JAREB . It is not safe to pronounce dogmatically on the text and meaning of Hosea 5:13; Hosea 10:6 . But our choice lies between two alternatives. If we adhere to the current text, we must regard Jareb (or Jarîb ) as a sobriquet coined by Hosea to indicate the love of conflict which characterized the Assyrian king. Thus ‘King Jarib’ = ‘King Warrior,’ ‘King Striver,’ ‘King Combat,’ or the like; and the events referred to are those of b.c. 738 (see 2 Kings 15:19 ). Most of the ancient versions support this, as, e.g. , LXX [Note: Septuagint.] ‘King Jareim’; Symm. and Vulg. [Note: Vulgate.] ‘King Avenger.’ If we divide the Hebrew consonants differently, We get ‘the great king,’ corresponding to the Assyr. [Note: Assyrian.] sharru rabbu (cf. 2 Kings 18:19; 2 Kings 18:28 , Isaiah 36:4 ). It has even been thought that this signification may be accepted without any textual change. In any case linguistic and historical evidence is against the idea that Jareb is the proper name of an Assyrian or an Egyptian monarch. Other, less probable, emendations are ‘king of Arabia,’ ‘king of Jathrib or of Aribi’ (both in N. Arabia).
J. Taylor.