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.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Yahweh speaks through the prophet Hosea to the northern kingdom of Israel, delivering a verdict of impending judgment immediately after describing their coming collapse in Hosea 13:3.

The words — The Hebrew וְ/אָנֹכִ֛י (ve./'a.no.Khi) and יְהוָ֥ה (Yah.weh) declare "and I [am] Yahweh," while וֵ/אלֹהִ֤ים (ve./lo.Him) and זֽוּלָתִ/י֙ (zu.la.T/i) frame the negative clause "and gods besides me." The syntax pairs divine self-identification with the land of Egypt to ground Israel's exclusive allegiance in historical deliverance.

The thread — The declaration "I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt" echoes Exodus 20:2 and Hosea 12:9, while the exclusive claim "there is no Savior besides Me" aligns with Isaiah 45:21.

Why it lands — The text states that Yahweh alone initiated Israel's redemption and alone functions as their deliverer, leaving no room for rival claims. A reader must acknowledge that relying on any other source of security contradicts the foundational historical act that established their covenant relationship.

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

וְאָנֹכִ֛יve./'a.no.Khiand/ I יְהוָ֥הYah.weh[am] Yahweh אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your מֵאֶ֣רֶץme./'E.retzfrom/ [the] land of מִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgypt וֵאלֹהִ֤יםve./lo.Himand/ gods זֽוּלָתִי֙zu.la.T/ibesides/ me לֹ֣אlo'not תֵדָ֔עte.Da'you must know וּמוֹשִׁ֥יעַu./mo.Shi.a'and/ [is] a deliverer אַ֖יִן'A.yinthere not בִּלְתִּֽי׃bil.T/iexcept/ me

King James Version

Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

Cross-references

Isaiah 45:21 Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.
Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Hosea 12:9 But I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.
Isaiah 43:10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come.
Isaiah 43:3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
Acts 4:12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Psalms 81:9 There must be no strange god among you, nor shall you bow to a foreign god.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the LORD, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.