Pt2 Hosea, Exile, and the Restoration of Israel (Pesachim 87a-88a)

This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

Hosea was the greatest/oldest of the four prophets of his generation - Hosea 1:2

״דבר ה׳ אשר היה אל הושע וגו׳

בימי

1. עזיהו

2. יותם

3. אחז

4. יחזקיה

מלך יהודה״.

Apropos the verse from Hosea, the Talmud interprets additional verses there:

“The word of YHWH that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri,

in the days of

1. Uzziah,

2. Jotham,

3. Ahaz,

4. and Hezekiah,

kings of Judea,

and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1).

בפרק אחד נתנבאו ארבעה נביאים,

וגדול שבכולן הושע,

שנאמר:

״תחלת דבר ה׳ בהושע״.

The rabbis explained:

4 prophets prophesied in one era¹

and the greatest² of them was Hosea,

as it is stated:

“When YHWH spoke at first with Hosea” (Hosea 1:2),

indicating that Hosea was the first of these prophets.

R’ Yoḥanan - Hosea was first among the four prophets of his generation: Hosea, Isaiah, Amos, Micah

וכי בהושע דבר תחלה?

והלא ממשה עד הושע כמה נביאים!

אמר רבי יוחנן:

תחלה לארבעה נביאים שנתנבאו באותו הפרק,

ואלו הן:

1. הושע,

2. ישעיה,

3. עמוס

4. ומיכה.

If not, the question arises:

And was it with Hosea that YHWH spoke first of all the prophets?!

Weren’t there many prophets who lived and prophesied during the period from Moses until Hosea?

Rather, R’ Yoḥanan said:

Hosea was the first of the 4 prophets who prophesied during that period,

and these are they:

1. Hosea,

2. Isaiah,

3. Amos,

4. and Micah.

God rebuked Hosea for not defending Israel when God said they had sinned; Hosea instead suggested replacing them with another nation

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא להושע: בניך חטאו.

והיה לו לומר:

בניך הם!

בני חנוניך הם,

בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב,

גלגל רחמיך עליהן!

God said to Hosea: Your sons, the Jewish people, have sinned.

Hosea should have said to God in response:

But they are Your sons!

they are the sons of Your beloved ones (חנוניך),

the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Extend³ Your mercy over them!

לא דיו שלא אמר כך,

אלא אמר לפניו:

רבונו של עולם!

כל העולם שלך הוא,

העבירם באומה אחרת!

Not only did he fail to say that,

but instead Hosea said before Him:

God!

the entire world is Yours;

since Israel has sinned, exchange them⁴ for another nation!

God commanded Hosea to marry Gomer and have children, then challenged him to separate from her, to teach him why God would not abandon Israel

אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא:

מה אעשה לזקן זה?

אומר לו:

לך וקח אשה זונה

והוליד לך בנים זנונים,

God said:

What shall I do to this Elder [=Hosea] who does not know how to defend Israel?

I will say to [Hosea]:

Go and take a prostitute

and bear for yourself children of prostitution (בנים זנונים).

ואחר כך אומר לו:

שלחה מעל פניך.

אם הוא יכול לשלוח —

אף אני אשלח את ישראל.

And after that I will say to [Hosea]:

Send her away from before you.

If [Hosea] is able to send her away --

I will also send away the Jewish people.

Prooftext - Hosea 1:2–9

שנאמר:

״ויאמר ה׳ אל הושע:

לך קח לך אשת זנונים

וילדי זנונים״,

This deliberation provides the background of the opening prophecy in Hosea,

as it is stated:

“YHWH said to Hosea:

Go, take for yourself a wife of prostitution

and children of prostitution” (Hosea 1:2).

Rav - “Gomer” name read homiletically to mean that all “finished” with her; “Diblaim” means “ill repute, daughter of ill repute” - Hosea 1:3

(See footnote.)⁵

וכתיב:

״וילך ויקח את גמר בת דבלים״,

And then it is written:

“So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim” (Hosea 1:3),

״גמר״,

אמר רב:

שהכל גומרים בה.

״בת דבלים״,

דבה רעה בת דבה רעה.

and the rabbis interpreted her name homiletically:

“Gomer”;

Rav said:

she was so called because everyone would finish [gomerim] having sex with her and satisfy their desires with her.

