The Book of Hoshea, chapter 12. "Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still rules with God, and is faithful with the holy ones." "Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies" - the Malbim explains that Ephraim, the seat of the monarchy, has surrounded Me with denial. We are speaking here of Samaria, of the Ten Tribes. "Lies" (kachash), says the Malbim, refers to denial (hachchashah). Denial means heresy; they deny the fundamental principles of faith. They would say of the calves, "These are your gods, O Israel." "Ephraim has surrounded Me with lies." "And the house of Israel with deceit" - this refers to Ephraim because the heresy began with him, with Jeroboam son of Nebat. Yet the house of Israel as a whole was not particularly righteous either. We are speaking here of the rest of the tribes of the northern kingdom of Samaria, of the Ten Tribes. The other tribes also engaged in deceit in interpersonal matters (bein adam lachavero). They cheated and lied, as we will see later: "A merchant in whose hand are fraudulent scales" - so they, too, were corrupted in interpersonal relations.
Who was still righteous? "But Judah still rules with God, and is faithful with the holy ones." Only Judah - meaning the two and a half tribes, Judah and Benjamin, the Kingdom of Judah - only Judah still "rules with God." This refers to the era of Jotham and Hezekiah, when the fear of God reigned supreme. In matters of faith and in interpersonal ethics, they remained cleaving to Hashem. Therefore, the verse tells us that only Judah "still rules with God." The word rad is akin to rodeh, denoting rulership or sovereignty, as in "for he had dominion (rodeh) over all the region on this side of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza." Alternatively, the Malbim offers another explanation: it derives from radad, meaning the beating or thinning of metal plates. Thinning out strips of metal was done by beating a strip over an object one wished to overlay. Thus, it denotes connection - beating it thin and joining it directly to that object, as in "and he overlaid (vayered) gold upon the cherubim." According to this, only Judah either still ruled through the fear of Hashem - from the root of sovereignty - or remained intimately attached to Him, like beaten metal. Only Judah was "still ruling with God." "And is faithful with the holy ones" - just as we saw that Ephraim suffered from denial in the foundations of faith (idolatry) and deceit in interpersonal relations, Judah was the opposite. "Still rules with God" is the opposite of Ephraim's denial of the principles of faith, for Judah believed in Hashem. "And is faithful with the holy ones" - faithfulness is the opposite of deceit. In interpersonal dealings they were faithful, and their conduct was the conduct of holy ones, people who cling to the service of Hashem.
"Ephraim feeds on wind and pursues the east wind; all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. They make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried to Egypt." Yet Ephraim, by contrast, grazes on wind and vanity in matters of faith. All day long, lies and plunder prevail there - in matters between man and his fellow, for as noted, they were corrupt in both spheres. "They make a covenant with Assyria." In addition, he sets a snare for himself. What is his snare? He goes and makes a covenant with Assyria; scripture records that Hoshea became a vassal to the king of Assyria. And if you go and forge an alliance with Assyria, why is "oil carried to Egypt"? Why send emissaries and envoys to So, king of Egypt, in order to rebel against the king of Assyria? As we saw earlier, this was the very reason Hoshea's kingdom fell. Fifth-column informants went to the king of Assyria and reported: Come and see, King Hoshea son of Elah made a treaty with you, yet he is secretly making pacts with So, king of Egypt, to rebel against you. That was the cause of the exile, as we explained at length. Thus the prophet asks: if they make a covenant with Assyria, how can oil be carried to Egypt? How can they send oil to Egypt - meaning tribute, rich gifts - when they are bound by a covenant with Assyria? Do they not realize that they are bringing destruction upon themselves?
