General Comments on Hosea Like Micah, Hosea was contemporary to Isaiah. So, we again have a book that has the same historical background and which contains similar imagery and rhetorical style. The more familiar one is with this prophetic style, the easier it will be to understand the book. However, unlike Isaiah and Micah, Hosea's primary target is Ephraim, the Northern Ten tribes. So while Isaiah and Micah mix their accusations with uplifting admonitions, Hosea bears down on Israel without apology. His sermons of ch. 4-13 are especially harsh and unrelenting. He speaks of future delivery and reconciliation, but contemporary Israel (now meaning the Northern Ten, led by Ephraim) is harshly rebuked and told that only as a result of the Lord's imminent punishment will they at some later date return to Him. Chapters 1-3 form a contiguous unit based upon subject, where the Lord tells Hosea to marry, have children, and give them particular names. Having the prophet do various literal actions with symbolic implications is common among the OT prophets, e.g., Isaiah barefoot and "naked", Isaiah's children being named as portents to Israel, Ezekiel making clay tiles and kicking them to pieces, and so on. The rest of the book, chapters 4-14 are composed of various statements of the Lord revealed to Hosea, documented, and presumably preached as sermons. Occasionally, Hosea inserts his comments into the text, but the vast majority of these later chapters is presented as being documentary of the Lord. General Comments on Hosea 1-3 "Take unto thee a wife of whoredoms" One of the obvious rhetorical devices employed in Hosea is the theme of Israel as a harlot, or prostitute. In the first three chapters we have Hosea apparently being told to marry a prostitute. Kind of surprising the Lord would tell a prophet to do this, especially when priests were explicitly forbidden from such, cf. Lev. 21:10-15. While Hosea wasn't a priest, we would still have to wonder what is going on. We need to explore the context of the prophetic rhetoric at work in order to understand what is happening here. If we look at Isa. 57 and Ezek. 16 we see some very graphic portrayals of Israel as an adulterous harlot. The imagery there is explained clearly and equates the figurative harlotry with literal idolatry, also cf. Judges 2:17, Micah 1:7. Thus, Hosea may not be marrying a literal harlot, but rather a figurative one using this symbolism of idolatry=harlotry. If we go beyond the first three chapters we see that this is in fact the case. In 4:4-10 we have the "mother" and "children" being addressed in the same manner as 2:2-4 for literal sins of rebellion and idolatry. Thus, we would conclude Hosea's did not necessarily marry a literal prostitute, but may have been typical Israelites who held the permissive attitude Israel had developed towards the Lord. The question remains though, is the accusation of prostitution to be taken literally? Probably not given the prohibition against priests marrying them. Given the status of prophets in Israel, it is safe to assume that such a union wouldn't be sanctioned, and the Lord wouldn't endorse a union with an unrepentant prostitute. Also, note the shift from third to first person in the two accounts: Hosea 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD. Hosea 3:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. Note 1:2 says "Hosea" and 3:1 is a first-person "me". It is common to use third-person for past events and first person for present or contemporaneous events. Thus, what is happening is ch. 1-2 may well be documentation as comment on past events in Hosea's life, while ch. 3 is a present command from the Lord contemporaneous to the writing of the text. Thus, his statements concerning her infidelity would be retrospective rather than predictive. Hosea would be effectively saying, "The Lord told me to marry a woman, a woman who ended up being unfaithful...just like Israel is unfaithful to the Lord". Hosea's Wives or Wife? When reading the first three chapters of Hosea one comes across a wedding in ch. 1 and then another wedding, or perhaps concubine, in ch. 3. The result is we have to figure out what is going on. The possibilities are: - plural marriage, two wives - marraige, divorce, remarriage to same woman - marraige, divorce, remarriage to different woman - marriage, widower, remarriage - no literal marriages at all I would be remiss if I didn't mention that some Christian commentators are more than willing to read these three chapters as not literally occurring, but rather as being visions or parables only, hence the "no literal marriages at all" entry above. This would largely be based upon the unseemliness of a prophet marrying a literal prostitute. Since there is ample evidence in the text that the women were not literal prostitutes, I see no need to suggest the contents of ch. 1-3 are a vision or anything like that. So, I'll reject that possibility right off given the very literal presentation of the text. That leaves four possibilities. There is no mention of any wives dying or anything like it even hinted at, so we can dismiss that one. Leaving us with the top three on the list. Lets review the text for some clues. In the first marriage, the woman is identified by name, in the second marriage she is not identified and no reason is given. Hosea's marriages are also held up as symbolic of the Lord's relationship with Israel. In that case, Israel is unfaithful to him but after some time she is chastened and the Lord takes her back again. So, in the symbolic marriage, there is a single wife that is divorced and then remarried. While it is not conclusive, the