Reference: Hosea, Book Of
Hastings
The Book of Hosea formed the first section of a collection of prophetic writings which was formed after the Exile, probably towards the close of the 3rd century b.c., and entitled 'The Twelve Prophets' (see Micah [Book of]). The greater part of the Book of Hosea clearly consists of the writings of Hosea, the son of Beeri, who prophesied in the 8th cent. b.c. (see preced. art.), but it also contains the annotations or additions of editors who lived between the 8th and the 3rd centuries. It is not always possible to determine with certainty these editorial portions of the book.
Though we have no positive evidence to this effect, there is no reason to doubt that Hosea himself committed to writing the prophetic poems by which he gave expression to his message and of which the greater part of the Book of Hosea consists (chs. Ho 2:4-14), and that he prefixed to these the prose narrative of his life (chs. 1, 3, see Hosea) with which the hook now opens. It is possible, of course, that Hosea first circulated in writing single poems or a collection of two or three; but the complete collection, though scarcely made later than 735, since the prophecies make no allusion to the Syro-Ephraimitish war which broke out in that year, cannot be much earlier than 735, since the prophecies make allusions to the circumstances of the period that followed the death, in about b.c. 746, of Jerohoam ii. (anarchy, Ho 7:3-7; 8:4; cf. 2Ki 15:8-26; factions favouring appeal to Egypt and Assyria respectively, Ho 5:13; 7:11; 8:9; 12:1), and probably in particular to the payment of tribute by Menahem to Tiglath-pileser [= Pul, 2Ki 15:19], which took place in b.c. 738 (Ho 5:13; 10:5-6). Again, the opening narrative (ch. 1), though it describes Hosea's life and teaching before the death of Jeroboam ii. (Ho 1:4, see Hosea), was not written until some years later, for it also records the birth of Lo-ammi (Ho 1:9), which was separated by hardly less and possibly more than 5 years from the date of Hosea's marriage.
In its earliest form, then, the Book of Hosea was published by the prophet about the year 736 in the Northern Kingdom. Now, in common with all literature of the Northern Kingdom, Hosea owes its preservation to the care of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. It is tolerably certain that the Jews who preserved the book adapted it for Jewish use; in other words, that the Book of Hosea as we have it is a Jewish edition of the writings of an Israelite prophet. The hand of a Jewish editor (and in this case a somewhat late one) is perhaps clearest in the title (Ho 1:1), for Hosea, a citizen of the Northern Kingdom and addressing himself to the North, would scarcely date his prophecy by kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, nor would a contemporary be likely to equate the days of Uzziah and his successors with the days of Jeroboam, since Uzziah himself outlived Jeroboam. With more or less reason, additions to or modifications of Hosea's work by Jewish editors have been suspected in Ho 1:7,10 to Ho 2:1; 3:5 ('and David their king') Ho 4:15 a, Ho 5:5 (last clause) Ho 6:11; 8:14; 10:11; 11:12 b. In several other cases (Ho 5:10,12-14; 6:4; 12:2) it is possible that the editor has pointed the original prophecies at his own people of the South by substituting 'Judah' where Hosea had written 'Israel'; thus, although at present Jacob-Judah are mentioned in Ho 12:2, the terms 'Jacob' and 'Israel,' synonyms for the people of the Northern Kingdom, were certainly in the mind of the writer of Ho 12:2-3, for in Ho 12:3 he puns on these names: 'In the womb he Jacobed his brother, and in his manhood Israeled with God.'
Another whole group of passages has been suspected of consisting of additions to Hosea's prophecies. These are the passages of promise (Ho 1:10 to Ho 2:1,14-23; 3 [regarded as an allegory of restoration] Ho 5:15; 6:3; 11:10-12). There is little doubt that such passages were added to ancient prophecies, but it is not yet by any means generally admitted that the early prophets made no promises of a brighter future beyond judgment.
Apart from the intentional modifications of the original words of Hosea by later editors, the text has suffered very seriously from accidents of transmission. To some extent the Greek version allows us to see an earlier Hebrew text than that perpetuated by the Jews from which the English Version is made. The English reader will find the translation from a critically emended text by Dr. G. A. Smith (Book of the Twelve Prophets, vol. i.) of great assistance. The best English commentary is that by W. R. Harper in the International Critical Commentary.
