John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 12:3
He took his brother by the heel in the womb ,.... That is, Jacob took his brother Esau by the heel, as he came forth from his mother's womb; the history of it is in Genesis 25:25 . It is here observed, upon mentioning the name of Jacob in Hosea 12:2 , meaning the posterity, of the patriarch; but here he himself is intended, and occasionally taken notice of, to show how very different his posterity were from him, and how sadly degenerated; as well as to upbraid them with ingratitude,... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 12:1-6
In these verses, I. Ephraim is convicted of folly, in staying himself upon Egypt and Assyria, when he was in straits (Hos. 12:1): Ephraim feeds on wind, that is, feeds himself with vain hopes of assistance from man, when he is at variance with God; and, when he meets with disappointments, he still pursues the same game, and greedily pants and follows after the east wind, which he cannot catch holy of, nor, if he could, would it be nourishing, nay, would be noxious. We say of the wind in the... read more