Hosea 8:5

Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? THY CALF, O SAMARIA, HATH CAST THEE OFF. Since the ellipsis of "thee" is unusual, Maurer translates, 'Thy, calf is abominable.' But the antithesis to establishes the English version, "Israel hath cast off the thing that is good;" therefore, in just retribution, "thy calf hath cast thee off" - i:e., the calf is made by God the cause of thy being cast off (). Jeroboam, during his sojourn in Egypt, saw Apis worshipped at Memphis, and Mnevis at Heliopolis, in the form of an ox; this, and the temple cherubim, suggested the idea of the calves set up at Dan and Bethel. THY CALF - whom thou madest for thyself, whom thou lovest, in whom thou trustedst,...

The Prophet goes on with the same subject; for he shows that Israel perished through their own fault, and that the crime, or the cause of destruction, could not be transferred to any other. There is some ambiguity in the words, which does not, however, obscure the sense; for whether we read _calf _in the objective case, or say, _thy calf has removed thee far off, _it will be the same. Some say, “has forsaken thee,” as they do above, “Israel has forsaken good;” but the sense of throwing away is to be preferred. Thy calf, then, _Samaria, has cast thee off, _or, “The Lord has cast far off thy calf.” If we read _thy calf _in the “objective” case, then the Prophet denounces destruction not only on the Israelites, but also on the calf in which they hoped. But the probable exposition is, that the calf had removed far off, or driven far Samaria or the people of Samaria; and this, I have no doubt...

5-10 They promised themselves plenty, peace, and victory, by worshipping idols, but their expectations came to nothing. What they sow has no stalk, no blade, or, if it have, the bud shall yield no fruit, there was nothing in them. The works of darkness are unfruitful; nay, the end of those things is death. The hopes of sinners will deceive them, and their gains will be snares. In times of danger, especially in the day of judgment, all carnal devices will fail. They take a course by themselves, and like a wild ass by himself, they will be the easier and surer prey for the lion. Man is in nothing more like the wild ass's colt, than in seeking for that succour and that satisfaction in the creature, which are to be had in God only. Though men may sorrow a little, yet if it is not after a godly sort, they will be brought to sorrow everlastingly....

Verse Hosea 8:5. _THY CALF, O SAMARIA, HATH CAST_ THEE _OFF_] Bishop _Newcome_ translates: "Remove far from thee thy calf, O Samaria!" Abandon thy idolatry; for _my anger is kindled against thee_. _HOW LONG_ WILL IT BE _ERE THEY ATTAIN TO INNOCENCY?_] How long will ye continue your guilty practices? When shall it be said that ye are from these vices? The _calf_ or _ox_, which was the object of the idolatrous worship of the Israelites, was a supreme deity in Egypt; and it was there they learned this idolatry. A white ox was worshipped under the name of _Apis_, at Memphis; and another ox under the name of _Mnevis_, was worshipped at On, or Heliopolis. To Osiris the males of this genus were consecrated, and the females to Isis. It is a most ancient superstition, and still prevails in the East. The cow

THY CALF, O SAMARIA, HATH CAST THEE OFF - Israel had cast off God, his good. In turn, the prophet says, the “calf,” which he had chosen to be his god instead of the Lord his God, “has cast” him “off.” He repeats the word, by which he had described Israel’s sin, ”Israel hath cast off and abhorred good” in order to show the connection of his sin and its punishment. “Thy calf,” whom thou madest for thyself, whom thou worshipest, whom thou lovest, of whom thou saidst, “Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt” 1 Kings 12:28; “thy” calf, in whom thou didst trust instead of thy God, it has requited thee the dishonor thou didst put on thy God; it hath “cast thee off” as a thing “abhorred.” So it is with all people’s idols, which they make to themselves, instead of God. First or last, they all fail a man, and leave him poor indeed.

EXPOSITION This chapter deals with the punishment of apostasy. Once more the sins of the northern kingdom are enumerated and its approaching fall predicted. There is a close connection between the verses in the first section of the chapter. That connection is as follows: The first verse begins with an exclamation containing Jehovah's command to the prophet to act as his herald, putting the trumpet to his mouth and sounding the alarm about coming calamity. In the second clause of the same verse the nature of the calamity is announced. In the third and last clause of it the cause of the calamity is declared. The second verse represents Israel in their extremity crying to God for deliverance; the cry is very earnest, and proceeds from every member of the community, backed also with the assertion of their acquaintance with Jehovah. In the third verse Jehovah rejects their cry and refuses to...

THY CALF, O SAMARIA, HATH CAST [THEE] OFF,.... Or, is the cause of thy being cast off by the Lord, and of being cast out of thine own land, and carried captive into another; the past tense is used for the future, as is common in prophetic writings, to denote the certainty of the thing: or "thy calf hath left thee" a; in the lurch; it cannot help thee; it is gone off, and forsaken thee; it has "removed" itself from thee, according to the sense of the word in Lamentations 3:17; as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe; or is removed far from thee, being carried captive itself into Assyria; for, when the king of Assyria took Samaria, he seized on the golden calf for the sake of the gold, and took it away; see Hosea 10:5; or "he hath removed thy calf" b; that is, the enemy, taking it away when he took the city; or

CHAPTER 8:1-9:9 The Apostasy is Followed by Judgment _ 1. The judgment announced (Hosea 8:1) _ 2. The apostasy which resulted in judgment (Hosea 8:8) 3. Warning against self-security (Hosea 9:1) Hosea 8:1. The prophet is commanded to sound the alarm of the impending judgment. The message is that the enemy will come swift as an eagle upon the house of the Lord, which here does not mean the temple (which was in connection with Judah), but Israel as the chosen people was the house, the dwelling-place of the Lord. All their spurious profession, their false claim, “My God, we know Thee, we, Israel”, will go for nothing, because

ISRAEL'S UNSANCTIFIED NATIONAL LIFE. Man-made kings, like man-made gods (the calf of Samaria), are impotent; Israel sows the wind and shall reap the whirlwind; the sources of the national life are withered, and the nation ceases to count (Hosea 8:4). Resort to foreign aid only further diminishes its vital forces (Hosea 8:8). Multiplication of altars only multiplies sin; the rites of an unholy cultus can but hasten the Divine punishment (Hosea 8:11). Probably Hosea 8:14 is an addition, and there may be glosses besides. HOSEA 8:4. Hosea is the first prophet to denounc

THY CALF, &C. Render: "He [Jehovah] hath rejected thy calf,. Samaria". SAMARIA. The capital is put by Figure of speech _Synecdoche_ (of the Part), App-6, for the whole nation. ATTAIN. Note the _Ellipsis_ of the infinitive. Supply: "[be able to] attain", &c....