Chapter VIII: Front Matter (8)

It is substantially the same thing, whether we understand: "the last words of David" or "the latter words of David"--later in reference to xxi. 1. For even Ps. xviii., which precedes in chap. xxii., belongs, according to its inscription and contents, to the last times of David; it is, as it were, "a grand Hallelujah with which he withdraws from the scene of life." But, at all events, there is a closer connection with that Psalm; in it, too, David has in view the future destiny of his race, and we have here, in the last words, the prophetic conclusion of the lyrical effusion there. From this connection with chap. xxii., the closer limitation of the "words" follows. We learn from it that _holy_ words only can be meant. The solemn introduction, and the parallelism with the blessings of Jacob and Moses, fully agree with and confirm this our introductory remark regarding the chronological position of these "words."--There can be no doubt that, in this introduction, there is a reference to Balaam's prophecy in Num. xxiv. 3,--and this goes far to prove how much David was occupied with the views which men of God had formerly opened up into future times:--"And he took up his parable and said: Balaam the son of Beor prophesies, and the man who had his eyes shut, prophesies: He prophesies who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down and having his eyes open." The remarks which we made on that passage find here also a strict application: [Pg 154] "Balaam begins with a simple designation of his person, and then, in the following members, adds designations of such qualities of this person as here come into consideration, and serve for affording a foundation to the נאם with which he opens his discourse." As נאם always has the signification, "word of God," "revelation," it can here be ascribed to David, as it was in the fundamental passage to Balaam, only in as far as the word has been received by, and communicated to, him. The על, "upon," "over," stands here for "on high,"[1]--those over whom David has been raised up being omitted in order to express the absolute sovereignty bestowed upon David, more, however, in his posterity, than in his own person. (Compare Ps. xviii. 44: "Thou makest me the head of the heathen;" and in ver. 48: "God who avengeth me, and subdueth people under me.") _He who was raised up on high_--With the exception of the bodily ancestor and the lawgiver, of none under the Old Testament could this be with so much truth affirmed, as of David, the founder of the royal house, which, in all eternity, was to be the channel of blessings for the Congregation of the Lord, and to which, at last, all power in heaven and on earth was to be given. _The anointed of the God of Jacob_--Such is David, not only as an individual, but also as the representative of his race; compare Ps. xviii. 51. He is pre-eminently the anointed, the Christ of God.--זמיר plur. זמירית signifies, according to derivation and usage, not _song_ or _hymn_ in general, but the hymn in the higher strain, the skilful, solemn song of praise; compare my commentary on Song of Sol. ii. 12. David's Psalms are called זמירות of Israel, because he sang them as the organ of the congregation, and because they were appointed to be used in public worship; compare Comment, on Psalms, vol. iii. p. vi. _Sweet in Psalms of Israel_ here finds its place only on the supposition that David, in his Psalms, spoke in the Spirit, Matt. xxii. 41-46; compare Commentary on Psalms, vol. iii. p. vii. viii. The most distinguished excellence in poetry which is [Pg 155] merely human cannot form a foundation for the assertion in ver. 2. But if, on the other hand, David be an often times tried organ of the Spirit for the Church, it cannot surprise us that in ver. 2 he even declares that, in the Spirit, he there foretells the future. Thus the נאם in our verse also has a good foundation.

Ver. 2. "_The Spirit of the Lord spake to me, and His word is upon my tongue._" That דבר refers to the communication which David promulgates in the sequel, and not to other revelations which he had formerly received, appears from its relation to the נאם in ver. 1. We should lose the new revelation announced in ver. 1, if ver. 2, and, hence, ver. 3 also--for the אמר there evidently resumes the דבר--refer to divine revelations which David, or, as _Thenius_ supposes, even some other person, had formerly received.--בי is not "through me," for in that case the Participle would have been used instead of the Preterite; nor "in me," for that is contradicted by the parallel passages in which דבר occurs with ב; but "into me," which is stronger than "to me," and marks the deeply penetrating power of the revelation by the Spirit; compare remarks on Hosea i. 2. Such being the case, the Preterite is quite in its proper place; for the inward revelation, the נאם יהוה precedes the communication--the נאם דוד. (On the whole verse, 1 Pet. i. 11, 2 Pet. i. 21, are to be compared.)

Ver. 3. "_The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me: a Ruler over men--just; a Ruler--fear of God._"