G. B. Gray.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah Zechariah son of Jeroboam [II] reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin. read more. Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah and struck and killed him before the people and reigned in his stead. The rest of the acts of Zechariah, see, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. This was the fulfillment of the promise to Jehu from the Lord: Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. And so it came to pass. Shallum son of Jabesh, in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, began his reign of a full month in Samaria. For Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah and came to Samaria, and smote and killed Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria and reigned in his stead. The rest of Shallum's acts, his conspiracy, see, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. Then Menahem smote Tiphsah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on; he attacked it because they did not open to him. And all the women there who were with child he ripped up. In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi began his ten-year reign over Israel in Samaria. He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to sin. There came against the land Pul king of Assyria, and Menahem gave Pul 1,000 talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his kingship.
There came against the land Pul king of Assyria, and Menahem gave Pul 1,000 talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his kingship. Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all the men of wealth, from each man fifty shekels of silver to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back and did not stay in the land. read more. The rest of Menahem's acts, all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? Menahem slept with his fathers; Pekahiah his son reigned in his stead. In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem began his two-year reign over Israel in Samaria. He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin. But Pekah son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against [Pekahiah] and attacked him in Samaria, in the citadel of the king's house, with Argob and Arieh; [for] with [Pekah] were fifty Gileadites. And he killed him and reigned in his stead. The rest of the acts of Pekahiah, all he did, see, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel.
And the Lord said to him, Call his name Jezreel or God-sows, for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel and visit the punishment for it upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
But I will have love, pity, and mercy on the house of Judah and will deliver them by the Lord their God and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by equipment of war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.
And the Lord said, Call his name Lo-Ammi [Not-my-people], for you are not My people and I am not your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and instead of it being said to them, You are not My people, it shall be said to them, Sons of the Living God!
Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and instead of it being said to them, You are not My people, it shall be said to them, Sons of the Living God!
[Hosea], say to your brethren, Ammi [or You-are-my-people], and to your sisters, Ruhamah [or You-have-been-pitied-and-have-obtained-mercy].
[Hosea], say to your brethren, Ammi [or You-are-my-people], and to your sisters, Ruhamah [or You-have-been-pitied-and-have-obtained-mercy].
Yes, for her children I will have no love nor pity nor mercy, for they are the children of harlotry. For their mother has played the harlot; she who conceived them has done shamefully, for she said, I will go after my lovers that give me my food and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my refreshing drinks. read more. Therefore, behold, I [the Lord God] will hedge up her way [even yours, O Israel] with thorns; and I will build a wall against her that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them [inquiring for and requiring them], but shall not find them. Then shall she say, Let me go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now. For she has not noticed, understood, or realized that it was I [the Lord God] Who gave her the grain and the new wine and the fresh oil, and Who lavished upon her silver and gold which they used for Baal and made into his image. Therefore will I return and take back My grain in the time for it and My new wine in the season for it, and will pluck away and recover My wool and My flax which were to cover her [Israel's] nakedness. And now will I uncover her lewdness and her shame in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of My hand. I will also cause to cease all her mirth, her feastmaking, her New Moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts and appointed festive assemblies. And I will lay waste and destroy her vines and her fig trees of which she has said, These are my reward or loose woman's hire that my lovers have given me; and I will make [her plantations] an inaccessible forest, and the wild beasts of the open country shall eat them. And I will visit [punishment] upon her for the feast days of the Baals, when she burned incense to them and decked herself with her earrings and nose rings and her jewelry and went after her lovers and forgot Me, says the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will allure her [Israel] and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her [Israel] and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart. There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor [troubling] to be for her a door of hope and expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt. read more. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you will call Me Ishi [my Husband], and you shall no more call Me Baali [my Baal]. For I will take away the names of Baalim [the Baals] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned or seriously remembered by their name. And in that day will I make a covenant for Israel with the living creatures of the open country and with the birds of the heavens and with the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow and the sword and [abolish battle equipment and] conflict out of the land and will make you lie down safely. And I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know (recognize, be acquainted with, appreciate, give heed to, and cherish) the Lord. And in that day I will respond, says the Lord; I will respond to the heavens [which ask for rain to pour on the earth], and they shall respond to the earth [which begs for the rain it needs], And the earth shall respond to the grain and the wine and the oil [which beseech it to bring them forth], and these shall respond to Jezreel [restored Israel, who prays for a supply of them]. And I will sow her for Myself anew in the land, and I will have love, pity, and mercy for her who had not obtained love, pity, and mercy; and I will say to those who were not My people, You are My people, and they shall say, You are my God!
Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God, [inquiring of and requiring Him] and [from the line of] David, their King [of kings]; and they shall come in [anxious] fear to the Lord and to His goodness and His good things in the latter days.
