John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, then I loved him ,.... Or, "for Israel was a child" F21 כי "quia", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius. ; a rebellious and disobedient one, therefore his king was cut off in a morning, and he has been, and will be, without a king many days; yet still "I loved him": or, "though Israel was a child" F23 "Quamvis sit puer", Tarnovius, Rivet. ; a weak, helpless, foolish, and imprudent one, "yet I loved him": or, "when a child"; in the... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 11:1-7
Here we find, I. God very gracious to Israel. They were a people for whom he had done more than for any people under heaven, and to whom he had given more, which they are here, I will not say upbraided with (for God gives, and upbraids not), but put in mind of, as an aggravation of their sin and an encouragement to repentance. 1. He had a kindness for them when they were young (Hos. 11:1): When Israel was a child then I loved him; when they first began to multiply into a nation in Egypt God... read more