The Meaning of Hosea 11:2 Explained

Hosea 11:2

KJV: As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

YLT: They have called to them rightly, They have gone from before them, To lords they do sacrifice, And to graven images they make perfume.

Darby: As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baals, and burned incense to graven images.

ASV: The more the prophets called them, the more they went from them: they sacrificed unto the Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

[As] they called  them, so they went  from them:  they sacrificed  unto Baalim,  and burned incense  to graven images. 

What does Hosea 11:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God continued to call the Israelites after they left Egypt. He did so through His prophets. But the more the prophets appealed to the people to follow the Lord, the more the people turned aside from following Him. They kept sacrificing to Baal and kept burning incense to idols (cf. Judges 2:11-13).

Context Summary

Hosea 11:1-11 - "bands Of Love"
This is a very tender chapter, full of moving appeals. God looks back on the happy, blessed past, as a fond parent on the innocent childhood of a son who is now causing endless pain and grief. He recapitulates the call from Egypt, and relates how, in obedience to His appeal, Israel came out of the idolatries of that country. He describes Israel as a tiny child beginning to walk, and says, I taught him to go. He compares the Israel of those days to horses or oxen, relieved of the yoke, before whom food is set. Let us remember that God is also willing to teach us to go, and to carry us when we are weary.
The blessed childhood of Israel had become like an overcast morning. They were bent on backsliding. But God's love is not easily repelled. What more pathetic words were ever uttered by broken-hearted parents than Hosea 11:8-9! That is the motive of our plea still. If we were dealing with man, we might despair. But we are dealing with One who forgives us according to the riches of His grace. If a back-slider should read these touching appeals, let him be encouraged to retrace His steps one by one, sure that the Father waits to welcome him where the by-path has broken off from the main road. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 11

1  The ingratitude of Israel unto God for his benefits
5  His judgment
8  God's mercy toward them
12  Israel's falsehood and Judah's fidelity

What do the individual words in Hosea 11:2 mean?

[As] they called them so they went from them to the Baals they sacrificed and to carved images burned incense
קָרְא֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם כֵּ֚ן הָלְכ֣וּ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם לַבְּעָלִ֣ים יְזַבֵּ֔חוּ וְלַפְּסִלִ֖ים יְקַטֵּרֽוּן

קָרְא֖וּ  [As]  they  called 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
כֵּ֚ן  so 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
הָלְכ֣וּ  they  went 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם  from  them 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
לַבְּעָלִ֣ים  to  the  Baals 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: בַּעַל  
Sense: supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians or Canaanites.
יְזַבֵּ֔חוּ  they  sacrificed 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: זָבַח  
Sense: to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, slaughter for sacrifice.
וְלַפְּסִלִ֖ים  and  to  carved  images 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: פָּסִיל  
Sense: image, idol, graven image.
יְקַטֵּרֽוּן  burned  incense 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: מֻקְטָר 
Sense: .