Hosea 1:4
And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The prophecy here hinges on a clever wordplay: "Jezreel" sounds like "Israel" but can mean "God sows" or "God scatters." While the name Jezreel itself is a place associated with Jehu's bloody purging of Ahab's family, God declares He will scatter Israel, punishing Jehu's descendants not just for that violence, but for their continued sin and idolatry that would lead to the nation's ultimate dispersion.
God instructs Hosea to name his son Jezreel, a name that carries echoes of both fertile valleys and the bloody political upheavals that occurred there. This prophetic naming signifies that God will soon judge the house of Jehu for past violence in Jezreel, bringing an end to the northern kingdom's rule.
Understand the original words
Yizre'el · Hebrew Proper Noun
Literally 'God sows.' It is a symbolic name that refers both to the location of historical violence and a future promise of restoration where God will sow His people back into the land.
paqad · Hebrew Verb
To visit upon, reckoning, or intervening in human history to bring consequences for actions, whether for blessing or, as in this context, for judgment due to disobedience.
This passage directly records God's command to Jehu to execute judgment upon Ahab's house in Jezreel, showing the historical context for the 'blood of Jezreel' that Hosea is referencing.
2 Kings 10:10-11This shows the extent of Jehu's actions in Jezreel, killing the remaining relatives of Ahab and fulfilling the prophecy of vengeance, even as it hints at his own underlying motivations.
2 Kings 15:8-12This passage illustrates the fulfillment of God's judgment on Jehu's house, showing how Zechariah, the last of Jehu's line, was assassinated, leading to the end of his dynasty and the kingdom's further decline.
Jeremiah 31:27-28This prophecy echoes the theme of 'sowing' and 'reaping' in relation to Israel's future, paralleling the name Jezreel (which can mean 'God will sow') and the impending judgment of scattering.
Amos 5:1-3This prophetic oracle describes Israel as a 'virgin Israel' that has fallen and will be scattered, connecting to the scattering implied by the name Jezreel and the coming destruction of the kingdom.
ellicottHosea 1:4: "And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel."
(4) Jezreel means “God shall sow.” The prophet had already discovered the faithlessness of his spouse, and that his married life was symbolic of his nation’s history. Observe the resemblance in sound between Jezreel and Israel, and the historic associations of the former. It was the name…
jfbHosea 1:4: "And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel."
- Jezreel—that is, "God will scatter" (compare Zec 10:9). It was the royal city of Ahab and his successors, in the tribe of Issachar. Here Jehu exercised his greatest cruelties (2Ki 9:16, 25, 33; 10:11, 14, 17). There is in the name an allusion to "Israel" by a play of letters and sound…
The prophecy here hinges on a clever wordplay: "Jezreel" sounds like "Israel" but can mean "God sows" or "God scatters." While the name Jezreel itself is a place associated with Jehu's bloody purging of Ahab's family, God declares He will scatter Israel, punishing Jehu's descendants not just for that violence, but for their continued sin and idolatry that would lead to the nation's ultimate dispersion.
God instructs Hosea to name his son Jezreel, a name that carries echoes of both fertile valleys and the bloody political upheavals that occurred there. This prophetic naming signifies that God will soon judge the house of Jehu for past violence in Jezreel, bringing an end to the northern kingdom's rule.
God instructs Hosea to name his son Jezreel, a name that carries echoes of both fertile valleys and the bloody political upheavals that occurred there. This prophetic naming signifies that God will soon judge the house of Jehu for past violence in Jezreel, bringing an end to the northern kingdom's rule.
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"And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel." — The prophecy here hinges on a clever wordplay: "Jezreel" sounds like "Israel" but can mean "God sows" or "God scatters." While the name Jezreel itself is a place associated with Jehu's bloody purging…
