Hosea

Composition

The book of Hosea is part of the Hebrew and Christian bibles. Within the Hebrew Bible, Hosea is included in the larger Book of the Twelve, which contains the works of the twelve minor prophets. Within the Christian Bible, Hosea is a separate, stand-alone work about these prophets. The works of the twelve minor prophets are significantly shorter than those of the four major prophets, which include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. However, the minor prophets still provide valuable insight into the relationship between the ancient Jews and God. In both the Hebrew and Christian bibles, Hosea is the first book of the twelve.

Hosea is one of the oldest books in the Hebrew Bible, dating back to between 760 and 720 BCE. Notably, it is older than the Pentateuch, the final arrangement of the Hebrew Torah. The events in Hosea account for contextual knowledge of the political environment surrounding its composition. At the time, the Assyrian Empire had become a major threat to both Israel and Judah. Conflict between Judah, Israel’s southern neighbor, and Israel had forced Judah into a military alliance with the Assyrians. However, the alliance cost Judah heavily, significantly draining its economy. After three decades, Judah decided to refuse to pay tribute to Assyria, risking conflict with its much larger neighbor. This eventually resulted in a war between Judah and Assyria. These facts were common knowledge to the people for whom the Book of Hosea was originally written.

The text of Hosea is traditionally attributed to the prophet Hosea, whose life is described within the work. However, like many biblical works, the true authorship of the Hosea is a matter of academic debate. Because of the age of the work, no one can be certain whether the text was genuinely composed by the biblical figure.

Summary

When the events in the book of Hosea began, many people living in Israel believed that their covenant with God had been fulfilled. They were certain that the Jewish people would be safe in Israel forever, and no significant harm could befall them. However, as the Jewish people continued to stray from the covenant, events quickly caused the Israelites to lose faith in their safety. The government of Israel became extremely unstable, with the title of king changing rapidly between various individuals. In many cases, these governmental changes were carried out through violent coups. As an additional complication, tensions between Israel and its larger neighbor, the Assyrian Empire, continued to rise. Israel paid the Assyrians a large tribute to stave off invasion, but many Jewish people believed that an invasion was imminent. Furthermore, they did not believe that Israel would be able to resist an attack from the large Assyrian armies.

The large tribute that Israel paid to Assyria was difficult for the government to support. To raise the necessary funds to please the Assyrians, the government of Israel was forced to significantly increase taxes. Many Israelites were angered by the thought of their leaders forcing them to pay money to a foreign power, resulting in several rebellions against the government. Additionally, though the Jewish people had previously been prospering in Israel, the nation’s change in fortune caused many to struggle financially. The priests of Israel performed sacrifices and rituals to God, hoping for divine guidance to reduce taxes. However, these efforts proved futile, and Israel’s prospects continued to darken.

Hosea lived in Israel during these dangerous times. Following the will of God, Hosea married a local woman named Gomer who was continuously unfaithful, displeasing Hosea. Though Gomer bore three children during their relationship, none was fathered by Hosea. Hosea eventually divorced his wife. Gomer was unable to support herself without Hosea and became a slave. However, because Hosea still loved her, he purchased her freedom.

The text suggests that the relationship between Hosea and Gomer is symbolic of the continued relationship between God and Israel. God entered into a covenant with Israel in good faith, assuming that Israel would also abide by the terms of their agreement. However, while God remained faithful to Israel, the people of Israel continued to break their covenant with God. They worshipped foreign idols, acted deceitfully, refusing to live as God had requested. Particularly, many Israelites worshipped the Canaanite deity Baal, offending God. The Israelites replaced many of the rituals that they had used when worshipping Yahweh with rituals associated with Baal.

Because God was offended by the Israelites’ actions, he withdrew the protection of the covenant. Hosea was told that this meant God was allowing Israel to be invaded by the Assyrians. However, because God still cared for the people of Israel, he helped them prosper in the future, hoping that they would one day return to the covenant.

