Hosea 9:3
3. return to Egypt—(See on Ho 8:13). As in Ho 11:5 it is said, "He shall not return into . . . Egypt." FAIRBAIRN thinks it is not the exact country that is meant, but the bondage state with which, from past experience, Egypt was identified in their minds. Assyria was to be a second Egypt to them. De 28:68, though threatening a return to Egypt, speaks (De 28:36) of their being brought to a nation which neither they nor their fathers had known, showing that it is not the literal Egypt, but a second Egypt-like bondage that is threatened.
eat unclean things in Assyria—reduced by necessity to eat meats pronounced unclean by the Mosaic law (Eze 4:13). See 2Ki 17:6.Hosea 9:6
6. because of destruction—to escape from the devastation of their country.
Egypt shall gather them up—that is, into its sepulchres (Jer 8:2; Eze 29:5). Instead of returning to Palestine, they should die in Egypt. Memphis—famed as a necropolis. the pleasant places for their silver—that is, their desired treasuries for their money. Or, "whatever precious thing they have of silver" [MAURER]. nettles—the sign of desolation (Isa 34:13).Hosea 11:11
11. tremble—flutter in haste.
dove—no longer "a silly dove" (Ho 7:11), but as "doves flying to their windows" (Isa 60:8). in their houses— (Eze 28:26). Literally, "upon," for the Orientals live almost as much upon their flat-roofed houses as in them.
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