Chapter 3 of Hoshea is a brief chapter of only five verses, yet it encompasses an entire parable describing the state of the Jewish people in exile: no longer a married woman who commits adultery against her husband, but a woman who has a companion who loves her, and she betrays him for petty gain. Through this parable, the Holy One Blessed be He's conduct with us in exile becomes clear, as does our obligation of waiting and faithfulness, and the promise of redemption in the end of days.
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלַי עוֹד לֵךְ אֱהַב־אִשָּׁה אֲהֻבַת רֵעַ וּמְנָאָפֶת כְּאַהֲבַת ה' אֶת־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהֵם פֹּנִים אֶל־אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וְאֹהֲבֵי אֲשִׁישֵׁי עֲנָבִים. - And Hashem said to me: Go again, love a woman beloved by a companion and an adulteress, like the love of Hashem for the Children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love flagons of wine.
We have already seen above in Chapter 1 a major, extensive dispute regarding the command in which Hashem told Hoshea to take a wife of harlotry, Gomer bat Divlayim. The Rambam's view is that the entire episode was a prophetic vision in a dream: Hoshea saw in his dream how he married that woman and the entire process there, and everything occurred in a dream. Targum Yonatan explains that there was no command here at all, even in a dream; rather, the Holy One Blessed be He told the prophet: go and see what Israel is doing, for they are like a woman who abandons her husband. Others interpret the matter literally: the Holy One Blessed be He commanded Hoshea to actually marry such a woman and father children with her, and later divorce her, all to show him that he had erred in speaking against Israel. For when Hashem told him, "Your children have sinned," Hoshea replied, "Exchange them for another nation," and the Holy One Blessed be He said to him: Is that what you say? Let us see you experience this yourself. According to Chazal, then, the entire episode took place in reality.
Here the Alshich HaKadosh raises a question: This entire command seems strange. What is its purpose? Was the first woman, a wife of harlotry, not enough, and now another woman who is "beloved by a companion and an adulteress"? Regarding the first, Chazal said that it was a punishment for saying "Exchange them for another nation" - but here we find no instance of Hoshea speaking improperly to warrant an additional punishment. Not only that, but Hoshea had already rectified what he did, for the Holy One Blessed be He told him to pray for mercy upon Israel, and he did so, saying, "And the number of the Children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea." If so, is this the reward for having rectified his words and spoken well of the Jewish people, that he should be commanded to take another harlot?
Regarding the Rambam, the Alshich notes that our early sages already rejected his view that everything occurred solely in a prophetic vision and not in practice, for the Gemara maintains that it occurred in actual reality. Therefore, he adopts a middle approach: it was neither merely a vision, nor was it an actual marriage. Notice that it does not say here "Take for yourself a woman," but rather "Go, love a woman." And what was said to that woman? "You shall dwell for me many days; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not be for any man, and so will I also be toward you." In other words, he designated her for himself: she must not stray with others nor marry another man, and he, for his part, would not take another wife. Yet it does not say at all that he lived with her as husband and wife. With the first woman, it was a great disgrace for the prophet to marry a harlot and father children with her, and in this Chazal found justification for it being a punishment. But here there is no punishment for Hoshea, as he was not required to do anything degrading.
Targum Yonatan remains faithful to his approach here as well: "And Hashem said to me: Go again, prophesy a prophecy concerning the House of Israel, that they are like a woman beloved by her husband yet strays from him" - go prophesy to the people of Israel and tell them that they resemble a woman beloved by her husband who nevertheless acts unfaithfully toward him. The people of Israel are beloved to the Omnipresent, yet they stray after the Baalim. According to this, there is neither a dream nor an actual command in reality, but a parable that Hoshea was to employ in his prophecy.
The Malbim explains: In the first parable, he compared Israel to a married woman who strays under her husband, which is why he was commanded to take a woman through marriage. Here, the command is entirely different - "Go, love a woman," by way of affection and not by way of taking and marriage. The first one he took, married her, and fathered children with her; here, marriage is not spoken of at all.
