פשר הושע (4Q166–167)
She did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and silver I lavished upon her — and they made gold into Baal. — Hosea 2:8
The Pesher on Hosea survives in two manuscripts from Qumran Cave 4: Pesher Hosea A (4Q166) and Pesher Hosea B (4Q167). Together they interpret the oracles of Hosea — the prophet of betrayal, of Israel playing the harlot with foreign gods — as prophecy addressed directly to the sect's own crisis. The imagery of grain and wine given to Baal, of vines laid waste, of appointed times abolished, is read as condemning the sect's opponents: teachers who led Israel into idolatry of a different kind, rulers who had given the holy calendar over to Gentile influence, priests who had made covenant with the nations. Pesher Hosea A (4Q166) is the better preserved, covering Hosea 2:8–13 across two columns. Pesher Hosea B (4Q167) is highly fragmentary, scattered across numerous small pieces covering Hosea chapters 5 and 8.
This is a Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated directly from the Hebrew of 4Q166 and 4Q167. The transcription used is García Martínez and Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997). No existing English translation was consulted during drafting.
4Q166 — Pesher Hosea A
Column I (Hosea 2:8–9)
[The column opens mid-citation; the top lines are lost. The surviving text cites the end of Hosea 2:8.]
...[wine] and oil and silver I lavished [upon her, and gold] — they made it for Baal.
Its interpretation: they are [the leaders who ...] [...] and [...] the grain [...] they ate [...]
[Column I is too fragmentary for further continuous translation. A second citation, beginning Hosea 2:9, follows immediately.]
Column II (Hosea 2:9–13)
[Column II is the heart of 4Q166. It is substantially preserved, though the opening lines are damaged and several pesher interpretations survive only in part.]
Hosea 2:9 — Therefore I will return and take back my grain in its season, and my new wine in its appointed time; I will take away my wool and my flax that were to cover her nakedness.
Its interpretation: that he will send upon them [famine and thirst] until they are consumed, for [they forsook him and walked after] [...]
Hosea 2:10 — And now I will uncover her nakedness before the eyes of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her from my hand.
Its interpretation: [...] those who [...] [...] and no one [shall deliver them] [...]
Hosea 2:11 — And I will put an end to all her mirth — her feast, her new moon, her sabbath, and all her appointed times.
Its interpretation: [that he will] cause to cease from them all [rejoicing and gladness] [...] among the nations [...] for they [walked after] the stubbornness of [their heart and abandoned] [all the appointed feasts of Israel] [...]
Hosea 2:12 — And I will lay waste her vine and her fig tree, of which she said, "These are my wages that my lovers have given me"; I will make them a thicket, and the beasts of the field shall devour them.
Its interpretation: [...]
Hosea 2:13 — And I will punish her for the days of the Baals, to which she burned incense; she decked herself with ring and jewellery and went after her lovers — and she forgot me, declares the LORD.
Its interpretation: [...] to which she [burned incense] [...] and she went [after the nations] [...]
[The remainder of column II is lost beyond recovery.]
4Q167 — Pesher Hosea B
Pesher Hosea B (4Q167) survives in numerous small fragments covering Hosea 5:13–15 and Hosea 8:6–14. The fragments are too lacunose for continuous translation; what follows presents the recoverable biblical lemmata and pesher interpretations.
Fragment 2 (Hosea 5:13–14)
Hosea 5:13 — When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot heal you, and he will not cure your wound.
Its interpretation: [...] who lead [Ephraim] astray [...] the Seekers of Smooth Things [who are in...] [...]
Hosea 5:14 — For I am like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and none shall rescue.
Its interpretation: [...]
Fragments 5–6 (Hosea 8:6–7)
Hosea 8:6 — For it is from Israel — a craftsman made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.
Its interpretation: [...]
Hosea 8:7 — For they sow the wind and shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; it shall yield no flour. If it were to yield, strangers would devour it.
Its interpretation: [...]
Fragments 7–9 (Hosea 8:13–14)
Hosea 8:13 — As for my sacrificial offerings, they sacrifice flesh and eat it, but the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt.
Its interpretation: [...] the men of [...] who [...] forgotten [the law of God...] [...]
Hosea 8:14 — For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities — but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his strongholds.
