{"id":76063,"date":"2020-06-15T16:19:58","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T13:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76063"},"modified":"2020-06-15T16:19:58","modified_gmt":"2020-06-15T13:19:58","slug":"god-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/god-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"God & Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"76063","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":73524,"related_cahpter":"503","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Despite everything, their mutual love is eternal\r\n\r\n","content":"

Hosea’s third chapter is as enigmatic as it is short, only five verses long. Once again, Hosea is commanded to take a promiscuous woman, and he does so, paying 15 shekels and measures of barley. Hosea commands the unnamed woman to sit in solitude until he comes to her. The prophet then switches his message to describe how the Jewish people will ultimately be deprived of all of their idolatrous accessories and return to both God and the house of David in Judah.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fundamental question that we have to answer is whether Gomer, whom Hosea married in chapter, and our unnamed women here in chapter 3 are the same person, or are they different women? If they are the same woman, then Gomer, whose adulterous behavior led to the birth of unwanted children led to the dissolution of her relationship with Hosea, has now reformed her behavior enough so that Hosea can envision a happy ending between the two of them. On a symbolic level, what Hosea portrays is the message that though the Jewish people may stray from God, as described in the first two chapters, they will ultimately return to Him in faithfulness and fidelity.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, many of the commentators suggest that the woman here in chapter 3 is not Gomer, but a different person, unmarried, yet known for her promiscuity. The commentator Rabbi David Kimche (the Radak) suggests that the two women represent two different dynasties that ruled over Israel in the north. The first woman, Gomer, represented the evil house of Ahab, which was destroyed. The second woman of our chapter represents the house of Jehu, whose survival is dependent on their ability to reunite with the house of David in the south.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abrabanel presents an original interpretation that is worth mentioning, noting the difference between the manner in which Hosea relates to the two women. In chapter 1, Hosea is commanded to marry Gomer, creating a formal and defined relationship. Together, they have children, despite the questions of their paternity. The dissolution of the relationship represents Israel’s eventual loss of land.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Abrabanel notes that the relationship with the second woman in chapter 3 is fundamentally different. Instead of marrying her, Hosea is simply commanded to love her. The money that he gives her is not enough to affect a legal change in her status. Indeed, once Hosea presents her with the gifts, he commands her to wait until he returns and is ready to consummate the relationship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This, suggests Abrabanel, reflects the relationship between God and the Jewish people while the latter are in exile. Despite having been proven to be unfaithful, God continues to love them, and waits for them to develop a level of constancy and trust in Him that would enable them to \u2018consummate\u2019 their relationship back in Israel. Though the formalities have disappeared, their mutual love is eternal.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":76064,"id":76064,"title":"hos3-eternal love","filename":"hos3-eternal-love.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-eternal-love.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/god-israel\/hos3-eternal-love\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hos3-eternal-love","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":76063,"date":"2020-06-15 13:19:42","modified":"2022-09-11 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