Hosea 3:2
So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The seemingly low price Hosea paid, specifically fifteen shekels and barley, reveals Gomer’s degraded status. This amount was half the price of a slave, and the barley, the coarsest grain, symbolized her worthlessness and association with sin, mirroring Israel's own spiritual captivity and low estate in God's eyes.
God commands Hosea to demonstrate the unfaithfulness of Israel by taking back his unfaithful wife, Gomer. Hosea complies by purchasing her, not as a wife, but as a slave, for a deliberately low price of fifteen shekels of silver and a specific amount of barley. This purchase signifies Gomer's debased state and foreshadows Israel's own degraded condition after their unfaithfulness to God.
Hosea buys his unfaithful wife, Gomer, not with riches, but with a surprisingly small sum. What does this low price reveal about Gomer's state and God's view of His people?
The price Hosea pays for Gomer—fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley—is deliberately low. The commentaries point out that fifteen shekels is half the redemption price of a slave (Exodus 21:32). This signifies that Gomer, through her unfaithfulness, had fallen to the lowest social and moral standing.
Barley, being a coarser grain than wheat, was often considered animal feed and was used in offerings for those suspected of adultery (Numbers 5). Its inclusion in the payment further emphasizes Gomer's debased condition. This act isn't a typical marriage dowry; it's a redemption, like buying back someone who has lost their freedom and value.
Despite Gomer's betrayal, Hosea's act of buying her back isn't just about her shame, but also about his unwavering commitment. What does this teach us about God's covenant faithfulness?
While the low price symbolizes Gomer's worthlessness, Hosea's act itself is a powerful demonstration of covenant faithfulness. He doesn't divorce her; he 'buys her back to himself.' This action, though painful and humbling, reflects God's steadfast love for Israel, even in their rebellion.
Hosea's commitment mirrors God's own promise: 'I also will be for you.' This signifies that even though God would discipline His people, withholding the full privileges of intimacy and provision for a time (symbolized by Gomer living separately, not as a wife but a widow), He would not completely abandon them. He was still their God, pledged to them, waiting for their repentance and eventual restoration.
Understand the original words
karah · Hebrew Verb
The act of purchasing something or someone to restore them to oneself; in Scripture, it often points to the redemptive work of God in rescuing His people from slavery or sin.
The strikingly low price Hosea pays for Gomer—half the value of a slave and paid partly in coarse barley—underscores the profound degradation of Israel due to sin, contrasting sharply with the value God places on His people.
c. 760 BC
Hosea's Ministry Begins
Hosea begins his prophetic ministry in the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of prosperity but also moral decay and political instability.
c. 753 BC
Jeroboam II Reigns
The prosperous but spiritually compromised reign of Jeroboam II provides a backdrop for Hosea's warnings about judgment.
c. 740 BC
Fall of Samaria Approaching
The growing Assyrian threat looms, and internal strife weakens Israel, foreshadowing the eventual destruction of the northern kingdom.
c. 737 BC— this verse
Hosea Buys Back Unfaithful Gomer
Hosea is commanded by God to buy back his adulterous wife, Gomer, for a low price (15 shekels of silver and 1.5 homers of barley), symbolizing God's enduring love and Israel's degraded spiritual state.
This passage sets a price of thirty shekels of silver for a male or female slave gored to death by an ox, highlighting that the fifteen shekels Hosea paid was exactly half that amount, signifying Gomer's (and by extension, Israel's) debased status.
Leviticus 5:11-13While not a direct parallel, the mention of barley in Hosea's purchase can subtly allude to the coarse grain used in the offering for a woman suspected of adultery, further emphasizing the unfaithfulness and shame associated with Gomer's actions.
Deuteronomy 21:10-14This passage describes the treatment of a captured foreign woman taken as a wife, who could be taken for a reduced price. Hosea's purchase of Gomer, despite her unfaithfulness, reflects a similar theme of acquiring someone in a degraded or captured state, albeit in a more profound spiritual sense.
Jeremiah 2:14This verse speaks of Israel being sold for nothing and redeemed without price, contrasting with Hosea's purchase price. It emphasizes that Israel's sinfulness had reduced their value to near nothing in God's eyes, mirroring the low price paid for Gomer.
Matthew 13:44-46These parables highlight the immense value God places on His kingdom, where one would sell all they had for it. This contrasts sharply with the cheap price of barley and silver paid for Gomer, underscoring how far Israel had fallen from their divine worth.
ellicottHosea 3:2: "So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:"
(2) Pieces of silver.— Shekels. So I bought her.—Gomer was treated as no longer a wife, but requiring to be restored to such a position. The purchase of wives is still a very common practice in the East (See Henderson’s Commentary, and Deut. xxi 14.) Half homer of barley.—Half a homer is the translation given to the Hebrew word lethekh, which occurs only in this passage. Thi…
barnesHosea 3:2: "So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:"
So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver - The fifteen shekels were half the price of a common slave Exodus 21:32 , and so may denote her worthlessness. The homer and half-homer of barley, or forty-five bushels, are nearly the allowance of food for a slave among the Romans, four bushels a month. Barley was the offering of one accused of adultery, and, being the foo…
The seemingly low price Hosea paid, specifically fifteen shekels and barley, reveals Gomer’s degraded status. This amount was half the price of a slave, and the barley, the coarsest grain, symbolized her worthlessness and association with sin, mirroring Israel's own spiritual captivity and low estate in God's eyes.
God commands Hosea to demonstrate the unfaithfulness of Israel by taking back his unfaithful wife, Gomer. Hosea complies by purchasing her, not as a wife, but as a slave, for a deliberately low price of fifteen shekels of silver and a specific amount of barley. This purchase signifies Gomer's debased state and foreshadows Israel's own degraded condition after their unfaithfulness to God.
God commands Hosea to demonstrate the unfaithfulness of Israel by taking back his unfaithful wife, Gomer. Hosea complies by purchasing her, not as a wife, but as a slave, for a deliberately low price of fifteen shekels of silver and a specific amount of barley. This purchase signifies Gomer's debased state and foreshadows Israel's own degraded condition after their unfaithfulness to God.
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c. 732 BC
Fall of Damascus
The capital of Aram (Syria) falls to Assyria, increasing the pressure on Israel and highlighting the vulnerability of the region.
c. 722 BC
Fall of Samaria
The northern kingdom of Israel is conquered by the Assyrians, and its people are exiled, marking the end of the northern kingdom as a distinct entity.
"So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley." — The seemingly low price Hosea paid, specifically fifteen shekels and barley, reveals Gomer’s degraded status. This amount was half the price of a slave, and the barley, the coarsest grain, symbolized…
