_When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself_ While he behaved himself submissively and obediently, and humbled himself before God, he was reckoned among the principal tribes of Israel. Here Ephraim is spoken of as distinct from the other tribes: in other places of this prophecy he is put for t... [ Continue Reading ]
_And now they sin more and more_ They did not content themselves with worshipping the golden calves only, which they made to be symbols of Jehovah the true God, but made themselves images of various idols after the manner of the heathen nations; which were nothing more than merely pieces of handicra... [ Continue Reading ]
_Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud_, &c. All the comparisons in this verse are intended to express a quick destruction, or that they should soon come to nothing. _Yet I am the Lord thy God_, &c. Notwithstanding thy recourse to idols, I am the Lord thy God, who delivered thee out of the bo... [ Continue Reading ]
_According to their pasture_, &c. As I was their shepherd, and provided pasture for them, so they were fully fed; they had an abundant plenty of all things. _And their heart was exalted_ The consequence of their having this plenty was, that from thence they grew proud and high-minded. _Therefore the... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself_ Thy sins have brought down destruction upon thee, and it is from me only thou canst expect any help, which I will in due time afford thee. The Hebrew of this verse is capable of different versions. That of the Vulgate, _Destruction is thy own, O Israel: only i... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will be thy king_ I would have been thy king to save and govern thee, but thou refusedst me in both respects: yet I will be thy king to judge me and punish thee. The LXX. and all the ancient versions interpret the clause differently, and give the interrogative, _Where? Where is thy king now, that... [ Continue Reading ]
_The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up_ This verse may be better rendered, _The iniquity of Ephraim is treasured up, his sin is laid up _ That is, laid up in my memory, as that which ought to be punished at a proper time. The sentence is manifestly equivalent to that expression in Job 14:17, _My trans... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will ransom them from the power of the grave_ If we apply this promise to Ephraim, or the Israelites spoken of before, it may signify, that though they should be in never so desperate a condition, God would in due time deliver them out of it: see the like expressions, Psalms 30:3; Psalms 71:20; P... [ Continue Reading ]
_Though he be fruitful among his brethren_ The name Ephraim denotes fruitfulness, and this tribe answered its name, being the most numerous of all the ten tribes. _An east wind shall come_ The east wind was often pestilent and destructive in Judea and the countries about it; therefore this expressed... [ Continue Reading ]
_Samaria shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled_, &c. The prophet foretels the final destruction of Samaria, for her idolatry and other impieties, by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. _Their infants shall be dashed in pieces_, &c. These were the barbarous practices of conquerors when they took cit... [ Continue Reading ]