Hosea 12

"Ephraim feeds on the wind and follows after the east wind: all day long he multiplies lies and desolation. And he made a covenant with the Assyrians and brought oil into Egypt." LXX: "But Ephraim is a spirit of wickedness, following the heat: all the day long he hath multiplied lies and vanities, and he hath made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil he carried into Egypt." The sacred story tells that Manahen, king of Israel, after making peace with the Assyrians, sought aid from the Egyptians (2 Kings 15), and this is what is now said, that Ephraim feeds the winds, that is, deceives himself with vain hope, follows the oppressive heat, that is, "summer," and goes to the South, and does nothing else all day but deceive himself. And while he runs here and there, he prepares destruction and devastation for his cities. Is it not destruction and deceit to make a covenant with the Assyrians and to carry oil into Egypt? By connivance, indeed, the whole thing was arranged, to send gifts to the Egyptians. Although some believe that oil is not produced in Egypt at all; but it was sent as a precious gift from Ephraim, whose land of Samaria is very fruitful in oil. Moreover, according to tropology, all heretics are held by the worst spirit of demons, about which it is written in the Apostle: "Against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephes. VI, 10). "And when an unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first." (Luke 11:24-26) Therefore, the worst spirit is followed by a desert wind, that is, a "scorching wind" or "burning wind," which destroys everything that is flowering and germinating. It pursues emptiness and vanity throughout the entire day, is not content with its own error but multiplies many disciples, indeed companions of its own emptiness and error. He also makes a covenant with Assyrians, whose prince is great sense, that whatever he may have devised, he might appear to have devised it wisely, that wisdom which was destroyed by God, which even the Apostle commands to be avoided, saying: "Beware lest any man shall cheat you by philosophy and vain seduction, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world" (Col. II, 8). But he also brings oil to Egypt, or he trades in the wisdom of Egypt, desiring to mix with ecclesiastical dogmas the oil of anointing with which prophets and priests were anointed, with which even kings were anointed. They have this oil too, who are called saints, of whom it is said: "Your sons are like new olive trees around your table" (Ps. 127: 4). And the good olive tree in which our olive branch is inserted. Although heretics try to mix lies with the truth, oil cannot be coupled with waters and other moist and liquid substances. The truth is always above, and the lie is below. All other forms, that is, heresies, which do not have, as we have said, the oil of truth, can be mixed with themselves, and numerous ones can be made into one body. But the oil that is brought into Egypt, and descends from the holy land to Pharaoh's realms, is detested by the prophet, saying: "The oil of the sinner will not anoint my head" (Ps. 140:5).

Commentary on Hosea 12:1

God of my heart … I didn’t know how to love you, because I did not know how to conceive the existence of anything—however glorious—beyond mere matter. The soul that goes puffing and wheezing after such figments of the imagination [as fortune telling] is one that goes whoring from you and trusts what is phony and feeds on the wind. Yet while I wouldn’t have this sorcerer sacrificing to demons on my behalf, I was actually sacrificing to them myself just by being involved in my superstition. For what else is to feed on the wind, if not to feed on error, and so to become the sport and plaything of the demonic?

