Who Was Ephraim in Hosea 5:3–15?
Ephraim in Hosea is the northern kingdom under accusation, not a single man. The passage shows a people God knows through and through, whose worship and foreign alliances cannot undo what their deeds have done.
2 Kings 17: Why Israel Fell to Assyria
Israel's exile was not bad luck. The passage names the cause plainly: a people rescued from Egypt who feared other gods, ignored every prophet, and hardened their necks against the God who had bound himself to them.
2 Kings 17: Why Israel Was Sent Into Exile
The exile of Israel was not merely the triumph of Assyrian arms. The passage names it as Yahweh's covenant judgment on a people who feared other gods, ignored every prophet, and would not turn.