The Meaning of Hosea 10:14 Explained

Hosea 10:14

KJV: Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

YLT: And rise doth a tumult among thy people, And all thy fortresses are spoiled, As the spoiling of Shalman of Beth-Arbel, In a day of battle, Mother against sons dashed in pieces.

Darby: And a tumult shall arise among thy peoples, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces with the children.

ASV: Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces with her children.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore shall a tumult  arise  among thy people,  and all thy fortresses  shall be spoiled,  as Shalman  spoiled  Betharbel  in the day  of battle:  the mother  was dashed in pieces  upon [her] children. 

What does Hosea 10:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Because the Israelites trusted in their own army, turmoil rather than tranquillity would mark their life. Their fortresses would suffer destruction rather than protecting the Israelites from destruction. Hosea compared this future loss to one in Israel"s past, but what past event is uncertain.
"Shalman" may refer to King Shalmaneser III, an Assyrian who conducted campaigns in the West in the ninth century B.C. Another identification of "Shalman" is King Salamanu, a Moabite ruler who was a contemporary of King Hoshea of Israel, whose name appears in a list of kings who paid tribute to the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. [1] A third possibility is the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V who prepared the way for Israel"s captivity by invading the land (cf. 2 Kings 17:3-6). [2] "Beth-arbel" could refer to the town of Arbela about18 miles southeast of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) or to Mt. Arbel two miles west of that sea. In any case, the battle had been a bloody one that the Israelites of Hosea"s day remembered vividly. The enemy had slaughtered mothers and their children without mercy.

Context Summary

Hosea 10:1-15 - "break Up Your Fallow Ground"
Israel brought forth fruit, but not such as God could delight in. It was corrupt and evil. How great a disappointment to the Great Cultivator! The land was covered with obelisks and altars, the symbols of idolatry, and the Canaanites themselves had not been more shameless in sin. But notice the terrible judgments that must befall. There would be revolution, for when men say, We fear not the Lord, they will go on to say, We fear not the king. Beth-aven, the "house of vanity," would replace Beth-el, the "house of God." The golden calves would be carried off by the conqueror. The king would perish as foam upon the water. The yoke of conquest would be placed on Ephraim's fair neck. The fortresses of Israel would be carried by assault, with all the accompaniments of savage warfare. Is it not "an evil thing and bitter" to forsake the Lord!
Is it not time that we should look into our hearts and lives, break up the fallow ground, now covered with thorns and thistles, and begin to sow in righteousness? Let us ask God to drive the plowshares of deep soul-searching and conviction across the hard and sterile acres of our hearts, and sow them with His good seed. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 10

1  Israel is reproved and threatened for their impiety and idolatry,
12  and exhorted to repentance

What do the individual words in Hosea 10:14 mean?

Therefore shall arise tumult among your people and all your fortresses shall be plundered as plundered Shalman in Beth Arbel in the day of battle a mother upon [her] children dashed in pieces
וְקָ֣אם שָׁאוֹן֮ בְּעַמֶּךָ֒ וְכָל־ מִבְצָרֶ֣יךָ יוּשַּׁ֔ד כְּשֹׁ֧ד שַֽׁלְמַ֛ן בֵּ֥ית אַֽרְבֵ֖אל בְּי֣וֹם מִלְחָמָ֑ה אֵ֥ם עַל־ בָּנִ֖ים רֻטָּֽשָׁה

וְקָ֣אם  Therefore  shall  arise 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
שָׁאוֹן֮  tumult 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאֹון 
Sense: roar, din, crash, uproar.
בְּעַמֶּךָ֒  among  your  people 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
מִבְצָרֶ֣יךָ  your  fortresses 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: מִבְצָר 
Sense: fortification, fortress, fortified city, stronghold.
יוּשַּׁ֔ד  shall  be  plundered 
Parse: Verb, QalPass, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁדַד  
Sense: to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil.
כְּשֹׁ֧ד  as  plundered 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: שֹׁד  
Sense: havoc, violence, destruction, devastation, ruin.
שַֽׁלְמַ֛ן  Shalman 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁלְמַן  
Sense: a contraction for Shalmaneser king of Assyria.
אַֽרְבֵ֖אל  Beth  Arbel 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַרְבֵאל 
Sense: a place in Palestine, perhaps Gilead or Galilee.
בְּי֣וֹם  in  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
מִלְחָמָ֑ה  of  battle 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.
אֵ֥ם  a  mother 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֵם  
Sense: mother.
עַל־  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
בָּנִ֖ים  [her]  children 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
רֻטָּֽשָׁה  dashed  in  pieces 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָטַשׁ  
Sense: to dash to pieces.