The omission of the verb, "will be or rise," is quite suited to the concise and abrupt style of the divine word. The mention of God, the Rock of Israel, shows that the revelation has a reference to what is done for the good of the people of God,--of His Church. For her good, the glorious Ruler shall be raised. (Compare the words, ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὑτοῦ, in Luke i. 54, as also ver. 68, and ii. 32.) The appellation. Rock of Israel, indicates God's immutability, trustworthiness, and inviolable faithfulness; compare my comment, on Psalm xviii. 3, 32-47. The connection betwixt Ps. xviii. and the "last words of David" here also clearly appears. The fundamental passage is Deut. xxxii. 4.--That _men_ must be conceived of as the subjects of dominion, is proved by Ps. xviii. 44, where David is made the head of nations, and people whom he has not known [Pg 156] serve him,--and by ver. 45, where the sons of the stranger do homage to him,--and by ver. 48: "Who subdues people under me."--_A Ruler_--_fear_ of God, _i.e._, a Ruler who shall, as it were, be fear of God itself--personified fear of God. We must here compare the expression, "This man is the peace," Mic. v. 4, and, as to the substance of the expression. Is. xi. 2, "And the Spirit of the Lord rests upon him ... the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." We might be disposed to refer this exclusively to the person of the Messiah, especially when those Psalms are compared which refer to a personal Messiah. But Ps. xviii.--which here receives, as it were, its prophetic seal--and especially the relation of ver. 3 and 4 to ver. 5, where David speaks of his house, prove that the Ruler here is, primarily, only an ideal person, viz., the seed of David spoken of in Ps. xviii. 51. Things so glorious can, however, be ascribed to it only with a reference to the august personage in whom that seed will centre at the end of days,--the righteous Branch, whom the Lord will raise up unto David (Jer. xxiii. 5), who executeth judgment and righteousness on earth, Jer. xxxiii. 15. David knew too well what human nature is, and what is in man, to have expected any such thing from the collective body, as such.

Ver. 4. "_And as the light of the morning when the sun riseth, a mourning without clouds; by brightness, by rain,--grass out of the earth._"

In the first hemistich we have to supply: will be His appearance in its loveliness and saving importance. The morning elsewhere also, especially in the Psalms (compare remarks on Ps. lix. 17; Song of Sol. iii. 1), is used as the emblem of salvation. The condition of men before the appearance of the Ruler among them, is, in its destitution, like dark night.--The _brightness_ is that of the Ruler, as the spiritual Sun, the Sun of Salvation. (Compare Mal. iii. 20 [iv. 2], where righteousness is represented as the sun rising to those who fear God.) The _rain_--the warm, mild rain, not the winter's rain which, in the Song of Sol. ii. 11, and elsewhere, occurs as an emblem of affliction and judgment--is the emblem of blessing (compare Is. xliv. 3, where "rain" is explained by "blessing"). The _grass_, which springs up out of the earth by means of sunshine and rain, is emblematical of the fruits and effects of salvation. [Pg 157] (Compare Is. xlv. 8, where, in consequence of the rain of salvation pouring down from the skies, the earth brings forth salvation and righteousness.) The passage in Ps. lxxii. 6 is parallel, where Solomon says of his Antitype, "He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as showers watering the earth." The figure of the rain making fresh grass to spring up is there likewise employed to designate the blessings of the Messianic time.

Ver. 5. "_For is not thus my house with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and kept; for all my salvation, and all pleasure,--should He not make it to grow?_" The special revelation which David received at the close of his life (compare the remarks on נאם in ver. 1) is here connected with the fundamental promise in 2 Sam. vii., which was thereby anew confirmed to him. Those who, like _De Wette_ and _Thenius_, mistake the correct sense of vers. 3 and 4, are not a little perplexed by the "_for_" at the beginning of this verse, and attempt in vain to account for it.--_Thus_, _i.e._, as it had been told in what precedes.--ערוכה, "prepared," "ordered," forms the contrast to what is only half finished, indefinite, depending upon circumstances and conditions, admitting of provisions and exceptions. The extent to which all interposing obstacles were excluded, or rather, had been considered and calculated upon beforehand, appears especially from 2 Sam. vii. 14, 15, according to which, even the most fatal of all interpositions--the apostasy of the bearers of the covenant--should not destroy the covenant,--should not annul the gracious promise made to the race. _Kept_, _i.e._, firm, inviolable, because given by Him who keepeth covenant and mercy, Deut. vii. 9; Dan. ix. 4. In 1 Kings viii. 25, Solomon prays, "And now, Lord God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father what Thou promisedst him when Thou saidst. There shall not be cut off unto thee a man from My sight to sit on the throne of Israel." The second "_for_" points out the cause of _kept_. _All pleasure_, _i.e._, all that is well-pleasing to me, all that my heart desires. The preceding ישעי serves the purpose of qualifying it more definitely. The object of David's desires is, accordingly, his salvation, the glory of his house.

Ver. 6. "_And wickedness, like thorns, they will all be driven away; for not will any one take them into his hands._"

The subject treated of in this verse is: the Ruler among men [Pg 158] in His relation to His enemies. To those He is as formidable as His appearance is blessed to those who surrender themselves to Him. In Ps. xviii. also, there is a celebration of the indomitable power which the Lord grants to David, His anointed, and to his seed against all their enemies; compare ver. 38: "I pursue mine enemies and overtake them, and do not turn again till they are consumed; ver. 39, I crush them and they cannot rise, they fall under my feet." In the cycle of Psalms from cxxxviii. to cxlv., David likewise speaks of the dangers which threaten his house from enemies, and the leading thought of Ps. ii. is: the Messiah as the conqueror of His enemies. The eyes of David were the more opened to this circumstance, the more he himself had had to contend against adversaries.--בליעל always means unworthiness in a moral point of view, "wickedness," "vileness." _Wickedness_ is here used in the concrete sense = the wicked ones, the sons of wickedness, Deut. xiii. 14. The wicked ones, the enemies of the Church, are compared to the thorns, on account of their pricking nature; and therefore their end is like that of thorns, they will be thrown aside like them. In Ezek. xxiv. 28, after the judgment upon the neighbouring people has been proclaimed, it is said, "And there shall remain no more a pricking brier everywhere round about the house of Israel, where their enemies are, nor a grieving thorn;" compare Num. xxxiii. 55; Song of Sol. ii. 2; Is. xxvii. 4; Nahum i. 10.--מנד, the _Partic. Hoph._ of נוד, "thrust out," "put to flight" (compare Ps. xxxvi. 12), cannot be applied to the thorns, but only to the men. _Like thorns_, _i.e._, so that they become like thorns, of which the land is cleared. _For not will any one take them into his hands_--_Michaelis_: _Intractabiles sunt._

Ver. 7. "_And if any one toucheth them, he is filled with iron, and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burnt with fire where they dwell._"

The two members of vers. 6 and 7 stand in an inverted relation to each other. In ver. 6, we have, first, the punishment described, and then their hostile nature, by which the punishment was called forth. In ver. 7, we have, first, the cause, and then the consequence. The thought in the first member is: every touch of them bears a hostile character. _Iron_--instead of weapons fabricated of iron; comp. 1 Sam. xvii. 7; Job xx. 24, xli. 19 compared with vers. 18, 20; Jer. xv. 12. [Pg 159] בשבת, literally, "in the dwelling" (compare Ps. xxiii. 6, xxvii. 4; Deut. xxx. 20) instead of "where they dwell," shows that in their own borders they shall be visited and overtaken by retribution. בשבת cannot have the signification, "without delay," ascribed to it by _Thenius_.

Footnote 1: תחת, "below," "beneath," "under," is often used adverbially, _e.g._ Gen. xlix. 25. על, in the signification "on high," occurs also in Hosea xi. 7,--less certainly in Hos. vii. 16. For, according to 2 Chron. xxx. 9, that passage may be explained; "they return, not _to_," _i.e._, there is the mere commencement of conversion, but not the attainment of the end. On הוקם Deut. xxviii. 36 is to be compared.

THE SONG OF SOLOMON.

An important link in the chain of the Messianic hopes is formed by the Song of Solomon. It is intimately associated with Ps. lxxii., which was written by Solomon, and represents the Messiah as the Prince of Peace, imperfectly prefigured by Solomon as His type. As in this Psalm, so also in the Song of Solomon, the coming of the Messiah forms the subject throughout, and He is introduced there under the name of Solomon, the Peaceful One. His coming shall be preceded by severe afflictions, represented under the emblems of the scorching heat of the sun, of winter, of rain, of dark nights, and of the desert. Connected with this coming is the reception of the heathen nations into His kingdom, and this, through the medium of the old Covenant-people.

Thus far the first part, down to chap. v. 1. The subjects contained in the second part are, the sin of the daughter of Zion against the heavenly Solomon and the judgment; then, repentance and reunion, which will be accomplished by the co-operation of the daughters of Jerusalem, _i.e._, of the very heathen nations who had formerly received salvation through them; the complete re-establishment of the old relation of love, in consequence of which the daughter of Zion again occupies the centre of the kingdom of God; and the indissoluble nature of this covenant of love now anew entered into, in contrast with the instability of the former.

The Song of Solomon does not, strictly speaking, possess a prophetical character. It does not communicate any new revelations; like the Psalms, it only represents, in a poetical form, things already known. It sufficiently appears from our former statement, that, in the first part of this book, not one feature occurs which did not form a part of those Messianic prophecies [Pg 160] which we can prove to have been known at the time of Solomon. In the second part, however, it is somewhat different. No corresponding parallel can be adduced from any former time to the view, that a great part of the people would reject the salvation offered to them in Christ, and, thereby, draw down judgment upon themselves. Yet, all that the book under consideration contains upon this point, is only the application of a general truth, the knowledge of which the Covenant-people had received at the very beginning of their history. A consideration of human nature in general, and more especially of Israel's character, as it had been deeply and firmly impressed upon the people by the Mosaic law, joined to the ample experience which history had afforded in this respect, sufficiently convinced those who were more enlightened, that it could not be by any means expected--that, indeed, it was even impossible--that, at the coming of the Messiah, the whole people would sincerely and heartily receive Him, and do homage to Him. And there existed, on the other hand, at the time of Solomon also, the foundation for the doctrine of the final restoration of the people. For, even in the Pentateuch, the election of Israel by God is represented as irrevocable and absolute, and which, therefore, must at last triumph over all apostasy and Covenant-breaking on the part of the people.