"Hashem also has an indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will repay him." "Hashem also has an indictment against Judah." There is a major difficulty in this verse that all the commentators grapple with. Just a moment ago you said, "Judah still rules with God," meaning Judah is still attached to Hashem. How, just two verses later, can it say: "Hashem also has an indictment against Judah"? Hashem has a dispute with Judah, implying that Judah is unworthy! You just said Judah still rules with God! Radak explains: although the prophet said "Judah still rules with God," referring to the time when they maintained the worship of God in the Beit HaMikdash, afterwards their deeds deteriorated when they had wicked kings. In simple terms, the verses are describing different periods. In the earlier period of which we spoke, we said "Judah still rules with God." This may even be precise in the wording of the verse: "Judah still rules with God." What does "still" imply? If you ask me, "How is so-and-so doing?" and I answer, "He is still holding on" - the word "still" implies that things are about to change; he is merely holding on for now. So here, "Judah still rules with God" means Judah was, for the moment, still with the Holy One, blessed be He. But at the next stage, when Judah also had unworthy kings, this brought about "an indictment by Hashem against Judah." Therefore Hashem has a grievance and a rebuke against Judah and Jacob, to punish them according to their deeds. When they had wicked kings, they failed to remember the kindness I bestowed upon them, the kindness I showed to their forefather Jacob - "and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will repay him." Radak explains that in truth, all the kindness and all the promises Hashem made to Jacob were intended for his descendants after him. All of this was contingent upon their setting their hearts toward Me, clinging to My service, recognizing that all this was done on their behalf, and truly walking in My path to justify these gifts. Everything I told Jacob was for the sake of his descendants, for his children. For Jacob himself experienced endless suffering in this world: he had wondrous promises, but what did he experience in his own lifetime? The tragedy of Joseph, the tragedy of Dinah, the tragedy of Shechem - in short, endless troubles. All the promises were destined for his children after him. And now, his descendants do not appreciate this. Had they recognized that all these benevolent promises were directed at them and clung to Me, I would have fulfilled for them the blessing of their father Jacob. "To punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will repay him" - I desire to bestow upon his children according to the righteous deeds of Jacob. According to Radak, the verse speaks of the good deeds of Jacob, which Hashem wished to repay by granting them to his children after him; but they needed to be worthy to receive them.
Most commentators follow this approach. The Malbim, however, offers an innovative interpretation. The Malbim explains that "an indictment for Hashem with Judah" is not to be understood simply as Hashem having a quarrel with Judah. Rather, he explains that Ephraim instigates a quarrel with Judah, and this quarrel is "for Hashem" - meaning it revolves around the service of Hashem. At that time, strife raged between Ephraim and Judah, between the Ten Tribes and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The root of the dispute was the service of Hashem. Because Judah still cleaved to Hashem, offered sacrifices, possessed the Beit HaMikdash, and remained devoted to His worship, while Ephraim, on the other hand, clung to the sins of Jeroboam and worshipped the calves, Ephraim bore a grudge against Judah over this. This was also the cause of Ephraim's downfall, the Malbim explains. When Samaria was in distress, one would have expected Judah to come to its aid - your brother is in trouble! But since relations between them were already fractured, marked by constant friction over the service of Hashem - and during the reign of Ahaz, Judah even incited the king of Assyria against them - the result was that in this reality, there was no one to help Ephraim, and Judah would not assist them against the kings who invaded Samaria. This is the meaning of "an indictment for Hashem with Judah": Ephraim has a quarrel with Judah concerning the service of Hashem. It does not mean, as other commentators suggest, that Hashem has a dispute with Judah. No - Judah still rules with God, Judah clings to Hashem. Rather, Ephraim quarrels with Judah over Hashem, over His service. "And will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds He will repay him." The Malbim explains: the Ten Tribes called themselves by the name of Jacob; they referred to themselves as the seed of Jacob. Wherever we find the phrase "the House of Jacob," it refers to the Ten Tribes. Wherever Scripture contrasts "Israel and Judah," "Israel" denotes the Ten Tribes. And who is Israel? Jacob. We see that they called themselves by the names Jacob and Israel. According to this, when we observe Ephraim quarreling with Judah and rebelling against Hashem by making calves, it appears that they seek to "visit Jacob according to his ways" - they wish to model themselves after Jacob, claiming that Jacob acted similarly. The matter is still obscure, but to clarify it, let us examine the subsequent verses, through which the Malbim's riddles will become clear.
