The Fall of Bethel and Gilgal in Hoseah

There is a glaring contrast between the way that these pampered women boss everyone around, expecting to have their every whim and desire catered to. They will be dragged away by hooks, powerless to resist and completely humiliated. Describing their departure into captivity in such a manner underlines the poetic justice that they will be receiving. The people's sacrifices in these unfaithful cultic locations do not assuage the wrath of the lord or gain his favour, but are transgressions that incite his anger against them. In part, the fault might be seen as the perversion of the worship of the lord, through idolatry. Yet here, there might be more of an accent upon