Hosea / Question
Hosea describes Ephraim as going to Assyria and making a covenant, while also sending oil to Egypt Hosea 12:1. The verse presents these alliances as empty and deceitful dealings.
In Hosea 12:1–2, Ephraim is pictured chasing what cannot satisfy: wind, especially the harsh east wind. The prophet then names what this amounts to in real life—persistent deception, damage, and frantic diplomacy, cutting deals with Assyria while sending costly goods to Egypt. These lines open a new moment in Hosea’s ongoing confrontation with Israel’s public life. Just before this, Hosea recalled earlier care shown to Israel and criticized a pattern of turning that history into self-reliance and bargaining with foreign powers (see Hosea 11:12).
Hosea 12:1–2 presents Israel (called “Ephraim”) as chasing what cannot sustain life: “feeding on wind” and running after the “east wind.” The picture is both emptiness (nothing to live on) and harm (a harsh wind that strips and dries).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Hosea 12:1, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
1Ephraim feeds on wind, and follows after the east wind: he continually multiplies lies and desolation; and they make a covenant with Assyria, and oil is carried into Egypt.