"In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his vigor he strove with an angel. He strove with an angel and prevailed; he wept and pleaded with him. At Beit-el he would find him, and there He would speak with us." Continuing with the Malbim's approach: "In the womb he took his brother by the heel." Ephraim felt: We are the true successors of Jacob. Look at how our forefather Jacob acted, and we conduct ourselves in the very same way! How did Jacob act? Already in the womb he grasped his brother by the heel; he emerged with his hand clutching the heel of Esau. So we are just like Jacob, and what are you? We also grasp our brother by the heel. Which brother? Judah! Do you see the parallel they drew? Just as Jacob grasped his brother Esau by the heel, had a struggle with him, held him, and was in constant conflict with him, so too do I contend with my brother Judah, for I am the continuation of Jacob. And as for their sanctifying Beit-el and turning it into a center for the worship of the calves - abandoning the worship of God for the calves - regarding this the prophet says: "And in his vigor he strove with an angel; he strove with an angel and prevailed; he wept and pleaded with him. At Beit-el he would find him, and there He would speak with us." To understand this, the Malbim provides an introduction. We discussed this on another occasion when studying the Book of Kings, regarding the locations where the calves were placed; the source of those insights is right here. The Malbim explains: the prophet here discloses ancient secrets. Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim, went out from there, and built Penuel. Then the king took counsel and made two golden calves, placing one in Beit-el and the other in Dan. Four locations are mentioned: he built Shechem, he built Penuel, a calf in Beit-el, and a calf in Dan. Let us understand the significance of this. We must realize that these were great men. Jeroboam was an individual before whom all the sages of Israel were like the grass of the field. Therefore, their actions, even when wicked, must be understood as the calculated deeds of profound thinkers, not the impulsive moves of commoners. Everything they did was deliberate. Let us examine this: placing a calf in Dan is understandable. There was a precedent: Micah's idol had stood in Dan from antiquity, so the populace already regarded the site as consecrated for ritual. It was therefore far easier to establish idolatrous worship there. This makes eminent sense: when a site already attracts multitudes, why create a new one from scratch? Let us continue with that site. That site had long drawn crowds for Micah's idol, so by placing a calf there, people who were already accustomed to coming would continue to come. That is completely logical. But, says the Malbim, what remains difficult to understand is the second calf: what is it doing in Beit-el? The calf at Beit-el, the Malbim notes, was the primary one for Jeroboam, as is evident from the text. Why did he choose Beit-el specifically, and why did he build those two cities, Shechem and Penuel? There must have been an underlying purpose. What was his intent?