The status of the woman here is also less severe. There, it concerned a married woman who strays under her husband; here, it concerns a woman who does not have a husband through marriage but a "companion" (rea), and she commits adultery against her beloved. To be sure, she is certainly flawed, for even though she has a companion, she strays with others for hire, and there is betrayal of the companion here - yet it is not as severe as straying while married to a husband. And she is not called a "harlot" (zonah), because she has no husband.
The Malbim taught us a major principle: The term rea (companion) always indicates a relationship outside of marriage. The woman's companion and the man's beloved (ra'ayah) are without kiddushin. It is not like modern usage where one says "ra'ayati" to mean "my wife," but rather ra'ayati from the root of companionship and friendship: "This is my beloved and this is my friend (re'i)," "You are fair, my companion (ra'ayati)." And here she is "beloved by a companion" - she has a devoted friend and partner, yet despite all this, she betrays him and strays with others for hire.
The first parable described the Jewish people when they were under Hashem's hand in the Land of Israel, when the entire abundance of their sustenance came directly from Him through Divine Providence, yet like a married woman they went and strayed unfaithfully after the Ba'alim. Moreover, she would say, "I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax" - meaning that her sustenance did not come from Hashem, but from her lovers, from idolatry. And as a consequence of this, they were exiled.
Now, however, after Hashem cast us away from His presence and annulled the previous betrothal, and we are in the state of "you are not My people," it is no longer possible to define Israel as a married woman who strays unfaithfully from under her husband, for we are in exile. Therefore, her definition is an "adulteress" (menaafelet) rather than a "harlot" (zonah), and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is in the status of a companion (re'a): she has no permanent husband, but she has a beloved companion, as it says, "You are the companion of my youth." Even though the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not love her with the love of a husband, He certainly loves her with the love of a companion. Although the love is not public, Hashem still protects His people through hidden Providence even in their exile, as it says, "Yet even then, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them nor spurn them to destroy them, to break My covenant with them." And this is "just as Hashem loves the Children of Israel while they turn to other gods" - we are beloved of Hashem, not as a wife to her husband, but like the love of a companion to his concubine. Hoshea was therefore commanded to enact a parable and love a woman who is beloved of a companion.
The meaning of the "adulteress" is that even though that companion designated her for himself, she does not designate herself for him, but wanders astray. So too with Israel: even though they are in exile and Hashem is still our companion, they turn to idolatry and false gods. Not only that, but they are "lovers of flagons of wine." In the previous stage, the husband provided her sustenance, and she pursued her lovers because she was convinced that her sustenance came from them. In exile, however, their economic situation is degraded, and she has no fixed sustenance, neither from the companion nor from her lovers. Rather, she is like a degraded harlot who sells herself for a cup of wine given to her by those who commit adultery with her. "Ashishei anavim" is the name of a measure of wine, as in "Sustain me with flagons of wine," and Rashi quotes Menachem: goblets of wine. In this way, Israel in exile turns away from Hashem for the sake of a triviality, forsaking the Holy One, Blessed be He, for a petty gain. As scripture states, "Because you did not serve Hashem your God with joy and gladness of heart, out of the abundance of everything; therefore you shall serve your enemies... in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of everything." Previously, they at least believed that idolatry was providing for them, for they had abundance; here, they do not even have that, yet the nations purchase her cheaply - for a little favor in the eyes of the gentile, she is willing to serve idols.
The Malbim notes that this is evident from the language of the verses themselves, as there is a difference between a "zonah" and a "menaafelet." The term zonah always relates to leaving her husband's authority, which is why it is used regarding idolatry - since the Holy One, Blessed be He, is, as it were, her husband, and Israel "strays harlot-like after them." By contrast, the term menaafelet indicates the act itself, the deed of adultery. Therefore here, where she is not married, Scripture does not call her a zonah, but refers to her only by the action itself - an adulteress.
וָאֶכְּרֶהָ לִּי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר כָּסֶף וְחֹמֶר שְׂעֹרִים וְלֵתֶךְ שְׂעֹרִים. - So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a chomer of barley, and a letekh of barley.
