HOSEA

Introduction from the NIV Study Bible | Go to Hosea

AUTHOR AND DATE

Hosea son of Beeri prophesied about the middle of the eighth century b.c., his ministry
beginning during or shortly after that of Amos. Amos threatened God’s judgment on Israel at the
hands of an unnamed enemy; Hosea identifies that enemy as Assyria (7:11; 8:9; 10:6; 11:11).
Judging from the kings mentioned in 1:1, Hosea must have prophesied for at least 38 years, though
almost nothing is known about him from sources outside his book. He was the only one of the writing
prophets to come from the northern kingdom (Israel), and his prophecy is primarily directed to that
kingdom. But since his prophetic activity is dated by reference to kings of Judah, the book was
probably written in Judah after the fall of the northern capital, Samaria (722–721 b.c.)—an idea
suggested by references to Judah throughout the book (1:7,11; 4:15; 5:5,10,12–
13; 6:4,11; 10:11; 11:12; 12:2). Whether Hosea himself authored the book that preserves his
prophecies is not known. The book of Hosea stands first in the division of the Bible called the Book
of the Twelve (in the Apocrypha cf. Ecclesiastes 4:10; see essay, p. 1790) or the Minor Prophets (a
name referring to the brevity of these books as compared to Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel).

BACKGROUND
Hosea lived in the tragic final days of the northern kingdom, during which six kings (following
Jeroboam II) reigned within 25 years (2Ki 15:8—17:6). Four (Zechariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, Pekah)
were murdered by their successors while in office, and one (Hoshea) was captured in battle; only
one (Menahem) was succeeded on the throne by his son. These kings, given to Israel by God “in
anger” and taken away “in wrath” (13:11), floated away “like a twig on the surface of the waters”
(10:7). “Bloodshed” followed “bloodshed” (4:2). Assyria was expanding westward, and Menahem
accepted that world power as overlord and paid tribute (2Ki 15:19–20). But shortly afterward, in 733
b.c., Israel was dismembered by Assyria because of the intrigue of Pekah (who had gained Israel’s
throne by killing Pekahiah, Menahem’s son and successor). Only the territories of Ephraim and
western Manasseh were left to the king of Israel. Then, because of the disloyalty of Hoshea (Pekah’s
successor), Samaria was captured and its people exiled in 722–721, bringing the northern kingdom
to an end.

THEOLOGICAL THEME AND MESSAGE

The first part of the book (chs. 1–3) narrates the family life of Hosea as a symbol (similar to the
symbolism in the lives of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) to convey the message the prophet had from
the Lord for his people. God ordered Hosea to marry an adulterous wife, Gomer, and their three
children were each given a symbolic name representing part of the ominous message. Ch.
2 alternates between Hosea’s relation to Gomer and its symbolic representation of God’s relation to
Israel. The children are told to drive the unfaithful mother out of the house; but it was her reform, not
her riddance, that was sought. The prophet was ordered to continue loving her, and he took her back
and kept her in isolation for a while (ch. 3). The affair graphically represents the Lord’s relation to the
Israelites (cf. 2:4,9,18), who had been disloyal to him by worshiping Canaanite deities as the source
of their abundance. Israel was to go through a period of exile (cf. 7:16; 9:3,6,17; 11:5). But the Lord
still loved his covenant people and longed to take them back, just as Hosea took back Gomer. This
return is described with imagery recalling the exodus from Egypt and settlement in Canaan
(cf. 1:11; 2:14–23; 3:5; 11:10–11; 14:4–7). Hosea saw Israel’s past experiences with the Lord as the
fundamental pattern, or type, of God’s future dealings with his people.

The second part of the book (chs. 4–14) gives the details of Israel’s involvement in Canaanite
religion, but a systematic outline of the material is difficult. Like other prophetic books, Hosea issued
a call to repentance. Israel’s alternative to destruction was to forsake her idols and return to the Lord
(chs. 6; 14). Information gleaned from materials discovered at Ugarit (dating from the 15th century
b.c.; see chart, p. xxiii) enables us to know more clearly the religious practices against which Hosea
protested.

Hosea saw the failure to acknowledge God (4:1,6; 8:2–3; 13:4) as Israel’s basic problem. God’s
relation to Israel was that of love (2:19; 4:1; 6:6; 10:12; 12:6). The intimacy of the covenant
relationship between God and Israel, illustrated in the first part of the book by the husband-wife
relationship, is later amplified by the father-child relationship (11:1–4). Disloyalty to God was spiritual
adultery (4:13–14; 5:4; 9:1; cf. Jer 3; see note on Ex 34:15). Israel had turned to Baal worship and
had sacrificed at the pagan high places, which included associating with the sacred prostitutes at the
sanctuaries (4:14) and worshiping the calf images at Samaria (8:5; 10:5–6; 13:2). There was also
international intrigue (5:13; 7:8–11) and materialism. Yet despite God’s condemnation and the
harshness of language with which the unavoidable judgment was announced, the major purpose of
the book is to proclaim God’s compassion and covenant love that cannot—finally—let Israel go.

SPECIAL PROBLEMS
The book of Hosea has at least two perplexing problems. The first concerns the nature of the story
told inchs. 1–3 and the character of Gomer. While some interpreters have thought the story to be
merely an allegory of the relation between God and Israel, others claim, more plausibly, that the
story is to be taken literally. Among the latter, some insist that Gomer was faithful at first and later
became unfaithful, others that she was unfaithful even before the marriage.

The second problem of the book is the relation of ch. 3 to ch. 1. Despite the fact that no children are
mentioned in ch. 3, some interpreters claim that the two chapters are different accounts of the same
episode. The traditional interpretation, however, is more likely, namely, that ch. 3 is a sequel to ch. 1
—i.e., after Gomer proved unfaithful, Hosea was instructed to take her back.

OUTLINE
 Superscription (1:1)

 The Unfaithful Wife and the Faithful Husband (1:2—3:5)

o The Children as Signs (1:2—2:1)

o The Unfaithful Wife (2:2–23)

2. The Lord’s restoration of Israel (2:14–23)

o The Faithful Husband (ch. 3)

 The Unfaithful Nation and the Faithful God (chs. 4–14)

o Israel’s Unfaithfulness (4:1—6:3)

1. The general charge (4:1–3)

2. The cause declared and the results described (4:4–19)

3. A special message to the people and leaders (ch. 5)

4. The people’s sorrowful plea (6:1–3)

o Israel’s Punishment (6:4—10:15)

1. The case stated (6:4—7:16)

2. The judgment pronounced (chs. 8–9)

3. Summary and appeal (ch. 10)

o The Lord’s Faithful Love (chs. 11–14)

1. The Lord’s fatherly love (11:1–11)

2. Israel’s punishment for unfaithfulness (11:12—13:16)

3. Israel’s restoration after repentance (ch. 14)