Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, he compares Israel to a leafy vine but empty of fruit, because it abused God's riches to increase the worship of idols; therefore he threatens it with destruction, and that its idol, namely the golden calf, will be carried off as a gift to the avenging king, that is, the king of Assyria; and with such great slaughters and calamities that they will say to the mountains: 'Cover us,' and to the hills: 'Fall upon us.' He adds that this happens justly, because this is an ancient sin of Israel, namely from the days of Gibeah, in which they stubbornly persist, and which can only be eradicated by destruction. Second, at verse 11, he compares him to a heifer that loves threshing — that is, crops and riches — hence he says: 'Hitherto you have plowed iniquity and reaped wickedness; now be wise and sow in righteousness, that you may reap in the mouth of mercy.' Then he exhorts them to break up the fallow ground of their heart and prepare it for the grace that Christ will bring, the teacher and giver of righteousness. Finally, at verse 14, if they persist in impiety, he threatens that Bethel — that is, the idols of Bethel — will destroy them just as Beth-Arbel, that is, the house of Gideon, destroyed Salmana with the Midianites.
Vulgate Text: Hosea 10:1-8
1. Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. According to the abundance of his fruit, he has multiplied altars; according to the richness of his land, he has made rich his pillars. 2. Their heart is divided; now they shall be found guilty. He will break down their altars; He will destroy their pillars. 3. For now they will say: 'We have no king, because we did not fear the Lord; and what could a king do for us?' 4. They speak mere words, swearing falsely in making covenants; therefore judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. 5. The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear for the calves of Beth-Aven, for its people shall mourn over it, and its idolatrous priests shall wail over it, over its glory, because it has departed from them. 6. The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria, as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. 7. Samaria's king shall perish like a chip on the face of the waters. 8. The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed; thorn and thistle
Verse 1: Israel is a luxuriant vine, fruit is equal to it: according to the multitude of ...
1. Israel is a luxuriant vine, fruit is equal to it: according to the multitude of his fruit he has multiplied altars, according to the richness of his land he has abounded in images. 2. Their heart is divided, now they shall perish: He Himself shall break down their images, He shall devastate their altars. 3. For now they shall say: We have no king: for we do not fear the Lord: and what would a king do for us? 4. You speak words of a useless vision, and you shall strike a covenant: and judgment shall spring up as bitterness upon the furrows of the field. 5. The inhabitants of Samaria have worshipped the calves of Bethaven: for its people have mourned over it, and its priests have rejoiced over it in its glory, because it has migrated from it. 6. For it too was carried into Assyria, a gift to the avenging king: shame shall seize Ephraim, and Israel shall be confounded in its own will. 7. Samaria has made its king pass away like foam upon the face of the water. 8. And the high places of the idol, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thistle and the thorn
Verse 2: THEIR HEART IS DIVIDED. — The Hebrew has: he divided their heart
2. THEIR HEART IS DIVIDED. — The Hebrew has: he divided their heart; the Septuagint: he divided their hearts, because Israel, namely the Samaritans, separated their mind, first, from God and God's law, says the Chaldean and Theophylactus; second, from each other, as if to say: They disagree among themselves in mind and hatred, while these try to introduce these idols, those those, and others others. So St. Cyril, Theodoret, Albert, and Hugh. In a similar way we see among heretics perpetual schisms and quarrels, which pride begets. For since they are swollen with arrogance, they do not wish to follow others' heresies and be their disciples; but they strive to be the authors and masters of new doctrines. Furthermore, Hugh thinks that here the schisms between Judah and Israel are noted, that is between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, and consequently between God and the golden calves: for Israel worshipped these, Judah worshipped God. But this is more remote: more closely St. Jerome, Haymo, and Albert think that here is signified the schism between Hosea, the last king of Israel, and the people, while the people thought the calves should be worshipped, the king thought God should be worshipped: but of this schism there is no mention in Scripture, indeed of King Hosea it says 4 Kings ch. 17:2: "And he did evil before the Lord," because, as it seems, he worshipped the golden calves, not God. Third: "Their heart was divided in themselves," while they want to give part of it to God, part to idols. For they desire to worship both God and the idol, so as to have both propitious, as is clear from 4 Kings ch. 17:33. So Lyranus. So the Romans worshipped the gods of all nations, so as to have all of them propitious and favorable, lest, if they neglected any, they would stir him up against themselves; as the Trojans, by worshipping Venus, stirred up Juno against themselves, as Virgil narrates in Aeneid 1. For they thought there were quarrels and wars among the gods, as there are among men.
