Introduction
In this part of Chapter 13, the prophet Hoshea continues his rebuke to Ephraim - the kingdom of Israel in Samaria. After stating, "It has destroyed you, Israel, for in Me is your help," the Holy One, blessed be He, brings a complaint regarding their request for mortal kingship, the bound-up iniquity and hidden sin, and a nation that has reached the birthstool of redemption but lacks the strength to give birth. Let us follow the order of the pesukim and examine the explanations of Rashi, Radak, and the Malbim.
"Where is your king now?" - Where Is the King You Chose?
אֱהִי מַלְכְּךָ אֵפוֹא וְיוֹשִׁיעֲךָ בְּכָל עָרֶיךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְתָּ תְּנָה לִּי מֶלֶךְ וְשָׂרִים׃ (י) - Where now is your king, that he may save you in all your cities, and your judges of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'?
What is the meaning of "Ehi malkecha eifo" ("Where now is your king")? There are several explanations here. Rashi first cites Targum Yonatan, who translates "ehi" as "ayeh" (where) - meaning: Where is the king you placed over yourself, and why does he not save you? However, Rashi does not wish to detach the word from its literal root, as "ehi" is not literally "ayeh". Therefore, Rashi explains: "Ehi" - I will stand aloof, observing from the side to see what your end will be. That is to say, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, stands aside and says: I am refraining from acting; let us see your king save you.
The Radak explains differently: "Ehi" - I will exist forever. This is an independent clause. Meanwhile, "malkecha eifo" means: Where now is the king you set over yourself? The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel: You rejected My kingship; you requested a king to save you. I exist eternally, yet you sought a mortal king of flesh and blood who is here today and gone tomorrow. Go ahead, why does he not help you? Likewise, "and your judges of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'" - you appointed judges of your own accord, and now you see that they cannot help you: not the king, not the rulers, not the judges, and not the princes. Help, if it comes at all, comes only from Me.
The Malbim connects this verse to what preceded it: "It has destroyed you, Israel" - your ruin comes from the fact that you have no king. For we saw earlier that they went and informed on Hoshea ben Elah because they were displeased that he stopped them from worshiping the calves, removed the border guards (perozdaot), and permitted them to ascend to Jerusalem. They were already attached to the calves with their two hundred and forty-eight limbs and three hundred and sixty-five sinews, and they informed on him to the king of Assyria to overthrow him so that a king to their liking would take his place - a king who would worship calves. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to them: You rebelled against Hoshea and informed on him to the king of Assyria, and now shall I be your king to save you from the hand of the king of Assyria?
The Malbim adds that the verse should be understood as if saying: "Where now in all your cities and your judges is the one who will save you?" - search through all your cities and all your judges, where is the king who can save you? "Of whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'" - in ancient times, the Holy One, blessed be He, reigned over them and He was their Savior, but in the days of Shmuel they came and asked for a king of their own; neither the salvation of Hashem nor Hashem as King, but a mortal king of flesh and blood. Shmuel said: Master of the Universe, they have rejected me. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me." For until then they were under supernatural providence, and when they asked for a king, what were they really requesting? To be under nature, under a natural order like all the nations (and we elaborated on this in Sefer Shmuel). Therefore Hashem says to them: How can you ask now that I be your king? You rejected Me and chose natural saviors for yourself. "You said, 'Give me a king and princes'" - if so, in the words of the verse, "Let them rise up and help you, let them be a shield over you"; go to those you chose and ask them to assist you.
"I Gave You a King in My Anger"
אֶתֶּן לְךָ מֶלֶךְ בְּאַפִּי וְאֶקַּח בְּעֶבְרָתִי׃ (יא) - I gave you a king in My anger, and took him away in My wrath.
The Radak explains: Your requesting a king was not in accordance with My will, as it is written, "They have rejected Me from reigning over them." The Holy One, blessed be He, says: From the very outset, giving you a king was in My anger, with indignation, contrary to My will. "And I took him away in My wrath" - and I also took him away in My fury, which is likewise an expression of anger. Whom did He take? That very king He had given them, Shaul, who died in the battle with the Philistines and reigned for only a short time. Through this you can recognize that you have no king other than My sovereignty; and as for the king I appoint over you - if he does My will, he will be saved and you will be saved and you will experience only good, and if not - you have seen that I gave a king in My anger and took him away in My fury.
