Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Read the passage here.
I am doing this chapter on my lunch break, and do not have my Study Bible and thus I don’t have the accompanying notes. But, I’ll use the NIV, NLT, and the Message versions to try and compare & question what I’m reading, along with John Wesley’s Bible commentary on the KJV.
In verse 1, there are different instructions in each version. Or rather, the instructions seem the same, but all have different timings. The NIV version simply says “Say of your brothers…,” suggesting not a renaming like in chapter 1, but a reclassification, possibly reworded like: Your brothers are now my people. The New Living Translation begins with “In that day…” suggesting that the reclassification shouldn’t happen yet, and lastly the Message clearly says “Rename your brothers…” which is clearly not just a reclassification. In 1:10, in all 3 versions, it indicates that this is the time to come, so none of these things will happen yet.
So verses 1:10, 11 and 2:1 seem to be an actual prophecy, in the traditional sense of the word. Right now, the feelings of the Lord towards Israel are reflected in the children’s names, but He promises He won’t feel that way forever.
In verse 2, we seem to have returned to what is happening now, not what will happen. In the NIV, NLT, and Message versions, Gomer is to be rebuked, charged, or hauled into court (respectively), each version seeming to be harsher than the last. “She is not (or: no longer) my wife” shows how Gomer’s adultery has broken the marriage apart (according to Wesley), and why Hosea can say he is no longer her husband. As Gomer is Israel, this shows that the Lord is not in any way bound to Israel, given their adulterous treatment towards Him. As the verse continues, I think it simply magnifies the extent to which the Lord is betrayed by Israel. Gomer is clearly a prostitute, in her face, her clothes and her actions. Israel has not just acted against the Lord, but everyone can see it.
Well, my lunch break is over, I’ll continue with verse 3 later.
I am doing this chapter on my lunch break, and do not have my Study Bible and thus I don’t have the accompanying notes. But, I’ll use the NIV, NLT, and the Message versions to try and compare & question what I’m reading, along with John Wesley’s Bible commentary on the KJV.
In verse 1, there are different instructions in each version. Or rather, the instructions seem the same, but all have different timings. The NIV version simply says “Say of your brothers…,” suggesting not a renaming like in chapter 1, but a reclassification, possibly reworded like: Your brothers are now my people. The New Living Translation begins with “In that day…” suggesting that the reclassification shouldn’t happen yet, and lastly the Message clearly says “Rename your brothers…” which is clearly not just a reclassification. In 1:10, in all 3 versions, it indicates that this is the time to come, so none of these things will happen yet.
So verses 1:10, 11 and 2:1 seem to be an actual prophecy, in the traditional sense of the word. Right now, the feelings of the Lord towards Israel are reflected in the children’s names, but He promises He won’t feel that way forever.
In verse 2, we seem to have returned to what is happening now, not what will happen. In the NIV, NLT, and Message versions, Gomer is to be rebuked, charged, or hauled into court (respectively), each version seeming to be harsher than the last. “She is not (or: no longer) my wife” shows how Gomer’s adultery has broken the marriage apart (according to Wesley), and why Hosea can say he is no longer her husband. As Gomer is Israel, this shows that the Lord is not in any way bound to Israel, given their adulterous treatment towards Him. As the verse continues, I think it simply magnifies the extent to which the Lord is betrayed by Israel. Gomer is clearly a prostitute, in her face, her clothes and her actions. Israel has not just acted against the Lord, but everyone can see it.
Well, my lunch break is over, I’ll continue with verse 3 later.
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