The Song of Solomon, then, is no _apocalypsis_, no revelation of mysteries till then unknown. There is in it no such disclosure as is, _e.g._, that in 2 Sam. vii., on the descent of the Messiah from David; or, as is that in Mic. v. 1 (2), on His being born at Bethlehem; or even as is that in Is. liii. on His office as a High Priest, and His vicarious satisfaction. But, nevertheless, we must not imagine the case to have been thus, that the contents of the Song of Solomon could have originated merely from reflection on the part of Solomon. The truths hitherto revealed had too much of the character of mere germs to allow us to suppose that from them, and in such a way, we could account for the clearness and certainty with which they have been blended into one whole. Another element, moreover, must be joined to the historical ground--viz., an elevated condition of the soul, a "being in the Spirit,"--a breathing of the divine Spirit upon the human. History bears witness that such prophetic states, in the wider sense, were not strange to Solomon. It twice [Pg 161] reports about the Lord's having appeared to him, 1 Kings iii. 5, ix. 2. From such an elevated state of soul, his dedicatory prayer, in 1 Kings viii., and Ps. lxxii., also originated.

We must content ourselves with these hints as regards Solomon's Song. As it moves throughout on Messianic ground, the Author must consider his commentary on this book (Berlin, 1853) as an appendix to the Christology.

[Pg 162]

MESSIANIC PREDICTIONS IN THE PROPHETS.

After the time of Solomon, the Messianic prediction was for a considerable time discontinued. It was first resumed, and farther expanded, by the Canonical prophecy which began under Uzziah. There cannot be any doubt that that which _appears_ as an interval was _really_ such. There is no ground for the supposition that any important connecting links have been lost. The Messianic prediction in the oldest canonical prophets is immediately connected with that which existed previously at the time of David and Solomon.

It is not a matter of chance that, whilst the blossom of prophetism appeared as early as Samuel, the canonical prophetism took its rise at a much later date. Nor is it the result of accident, that we do not possess any written prophecies, either by Elijah, who, at the transfiguration of the Lord, appeared as the representative of all the Old Testament prophets, or by Elisha. Nor is it merely accidental that, at the time of Uzziah, there appears all at once, and simultaneously, a whole series of prophets. All these things are connected with the circumstance, that it was only at that time that great events for the Covenant-people were in preparation,--that, only then, those catastrophes were impending which were to be brought about by the Asiatic kingdoms, and which kept equal pace with the sin of Israel, the measure of which was being more and more filled up. Canonical prophecy is closely linked with these catastrophes. It is called to disclose to the Church the meaning of these judgments, and, thereby, to secure to them their effects in all time coming. The Messianic predictions uttered by the prophets are likewise closely connected with the announcement of these judgments. Whilst false security was shaken by the threatenings, despondency--which is as [Pg 163] hostile to true conversion--was prevented by pointing to the future coming of the Saviour.

The prophets do not deliver the Messianic prediction in its whole compass, any more than do the writers of the Messianic Psalms. On the contrary, it is always only certain individual aspects which they exhibit. The writers of the Messianic Psalms take up those features which presented points of contact with their own lives and their own experiences, or at least the circumstances of their times. This is quite in keeping with the more subjective origin of Psalm-poetry. Thus David describes the suffering Messiah surrounded by powerful enemies, and who, after severe struggles, at length obtains victory and dominion. To Solomon, He appears as the Ruler of a great and peaceful kingdom, and he beholds the most distant nations reverentially offering presents to Him and doing Him allegiance. But the Prophets, in pointing out this or that feature, are not so much guided by their own experience, disposition of mind, and peculiar circumstances, as by the wants of those whom they are addressing, and by the effect which they are anxious to produce on them. When they have to do with pusillanimity, desponding at the sight of the heathen world as it seems to be all-powerful,--they then represent the Messiah as the invincible conqueror of the heathen world, who shall subject the whole earth to the kingdom of God. When they have to deal with pride, trusting in imaginary prerogatives of the Covenant-people, and boldly challenging the judgments of God upon the heathen,--they then represent the Messiah as Him who shall make a great separation among the Covenant-people themselves, and who shall be a consolation to the godly, while He brings inexorable judgments upon the wicked when they have to do with those who mourn in Zion, who through the inflicted judgments of the Lord have been brought to a deep sorrow on account of their sins,--they then represent the Messiah as Him who shall one day take away the sins of the land, who is to bear their griefs and carry their sorrows. Now, as canonical prophecy extends over several centuries, during which circumstances, wants, and dispositions the most diverse, must have taken place, and as the Messianic prophecy is in harmony with these, it displayed, more and more fully, its riches, and did so in a manner far more effective and vivid than it could possibly have [Pg 164] done had it been proclaimed in the form of a discussion or treatise. As the Messiah was thus represented from the most various points of view, and in the way of direct perception, and divine confidence,--as He was thus everywhere pointed out as the end of the development. He could not but become more and more the soul of the nation's life.

In the Messianic announcements by the prophets, no such gradual progress in clearness and distinctness can be traced, as in those of the Pentateuch. The assertion that there existed with them at first, only a general hope of better times, unconnected with any person, rests on the unfounded hypothesis that Joel is the oldest among all the prophets,--and at the same time on the erroneous assumption that he was ignorant of a personal Messiah,--and, _further_, on the incorrect supposition that the prophets, who write only what presents itself immediately to their view, have not in their creed all that they omit to say. It is, _moreover_, opposed by the prospect of a personal Messiah held out in the Pentateuch, the Psalms, and the Song of Solomon. How very slender is the ground for inferring that, because many essential points are not touched upon by Hosea, Joel, and Amos, they, therefore, did not know them, is shown by the fact that neither do several among the later prophets--as Jeremiah and Ezekiel--touch upon them, although the previous more distinct prophecies of Isaiah were certainly known and acknowledged by them. We must never forget that it is from above that each of the prophets received his share of the prophetic spirit, and that this depended partly upon the measure of his receptivity, which might have been greater with the former than with the latter prophets,--and, partly, upon the wants and capacities of those for whom the prophecy was destined.

