Bible Commentary

Hosea 5:10

The Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:10

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

The princes of Judah were like them that remove the bound. The individual who had the temerity to remove his neighbor's landmark was not only guilty of a great sin, but obnoxious to a grievous curse.

Thus , "Thou shall not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance;" and again , "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's landmark.

And all the people shall say, Amen." The removal of the landmark characterizes the conduct of men entirely regardless of the rights of others—utterly reckless. The Jewish nobles, the king's ministers and high officers of state, are compared to those who remove the landmark, disregarding alike what was due to their fellow-men and to their God.

The Jewish commentators differ in their exposition between tact and figure—some of them taking the removal of the boundary as a matter of fact, the caph being for confirmation; thus D. Kimchi; while I.

Kimchi explains it of the rejection of the appeal for justice against removers of landmarks; others understanding it figuratively, and the whole as expressing general lawlessness, thus Rashi: "Like a man who removes his neighbor's landmark, just so they hasten to hold fast the ways of Israel their neighbors … according to the literal sense, They grasped at the fields; but this, in my opinion, is harsh, for then the prophet must have written merely מסיגי, and not נמסיגי."

Similarly Aben Ezra: "They exercise violence towards those who are in their power, whilst they are like those who secretly remove the landmark." The people of Judah had also sinned, and, like Israel in sin, they resemble them in suffering.

Therefore I will pour out my wrath upon them like water. The word "wrath" here is from a root which signifies "to overflow;" it is thus the overflowing of Divine indignation; while the outpouring thereof denotes the full flood of wrath that will overwhelm those lawless leaders of a misguided and misgoverned people.

The execution of the threatening was reserved for the Assyrians. who, under Tiglath-pileser and Sennacherib, invaded and laid waste the land. And yet those judgments, though so severe and plentiful, were not to end in total and lasting devastation as in the case of Israel.

The following verses 11-15 teach the inevitable nature of the judgments that were coming upon both Israel and Judah, and from which no earthly power could deliver them. The only relief possible depended on their seeking God in the day of their distress.

Recommended reading

More for Hosea 5:10

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

The Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:1-10Hosea 5:1-10 · The Pulpit CommentaryNational sin and punishment. The general strain of this chapter is similar to that of the preceding. "The judgment" (Hosea 5:1) which has already been pronounced there is still continued. In Hosea 4:1-19; however, Judah…The Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:1-15Hosea 5:1-15 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITIONThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:6-10Hosea 5:6-10 · The Pulpit CommentaryNo place found for repentance. They would seek the Lord with sacrifices from the flock and from the herd, but they would not find him; they multiplied sacrifices, but the Lord had withdrawn himself. Thus in the New Test…Matthew Henry on Hosea 5:8-15Hosea 5:8-15 · Matthew Henry Concise CommentaryThe destruction of impenitent sinners is not mere talk, to frighten them, it is a sentence which will not be recalled. And it is a mercy that we have timely warning given us, that we may flee from the wrath to come. Com…Threatenings of Judgment. (b. c. 758.)Hosea 5:8-15 · Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleTHREATENINGS OF JUDGMENT. (B. C. 758.) Here is, I. A loud alarm sounded, giving notice of judgments coming (Hosea 5:8): Blow you the cornet in Gibeah and in Ramah, two cities near together in the confines of the two kin…The Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:8-12Hosea 5:8-12 · The Pulpit CommentaryEphraim and Judah. The judgment is represented in these verses as already fallen. Shrill cornet and trumpet blasts announce the presence of the invaders. They fill the land. They are at the borders of Judah. They menace…
commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:1-15EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:1-10National sin and punishment. The general strain of this chapter is similar to that of the preceding. "The judgment" (Hosea 5:1) which has already been pronounced there is still continued. In Hosea 4:1-19; however, Judah…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:6-10No place found for repentance. They would seek the Lord with sacrifices from the flock and from the herd, but they would not find him; they multiplied sacrifices, but the Lord had withdrawn himself. Thus in the New Test…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryMatthew Henry on Hosea 5:8-15The destruction of impenitent sinners is not mere talk, to frighten them, it is a sentence which will not be recalled. And it is a mercy that we have timely warning given us, that we may flee from the wrath to come. Com…Matthew HenrycommentaryThreatenings of Judgment. (b. c. 758.)THREATENINGS OF JUDGMENT. (B. C. 758.) Here is, I. A loud alarm sounded, giving notice of judgments coming (Hosea 5:8): Blow you the cornet in Gibeah and in Ramah, two cities near together in the confines of the two kin…Matthew HenrycommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:8-12Ephraim and Judah. The judgment is represented in these verses as already fallen. Shrill cornet and trumpet blasts announce the presence of the invaders. They fill the land. They are at the borders of Judah. They menace…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:10-13The misuse of Divine judgments. It is well for our rest and strength when, like the prophet, we can exercise steadfast faith in the unseen Ruler of all human affairs. Many events appear to contradict the theory of a wis…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Hosea 5:10Landmark-removers. The Jews were not a mercantile nor a manufacturing people, but a nation of agriculturists. Each citizen had his own piece of ground allotted to him as the family inheritance; and great pains were take…Joseph S. Exell and contributors