Chapter 1 of Hoshea opens with a strange and jarring prophecy: the Holy One, Blessed is He, commands His prophet to marry a harlot and have children with her, with each child receiving a name that is a prophecy in its own right - Yizre'el, Lo Ruchamah, Lo Ammi. In this lesson we will follow the Malbim, Radak, Rashi, and Targum Yonatan, and see how the parable of the prophet's household reflects the reality of the House of Israel: a straying wife, children whose paternity is in doubt, and a bond that frays continuously until it is severed. We will also see how each of the children marks a different stage in the collapse of the Kingdom of Israel, and ultimately we will arrive at the profound reason why the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave Hoshea this specific parable.
וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיִּקַּח אֶת־גֹּמֶר בַּת־דִּבְלָיִם וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד־לוֹ בֵּן׃ - So he went and took Gomer daughter of Divlayim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
According to the interpretation of Chazal, these words are literal: the prophet actually went and took Gomer daughter of Divlayim as a wife. Radak writes that this was the name of a well-known harlot at that time, a woman renowned for her promiscuity. Our Sages expound her name homiletically: "Gomer" - because everyone finished (gomerim) with her, and Rashi explains that everyone satisfied their desire and finished their relations through her. "Bat Divlayim" - because they trampled her like a compressed fig cake (dveilah).
The Malbim explains that the choice of the fig-cake imagery is not accidental. A fig, as is well known, spoils immediately upon ripening. Once a fig ripens, if you do not eat it within a day or two, you no longer have a fig, only mush; it rots, is crushed, and becomes repulsive. When one wants a fig to keep for a long time, one makes a dried fig cake (dveilah) from it, meaning one dries it, and the drying process preserves it. Now, the Children of Israel are compared to figs, as it says in Yirmiyahu 24: "Hashem showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs." When the prophet wishes to depict the people of Israel through a parable, he employs the imagery of figs.
From here stems the rebuke: your ancestors were like a dried fig cake. A fig cake that has shriveled in the sun does not spoil; it is preserved. But you are "Gomer", a finished fig that fully ripened but was never dried, and therefore it rots. You are Gomer daughter of Divlayim: you are the fully ripened fig that was not dried, while your ancestors are the "Divlayim", the dried fig that is preserved. Thus, your corruption is far greater than the corruption of your ancestors.
Notice the precise wording of the verse: "and she bore him a son." The Malbim explains that the first son was still distinctively his; he was definitely fathered by Hoshea. Therefore, he does not give him a name that expresses hatred, but rather "Yizre'el".
And what does the name Yizre'el express? The Malbim explains that it comes from the root of sowing (zeriah), expressing the judgment of Hashem that will be fulfilled in them in an alternate form, as the verse says, "And I will sow her unto Me in the land." The exile will resemble a person sowing a grain of wheat deep in the soil: at first it appears to him that the grain has withered, rotted, and that nothing will come of it. But in the next stage, he sees how a new growth sprouts, grows, and blossoms from it. So says the Holy One, Blessed is He: at first, Yizre'el - I have sown them in the exile, scattering them among the nations. And the purpose is that from the exiles sown in the lands of their captors, there will sprout and grow a vast people, like the sand of the sea that cannot be numbered, together with the converts who join them. As Chazal teach, Israel went down into exile in order to gather the sparks of holiness and so that converts would attach themselves to them. This is the process of sowing, for in sowing you plant a single seed and many grow: both in that they themselves will return as righteous, and in that they will gather with them non-Jews who stem from the root of the soul of Israel, from those whose feet stood at Mount Sinai, and they will draw close to them. Something new is destined to sprout here.
And the "day of Yizre'el" mentioned later refers to the day when this sowing will be revealed, what God sowed in the earth - and he will carry his sheaves. The Malbim explains that it will be a very great day, because of the miracles and wondrous deeds that the Holy One, Blessed is He, will perform on that day before the eyes of the nations. Thus, this first son still maintains a connection, as it were, to the Holy One, Blessed is He; he does not bear a name indicative of hatred, and there is an expectation of him that he will be sown and will yet produce growth.
Radak adds an insight: notice that the first child born is a son. This hints at Yarov'am ben Yoash, who was strong in his kingdom, just as a son, being male, is stronger than a female. Yarov'am reigned for forty-one years, and it is written of him that he restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Chamat to the Sea of the Aravah. We see, therefore, that there was strength and might in the monarchy, and this is why Scripture begins with the birth of a son.
