Hosea 5:8

8 “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah. Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven^[a] ; lead on, Benjamin.

Hosea 5:8 in Other Translations

8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: cry aloud at Bethaven, after thee, O Benjamin.

8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we follow you, O Benjamin!

8 “Sound the alarm in Gibeah! Blow the trumpet in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven ! Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin!

8 "Blow the ram's horn shofar in Gibeah, the bugle in Ramah! Signal the invasion of Sin City! Scare the daylights out of Benjamin!

8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, and the trumpet in Ramah: sound an alarm at Beth-aven; behind thee, O Benjamin.

8 "Blow the ram's horn in Gibeah. Blow the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth Aven, you descendants of Benjamin.

8 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah; raise the war cry in Beth-aven: After you, Benjamin!

8 "My people, blow trumpets in Gibeah! Blow horns in Ramah! Shout the battle cry in Bethel! Say to Benjamin, 'The Assyrian army is coming!'

Hosea 5:8 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 5:8

Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, [and] the trumpet in Ramah
As an alarm of war, to give notice that the enemy is at hand, just ready to invade the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and bring destruction upon them; according to the Targum, the words are directed to the prophets,

``O ye prophets, lift up your voice like a trumpet;''

to declare to the people of Judah their sins and transgressions, and the punishment that would be inflicted on them for them; or it may be, this is a call of the people to fasting, mounting, and lamentation, as in ( Joel 2:1 Joel 2:15 ) . Gibeah is the same which is called "Gibeah of Saul", ( 1 Samuel 11:4 ) ; it being the birth place of that prince; and which Josephus

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 calls Gabathsaoule, and interprets it the hill of Saul, and says it was distant from Jerusalem about four miles; though elsewhere ^F11 he represents it as but two and a half miles; perhaps in the latter place there is a corruption in the number; for, according to Jerom, it was near Ramah, which was seven miles from Jerusalem; he says it is called also "Gibeah of Benjamin", ( 1 Samuel 13:2 ) ; because it was in that tribe, as was also Ramah; which, according to Eusebius ^F12, was six miles from Jerusalem; these were near to each other; see ( Judges 19:13 ) ; so that the calamity threatened is what respects the two tribes: cry aloud [at] Bethaven;
the same with Bethel, or a place near unto it, in the tribe of Benjamin, or on the borders of Ephraim; see ( Hosea 4:15 ) . According to the above writer ^F13, it lay about twelve miles from Jerusalem; in the way to Sichem; and being upon the borders both of Benjamin and Ephraim, it sometimes belonged to Israel, and sometimes to Judah; see ( 2 Chronicles 13:19 ) ; and seeing, as Jerom observes, that Benjamin was at the back of it (for where the tribe of Benjamin ended, not far in the tribe of Ephraim, according to him, was this city built), it therefore very beautifully follows, after thee, O Benjamin;
that is, either the enemy is after thee, O Benjamin, is just at hand, ready to fall upon thee, and destroy thee, as Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech; or rather, after the trumpet is blown in Gibeah and Ramah, cities which belonged to Benjamin, let it he blown, either in Bethaven, on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim; or let it be blown in the tribe of Judah, so that all the twelve tribes may have notice, and prepare for what is coming upon them.
F9 De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 1.
F11 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 2. sect. 8.
F12 Apud Reland Palestina Illustrata, l. 3. tom. 2. p. 963.
F13 Apud Reland. ib. p. 637.

Hosea 5:8 In-Context

6 When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.

7 They are unfaithful to the LORD; they give birth to illegitimate children. When they celebrate their New Moon feasts, he will devour their fields.

8 “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah. Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven ; lead on, Benjamin.

9 Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain.

10 Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water.

Cross References

• 1. S Numbers 10:2; S Jeremiah 4:21; S Ezekiel 33:3
• 2. Judges 19:12; Hosea 9:9; Hosea 10:9
• 3. S Isaiah 10:29
• 4. S Joshua 7:2; Hosea 4:15; Hosea 10:5

Footnotes

• [a]. "Beth Aven" means "house of wickedness" (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means "house of God" ).