Hosea 8:6

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

That idol was made by a workman– it is not God! The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּ֤י מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְה֔וּא חָרָ֣שׁ עָשָׂ֔הוּ וְלֹ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים ה֑וּא כִּֽי־שְׁבָבִ֣ים יִֽהְיֶ֔ה עֵ֖גֶל שֹׁמְרֽוֹן׃

Transliteration

For from yiśrāʾēl and he, ḥārāš ʿāśāhû and not ʾĕlōhîm he; for šəḇāḇîm yihyeh ʿēḡel šōmərôn.

Grammar Details

• *yiśrāʾēl*: proper noun - Israel
• *ḥārāš*: noun, masculine, singular absolute - craftsman/artificer
• *ʿāśāhû*: verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - he made it
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: noun, masculine, plural absolute - God/gods
• *šəḇāḇîm*: noun, masculine, plural absolute - fragments/splinters
• *yihyeh*: verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he/it will be
• *ʿēḡel*: noun, masculine, singular construct - calf of
• *šōmərôn*: proper noun - Samaria

Word Meanings

• *ḥārāš*: craftsman/artificer/workman
• *ʿāśāhû*: made it/created it/fashioned it
• *ʾĕlōhîm*: God/gods/deity
• *šəḇāḇîm*: fragments/splinters/pieces

Referenced Verses

• 2 Kgs 23:15 : 15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole.
• 2 Kgs 23:19 : 19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the LORD. He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel.
• 2 Chr 31:1 : 1 When all this was over, the Israelites who were in the cities of Judah went out and smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and demolished all the high places and altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Then all the Israelites returned to their own homes in their cities.
• 2 Chr 34:6-7 : 6 In the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7 he tore down the altars and Asherah poles, demolished the idols, and smashed all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
• Ps 106:19-20 : 19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb, and worshiped a metal idol. 20 They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
• Ps 115:4-8 : 4 Their idols are made of silver and gold– they are man-made. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, 6 ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell, 7 hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. 8 Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
• Ps 135:15-18 : 15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made. 16 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, 17 and ears, but cannot hear. Indeed, they cannot breathe. 18 Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.
• Isa 44:9-9 : 9 All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame. 10 Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless? 11 Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame. 12 A blacksmith works with his tool and forges metal over the coals. He forms it with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; he drinks no water and gets tired. 13 A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. 14 He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow. 15 A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire– over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says,‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’ 17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying,‘Rescue me, for you are my god!’ 18 They do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern. 19 No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:‘I burned half of it in the fire– yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?’ 20 He feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say,‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’
• Jer 10:3-9 : 3 For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools. 4 He decorates it with overlays of silver and gold. He uses hammer and nails to fasten it together so that it will not fall over. 5 Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you.” 6 I said,“There is no one like you, LORD. You are great. And you are renowned for your power. 7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, because you deserve to be revered. For there is no one like you among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings. 8 The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless! 9 Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish and gold is brought from Ufaz to cover those idols. They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. They are all made by skillful workers.
• Jer 10:14 : 14 All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
• Jer 43:12-13 : 12 He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt. He will burn their gods or carry them off as captives. He will pick Egypt clean like a shepherd picks the lice from his clothing. He will leave there unharmed. 13 He will demolish the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”
• Jer 50:2 : 2 “Announce the news among the nations! Proclaim it! Signal for people to pay attention! Declare the news! Do not hide it! Say:‘Babylon will be captured. Bel will be put to shame. Marduk will be dismayed. Babylon’s idols will be put to shame. Her disgusting images will be dismayed.
• Hos 10:2 : 2 Their hearts are slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The LORD will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.
• Hos 10:5-6 : 5 The Calf Idol and Idolaters of Samaria Will Be Exiled The inhabitants of Samaria will lament over the calf idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail over it, because its splendor will be taken from them into exile. 6 Even the calf idol will be carried to Assyria, as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be put to shame because of its wooden idol.
• Hab 2:18 : 18 What good is an idol? Why would a craftsman make it? What good is a metal image that gives misleading oracles? Why would its creator place his trust in it and make such mute, worthless things?
• Acts 17:29 : 29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination.
• Acts 19:26 : 26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.