According to Targum Yonatan, "take for yourself a wife of harlotry" does not mean actual marriage, but rather: take for yourself words of prophecy and rebuke to speak to those people of harlotry. And what was that prophecy? Targum Yonatan explains: "Go and prophesy against them, that if they repent, they will be forgiven" - if they return in repentance, He will pardon them. But if they do not repent, "they will fall like the shedding of fig leaves" - they will fall away just as fig leaves drop. "And they continued to perform evil deeds" - but this did not help, and they persisted in doing evil deeds.
Rashi explains that Targum Yonatan comes to express what is hinted at in "Gomer daughter of Divlayim": if you repent - "Gomer" means their punishment has ended (gamrah), and you will have no further trouble. But if you do not repent - "daughter of Divlayim" means you will be like a fig tree whose leaves drop like withered figs falling from a tree. Thus, there is a prophecy and warning presenting two paths: if you repent, your situation will improve; and if not, Heaven forbid, it will worsen. The end of the verse depicts the outcome: "And she conceived and bore him a son" - come and see that it did not avail; they continued in their corrupt ways and bore children, so to speak, to the forces of impurity and idolatry. "And they continued to perform evil deeds," and did not repent in the wake of the prophet's rebuke.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו קְרָא שְׁמוֹ יִזְרְעֶאל כִּי־עוֹד מְעַט וּפָקַדְתִּי אֶת־דְּמֵי יִזְרְעֶאל עַל־בֵּית יֵהוּא וְהִשְׁבַּתִּי מַמְלְכוּת בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And the Lord said to him, "Call his name Yizre'el, for in yet a little while I will visit the blood of Yizre'el upon the house of Yehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel."
Rashi explains based on the Targum: "Call their name scattered ones" (mevadraya). The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I am about to scatter (ezreh) them. This is "Call his name Yizre'el," an allusion to the fact that the people of Israel will be dispersed among the nations, meaning there will be exile.
The Malbim explains "and I will visit the blood of Yizre'el upon the house of Yehu": the punishment and vengeance that the Holy One, blessed be He, executed in the plot of Yizre'el was against Achav, because he stole the vineyard of Navot. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: the very same punishment with which I punished Achav - who was profoundly wicked and an idolater - which is termed "the blood of Yizre'el," I will visit upon the house of Yehu. The house of Yehu will receive the punishment that Achav received. And why? "And I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel" - the dynasty of Yehu was an established monarchy that lasted four generations, and scripture records that he restored the border of Israel to its place. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will put an end to this kingdom.
And the reason: Yehu pursued the house of Achav because of their idolatry, fulfilling the mission of Heaven. The Holy One, blessed be He, commanded that Yehu son of Nimshi be anointed king so that he would avenge upon Achav the blood of Navot the Yizre'elite, punishing him for killing Navot, stealing his vineyard, and serving idols. But you, Yehu son of Nimshi, took vengeance upon Achav for his injustices and his idolatry - and then you yourself turn around, repeat those same sins, and serve idols? Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: "and I will visit the blood of Yizre'el" - the same punishment visited upon Achav will come upon Yehu, and the monarchy will be brought to an end when Zechariah son of Yerovam is killed.
And so it is written in II Kings chapter 15: "In the thirty-eighth year of Azaryahu king of Yehudah, Zecharyahu son of Yerovam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Yerovam son of Nevat, who caused Israel to sin. And Shalun son of Yavesh conspired against him, and struck him down before the people and killed him, and reigned in his stead... And the rest of the acts of Zecharyah, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. This was the word of the Lord which He spoke to Yehu, saying: Your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel; and so it came to pass." "Sons of the fourth generation" means that his dynasty lasted for four generations, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, said: I will visit the blood of Achav upon the head of Yehu, for you, Yehu, went to slay Achav the idolater, yet you yourself worshiped idols. Therefore he was punished with that very punishment - not in his own lifetime, but in the generations that followed him.
וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וְשָׁבַרְתִּי אֶת־קֶשֶׁת יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֵמֶק יִזְרְעֶאל׃ - And it shall come to pass on that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Yizre'el.