Confessions 4:2

2–6

The judgment therefore of the Lord with Judah: and a visitation upon Jacob. He will render to him according to his ways, and according to his inventions he will recompense him. In the womb he supplanted his brother: and in his strength he had success with the angel, and he prevailed over the angel, and was strengthened: he wept and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us. And the Lord God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial, therefore turn to thy God, keep mercy and judgment, and hope in thy God always. And the judgment of the Lord with Judah, that he may revenge Jacob, and his ways according to his inventions will render unto him. In the womb he supplanted his brother, and by his strength he had success with God, and he had power with the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with him. And the Lord of hosts will be his memorial, and thou Israel shalt be turned to thy God, keep mercy and judgment, and approach thy God always. Ephraim feedeth on the wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily multiplieth lies and desolation: and they have made a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt. Now all their wickedness is in Gilgal, for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their practices I will cast them forth out of my house: I will love them no more, all their princes are revolters. However, he calls visitation scourges and punishments, so that he who has restored Ephraim, what he deserved, may also restore Judah, who is also of the seed of Jacob, according to its ways and inventions, who has not only been deceived by chance error, and fell by human frailty; but he sought and found in what he should sin and fall. However, he tells how much good Judah, that is, Jacob, has received, and the son is named in the father, and the ancient history is remembered, so that the mercy of God towards Jacob and his hardness against the Lord may also be known. While he was still in Rebecca's womb, he supplanted his brother Esau (Gen. 25), not by his own strength, which he could not feel, but by the mercy of God, who knows and loves those whom he has predestined. And he did not only supplant his brother in the womb; but he also wrestled with an angel in his strength, when he fought against the angel all night by the stream (Gen. 32). And because he wrestled with the angel, he received the name Isar, which in Hebrew means "directed" or "straightest". And he prevailed," he said, "against the angel; and by his blessing, whom he had conquered, he was strengthened. He also wept, and asked him, that is, the angel, saying: "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." And when he fled to Mesopotamia by the counsel of his father and mother, the same angel found him in Bethel, who spoke to him, spoke with us, that is, spoke in the father and with the sons, and loved Jacob and Judas: from that time until the present, his name, which was given to him by the angel and by God, endures in memory. When things are this way, and you, O Judas, imitate your parent, mourn and plead with the Lord of hosts, and turn to Him. Keep both mercy and judgment, and when you have done this, always hope in your God, making progress by good deeds. On account of what is in Hebrew, "he wept and begged him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us," we read in the Vulgate edition: "they wept and begged me, being in" a "house they found me, and there it was" said "to them;" "a" is interpreted as "pain." So, if anyone weeps, and does penance, and implores the Lord, they will find him in the pain of their heart, and when they call upon him, they will hear him respond to them. We can understand the Ecclesiastical (Jewish) man who is rebuked by the Lord because he does not remember his previous benefits but rather sins daily, and he reveals what those benefits are: "When you were born in the faith, the Church gave birth to you and you supplanted your Jewish or Gentile brother and received his birthright, and in your strength you were directed with the angel, either conquering opposing strengths or strengthened by the blessings of the angel who is God, and you prevailed in the image against an angel so that you could prevail against men, and you were strengthened". And when you had achieved victory, you wept, and you begged the angel of the Lord, and remembering the sins of old, you found him in Bethel, that is, in the house of God, which is the Church, or in his own house, of pain and tears and penitence. And we know who this Judas was, there, he said, he spoke with us, that is, with us Christians, and from that time until the present day, we are known by the name of Christ and are corrected by him. So, Ecclesiastical man, who is called Judas, and confesses, turn daily through penance to your Lord, and if by chance you have sinned, imitate the prophet saying: "I have labored in my groaning, every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears" (Ps. 6:7). Let it be enough to have said this, but keep the commandments of God, show mercy to others, so that you may also obtain mercy. Judge with true judgment, so that in whatever you judge, you may be judged. And always hope in your God, whether you draw near to your God constantly, so that at every time, making progress in virtue, you draw near to your God.

Commentary on Hosea 12:2-6

There were places in Jerusalem where he taught and other places to which he retired. “In daytime he was teaching in the temple.” Just this had been foretold by Hosea: “In my house did they find me, and there did I speak with them.”

Against Marcion 4.39

It happened one day that the enemy of the human race met the wrestler of the eternal King on a journey and challenged him with these words: “If you would like to see what each of us can accomplish with his strength, let us have a contest.” Barely finished speaking, he approached the saint and touched him in visible and corporeal reality, and for some time tried his wavering opponent, but the latter pressed Christ with prayers, and the divine aid strengthened his trembling steps and straightway caused the fugitive, apostate spirit to vanish into air. If it seems incredible to anyone that an invisible spirit can become substantial, save in the mystical sense, let it be explained to him how the divine pages narrate the struggle of Jacob with the angel too. I have this to say: that it would require less boldness for Satan to tempt a servant than the Lord, Emilian than Christ, man than God, the creature than the Creator.

Life of St. Emilian 7

Combine justice with mercy, spending in mercy what you possess with justice. It is written, “Keep mercy and justice, and draw near to thy God always.” Because God loves mercy and justice, he who takes care to do mercy and justice draws near to God. It remains, then, for each to examine himself and for the rich person to take careful inventory of the private resources from which he is to offer gifts to God, to make sure that he has not oppressed a poor person, or used force against one weaker than himself, or cheated one dependent upon him, thus exercising license rather than justice. We are bidden to practice fairness and justice also toward those who serve us. Do not employ force because you are in command, and do not take advantage because it is within your power to do so.

