Hosea 12:7

“[He is] a merchant, etc.] Here is a change of person from “thou” to “he”, from Judah to Ephraim, who is said to be a “merchant”; and if that was all, there is nothing worthy of dispraise in it; but he was a cheating merchant, a fraudulent dealer, as appears by what follows: or he is Canaan, or a Canaanitef242; more like a descendant of Canaan, by his manners, than a descendant of Jacob. But the Canaanites dealing much in merchandise, their name became a common name for a merchant, as a Chaldean for an astrologer; and as the children of Israel possessed their land, so they followed the same business and employment of life; which, had they performed honestly, would not have been to their…”

“merchant--a play on the double sense of the Hebrew, "Canaan," that is, a Canaanite and a "merchant" Eze 16:3 : "Thy birth is . . . of Canaan." They who naturally were descendants of pious Jacob had become virtually Canaanites, who were proverbial as cheating merchants (compare Isa 23:11, Margin), the greatest reproach to Israel, who despised Canaan. The PhÅ“nicians called themselves Canaanites or merchants (Isa 23:8). oppress--open violence: as the "balances of deceit" imply fraud.”

“He is a merchant - Or, indignantly, “a merchant in whose hands are the balances of deceit!” How could they love “mercy and justice,” whose trade was “deceit,” who weighed out deceit with their goods? False in their dealings, in their weights and measures, and, by taking advantage of the necessities of others, oppressive also. Deceit is the sin of weakness oppression is the abuse of power. Wealth does not give the power to use naked violence but wealthy covetousness manifoldly grinds the poor. When for instance, wages are paid in necessaries priced exorbitantly, or when artisans are required to buy at a loss at their masters’ shops, what is it but the union of deceit and oppression? The…”

“A merchant - Ephraim is so far from being as Jacob, that you may account him a Canaanite, a subtle merchant. Hosea 12:8”

“12:7-8 During the reign of Jeroboam II (793–753 BC), Israelite merchants became fabulously wealthy, often by using deceitful business practices like dishonest scales (see Amos 8:5-6). • The Hebrew term translated merchants is kena‘an (“Canaan”). Canaanite traders were notorious in the ancient world for their crafty dealings. The Israelites had imitated their pagan neighbors not only in religion but also in commerce.”

“a merchant: or, Canaan, Eze 16:3; Zac 14:21; Joh 2:16 the balances: Lev 19:35, Lev 19:36; Pro 11:1, Pro 16:11; Amo 8:5, Amo 8:6; Mic 6:10, Mic 6:11; Ti1 6:9, Ti1 6:10 he loveth: Isa 3:5; Eze 22:29; Amo 2:7, Amo 3:9, Amo 4:1, Amo 5:11; Mic 2:1, Mic 3:1-3, Mic 7:2; Mal 3:5; Jam 5:4 oppress: or, deceive, Sa1 12:3 Hosea 12:8”

“"Canaan, in his hand is the scale of cheating: he loves to oppress. Hos 12:8. And Ephraim says, Yet I have become rich, have acquired property: all my exertions bring me no wrong, which would be sin." Israel is not a Jacob who wrestles with God; but it has become Canaan, seeking its advantage in deceit and wrong. Israel is called Canaan here, not so much on account of its attachment to Canaanitish idolatry (cf. Eze 16:3), as according to the appellative meaning of the word Kena‛an, which is borrowed from the commercial habits of the Canaanites (Phoenicians), viz., merchant or trader ( Isa 23:8; Job 40:30), because, like a fraudulent merchant, it strove to become great by oppression and…”