Its interpretation: [...]
[Further fragments of 4Q167 preserve only isolated words and cannot be translated continuously.]
Colophon
Text: Pesher Hosea A (פשר הושע א, 4Q166), Columns I–II; Pesher Hosea B (פשר הושע ב, 4Q167), Fragments 2, 5–6, 7–9
Source Language: Late Second Temple Hebrew (Qumran scribal dialect)
Original Manuscript: Qumran Cave 4, discovered 1952
Source Transcription: García Martínez, F. & Tigchelaar, E.J.C., The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Brill, 1997
Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church (Good Works Translation), 2026
Translation Method: Translated directly from the Hebrew transcription. No existing English translation was consulted during drafting. Biblical lemmata (the Hosea verses) are translated fresh from the Masoretic Text. Brackets mark text that is clearly lost; parenthetical notes indicate heavily damaged portions.
Register: Gospel (plain, direct, warm)
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: פשר הושע (4Q166–167)
Hebrew transcription from García Martínez, F. & Tigchelaar, E.J.C., The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Brill, 1997. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
4Q166 — Column I (on Hosea 2:8–9)
] ת[י]רוש[ והיצהר וכסף הרבי]תי לה וזהב[ עשו לבעל 1
]פשרו [הם ה]שרים אשר[ ] [ 2
] ה[ד]גן [ ] אכלו [ 3
4Q166 — Column II (on Hosea 2:9–13)
לכן אשוב ולקחתי דגני בעתו ותירושי במ]ועדו[ 1
]פשרו[ אשר ישלח ב]הם רעב וצמאה[ עד כלותם כי ] [ 2
ועתה אגלה את נבלתה לעיני מאהב]יה ואיש לא יצילנה מידי[ 3
]פשרו[ ] [ אשר ] [ ואין ]מציל[ 4
]והשבתי כ[ל משוש]ה[ חג]ה חדשה ושבתה וכל מועדה[ 5
]פשרו[ אשר יש]ביתו[ מהם כל ]משוש ושמחה[ 6
]...[ בגוי]ם[ ] [ 7
]והשמותי גפ[נה ות]אנתה[ ] אתנה המה ]לי[ 8
]אשר נתנו[ לי מאה]ביה[ ושמתים לי]ער[ 9
]ואכלתם חית ה[שדה ]פשרו[ ] [ 10
]ופקדתי עלי[ה את ]ימי הבעלים[ אשר ] [ 11
] תקטיר להם[ ותלך ] [ 12
4Q167 — Fragment 2 (on Hosea 5:13–14)
] כי ילך אפרים אל אשור ו[ישלח אל מלך יר]ב[ 1
]פשרו[ ] [אשר מתעים ]את א[פרים ] [דורשי החלקות אשר ב[...] 2
] [ 3
כי אנכי כשחל לאפרים וככפיר לבית יהודה אני אני א]טרף[ 4
]פשרו[ ] [ 5
4Q167 — Fragments 5–6 (on Hosea 8:6–7)
] כי מישראל והוא חרש עשהו ולא אלהים הוא[ כי שבבים ]יהיה[ 1
]פשרו[ ] [ 2
כי רוח יזרעו וסופתה יקצרו ק]מה אין לה צמח[ 3
]פשרו[ ] [ 4
4Q167 — Fragments 7–9 (on Hosea 8:13–14)
] זבחי הבהבי יזבחו בשר ויאכלו יהוה לא ]רצם[ 1
]פשרו[ ] אנשי ] [אשר ] [שכחו ]את תורת[ האל ] [ 2
כי ישראל שכח עשהו ויבן היכלות ויהודה הרבה ערים בצרות 3
]פשרו[ ] [ 4
Source Colophon
Script: Late Second Temple Hebrew (Qumran scribal hand)
Source Manuscripts: 4Q166 (4QpHos^a) and 4Q167 (4QpHos^b), Qumran Cave 4 (discovered 1952)
Transcription: García Martínez, F. & Tigchelaar, E.J.C., The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Brill, 1997
Palaeographic Date: c. late 1st century BCE
Scribe: Good Works Translation Lineage, New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026
The Hebrew text is in the public domain, being over two thousand years old.
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