Homily on Mercy and Justice

7–8

"Canaan in his hand deceitful balance, he loved calumny, and Ephraim said: Nevertheless, I have become rich, I have found myself an idol, all my labors will not find me the iniquity which I have sinned." LXX: "Canaan in his hand is the weight of iniquity, he loved to oppress through power, and Ephraim said: But I have become rich, I have found rest for myself, all his labors will not find him, for the iniquities in which he sinned." Judah had been warned to turn to the Lord his God, to keep mercy and judgment, and to hope in the Lord always, whether he approached him constantly. Now the discourse is turned to Ephraim, that is, to the ten tribes, which he calls Canaan, according to what Daniel speaks to the elder who was certainly of the seed of Judah: 'The seed of Canaan and not of Judah has deceived thee.' And in Ezekiel we read that it is said to Jerusalem: 'Thy father was an Amorite and thy mother a Hethite.' And in Isaiah it is said to the tribe of Judah: 'Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.' In the last verse of Zechariah we read: "And there shall be no more Canaanite in the house of the Lord" ((or "in the city")) (Zech. XIV, 21). But the Scripture says that Canaan, that is Ephraim, holds a deceitful or unjust balance in his hand, commanding, "Thou shalt have Just balances" (Leviticus XIX); not only does he have an unjust and deceitful balance, but he loves calumny and oppresses men by his power. And in case we might think Canaan referred to someone else, the Scripture more clearly shows who this Canaan is. Ephraim said: "Nevertheless, I have become rich;" and the meaning is: It does not matter where I possess, as long as I possess. Many suffer from this disease, about which it is written: "Wealth gathered unjustly will be vomited up again" (Job 20:15) "For the ransom of a life is costly, no payment is ever enough" (Proverbs 13:8). Hence we are commanded to make friends for ourselves with wicked mammon, who can receive us into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:9). But Ephraim, who boasts and says, "Nevertheless, I have become rich, I have found myself an idol," or, "useless," that is, Aven, which will not profit the possessor, has sweated in vain labor. But just as the gluttonous and luxurious belly is a god, so the greedy person worships the idol of gold, and says in his heart: 'I have found what I was looking for' but he will hear: 'You fool, this night your soul will be required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' (Luke 12:20). And when his eyes have once been blinded - not to speak of a brightness, but a blindness - by the wealth, he says: 'All my work will not find my iniquity, in which I have sinned.' And the sense is: whatever I may have sinned, if I have had wealth from those who need my help, it cannot be imputed to me, according to what is written: 'And he who behaves badly is blessed' (Ps. IX): For there are many friends of the rich. Therefore, this also refers to heretics themselves. "Canaan" can in fact be interpreted as "those who move." And note that he said, "as if moving" ((Al. "moving")), not "moving." They are moving, those whom they have deceived, as if moving, those whom they have tempted. But because they are founded on the rock (Matth. VII), they cannot be shaken by any storm, nor can they change the course of their feet. In the hand of this kind of Canaan, that is, in his works, the deceitful and unjust balance is; for whatever the heretic speaks, he does not have the justice of God, and is full of deceit and fraud; therefore, they love slander when they depress the innocent or oppress them by force. The poor cleric is overwhelmed by verbosity and clever arguments of heretics, who having deceived some people, often say: 'We have become rich, we have a large following; a crowd of disciples follows us; we have found an idol or a source of refreshment for ourselves.' For this reason, especially, heresies are formed, to consume the homes of widows who are always learning, but never coming to the knowledge of truth (2 Timothy 3). And fittingly, he says, 'I have found an idol for myself.' For all the inventions of heretics are nothing but idols and images of the heathen: and they differ little in impiety, though seeming to differ in name. And they are accustomed to say that whatever I do, whatever I accomplish, cannot be imputed to me: for I have my riches, the teachings of the philosophers; I have the multitude of the people, who whoever looks upon me will not consider me to be at fault.

