ 2). This approach is adopted by most English translations: “bands of love” (KJV, RSV), “bonds of love” (NASB), “ties of love” (NIV), “cords of love” (NJPS). However, it is probably better to derive hb*h&a^ from the homonymic root II hb*h&a^ (“leather”; HALOT 18 s.v. II hb*h&a^). This root is attested in Arabic and Ugaritic. It probably occurs in the description of Solomon’s sedan chair: “upholstered with purple linen, and lined with leather” (Song 3:10). This fits the context of 11:4 which compares Israel to a young heifer: the Lord led him with leather ropes, lifted the yoke from his neck, and bent down to feed him. Elsewhere, Hosea compares Israel to a stubborn cow and a young heifer harnessed for plowing . This is supported by the parallelism with II <d*a* (’adam, “leather”; HALOT 14 s.v. II <d*a*). Of course, this might be an example of a homonymic wordplay on both roots: “ropes of leather/love.” For discussions of II hb*h&a^, see G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 (1936): 111; G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 133; S. E. Loewenstamm, Thesaurus of the Language of the Bible, 1:39. D. Grossberg, “Canticles 3:10 in the Light of a Homeric Analogue and Biblical Poetics,” BTB 11 (1981): 75-76. For homonymic wordplays, see W. G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry, 237-38; J. Barr, Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 151-55.
<sup>9</sup>tn Heb “And I was to them like those who lift a yoke.”
<sup>10</sup>tn Heb “their jaws.”
<sup>11</sup>tn Heb “him.”
<sup>12</sup>tc Or “Will they not return to Egypt?” Following the LXX and BHS, the MT aO (lo’, “not”) should probably be read as ol (lo, “to him”) and connected to the end of 11:4 rather than the beginning of 11:5. The textual confusion between aO and ol probably reflects an unintentional scribal error due to a mistake in hearing (cf., e.g., Kethib/Qere in Ps 100:3).
<sup>13</sup>tn Heb “Assyria, he will be his [Israel’s] king.”
<sup>14</sup>sn Heb “return.” The root bWv (shuv, “to turn, return”) appears at the beginning and ending of this verse, creating an inclusio. This repetition produces an ironic wordplay: because Israel refuses to “return” to God or “turn” from its sin, it will “return” to Egypt. The punishment fits the crime.
<sup>15</sup>tn The term <ya!Wlt= (t<sup>e</sup>lu’im, Qal passive participle mpl from al*T*, tala’, “to hang”) literally means “[My people] are hung up” (BDB 1067 s.v. al*T*). The verb al*T* // hl*T* (“to hang”) is often used in a concrete sense to describe hanging an item on a peg (Ps 137:2; Song 4:4; Isa 22:24; Ezek 15:3; 27:10) or the impaling of the body of an executed criminal (Gen 40:19, 22; 41:13; Deut 21:22, 23; Josh 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sam 21:12; Esth 2:23; 5:14; 6:4; 7:9, 10; 8:7; 9:13, 14, 25). It is used figuratively here to describe Israel’s moral inability to detach itself from apostasy. Several English translations capture the sense well: “My people are bent on turning away from me” (RSV, NASB), “My people are determined to turn from me” (NIV), “My people are determined to reject me” (CEV), “My people persist in its defection from me” (NJPS), and “they insist on turning away from me” (TEV).
<sup>16</sup>tn The 1cs suffix on the noun yt!b*Wvm= (m<sup>e</sup>shuvati; literally, “turning of me”) functions as an objective genitive: “turning away from me.”
<sup>17</sup>tc The meaning and syntax of the MT is enigmatic: Wha%r*q=y] lu^-la#w+ (v<sup>e</sup>’el-’al yiqra’uhu, “they call upwards to him”). The BHS editors suggest reading aWhw+ ar*q=y] lu^B^-la#w+ (v<sup>e</sup>’el-ba’al yiqra’ vehu’, “they call to Baal, but he…”), connecting the 3ms independent personal pronoun aWhw+ (v<sup>e</sup>hu’, “but he…”) with the following clause. The early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus), as well as the Aramaic Targum and the Vulgate, vocalized lu) (’ol) as “yoke” (as in 11:4): “they cry out because of [their] yoke” (adopted by TEV).