“The daughter of Diblaim”;

the name Diblaim can be taken as the dual form of the word dibba, ill repute. It suggests that she was a woman of ill repute, daughter of a woman of ill repute.

Shmuel - “Diblaim” means she was sweet to all like a fig-cake

ושמואל אמר:

שמתוקה בפי הכל כדבלה.

And Shmuel said:

The name Diblaim is the plural of the word deveila, a cake of pressed figs, indicating that she was as sweet as a cake of pressed figs (דבלה),

since everyone used her sexual services.

R’ Yoḥanan - “Diblaim” means all tread upon her like a fig-cake

ורבי יוחנן אמר:

שהכל דשין בה כדבלה.

R’ Yoḥanan,

based on a similar derivation, said the name signifies that everyone would tread⁶ upon her, a euphemism for sex, like a cake of pressed figs.

R’ Yehuda - “Gomer” also alludes to enemies seeking to finish Israel’s wealth in her days

דבר אחר:

״גומר״,

אמר רבי יהודה:

שבקשו לגמר ממונן של ישראל בימיה,

Alternatively,

with regard to the name Gomer,

Rav Yehuda said:

The name can be understood as deriving from the root gamar, to finish. It alludes to the fact that the non-Jews sought to finish the money of the Jewish people in her days.

R’ Yoḥanan - Enemies actually plundered and finished Israel’s wealth - II Kings 13:7

רבי יוחנן אמר:

בזזו וגמרו,

שנאמר:

״כי אבדם מלך ארם

וישמם כעפר לדש״.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

They did not just seek to do so, but were successful: They plundered (בזזו) and finished it,

as it is stated:

“For the king of Aram destroyed them

and made them like the dust in threshing” (II Kings 13:7).

Hosea 1:3–9

Jezreel

״ותהר

ותלד לו בן

ויאמר ה׳ אליו:

קרא שמו יזרעאל

כי עוד מעט ופקדתי את דמי יזרעאל על בית יהוא

והשבתי ממלכות בית ישראל

The passage in Hosea continues:

“And she conceived,

and bore [Hosea] a son.

And YHWH said to [Hosea]:

Call his name Jezreel;

for soon I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,

and will obliterate the kingdom of the house of Israel…

Lo-ruhamah

ותהר עוד

ותלד בת

ויאמר לו:

קרא שמה לא רחמה

כי לא אוסיף עוד ארחם את בית ישראל כי נשא אשא להם

And she conceived again,

and bore a daughter.

And He said to [Hosea]:

Call her name Lo-ruhamah,

for I will no more have compassion upon the house of Israel that I should bear them…

Lo-ammi

ותהר

ותלד בן

ויאמר (ה׳ אליו):

קרא שמו לא עמי

כי אתם לא עמי

ואנכי לא אהיה לכם״,

And she conceived,

and bore a son.

And He said:

Call his name Lo-ammi;

for you are not My people,

and I will not be yours” (Hosea 1:3–9).

לאחר שנולדו [לו] שני בנים ובת אחת,

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא להושע:

לא היה לך ללמוד ממשה רבך?

• שכיון שדברתי עמו

  • פירש מן האשה,

• אף אתה

  • בדול עצמך ממנה.

After two sons and one daughter had been born to [Hosea],

God said to Hosea:

Shouldn’t you have learned from the example of your master Moses,

• who, once I spoke with him,

  • separated from his wife?⁷

• You too,

  • separate (בדול) yourself from your wife.

אמר לו:

רבונו של עולם!

יש לי בנים ממנה

ואין אני יכול להוציאה ולא לגרשה.

[Hosea] said to Him:

God!

I have sons from her

and I am unable to dismiss her (להוציאה) or to divorce her.

God rebuked Hosea: if Hosea cannot abandon uncertain children, how can God abandon Israel, His children and one of His four acquisitions?