Verse 3: For now they shall say: We have no king, etc
3. For now they shall say: We have no king, etc. — As if to say: When they see the Assyrians approaching and besieging Samaria, and their king Hosea unable to resist them, then they will say: There is no king who can protect us; our king is as if he were not a king, and this has justly happened to us, because we do not fear nor worship the Lord, but idols. For when God, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, is angry, what mortal king can help and save? So Lyranus and Vatablus. Whence second, St. Jerome, Theodoret, and Albert explain it, as if to say: When King Hosea is captured by the Assyrians, Israel will say: We have now been deprived of a king, because we abandoned God, the King of kings. Third, a Castro says: God
Verse 4: YOU SPEAK WORDS OF A USELESS VISION
4. YOU SPEAK WORDS OF A USELESS VISION. — The translator reads dubberu in the imperative, that is 'speak'; now they read dibberu in the past tense, that is 'they spoke.' The Chaldean translates in the present, 'they speak violent words'; because the Hebrews lack a present tense, and use the past in its place. Again, for 'useless vision,' the Hebrew has aloth schav, that is 'of a lying oath,' or futile and useless. For the Prophets used to confirm their visions, or prophecies, with an oath, saying: "As I live, says the Lord," that is, I swear by My life; or rather, devoting themselves to curses, they would say: "May God do this to me, and add this, if I lie." For the Hebrew aloth signifies an execratory oath, a curse, and an imprecation of misfortunes. Such a vision and prophecy therefore is called ala, that is an execration, because it was made with an execration. The meaning is therefore, as if to say: Speak indeed, and boast the words of your false prophets, who bring their visions and confirm them by swearing and forswearing, but they are lying and futile. For they promise all prosperity, and that the Assyrians are not to be feared, but they lie and deceive you, and drive you to ruin. It is irony: for he laughs at and mocks them, because they trust false prophets and seducers to their own destruction: for they speak visions, but futile and lying ones, namely not oracles of God, but dreams of their own brain. So St. Jerome, Haymo, Hugh, and others.
Verse 5: THE INHABITANTS OF SAMARIA HAVE WORSHIPPED THE CALVES OF BETHAVEN
5. THE INHABITANTS OF SAMARIA HAVE WORSHIPPED THE CALVES OF BETHAVEN. — 'Bethaven' is Bethel. For Bethel, that is 'house of God,' was so called because Jacob saw God leaning on a ladder there. The same was then called Bethaven, that is 'house of iniquity,' or 'of the idol,' on account of the golden calves which Jeroboam set up there to be worshipped. The 'cows,' or heifers, therefore, is what Hosea calls the calves. Hence the Septuagint here translates 'calf'; and concerning it shortly follows: "For the people mourned over it (the calf)." For which note: This calf was Apis, or Serapis, the god of the Egyptians. For the Hebrews living in Egypt worshipped this along with the Egyptians, and therefore God, to tear them away from this idol, commanded Moses to lead them out of Egypt to Sinai: where, when Moses, about to receive the law, remained longer with God on the mountain, the people, wishing to return to Egypt, soon fashioned Apis, namely a golden calf, as their leader and guide, Exodus ch. 32:4. Jeroboam renewed and recalled the same, making a schism from God and from the house of David: read the history in 3 Kings ch. 12:28.
Verse 6: FOR IT TOO (the calf) WAS CARRIED INTO ASSYRIA, A GIFT TO THE AVENGING KING
6. FOR IT TOO (the calf) WAS CARRIED INTO ASSYRIA, A GIFT TO THE AVENGING KING. — The Septuagint: And they led it bound as a gift to the king, as if to say: This captive calf, as a remarkable gift and present, the Assyrians offered to their king. Note first: the word 'for' here does not signify a cause, but a consequence; for the Hebrew ki is often added only for consequence and ornament, and has the same force as 'hence,' 'for this reason,' 'therefore.' Second, after 'priests,' in the Hebrew manner the relative ascher, that is 'who,' is understood. Third, the king of Assyria is called an avenger, that is a vindicator; Symmachus says, a president and protector, for the reason I gave at ch. 5:13. Allegorically, Tertullian, book 4 Against Marcion, ch. 42: "Hosea," he says, "prophesied of Christ: and they will lead Him bound as a gift to the king;" that is, because Pilate sent Him to Herod: but incorrectly; for this gift was an idol, namely the golden calf, which cannot be a type of Christ.
