Hosea 9:13

‘Ephraim, like Tyre, is planted in a pleasant place. But Ephraim will bring out his children to the slayer.'

Like Tyre (le tsor), Ephraim are planted in a pleasant place. If the reference to ‘like Tyre' has in mind the investment of Tyre in 722 BC seen as a stark warning to Ephraim (i.e. Tyre too were planted in a pleasant place, but look what has happened to them), then Ephraim too are at this stage seen as undergoing siege and on their last legs, for Samaria also fell in that year after a three year siege. This would tie in with the idea that they would have to bring their children out to ‘the slayer', to be turned into edible meat which would aid the continuation of the siege, a dreadful fulfilment of the curse in Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53. On the other hand the reference may simply have in mind Tyre as a place enviable for its security and prosperity, still maintaining its freedom and not seen as being as vulnerable as Ephraim. But the crunch point is still that, in spite of Ephraim being in a pleasant place, Ephraim's children would be lost to ‘the slayer'. Either way there may also be a hint here of the added problems introduced into Israel from that ‘pleasant place' in the form of the Tyrian Baal.

One alternative to ‘like Tyre' is ‘like a palm tree' (based on an Arabic and late Hebrew root), stressing in context the fruitfulness of mount Ephraim, something that would, however, be of little use once the siege began.