Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Eva,

> NAU Hosea 7:4 They are all adulterers, Like an oven heated by the baker
> Who ceases to stir up the fire From the kneading of the dough until it
> is leavened.
> I Make bread almost every week, and have for over 35 years made all
> kinds of bread for our family. When I make sour dough  bread,  in the
> morning I rise and take a part of the dough called starter and put it
> in the warm oven about 110 degrees. If this was a wood stove or and
> earth stove made in the ground which Hosea would be talking about ( the
> fire has died down over night. coals are the only thing left) its about
> 105 degrees,  and with the starter I put the ground grain, starter,
> salt, and sweeter together , I prefer crushed grapes for sweetener, and
> knead it, put it in the warm oven, It causes the bread to rise more
> quickly. (Do not stir up the fire) That means as long as the bread is
> in the oven rising, the hot coals will cause the bread to rise but not
> to bake. Take out and knead the bread put back in oven and let rise,
> About 15 minutes before the bread is completely risen, the second time,
> the baker takes out the bread and “stirs up the fire” and adds more
> wood. It get hot enough to cook.  Puts the bread in the oven. The bread
>  is still not hot enough to cook it will rise until the internal
> temperature of the bread gets above  120 degrees. If the baker does not
> stir the fire the bread in the oven continues to rise and then falls
> and finally the bread you have is slow cooked sour acid tasting bread,
> and salty. Not the same quality as the bread that was taken care of by
> a baker, who was careful to watch his or her bread.
> So what is Hosea saying?


HH: All right, thanks, I did not know that the 
dough could rise in the oven. I am not familiar 
with that way of doing things. As far as the 
meaning, I think Karl had it right. The imagery 
shows the dangerous heat of the adulterous lust of 
those in the northern kingdom.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard