Bible Strands
Hosea 12:13
But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was preserved.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Hosea addresses the northern kingdom of Israel during a period of covenant rebellion, contrasting their current moral failure with their foundational history. He speaks to Ephraim's descendants to ground his warning in their shared past.
The words — The Hebrew נָבִיא (naḇîʾ) means "prophet" and is deliberately repeated to bracket Israel's deliverance and preservation. The verb הֶעֱלָה (heʿĕlâ) translates literally as "he brought up," emphasizing Yahweh's direct agency in the Exodus event.
The thread — The verse's focus on prophetic mediation connects to Psalm 77:20, which credits Moses and Aaron with leading Israel, and points forward to Acts 3:22, where Peter applies the same prophetic paradigm to Jesus.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that Israel's historical survival depended entirely on Yahweh's chosen human instruments. It demands a sober reckoning with how rejecting those same channels of divine instruction inevitably triggers the judgment outlined in the surrounding context.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And by a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
Cross-references
- Acts 3:22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.
- Exodus 12:50 Then all the Israelites did this—they did just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron.
- Psalms 77:20 You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
- Isaiah 63:11 Then His people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses. Where is He who brought them through the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is the One who set His Holy Spirit among them,
- Acts 7:35 This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
- Exodus 13:3 So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His hand. And nothing leavened shall be eaten.
- Amos 2:11 I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD.
- Micah 6:4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.
- 1 Samuel 12:8 When Jacob went to Egypt, your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He sent them Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
- Hosea 13:4 Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.