Tag Archives: Hosea 5:1

“For Judgment Is for You”: Vocative Structure and Second-Person Plural Indictment in Hosea 5:1

שִׁמְעוּ־זֹ֨את הַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים וְהַקְשִׁ֣יבוּ בֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וּבֵ֤ית הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ הַאֲזִ֔ינוּ כִּ֥י לָכֶ֖ם הַמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּֽי־פַח֙ הֱיִיתֶ֣ם לְמִצְפָּ֔ה וְרֶ֖שֶׁת פְּרוּשָׂ֥ה עַל־תָּבֹֽור׃ (Hosea 5:1) Hear this, O priests; pay attention, house of Israel; and give ear, house of the king. For the judgment is for you, because you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread over Tabor. A Multi-Level Call to Account Hosea 5:1 opens with a sharp prophetic rebuke structured around three vocatives and a climactic declaration of judgment. The verse strategically builds tension by summoning three key leadership groups—priests, the house of Yisra’el, and the royal house—and declares that the judgment (מִשְׁפָּט) pertains directly to them.… Learn Hebrew
Posted in Grammar | Tagged , | Comments Off on “For Judgment Is for You”: Vocative Structure and Second-Person Plural Indictment in Hosea 5:1