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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
11:12-12:1 Dependence on Alliances. Ephraim has surrounded me with lies . . . but Judah still walks with God (11:12). Judah and the northern tribes (Ephraim) both suffered lapses in fidelity to the Lord, but Judah, unlike Ephraim, had some good kings (in particular, Hezekiah). One of the highest points in Judah's history was the victory over the Assyrians when Hezekiah was king (see 2 Kings 18-19, which was after Samaria fell).
12:1 Ephraim feeds on the wind. Ephraim depends on what is elusive and unprofitable (for wind used as an image this way, cf. Job 6:26; 8:2; 15:2; Ps. 78:39; Eccles. 1:14; 2:11; Isa. 26:18; 41:16). "Wind" graphically describes the duplicity of both Israel and Judah's covenant making. Oil . . . to Egypt could refer to an inducement offered to Egypt for relief when Israel was paying tribute to Assyria.