"On that day" - on the day of reckoning. And what is this bow? The Malbim explains that it can be interpreted as referring to the entire monarchy of Yehu, since Yehu seized the kingdom by the power of the bow with which he was victorious in the Valley of Yizre'el. There it is recounted that Elisha sent one of the disciples of the prophets to anoint Yehu son of Nimshi as king in order to exact retribution from the house of Achav; and Yehu killed Yehoram son of Achav and Achazyahu king of Yehudah, and threw Izevel down from the upper story for her evil deeds. And how did he kill Yehoram? Scripture records there: "And Yehu drew his bow with full strength and struck Yehoram." "Drew his bow with full strength" (literally, filled his hand with the bow) - when a person draws a bow, he spreads his arms wide, filling his hand, and then the bow shoots far. Thus, Yehu conquered the monarchy by the power of the bow. Regarding this the Holy One, blessed be He, says: that very bow through whose power he seized the monarchy by slaying Yehoram - that is what I will break, meaning his kingdom will ultimately be stripped from him.
The Malbim brings an additional explanation: that the bow refers to the bow that Elisha gave to Yoash son of Yeho'achaz son of Yehu. It is written there that when he came before him, Elisha gave him a bow and told him to shoot arrows, saying: this arrow is "an arrow of salvation for the Lord" against Aram. Afterward he told him to strike the ground with the arrows, and ultimately rebuked him: why did you not strike more times, for then your salvation would have been complete? Thus we see that the symbol of victory was accomplished through a bow. And the Malbim suggests that this may be the meaning here: that very bow through which Elisha demonstrated victory will be broken through the judgment associated with the Valley of Yizre'el - the place designated to execute judgment against idolaters, just as we saw done to Achav.
וַתַּהַר עוֹד וַתֵּלֶד בַּת וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ קְרָא שְׁמָהּ לֹא רֻחָמָה כִּי לֹא אוֹסִיף עוֹד אֲרַחֵם אֶת־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־נָשֹׂא אֶשָּׂא לָהֶם׃ - "And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and He said to him: Call her name Lo-ruchamah, for I will no longer have mercy on the House of Israel, that I should at all forgive them."
After Gomer the daughter of Divlayim gave birth to a son, she conceived again and bore a daughter. The son, according to the Radak, was an allegory for Yerovam son of Yoash. And the daughter was an allegory for Zecharyah his son and for Shallum son of Yavesh who reigned after him. Why were they compared to a daughter? Because they were weak like a female: their reign was short and lacked strength. Zecharyah reigned for six months and was assassinated, and Shallum son of Yavesh reigned for a single month and was assassinated. Thus, it was a short and feeble monarchy, and therefore, "And she conceived again and bore a daughter."
At the end of the verse there is a great difficulty: "for I will no longer have mercy on the House of Israel, ki naso essa lahem." "Naso essa lahem" implies showing favor, meaning showing mercy - yet Hashem just said He would no longer have mercy! Therefore, the commentators sought a way to explain the verse.
The Radak explains: "Naso essa" refers to raising up the enemy against them. It does not mean showing favor, but rather: I will no longer have mercy on the House of Israel, for I will lift up and bring against them an enemy from a distant land who will exile them and lay waste to their land. And "lahem" means "otam" (them), just as we find "they killed to Avner" (hergu le-Avner), meaning they killed Avner. That is, the enemy will carry them off and exile them to the land of their foes.
The Malbim explains that "And she conceived again and bore a daughter" signifies the kings who arose after the dynasty of Yehu came to an end - weak kings, along the same lines as the Radak's explanation, and therefore represented as a "daughter." Notice the precise wording: here it does not say "and she bore him a daughter," as was stated regarding the first son. The reason is that by this stage, the prophet's wife had already begun straying into promiscuity, and he was in doubt as to whether the daughter was his or not. She bore a daughter, but he was not certain she was his; she might belong to someone else. The deeper meaning is that in these generations the righteous dwindled even further, and everyone was straying after idol worship. Just as a daughter was born to you and you do not know who fathered her, so says the Holy One, Blessed be He: A generation has been born that strays after idolatry, and they are no longer connected to Me.
Therefore, "Call her name Lo-ruchamah." The Malbim explains the end of the verse: I will no longer show mercy to the House of Israel by bearing with them and forgiving their iniquities. The word "ki" here does not introduce a cause, but means: I will no longer show mercy to them through forbearance and pardon; I will do so no more. And to which generation does "naso essa lahem" refer? To an earlier generation in which He did bear with them: in the days of Yerovam son of Yoash, the Holy One, Blessed be He, had mercy on them, bore their sins, and saved them, as it says in Melachim II 14: "For Hashem saw the very bitter affliction of Israel... and Hashem did not speak to blot out the name of Israel... and He saved them by the hand of Yerovam son of Yoash." Back then I bore with them and had mercy on them beyond the letter of the law; but from now on I will no longer have mercy on them in the way I bore with them then, but rather exile them into captivity. Incidentally, Radak also explains it in this same way in his second interpretation.