אמר ליה הקדוש ברוך הוא:

ומה אתה

שאשתך זונה

ובניך [בני] זנונים,

ואין אתה יודע אם שלך הן אם של אחרים הן —

כך,

In response to Hosea’s show of loyalty to his family, God rebuked Hosea and said to him:

If you,

whose wife is a prostitute

and your children from her are children of prostitution,

and you do not even know if they are yours or if they are children of other men —

Is so (כך), i.e. despite this, you are still attached to them and will not forsake them,

ישראל

שהן בני,

בני בחוני

בני אברהם יצחק ויעקב,

the Jewish people,

who are My sons,

the sons of My faithful who withstood ordeals (בחוני),

the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Four divine acquisitions - Torah, heaven and earth, Temple, and Israel - Proverbs 8:22; Genesis 14:19; Psalms 78:54; Exodus 15:16

אחד מארבעה קנינין שקניתי בעולמי:

1. תורה קנין אחד,

   1. דכתיב: ״ה׳ קנני ראשית דרכו״.

2. שמים וארץ קנין אחד,

   1. דכתיב: ״קנה שמים וארץ״.

3. בית המקדש קנין אחד,

   1. דכתיב: ״הר זה קנתה ימינו״.

4. ישראל קנין אחד

   1. דכתיב: ״עם זו קנית״

The Jews are so special that they are one of the 4 acquisitions that I acquired in My world. The Talmud proceeds to enumerate all 4:

1. Torah is one acquisition,

   1. as it is written: “YHWH acquired me as the beginning of His way” (Proverbs 8:22).

2. Heaven and earth are one acquisition [kinyan],

   1. as it is written: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Creator [koneh] of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19).

3. The Temple is one acquisition,

   1. as it is written: “And He brought them to His sacred border, to this mountain, which His right hand had acquired” (Psalms 78:54).

4. The Jewish people are one acquisition,

   1. as it is written: “The nation that You have acquired” (Exodus 15:16).

ואתה אמרת העבירם באומה אחרת!

And you, Hosea, said that I should replace them with another nation?!

Hosea realized his sin, prayed for Israel, nullified the three decrees (symbolized by his three children), and turned them into blessings

כיון שידע שחטא,

עמד לבקש רחמים על עצמו.

אמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא:

עד שאתה מבקש רחמים על עצמך —

בקש רחמים על ישראל,

שגזרתי עליהם שלש גזירות בעבורך.

Once Hosea realized that he had sinned,

he got up to request that God have compassion upon him for having spoken ill of the Jewish people.

God said to [Hosea]:

Before you request compassion upon yourself --

first request compassion upon the Jewish people,

since I have already decreed upon them 3 harsh decrees on your account,

in response to your condemnation of them.⁸

עמד ובקש רחמים

ובטל גזירה,

והתחיל לברכן,

Hosea stood and requested compassion upon the Jewish people

and nullified the decree.

God responded and began to bless them,

Prooftext - Hosea 2:1–2; Hosea 2:25

שנאמר:

״והיה מספר בני ישראל כחול הים וגו׳

והיה במקום אשר יאמר להם: לא עמי אתם

יאמר להם: בני אל חי

ונקבצו בני יהודה ובני ישראל יחדו וגו׳

as it is stated:

“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered.

And it will be that instead of that which was said to them: You are not My people,

it shall be said to them: You are the children of the living God.

And the children of Judea and the children of Israel shall be gathered together” (Hosea 2:1).

וזרעתיה לי בארץ

ורחמתי את לא רחמה

ואמרתי ללא עמי: עמי אתה״.

And I will sow her to Me in the land;

and I will have compassion upon her that had not received compassion;

and I will say to them that were not My people: You are My people” (Hosea 2:25).

R’ Yoḥanan - political authority buries its holders

אמר רבי יוחנן:

אוי לה לרבנות

שמקברת את בעליה.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

Woe to political authority,⁹

which shortens the life and buries its holders.

Prooftext - prophets outlived four kings - Isaiah 1:1

שאין לך כל נביא ונביא שלא קיפח ארבעה מלכים בימיו,

שנאמר:

״חזון ישעיהו בן אמוץ

אשר חזה על יהודה וירושלים וגו׳״.

This is evident from the fact that you don’t have any prophet who did not outlast¹⁰ 4 kings in his lifetime, as the kings’ positions of political authority caused them to die young.

A prophet outliving 4 kings is demonstrated in the opening verses of Hosea, and similarly, as it is stated with regard to Isaiah:

“The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz,

which he saw concerning Judea and Jerusalem in the days of

1. Uzziah,

2. Jotham,

3. Ahaz,

4. and Hezekiah,

kings of Judea” (Isaiah 1:1).

R’ Yoḥanan - Jeroboam son of Joash was counted with Judean kings because he refused to accept lashon hara against Amos - Hosea 1:1; Amos 7:10–11

אמר רבי יוחנן:

מפני מה זכה ירבעם בן יואש מלך ישראל להמנות עם מלכי יהודה?

מפני שלא קבל לשון הרע על עמוס.

R’ Yoḥanan said:

Due to what reason was the less than righteous Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, privileged to be counted in the verse together with the righteous kings of Judea?

It is due to the fact that he did not accept lashon hara about Amos.

מנלן דאימני?

דכתיב:

״דבר ה׳ אשר היה אל הושע בן בארי

בימי

1. עזיה

2. יותם

3. אחז

4. יחזקיה

מלכי יהודה

ובימי ירבעם בן יואש מלך ישראל״.

The Talmud asks: From where do we derive that he was counted together with the righteous kings of Judea?

As it is written:

“The word of YHWH that came to Hosea, son of Beeri,

in the days of

1. Uzziah,

2. Jotham,

3. Ahaz,

4. and Hezekiah,

kings of Judea,

and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel” (Hosea 1:1).

Prooftext that Jeroboam did not accept lashon hara - Amos 7:10-11

ומנלן דלא קיבל לשון הרע?

דכתיב:

״וישלח אמציה כהן בית אל אל ירבעם מלך ישראל לאמר:

קשר עליך וגו׳״,

And from where do we derive that Jeroboam did not accept lashon hara?

As it is written:

“Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-El sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying:

Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel” (Amos 7:10).

וכתיב:

״כי כה אמר עמוס:

בחרב ימות ירבעם וגו׳״.

And it is written:

“For thus said Amos:

Jeroboam shall die by the sword

and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of his land” (Amos 7:11).

אמר:

חס ושלום אמר אותו צדיק כך,

ואם אמר —

מה אעשה לו?

שכינה אמרה לו!

Jeroboam said:

Heaven forfend that that righteous person, Amos, said this, that I will die by the sword;

and if he indeed said it --

what shall I do to him and why should I punish him?!

The Shekhina said it to him!

and he is required to transmit his prophecy.

1. פרק.

The period referred to is the late First Temple period, c. 8th century BCE, in the final generations of the Northern Kingdom of Israel before its fall to Assyria in 722 BCE. And see next section.

2. גדול - or: “oldest”.

Compare the same idiomatic phrase (גדול שבכולן) - with the same ambiguity - in my “Appendix - Hillel’s 80 students, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge (Sukkah 28a)“, section “Hillel’s 80 students“, and see my note there.

Interestingly, a related ambiguous expression is found there: “large thing” (דבר גדול ; vs “small thing”; the Talmud interprets this as referring to Ma’aseh Merkavah).

3. גלגל - literally: “roll!”, transitive imperative.

On this sense, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “גִּלְגֵּל“, senses #3-4:

3) to bring about, cause.

• Shabbat 32a; Tosefta Yoma 5 (4), 12 - מגלגלין זכות ע”י וכ׳ - “good things are brought about through the agency of good men etc.”

• and frequently.

4) (see גָּלַל Nif’al:) to overcome (one’s own feelings), to put up with, bear with.

• Ketubot 67b:5 - רצונך שתְּגַלְגֵּל עמי בעדשים - “will you bear with me when I offer you only lentils?” ג׳ עמו וכ׳ - “he tried to live with him on lentils, and died”

• Ketubot 111a:24 ג׳ בעצמו - “he conquered his love and remained single”

• Yerushalmi ibid. 7, beginning: 31b - מגלגלת עמו וכ׳ - “she has to bear with him thirty days longer”

• Jerusalem Talmud Yevamot 8:1:6 - גַּלְגֵּל עמהן וכ׳ - “bear with them twelve months (give them time for reconsideration)”

And ibid., section “Hithpalpel”, sense #4:

(with רחמים) to prevail (over hatred etc.), be moved.