The simple meaning of the verse is: I purchased that woman for myself for fifteen pieces of silver, and a chomer of barley, and a letekh of barley. Targum Yonatan expounds this regarding the Community of Israel: "And I redeemed them by My Word on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan" - fifteen represents the fifteenth of Nisan, when I acquired them at the Exodus from Egypt. "And I gave the silver shekels as an atonement for their souls" - I gave them the silver shekels to atone for their souls. "And I said that they should offer before Me the Omer of waving from the harvest of barley" - that they should offer the Omer of the wave offering from barley. That is to say, I did not impose heavy demands upon them, as it says, "My people, what have I done to you, and how have I wearied you?" - I did not burden them with demands that are impossible to meet.
The Malbim explains: Hoshea, as it were, acquires this woman beloved of a companion from the hand of her companion. First, he notes that it does not say "and I betrothed her to myself," nor does it use a term of taking (likuchin), which denotes marriage, but rather "and I acquired her for myself" (va'ekreha li) - a term of monetary acquisition. The marriage settlement (ketubah) of a wife is fifty silver pieces, which are two hundred zuz, the bride-price of virgins; whereas the price of a bondwoman is thirty silver pieces, as it says, "If the ox gores a manservant or a maidservant... he shall give thirty shekels of silver." Likewise, the valuation of a woman under the laws of valuations (erachin) - where value is not measured by a person's individual worth but by age - from twenty to sixty years old is thirty shekels. It follows that this amount is the valuation of a bondwoman, and he acts as one buying a bondwoman or a concubine, not a wife to marry.
If so, it should have been written, "And I bought her for myself for thirty pieces of silver." Why does it say fifteen? The word "va'ekreha" is an expression of commerce, as in "which I dug (kariti) for myself," and the Gemara notes that in the overseas coastal towns, a sale is referred to as kirah. The answer is that this woman commits adultery, and he does not have exclusive rights to her; she belongs to him and to another. Therefore, she is worth only half in his eyes, and accordingly he paid half her value for her.
The same applies to the matter of sustenance: "and a chomer of barley, and a letekh of barley." A chomer is thirty se'ah, and a letekh is fifteen se'ah. Since she is not his wife and he did not obligate himself to provide her sustenance according to the law of a wife, but rather she is like a poor woman whom he sustains not out of legal obligation but out of grace and favor, this is governed by the measure prescribed for a poor person. We learned in the Mishnah: "A poor person traveling from place to place may not be given less than a loaf worth a pundeyon from wheat sold at four se'ah per sela." The calculation is as follows: A sela is four dinarim, which means one se'ah costs a dinar; a dinar is six ma'ot, and a ma'ah is two pundeyonim - resulting in one-twelfth of a se'ah allocated per meal. (Those who wish to follow the full detailed calculation can find it in the lessons on the Mishnah.) According to this, thirty se'ah suffice for food for three hundred and sixty days of the year. However, instead of wheat bread, he gave her inferior barley bread, to show that she is eating animal feed, for barley is food for donkeys while wheat is food for human beings.
And this pertains to the daytime meal. But for the evening meal, he allotted her only a letekh, half of a chomer, to show her that he is obligated to her only according to the law of a poor person. Specifically in the evening he gives her only half, because in the evening she goes out to commit adultery with immoral men; therefore, she deserves only half, and even that half is of inferior barley.
The Malbim further notes the precision in the difference between kanah (to acquire) and karah (to purchase or bargain for): an acquisition (kinyan) can take place even without a seller, such as one who betroths a woman through a document or through relations; but the verb karah is used only when there is an actual seller - as in "which I bought (kariti) for myself" (Bereishit 50:5), meaning someone sold it and I purchased it. And here, "so I bought her (va'ekereha)" - he bought her from the hand of the companion, for the companion sold her for money.
וָאֹמַר אֵלֶיהָ יָמִים רַבִּים תֵּשְׁבִי לִי לֹא תִזְנִי וְלֹא תִהְיִי לְאִישׁ וְגַם־אֲנִי אֵלָיִךְ. - And I said to her: You shall remain for me many days; you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man; and so too will I be toward you.