The Malbim further adds that already in the name "Lo-ruchamah," the prophet indicates that he harbors resentment toward the daughter and also toward his wife. After all, if the daughter's paternity is in doubt, he naturally has a grievance against his wife - asking with whom she had been to bear such a daughter. Yet note that he does not yet call her "Lo-Ammi" ("Not My People"). "Lo-Ammi" denotes a complete severance of the bond. Here it comes to teach that even though the Holy One, Blessed be He, did not have mercy on the Ten Tribes - "Lo-ruchamah" - we are still His people: Yehudah and Binyamin are still connected to the Holy One, Blessed be He, and have not yet been exiled, so "Lo-Ammi" cannot yet be said of them. But at this stage it is already "Lo-ruchamah"; the Ten Tribes are gone, and it is evident that Hashem is dealing with them without compassion.
In explaining the words, the Malbim brings additional approaches to resolving the contradiction. Targum Yonatan explains that the end of the verse speaks of an alternative possibility: "Yet if they repent, I will forgive them" - if they do teshuvah, then naso essa lahem. Rashi explains "essa lahem" as an expression of allotting a portion, as in "and portions were taken [vayissa mas'ot] to them from before him," meaning, I will apportion their lot - in the sense of "For there is a cup in the hand of Hashem, with foaming wine, full of mixture," the cup of wrath, a lethal and harmful cup. That is to say: I will no longer have mercy on the House of Israel, for I will lift up and serve them the cup containing the trouble and decree destined to come upon them. The Radak, as mentioned, explains that I will lift up against them the enemy who will exile them. And the Abarbanel explains that it relates to an oath: I have sworn to exile them, as in "For I lift up My hand to heaven and say, As I live forever," and "naso essa lahem" is the language of an oath.
וְאֶת־בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֲרַחֵם וְהוֹשַׁעְתִּים בַּיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְלֹא אוֹשִׁיעֵם בְּקֶשֶׁת וּבְחֶרֶב וּבְמִלְחָמָה בְּסוּסִים וּבְפָרָשִׁים׃ - "And I will have mercy on the House of Yehudah, and I will save them by Hashem their God; and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen."
This refers to Chizkiyahu. Chizkiyahu and his people were saved truly by Hashem, rescued from the hand of Sancheriv through miraculous power: Sancheriv's army came and besieged Jerusalem, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, sent the angel of Hashem who struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand troop commanders, making them hear the song of the Chayyot, which caused their souls to depart. A tremendous miracle was performed there for Chizkiyahu. About this it is said, "and I will save them by Hashem their God" - in a supernatural manner, "and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." Chizkiyahu and his people did not go out to wage war at all; he slept in his bed and the Holy One, Blessed be He, fought the battle for him. In this respect, they are still "My people." From this we understand, says the Malbim, why at this stage she is named "Lo-ruchamah" and not yet "Lo-Ammi": because the Holy One, Blessed be He, was still performing salvation for His people, for Yehudah and Binyamin.
וַתִּגְמֹל אֶת־לֹא רֻחָמָה וַתַּהַר וַתֵּלֶד בֵּן׃ - Now she weaned Lo-ruhamah, and conceived, and bore a son.
Radak notes an exacting detail: we do not find the language of weaning previously. When the daughter was born, it was not stated that the first son was first weaned; Scripture does not write, "And she weaned Yizreel and bore Lo-ruhamah." Yet here it states, "Now she weaned Lo-ruhamah," and only then, "and conceived, and bore a son." What does this express? Radak explains that the period of weakness dragged on for many days: during the days of Zechariah and Shallum, as well as during the days of Menahem ben Gadi who reigned ten years (and in whose days Pul the king of Assyria invaded), and also during the days of Pekahiah his son who reigned two years - until Pekah ben Remaliah took the throne. Pekah was the only one who reigned for an extended period, twenty years, and he overpowered the kingdom of Judah, slaying one hundred and twenty thousand men in Judah in a single day and besieging Jerusalem alongside Rezin king of Aram. Therefore it says "and she weaned": she did not immediately bear the next son; rather, the days of weakness persisted for a long time, and only afterward was the son born. And it was specifically a son, symbolizing strength, for Pekah ben Remaliah consolidated his royal power, both in the many years he reigned and in his military might, overcoming Judah, killing one hundred and twenty thousand men in a single day, and besieging Jerusalem - all of which signifies strength, expressed through the birth of a son.
