3352. yaqosh
Lexical Summary
yaqosh: To ensnare, to trap, to lay a snare

Original Word: יָקוֹשׁ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: yaqowsh
Pronunciation: yah-KOHSH
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-koshe')
KJV: fowler
NASB: bird catcher
Word Origin: [from H3369 (יָקוֹשׁ - snared)]

1. (properly) entangling
2. (hence) a snarer

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
a snarer

From yaqosh; properly, entangling; hence, a snarer:

see HEBREW yaqosh

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from yaqosh
Definition
a fowler, trapper
NASB Translation
bird catcher (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
יָקוֺשׁ noun [masculine] bait-layer, fowler, מַּח יָקוֺשׁ Hosea 9:8 the snare of fowler.

Topical Lexicon
Scriptural Usage

The noun יָקוֹשׁ appears only once, in Hosea 9:8. There it describes a “fowler’s snare” lying in wait for the prophet as he walks the paths of his ministry among apostate Ephraim. Although the term itself is rare, the image of a bird-catcher setting hidden traps recurs throughout Scripture (Psalm 91:3; Psalm 124:7; Proverbs 6:5; Jeremiah 5:26). Hosea’s singular employment of the word intensifies the scene, underscoring the premeditated, clandestine hostility that threatened God’s spokesman.

Historical and Cultural Background

In ancient Israel, bird-catching was practiced both for food and for trade. Nets, spring-snares, and decoys were common methods. Such devices were inexpensive, easy to conceal, and required patience rather than strength—an apt metaphor for subtle spiritual ambush. Hosea ministered in the eighth century BC, when the Northern Kingdom admired foreign cults and persecuted faithful prophets (Hosea 4:4–6; 6:5). The “fowler” therefore pictures those religious and political elites who, under a veneer of piety, sought to neutralize the true word of the Lord.

Prophetic Force in Hosea

Hosea 9:8 contrasts two professions: prophet and fowler. The prophet is divinely appointed as a “watchman” (ṣōp̱eh) to guard the people; the fowler is self-appointed to entrap. The juxtaposition highlights Israel’s inversion of roles—where those who should protect God’s flock instead prey upon it. By branding the prophet’s persecutors as fowlers, Hosea reveals:

• Premeditation—snares are laid, not stumbled upon.
• Secrecy—the danger is invisible until the victim is caught.
• Exploitation—the trapper profits from the captive’s loss.

Thus Hosea exposes both the method and motive of spiritual seduction in Israel.

Theological Significance

1. Human Plots vs. Divine Protection

The fowler may act in stealth, yet the Lord sees and judges. Psalm 91:3 affirms, “He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler.” Hosea’s indictment therefore serves both as warning to perpetrators and comfort to the remnant.

2. The Snare Motif and Sin

Throughout Scripture “snare” language depicts sin’s deceptive power. The lone appearance of יָקוֹשׁ folds Hosea’s audience into this larger biblical theology: rejecting God’s word entangles the soul (Proverbs 29:6).

3. Prophetic Suffering

The verse anticipates the pattern fulfilled supremely in Jesus Christ, the final Prophet, who also encountered hidden plots (Luke 20:19–20) yet triumphed over them through obedience and resurrection (Acts 2:23–24).

New Testament Echoes

While יָקוֹשׁ itself is not carried into Greek, its concept reappears. Paul warns Timothy that opponents of the gospel are “held captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26), employing snare imagery (παγίς). Likewise, 1 Thessalonians 2:15–16 mirrors Hosea: “They displease God and oppose all men… to fill up their sins.” The parallel underscores continuity between Testaments—false religion remains a calculated trap.

Practical Ministry Insights

• Discern Hidden Opposition

Faithful service may provoke covert resistance. Shepherds must be “shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

• Guard Personal Integrity

Spiritual leaders avoid becoming fowlers themselves by preaching truth without manipulation (2 Corinthians 4:2).

• Trust Divine Deliverance

Even when snares are undetectable, God’s oversight is comprehensive (Psalm 121:7). Confidence in His protection fuels perseverance.

Devotional Reflection

Hosea’s single use of יָקוֹשׁ magnifies its weight: one well-placed word exposes a nation’s hidden malice. Believers today pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23), lest any lingering propensity to lay snares—through slander, deceit, or half-truth—take root. Simultaneously, they rest in the promise, “The snare has been broken, and we have escaped” (Psalm 124:7), rejoicing in the freedom secured by Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
יָקוֹשׁ֙ יקוש yā·qō·wōš yakoVosh yāqōwōš
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Hosea 9:8
HEB: נָבִ֞יא פַּ֤ח יָקוֹשׁ֙ עַל־ כָּל־
NAS: [Yet] the snare of a bird catcher is in all
KJV: [is] a snare of a fowler in all his ways,
INT: A prophet the snare of a bird is in all

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 3352
1 Occurrence


yā·qō·wōš — 1 Occ.

3351
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