The Hebrew chelyah is the feminine form of chaliy and refers to ornaments or jewels. It appears in Hosea 2:13 as part of God's covenant lawsuit against Israel: 'She decked herself with rings and jewels (chelyah), and went after her lovers, but me she forgot.' The tragedy is stark: Israel adorned herself for Baal worship rather than for her true husband, the LORD.
The prophetic use of chelyah in Hosea reverses the bridal imagery. In Jeremiah 2:32, God asks rhetorically: 'Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.' The ornaments that were meant to signify the beauty of covenant devotion became tokens of spiritual adultery. Yet God's response is not permanent abandonment β Hosea 2:19 promises a new betrothal: 'I will betroth you to me forever.' The chelyah of idolatry would be stripped away (Hosea 2:13) and replaced by the far greater adornment of righteousness and steadfast love.