<sup>18</sup>tn The imperfect verbs in 11:8 function as imperfects of capability. See IBHS 34.1.a.
<sup>19</sup>tn The phrase yB!l! yl^u* EP^h=n\ (nehpakh ’alay libbi) is an idiom that can be taken in two ways: (1) emotional sense: to describe a tumult of emotions, not just a clash of ideas, that are afflicting a person (Lam 1:20; HALOT 253 s.v. iph 1.c) and (2) volitional sense: to describe a decisive change of policy, that is, a reversal of sentiment from amity to hatred (Exod 14:5; Ps 105:25; BDB 245 s.v. Ep^h* 1; HALOT 253 s.v. iph 3). The English translations alternate between these two: (1) emotional discomfort and tension over the prospect of destroying Israel: “my heart is turned within me” (KJV), “my heart recoils within me” (RSV), “my heart is turned over within me” (NASB); and (2) volitional reversal of previous decision to totally destroy Israel: “I have had a change of heart” (NJPS), “my heart is changed within me” (NIV), and “my heart will not let me do it!” (TEV). The lexicons suggest that the idiom describes a decisive change of heart (reversal of decision to totally destroy Israel once and for all) rather than emotional turbulence of God shifting back and forth between whether to destroy or spare Israel (BDB 245 s.v. 1.b; HALOT 253 s.v. 3). This volitional nuance is supported by the modal function of the 1cs imperfects in 11:8 (“I will not carry out my fierce anger…I will not destroy Ephraim…I will not come in wrath”) and by the prophetic announcement of future restoration in 11:10-11. Clearly, a dramatic reversal both in tone and in divine intention occurs between 11:5-11.
<sup>20</sup>tn The Niphal of rm^K* (kamar) means “to grow warm, tender” (BDB 485 s.v. rm^K*), as its use in a simile with the oven demonstrates (Lam 5:10). It is used several times to describe the arousal of the most tender affection (Gen 43:30; 1 Kgs 3:26; Hos 11:8; BDB 485 s.v. 1; HALOT 482 s.v. rmk 1).
<sup>21</sup>tn The three imperfect verbs function as imperfects of capability, similar to the imperfects of capability in 11:8. See IBHS 34.1.a.
<sup>22</sup>tn When the verb dr^j* (kharad, “to tremble”) is used with prepositions of direction, it denotes “to go or come trembling” (BDB 353 s.v. dr^j* 4; e.g., Gen 42:28; 1 Sam 13:7; 16:4; 21:2; Hos 11:10, 11). Thus, the phrase <Y`m!…Wdr+j#y\w+ (v^eyekherdu…miyyam) means “to come trembling from the west.”
²³tn For the meaning of dr^j* (harad, “to tremble”) with prepositions of direction, see 11:10 above.
²⁴sn Beginning with 11:12, the verse numbers through 12:14 in the English Bible differ by one from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 11:12 ET = 12:1 HT, 12:1 ET = 12:2 HT, etc., through 12:14 ET = 12:15 HT. From 13:1 to 13:16 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.
²⁵tn The phrase “has surrounded me” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied by the parallelism in the preceding line. It is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons, smoothness, and readability.
²⁶tn The verb dWr (rud, “to roam about freely”) is used in a concrete sense to refer to someone wandering restlessly and roaming back and forth (BDB 923 s.v. dWr; Judg 11:37). Here, it is used figuratively, possibly with positive connotations, as indicated by the preposition <u! (’im, “with”), to indicate accompaniment: “but Judah still goes about with God” (HALOT 1194 s.v. dwr). Some English translations render it positively: “Judah still walks with God” (RSV); “Judah is restive under God” (REB); “but Judah stands firm with God” (NJPS); “but Judah remains faithful” (CEV); “but Judah yet ruleth with God” (KJV). Others adopt the negative connotation “to wander restlessly” and nuance <u! in an adversative sense (“against”): “Judah is unruly against God” (NIV) and “the people of Judah are still rebelling against me” (TEV).