Though you, Israel, play the harlot and worship idols, let not Judah offend and become guilty; come not to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth-aven [contemptuous reference to Bethel, then noted for idolatry], nor swear [in idolatrous service, saying], As the Lord lives.
But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies before his [own] face. Therefore shall [all] Israel, and [especially] Ephraim [the northern ten tribes], totter and fall in their iniquity and guilt, and Judah shall stumble and fall with them.
The princes of Judah are like those who remove the landmark [the barrier between right and wrong]; I will pour out My wrath upon them like water.
Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim and like dry rot to the house of Judah [in My judgment against them]. When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to [Assyria's] great King Jareb [for help]. Yet he cannot heal you nor will he cure you of your wound [received in divine judgment].
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to [Assyria's] great King Jareb [for help]. Yet he cannot heal you nor will he cure you of your wound [received in divine judgment].
When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to [Assyria's] great King Jareb [for help]. Yet he cannot heal you nor will he cure you of your wound [received in divine judgment]. For I will be to Ephraim like a lion, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will rend and go on [rending]; I will carry off and there will be no one to deliver. read more. I will return to My place [on high] until they acknowledge their offense and feel their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction and distress they will seek, inquire for, and require Me earnestly, saying,
Yes, let us know (recognize, be acquainted with, and understand) Him; let us be zealous to know the Lord [to appreciate, give heed to, and cherish Him]. His going forth is prepared and certain as the dawn, and He will come to us as the [heavy] rain, as the latter rain that waters the earth. O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? [says the Lord] O Judah, what shall I do with you? For your [wavering] love and kindness are like the night mist or like the dew that goes early away.
Also, O Judah, there is a harvest [of divine judgment] appointed for you; when I would return My people from their captivity [in which they are slaves to the misery brought on by their own sins],
They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies. They are all [idolatrous] adulterers; their passion smolders like heat of an oven when the baker ceases to stir the fire from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened. read more. On the [special] day of our king the princes made themselves and him sick with the heat of wine; [the king] stretched out his hand with scoffers and lawless men. For they have made ready their heart, and their mind burns [with intrigue] like an oven while they lie in wait. Their anger smolders all night; in the morning it blazes forth as a flaming fire. They are all hot as an oven and devour their judges; all their kings are fallen; there is none among them who calls to Me.
Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart or understanding; they call to Egypt; they go to Assyria.
They set up kings, but not from Me [therefore without My blessing]; they have made princes or removed them [without consulting Me; therefore], I knew and recognized [them] not. With their silver and their gold they made idols for themselves, that they [the silver and the gold] may be destroyed.
For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass taking her own way by herself; Ephraim has hired lovers.
For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces and idol temples, and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire upon his cities and it shall devour his palaces and fortified buildings.
The inhabitants of Samaria shall be in terror for the calf [idol] of Beth-aven [the house of idolatry, contemptuously meaning Bethel], for its people shall mourn over it and its [idolatrous] priests who rejoiced over it [shall tremble] for the glory of [their calf god], because it is departed from it. [The golden calf] shall also be carried into Assyria as a tribute-gift to the fighting King Jareb; Ephraim shall be put to shame and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel [to set up calf worship and detach Israel from Judah].
Ephraim indeed is a heifer broken in and loving to tread out the grain, but I have [heretofore] spared the beauty of her fair neck. I will now set a rider upon Ephraim and make him to draw; Judah shall plow and Jacob shall break his clods.
They shall walk after the Lord, Who will roar like a lion; He Himself will roar and [His] sons shall come trembling and eagerly from the west. They shall come trembling but hurriedly like a bird out of Egypt and like a dove out of the land of Assyria, and I will cause them to dwell in their houses, says the Lord. read more. Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit, and Judah is not yet steadfast with God, with the faithful Holy One.
Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit, and Judah is not yet steadfast with God, with the faithful Holy One.
Ephraim herds and feeds on the wind and pursues the [parching] east wind; every day he increases lies and violence, and a covenant is made with Assyria and oil is carried to Egypt. The Lord has also a controversy (a pleading contention) with Judah, and will punish Jacob by visiting upon him according to his ways; according to his doings will He recompense him.
The Lord has also a controversy (a pleading contention) with Judah, and will punish Jacob by visiting upon him according to his ways; according to his doings will He recompense him.
The Lord has also a controversy (a pleading contention) with Judah, and will punish Jacob by visiting upon him according to his ways; according to his doings will He recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in [their mother's] womb, and in the strength [of his manhood] he contended and had power with God.