A central position, as regards the Messianic predictions, is occupied by Isaiah. Even his Messianic prophecies, however, when viewed detached and isolated, bear the character of onesidedness. He nowhere gives us a complete image of the Messiah. But, whilst the other prophets were permitted to give only single disclosures, he gives us, in the whole body of his Messianic prophecies, the materials for a full and entire image, although not the image itself. The Fathers of the Church have, therefore, rightly designated him as the Evangelist among the prophets. But the transition to him from the Psalms and [Pg 165] the Song of Solomon could not be Immediate. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah form, as it were, the connecting links. Proceeding from the Messianic promise, in the shape which it had received at the time of David and Solomon, they give it a standing in the prophetic message, and infuse into it new life by means of the connection into which it is brought by them, and supplement it by adding single new features.

It is our intention to give an exposition of the Messianic passages in the prophets, according to their chronological order. In placing Hosea at the head, we follow the example of those who collected the Canon, and who, regarding not so much the succession of years as that of the governments, may have assigned the first place to Hosea, because he is the most important among the prophets at the time of Jeroboam in Israel, and of Uzziah in Judah, or because he really appeared first, and the prophecy in chap. i.-iii. is the beginning of written prophecies. The latter supposition most naturally suggests itself; the analogies are in its favour, and no decisive argument has been brought forward against it.

THE PROPHET HOSEA.

GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

That the kingdom of Israel was the object of the prophet's ministry is so evident, that upon this point all are, and cannot but be, agreed. But there is a difference of opinion as to whether the prophet was a fellow-countryman of those to whom he preached, or was called by God out of the kingdom of Judah. The latter has been asserted with great confidence by _Maurer_, among others, in his _Observ. in Hos._, in the _Commentat. Theol._ ii. i. p. 293. But the arguments by which he supports this view will not stand the test. He appeals (1) to the inscription. The circumstance that, in this, there is mention made of the kings of Judah under whom Hosea exercised his ministry,--that they are mentioned _at all_,--and that they are mentioned _first_ and _completely_, while only one of the kings of Israel is named, [Pg 166] proves, according to him--especially on a comparison with the inscription of Amos--that the prophet acknowledged the kings of Judah as his superiors. But this mode of argumentation entirely overlooks the position which the pious in Israel generally, and the prophets especially, occupied in reference to Judah. They considered the whole separation--the civil as well as the religious--as an apostasy from God. And how could they do otherwise, since the eternal dominion over the people of God had been granted, by God, to the house of David? The closeness of the connection between the religious and the civil sufficiently appears from the fact, that Jeroboam and all his successors despaired of being able to maintain their power, unless they made the breach, in religious matters also, as wide as possible. The chief of the prophets in the kingdom of the ten tribes--Elijah--by taking twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel (1 Kings xviii. 31), plainly enough declared, that he considered the separation as one not consistent with the idea of the Jewish kingdom, and that therefore, in reality, it must at some future period be done away with; that he considered the government in Israel as existing _de facto_, but not _de jure_.

