Hosea 3:2

Hosea 3:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:
• New International Version (NIV)So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley.

Context of Hosea 3:2

1Then the Lord said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.” So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. 3Then I said to her, “You must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me.” 4This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or prince, and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests, or even idols!

Hosea 3:2 word by word

וָאֶכְּרֶ֣הָ לִּ֔י בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֥ה עָשָׂ֖ר כָּ֑סֶף וְחֹ֥מֶר שְׂעֹרִ֖ים וְלֵ֥תֶךְ שְׂעֹרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• So I boughtכָּרָהkârâh · to tradeH3739
• her to me for fifteenחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
• her to me for fifteenעָשָׂר‛âώâr · tenH6240
• of silverכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• an homerחֹ֫מֶרchômer · homerH2563
• of barleyשְׂעֹרָהώe‛ôrâh ώe‛ôrâh ώe‛ôr ώe‛ôr · barleyH8184
• and an half homerלֶ֫תֶךְlethek · a barley-measureH3963

Cross-references for Hosea 3:2

• Genesis 31:41Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house! I worked for fourteen years earning your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock. And you changed my wages ten times!
• Genesis 34:12No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will gladly pay it—just give me the girl as my wife.”
• Exodus 22:17But if her father refuses to let him marry her, the man must still pay him an amount equal to the bride price of a virgin.
• 1 Samuel 18:25he told them, “Tell David that all I want for the bride price is 100 Philistine foreskins! Vengeance on my enemies is all I really want.” But what Saul had in mind was that David would be killed in the fight.
• Leviticus 27:16“If someone dedicates to the Lord a piece of his family property, its value will be assessed according to the amount of seed required to plant it—fifty shekels of silver for a field planted with five bushels of barley seed.
• Isaiah 5:10Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine. Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.”
• Ezekiel 45:11The homer will be your standard unit for measuring volume. The ephah and the bath will each measure one-tenth of a homer.

Commentaries on Hosea 3:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Fifteen pieces of silver - If they were shekels, the price of this woman was about two pounds five shillings. A homer of barley - As the homer was about eight bushels, or something more, the homer and half was about twelve or thirteen bushels.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver - The fifteen shekels were half the price of a common slave Exodus 21:32, and so may denote her worthlessness. The homer and half-homer of barley, or forty-five bushels, are nearly the allowance of food for a slave among the Romans, four bushels a month. Barley was the offering of one accused of adultery, and, being the food of animals, betokens that she was “like horse and mule which have no…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2So I bought her: The Bible does not explain why the prophet had to buy his wife. Many believe that the unfaithful Gomer fell into debt and became a slave. The low price Hosea paid suggests that Gomer was seen as a low-value slave (see Exodus 21:32; Leviticus 27:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. I bought her--The price paid is too small to be a probable dowry wherewith to buy a wife from her parents; but it is just half the price of a female slave, in money, the rest of the price being made up in grain (Ex 21:32). Hosea pays this for the redemption of his wife, who has become the slave of her paramour. The price being half grain was because the latter was the allowance of food for the slave, and of the coarsest kind, not wheat, but barley…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 3:2

• Barley
• Marriage
• Measure
• Polygamy
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Homer
• Marriage
• Dowry
• Gomer (2)
• Hosea
• Lethech
• Song of Songs
• Zechariah, Book of
• Piece of Silver
• Weights and Measures

Commentaries on Hosea 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings