3945. latsats
Lexical Summary
latsats: To scorn, to mock

Original Word: לָצַץ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: latsats
Pronunciation: lah-tsats
Phonetic Spelling: (law-tsats')
KJV: scorn
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to deride

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
scorn

A primitive root; to deride -- scorn.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
see lits.

Topical Lexicon
Root Concept of Mockery

The verb לָצַץ portrays the open mouth of derision—speech that belittles what is righteous and mocks what is holy. Closely related nouns (e.g., לֵץ, “scoffer”) and verbs from the same root create a motif that runs through Wisdom and Prophetic literature: the scornful tongue stands against reverence, obedience, and covenant fidelity. Though לָצַץ appears only once, it gathers into itself the atmosphere of contempt that Scripture consistently condemns.

Single Occurrence: Hosea 7:5

“On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and the king joins hands with the mockers.” Hosea 7:5

Here the rulers of Israel are pictured celebrating a royal festival while spiritually incapacitated. The king’s willing association with “mockers” indicts him for aligning with people whose speech rejects the fear of the LORD. Their revelry is not harmless; it embodies covenant treachery that draws the nation toward impending judgment (Hosea 7:8–10).

Scoffing as Covenant Unfaithfulness

1. Disdain for Prophetic Warning

 Mockers dismiss the divine voice, echoing the folly of those who “delight in mockery” (Proverbs 1:22) and refuse wisdom’s rebuke. In Hosea, such disdain heightens Israel’s guilt because the people have the Law, the prophets, and abundant historical testimony of God’s faithfulness.

2. Contagion Among Leaders

 Because kings and princes shape national character, their participation in scoffing magnifies sin. Instead of guarding justice, they revel in cynicism, thereby encouraging the populace to trivialize God’s covenant claims.

3. Precursor to Judgment

 Mockery is not merely moral failure; it signals the nearness of divine discipline. “Judgments are prepared for mockers” (Proverbs 19:29), a theme fulfilled as Assyria soon overran the Northern Kingdom, confirming Hosea’s warnings.

Historical and Cultural Setting

During the waning years of the Northern Kingdom (circa eighth century B.C.), prosperity bred complacency. Royal banquets were political theatre designed to project stability. Hosea unmasks the corruption behind the pageantry: intoxication and derision replace sober leadership. In Ancient Near Eastern courts, festivals honored deities and legitimized rule; Israel’s adoption of similar celebrations, divorced from covenant conscience, illustrates syncretism and moral decay.

Theological Trajectory

Old Testament

 Mockery assaults the fear of the LORD, foundational to wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). The scoffer, unlike the simple or the fool, actively opposes truth, erecting relational and spiritual barriers (Proverbs 13:1; 21:24).

New Testament Resonance

 Peter warns that “scoffers will come in the last days” (2 Peter 3:3), linking the attitude in Hosea to eschatological unbelief. Jude 1:18 echoes the warning, portraying mockers as sensual and divisive. The crucifixion scene recapitulates the motif: “The soldiers also mocked Him” (Luke 23:36), placing human contempt for God on full display.

Practical and Pastoral Implications

1. Guarding Speech

 Believers are called to “let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths” (Ephesians 4:29). Contemporary culture often celebrates sarcasm and ridicule; Hosea 7:5 exhorts the Church to cultivate speech that edifies.

2. Leadership Accountability

 Christian leaders influence corporate character. Aligning with cynical voices undermines witness and invites discipline. Paul’s admonition to Timothy—“set an example for the believers in speech” (1 Timothy 4:12)—functions as an antidote to royal mockery.

3. Discernment in Celebration

 Festive gatherings, whether ecclesial or civic, require vigilance lest indulgence replace worship. Hosea challenges believers to examine whether feasts honor God or merely indulge appetite and deride holiness.

Conclusion

Though לָצַץ occurs only once, its solitary appearance captures a perennial spiritual danger: the slide from reverence to ridicule. Hosea places mockery in the mouth of Israel’s leadership to show that contemptuous speech is no trivial sin; it is symptomatic of covenant disloyalty and a herald of judgment. Scripture’s consistent theme—from the Wisdom books through the prophets and into the New Testament—calls God’s people to reject derision, honor His name, and model speech that reflects the grace and truth of the Lord.

Forms and Transliterations
לֹצְצִֽים׃ לצצים׃ lō·ṣə·ṣîm lōṣəṣîm lotzeTzim
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Englishman's Concordance
Hosea 7:5
HEB: יָד֖וֹ אֶת־ לֹצְצִֽים׃
KJV: his hand with scorners.
INT: his hand with scorners

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 3945
1 Occurrence


lō·ṣə·ṣîm — 1 Occ.

3944
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