The Malbim notes: The term "sitting" (yeshivah - remaining) regarding a woman means that she is held back from marrying, as in "Remain (shevi) a widow in your father's house" (Bereishit 38:11), and "I shall not sit as a widow" (Yeshayahu 47:8). For as mentioned, he did not marry her yet, but told her: hold back and wait for me for many days. And during these days, "you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man" - nor shall you go marry any man. "And so too will I be toward you" - I too will wait for you, for after these many days, I pledge to take you as a wife.
The nimshal: The Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, bought us for fifteen pieces of silver. And why fifteen? Because during the exile, the Divine Name is not complete, as it says, "For there is a hand upon the throne of Yah" (Shemot 17:16), and the numerical value of Yah (Y-H) is fifteen - in exile, only half the Name is revealed. And our sustenance is allocated only for one year, for on every Rosh Hashanah the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees anew a person's sustenance, which is why the food in the parable is for three hundred and sixty days, corresponding to a year. This also expresses the reality that a person is never secure in his livelihood, as it says, "And you shall fear night and day" (Devarim 28:66), on which Chazal commented: this refers to one who purchases wheat for a year. When a person lacks financial security, he is always anxious: what will I eat tomorrow, what will become of me in a little while? Furthermore, the food in exile is barley food - we do not sit by the fleshpots.
And lest that woman say: since the one who bought me is tarrying, I will do whatever I please - he therefore tells her: no, wait for me for many days. The Holy One, blessed be He, promises that He will yet return and redeem us, and even though we are in exile and distress, "so too will I be toward you" - I too am waiting for you. And because of this, you are commanded during this time not to stray and not to commit adultery with any man: do not accept foreign faiths, do not adopt distorted and corrupted ideologies from the nations among whom you dwell. For the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to redeem us - "And I will betroth you to Me forever" - and return to take us as His wife.
כִּי יָמִים רַבִּים יֵשְׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵין מֶלֶךְ וְאֵין שָׂר וְאֵין זֶבַח וְאֵין מַצֵּבָה וְאֵין אֵפוֹד וּתְרָפִים. - For the Children of Israel shall sit many days without king and without prince, and without sacrifice and without monument, and without ephod and teraphim.
Here the prophet explains the nimshal: the Jewish people will sit for many days in exile - indeed, we have already been in exile for nearly two thousand years - waiting and longing for Hashem to redeem them. And during these days, there is no king from the Davidic dynasty sitting upon the throne of Hashem, through whom we would merit to see Hashem's providence. The Malbim explains that all the expressions here are paired with one another: there is no overt sovereignty of Hashem, yet neither may one turn to the Baalim and the teraphim. "Without king" - refers to the kings of the House of David, who represent the reign of Hashem; "and without prince" - refers to celestial princes and astrological influences, guided by the spheres and constellations. That is to say: do not say, "Since I have no king, I will follow the celestial systems and their guidance, and pursue whatever the heavenly bodies dictate." This corresponds to "you shall not play the harlot, and you shall not belong to any man."
"And without sacrifice" - no sacrifices are offered in this era to draw down divine bounty from Hashem, for there is no Temple and no service. "And without monument" - and do not say: if there is no sacrifice, we will offer to idolatry; you must not erect monuments to the Baalim. "And without ephod" - we have no Kohen who knows future events through the ephod. "And teraphim" - yet even so, do not consult teraphim to divine the future. This is our situation in exile: a state of suspension between two worlds, whether the rule of Hashem or the rule of the nations. And the Holy One, blessed be He, warns: know that you have a beloved companion who loves you and promises to marry you, and you are forewarned throughout this time - you are not yet married to Him, but you are also forbidden to stray after others or glance toward idolatry. He announces this in advance so that they realize this test is neither simple nor easy.
