The Meaning of Hosea 8:5 Explained

Hosea 8:5

KJV: Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

YLT: Cast off hath thy calf, O Samaria, Burned hath Mine anger against them, Till when are they not capable of purity?

Darby: Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will they be incapable of purity?

ASV: He hath cast off thy calf, O Samaria; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Thy calf,  O Samaria,  hath cast  [thee] off; mine anger  is kindled  against them: how long [will it be] ere  they attain  to innocency? 

What does Hosea 8:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord rejected the calf idol that had come to mark Israelite worship since Jeroboam I first set up images of calves at Dan and Bethel ( 1 Kings 12:28-30). "He" refers to Yahweh (cf. Hosea 1:7; Hosea 2:23; Hosea 4:6; Hosea 4:10; Hosea 4:12; Hosea 8:13), and "Samaria" again represents the whole Northern Kingdom, by metonymy. Hosea spoke to the people about Yahweh in the third person here. The Lord also said His anger burned against the Israelites because of this idolatry. He despaired that they persisted in uncleanness by asking rhetorically how long they would be incapable of innocence (purity).

Context Summary

Hosea 8:1-14 - Reaping The Whirlwind
A conqueror was at hand who should subdue and punish the whole nation for taking its own course, irrespective of God, Hosea 8:4-8; for seeking foreign alliances which could bring only oppression in their train, Hosea 8:9-10; and for multiplying altars and fortresses which were destined to be destroyed, Hosea 8:11; Hosea 8:14. The circumstances referred to in this chapter seem to point to the reigns of Menahem and Uzziah, 2 Kings 15:19; 2 Chronicles 26:6-15.
Hosea 8:5 is very striking. Israel had renounced Jehovah for the likeness of a calf, and now in the misfortunes which had overtaken them, their calf had cast them off. What is it that you are putting in the place of God? Power, wealth, the help of influential friends? Sooner or later it will fail you. How different is the One who perpetually encourages us, saying, "I will not fail nor forsake thee," and who promises to carry us to hoar hairs. The persistence with which Israel turned to other lovers left God no option but to put them back into a furnace such as Egypt had been, which would finally burn put their apostasy. Only when we walk before God with a perfect heart are we strong and happy. Once entangle yourself with expedients and alliances, and you lay yourself open to many sorrows. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 8

1  Destruction is threatened both to Israel and Judah for their impiety and idolatry

What do the individual words in Hosea 8:5 mean?

Is rejected Your calf Samaria is aroused My anger against them long how long until not they attain to innocence
זָנַח֙ עֶגְלֵ֣ךְ שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן חָרָ֥ה אַפִּ֖י בָּ֑ם עַד־ מָתַ֕י לֹ֥א יוּכְל֖וּ ؟ נִקָּיֹֽן

זָנַח֙  Is  rejected 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: זָנַח 
Sense: to cast off, reject, spurn.
עֶגְלֵ֣ךְ  Your  calf 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: עֵגֶל  
Sense: calf, bull-calf.
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן  Samaria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֹׁמְרֹון  
Sense: the region of northern Palestine associated with the northern kingdom of the 0 tribes of Israel which split from the kingdom after the death of Solomon during the reign of his son Rehoboam and were ruled by Jeroboam.
חָרָ֥ה  is  aroused 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָרָה  
Sense: to be hot, furious, burn, become angry, be kindled.
אַפִּ֖י  My  anger 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
בָּ֑ם  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
עַד־  long 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
מָתַ֕י  how  long  until 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: מָתַי  
Sense: when?.
יוּכְל֖וּ  they  attain 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָכֹל  
Sense: to prevail, overcome, endure, have power, be able.
؟ נִקָּיֹֽן  to  innocence 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִקָּיׄון 
Sense: innocency.