And some explain, as cited by Radak: "I gave you a king in My anger" refers to Shaul, and "I took him away in My wrath" refers to the last reigning king, Tzidkiyahu. That is to say: I began the monarchy in My anger and brought it to an end in My fury. Others explain that the verse speaks of the kings of the Ten Tribes - Yarov'am and Hoshea ben Elah. "I gave you a king in My anger" refers to Yarov'am; and although Yarov'am was righteous at first, consider: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, take the monarchy away from the Davidic dynasty, leaving them only two tribes and giving ten tribes to Yarov'am? Because He had anger and indignation against Shlomo. Thus, the very granting of kingship to Yarov'am ben Nevat was "in My anger" - in His anger toward the House of David and Shlomo's deeds. And ultimately, "and I took him away in My wrath," as those kings were removed in Hashem's wrath.
The Malbim explains: When I gave you a king in the days of Shemuel, it was in My anger, because I knew that the monarchy was destined to split and worship the calves. Had you continued under the leadership of the prophets, you would never have reached a situation where a king ruled over you and commanded you to worship idols. Only a king can order the worship of idols; a prophet would certainly never say such a thing, and even if he did, the people would not accept it from him. But from a king, one has no choice but to obey, and one cannot defy his command. Thus, the entire descent into idolatry that began with the kingdom of Yarov'am stemmed from the request for a king. Had you not asked for a king, Shemuel and those who followed him would have led you through supernatural guidance, and you would never have deteriorated into idolatry and the calves.
"And took him away in My wrath" - this refers to Hoshea the son of Elah, the final king of the Northern Kingdom of Shomron, who was better than the kings before him. He dismantled the checkpoints and allowed the people to go up to Yerushalayim, so it seemed unfitting that the punishment should arrive specifically in his days. Why then was it specifically during the reign of the one who did something good that the kingdom was exiled? Therefore it says, "And took him away in My wrath [evrati]." The Malbim explains that there is a distinction between af (anger) and evrah (wrath): af is anger directed against the sinner himself, whereas evrah is an all-encompassing fury that Hashem directs against the collective. Af remains within boundaries, whereas evrah comes from the root of overstepping boundaries (overet et hagvul) - a fury that strikes even one who has not sinned. Directing wrath at sinners stays within boundaries, but directing it also against one who did not sin oversteps the boundary. Hashem says: I took away Hoshea the son of Elah by virtue of a sweeping wrath that I held against the nation as a whole for their deeds.
On another occasion, we mentioned an additional explanation for why the anger was so intense specifically during the days of Hoshea the son of Elah, despite his permitting the pilgrimage. The explanation is that while he allowed them to go up, in reality not a single person went - and this failure itself provoked an indictment. As long as there were kings who prevented the pilgrimage, the people had a defense: it was impossible, there were guards, and anyone attempting to go was killed. But now, once Hoshea the son of Elah removed the guards - why did you not go up? Thus, what Hoshea the son of Elah did exposed their true guilt, which ultimately brought about the exile.
"The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up" - with Me or with him?
צָרוּר עֲוֹן אֶפְרָיִם צְפוּנָה חַטָּאתוֹ׃ (יב) - "The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is stored away." (12)
Rashi and Radak explain that the verse means "with Me": the iniquity of Ephraim is bound up and kept with Me; I remember all that he has done, and his sin is stored away with Me and has not been forgiven. But the Malbim explains it in an entirely different manner - "with him": Ephraim does not let go of his iniquities; rather, the iniquity is bound up with him, and the sin is stored away with him. He holds onto them, refuses to abandon them, and has no interest in repenting.
The Malbim explains the distinction between tsarur ("bound up") and tsafun ("hidden" or "stored away"): Tsarur refers to something wrapped inside something else, as in "their kneading bowls bound up in their garments." Tsafun refers to something placed in a concealed spot, and it does not have to be wrapped in anything; one can place an object behind a wall and say it is hidden away from you, and even though it is completely visible to someone standing on the other side, from your perspective it is concealed. Thus, tsarur means bundled inside something, while tsafun means hidden from view.
There is an additional foundational concept: avon (iniquity) denotes a distortion of the mind - a willful, premeditated sin where a person constructs an entire ideology around his transgression. By contrast, chet (sin) stems from passion and temptation, characteristic of an inadvertent lapse where a person genuinely wanted to overcome his urge but stumbled. Therefore, regarding avon the verse says "bound up" - the iniquities of Ephraim are bound up inside their actions, because an iniquity is a corruption of the heart, an internal state that is invisible from the outside. You only observe the physical acts, while the malice of his heart, the ideology he constructed around the sin, and his justifications for committing it remain bundled within. "His sin is stored away" - the chatat as well, the actual sins committed in practice, are concealed and performed in secret.
