Hosea 12:2–8

12:2 This is the opening verse of the last movement in Hosea, and it includes “Judah” in its indictment. The people of Judah need to understand that the same indictment is warranted against them if they pursue the same idolatrous and unjust path as Israel. Both kingdoms (Judah and Israel/Jacob) will experience the Lord’s justice because of their wickedness.

12:3–6 The name “Jacob,” meaning “grasper of the heel,” is taken from the verb used here (v. 3). Jacob competed and struggled with his brother from the womb (Gen. 25:26) and as an adult struggled with God (Gen. 32:28).³ The two observations in Hosea 12:3 can be considered a merism, a figure of speech that refers to a totality: e.g., “day and night” means “all the time”; “heaven and earth” means “all creation.” Here, “in the womb” and “in his manhood” connote that Jacob was characterized by contention his entire life. In the words of his brother, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated (“jacobed”) me these two times” (Gen. 27:36).

Note that the last word of Hosea 12:4 is “us.” This is not a review of patriarchal history for its own sake; it is the history of the people that is at issue. At Bethel God spoke with Jacob, and there he speaks with “us” too—if we are listening.

There are various questions regarding the translation of verses 4–6. What seems clear is that Jacob’s encounters with the Lord are in focus, as is the Lord himself (esp. v. 5). This leads to the command of verse 6: listen, then, says Hosea, and turn to Yahweh, as Jacob your father was redirected from encountering his foe, Esau, alone, to meeting him as a servant of God. This turning to God entails a commitment to “love and justice”—covenant fidelity, honest dealings, and waiting on their true God at all times for his favor and blessing. What this “love and justice” looks like is treated in verses 7–8.

12:7–8 The prophet has called upon the people to turn to God and to hold fast to love and justice (v. 6). Instead, Ephraim is a cheating merchant who does not love Yahweh but loves to oppress (v. 7). Ephraim credits himself with his wealth, claiming to have no culpability and to be above criticism (v. 8). The people have their own positive mantra that lulls them into a false sense of security, and so the prophet’s appeal falls on deaf ears. They simply will not hear it.