The Meaning of Hosea 3:3 Explained

Hosea 3:3

KJV: And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

YLT: and I say unto her, 'Many days thou dost remain for Me, thou dost not go a-whoring, nor become any one's; and I also am for thee.'

Darby: And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be another man's, and I will also be for thee.

ASV: and I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be any man's wife: so will I also be toward thee.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I said  unto her, Thou shalt abide  for me many  days;  thou shalt not play the harlot,  and thou shalt not be  for [another] man:  so [will] I also [be] for thee. 

What does Hosea 3:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

After Hosea had brought Gomer home, he told her to stay with him from then on. She was his by right of marriage and by right of purchase. She was not to play the harlot or to have a lover any longer. He also promised to be faithful to her. Keil argued that Hosea meant that they would have no intimate relations. [1] But this goes beyond what the text says.

Context Summary

Hosea 3:1-5 - "a Door Of Hope"
The valley of Achor was a long wild pass up through the hills. The prophet says that a door of hope would open there, like the Mont Cenis tunnel which leads from the precipices and torrents on the northern slopes of the Alps to the sunny plains of Italy. That door opens hard by the heap of stones beneath which that troubler of Israel, Achan, was laid. We must put away our Achans before we can see doors of hope swing wide before us.
The prophet was bidden to make one further overture to his truant wife. She had been faithless, but the old love burnt in her husband's soul, and he was prepared to buy her back to himself at half the price of a female slave, Exodus 21:32. His only stipulation was that she should abide with him for many days. This was to be a time of testing, with the assurance that, if she were penitent and faithful, she would be perfectly restored.
What a wonderful verse is Hosea 2:3! We are purchased to God by the death of His Son. He only asks us to be for Himself and He promises to be for us. "The best of all," cried the dying Wesley, "is that God is for us!" Shall we not close with the offer and give ourselves to Him? [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 3

1  The Lord's intended future kindness to Israel, not withstanding their wickedness,
2  illustrated by the emblem of Hosea's conduct toward his adulterous wife
4  The desolation of Israel before their restoration

What do the individual words in Hosea 3:3 mean?

and I said to her days many You shall stay with me not you shall play the harlot nor shall you have a man so too [will] I [be] toward you
וָאֹמַ֣ר אֵלֶ֗יהָ יָמִ֤ים רַבִּים֙ תֵּ֣שְׁבִי לִ֔י לֹ֣א תִזְנִ֔י וְלֹ֥א תִֽהְיִ֖י לְאִ֑ישׁ וְגַם־ אֲנִ֖י אֵלָֽיִךְ

וָאֹמַ֣ר  and  I  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלֶ֗יהָ  to  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
יָמִ֤ים  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
רַבִּים֙  many 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
תֵּ֣שְׁבִי  You  shall  stay 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
לִ֔י  with  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
תִזְנִ֔י  you  shall  play  the  harlot 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: זָנָה 
Sense: to commit fornication, be a harlot, play the harlot.
וְלֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תִֽהְיִ֖י  shall  you  have 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לְאִ֑ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וְגַם־  so  too 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
אֲנִ֖י  [will]  I  [be] 
Parse: Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אֲנִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
אֵלָֽיִךְ  toward  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person feminine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).

What are the major concepts related to Hosea 3:3?

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