“When Yisra’el Was a Youth, I Loved Him”: Temporal Syntax and Divine Calling in Hosea 11:1
כִּ֛י נַ֥עַר יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וָאֹהֲבֵ֑הוּ וּמִמִּצְרַ֖יִם קָרָ֥אתִי לִבְנִֽי׃ (Hosea 11:1) When Yisra’el was a child, I loved him, and out of Mitsrayim I called my son. Divine Affection and Historical Memory Hosea 11:1 opens a new poetic unit where YHWH, in the first person, recalls His loving relationship with Yisra’el. The verse combines temporal clause structure,…