Our Sages teach in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: In the days of Rechavam, Israel rejected three things - the Davidic dynasty, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Beit HaMikdash. Rechavam was the son of Shlomo, and when Shlomo passed away and Rechavam reigned, the kingdom split between Rechavam and Yerovam, Shomron and Yehudah. At that moment, they rebelled against the House of David, abandoned Rechavam, and followed Yerovam; and they rebelled against the Kingdom of Heaven and the Beit HaMikdash - for they no longer ascended to bring sacrifices, and instead made golden calves for themselves. Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said: Israel will not see a sign of salvation and redemption until they return and seek all three. And for these three things we plead in our prayers, based on this teaching of Rashbi.
אַחַר יָשֻׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִקְשׁוּ אֶת־ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֵת דָּוִיד מַלְכָּם וּפָחֲדוּ אֶל־ה' וְאֶל־טוּבוֹ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים. - Afterward the Children of Israel will return, and seek Hashem their God and David their king, and they will revere Hashem and His goodness in the end of days.
Here you have all three in a single verse: "And seek Hashem their God" - this is the Kingdom of Heaven; "and David their king" - literally, the dynasty of David which we had rejected and will return to seek; "and they will revere Hashem and His goodness" - this refers to the Beis HaMikdash, as it is said, "this good mountain and the Lebanon" (Devarim 3:25), as we yearn for the Beis HaMikdash to return to us.
Corresponding to this, the Malbim explains in the preceding verse: "For many days the Children of Israel will sit without a king" - meaning from the Davidic dynasty; "and without sacrifice" - this is the Beis HaMikdash; "and without an ephod" - which would foretell the future through Ruach HaKodesh, stemming from the power of the Kingdom of Heaven, for we did not accept the yoke of His Kingdom, may He be blessed, and inquire of the Urim. In contrast to these three, neither will they have a prince, a pillar, or teraphim. That is, it warns them that even though you are not under the hand of Hashem, do not seek out broken cisterns that can hold no water. And the Radak explains that "Afterward the Children of Israel will return" will happen in the end of days, close to the time of redemption, when the Children of Israel will return in teshuvah.
Seemingly, the language of fear does not fit with something good: a person fears something bad, not something good. Especially here, where it speaks of a positive state - the Jewish people returning to Hashem and seeking their God - why speak in terms of fear? The same question is asked regarding the prayers of the Yamim Noraim: we ask "that every creature know that You created it, and every formed thing understand that You formed it, and all who have breath in their nostrils say: Hashem, the God of Israel, is King, and His kingdom rules over all," and yet we also say, "And so, place Your fear, Hashem our God, upon all Your works, and Your dread upon all You have created." What is the meaning of asking for fear and dread at a time when we are speaking of closeness to Hashem, when all of the Jewish people do His will? Fear seemingly expresses dread, awe, and paralysis.
The Malbim explains: "And they will revere [fear] Hashem and His goodness" - they will then fear whether He will restore His goodness and His Shechinah to Zion, which is the Beis HaMikdash, so that He will dwell among them once more. This is a fear bound up with hope: the apprehension lest the hope not be fulfilled. It is not fear of someone, but rather like a person who was promised payment and says, "I am so afraid that in the end he won't pay." No one is threatening him; rather, he means that he hopes so intensely for it to happen and worries that it will not. So too here: they will experience deep yearning and anxious anticipation - if only Hashem would return the Beis HaMikdash to us, rebuild the Chosen House, and restore His Shechinah to Zion. And so may it be, speedily in our days.
Chapter 3 portrays the image of Kenesses Yisrael in exile: not a married woman committing adultery against her husband, but a woman acquired for half the price, with sustenance of barley and a yearly allowance, for in exile the Divine Name is not complete and livelihood is not secure. The Holy One, blessed be He, is not openly her Husband, yet He is her companion and loves her through concealed providence, and He promises: wait for Me for many days, and I too will wait for you. During these days there is no king, no sacrifice, and no ephod, yet at the same time we are cautioned not to turn to a prince, a pillar, or teraphim, nor to sell ourselves for "raisin cakes" - petty gain and currying favor with the nations. And in the end: "Afterward the Children of Israel will return and seek Hashem their God and David their king" - that we will return to seek the three things that were despised: the Kingdom of Heaven, the Davidic monarchy, and the Beis HaMikdash, and we will wait and hope with yearning for Hashem's goodness in the end of days.