Commentary on Hosea 12:7-8

9–10

"And I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will make you dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the feast. And I spoke to the prophets, and I multiplied visions, and by the hand of the prophets I was likened." LXX: "But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; I will still make you dwell in tabernacles, as in the days of solemnity, and I will speak to the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and by the hands of the prophets I am likened." You have indeed sinned so greatly, that you rejoiced in wickedness, and thought a multitude of sins to be riches, and said: I have become rich, I have found an idol for myself: all my labors will not be able to find my sins. But I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt (Exod. V), when thou didst serve Pharaoh and was making cities of clay and palaces, yet I give you a place of penitence and by the greatness of my promises I urge you to return to me, and yet I will cause you to dwell in tabernacles as in the days of the festival. The day of the festival is called 'Scenopegia,' the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt. As, he said, at that time I freed you from Egypt and you lived in tabernacles on your way to the holy land and hastened to go to the place of the temple, so also now I will lead you out of tribulation and distress and impending captivity, if you do what I have commanded. For I am the one who, through all the prophets and various forms of visions, has been likened to human beings, and I have challenged you to repent. Is it not of a human likeness when Moses, lifting his hands on high, prays for Jesus to vanquish Amalec (Exod. XVII), and the sacraments of the cross are shown in him? Isn't God likened to the hands of the prophets, since Jonah is in the depths for three days and nights to signify the Lord's resurrection from the underworld on the third day? However, we read multiplied visions in all the prophets, when Ezekiel sees the Lord sitting as a charioteer above the Cherubim (Ezek. 17). And Isaiah says, "I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne and elevated, and two Seraphim around him crying out to each other holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Sabaoth" (Isai. 6:1,2). And Habakkuk stood upon his watch-tower (or "cell"), and behold he beheld Christ's horns in his hands, wherein his strength lay hidden (Hab 3). Hence the Psalmist cries out: "I will hear what the Lord God will speak in me" (Ps 84:9). But in order that we may know that every prophecy in Holy Writ is called a vision, "And all the people saw the voice of the Lord" (Ex 20:18): wherefore also the prophets were called seers. To those also who have been led astray by heretics, it is said that they should return to the Lord, who prefers the repentance of a sinner to their death (Ezekiel 18); for it is he who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that is, out of the darkness and error of the Gentiles. And that they may not be slow to return, mindful of their sins: "I will still cause you to dwell in tabernacles," he says, "as in the days of the festival"; that what baptism effects, penance may effect also, and they may dwell in the tabernacles of the Saviour, that is, in the churches, of which it is said: "Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God" (Ps. xcii. 14). And lest the heresiarchs and leaders of error should be able to say that God did not speak through them, he said: 'I am the one who spoke to the prophets, not to your teachers, and I have multiplied visions and have been portrayed by my prophets who are established in the Church.'

Commentary on Hosea 12:9-10

Thus, therefore, was God revealed; for God the Father is shining forth through all these works, the Spirit indeed working, and the Son ministering, while the Father was approving and human salvation being accomplished. As he also declares through Hosea the prophet, “I,” he says, “have multiplied visions and have used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets.” But the apostle further expounded this very passage when he said, “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are differences of ministrations, but the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God who worked all in all. The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every one to profit thereby.” He who works all things in all is God. As to what nature he is and how great he is, God remains invisible and indescribable to all creatures that have been made by him. But he is by no means unknown. For all things learn through his Word that there is one God the Father, who contains all things, and who grants existence to all. This is written in the Gospel: “No man has seen God at any time, except the only-begotten Father, who is in the bosom of the Father; he has declared him.”

Against Heresies 4:20.6

Stephen, teaching these truths, when he was yet on earth, saw the glory of God and Jesus on his right hand, and he exclaimed, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” When he said these words, he was stoned. Thus did he fulfill the perfect teaching, reflecting in every respect the one who led to martyrdom and praying for those who were slaying him in these words: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Thus were they made holy who came to recognize one and the same God through various dispensations, who from beginning to end was present with humanity in various dispensations, just as had been declared by the prophet Hosea: “I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes by the hands of the prophets.”

Against Heresies 3:12.13

How is it, then, that John says, “No one has ever seen God”? He says this so that you may know that he is speaking of a clear knowledge and a perfect comprehension of God. All the cases cited were instances of God’s condescension and accommodation. That no one of those prophets saw God’s essence in its pure state is clear from the fact that each one saw him in a different way. God is a simple being; he is not composed of parts; he is without form or figure. But all these prophets saw different forms and figures. God proved this very thing through the mouth of another prophet. And he persuaded those other prophets that they did not see his essence in its exact nature when he said, “I have multiplied visions, and by the ministries of the prophets I was represented.” What God was saying was, “I did not show my very essence, but I came down in condescension and accommodated myself to the weakness of their eyes.” However, John does not say only of humanity that “no one has ever seen God.” This was proved by what I have said—I mean by the prophetic utterance that states, “I have multiplied visions, and by the ministries of the prophets I was represented.”