Verse 7: SAMARIA HAS MADE HER KING PASS AWAY
7. SAMARIA HAS MADE HER KING PASS AWAY. — In Hebrew nidme: which first can be translated, 'in Samaria her king shall be cut off,' that is the king of Samaria, namely Hosea, will be killed in it. So Vatablus. Second: 'Her king together with Samaria is like foam, which is on the surface of the waters,' as if to say: The king together with his kingdom will be dissipated and vanish like foam. So Arias. Third: 'It has been reduced to silence, or struck dumb,' that is perished, completely perished, 'Samaria with her king.' So Forster. Fourth, our translator took the passive nidme for the active, tota dama, or dimma, that is 'cut off.' Hence he translates 'made to pass away'; the Septuagint 'cast off'; perhaps for nidme they read niddepha, that is 'pushed, propelled, drove away' Samaria's king like foam; for foam is properly said to be propelled by wave and surge, as if to say: Samaria, by worshipping idols, made her king pass away, and pushed him into destruction like foam. For by her crime she deserved and accomplished before God that her kingdom together with its king should be cut off, and should pass away most swiftly, and vanish like foam of water pushed and driven by the waves. Again, as if to say: Since the king yielded to the people inclined to idolatry, and this people eager for crime assented and flattered the king, the people, which the many waters represented, caused their king to perish like foam born from itself; consuming, destroying, and making to vanish in itself, as it were in water. Otherwise Sanchez, who understands by king an idol, namely Moloch, or the golden calves, which the Samaritans lost along with themselves.
Verse 8: AND THE HIGH PLACES (altars, chapels, and temples: for the Jews, following the c...
8. AND THE HIGH PLACES (altars, chapels, and temples: for the Jews, following the custom of the Gentiles, erected these on mountains and in high places) OF THE IDOL (namely the golden calf erected in Bethel, which is) THE SIN OF ISRAEL SHALL BE DESTROYED. — He calls it 'sin' not meaning the act, but the object of sin, namely idolatry. AND THEY WILL SAY (the Israelites in the destruction of Samaria by Shalmaneser), TO THE MOUNTAINS: COVER US, — as if to say: So great will be the disaster and slaughter of the Israelites, so great the cry, fear, and horror of the Assyrians, that those who can will hide themselves in caves and caverns: those who cannot will wish to be covered and sheltered by mountains and hills, lest they see and feel this slaughter; "so that there will be no one," says Theophylactus, "who would not prefer to be overwhelmed either by the earth opening up, or by the sudden fall of mountains, than to endure the evils inflicted by the enemy." And St. Cyril: "They will say," he says, "to the mountains, on which they worshipped idols: Fall upon us, and anticipate the cruelty of the Babylonians, and the extreme misery of captivity."
Verse 9: FROM THE DAYS OF GIBEAH ISRAEL HAS SINNED,
9. FROM THE DAYS OF GIBEAH ISRAEL HAS SINNED, — as if to say: This sin of Israel's idolatry is ancient and ingrained, this stain and blemish in it is old and stubborn, which therefore can only be purged and uprooted by fire and destruction. You may ask, what are the days of Gibeah? First, the Chaldean refers this to Saul, who was created king in Gibeah: for Israel sinned by asking for a king against the will of God, as if to say: From the time of Saul Israel sinned, and began to rebel against God: in Gibeah therefore both the people and the king stood before the Lord, indeed against the Lord; and yet battle taken up "against," that is against, "the sons of iniquity," namely the uncircumcised and unfaithful Philistines, did not overtake them, as if to say: Although Israel sinned in creating King Saul, nevertheless God did not abandon them, nor deliver them to the Philistines, but rather subjected them to Israel. For, as is said in 1 Kings ch. 14:52: "There was war mighty against the Philistines all the days of Saul." But Israel, unmindful of and ungrateful for such great clemency of God, defected from Him to idols. Therefore it will be sharply punished by Him. For this is what follows: "According to My desire I will chastise them." But in creating Saul as king, not Israel alone, about which the discussion here concerns, sinned, but also Judah; nor did it defect from God to idols under Saul, or after Saul under David and Solomon, but under Rehoboam.
Verse 10: ACCORDING TO MY DESIRE I WILL CHASTISE THEM (as if to say: Since all stand and c...
