Hosea 4:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

By setting up altars “under the oak and under the fir,” they offered libations, venerating the nymphs, likely dryads, as the Greeks refer to them. For the poets and storytellers of Greece suggest that unclean demons are fond of trees and plants, which they inexplicably call nymphs. The appeal of seeking shelter beneath blooming trees brings pleasure, leading to the notion of “a bad but pleasant roof.” Consequently, an indulgent person cannot become a true lover of God, as Paul affirms that some are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:4). Blessed are those who “weep now” (Matt. 5:4; Luke 6:21), as the highest honor and love is given to those whose patience is coupled with good deeds. For this reason, your daughters will face seduction, and your brides will seek your affection. I will not sit by while your daughters engage in fornication or your brides in love. They too have mingled with harlots, and with harlots shall they reap fornication. Since it is deemed honorable for you to indulge in excess beneath the trees and in shady spots, and because you find delight in what offends Me—in condemned adultery and impurity—thus “your daughters shall fornicate,” and “the brides,” namely, the wives of your sons, “shall love,” and yet, He declares, “I will not be moved nor will I sit down.” This seems to foreshadow the disasters of war and the suffering brought on by captivity that sinners will face; conquerors will deal with the conquered as they wish, exercising unrestrained power, pursuing whatever pleases them, disregarding law, decency, or propriety, and with hardened hearts, will show no mercy to the afflicted. Thus, it is declared that the children of fornicators will be surrendered to their enemies for mockery and shame. However, one could interpret the matter differently. The God of all has care for those He wishes to honor and love. Though He observes their negligence and their desire to pursue what they should avoid, He mercifully disciplines them to guide them back to better paths. Thus, Paul, the God-inspired writer, advises those called to a righteous life: “But if you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” (Hebrews 12:7). The wise Preacher similarly states: “The Lord corrects whom He loves, and He chastens every son whom He receives” (Proverbs 3:12). Therefore, those whom He chastises, He honors with His care, viewing them as beloved, while neglecting those who have sinned greatly and saying simply: “I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12), for “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,” as it is written (Psalm 33:16). Thus, if He states, “I will not sit,” this signifies His disinterest in their affairs, yet at the same time, He aims to bring them back to Himself, regarding them as wholly unworthy. Why is this so? Because, as fathers, you have strayed far from the desire to restrain yourselves and your children, indulging in excessive wickedness, by mingling with harlots and offering sacrifices alongside them. The term harlots refers to the priestesses of Beelphegor, associated with Priapus; indeed, worshipers of this abominable idol are harlots. The term prodigals relates to those initiated into Beelphegor’s rites—individuals who chose not to remain true to their nature but, adopting effeminate behaviors, became disgraceful in speech and actions. They are sometimes called Ospreys and libertines, who, with feminine wails and the jingle of cymbals, paraded with torches, pretending to engage in sacred rites, celebrating the shame of Beelphegor. Therefore, He remarks that they “reaped the sacrifices with the fornicators,” implying they participated in their rites, and along with these base individuals, offered sacrifices to Beelphegor.

However, the people of Israel instead sacrificed on high places and burned incense on the hills, opting for the elevated heights of the land because they turned away from the God of the Most High. In their pursuit of shade, they lost their grasp on the truth. This is evidenced in the accounts of the kings, where only those of high stature do not bring ruin. Yet people still gather on these high places, termed bama in Hebrew. Heretics elevate their doctrines, making sacrifices under the oak, poplar, and terebinth—trees devoid of fruit, without fig or vine—seeking to imitate the resting place of the saint, as indicated in the writings of Insanias. Occasionally, they also make use of terebinth, which, as Isaiah describes, bears no leaves, in a misguided effort to mirror Abraham's example, as seen in Genesis 18:1, where the term beloni varies in translation to mean oak-tree, oak, or terebinth.