to know (properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֔יִם'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
Israel
וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֖לve.Yis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · conjunction + proper noun, a place name
hid
נִכְחַ֣דnikh.Chad
H3582
to secrete · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֔יִם'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
whoredom
הִזְנֵ֣יתָhiz.Nei.ta
H2181
to commit adultery (usually of the female · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵֽלYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
defiled
נִטְמָ֖אnit.Ma'
H2930
to be foul · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Amos 3:2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Hebrews 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have…
Genesis 48:19-20 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his you…
Deuteronomy 33:17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to…
1 Kings 12:26-33 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1 Kings 14:14-16 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
Isaiah 7:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
Isaiah 7:8-9 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Hosea 5:1-7
Here, I. All orders and degrees of men are cited to appear and answer to such things as shall be laid to their charge (Hos 5:1): Hear you this, O priests! whether in holy orders (as those in Judah, and perhaps many in Israel too, for in the ten tribes there were divers cities of priests and Levites, who, it is probable, staid in their own lot after the revolt of the ten tribes and did so much of their office as might be done at a distance from the temple) or pretending holy orders, as the priests of the calves, who, some think, are included here. "Hearken, you house of Israel, the common people, and give ear, O house of the king!" let them all take notice, for they have all contributed to th…
Ephraim--the tribe so called, as distinguished from "Israel" here, the other nine tribes. It was always foremost of the tribes of the northern kingdom. For four hundred years in early history, it, with Manasseh and Benjamin, its two dependent tribes, held the pre-eminence in the whole nation. Ephraim is here addressed as foremost in idolatry.
I how . . . not hid from me--notwithstanding their supposed profound cunning (Hos 5:2; Rev 2:2, Rev 2:9, Rev 2:13, Rev 2:19).
now--"though I have been a rebuker of all them" (Hos 5:2) who commit such spiritual whoredoms, thou art now continuing in them.
Adam Clarke on Hosea 5:3
I know Ephraim - I know the whole to be idolaters.
John Gill on Hosea 5:3
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me,.... Though they may cover their designs from men, and seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and make plausible pretences for what they do, and put on an appearance of religion; yet God, who knows all men, and their hearts, cannot be deceived; he judges not according to outward appearance; all things are naked and open to him; nor can any hide themselves from him; he knows their persons, intentions, and designs, as well as actions. Kimchi interprets Ephraim of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was of that tribe; others, of the tribe itself, and Israel of the other nine tribes; others take Ephraim for the ten tribes, and Israel for the two…
The Church Fathers
"And I am skilled in all of them, and I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me: for now Ephraim has committed fornication, Israel is contaminated: they will not give their thoughts, to turn again to their God, for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord." LXX: "For I am your master: I have known Ephraim, and Israel has not departed from me; for now Ephraim has fornicated, Israel is defiled. They have not given their thoughts to turn back to the Lord their God, for the spirit of fornication is in them and they have not known the Lord." O priests and kings, who deceived my people; and you, the people, who have been deceived, have sinned so gravely that you have not only killed victims, but also sent them down to the depths of hell: do not think that the magnitude of your crimes has caused you to be completely separated from me. I am your teacher, indeed a scholar, who desires to improve, not punish; and to save, not destroy. "I know Ephraim," he says, "that is, Jeroboam, from whom the people were persuaded; and all the kings who followed him in both rank and wickedness, and Israel was not hidden from me, that is, the people of ten tribes, because Israel was contaminated by a fornicating king. At first the king began to fornicate from the worship of God, desiring to worship golden calves, and the people wanting to follow him, they fulfilled equal impiety with equal zeal." (III Kings 12) Finally, they shall not return to the Lord because they found what they wanted, and the spirit of fornication, which according to the apostle, works in the sons of diffidence, possesses their captive hearts, and therefore under that ruler, they did not know, no, they forgot their Creator. (Ephesians 2). Therefore, the leaders of perverse teachings and the people of the Lord do not ignore: not because they are worthy of His knowledge, but because nothing of what they do in secret is hidden from Him, of whom some were deceived and others fell. And they will not give their thoughts to repentance, who always advance in destruction. For the spirit of fornication, by which they have committed fornication in the Church and have departed from true marriage, is in their midst: therefore they have not known the Lord.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Hosea 5:3
3. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom, and Israel is defiled.
3. Ego cognovi Ephraim, et Israel non esta absconditus a me: quia tu scortatus es Ephraim, pollutus est Israel.
God shows here that he is not pacified by the vain excuses which hypocrites allege, and by which they think that the judgment of God himself can be turned away. We see what great dullness there is in many, when God reproves them, and brings to light their vices; for they defend themselves with vain and frivolous excuses, and think that they thus put a restraint on God, so that he dares not urge them any more. In this way hypocrites elude every truth. B…
"I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: for now, O Ephraim, thou hast committed whoredom; Israel has defiled itself. Hos 5:4. Their works do not allow to return to their God, for the spirit of whoredom is in them, and they know not Jehovah." By עתּה, the whoredom of Ephraim is designated as in fact lying before them, and therefore undeniable; but not, as Hitzig supposes, an act which has taken place once for all, viz., the choice of a king, by which the severance of the kingdoms and the previous idolatry had been sanctioned afresh. נטמא, defiled by whoredom, i.e., idolatry. Their works do not allow them to return to their God, because the works are merely an emanation of the characte…
you are utterly defiled: The word translated defiled is used frequently in the Pentateuch to describe ritual uncleanness, a physical condition that disqualified a person from worshiping God in the Temple (Lev 11–15). The prophets used the concept as a metaphor for Israel’s moral uncleanness as the result of her idolatry (Isa 6:5; Mic 2:10).
Rashi on Hosea 5:3
for now you have committed harlotry, O Ephraim Until Hosea son of Elah, they blamed their sins on their kings, who prevented them from going on the pilgrimages. This one arose and abolished the sentries; yet they did not go up. Therefore, they were exiled. For now you have committed harlotry, O Ephraim, and they cannot blame the king. I learned this in Seder Olam (ch. 22).