10. ACCORDING TO MY DESIRE I WILL CHASTISE THEM (as if to say: Since all stand and conspire in the ancient idolatry, which they began from the time of Micah, I desire and long to chastise and punish them signally. Therefore by My command and providence) THE PEOPLES (Assyrians) SHALL BE GATHERED AGAINST THEM, WHEN THEY SHALL BE CHASTISED (that is punished) FOR THEIR TWO INIQUITIES, — namely the two calves (it is metonymy: for idolatry is put for the idol itself) which they worshipped, namely one in Bethel, which in verse 1 he called 'Bethaven'; the other in Dan, where originally was the idol of Micah in the days of Gibeah, as he implies in verse 9: so St. Jerome, Haymo, Albert, Hugh, Lyranus, and Clarius: who secondly take "two iniquities" as a double idolatry, namely one ancient, the idol of Micah in the days of Gibeah, the other recent, the calves of Jeroboam. Third, Arias explains, as if to say: The Gibeathites committed one iniquity of outrage; but these two, namely fornication and idolatry. Fourth, St. Jerome adds that one iniquity is that they did not worship God; the second, that they worshipped calves. Similar is Jeremiah ch. 2:13. Our translator took the Hebrew as if derived from iasar, that is 'to chastise.' For the forms of imperfect verbs, such as asar and iasar, are often exchanged, so that one borrows moods and tenses from the other. More recent scholars, however, properly derive asram from assar, that is 'to bind, to tie'; whence they translate: When they shall have bound or joined themselves in two furrows, or yokes; and give this meaning, so that it is a metaphor from a yoke, or from a pair of oxen plowing, as if to say: Just as two oxen are bound by one yoke to plow, and to furrow the fields, e.g. two acres; so Israel and Judah will conspire in the same idolatry, namely to worship the two golden calves. When therefore both have so conspired, then I will slay and slaughter both, like two bound oxen. The Chaldean adds, as if to say: Just as the Israelites labored in the worship of two calves, so they themselves, captured and bound by the enemy, will plow like those two calves; for the enemy will condemn them as oxen and slaves to the plow and to farming. Where note: For 'iniquities' the Hebrew has onoth, which the Chaldean, R. David, Vatablus, and others translate as 'acres' or 'furrows.' But with different vowel points it should be read avonoth: or certainly onoth is put by crasis for avonoth, that is iniquities; for so the Septuagint, our translator, Arias, Pagninus, Forster in his Lexicon, and others translate; for nowhere else does ona signify an acre or a furrow.
Verse 11: EPHRAIM IS A TRAINED HEIFER THAT LOVES TO THRESH
11. EPHRAIM IS A TRAINED HEIFER THAT LOVES TO THRESH. — Just as in verse 1 he compared Israel to a leafy vine, but empty of fruit; so here he compares the same to a heifer, which plowed impiety and reaped iniquity: and in this metaphor he persists to the end of the chapter. Furthermore, he alludes to many things: first, in the word 'Ephraim,' that is 'fruitful, fertile,' to the fertility of the land of Ephraim; second, in 'heifer' to the golden calves, or rather heifers, or cows, as I said at verse 5, which they worshipped, as if to say: Ephraim, by worshipping heifers, frolics like a heifer, and is driven by the goad of madness like a heifer. Third, 'trained,' that is accustomed, as Vatablus and others translate. Hence Lyranus translates 'goaded,' which can be reduced to the same: for custom was her goad. He alludes to Apis, that is the calf, which Israel worshipped in Egypt; and thence accustomed itself to its worship, and stubbornly clung to it in Canaan. Again, to the abundant crops of Egypt, by which Israel, enticed in Egypt, continually yearned for them and their threshing, as well as for Apis, as their giver.