By none do we find this view so distinctly brought out as by Hosea. "They have set up kings, and not by Me"--says the Lord by him, chap. viii. 4--"they have made princes, and I knew it not." In his view, then, the whole basis of the government in Israel is ungodliness. Because they have chosen kings and princes without God, and against the will of God, they shall be taken from them by God, chap. iii. 4. Salvation cannot come to the people until Israel and, Judah set over themselves one head, ii. 2 (i. 11), until the children of Israel seek Jehovah their Lord, and David their king, iii. 5. These two things are, in his view, intimately connected; no true return to the invisible head of the Theocracy is possible without, at the same time, a return to the visible one--the house of David. What, at some future time, the mass of the people, when converted, were to do, the converted individual must do even now. He even now recognised the kings of the tribe of Judah as truly his sovereigns, although he yielded civil obedience to the rulers of Israel, until God should again abolish the government which He gave to the people in wrath, and set [Pg 167] up in opposition to the government of the house of David in His anger, on account of their apostasy. From all this, it clearly appears that, in order to account for the peculiarity of the inscription, we need not have recourse to the conjecture, that Hosea was a native of Judah. One might, with as much reason, maintain that all the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, who rejected the worship of the calves--and hence all the prophets without exception--were natives of the kingdom of Judah. For the worship of the calves is quite on a par with the apostasy from the anointed of God. Hosea mentions, first and completely, the kings of the legitimate family. He then further adds the name of one of the rulers of the kingdom of Israel, under whom his ministry began, because it was of importance to fix precisely the time of its commencement. Uzziah, the first in the series of the kings of Judah mentioned by him, survived Jeroboam nearly twenty-six years; compare _Maurer_, l. c. p. 284. Now, had the latter not been mentioned along with him, the thought might easily have suggested itself, that it was only during the latter period of Uzziah's reign that the prophet entered upon his office; in which case all that he said about the overthrow of Jeroboam's family would have appeared to be a _vaticinium post eventum_, inasmuch as it took place very soon after Jeroboam's death. The same applies to what was said by him regarding the total decay of the kingdom which was so flourishing under Jeroboam; for, from the moment of Jeroboam's death, it hastened with rapid strides towards its destruction. If, therefore, it was to be seen that future things lie open before God and His servants "before they spring forth" (Is. xlii. 9), it was necessary that the commencement of the prophet's ministry should be the more accurately determined; and this is effected by the statement, that it happened within the period of the fourteen years during which Uzziah and Jeroboam reigned contemporaneously. That this is the main reason for mentioning Jeroboam's name, is seen from the relation of ver. 2 to ver. 1. The remark there made,--that Hosea received the subsequent revelation at the very beginning of his prophetic ministry, corresponds with the mention of Jeroboam's name in ver. 1. But this is not all; nor can we say that, had it not been for this reason, Hosea would not have mentioned any king of Israel at all, in order that, from the outset, he might exhibit [Pg 168] his disposition. There was a considerable difference between Jeroboam and the subsequent kings. _Cocceius_ remarked very strikingly: "The other kings of Israel are not considered as kings, but as robbers." Jeroboam possessed a _quasi_ legitimacy. The house of Jehu, to which he belonged, had opposed the extreme of religious apostasy. It was, to a certain degree, acknowledged, even by the prophets. Jeroboam had obtained the throne, not by usurpation, but by birth. He was the last king by whom the Lord sent deliverance to the people of the ten tribes; compare 2 Kings xiv. 27: "And the Lord would not blot out the name of Israel from under heaven; and He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam, the son of Joash." (2.) The _internal_ reason adduced by _Maurer_ (S. 294) is equally insignificant. "The _morum magistri_," he says, "are wont more slightly to reprove, in the case of strangers, that which they severely condemn in their own people; but Hosea rebukes with as much severity the inhabitants of Judah, when he comes to speak of them, as he does the Israelites." But no certain inferences can be drawn from such commonplaces; for, in this way we might as reasonably infer, that Isaiah and the writer of the Books of Kings were natives of the kingdom of the ten tribes, because they censure the sins of the Israelites as severely as they do those of the inhabitants of Judah. To this commonplace we might as easily oppose another equally true, viz., the "_morum magistri_, from a partiality for their own people, are wont to judge more leniently of their faults than of those of strangers." Such maxims require to be applied with the utmost caution, even in the territory to which they belong, because one consideration may be so easily outweighed by another. Here, however, its application is altogether out of the question. The prophets, as the instruments of the Spirit, spoke pure and plain truth without any regard to persons. Whether Hosea was a native of Judah or of Israel, he would express himself in the same way concerning the inhabitants of Judah. He would severely rebuke their sins, and at the same time readily acknowledge, as he does, their advantages,--for "Salvation cometh of the Jews."

If, then, these be the arguments in favour of the Judean origin of Hosea, it readily appears that the probabilities of such an origin, compared with that of his Israelitish descent, are not [Pg 169] even in the proportion of one to a hundred. The prophets were almost more numerous in the kingdom of Israel than in that of Judah; and yet the entire history knows of only two instances of prophets being sent from the kingdom of Judah to that of Israel, viz., the prophet spoken of in 1 Kings xiii. and Amos. And the former of these even scarcely belongs to this class, inasmuch as he received only a single mission into the kingdom of Israel, and _that_, at a time when the prophetic institution was not as yet organized there. In the case of Amos likewise, it is manifest not only that he was only an exception to the rule,--as appears from the transactions with the priest Amaziah, reported in Amos vii. (compare especially ver. 12),--but still more plainly, from the mention in the inscription of his having been a native of Judah.

With regard to the _time_ of the prophet, the inscription places his ministry in the reigns of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. A long period is, no doubt, thus assigned to it,--a period embracing at least twenty-six years of Uzziah's reign, and, in addition, the sixteen years of that of Jotham, the sixteen years during which Ahaz reigned, and at least one or two years of the reign of Hezekiah, making, at the lowest calculation, a period of sixty years in all.

