- Who is the “speaker” in Hosea 12:1?
- What possible purpose would the prophet have for the comparison between Ephraim and Judea?
- In Hosea 12:1 the word “kedoshim” appears — it is plural; to whom might it refer?
- In Hosea 12:2, the prophet, once again, condemns political identification with which countries?
- Does Hosea 12:3 refer to the time at which the prophet lived or does it refer to Judah in the Bereyshit reference, the Tamar incident, the relationship with Joseph and the like.
- And, would the second part of Hosea 12:3 help to clarify since it makes reference not to Ephraim or to Israel but, rather, to Jacob?
- Hosea 12:4 refers to Jacob having fooled his brother in the womb, and, when grown, having “fought with God.” Does “with” here mean “on the side of” or “opposed to” — in terms of the overall sense of Hosea 12:3-4?
- Is Hosea 12:5 a favorable reference to Jacob or otherwise?
- Is the prophet continuing this thought in Hosea 12:7-8 or is he now addressing the people of his own time?
- Does the term “Canaan” here refer to a people or to a “trader/merchant” whose practices are “questionable”?
- In Hosea 12:9, what is the “standard” by which Ephraim measures its activities — morality or success?
- Is the “returning you to tents” a promise of security or of punishment?
- In Hosea 12:12 the message returns to criticism of what practices?
- In Hosea 12:13 the prophet appears to return, again, to the biography of Jacob as an individual but in Hosea 12:14 the text appears to move over the centuries to Mosheh; is this a comparative valuation?
- In sum, how does the prophet end this particular chapter?