Verse 12: SOW FOR YOURSELVES IN JUSTICE, AND REAP (that is you will most certainly reap
12. SOW FOR YOURSELVES IN JUSTICE, AND REAP (that is you will most certainly reap. For the Hebrews use the imperative for the future, when they wish to denote its certainty, as if it were in our hands) ACCORDING TO THE MEASURE OF MERCY. — In Hebrew, 'to the mouth of mercy'; and so Origen reads, tract. 12 on Matthew, and St. Ambrose, book On Naboth, ch. 7. Now mercy can be taken in three ways: First, as the same as justice, and signifying pious, just, and holy works, as if to say: Apply yourselves to just, pious, and holy works: for you will reap and receive a reward 'according to the mouth,' that is according to the measure of mercy, that is of those same holy works. So the Chaldean, Theophylactus, Haymo, Hugh, Denis, and others. For 'mouth' in Hebrew often signifies capacity, proportion, measure; whence lephi, that is 'to the mouth,' is the same as 'according to, in proportion to, by the rate, measure, or merit of works,' when works are being discussed, as those skilled in Hebrew know, and as Marinus, Pagninus, and others teach in their Lexicons. So Exodus 12:4 says: "He shall take his neighbor, etc., according to (Hebrew lephi) the number of souls that can suffice for eating the lamb." And ch. 16:16: "Let each one gather from it (the manna) as much as suffices for eating;" in Hebrew lephi achlo, that is 'according to the mouth of his food,' that is according to his appetite, as much as his mouth can take and eat. So also Genesis ch. 47:12, of Joseph it is said: "He nourished them, and all his father's house, providing food for each one;" in Hebrew lephi hattaph, that is 'according to the mouth of the little one,' that is as much as each one, even a little child, could eat. Furthermore, mercy in Scripture is often taken for holiness and justice, namely for holy and pious works; because the proper virtue and sign of the saints is mercy, as I showed at Daniel ch. 4:24, and 2 Corinthians ch. 9:8. The meaning is, as if to say: Exercise yourselves in acts of mercy and justice, that is of any and all virtues, and you will receive a most ample reward, according to the mouth, that is the amplitude of mercy and pious works which you exercised. For he explains what he said in the preceding verse: "Judah shall plow, Jacob shall break his furrows for himself"; whence, persisting in the metaphor of plowing and farming, explaining he adds: "Sow for yourselves in justice, and reap according to the measure of mercy," as if to say: As much justice, that is piety, mercy, and other virtues
Verse 13: YOU HAVE PLOWED IMPIETY (The Hebrew charasch signifies first, to plow
13. YOU HAVE PLOWED IMPIETY (The Hebrew charasch signifies first, to plow; second, to fabricate; third, to contrive; whence in the first sense you may explain, as if to say: The field which you have hitherto plowed, and the seed which you have sown, was impiety, and consequently the harvest was nothing other than impiety, as if to say: You thought of nothing else than to add impiety to impiety, to heap crimes upon crimes. Second, as if to say: In your heart you uprooted the furrows and seeds of piety, knowledge, and worship of God, and drew and sowed the seeds of impiety and idolatry: therefore) YOU HAVE REAPED INIQUITY, — namely you have wrought frauds, deceits, and every crime against God and neighbor. For from an impious and iniquitous heart, nothing comes forth but the fruits and works of impiety and iniquity. Again, as if to say: From impiety toward God proceeded all iniquity toward the neighbor, as the Apostle teaches, Romans 1:28 and 29. So St. Jerome. Third, iniquity can be taken for the punishment of iniquity, namely for plundering and captivity, as if to say: You have perpetrated the fault of iniquity, hence its punishment, namely plundering by the Assyrians and captivity, you pay and endure; so Theophylactus. For the Prophet opposes this verse 13 to verse 12, as if to say: Hitherto you have plowed and sown impiety, and therefore you have reaped the punishments of this iniquity: henceforth therefore be wise, and sow in justice, that you may reap the mercy and beneficence of God; otherwise if you persist in crime, you will certainly be devastated and cut off, as follows.
Verse 14: A TUMULT SHALL ARISE AMONG YOUR PEOPLE (when the Assyrian enemies invade you), A...
14. A TUMULT SHALL ARISE AMONG YOUR PEOPLE (when the Assyrian enemies invade you), AND ALL YOUR FORTIFICATIONS SHALL BE LAID WASTE, AS ZALMUNNA WAS LAID WASTE BY THE HOUSE (the family, servants, and soldiers) OF HIM WHO JUDGED (so it should be read with the Hebrews and the Romans, not 'avenged,' as some Latin manuscripts read) BAAL, — namely by the house of Gideon. For he compares the destruction of Israel to come through Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to the destruction of the Midianites, whose prince
Verse 15: SO HAS BETHEL DONE (that is, will do) TO YOU,
15. SO HAS BETHEL DONE (that is, will do) TO YOU, — as if to say: So you will be punished and struck not so much by the Assyrian enemies, as by Bethel, that is by the sins committed by you, namely the idols worshipped in Bethel, just as Zalmunna was punished and struck by Beth Arbel, that is by the house and army of Gideon. In the Hebrew there is an elegant paronomasia and antithesis between Beth Arbel and Bethel, as if to say: Just as it struck down and prostrated the idolatrous Midianites