The Meaning of Hosea 11:3 Explained

Hosea 11:3

KJV: I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

YLT: And I have caused Ephraim to go on foot, Taking them by their arms, And they have not known that I strengthened them.

Darby: And I it was that taught Ephraim to walk, He took them upon his arms, but they knew not that I healed them.

ASV: Yet I taught Ephraim to walk; I took them on my arms; but they knew not that I healed them.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I taught  Ephraim  also to go,  taking  them by their arms;  but they knew  not that I healed  them. 

What does Hosea 11:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Israel demonstrated this ungrateful apostasy even though it was Yahweh who taught His son Israel to walk (behave, cf. Deuteronomy 1:31; Isaiah 1:2), provided tender loving care, and healed him when he needed restoration.

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 11:3 mean?

And I taught to walk Ephraim Taking them by their arms but not they did know that I healed them
וְאָנֹכִ֤י תִרְגַּ֙לְתִּי֙ לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם קָחָ֖ם עַל־ זְרֽוֹעֹתָ֑יו וְלֹ֥א יָדְע֖וּ כִּ֥י רְפָאתִֽים

וְאָנֹכִ֤י  And  I 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אָנׄכִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
תִרְגַּ֙לְתִּי֙  taught  to  walk 
Parse: Verb, Tiftl, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: רָגַל  
Sense: to go on foot, spy out, foot it, go about, walk along, move the feet.
לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם  Ephraim 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֶפְרַיִם  
Sense: second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh.
קָחָ֖ם  Taking  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
זְרֽוֹעֹתָ֑יו  their  arms 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: זְרֹועַ  
Sense: arm, forearm, shoulder, strength.
וְלֹ֥א  but  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יָדְע֖וּ  they  did  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
רְפָאתִֽים  I  healed  them 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular, third person masculine plural
Root: רָפָא  
Sense: to heal, make healthful.