"Pangs of a woman in childbirth" - the nation on the birthstool
חֶבְלֵי יוֹלֵדָה יָבֹאוּ לוֹ הוּא בֵן לֹא חָכָם כִּי עֵת לֹא יַעֲמֹד בְּמִשְׁבַּר בָּנִים׃ (יג) - "The pangs of a woman in childbirth shall come upon him; he is an unwise son, for at this time he should not linger at the opening of the womb." (13)
The Malbim explains that the prophet compares the tribulations befalling Israel to the birth pangs of a woman in labor. Chavalim are labor pains - painful cords and spasms, harsh and bitter. Yet on the other hand, as the labor pains mount, troubles intensify, and the pain peaks, there is a consolation: the birth is on its way. As long as the contractions are mild, the laboring mother is told to walk around a bit and rest, as there is still time; but when severe contractions begin, everyone knows the moment is imminent. The more the birth pangs multiply, the greater the hope that at last the child will be born and the pangs will cease.
Yeshayahu expressed this in his eloquent metaphor: "For children have come to the birthstool, and there is no strength to give birth." From the sheer intensity of the birth pangs that befell the nation, it seemed as though the children in the womb had reached the birthstool - the mother is seated upon the birthstool and the baby is about to emerge - yet the mother lacks the strength to deliver. For to give birth, a mother must exert power and use her muscles; when she has no strength left, the woman remains in labor and cannot deliver her baby. This is the most perilous situation, where the contractions keep compounding, and in ancient times this would often end in the death of the child or the mother. Today a cesarean section is performed, but in those days, once the head emerged, one life could not be set aside for another. As long as the fetus was within the womb, it could be sacrificed to save the mother, but once the head emerged, one soul does not override another soul. Consequently, women often died during childbirth. Thus, intense, frequent contractions carry a positive sign that the child is about to be born, but if there is no strength to give birth, heaven forbid, it is an ominous sign that a life is about to be lost.
The Malbim describes the situation in our verse in the same way: the time has already arrived for the nation to emerge from distress; the hour has come for a people saved by Hashem. Yet the laboring mother lacks the strength to deliver the fetus, to bring forth the redemption. And what is that strength? Torah and mitzvos. A nation wishing to bring about redemption requires the power to bring it, and that power consists of merits - that we be worthy and fitting.
This is the meaning of "he is an unwise son": the child within the womb is not wise, for had he been wise, he would have emerged. The time and the moment of birth arrived, and he ought to have come out and stood outside - "for at the time he should not linger at the breach of the womb." When a baby emerges, the mother sits on the birthstool and the baby is delivered onto the birthstool; this son should have emerged and stood at the birthstool, yet he remained inside. "He is an unwise son" - he did not repent and did not bring the redemption to fruition.
And what is the problem? "The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up," from the previous verse. The reality is that their sins are like congested blood in a full womb that prevents the child from emerging. Iniquity and sin remain concealed within them, not allowing them to repent. Consequently, here is a woman pregnant and close to giving birth, writhing and crying out in her pangs - yet there is no birth.
"From the Hand of the Grave I Would Redeem Them" - The Plan That Was Not Realized
מִיַּד שְׁאוֹל אֶפְדֵּם מִמָּוֶת אֶגְאָלֵם אֱהִי דְבָרֶיךָ מָוֶת אֱהִי קָטָבְךָ שְׁאוֹל נֹחַם יִסָּתֵר מֵעֵינָי׃ (יד) - From the hand of the grave I would redeem them, from death I would deliver them; I would be your plagues, O Death, I would be your destruction, O Grave; regret shall be hidden from My eyes. (14)
The Malbim explains that the verse here describes what should have taken place at that moment of birth. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I intended, "from the hand of the grave I would redeem them" - I expected that they would repent. Afflictions came upon them, birth pangs, and through those tribulations I would have redeemed them from the king of Assyria and delivered them from death. "The grave" (Sheol) here is an allegory for exile, and "death" is an allegory for the slaughter wrought among them by the king of Assyria - some descended into the grave through exile, while others were killed. I intended to rescue them from the king of Assyria so that they would neither be killed nor exiled, and a rebirth would take place. The tribulations that the laboring mother suffered would have brought her to reconsider her ways, to perform mitzvos, and to repent, so that "the iniquity of Ephraim" would no longer be "bound up" and his "sin concealed," that he would mend his deeds - and then she would not linger on the birthstool, but rather the child would emerge and the redemption would arrive. Yet they did not repent.