evidence points at the second choice in the list above. And, it would also explain why no name was given for the woman in the second marriage, we already know her name: Gomer. The odd thing here of it though is that we know well that the offense of adultery was a capital offense according to the Law. Yet, if the above scenario is correct, Gomer is not only spared she is forgiven. This would tie in with the subject of ch. 2 which is the sparing of Israel per the Abrahamic Covenant (2:10). But, it still leaves me scratching my head as to why. Perhaps after all Gomer went through she was genuinely repentant (as Israel is suppossed to ultimately be), and that justified leniency. And, perhaps Gomer never committed literal adultery, only figurative- spiritual adultery. Comments on Hosea 1 This chapter characterizes Hosea's first marriage and subsequent children as being symbolic of the Lord's relationship with Israel, similar to Isa. 8:18. The text of this chapter can be arranged into a chiasm contrasting the present and imminent rejection of Ephraim with the future acceptance of her by the Lord. The verses according to the JPS translation differ from the KJV enumeration, I have imposed the KJV enumeration upon the JPS translation for ease of comparison. 1 The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and in the reign of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel. A - 2 When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, "Go, get yourself a wife of whoredom and children of whoredom; for the land will stray from following the Lord." 3 So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim. B - She conceived and bore him a son, 4 and the Lord instructed him, "Name him Jezreel; for, I will soon punish the House of Jehu for the bloody deeds at Jezreel and put an end to the monarchy of the House of Israel. 5 In that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." C - 6 She conceived again and bore a daughter; and He said to him, "Name her Lo-ruhamah [i.e., not accepted]; for I will no longer accept the House of Israel or pardon them. (7 But I will accept the House of Judah. And I will give them victory through the Lord their God; I will not give them victory with bow and sword and battle, by horses and riders.)" D - 8 After weaning Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9 Then He said, "Name him Lo- ammi [i.e., not my people]; for you are not My people, and I will not be your [God]." E - 10 The number of the people of Israel shall be like that of the sands of the sea, E - which cannot be measured or counted; and D - instead of being told, "You are Not-My- People," they shall be called Children-of- the-Living-God. C - 11 The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall assemble together and appoint one head over them; B - and they shall rise from the ground for marvelous shall be the day of Jezreel [i.e., God shows]! A - 1 Oh, call your brothers "My People," And your sisters "Lovingly Accepted!" Summary: A - Get a wife and children of whoredom, because Israel strays B - Israel cursed for sins of Jezreel C - Not accepted, Israel and Judah divided D - You are not My people E - Israel like the sands of the sea E - They cannot be counted D - Children of the living God C - Israel and Judah united B - Marvelous shall be the day of Jezreel A - Israel is My people and lovingly accepted The chiasm pivots on the Abrahamic Covenant, which is addressed in the E's. Even though Israel is as described (1:2-9), because of the Abrahamic covenant (1:10a-b), the Lord will ultimately reverse their present condition (1:10c-2:1). v1 Opening statement common to the prophetic books identifying the author and the time period. v2 Just as the people of the land are committing "whoredoms" by rebelling against the Lord, Hosea is to take a wife of "whoredoms". Thus, Hosea's marriage to the prostitute represents the Lord's covenant relationship with Israel. v4 refers to the subject of 2 Kings 9. v5 refers to Assyria's sack of Israel under Tiglath-pileser. The breaking of the bow represents the completely powerless state Israel is left in when Assyria attacks, as though they had no weapons to fight with. v6 "Lo-ruhama", meaning "no mercy" according to the KJV, or "not accepted" according to the JPS. Israel will receive no mercy, her destruction is imminent. v7 While Israel will be utterly decimated, Judah will be spared at present. However, she will not be spared because of her own military power, but rather by the Lord's Providence, cf. Isa. 36- 37. v8 The inclusion of such details suggests it was a literal marriage and literal childbearing, contrary to the views of some who prefer to present ch. 1-3 as a vision or parable. v9 "Lo-ammi", meaning "not My people". The phrase is obviously pejorative. The Lord usually refers to Israel as "My people" (cf. Exod. 3:7-10), but here He rejects them altogether. v10-11 signals the curse reversal. While Israel shall be decimated, she shall return and ultimately be so vast a nation her people cannot be counted. Then, they shall no longer be called "not My people", but rather "children of God" (v. 10). Israel and Judah will be united under one leader, and the name Jezreel, meaning God shows (cp. v. 22), shall be for a blessing and not a curse as God shows His might in the redemption of Israel (v. 11). v10 The Abrahamic Covenant is cited as the reason why Israel is spared and has their fortunes reversed. For the sands of the sea, cp. Gen. 22:17, for not being able to be counted, cp. Gen. 15:5. See also Gen. 32:12. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. 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