Hosea 9:1

1. Rejoice not The occasion of the exhortation is probably the noisy celebration of a harvest festival. Harvest time has always been a season of rejoicing (Isaiah 9:3); for, on the one hand, a rich harvest insures prosperity, on the other, it is a sign of the divine favor, for which people desired to express their appreciation and gratitude. Why does the prophet oppose the celebration? (1) Because it is like the celebrations of other people That is, of the surrounding nations; literally, the peoples, which, Wellhausen suggests, is here used for the first time in prophetic language in the sense of heathen. Among “the nations” these celebrations were noisy and wild, accompanied by all manner of excesses; but this revelry was out of harmony with the prophet’s lofty and spiritual conception of the religion of Jehovah. (2) 1b makes it plain that, though nominally the festival may have been held in the name of Jehovah (Hosea 9:4), the chief credit for the blessings of harvest was given to the Baalim (compare Hosea 2:5-8); to this also the Jehovah prophet must take exception.

For joy Literally, unto rejoicing too loudly. LXX. reads “exult not,” which would restore the parallelism.

Hosea 9:1 b is to be connected with Hosea 9:2, setting forth the cause of the judgment. The connection may be expressed, “Because thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, (because) thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor, (therefore) the (threshing) floor… shall not feed them.”

Gone a whoring [“played the harlot”] from thy God In a spiritual sense (see on Hosea 2:2-5).

Loved a reward [“hire”] Literally, harlot’s hire (Hosea 2:12).

Upon every cornfloor There are stored the blessings of harvest, which are received as gifts from the Baalim. To recognize them as such would oblige the Israelites to worship these Canaanitish deities, but to worship these would imply faithlessness to Jehovah; and anything received from the Baalim which might induce the Israelites to play spiritual harlot to Jehovah could be called harlot’s hire. This they were fond of, else they would not have been so enthusiastic in their worship.