Discovery BoxHosea 2:5 
Context2:5 For their mother has committed adultery;
she who conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will seek out 1 my lovers; 2
they are the ones who give me my bread and my water,
my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine. 3
Hosea 2:8
Context2:8 Yet 4 until now 5 she has refused to acknowledge 6 that I 7 was the one
who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil;
and that it was I who 8 lavished on her the silver and gold –
which they 9 used in worshiping Baal! 10
Hosea 3:1
Context3:1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show love to 11 your wife 12 again, even though she loves 13 another man 14 and continually commits adultery. 15 Likewise, the Lord loves 16 the Israelites 17 although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.” 18
Hosea 10:8
Context10:8 The high places of the “House 19 of Wickedness” 20 will be destroyed;
it is the place where Israel sins.
Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
1 tn Heb “I will go after” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
2 sn This statement alludes to the practice of sexual rites in the Canaanite fertility cult which attempted to secure agricultural fertility from the Canaanite gods (note the following reference to wool, flax, olive oil, and wine).
3 tn Heb “my drinks.” Many English versions use the singular “drink” here, but cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “wine.”
4 tn Or “For” (so KJV, NASB); or “But” (so NCV).
5 tn The phrase “until now” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
6 tn Heb “she does not know” (so NASB, NCV); or “she does not acknowledge.”
7 tn The 1st person common singular independent personal pronoun אָנֹכִי (’anokhi, “I”) is emphatic, since the subject of this verbal clause is already explicit in the verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, Qal perfect 1st person common singular: “I gave”).
8 tn The phrase “that it was I who” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
9 sn The third person plural here is an obvious reference to the Israelites who had been unfaithful to the
10 tn Heb “for Baal” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); cf. TEV “in the worship of Baal.”
11 tn Heb “Go again! Love!” Cf. NAB “Give your love to.”
12 tn Heb “a woman.” The probable referent is Gomer. Some English translations (e.g., NIV, NLT) specify the referent as “your wife.”
13 tc The MT vocalizes אֲהֻבַת (’ahuvat) as a construct form of the Qal passive participle and takes רֵעַ (rea’) as a genitive of agent: “who is loved by רֵעַ.” However, the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac, Vulgate) all vocalize אֲהֻבַת as an absolute form of the Qal active participle, and take רֵעַ as the accusative direct object: “who loves רֵעַ.” The English translations consistently follow the MT. The editors of BHS suggest the revocalization but with some reservation. For discussion of the vocalization, see D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 5:230.
tn Heb “a woman who is loved by a companion” (אִשָּׁה אֲהֻבַת רֵעַ, ’ishah ’ahuvat rea’). The substantival participle אֲהֻבַת (“one who is loved”) is in apposition to אִשָּׁה (“a woman”). The genitive noun רֵעַ (“companion”) functions as the agent of the preceding construct noun: “who is loved by a companion” (אֲהֻבַת רֵעַ). Cf. NAB “a woman beloved of a paramour”; NRSV “a woman who has a lover.”
14 tn The meaning of the noun רֵעַ (rea’) is debated because it has a broad range of meanings: (1) “friend,” (2) “lover,” (3) “companion,” (4) “neighbor,” and (5) “another” (HALOT 1253-55 s.v. II רֵעַ; BDB 945-46 s.v. II רֵעַ). The Hebrew lexicons favor the nuance “lover; paramour” here (HALOT 1255 s.v. 2; BDB 946 s.v. 1). Most scholars adopt the same approach; however, a few suggest that רֵעַ does not refer to another man, but to her husband (Hosea). Both approaches are reflected in English translations: NASB “a woman who is loved by her husband”; NIV “though she is loved by another”; NAB “a woman beloved of a paramour”; KJV “a woman beloved of her friend”; NJPS “a woman who, while befriended by a companion”; TEV “a woman who is committing adultery with a lover”; CEV “an unfaithful woman who has a lover.”
15 tn Heb “love a woman who is loved of a lover and is an adulteress.”
16 tn Heb “like the love of the
17 tn Heb “sons of Israel” (so NASB); KJV “children of Israel”; NAB “people of Israel.”
18 tn Heb “they are lovers of cakes of raisins.” A number of English translations render this literally (e.g., ASV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
19 tn Alternately, “Aven” (KJV, NAB, NRSV, NLT) for the city name “Beth Aven.” The term “Beth” (house) does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied (e.g., Hos 4:15). It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
20 tc The MT reads בָּמוֹת אָוֶן (bamot ’aven, “high places of Aven”); however, several Hebrew
tn Heb “high places of wickedness” (בָּמוֹת אָוֶן, bamot ’aven); so NIV. The noun אָוֶן (“wickedness”) is an attributive genitive: “wicked high places.”