Now Hashem says: "I will be your plagues, O Death." The Malbim explains this as a metaphor, as if the Holy One, blessed be He, is addressing Death and the Grave personified. He says to Death: Not only did I not redeem them from your hand, but I will carry out your bidding - I will be your emissary to put them to death, handing them over into your hands. "I will be your destruction, O Grave" - you are the grave, and you possess bitter destruction (qetev meriri), which is a venomous and toxic wind that consumes people; the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will be the emissary bringing them that bitter destruction, which represents the exile and the harsh, terrible bitterness experienced there. Thus, not only will I not redeem them, since their lack of repentance is cause not to redeem them, but I will also consume them with death and exile them from the land through divine providence, even assisting in the matter - as the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, aided the hand of Assyria in exiling Israel.
"Regret shall be hidden from My eyes" - regret (nocham) relates to the term "and Hashem relented" (vayinahem Hashem), meaning to reconsider and change a decision. The Malbim explains that divine relenting and regret are always the cause for rescinding a harsh decree. When there is a harsh decree and Hashem relents - "And Hashem relented from the evil He had spoken to do to His people" - He rescinds the decree and does not bring it to pass. Through regret (nocham), wrath (heima) subsides; interestingly, these words share similar root letters. In other words, when they regret their evil deeds, Hashem relents from bringing calamity - measure for measure: we regret our deeds, and Hashem relents from His decree. But now, since they do not regret their evil deeds, it follows that "regret shall be hidden from My eyes" - I too will not relent from the decree to bring calamity upon them.
"For He Shall Bear Fruit Among Brothers"
כִּי הוּא בֵּין אַחִים יַפְרִיא יָבוֹא קָדִים רוּחַ ה' מִמִּדְבָּר עֹלֶה וְיֵבוֹשׁ מְקוֹרוֹ וְיֶחֱרַב מַעְיָנוֹ הוּא יִשְׁסֶה אוֹצַר כָּל כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה׃ (טו) - For he shall bear fruit among brothers; an east wind shall come, the wind of Hashem rising from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry and his fountain parched; he shall plunder the treasury of every precious vessel. (15)
The Radak explains that "for he" refers to Ephraim, and "shall bear fruit" (yafri) is an expression of fruitfulness and growth, as Yaakov said regarding Ephraim: "Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." Ephraim, the symbol of the tribe of Jeroboam who fashioned the golden calves, was fitting to be fruitful and grow among his brothers, but his deeds corrupted him. Before he made the calves, he was constantly growing; once he made the calves, however, it diminished him, bringing him low and stunting him, so that he grew no longer.
Rashi cites another explanation based on Targum Yonatan: "Corrupt children have multiplied" - those who are called children have multiplied evil deeds. According to this, "achim" (brothers) is an expression denoting something terrible or calamitous, similar to "ach! made for lightning" and "ach! for all the abominations." It is an unfamiliar expression in everyday usage, but it denotes calamity; "among brothers he shall bear fruit" thus means that he multiplies and flourishes in evil deeds, like a root bearing gall and wormwood.
The Radak brings a third explanation: Yerovam was a son who disrupted the brotherhood of Israel. Until then, Israel lived in brotherhood, as a single kingdom - the reign of the House of David and the reign of Solomon; then Yerovam came and split the kingdom. "Yafri" is related to the word pere (wild), as in "a wild man" (pere adam) - until then we were united, and suddenly he acted wildly; the kingdom splintered and divided. Ephraim stepped in between united brothers and shattered their unity.
And now, once he sinned - "an east wind shall come, the wind of Hashem coming up from the wilderness." The Radak explains that this refers to the king of Assyria, who is compared to an east wind (kadim), because Assyria lies to the east (kedmah) of Eretz Yisrael, and the east wind is harsh. Why is it called "the wind of Hashem"? Because whenever Scripture wishes to describe something as immense, it attaches the Name of Hashem to it, such as "mountains of God" (harrei El) or "a mighty flame" (shalhevet-Yah), as Rashi notes in several places; this teaches that it was something mighty and colossal. Here too, "the wind of Hashem" signifies an immense and powerful wind, which is an allegory for the king of Assyria who came with overwhelming force to exile them. The Radak further adds according to the inner meaning of the text: What drove him to come? That Hashem stirred his spirit, as it is written, "And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-Pilneser." Thus, this was truly the wind and spirit of Hashem - not only did he arrive in full force like a mighty wind, but he came empowered by the spirit of Hashem that stirred him to exile Ephraim.
