Hosea 4 is the fourth chapter of the Book of Hosea in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley, Henry H. Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1963.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet Hosea, son of Beeri. In this chapter he reproves the people and priests for their sins in the interregnum following Jeroboam's death; hence there is no mention of the king or his family; and in Hosea 4:2 bloodshed and other evils usual in a civil war are specified. It is a part of the Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets.Metzger, Bruce M., et al. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.Keck, Leander E. 1996. The New Interpreter's Bible: Volume: VII. Nashville: Abingdon.

Text The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 19 verses.

Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), Aleppo Codex (10th century), Codex Leningradensis (1008). Fragments containing parts of this chapter in Hebrew were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls including 4Q78 (4QXIIc; 75–50 BCE) with extant verses 1–19;Dead sea scrolls - Hosea4Q78 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library and 4Q82 (4QXIIg; 25 BCE) with extant verses 1, 9–11, 13–14.4Q82 at the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library

There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century) and Codex Marchalianus (Q; Q; 6th century).

Verse 6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. NKJV "Are destroyed": from the Hebrew plural verb , nidmu, following a singular subject, collectively include the whole nation of Israel. Jerome rendered the verb in the sense of "silence" (Latin: "conticuit populus incus", that is, "sinking into eternal silence"; as supported by the Chaldee version). The Greek Septuagint interpret it in the sense of "likeness": "My people are like () as if they had no knowledge."Joseph S. Exell; Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones (Editors). The Pulpit Commentary. 23 volumes. First publication: 1890. Isaiah 5:13 uses the same expression, "therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge".Barnes, Albert. Notes on the Old Testament. London, Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. "Lack of knowledge": "of God" (Hosea 4:1), that is, "lack of piety".Robert Jamieson, Andrew Robert Fausset; David Brown. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible. 1871. "You have rejected knowledge": may refer to the priests appointed by Jeroboam not from among the Levites, but 'of the lowest of the people, ignorant and illiterate men' (1 Kings 12:31) who reject with contempt the knowledge of God and of divine things.John Gill. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Exposition of the Old and New Testament. Published in 1746-1763.

See also

Related Bible parts: Isaiah 5, Hosea 3

Notes

References

Sources

External links Jewish Hosea 4 Hebrew with Parallel English Hosea 4 Hebrew with Rashi's Commentary

Christian Hosea 4 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate