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Hosea 12

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1 Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he continually multiplieth lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.

2 Jehovah hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.

3 In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood he had power with God:

4 yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him at Beth-el, and there he spake with us,

5 even Jehovah, the God of hosts; Jehovah is his memorial [name].

6 Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep kindness and justice, and wait for thy God continually.

7 [He is] a trafficker, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress.

8 And Ephraim said, Surely I am become rich, I have found me wealth: in all my labors they shall find in me no iniquity that were sin.

9 But I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; I will yet again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast.

10 I have also spoken unto the prophets, and I have multiplied visions; and by the ministry of the prophets have I used similitudes.

11 Is Gilead iniquity? they are altogether false; in Gilgal they sacrifice bullocks; yea, their altars are as heaps in the furrows of the field.

12 And Jacob fled into the field of Aram, and Israel served for a wife, and for a wife he kept [sheep].

13 And by a prophet Jehovah brought Israel up out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.

14 Ephraim hath provoked to anger most bitterly: therefore shall his blood be left upon him, and his reproach shall his Lord return unto him.

   

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Bethel

  
Fresco depicting Jacob's Dream in Palazzo Farnese, Caprarola

When Jacob had his famous dream, of a staircase leading to heaven, he named the place "Bethel," which is Hebrew for "the house of God."

That literal meaning is reflected in the spiritual meaning: The Writings tell us that "Bethel" represents the knowledge and understanding we can have about the Lord's divine love, the perfect love which He has for all of us, the perfect love which is His essence. When we know about the Lord's love and have some understanding of it, that gives it a "house" inside us, a way for it to grow inside us and affect our own loves.

In Genesis 28:17, Bethel signifies the Lord's kingdom in the lowermost order. (Arcana Coelestia 3720)

In Amos 3:14, Bethel signifies the divine good. (Arcana Coelestia 2832[10])

"Bethel" has the opposite sense later in the Old Testament, after Jeroboam set up golden calves there and made it a center of idol-worship. Then it represented worship springing from evil loves.