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Hosea

About this book
Chapter 11

1 “When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.⁠ 2 But the more I summoned them, the farther they departed from me. They sacrificed to the Baal idols and burned incense to images. 3 Yet it was I who led Ephraim; I took them by the arm, but they did not acknowledge that I had healed them. 4 I drew them with leather cords, with straps of hide; I lifted the yoke from their neck and gently fed them. 5 They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent! 6 A sword will flash in their cities; it will destroy the bars of their city gates, and will devour them in their fortresses. 7 My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them! 8 “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel?⁠ How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim?⁠ I have had a change of heart. All my tender compassions are aroused.⁠ 9 I cannot carry out my fierce anger! I cannot totally destroy Ephraim! Because I am God, and not man—the Holy One among you—I will not come in wrath! 10 “He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord; when he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. 12 (12:1) Ephraim has surrounded me with lies; the house of Israel has surrounded me with deceit. But Judah still roams about with God; he remains faithful to the Holy One.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 4:23 and Hosea 11:1

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Exodus introduces Israel as God’s firstborn son, a status that explains why Pharaoh’s refusal leads to the threat against Egypt’s firstborn. Hosea later recalls this image of divine fatherhood by describing Israel as a child called out of Egypt.

Passages

Exodus 4:23

Hebrew Bible
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go. 22 You must say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord has said, “Israel is my son, my firstborn, 23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve me,’ but since you have refused to let him go, I will surely kill your son, your firstborn!”’” 24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night, the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him. 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

Hosea 11:1

Hebrew Bible
1 “When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt. 2 But the more I summoned them, the farther they departed from me. They sacrificed to the Baal idols and burned incense to images. 3 Yet it was I who led Ephraim; I took them by the arm, but they did not acknowledge that I had healed them. 4 I drew them with leather cords, with straps of hide; I lifted the yoke from their neck and gently fed them. 5 They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent!
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hosea

References

"... This command forms the transition from the first to the second group of divine declarations, in that it simultaneously possesses both religious and social dimensions. It shares with the preceding command the formula “the Lord your God.” Also, the relationship of Israel to God is often expressed metaphorically in filial terms (compare Exodus 4:22; Jeremiah 31:20; Hosea 11:1; Malachi 1:6) and the same verbs of “honoring” and “revering” are used in expressing proper human attitudes to both God and parents. In fact, the obligation to respect is enjoined only for God and parents, and the offender in either instance is liable to the extreme penalty. The parallels point up the supreme importance that the Torah assigns to the integrity of the family for the sake of the stability of society and generational continuity. Family life is the bedrock on which Jewish society stands. No other item in the Decalogue is similarly formulated wholly in positive terms, and for none other is there a promise of reward. The prophet Ezekiel includes the dishonoring of parents among the grievous sins that characterized the generation of the destruction of the First Temple ..."
Nahum M. Sarna, Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), 113.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Exodus 4:23 and Hosea 11:1

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