So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley:

HOSEA 3:2KJV
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Hosea 3:2 (KJV)

What does Hosea 3:2 mean?

Hosea 3:2 describes the prophet Hosea purchasing a woman, understood to be his wife Gomer, for fifteen pieces of silver and a quantity of barley. This act is a concrete, public gesture showing Hosea’s commitment to reclaiming her, despite her unfaithfulness.

In this verse, Hosea himself is speaking, recounting how he bought back his wife as God instructed. The setting is ancient Israel, where Hosea’s troubled marriage is meant to mirror God’s relationship with the people of Israel. The specific payment—silver and barley—shows the real cost and humility involved in Hosea’s act, emphasizing both the seriousness of the situation and the depth of his commitment.

The Hebrew behind Hosea 3:2

  • "bought" (כָּרָה, karah): This word often means to acquire or purchase, emphasizing that Hosea is making a deliberate, costly choice to reclaim someone who has left him.
  • "fifteen" (עֶשֶׂר, eser; חָמֵשׁ, chamesh): The number fifteen is made up of ten and five, which may suggest a specific, counted-out payment rather than a rounded sum, highlighting the carefulness and intention in Hosea’s action.
  • "silver" (כֶּסֶף, keseph): Silver was a common form of currency, so this detail grounds the story in real economic terms and shows Hosea’s willingness to pay a tangible price.
  • "homer" (חֹמֶר, chomer): A homer is a large measure, about six bushels, and "half homer" doubles down on the idea of a substantial payment. Barley was a basic, less expensive grain, so the payment is both significant and humble.

Why Hosea 3:2 matters

  • Hosea 3:2 clears up the idea that Hosea’s actions were only symbolic; the verse shows he paid a real, meaningful price, not just a token gesture.
  • The specific mention of silver and barley reveals the seriousness and humility of Hosea’s commitment, connecting his personal sacrifice to God’s love for Israel.
  • This verse ties Hosea’s personal story directly to the wider message of the book: God’s willingness to reclaim and restore his people, even when it comes at a cost.

Where else these words appear

“bought” Hebrew H3739 · used in 4 verses

  • Deuteronomy 2:6 Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
  • 2 Kings 6:23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
  • Job 41:6 Shall the companions make a banquet of him? shall they part him among the merchants?

“homer” Hebrew H2563 · used in 26 verses

  • Genesis 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
  • Job 27:16 Though he heap up silver as the dust, and prepare raiment as the clay;
  • Isaiah 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

“barley” Hebrew H8184 · used in 32 verses

  • Exodus 9:31 And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
  • Ruth 3:17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
  • 2 Chronicles 2:10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil.