Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Hosea 11:3-4
Hosea 11:3-4. I taught Ephraim also to go Hebrew, תרגלתי לאפרים , I directed the feet of Ephraim. In this time of Ephraim’s childhood, I supported and directed his steps, as a mother or nurse those of a child whom she is teaching to walk. Taking them by their arms To guide them, that they might not stray from the right way; and to hold them up, that they might not stumble and fall: see notes on Deuteronomy 1:31; Deuteronomy 32:11-12; Isaiah 63:0. Thus did God deal with Israel in the... read more
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Hosea 11:3
I taught Ephraim also to go - Literally, “and I set Ephraim on his feet;” i. e., while they were rebelling, I was helping and supporting them, as a nurse doth her child, teaching it to go with little steps, step by step, “accustoming it to go by little and little without weariness;” and not only so, but “taking them by their arms;” or it may be equally translated, “He took them in His arms,” i. e., God not only gently “taught” them “to walk,” but when they were wearied, “He took them up in His... read more