REL_07b.GIF Hosea Commentary (474 X 480, 256 colors)
Hosea Commentary
Pesher Hoshea
Copied late 1st century BCE
17.5 x 16.8 centimeters
The manuscript displayed here is the larger of two unrelated fragments of the Hosea Commentary found in Cave 4. The script of this manuscript, which is identical to that of a commentary on Psalms, belongs to the rustic semi-formal type of the Herodian era.
This text is a commentary (Hebrew: pesher ) on the biblical verses of Hosea 2:8-14. In the interpretation of the biblical text there are both eschatological and historical allusions. The verse refers to the relation of God, the husband, to Israel, the unfaithful wife. In the commentary the unfaithful ones have been led astray by `the man of the lie'. The affliction befalling those led astray is famine. Though the famine could be a metaphor it may well be a reference to an actual drought referred to in historical sources.