According to Radak's approach, he was named "Lo-ammi" because concerning him it is said, "And he did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat," and therefore he is already completely "not My people."
Malbim takes a different direction, though he too takes note of the nuance of "and she weaned": she did not bear the third child immediately while still nursing, as happened with the second child, but only after she had weaned Lo-ruhamah. The reason: the third child is named "Lo-ammi," representing the destruction of Judah and the exile, and exile did not come immediately. According to Radak, the delay reflects the era of Pekah ben Remaliah, whereas according to Malbim, this already refers to the complete exile of Judah. Following his approach, everything fits beautifully: at first, it was the status of "Lo-ruhamah," where the Ten Tribes were exiled, but they could not yet be called "Lo-ammi," because Judah and Benjamin were still Mine and settled in their place. But later, when Judah too was exiled and the entirety of Israel went into exile leaving no one behind - that is the stage of the third child, "Lo-ammi," where the Jewish people, as it were, are no longer His people. And the kingdom of Judah is called a "son" rather than a "daughter" because it was a strong kingdom in the days of Hezekiah and Josiah, and a son symbolizes vigor and strength. Thus, according to Radak this refers to Pekah ben Remaliah, while according to Malbim it refers to the kingdom of Judah under Hezekiah and Josiah.
וַיֹּאמֶר קְרָא שְׁמוֹ לֹא עַמִּי כִּי אַתֶּם לֹא עַמִּי וְאָנֹכִי לֹא־אֶהְיֶה לָכֶם׃ - And He said: "Call his name Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be yours."
Metzudat David explains: "For you are not My people" - you do not tremble to fulfill My words, in the manner of a people who tremble at the command of their king. "Am" (a people) is related to trembling at the king's word, and since you do not tremble at My words, you are called "Lo-ammi" (not My people). "And I will not be yours" - as a God, to rescue you and deliver you.
Malbim explains that God told him to give the child a name signifying that he is entirely not his son. For regarding the daughter there was still doubt, so he called her only "Lo-ruhamah" and did not decisively declare that she was not his daughter; but with the third child, it was already a situation where the prophet's wife had corrupted her ways so gravely that he says with certainty, "Lo-ammi" - this one is not mine. This is the exact opposite of what we find with Lot, where "Ben-ammi" meant "he is from my own kin, from my father." Here, "Lo-ammi" means: this is not from mine; this child was born because the prophet's wife corrupted her ways. From that moment, the bond he had with his wife was also severed, after she bore children of harlotry. And the reason you are not My people is: "and I will not be yours" - I will not be a father, a man, or a husband to you.
From here, Chazal deduced that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Divorce your wife, cast out Gomer bat Divlayim. And where is this revealed in the verses? Malbim explains that it is right in this verse: "Call his name Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be yours." It was then that the prophet replied - and herein lies the entire depth of the parable and its message: If you are incapable of divorcing a woman who has corrupted her ways, whose children you cannot even be certain are yours, how can you ask Me to banish and cast out My people, the Congregation of Israel, even though they too are in the category of "Lo-ammi"? This was the lesson that the Holy One, blessed be He, conveyed to Hoshea through the allegory of marrying Gomer bat Divlayim.
Chapter 1 of Hoshea builds a living allegory in the prophet's own home: Gomer bat Divlayim represents the generation that is depleted and never dried, a ripe fig that spoils, in contrast to the Patriarchs who were like preserved pressed figs. The three children signify three distinct stages: "Yizreel" - the son who is still "his," embodying both retribution (the reckoning of the blood of Yizreel upon the House of Jehu and the breaking of its bow) and the hope of a sowing destined to yield a vast nation with accompanying converts on the great day of Yizreel; "Lo-ruhamah" - the daughter whose parentage is already in doubt, corresponding to the feeble kings and the withdrawal of mercy from the Ten Tribes, while the House of Judah is still saved miraculously, not by bow or sword; and "Lo-ammi" - the son born after the weaning, corresponding to the destruction and total exile. Ultimately, when the prophet was instructed to divorce his wife and responded that he could not, he himself absorbed the lesson: so too, the Holy One, blessed be He, cannot cast away the Congregation of Israel.