I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

HOSEA 14:5KJV
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Hosea 14:5 (KJV)

What does Hosea 14:5 mean?

Hosea 14:5 describes God promising to restore Israel. God compares his care to dew, and Israel to a plant that flowers and puts down roots. The picture is of a people becoming lively and firmly established again.

The speaker is God, addressing Israel after his promise to heal and love them in verse 4. Dew gives moisture without a rainfall, while the lily and Lebanon’s trees suggest both beauty above ground and strength below it.

The Hebrew behind Hosea 14:5

  • “dew” — טַל (ṭal): This word means moisture that settles on surfaces. In a land with a long dry season, dew could provide welcome moisture when rain was scarce.
  • “grow” — פָּרַח (paraḥ): This word can mean to sprout or blossom. Here it suggests the visible flowering of the lily, rather than an increase in size alone.
  • “forth” — נָכָה (nakhah): In the form used here, this word can carry the sense of striking or sending out. With “roots,” it pictures a plant driving its roots into the ground.

Why Hosea 14:5 matters

  • The promise addresses Israel as a people. Although the verse says “he shall grow,” the “he” refers back to Israel.
  • The comparison with Lebanon adds strength to the image of the lily. Lebanon was known for its great trees, so “roots as Lebanon” suggests deep and lasting growth.
  • God’s promise is part of a larger picture of renewal. The following verses continue with images of spreading branches, beauty, and fragrance.

Where else these words appear

“lily” Hebrew H7799 · used in 15 verses

  • 1 Kings 7:19 And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.
  • Psalms 45:1 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
  • Song of Solomon 4:5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

“dew” Hebrew H2919 · used in 30 verses

  • Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • Judges 6:38 And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
  • Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.

“roots” Hebrew H8328 · used in 32 verses

  • Deuteronomy 29:18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
  • Job 30:4 Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.
  • Isaiah 37:31 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:

“grow” Hebrew H6524 · used in 33 verses

  • Genesis 40:10 And in the vine were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes:
  • Numbers 17:5 And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you.
  • Isaiah 17:11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.