6. Exegetical Analysis of the Text
Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to Yahweh; for he has torn, but he will heal us; he struck, but he will bind us.” Both verbs לְכוּ (הָלַךְ) “come” and נָשׁוּבָה (שׁוּב) “return” have full force in and their repetition (Hosea 5:15; 6:1) puts Yahweh’s action and the people’s action in counterpoise. The omission of the conjunction brings יַךְ (נָכָה) “smite” into tandem with
טָרָף (טָרַף) “tear.” The two verbs וְיִרְפָּאֵנוּ (רָפָא) “heal” and וְיַחְבְּשֵֽׁנוּ (חָבַשׁ) “bind” are brought into line with וְנָשׁוּבָה (שׁוּב) “return”. These verbs “tear”, “heal”, “smite”, and “bind” are paralleled with other verses. Yahweh can tear to pieces without interference (Hosea 5:14), and heal without rival (Hoses 5:13). The parallelism of רָפָא “heal” and חָבַשׁ “bind” is used in (Job 5:18; Ezek 30:21; 34:4 and Isa 30:26) and Yahweh will heal and bind up (Job 5:18; Ezek 30:21). Yahweh can choose to destroy (Hoses 5:13,14) and can choose to deliver (Hosea 6:1,2).
Hosea 6:2 “He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us; and we shall live before him.”
The statives יְחַיֵּנוּ (חָיָה) “make alive” and יְקִמֵנוּ (וּםק) “raise up” are in parallel (Isa. 26:19; Hosea 6:2). The piel חָיָה does not mean “to make alive”; rather it has its usual meaning of “preserve alive.” The Hiphil …show more content…
נִרְדְּפָה (רָדַף) “pursue” usually means to chase with hostile intentions, but is used in a good sense here, to pursue the knowledge of Yahweh. In contrast, הַדָּעַת “knowledge” is despised by the priest (Hosea 4:6) and the woman vainly רָדַף pursued her lovers (Hosea 2:7). לָדַעַת אֶת־יְהוָה (יָדַע) “know, knowledge of Yahweh, knowledge of God” is infinitive construct. The personal dimension carries with the idea of “love” and “fear” as ingredients in the “knowledge” of Yahweh. The exhortation is to pursue the knowledge of
Hosea 6:1 “Come, let us return to Yahweh; for he has torn, but he will heal us; he struck, but he will bind us.” Both verbs לְכוּ (הָלַךְ) “come” and נָשׁוּבָה (שׁוּב) “return” have full force in and their repetition (Hosea 5:15; 6:1) puts Yahweh’s action and the people’s action in counterpoise. The omission of the conjunction brings יַךְ (נָכָה) “smite” into tandem with
טָרָף (טָרַף) “tear.” The two verbs וְיִרְפָּאֵנוּ (רָפָא) “heal” and וְיַחְבְּשֵֽׁנוּ (חָבַשׁ) “bind” are brought into line with וְנָשׁוּבָה (שׁוּב) “return”. These verbs “tear”, “heal”, “smite”, and “bind” are paralleled with other verses. Yahweh can tear to pieces without interference (Hosea 5:14), and heal without rival (Hoses 5:13). The parallelism of רָפָא “heal” and חָבַשׁ “bind” is used in (Job 5:18; Ezek 30:21; 34:4 and Isa 30:26) and Yahweh will heal and bind up (Job 5:18; Ezek 30:21). Yahweh can choose to destroy (Hoses 5:13,14) and can choose to deliver (Hosea 6:1,2).
Hosea 6:2 “He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us; and we shall live before him.”
The statives יְחַיֵּנוּ (חָיָה) “make alive” and יְקִמֵנוּ (וּםק) “raise up” are in parallel (Isa. 26:19; Hosea 6:2). The piel חָיָה does not mean “to make alive”; rather it has its usual meaning of “preserve alive.” The Hiphil …show more content…
נִרְדְּפָה (רָדַף) “pursue” usually means to chase with hostile intentions, but is used in a good sense here, to pursue the knowledge of Yahweh. In contrast, הַדָּעַת “knowledge” is despised by the priest (Hosea 4:6) and the woman vainly רָדַף pursued her lovers (Hosea 2:7). לָדַעַת אֶת־יְהוָה (יָדַע) “know, knowledge of Yahweh, knowledge of God” is infinitive construct. The personal dimension carries with the idea of “love” and “fear” as ingredients in the “knowledge” of Yahweh. The exhortation is to pursue the knowledge of