• Pesikta Rabbati 20:1 נִתְגַּלְגְּלוּ רחמיו וכ׳ God’s compassion was moved.

• Midrash Tanḥuma “Va-yigash” 4;

• and elsewhere.

And compare with the similar modern English colloquial usage of “roll”, see Wiktionary, entry “roll”, sense #14:

(US, slang, intransitive)

To behave in a certain way; to adopt a general disposition toward a situation.

[…] I don’t roll like that.

4. העבירם.

On this word, in the sense that it’s used here, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “עָבַר“, section “Hif’il”, sense #2:

to cause to pass; to remove, displace.

[…]

• Gittin 57b:18 - שאין אנו מעבירין אותו באל אחר that we shall never displace him for another god; שאין מַעֲבִיר אותנו וכ׳ that he will never displace us for another nation.

On that passage in Gittin, see my “Rome’s Hands, Jacob’s Voice: A Talmudic Lament Over the Destruction (Gittin 57b-58a)“, section “The Response of the Final (=7th) Son (Deuteronomy 26:17–18)“.

5. I also cited the following passage in a previous piece, see my “Pt2 Talmudic Elaboration of Sexuality and Love in Biblical Narratives“, section “Hoshea’s Wife Gomer“.

6. דשין - “thresh”.

On the usage of this word as euphemism for sex, compare also in the context of Orpah, in my “Pt1 Etymologies and Identifications of Biblical Figures in the Talmud: A Literary Analysis“, section “Harafa/Orpah (Sotah 42b)“.

7. פירש מן האשה - alternative translation: “he separated from women” (where ha-isha is a mass noun).

On Moses’ separation from women, see my “The Giving of the Torah in Exodus 19: Timing, Preparation, and Moses’ Bold Decisions (Shabbat 86b-87a)“, section “Three Actions Moses Took on His Own Authority, and God approved (Exodus 32:19)“, list item #2, and the note there.

8. Steinsaltz explains that this refers to the three decrees, each corresponding to one of Hosea’s three children in the verses quoted earlier (Hosea 1:3–9):

There is an allusion to these three decrees in the names of the children born of his wife Gomer:

1. “Jezreel” is an allusion to a decree for Jehu’s actions in the Jezreel Valley (see II Kings 9–10).

2. “Lo-ruhamah” (“one that had not received compassion”), suggests that God will no longer have compassion for the Jewish people.

3. “Lo-ammi” (“not My people”), indicates that the Jewish people will no longer be considered God’s people.

9. רבנות.

Compare the usage of this term, in similarly negative context (re political authority), in these pieces of mine:

• “Pt2 Joseph’s Bones in Exodus 13 and Joshua 24: Honor, Completion, and Consequences (Sotah 13a-b)“, section “Rav Yehuda citing Rav (or: R’ Ḥama b. Ḥanina) - Joseph’s Early Death Attributed to Authoritative Behavior“

• “Pt1 Tripartite Aphorisms: From The Men of the Great Assembly to Rabban Gamaliel’s Dynasty (Mishnah Avot 1:1-2:4)“, section “Shemaiah - Love work; hate authority; avoid rulers (1:10)“

10. קיפח.

On this word, in the sense that it’s used here, see Jastrow (modernized), entry “קָפַח“, section “Pi’el”, sense #4:

to cover, bury, survive.

• Oholot see above;

• Yerushalmi Shabbat 16, 15c bottom of page - אֲקַפֵּחַ את בניי וכ׳ - “may I bury my children if etc.” (an oath frequently used by Rabbi Tarfon).

• Bava Metzia 85a:14 - אותו צדיק שהיה מקפח את בניו - “that righteous man (Tarfon) who used to swear by the life of his children”

• Pesachim 87b:9 - אין לך כל נביא … שלא ק׳ וכ׳ - “there was not a single prophet that did not survive four kings etc.”

• and frequently.

On the usage in Bava Metzia ibid., see my “Pt2 R’ Elazar ben Shimon: His Life and Afterlife (Bava Metzia 84b-85a)“, section “A similar redemption story occurs with R’ Tarfon’s grandson, who is also rescued from disgrace by R’ Yehuda HaNasi, potentially through a marriage offer“, and my note there.