Introduction to Hosea

Hosea is the first book in the collection of the Minor Prophets (also called ‘The Twelve’), a description that simply refers to the size of these prophetic books rather than to their significance. While this is a loose collection of books, there are certain themes that run through it and Hosea is particularly significant because it opens the collection and sets the tone.

The prophet and the book’s historic background

The eighth century BC, when the prophet Hosea lived, was one of enormous change in Israel and the geopolitics of the region. During the first half of that time, Israel had relative peace and prosperity during Jeroboam II’s reign (786-746 BC; 2 Kings 14:23-27).[1] It was the last hurrah of Israel’s glory days before the darkness and God’s judgment closed in on them. Jeroboam II was politically successful but spiritually bankrupt, following in the footsteps of his namesake, the divided Israel’s first king, Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:26-33). He and Israel worshipped golden calves and other gods and while God was gracious to them, they did not repent. Amos prophesied during these prosperous years (Amos 1:1), possibly in the 760s BC and he and Hosea may have known each other.

Few of the prophecies in the Book of Hosea reflect this affluent phase, so it is more likely that Hosea began his ministry in the latter years of Jeroboam II, perhaps around 750 BC. After the king’s death, his son, Zechariah took over, who was the fourth generation after Jehu and was assassinated within six months of ascending the throne (2 Kings 15:8). This fulfilled God’s Word to Jehu that his dynasty will (only) endure for four generations after him (2 Kings 10:30; 15:12). Hosea, in fact, prophesied the end of the dynasty as punishment for Jehu’s massacre at Jezreel (Hos 1:4 cf. 2 Kings 10:1-11).

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It is at this point, from 745 BC onwards, that the international situation changes as Assyria emerges from its internal struggles and begins to expand south towards Syria (Aram) and Israel. For the rest of Israel’s brief history, king follows king in quick succession, usually through assassination, with each king trying to manoeuvre between an Assyrian and anti-Assyrian alliance until Assyria eventually overruns Israel and deports the people into exile in 722 BC.

Apart from the political chaos of unstable reigns, shifting international allegiances, and the heavy burden of tributes paid to ward off an Assyrian disaster, the spiritual state of Israel continues to be a mixture of worshipping Yahweh and gods associated with fertility, Baal and Asherah. Additionally, even when Israel worships Yahweh, they use images like golden calves to represent the deity. It is this world that the prophet addresses calling them to repentance before it is too late.

We know nothing of the prophet’s personal life beyond God’s command that he should marry ‘a prostitute’ as a visible representation of Israel’s unfaithfulness to their God (Hos 1:2). It is not clear if Gomer was a professional prostitute or simply an unfaithful woman, but her children’s symbolic names reflect both God’s judgement and mercy in the analogous relationship between God and His people. Most prophecies in the book focus on Israel (with occasional asides about Judah) and mention geographical locations in the northern kingdom. Thus, the majority of scholars believe that Hosea prophesied in the north and that the references to Judah are rhetorical (i.e. an acknowledgement that they were no better than Israel, rather than a direct address to them).

Hosea as a book

It is uncertain when Hosea’s prophecies were written down and collected into a book, but it is probable that the final edition was put together in Judah. This is because the superscription marking the time of Hosea’s ministry (Hos 1:1) only lists Jeroboam II on Israel’s side and follows it with the list of kings from Judah who cover the same period as Jeroboam, his son and the usurpers after them. Hosea may have written down some of his prophecies or his disciples did and the material found its way to Judah via refugees fleeing the Assyrian conquest.

Structure

It should be noted that prophetic books are not put together as a historic exercise so that we have an exhaustive list of everything a prophet said in chronological order. Rather, a selection of prophecies is arranged in such a way (often thematically) that another generation may hear God’s message afresh. In this, it is much like the gospels that select events and teaching from Jesus’ life to make a point about who He was and what He did, so that people may believe (e.g. John 20:30-31).

The Book of Hosea falls into three parts. In the first, Hosea is commanded by God to marry and experience the unfaithfulness of his spouse, which illustrates God’s relationship with unfaithful Israel. This is followed by two cycles of prophecies that start with judgment and end with a message of hope.[2]

Hosea 1-3 – Hosea’s marriage illustrates God’s relationship with Israel

Hosea 4-11 – First Prophetic Cycle: from sin and judgment to God’s overruling love

Hosea 12-14 – Second Prophetic Cycle: from sin and God’s anger to repentance and blessing

Themes

The most dominant theme of the book is that the worship of God is primarily about a relationship with Him that is as personal and intimate as marriage. The Lord does not simply tally up our sins on a giant ledger in an impersonal way, as if it were neither nor there to Him what the outcome is. Unfaithfulness to God, whether it involves the worship of other gods or unjust behaviour towards other people, is as painful to Him as adultery is in a marriage. Another relational image used in the book is that of a father dealing with a rebellious son (Hosea 11) and who could not relate to the heartache of seeing a wayward child refusing to budge from their destructive stance? This is at the heart of Old Testament prophecy and all other problems flow from disregarding this relationship. Not surprising then that this book heads up the collection of the Minor Prophets.

The second theme and related to this is God’s enduring love towards His people, His promiscuous bride in one image and His rebellious son in another. In fact, few passages are as moving as the one describing God, the bridegroom, wooing back His bride to faithfulness (Hos 2:14-20) and God, the father, wrestling with His overwhelming love for His wayward son.

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[1] Dating the reigns of kings in the Bible is notoriously difficult because many of the kings co-reigned with their father/son and it is not always clear from the records of the Book of Kings whether the numbers for the regnal years include co-regencies or not. Additionally, how the regnal years of a king were calculated varied in Israel and in Judah at different dates in their histories. Thus, sometimes the year of accession was counted as a king’s first regnal year (even if it was not a full year). At other times, the calculation was from the first full year of a king’s reign after the accession year. Thus, if we simply add up the regnal years of each king, we get a much higher number than is feasible, given what we know of the dates of certain historic events or the reigns of other historic kings outside Israel. Since there are different reconstructions of the regnal dates of kings in Israel and Judah, the ones I give here should be taken as an approximation. I follow here the dates given by John Bright, A History of Israel, rev. ed. (London: SCM, 1972), 254.

[2] Most commentators recognise this threefold division, though they describe the content somewhat differently. I followed and somewhat adapted here the categories used by Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, An Introduction to the Old Testament (Leicester: Apollos, 1995), 359.

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