Therefore a battle roar will arise among your people, And all your fortresses will be destroyed, As Shalman destroyed Beth Arbel in the day of battle. The mother was dashed in pieces with her children.
"Shallam destroyed Beth-arbel ..." Both the name of the ruler and the location of the battle mentioned are totally unknown.  Butler thought it referred to an invasion of Sennacherib; but that came at a time later than this prophecy.  Hindley believed that it might have been "Salamanu, king of Moab, the location of Beth-arbel being unknown, probably annihilated."[22] The type of brutal slaughter mentioned was not an uncommon thing at all in the culture of that era; and the point of Hosea's reference here derives from the fact that the brutal instance cited was well-known to the Israelites at that time.