The Malbim explains: based on our opening premise that the Ten Tribes identified themselves with Jacob, they modeled themselves after him - at least in their own perception. Thus, when they schemed against Judah, they claimed this was akin to Jacob's struggle against Esau. When Jeroboam sought to undermine the Beit HaMikdash and establish alternate holy sites in place of Jerusalem, telling the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; we have our own holy sites," he began calculating the key stations of Jacob's life, since he traced his identity to him. He observed that the primary places where Jacob was active began with the pivotal site of his struggle with the angel, at Penuel. That was a central milestone in Jacob's life: "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I have seen God face to face." From Penuel, Scripture records that he went to Shechem, and from Shechem he traveled to Beit-el, where Jacob built an altar. Notice that Jeroboam, seeing himself as the continuator of Jacob's legacy, built Shechem and Penuel because those places possessed holiness as milestones in Jacob's journey: Penuel, because he first encountered the angel there; Shechem, because Jacob dwelt there and built an altar; and Beit-el, because God revealed Himself to him there. These were the central stations in Jacob's life, and Jeroboam, presenting himself as his successor, emphasized these locations. The Midrash records a famous tradition: when the angel - Samael, Esau's guardian angel - wrestled with Jacob and pleaded, "Let me go, for the dawn has risen," Jacob insisted, "I will not let you go unless you agree to the blessing," until you concede that the blessing truly belongs to me. The angel pleaded with Jacob to release him, saying: At Beit-el I will agree with you regarding the blessing. Let me go now, and I will give my consent to the blessing at Beit-el. The Malbim explains that this was an ancient tradition, a message transmitted from generation to generation, known among them since the days of Jacob. According to this, you can understand why Jeroboam chose Beit-el: he decided that was precisely where he wanted to erect the calf, because that was where the angel was to be found! The angel had promised, "At Beit-el I will confirm your blessings." The angel is still associated with that site! If the angel is there, let us build an altar to him there and fashion calves, and that angel will continue to bring us salvation. Jeroboam saw himself as carrying on Jacob's legacy. If the angel told Jacob, "At Beit-el I will bestow influence upon you and confirm the blessings, at the site where God will appear to you," Jeroboam reasoned: That place in Beit-el has remained consecrated ever since, and the angel's influence is still present there. All we need to do now is perform rituals to draw down bounty from that angel, so that the angel will reveal himself to the prophets of the calf and the worshippers of the calf right there! This is what the verse comes to explain: how they, in their misguided thinking, acted as the supposed successors of Jacob. This was Ephraim's logic. First, "in the womb he took his brother by the heel" - meaning they harbored a quarrel with Judah, just as Jacob contended with Esau. "In his vigor he strove with an angel, he strove with an angel and prevailed" - corresponding to what was said to Jacob, "for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then the angel pleaded and wept before Jacob, saying, "At Beit-el he would find him." What did the angel say? You will find me at Beit-el, and there I will give you consent regarding the blessings. Note that the end of the verse represents the words of Ephraim: "and there He would speak with us." Ephraim said: If so, in that very place where the angel has been present ever since, where he agreed to Jacob's blessings, "there he will speak with us!" There the angel will reveal himself to us and bestow his bounty upon us, the worshippers at Beit-el. He will grant us prophecies and pour out his blessings, just as he bestowed the blessing and confirmed it to Jacob back then. Since we are his successors, he will bestow it upon us as well.
The Malbim's explanation is magnificent, but let us also examine the explanation of Radak. Radak explains: "In the womb he took his brother by the heel," as Scripture states, "and his hand took hold of Esau's heel." This was an extraordinary wonder, says Radak, because a fetus in the womb possesses no independent strength or mobility in its limbs, and certainly not the ability to pierce the placenta and grasp the heel of another fetus. It was an astonishing miracle. Who brought this about? Hashem says: I did it, so that it would serve as a sign for his descendants after him that Jacob's children would rule over the children of Esau. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: All that you witnessed did not come from their own power; it was a wondrous, miraculous sign that I initiated to give them dominion over the nations. And even though in the days of David they exercised dominion - as it is written, "and all the Edomites became David's servants," showing that Esau was subservient to David - that was not a permanent dominion. It was only temporary. When will the true dominion arrive? At the end of days: "And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau." Yet Jacob's children paid no heed to all this! They did not reflect on how Hashem performed miracles on their behalf - that already in the womb he grasped his brother by the heel so that you would have dominion over the nations. Yet you act wickedly against the Holy One, blessed be He! "And in his vigor he strove with an angel." Hashem says: I showed Jacob another sign, which was meant to be a portent for his children after him. I gave Jacob the strength to fight against an angel. The word Elohim here denotes power, the possessor of forces, for El means strength. Behold: in his vigor I gave Jacob the strength to contend with the angel. Why? As a sign for his descendants, signifying that his children would belong exclusively to Hashem, and no constellation or angel would rule over them. If an angel should seek to dominate you, you will dominate it. Why? Because I already demonstrated this in the person of your forefather, when Jacob dominated the angel and overcame him. Likewise, no angel, constellation, or influence of heavenly bodies would have dominion over you. Hashem's providence clings to us as long as we perform His will, and no power can rule over us, only over the nations, as it is written: "which Hashem your God has apportioned to all the peoples under the whole heaven; but you Hashem has taken... a land upon which the eyes of Hashem your God are always." To all the nations I assigned angels and heavenly princes, but to you I granted sovereign power directly from Hashem; the Holy One, blessed be He, is our sole Sovereign. Thus, this is a grievance against Ephraim: see what supernatural influences I orchestrated for you, so that Jacob's supernatural feats would serve as a symbol for his children - Jacob took his brother by the heel in the womb to show your dominion over the nations, and Jacob defeated the angel to show your superiority even over the heavenly hosts - yet you went and corrupted your ways! According to Radak, this entire verse is a rebuke: How could you fail to appreciate the good I did for you, acting with ingratitude and turning to worship the calves?