This exceedingly long duration of the prophet's ministry might easily excite suspicion regarding the genuineness and correctness of the inscription; but such suspicion is at once set at rest by the fact, that the statements contained in the book itself lead us to assume a period equally extended. The _beginning_ of the prophet's ministry cannot be assigned to any _later_ period; for, in chap. i. 4, the fall of Jeroboam's house, which took place soon after his death, is announced as a future event. _Moreover_, the condition of the kingdom appears still, throughout the whole first discourse, as a very flourishing one. Nor can the end of his ministry be assigned to any earlier period. For in chap. x. 14, an expedition of Shalman or Shalmaneser against the kingdom of Israel (_Vitringa_, _Proleg. in Is._ p. 6) is described as being already past, and a second invasion is threatened. But the first expedition of Shalmaneser, reported in 2 Kings xvii. 1 seqq., is almost contemporaneous with the beginning of Hezekiah's reign. For it was directed against Hoshea, king of Israel, who began his reign in the twelfth [Pg 170] year of that of Ahaz, which lasted sixteen years. The exact harmony of the passage in Hosea with that in 2 Kings xvii. is very evident. In 2 Kings xvii. 3, it is said: "Against him came up Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant and gave him tribute." This was the first expedition of Shalmaneser. Then followed the second expedition, which was caused by the rebellion of Hoshea,--in consequence of which Samaria was taken and the people carried away. In Hos. x. 14, 15, it is said: "And tumult ariseth against thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle; the mother was dashed in pieces upon (her) children. So shall he do unto you, Bethel, because of your great wickedness in the dawn of the morning, destroyed, destroyed shall be the king of Israel." Hosea here declares that the beginning of the destruction by Shalmaneser is the prophecy of the end of the kingdom of Israel. The "morning dawn" is the time of apparently reappearing prosperity, when, according to _Cocceius_, a time of peace begins to shine. In Amos iv. 13, v. 8, the prosperity again dawning upon the kingdom of Israel is likewise expressed by "morning" and "morning dawn." The identity of Beth-arbel and Arbelah in Galilee can the less be doubted, because recent researches have rendered it certain that this place, now called _Irbid_, was an important fortress. (Compare _Münchener gelehrte Anzeigen_ 1836, S. 870 ff.; _Robinson_, iii. 2, p. 534; _v. Raumer_, S. 108.) The use of Beth-arbel, instead of the more common Arbelah, as well as that of Shalman instead of Shalmaneser, belongs to the higher style. At the first expedition, the decisive battle had, no doubt, taken place at Arbelah. They who disconnect this passage from 2 Kings xvii. do not know what to make of it. _Simson_ complains of the darkness resting on the passage under consideration.--But Hos. xii. 2 (1) likewise leads us to the very last times of the kingdom of Israel,--those times when Hoshea endeavoured to free himself from the Assyrian servitude by the help of Egypt. "Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east-wind; he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt." Their sending oil to Egypt, notwithstanding the covenant made with Assyria, is the lie, which goes hand in hand with desolation, while they imagine thereby to [Pg 171] work deliverance. This explanation has been already given by _J. H. Manger_, of whose _Commentarius in Hoseam_, _Campen_, 1782--a commentary in many respects excellent--most of the recent commentators, and, lastly, _Simson_, have, to their great disadvantage, not availed themselves. _Manger_ says: "These words refer to the ambassadors who were sent with splendid presents by king Hoshea to the king of Egypt, in order to win him over to himself, and induce him to assist him against the Assyrians, to whom he had become subject by a solemn treaty."--To the last times of the kingdom of Israel we are likewise led by what occurs in other passages concerning the relation of Israel to Egypt and Asshur. The matter has been falsely represented by very many as if two parties among the people were spoken of,--an Assyrian and an Egyptian party. Nor is it so, that the whole people turn at one time to Egypt in order to free themselves from the Assyrians, and at another time to Assyria to assist them against Egypt. The position is rather thus: The people, heavily oppressed by Asshur, at one time seek help from Egypt against Asshur, and, at another, attempt to conciliate the latter. Precisely thus is the situation described in vii. 11: "They call to Egypt, they go to Asshur." That by which Israel was threatened, was, according to viii. 10, "the burden of the king of princes, the king of Asshur," ver. 9. This they seek to turn off, partly by artifices, and partly by calling to their help the king of Egypt. Asshur alone is the king "warrior" (_Jareb_), v. 13, x. 6; he only has received the divine mission to execute judgment; compare xi. 5: "He, _i.e._, Israel, shall not return to the land of Egypt, and Asshur, he is his king." As an ally not to be trusted, Egypt is described in vii. 16, where, after the announcement of their destruction on account of their rebellion against the Lord, it is said: "This shall be their derision on account of the land of Egypt," _i.e._, thus they shall be put to shame in the hope which they place on Egypt. Is. xxx. 1-5 is quite analogous. In that passage the prophet announces that Judah's attempt to protect themselves against Asshur by means of Egypt would be vain; compare, especially, ver. 3: "And the fortress of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt, your confusion;" and ver. 5: "Not for help nor for profit, but for shame and for reproach." Such historical circumstances, [Pg 172] however, had not yet occurred under Menahem. At that time, Israel was not yet placed in the midst betwixt Asshur and Egypt. It is expressly mentioned in 2 Kings xv. 20, that the invasion of Pul was only transitory, and that not conquest, but spoil, was its aim. The real commencement of the Assyrian oppression is formed by the invasion of Tiglathpileser at the time of Ahaz. Isaiah, in chap. vii., points out the pernicious consequences of Ahaz's calling the Assyrians to his assistance against Syria and Israel. The very fact of this war carried on against Judah by Syria and Ephraim shows, that up to that time, Asshur had not laid his hand upon these regions. It was only with the invasion under Ahaz that there was any display of Asshur's tendency to make permanent conquests on the other side of Euphrates, which could not fail to bring about the conflict with the Egyptian power.--"King Jareb,"--such had already become the historical character of the king of Asshur, at the time when Hosea wrote; but prior to the times of Ahaz and Hezekiah, he did not stand out as such.