"Coming up from the wilderness" - that wind rises from the desert, for Assyria invaded through the desert. "And his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up" - Ephraim was initially like a tree planted by abundant waters, fruitful, growing, and thriving, as in the blessing, "A fruitful son is Joseph, a fruitful son by a fountain (ayin)" - ayin meaning a spring. Now his spring has run dry and his fountain is parched. Allegorically, just as a scorching wind dries up a spring, so this wind will come and parch the spring and the fountain, parching Ephraim.
The Malbim's Explanation: Relenting Only Bears Fruit Among Brothers
The Malbim explains that "though he be fruitful among brethren" (ki hu bein achim yafri) refers back to the relenting mentioned at the end of the previous verse: "relenting shall be hidden from My eyes" - I will have no remorse and will not relent from the decree I have issued. Why? Because such relenting bears fruit only among brothers. When does the Holy One, blessed be He, relent from calamity? When they act as brothers, when they unite with one another.
And so it was in the days of Hoshea ben Elah: they had already abandoned the calves, which he abolished, and he also dismantled the blockades - the barriers and guards that prevented them from going up to the Beit HaMikdash - yet they still did not make the pilgrimage. The main grievance against them was that they were fractured among themselves and steeped in strife, to the point that they went and informed on Hoshea to the king of Assyria so that he would exile him and appoint another king who would permit idolatry. Thus, what consumed us was the internal division.
This is what Scripture means: "Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone" - as long as they are joined and united, even if they worship idols, let him be. This does not mean they are forgiven or will not pay a price, but rather that retribution is not exacted from them for the time being. But "their heart is divided; now they shall bear their guilt" - the moment there is internal strife, Hashem exacts retribution immediately. This is what the prophet says: Why does the Holy One, blessed be He, not relent from the decree of exile? "Though he be fruitful among brethren" - relenting from the harsh decree flourishes and bears fruit only when you are brothers; when you are not brothers, relenting bears no fruit, and the calamity will surely come.
It is likewise related in II Chronicles chapter 30 that Chizkiyahu sent couriers to the ten tribes urging them to return to Hashem so that He would redeem them, and it is written that they mocked them; a few humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem, but the majority laughed. We see that even then they were divided into two camps. And since they did not regret their evil deeds, Hashem did not relent from the calamity either.
Therefore, "an east wind shall come" - this is the king of Assyria, who comes from the east, from across the Jordan, advancing through the wilderness; "and his spring shall become dry" - he will lay waste to Eretz Yisrael, which is the source of Israel; "and his fountain shall be dried up" - the fountain drawing from that source, which is the people of Israel dwelling in the land, will be scattered to the four corners of the earth, and their existence and prosperity will come to an end.
"He shall plunder the treasure of all precious vessels" - the root shasoh (plunder) always describes one who does not merely take, but also destroys whatever remains. This is the distinction between pillagers (shosim) and looters (bozezizim), as the Malbim explains several times: a looter takes spoil for himself, whereas a pillager ruins and destroys everything left behind - what he can take he takes, and what he cannot or does not wish to take, he destroys. This is the meaning of "And Hashem delivered them into the hands of pillagers (shosim)." Here too: this wind - the king of Assyria - will plunder and ruin all treasures and all precious vessels. If so, they have no further hope, but will perish and be cast away in their iniquity. All of this came about because Ephraim was unwilling to mend his ways and refused to repent.
In summary:
In this section of the chapter, the prophet rebukes Ephraim for the root cause of his destruction. First, they rejected the kingdom of Heaven and demanded a flesh-and-blood king, regarding which it was said, "I give you a king in My anger, and take him away in My wrath" - for from that very request stemmed the division of the kingdom and the worship of the golden calves. Yet still, "the iniquity of Ephraim is bound up, his sin is stored away" - their sin remains locked within them and they refuse to return. Therefore, "the pangs of a woman in travail" have arrived, yet there is no strength to give birth: the nation sits upon the birthstool of redemption, but the child does not emerge, for they lack merits. The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to redeem them from Sheol and death, but since they did not repent - "I will be your plagues, O death; I will be your destruction, O Sheol," and even relenting is concealed, because relenting flourishes only "among brothers," whereas they were fractured and embroiled in strife. Therefore, the east wind arrived from Assyria, dried up spring and fountain, and plundered the treasure of every precious vessel. The lesson is clear: unity and repentance are the power that brings redemption to birth, and in their absence, the birth pangs multiply and the birth is delayed.