Hosea 13:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The very idea of this horrific act is repugnant to God, as articulated in the words: "These say, ‘Devour men, for the bodies have become scarce.’ Not my word, says— I never spoke such a thing, but rather, it is the servants of demons who advocate for such barbarity. Then He mocks this thought and denounces such attempts, stating that if they lacked calves for sacrifice, they instead preferred to kill humans. He challenges their misguided beliefs, asking, if you believe that those who are made by man are divine, then why do you stain their altars with blood? In the Book of Kings (4 Kings 16), we read about Ahaz, the son of Jehoiakim, who ruled over Judah and followed the path of the kings of Israel. He indulged in high places and sacrificed his son in the fire to demons from among his kin. Because of these actions, it is declared: "they will be like the morning cloud, and like the dew, like the dust, like the smoke from the chimney," signifying their fleeting existence leading to destruction, for like the morning cloud, mist, dew, dust, and smoke dissipate swiftly, sometimes in an instant. What then holds substance in ashes, dew, or vapor made of smoke?

All these appear briefly and then disappear, much like what is stated: Samaria caused her king to vanish as foam upon the water (Hosea 10:7), and again: just as the morning slips away, so the king of Israel will fade (Hosea 11:1). It is undeniable that the cloud, the dew, the dust from the threshing floor, and the smoke from the chimney quickly fade, as it is written: let the smoke disperse (Psalm 67:3).

However, one might ask why the Septuagint uses the term locusts instead of trumpet, which Theodotion translated as chimney. The Hebrew words for locust and chimney share similar letters: aleph, resh, bet, and gimel. If "arbe" is read, it refers to locusts, while "ogobba" pertains to chimney; Aquila translated it as water-spout, and Simmah as aperture. By "water-spout," he may be referring to an opening in the wall for the smoke to escape. Should someone, for the sake of debate and disregarding the authentic Hebrew text, inquire about the significance of locusts, they should be aware that Ephraim likens it to a light mist or breath that emerges from locusts and goes unnoticed.

If they argue why Ephraim, facing impending doom, is not compared with other smaller creatures, such as a flea, which exhibits a similar light breath, we can clarify that the fate of those destined for destruction is depicted as vapor or the very delicate breath of locusts, which are detrimental and adversarial to humanity. They bring famine, devastate cultivated fields, and can strip the bark from trees and vineyards, as the prophet Joel elaborates (in chapters 1 and 2).

To these locusts, as well as to the morning cloud, dew, and dust, the heretics are also compared, of whom it is noted in the epistle: these are clouds without water (Jude 1:12). They resemble the prophetic and apostolic clouds that convey the truth of God, yet lack water, symbolizing the grace of the Holy Spirit. The Lord states in the Gospel, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them” (John 7:38-39). As for the tears, which in Greek bear some similarity to locusts, this seeming connection is likely a mistake stemming from some reading "tears" instead of "locusts."