THE BOOK OF HOSEA
A report by:
Anthony Bernard Wang
INTRODUCTION
We know nothing of Hosea’s life or upbringing. The
book’s focus is on one event: his tragic marriage.
Hosea’s compassionate tone is remarkable; the frequent
comparisons with Jeremiah in the Old Testament and
John in the New are appropriate. Overwhelmed by
God’s boundless love (see 11:8f.), he reached out in
concern for his countrymen. Unlike Amos, he was
preaching to his own people. Though at times
unsparing in his indictments, he was never cold or
heartless. What contributed most to Hosea’s empathy
was his own suffering and rejection. Like Jeremiah, he
had felt something of God’s own heartbreak and was
stamped with an imprint of divine compassion.
William Sanford – Old Testament Survey
BASIC OUTLINE
I. The Unfaithful Wife (chaps. 1–3)
II. The Unfaithful People (chaps. 4–14)
IMPORTANT DATA OF HOSEA
1. Key Word: God’s love for Israel
2. Key Chapter: 2—A description of love
3. Key Verses: 1:2–9; 2:5–8; 3:1–5
4. Key Characters: Hosea and Gomer
5. Meaning of “Hosea”: Name derives from God’s
faithful prophet 6. Geography of Hosea: Israel
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS ON
HOSEA
Hosea calls the Northern Kingdom by several names:
Israel, Ephraim, and Samaria (e.g., 4:16–17; 5:9–13; 7:1;
10:6–7). Israel, of course, is the usual designation;
Samaria was the capital city of the Northern Kingdom and
its name symbolized the entire nation; Ephraim is used
because the tribe by that name was the most powerful of
the tribes in the Northern Kingdom. The nation had
degenerated morally and spiritually so that they were
much like the nations Joshua had driven out of the land
many centuries before. Hosea was sent, as God’s last
prophet, into this decaying situation. For a short period of
time Hosea probably ministered as a contemporary of
Amos in the North and Isaiah and Micah in the South.
Paul N. Benware – Old Testament Survey
BRIEF SUMMARRY
The first major section of the prophecy focuses on the
prophet’s family situation, which will become a basis for
much of Hosea’s message to Israel (1:1–3:5). Extreme times
often call for extreme or unusual methods. The nation of
Israel had heard the words of many of God’s prophets, but
the messages of these spokesmen for God had fallen on
insensitive ears (cf. Dan. 9:6, 10). So God chose to use a
rather extreme approach to get the attention of His people.
God chose to use His prophet and his family as an object
lesson for Israel. Hosea’s family, or more specifically, Hosea’s
relationship with his wife, would become an illustration of
God’s love for Israel. Hosea would love his wife even though
she would be unfaithful to him, just as God loved Israel even
though she had been quite unfaithful to Him.
The second major division of this prophecy is a message to
this unfaithful nation that had received so much from the
Lord (4:1–14:9). The nation of Israel (the Northern
Kingdom) had forsaken her “husband” and had gone after
other gods—spiritual adultery. Her forsaking of the Lord
had bred a multitude of sins that are enumerated by Hosea
—unfaithfulness, swearing, deception, murder, stealing,
adultery, rebellion, idolatry, disobedience, pride,
stubbornness, and involvement in spiritism (4:1–2, 10–14,
16; 5:5; 6:8–10). Hosea observes that the leaders who
should have been giving good guidance to the people were
just as sinful as the people (4:9, 18; 5:1; 7:5; 9:15).
Paul N. Benware – Old Testament Survey
AUTHORSHIP, DATE, AND INTEGRITY
OF THE TEXT
The prophet Hosea was apparently a citizen of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel, for he refers to the
ruler in Samaria as “our king” (7:5). Judah is
mentioned only incidentally, whereas the interest is
centered on the ten tribes. The author’s diction
betrays traces of dialect not found in Judah but
suggestive of North Israel near the Aramaic-
speaking territory of Syria. Hosea’s family was of
sufficient social standing for his father’s name
(Beeri) to be mentioned. We have no other
biographical details apart from those which he
supplies in his own prophecies.
