Hosea — Chapter 3

Vade adhuc et dilige mulierem

God commands Hosea to love the adulterous woman even as God loves Israel despite her idolatry. À Lapide sees here the gratuitous nature of divine love—not caused by the creature's merit but by God's own nature. The fifteen pieces of silver and the homer of barley paid for her redemption are computed allegorically: fifteen is the number of ascents, barley represents the Old Law.

Quia dies multos sedebunt

The many days without king, prince, sacrifice, or ephod describe Israel's present condition since the destruction of Jerusalem. À Lapide, writing in 1625, notes that the Jews of his day fulfil this very prophecy—dispersed, without Temple or priesthood. The promise of return in the latter days (v.5) is read as a future mass conversion of Israel before the Last Judgment, a common Jesuit theme.