Against the Anomoeans, Homily 4:19

"If Galahad was an idol, then they were sacrificing their cattle in vain at Galgal; for even their altars were like heaps on the furrows of the field." LXX: "If it is not Galahad, then the princes sacrificing at Galgala were false, and their altars were like tortoises on the desert of the field." Because we have translated "bobus," which is called Surim in Hebrew, the LXX translated it as "princes," which are called Sarim, being deceived by the similarity and ambiguity of the word. Again when we placed ourselves, 'acervos,' which in Hebrew are called Gallim and properly signify 'θῖνας,' that is, tumps gathered from sand, which are mostly increased or decreased in the desert and on the shores where the wind blows, the 70 translators translated to "testudines" (turtles): for which Symmachus interpreted "piles of stones": Theodotio "hills." And truly if you look at θῖνας, they have a similarity to the great tortoises in a desert field, or on the banks and shores slightly prominent from the ground. Therefore, what He says, "if in Gilead," about which it is written, "Gilead is a city of idolaters, overturned with blood," false gods and perverse religion, and it is across the Jordan where two tribes live, Reuben and Gad, and half a tribe of Manasseh, therefore even Galgal of which we read in this same prophet: "All their malice is in Galgal, which is behind Bethaven;" whoever worships idols does not sacrifice to gods but offers sacrifices to cattle, imitating the error of Samaria. For at the time when these things were prophesied, Galaad was in the kingdom of the ten tribes; and Galgal, under the rule of the two tribes which were called Juda. Therefore, both the ten tribes and the two, deceived by equal idolatrous error, and their altars gathered from stones, or from sands, like heaps and hills. And when both of them have been brought into captivity, the former altars of theirs will have the similarity of tortoise shells or hills without cultivators. Because truly "Galaad" is interpreted as "a translation of testimony," and "Galgal, of rolling things," we can say this, that the leaders of the heretics transfer the testimonies of truth into lies, and whatever they worship is an idol, and their sacrifices are similar to heaps of stones or turtles. For just as θίνες and heaps are gathered from stones and sand here and there, so too heretics compose idols from worldly wisdom and the cleverness of men, with fraud and lies. And when they have done this, they move slowly in one place and cannot occupy the whole world. The slow and burdened tortoise, crushed by its own weight, not so much walks as it moves, signifying the most serious sins of heretics who sacrifice themselves in the mire and mud of their errors, worshipping the works of their hands and working hard for earthly fruits like oxen.

Commentary on Hosea 12:11

12–13

Jacob fled into the region of Syria and served for Israel in his wife, and he kept watch over his wife. In the prophet, the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and in the prophet, he was saved. The seventy interpreters [translators] say: And Jacob went into the plain of Syria and served for Israel in his wife, and he kept watch over his wife, and in the prophet, the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, and in the prophet, he was saved. It seems that arbitrarily and without order or reason the narrative of Genesis concerning Jacob was inserted here after the idol of Gilead and Galgal and the altars similar to heaps of stones, but this is immediately solved by the one who remembers having read about Jacob previously: "He supplanted his brother in the womb, and he was upright with his angel in his strength, and was able with the angel he struggled with and was strengthened, he wept and implored him, he found him in Bethel and spoke with us." This Jacob, therefore, was comforted by an angel not in vain, but because he wrestled all night and conquered his adversary, so he learned not to fear his brother, from whom he fled to Syria to his uncle Laban (Genesis 27), and he served for Rachel his wife seven years, and preserved his father-in-law Laban's sheep for the same amount of years. And since once Jacob named Israel, he has united father and his sons, and remembers the following history, when the Lord led Israel out of Egypt through the prophet Moses, and the twelve tribes which have come from Israel were saved. He will not be mistaken who says that the supplanter of Jacob and Israel, who sees God, prefigures the Lord, and that Rachel, at first barren and whom Jacob loved very much, signifies the Church; Leah, however, with bleary eyes and fruitful, shows the mysteries of the Synagogue, and that he himself has led the people of believers out of the darkness of this age, and that he has come to the sweetest waters of the Jordan, that is, the streams of baptism.

Commentary on Hosea 12:12-13

"Ephraim has provoked me to anger with his bitter words; his blood will be on him, and his Lord will repay him for his contempt." Likewise Septuagint. Therefore when I had so helped Ephraim that I had led the naked, the exiled and the lonely to a rich and a masterful Lord, and had made him the parent of many sons, Ephraim deserted me, indeed provoked me to anger: and with his bitterness made bitter what was sweet. Whence his blood will come upon him, that is, he will be the cause of his own death, according to what David says to him who reported to him the death of Saul, and remembered that he had killed the king of Israel: "Your blood be upon your own head" (2 Kings 1:16). Not my opinion, but the blood of Saul (i.e. "Al" for Saul) will be spilled because of your blood. And what follows: "And the Lord will restore his reproach to him," is consistent with the meaning spoken by Nathan to David: "Because you have blasphemed the enemies of the Lord's name, because of this" (1 Kings 12), that is, because of this sin in which you killed Uriah, the blasphemy and reproach itself, by which the Lord was blasphemed, will be turned on your head. Always heretics provoke the merciful Lord to anger, and they who prefer the repentance of the sinner to death, force to punish the hardness of their own hearts, and their blood, with which they have shed both their own and that of many, will come upon their heads, and the reproaches with which they blasphemed the Lord, their Lord will restore to them, not because He is their Lord, but because He was once their Lord.

Commentary on Hosea 12:14