There is no decisive weight to be attached to what _Simson_ advances in order to prove that we must fix an earlier date. He argues thus: "Gilead, which, according to 2 Kings xv. 29, was taken and depopulated by Tiglathpileser, whom Ahaz had called to his assistance, appears in vi. 8, xii. 12 (11) to be still in the possession of Israel. Hence, the ministry of the prophet cannot have extended beyond the invasion of Judah by the Syrians and Ephraim." But since the book gives the sum and substance of Hosea's prophecies during a prolonged period, there must necessarily occur in it references to events which already belonged to the past, at the time when the prophet wrote. In chap. i. 4, even the overthrow of the house of Jeroboam appears as being still future.

But even although we could not establish, from other sources, the statement contained in the inscription, the inscription itself would nevertheless be a guarantee for it; and the more so, because there are other analogies in favour of so long a duration of the prophetic office, which was sometimes entered upon even in early youth. The inscription has the same authority in its favour as every other part of the book; and it is hardly possible to understand the levity with which it has, in recent times, been pretty generally designated as spurious, or, at least, suspicious. [Pg 173] It is altogether impossible to sever it from the other parts of the book. There must certainly have been some object in view when, in ver. 2, it is expressly remarked, that what follows took place at the _beginning_ of Hosea's ministry. But such an object it will be possible to point out, only in the event of its being more accurately determined at what time this beginning took place--viz., still under the reign of Jeroboam, when the state of things as it appeared to the eye did not yet offer any occasion for such views of the future as are opened up in the first three chapters. Ver. 1 cannot, therefore, be regarded as an addition subsequently made, unless the words in ver. 2, from תחלת to בהושע be so likewise. But these again are most closely connected with what follows by the _Future_ with _Vav convers._, which never can begin a narrative. There remains, therefore, only this alternative:--either to regard the whole as having been written at a later period, or to claim for Hosea the inscription also. We cannot agree with the view of _Simson_, that the remark by which the beginning of the book is assigned to the beginning of the prophet's ministry, originated from a chronological interest only; and we can the less do so, because the prophet does not pay any attention to chronology in any other place, but is anxious to give only the sum and substance of what he had prophesied during a series of years. The only exception which he makes in this respect must have originated from strong reasons; and such do not exist, if the inscription in ver. 1, or the mention of the kings in it, be spurious. The mention of the beginning in ver. 2 would, in that case, be so much the more groundless, as we could know nothing at all regarding the length of his ministry.

Much more fruitful, certainly, than all such vain doubts, are the reflections of Calvin on the long duration of the prophet's ministry: "How grievous is it to us when God requires our services for twenty or thirty years; and, especially, when we have to contend with ungodly people, who would not willingly take upon them the yoke, yea, who even obstinately resist us! we then wish to be freed at once, and to become pensioned soldiers. But, seeing this prophet's long protracted ministry, let us take from it an example of patience, that we may not despair although the Lord should not at once free us from our burden."

Many interpreters have zealously attempted to determine the [Pg 174] particular portions of this lengthened period to which the particular portions of this book belong. But such an undertaking is wholly vain in the case before us, as well as in that of Micah, and most of the minor prophets generally. The supposition upon which it rests is false--viz., that the collection consists of a number of single, detached portions. We do not possess the whole of Hosea's prophecies, but only the substance of their essential contents,--a survey which he himself gave towards the end of his ministry. This appears (1) from the דבר יהוה in the inscription. In itself, this would not be a decisive argument, as the prophet might also have comprehended in an _ideal_ unity, discourses outwardly distinct; but, nevertheless, as long as no reason appears for the contrary, it is more naturally referred to a continuous discourse with an external unity also. (2.) It appears from the entire omission of all chronological data. The only exception is in ver. 2; but this exception serves only to strengthen the argument drawn from the omission everywhere else. (3.) It is proved by the absence of all certain indications about the beginning and ending of the particular portions. There occur, just as in the second part of Isaiah, new starting points only; but, with these exceptions, the discourse always moves on in the same manner. (4.) It is seen from the indefiniteness and generality of the historical references, which must necessarily arise if the prophet referred, in like manner, to the whole of this lengthened period. That the facts, upon which the last two arguments rest, really exist, is made sufficiently apparent from the immense diversity of opinions as to the number and extent of the particular portions, and as to the time of their composition. There are not even two of the more important interpreters who agree in the main points alone. Such a diversity does not exist in reference to any of the prophetical books which actually consist of detached prophecies. (5.) The style and language are too much the same throughout the whole, to admit of the idea that any long period could have elapsed between the particular prophecies. This, indeed, is only a subordinate argument; but it acquires its full importance, when connected with the foundation of the third and fourth proofs.

It now only remains to give a survey of the historical circumstances at the time of the prophet. This is the more necessary, as a knowledge of these is required for the exposition of [Pg 175] the Messianic prophecies, not only of Hosea, but also of Amos, his contemporary.