In his writings, Hosea portrays Yahweh as a loving God. Though God occasionally punishes the Israelites, these punishments are not carried out from a place of cruelty. Instead, God hopes that his chosen people will return to a righteous path and his reprimands will guide them in their choices. Additionally, Hosea believes that God acts mercifully by continuing to forgive the Israelites despite their repeated breaches of the covenant.

Like many of the prophetic books in the Hebrew and Christian bibles, Hosea does not portray God as an apathetic or ambivalent creator figure. The God of Hosea did not create the world and then leave it to its own devices. Yahweh is portrayed in an anthropomorphic manner, displaying feelings of compassion, love, and frustration.

Themes

Many of the themes present in Hosea revolve around the relationship between God and the Israelites. One common theme is Hosea’s idea of knowing God. As presented in Hosea, devoutly religious people should not just be obedient to the rules of their faith but should strive for knowledge of the divine. Hosea believed that once individuals truly know God, they find themselves incapable of disobeying his laws.

Marriage is repeatedly referenced throughout the text of Hosea. The prophet discusses his own troubles with marriage, in which God instructed him to marry a woman who mistreated him. Though Hosea holds strongly to the bonds of his sacred promise, his wife continually breaks those bonds. Eventually, this results on Hosea retreating from the marriage, separating from his wife. Despite her many sins, Hosea still loves his wife, and helps her when she is in trouble. This relationship serves as a metaphor for God’s relationship with the Jewish people. Though the Jewish people are repeatedly unfaithful to God, and though he must sometimes rescind his protections and gifts, he will continue to aid the Jewish people in their times of need.

Divine punishment is another theme of Hosea. God continually punishes the Israelites for breaking the covenant, just as Hosea punished his wife for breaking the bonds of marriage. These punishments are considered just, as the Israelites have acted immorally by worshipping other deities. However, as Yahweh is not motivated by vengeance or personal injury, he is not particularly concerned with making punishments perfectly fit crimes. Instead, God is concerned with the redemption of the Jewish people and creating the circumstances most likely for them to be redeemed. Unfortunately for the Israelites, these circumstances involve allowing other nations to tear down Israel so that it can be rebuilt in a stronger, more ethical way. This means that the Israelites must replace both their political and religious leaders with those who obey the covenant and do not worship foreign gods.

Hosea focuses on the potential for redemption. He believes that God focuses on the redemption of the Jewish people and is eternally merciful. Hosea believes that the Jewish people should revere God for displaying such kindness. Similarly, Hosea thinks that Jews should display similar qualities toward their fellow humans. Though Hosea punishes his wife for infidelity by divorcing her, he also saves her from slavery to help her recover and redeem herself. To be just, Hosea shows that these acts should be carried out to benefit all of society and not just the injured party.

Throughout Hosea, God continually references himself as the true judge of the Jewish people. In the past, God granted Israel’s desire for a human ruler of Israel. However, though some of these rulers carried out God’s will, many were faithless. Not only did they fail to uphold the bounds of the covenant, but also worked to sway the Jewish people away from God. In Hosea, God asserts that he is the true God of the Jewish people, with authority greater than the Jewish kings. He shows that the Jewish people are not solely beholden to their mortal leaders and always have an obligation to their covenant and Yahweh.

Bibliography

“Book of Hosea.” BibleStudyTools, 2022, www.biblestudytools.com/hosea/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“Book of Hosea.” Oxford Bibliographies, 2022, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0248.xml. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“Hosea.” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2022, bible.usccb.org/bible/hosea/0. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“Hosea and Amos: Prophets to the North.” My Jewish Learning, 2022, www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hosea-amos-prophets-to-the-north/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“Hosea, Book of.” Jewish Encyclopedia, www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7895-hosea-book-of. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“Religious and Theological Studies.” Loras College Library, 2022, library.loras.edu/c.php?g=100542&p=1075794. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.

“The Prophet Hosea.” Chabad.org, 2022, www.chabad.org/library/article‗cdo/aid/464006/jewish/The-Prophet-Hosea.htm/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2022.