Hosea 8:5

"Thy calf, O Samaria ..." One is amazed at the unwillingness of scholars to see in this the certain existence of a golden-calf idol in Samaria, as well as at Dan and Bethel. Yes, it is true that Samaria was the capital of the whole country and was often used as a name for all northern Israel; but if that had been the usage here, "calves" would have been in the plural. The singular strongly indicates that Samaria too had its golden idol. Some are quick to point out that there is no other Old Testament mention of a calf at Samaria; but what of it? God needs to say it only once! Besides that, can it really be supposed that in all that wretched parade of evil kings no one of them ever copied setting up a bull-god in his capital? "Samaria had not been built when Jeroboam set up the calves at Dan and Bethel; and it would not be surprising that an image was set up there when Samaria became the capital."[9]

"A number of the "translations" of this verse appear to have gone overboard. The New English Bible, for example, renders this, "Your bull-god stinks, O Samaria." It is enough to know that God rejected it totally, Keil rendered it "Thy calf disgusts, O Samaria."[10] The same author has another interesting rendition here, "How long are they incapable of purity,"[11] thus making this an expression of amazement that the wickedness of the people of God had continued such a long time, rather than a suggestion that there would ever be a time when they would be otherwise than wicked.