Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the judgement pertains to you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread upon Tabor, and a pit dug deep in Shittim; but I will punish all of them. I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. (Hosea 5: 1-3)

Hosea predates the Babylonian exile. In this period the Temple at Jerusalem was one of many places of sacrifice to God.

Mizpah, Tabor, and Shittim were prominent places of religious pilgrimage in the Northern Kingdom. Here tabernacles of God had been erected. In 1 Samuel 7 we read, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord."

In many places the tabernacles stood near ancient altars to other gods. In Numbers 31 we read, "While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor."

The god of Moses is the particular god of Israel, but not - yet - understood as the only God. There is evidence that at some sites of pilgrimage the priests of one god would also offer sacrifice to other gods.

Hosea proclaims one reality, one source of value, and one God.

Above is an ancient representation of the Mesopotamian goddess Lilith.