Hosea 12:5 - Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Bible Comments

Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.

Even the Lord God - Yahweh (H3068), a name implying His immutable constancy to His promises. From the old Hebrew root [haawaah, which became more recently haayaah (H1961), He was] meaning existence; "He that is, was, and is to be," always the same (Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever;" Revelation 1:4; Revelation 1:8: cf. Exodus 3:14, " I AM THAT I AM;" Exodus 3:15; Exodus 6:3, "I appeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them"). His unchangeable faithfulness to His promises flows from His unchangeable being, or self-existence, which is the root-meaning of Yahweh. As He was unchangeable in His favour to Jacob, so will He be to His believing posterity. Whenever LORD in the English version is printed in capitals, it stands for YAHWEH (H3068) in the Hebrew. Whenever it is printed in small type, Lord, it stands for the Hebrew 'Adonaay (H136), Master or Lord. The exact vowels of the word YHWH are uncertain, and therefore the pronunciation uncertain. Christ has sanctioned the substitution of LORD for Yahweh (H3068) in Matthew 4:7, compared with Deuteronomy 6:16; and Matthew 22:44, compared with Psalms 110:1.

Of hosts - which Israel foolishly worshipped. Yahweh has all the hosts ( tsaabaa' (H6633)) or powers of heaven and earth at command, so that He is as all-powerful as He is faithful to fulfill His promises (Psalms 135:6, "Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places;" Amos 5:27).

The Lord is his memorial - i:e., Yahweh (H3068) is the Hebrew name expressive of the character in which God was ever to be remembered (Psalms 135:13, "Thy name, O Lord, endureth forever; and thy memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations").

Hosea 12:5

5 Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.