The Meaning of Hosea 13:4 Explained

Hosea 13:4

KJV: Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

YLT: And I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt, And a God besides Me thou dost not know, And a Saviour -- there is none save Me.

Darby: Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou hast known no God but me; and there is no saviour besides me.

ASV: Yet I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no god but me, and besides me there is no saviour.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Yet I [am] the LORD  thy God  from the land  of Egypt,  and thou shalt know  no god  but me:  for [there is] no saviour  beside me. 

What does Hosea 13:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Yahweh had been Israel"s God since the Israelites had lived in Egypt. Israel first became a nation in Egypt. Before that the Israelites were just a large family ( Genesis 46:3). He had commanded the Israelites not to acknowledge any gods beside Himself because He was the only God who could save them (cf. Deuteronomy 11:28; Deuteronomy 32:17; Jeremiah 9:2; Jeremiah 31:34). For them to become idolaters would only be frustrating and futile. To abandon the only savior is to doom oneself to no salvation.

Context Summary

Hosea 13:1-14 - To Oppose God Is Destruction
Again, a very tender chapter. The lips that speak with trembling betray the heart that God can exalt. But when we turn to Baal, the emblem of self-confidence, we pass as the morning cloud the dew, the chaff, and the smoke.
In Hosea 13:4 we again get the sweet strain of early memory. God had not changed and was waiting to save. They had refused His help and had destroyed themselves, and He who would have done His best for them had been constrained to act as though He were a lion, a leopard, or a bear. In the wilderness we are thankful enough for His help, but when we reach the land of the vine and olive, we follow the devices and desires of our own hearts.
What a magnificent outburst is that which declares the divine intention to ransom even from death and the grave! We all know the New Testament setting of these words. Our Savior by His death destroyed him that had the power of death. He is death's plague and the grave's destruction. The sting of death is sin, but Jesus has borne sin away. The strength of sin is a violated law, but He has fulfilled the law. He is more than conqueror, and the soul that is one with Him shall share His triumph. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 13

1  Ephraim's glory vanishes
4  God's anger
9  God's mercy
15  The judgment of Samaria

What do the individual words in Hosea 13:4 mean?

And yet I [am] Yahweh your God Ever since the land of Egypt and God but Me no you shall know for Savior [there is] no besides Me
וְאָנֹכִ֛י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וֵאלֹהִ֤ים זֽוּלָתִי֙ לֹ֣א תֵדָ֔ע וּמוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אַ֖יִן בִּלְתִּֽי

וְאָנֹכִ֛י  And  yet  I  [am] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, first person common singular
Root: אָנׄכִי  
Sense: I (first pers.
יְהוָ֥ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ  your  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
מֵאֶ֣רֶץ  Ever  since  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִצְרָ֑יִם  of  Egypt 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִצְרַיִם  
Sense: a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows adj Egyptians = “double straits”.
וֵאלֹהִ֤ים  and  God 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
זֽוּלָתִי֙  but  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: זוּלָה  
Sense: a removal, a putting away prep.
לֹ֣א  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
תֵדָ֔ע  you  shall  know 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
וּמוֹשִׁ֥יעַ  for  Savior 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁע 
Sense: to save, be saved, be delivered.
אַ֖יִן  [there  is]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
בִּלְתִּֽי  besides  Me 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בִּלְתִּי  
Sense: not, except adv.