Hosea 5

It’s a mystery why Hosea chose the three cities of Mizpah, Tabor, and Acacia Grove. It’s a fair guess that there’s some kind of wordplay going on, possibly with phonetic parallels. “Trap” is pah in Hebrew. And there’s a pah in “Mizpah.” But that seems a stretch, when comparing the Hebrew words. Some say Hosea picked the cities for their randomness.

The name in Hebrew is Shittim, which church folks wouldn’t want to read out loud in a worship service. It literally means “field of acacia trees,” or an acacia grove. Hence, “Acacia Grove.” You’re welcome.

“Ephraim” is another name for the Northern Jewish nation of Israel. It was the dominate tribe. The first northern king came from Ephraim. It’s a tribe located at the center of what had been the united nation of Israel, before the split. Ephraim’s southern border was just half a day’s walk north of Jerusalem.

Jews were considered ritually unclean after having sex. They had to take a bath and wait until evening before they were ritually clean (Leviticus 15; Exodus 19:15). Only then could they go to the Jerusalem Temple and worship God.

Literally, “the new moon.” It’s unclear what that means. Some interpret it as “the new people,” possibly a reference to the Assyrian invaders who would conquer Israel and annex the land as a province. Some interpret the “new moon” as a reference to worshiping gods of other religions.

Some scholars say this refers to a war between Judah in the south and Israel in the north. The conflict became known as the Syro-Ephraimite War (736-733 BC). Israel and allies including Syria, called Aram at the time, wanted to rebel against Assyria’s bullying. Assyria required smaller kingdoms to pay them. It’s like a bully stealing your lunch money or a mobster collecting from local businesses who don’t want to get beat up or killed. Israel wanted Judah to join the revolt. Judah didn’t want to risk a war with Assyria. So, they said no. Judah and Syria wouldn’t take no for an answer. They went to war with Judah, to force them into the rebellion for freedom. Irony. So, Judah asked Assyria for help. Some historians might say it’s generally not a good idea for the little guys to ask for help from the big guys because afterward, the big guys come to collect. Assyria defeated Israel, Syria, and the Philistines. Then Assyrian King Tiglath-Pileser III went to Jerusalem to clean out the Temple treasury. While in the area, he built pagan shrines.

Beth-aven was a sarcastic, slap in the face nickname for Bethel. A little like Filthadelphia for Philadelphia or Liverpuddle for Liverpool. “Bethel” translates as beth = house, and el = god. House of God. “Beth-aven” is the opposite of the joy that comes with having God in the house. It means House of Trouble. Bethel was the main worship center in Israel (1 Kings 12:28-30).

Gibeah, Ramah, and Beth-aven (with is another name for Bethel) were all located close together in the tribe of Benjamin’s territory. Border towns, they bounced back and forth between Israel in the north and Judah in the south, depending on who won the latest border war. This verse may describe Judah attacking Benjamin along the mountain route that ran from Jerusalem through those towns and then on into Ephraim’s territory deep into Israel.

This phrase is a guess based on context. What’s going on in the verse is that Israel is chasing something. Scholarly guesses include: vanity, idols, enemies, or their ally Syria (Aram). Whatever they’re chasing, they shouldn’t be chasing. For their trouble, they’ll end up with nothing but loss and grief. It’s a wild goose chase in the land of no geese.