"He strove with an angel and prevailed; he wept and pleaded with him." This, as we noted, was supernatural: that a mortal human could battle an angel. "He wept and pleaded with him" - Radak notes that this is not explicitly stated in the Torah. The Torah only records that the angel said, "Let me go, for the dawn has risen"; tears are not mentioned there. Radak explains that nevertheless, this verse reveals it to us, showing that the Holy One, blessed be He, dispatches the angel to fulfill the will of the righteous. If Hashem wills it, the angel becomes a helper and supporter - not only failing to harm Jacob, but even agreeing to the blessings. This teaches that we are entirely in the hand of Hashem, and no power or angel can act independently. Radak cites another explanation in the name of his father, who interprets the verse according to its plain meaning. Radak's father explains that the angel told him: "At Beit-el He would find him" - meaning, the Holy One, blessed be He, will find you at Beit-el, and there He will inform you that your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. Thus, this was an announcement made by the angel: "he wept and pleaded with him," and the angel informed him that at Beit-el He would find him, "and there He would speak with us" - meaning, there He will speak with him. At Beit-el God will find you, as we see later, and tell you that from now on your name will be Israel; there you will experience divine revelation and be called Israel. In this reading, "speak with us" means "speak with him." Another explanation of "and there He would speak with us" is that these are the words of the prophet: there Hashem prophesies to us. Where do we see this? As Amos said: "Seek Me and live, but do not seek Beit-el." The prophet tells them: There, at Beit-el, He speaks with me and with Amos, to rebuke Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, will speak with us there to reprove you for the calves through which you corrupted yourselves, chasing after idols and abandoning Hashem. "There He would speak with us," according to the explanation of Radak's father - and this is also how Rashi explains it - represents the words of the angel, the guardian angel of Esau. He tells Jacob: The Holy One, blessed be He, will reveal Himself to us at Beit-el, "and there He will speak with us" - meaning He will speak with both me and you, to confirm the blessing with which I bless you and to call your name Israel, "for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." An additional explanation is offered by Rav Saadia Gaon, who interprets "and there He would speak with us" as meaning "on our behalf." There He told him, "Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be from you." That is, the speech there was for his sake and on his behalf, so "speak with us" means "speak concerning us."
