The following was a short exegetical essay for Dr. Eric Tully’s Advanced Hebrew Exegesis of Hosea course at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Please note: I use the Hebrew Bible’s chapter and verse references below, which can at times be different than what one will find in our English translations.

---

A central aspect of studying poetry is determining the meaning and significance of imageries that are employed by an author. This is no less true for the task of the interpreter of Hosea. In 8:1, Hosea paints the picture of a נֶשֶׁר over the יְהוָ֑ה בֵּ֣ית. To understand Hosea’s message in 8:1, and how it relates to the entire judgment oracle that follows, the exegete does well to investigate this imagery.

This exegetical concern contains various issues that are interconnected. How one handles one issue affects how one handles the others; and how one handles them altogether amounts to one’s interpretation. These issues are as follows: (1) Does one resort to an emendation of the text; and if so, what is it? (2) Does נֶשֶׁר refer to an eagle or a vulture and how does this affect the nature of the imagery? (3) What is the referent of יְהוָ֑ה בֵּ֣ית (see exegetical issue #1). (4) Who is the bird—YHWH, the enemy? (5) How does this imagery relate to the imagery of the previous line—the blowing of a trumpet? With these factors, possible interpretations are seemingly endless. Only a few examples will be mentioned here. Garrett (181) provides an unusual interpretation. Based on his understanding that יְהוָ֑ה בֵּ֣ית refers to the temple, he suggests that 8:1a refers to a priest blasting a trumpet to scare off an unclean bird that has landed on the temple. Andersen and Freedman (485-86) argue for a very plausible textual emendation: moving the כ from the end of חִכְּךָ to the beginning of שֹׁפָר. The attraction with this is the resulting chiastic pattern. One would translate the text something like, “As the shofar is for the mouth, so the eagle is for the house of Yahweh.” Thus, the point of the dual imagery is to draw a comparison. In other words, just as the trumpet is for the mouth, so the bird of prey (signifying impending judgment) is for the house of Israel. The trumpet is an alarm and signals an invasion, the eagle a symbol of a foreign invader attacking (cf. Lam 4:19). Finally, Dearman (217; cf. Andersen and Freedman) makes a significant observation worth noting. He understands Hosea to be reversing the Pentateuchal imagery of Deut 32:10-12 (cf. Ex 19:4) where YHWH is depicted as an eagle protectively and caringly hovering over his people. This is supported by the reference to the violation of God’s covenant and law in 8:1b, which brings about covenant curses (implied). And interestingly, Deut 28:49 depicts these covenant curses (explicitly) as an eagle swooping down upon Israel.

In conclusion, in Hosea possible textual emendations are limitless and often quite speculative. We often don’t know where emendations are needed to recover the original reading; and, if we did, we often lack enough information to make decisions that are certain or even probable. Therefore, if the text can be understood as is, and unless compelling reasons exist, it seems best if possible to stick with the Masoretic Text. With that said, (based on the previous conclusions in the first exegetical paper) it appears that the best interpretation understands this imagery as referring to impending judgment. This fits with the coordinating trumpet imagery—sounding the trumpet as an alarm of judgment (cf. Hos 5:8). If referring to a vulture, the picture would likely be that of a vulture circling its prey, signifying imminent destruction of the nation. But more likely, given Dearman’s observations, this is an eagle and the imagery reverses that of Deut 32:10-12. The identity of the bird is likely intentionally ambiguous and seems to refer to YHWH working through human agency, e.g., the Assyrian army.