The term may be applied to Israel in a positive fashion (Zephaniah 2:9; Exodus 19:6; Deuteronomy 4:6; Isaiah 1:4; Isaiah 9:3; Isaiah 10:6) but is normally used of the heathen nations as distinct from the people of God. It may therefore be used negatively. The use of this word sums up the magnitude of Judah’s problem: It had become so foreign in its ways that it seemed to belong more to them than to God.¹