"And Hashem is the God of hosts, Hashem is His memorial." "Hashem is the God of hosts" - Rashi explains: Just as I was then, so am I now. Had you walked with Me in simplicity and wholeheartedness like Jacob, I would have dealt with you as I dealt with him. Just as Jacob took his brother by the heel in the womb and fought an angel and prevailed, had you walked with Me in wholeheartedness like your forefather Jacob, the pure one, I would have treated you the same way. "Hashem is the God of hosts" - Radak explains that although He revealed Himself to your forefather as El Shaddai, saying to him, "I am El Shaddai, be fruitful and multiply," He also revealed another Name to Moses on your behalf: the Tetragrammaton, Y-H-V-H, a Name not revealed to the holy Patriarchs: "I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but by My Name Hashem I did not make Myself known to them." But to Moses He revealed Himself through the essential Name, the Tetragrammaton, demonstrating that He is the God of hosts - the God of the heavenly hosts, of the angels, the spheres, the stars, and all the host of heaven. Hashem is God over them all, the supreme power ruling over everything. The uniqueness of the Name Havayah is that it is exclusive and never applied to secular or created entities. When I say Tzeva'ot (hosts), it can refer to earthly armies, such as the hosts of Arabia; it is a word that can have a mundane usage. When I say Elohim, it can refer to other gods, or as noted earlier, "to the judges (elohim) shall the matter of both come," and other examples where the word elohim carries a non-sacred meaning. By contrast, when I speak of the Tetragrammaton, that is the essential Name (Shem HaEtzem), a Name that never attaches to anything mundane. It is exclusive to Hashem, blessed be He. Therefore, he tells them: Know that if you do the will of Hashem, Hashem will be your God, just as He is the God of hosts; "Hashem is His memorial." Meaning, just as He is God over all the hosts, so will He be God over you and bestow upon you only good. "Hashem is the God of hosts, Hashem is His memorial," as He said: "This is My Name forever, and this is My memorial from generation to generation." If only you walk in the way of Hashem, He promises to govern you with goodness. The Malbim explains that the prophet is now answering them, saying: The Children of Israel, the Jewish people, do not receive their sustenance and influence through angels or heavenly princes. They receive their influence directly from Hashem! We have no intermediary minister in heaven, only the Holy One, blessed be He, directly. Thus, "Hashem is His memorial." What does "Hashem is His memorial" mean? How is He remembered among us? Through the Name Havayah, not through the name Tzeva'ot, nor through an angel, nor through a heavenly prince. Why, then, do you place your trust in the celestial ministers? Why do you trust in an angel? Remember how we explained their view: they argued that since they were descendants of Jacob, and the angel appeared to him at Beit-el, that angel was still there to bestow good upon them. The Malbim asks: What is the difference between a "name" (shem) and a "memorial" (zecher)? The Malbim explains: A "name" is the essential name, while a "memorial" is a name derived from actions - that is, an appellation based on a specific deed by which He is remembered. By contrast, the essential Name is His very essence. For example, the brook from which the spies took the cluster of grapes was called Nachal Eshkol (the Brook of the Cluster). Is that its essential name? No. Why was it called that? Because they took the cluster of grapes from there; it was named after that event. That is called a "memorial" (zichro) - a name recalling an past occurrence. The essential Name, however, is intrinsic. When speaking of the Holy One, blessed be He, the Name Havayah is the essential Name, whereas "My memorial" refers to names reflecting His actions: that Hashem is the God of hosts (Tzeva'ot), or that He said to His world "enough" (Dai) and is therefore called Shaddai, and so forth. All His powers are reflected in the Name Elohim, denoting the mighty and capable One Who possesses all powers. All names that describe actions are called "My memorial," because they commemorate deeds. By contrast, the essential Name itself is the personal Name, indicating direct providence without any intermediaries, not contingent upon anything else; it is His very Name, the essential Name.
"Therefore return to your God; keep kindness and justice, and wait on your God continually." "Therefore return to your God" - Rashi explains that this is a promise: He assures you that you can return and rely upon Hashem. On what condition? "Keep kindness and justice," and then you are assured that you have true cause to hope for His salvation and merit it. Radak says: Since you are the seed of Jacob, if you desire, "return to your God." If you still desire the direct providence of Hashem, you will merit that providence through returning. What does tashuv mean? Radak explains that it can also carry the connotation of shuvah vanachat (tranquility and rest): if you desire the providence of Hashem, you will enjoy a life of tranquility. "Keep kindness and justice" - on this condition, only if you safeguard kindness and justice. The Holy One, blessed be He, executes kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for "in these things I delight, says Hashem," as Scripture states; that is also what is required of you. Through this, you will be able to cling to Him and be worthy of Hashem's providence.