Gleason L. Archer Jr.- A Survey of Old Testament
The Liberal critics attribute substantially all this prophecy to
the historic Hosea. The only passages that have been challenged
as later insertions are those which refer to Judah (so Marti and
Nowack); or those sections, like 11:8–11 and 14:2–9 (so Volz
and Marti), which predict future blessing or national
deliverance. Eissfeldt and Bentzen, however, do not feel
disposed to rule out categorically every mention of salvation
after punishment, nor even every mention of Judah. Since even
in the undoubtedly genuine portions of the book, such as
chapters 1–3, the possibility is held out of future deliverance of
the nation, those few verses which they label as glosses are
denied to Hosea on other grounds. As for the mention of Judah,
Young rightly points out (IOT, p. 244) that the prophet regards
the government of the Northern Kingdom as a usurpation,
implying that only the Davidic dynasty is legitimate
Except for what can be gleaned from the text
itself, nothing is known about Hosea. He was
probably from the Northern Kingdom, as there
are numerous geographic notations in the
message (e.g., 4:15; 5:1; 6:8). His ministry is
clearly dated by the reigns of four southern
kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah)
and Jeroboam II of the North (1:1). 750 B.C.
would be a reasonable date for this prophecy.
Paul N. Benware – Survey of the Old Testament
Hosea’s Time of Composition
Not all the prophecies in this book seem to have been
delivered at the same period in the prophet’s career. A
portion of these must have been given before the death of
Jeroboam II (753 B.C.), since chapter 1 interprets the
symbolic meaning of Jezreel to signify that the dynasty of
Jehu is to be violently ended. This was fulfilled in 752 when
Shallum assassinated Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam. On
the other hand, chapter 5 seems to have been directed
against King Menahem (752–742). Chapter 7 must be dated
a decade or two later; it denounces the government’s policy
of double-dealing whereby Egypt is pitted against Assyria,
and this policy is not known to have been followed by Israel
prior to the reign of Hoshea (732–723 B.C.).
Gleason L. Archer Jr. - A Survey of Old Testament
A decade or so after Amos came north to denounce
Jeroboam’s court, the Lord called Hosea, a son of
the northern kingdom, to the prophetic ministry.
His message, proclaimed over many years,
resounds with God’s grace and judgment. Hosea’s
book was chosen to head the collection of Minor
Prophets, all of which were written on one scroll,
called “the Book of the Twelve.” He was among the
earliest of the writing prophets, and his book,
which is the longest of the pre-exilic prophetic
works, contains the major prophetic themes of
doom and hope.
William Sanford – Old Testament Survey
Hosea did not minister in pleasant times. Israel
was in as bad a spiritual and moral situation as
she had ever been. And it was just as bad
politically. After the death of Jeroboam II,
murder and intrigue were common in Israeli
politics. Out of the last six kings on the throne,
only one died a natural death in office (cf. 2
Kings 15:10–30). Morally and spiritually the
people were almost completely defiled.
Paul N. Benware – Survey of the Old Testament
PURPOSE
This prophecy was God’s last voice to the
Northern Kingdom of Israel before its
destruction. It was a gracious attempt to rescue
individuals out of the doomed nation. This
message of judgment was fulfilled within a few
years.
Paul N. - Survey of the Old Testament
HOSEA’S MESSAGE TO ISRAEL
In two distinct sections—4:1–11:11 and 11:12–
14:9—the book lays bare the sins of Israel with
shocking detail. These chapters unpack the
meaning of the accusation: “the land commits
great whoredom by forsaking the LORD” (1:2).
Whereas the outline of Amos’ prophecy jumps
out at us, for Hosea’s we have to search closely.
What we find for the first and longest section of
speeches is something like this:
OUTLINE
Introduction: general indictment of the nation (4:1-3)
The covenant is shattered because (4:4–5:7)
The priests have failed to teach the law, (4:4-10)
the people have corrupted their God-given religion, (4:11-19)
The entire leadership has strayed from the faith. (5:1-7)
The politics have run amok in (5:8–7:16)
Conflict with Judah, Israel’s southern neighbor, (5:8-15)
Rebellion against kings (6:1–7:7)
Fickleness in foreign policy, (7:8-12)
Revolt against the call of God. (7:13-16)
Israel’s religious life is ripe for destruction because of (8:1–9:9)
Obsession with idolatry (8:1-6)
foolish foreign alliances, (8:7-10)
mindless feasts and sacrifices. (8:11–9:9).
The calling of Israel as God’s people was unfulfilled, as (9:10–11:11)
Instead of being God’s choice fruit they became devotees of the
Baals (9:10-17)
Instead of being God’s luxuriant vine they became admirers of a
golden calf (10:1-10)
Instead of being God’s pet heifer they were to become God’s
plough ox, (10:11-15)
Instead of being God’s cherished child they became an unruly
delinquent. (11:1-11)
END
