Hosea 13:15
in Hosea 13Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the breath of Jehovah coming up from the wilderness; and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall make spoil of the treasure of all goodly vessels.
KJV
Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord shall come up from the wilderness, and his spring shall become dry, and his fountain shall be dried up: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.
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This verse in Hosea 13
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"The Lord shall bring upon him a burning wind, and shall wither all his veins: and shall make his sources desolate, and he shall pull down all his fences: because he hath done wickedly." LXX: "The Lord will bring a scorching wind from the desert upon them, and he will dry up their springs. Their fountains shall be desolate, the land will be parched, and all that is in it will be ruined."
This site's exposition
an east wind shall come
on Hosea 13:15-16
Though he be fruitful among his brethren, an east wind shall come, the wind of the Lord out of the wilderness, drying Ephraim's spring and fountain and spoiling every treasure he owns, a picture the commentators read against the sirocco winds that could ruin a season's growth in a single day, here made the Lord's own instrument through Assyria. Samaria shall become desolate, for she hath rebelled against her God names the coming siege plainly, and the closing line of the chapter, infants dashed in pieces and women with child ripped up, records the ordinary brutality of ancient conquest without softening it, the same atrocity 2 Kings 15:16 already records at Tiphsah under Menahem. The text states the horror; it does not glory in it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Wherefore let us direct our discourse to a second witness. And of what sort is this one? Listen to Hosea, as he speaks thus grandly: "In those days the Lord shall bring on a burning wind from the desert against them, and shall make their veins dry, and shall make their springs desolate; and all their goodly vessels shall be spoiled. Because they rose up against God, they shall fall by the sword, and their pregnant women shall be ripped up." And what else is this burning wind from the east than the antichrist that is to destroy and dry up the veins of the waters and the fruits of the trees in his times, because people set their hearts on his works? For which reason they shall serve him in his pollution.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He is fruitful in respect of the plentiful products of his country and the great numbers of its inhabitants; it was both a rich and a populous tribe, as was foretold concerning it; but sin turns this fruitful tribe into barrenness. Joseph was a fruitful bough, but for sin it was blasted.
His brethren -- either the rest of the tribes, or the nations who by league are become as his brethren. An east- wind - An enemy as pernicious to his estate as the east-wind is to fruits. Of the Lord - A mighty enemy, called here the wind of the Lord, the usual superlative in Hebrew.
Though he be fruitful among his brethren,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Though - (literally, “when”) he (shall) be fruitful among his brethren Fruitfulness was God’s promise to Ephraim, and was expressed in his name. It was fulfilled, abused, and, in the height of its fulfillment, was taken away. Ephraim is pictured as a fair and fruitful tree.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fruitful--referring to the meaning of "Ephraim," from a Hebrew root, "to be fruitful" (Ge 41:52). It was long the most numerous and flourishing of the tribes (Ge 48:19). wind of the Lord--that is, sent by the Lord (compare Isa 40:7), who has His instruments of punishment always ready. The Assyrian, Shalmaneser, &c., is meant (Jer 4:11;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
Though he be fruitful - יפריא yaphri; a paronomasia on the word אפרים ephrayim, which comes from the same root פרה parah, to be fruitful, to sprout, to bud. An east wind shall come - As the east wind parches and blasts all vegetation, so shall Shalmaneser blast and destroy the Israelitish state.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בֵּ֥ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אַחִ֖ים | ʾachim | brothers | H251 → | 630 times |
| יַפְרִ֑יא | yafri' | he flourishes | H6500 → | |
| יָב֣וֹא | yavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| קָדִים֩ | kadim | an east wind | H6921 → | |
| ר֨וּחַ | ruach | [the] wind of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִמִּדְבָּ֣ר | mimidbar | from [the] wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| עֹלֶ֗ה | ʾoleh | [is] about to come up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וְיֵב֤וֹשׁ | veyevoosh | and it may be withered | H3001 → | |
| מְקוֹרוֹ֙ | mekoro | spring his | H4726 → | |
| וְיֶחֱרַ֣ב | veyecherav | so it may be dried up | H2717 → | |
| מַעְיָנ֔וֹ | ma'yano | spring his | H4599 → | |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִשְׁסֶ֔ה | yishseh | it will plunder | H8154 → | |
| אוֹצַ֖ר | ʾotzar | [the] treasury of | H214 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כְּלִ֥י | keli | article of | H3627 → | |
| חֶמְדָּֽה׃ | chemdah | preciousness | H2532 → |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
ה֔וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
בֵּ֥ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
אַחִ֖יםbrothers
ʾachimH251 →630 times
יַפְרִ֑יאhe flourishes
yafri'H6500 →
יָב֣וֹאit will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
קָדִים֩an east wind
kadimH6921 →
ר֨וּחַ[the] wind of
ruachH7307 →378 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִמִּדְבָּ֣רfrom [the] wilderness
mimidbarH4057 →270 times
עֹלֶ֗ה[is] about to come up
ʾolehH5927 →890 times
וְיֵב֤וֹשׁand it may be withered
veyevooshH3001 →
מְקוֹרוֹ֙spring his
mekoroH4726 →
וְיֶחֱרַ֣בso it may be dried up
veyecheravH2717 →
מַעְיָנ֔וֹspring his
ma'yanoH4599 →
ה֣וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יִשְׁסֶ֔הit will plunder
yishsehH8154 →
אוֹצַ֖ר[the] treasury of
ʾotzarH214 →
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
כְּלִ֥יarticle of
keliH3627 →
חֶמְדָּֽה׃preciousness
chemdahH2532 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 41:52And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
it leads to
- Genesis 49:22
Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
- Genesis 50:23
He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.
- Genesis 17:6
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.
- Genesis 49:22
Through
Genesis 48:19But his father refused. “I know, my son, I know!” he said. “He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great; nevertheless, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:17
His majesty is like a firstborn bull, and his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even to the ends of the earth. Such are the…
- Numbers 1:33–35
From the sons of Ephraim, according to the records of their clans and families, counting the names of all those twenty years of age or older who could serve in the army, those registered…
- Deuteronomy 33:17
Through
Ezekiel 19:12But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 17:10
Even if it is transplanted, will it flourish? Will it not completely wither when the east wind strikes? It will wither on the bed where it sprouted.’”
- Isaiah 27:11
When its limbs are dry, they are broken off. Women come and use them for kindling; for this is a people without understanding. Therefore their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator…
- Ezekiel 17:10
Through
Genesis 49:22Joseph is a fruitful vine—a fruitful vine by a spring, whose branches scale the wall.
it leads to
- Genesis 41:52
And the second son he named Ephraim, saying, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
- Genesis 41:52
About Hosea
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Hippolytus of Rome, ON THE END OF THE WORLD 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 13:15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.