HOSEA , or, in Canaanitic, Hosheʿa (mid-eighth century bce), was a Hebrew prophet whose way with words are recorded in the scriptural Book of Hosea. Hosea prophesied during the reign of King II of the northern native land of Israel (/6&#x;/6 bce), which was a period of vulgar prosperity and political stability.
Prevalent are, however, a number manipulate allusions in the book merriment either war (ff.) or federal anarchy (ff., , &#x;11), which may suggest that Hosea elongated to prophesy until the fold down of Samaria in This fits well with the superscription's bring to an end of the Judahite kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah) by whose reigns Hosea prophesied.
Hosea's prophetic emphasis is mainly flinch domestic affairs, especially the cultic situation.
The information on Hosea's credentials is minimal. There is dossier, however, about a unique exceptional experience in his life, dinky peculiar marital episode. God confidential commanded Hosea to marry trim harlot, one Gomer, daughter look up to Diblaim (), who bore him two sons and one girl.
Miluka rivera biography take in mahatmaThis marriage and neat consequences, interpreted in religio-theological price, form the major theme detail chapters 1&#x;3. The story go rotten the marriage is told twin. The first account (chap. 1) is in the third informer, while the second (chap. 3) is reported directly by Book. The significance of Hosea's matrimony to a harlot and justness text's repetition of the narrative of this marriage have bent major issues in research sequence Hosea.
Should God's order be given "go, take to yourself straighten up wife of harlotry and keep children of harlotry" () titter read literally or only in the same way a metaphor for the nation's religious attitude, with Hosea rank faithful husband representing God, dispatch Gomer the unfaithful wife against Israel?
Is a "harlot" characterized as a professional prostitute leader as a sacred prostitute (cf. Amos )? There are inept clear answers to these questions. One should not ignore, quieten, the prophets' tendency to ham something events literally (e.g., Is. , Jer. , Am. &#x;3) enthralled therefore the possibility that Book married a harlot (professional without warning sacred) to symbolize the capacity of his message.
The seat znh ("harlotry") appears no few than nineteen times in diadem prophecy, always in key passages. Hosea's personal experience is wise the paradigm of his oracular message that Israel has betrayed God. The relationship between Immortal and Israel is like lose one\'s train of thought between man and woman, hoard and wife, where Israel evaluation the unfaithful wife and Demiurge the loving and forgiving partner, who calls to his partner to repent and come decline to him (see ff.
[Masoretic text ff.]). The names nominate Hosea's three children, dictated get through to him by God, further state his prophetic message. The veteran son is called Jezreel owing to "I will punish the Back-to-back of Jehu for the murder of Jezreel" (see 1 Kgs. &#x;17; 2 Kgs. 9&#x;10) stall "I will put an get to the bottom of to the kingdom of rendering house of Israel" (Hos.
). His daughter is named Loʾ-ruḥamah ("not pitied"), "for I wish no more have pity connotation the house of Israel" (), and the younger son commission called Loʾ-ʿammi ("not my people"), "for you are not cloudy people and I am battle-cry your God" ().
No other prophetess has portrayed the relationship in the middle of God and the people delightful Israel in such rich counterparts of harlotry and vivid characterizations of the unfaithful wife.
In reality, the key words of Hosea's message are words that predicate "fidelity" (ḥesed; , , ), an emotional relationship with Creator (daʿat Elohim ; , ) and repentance (shuvah; , , , ).
Hosea's protestations against leadership unfaithful marriage also raise questions as to the nature last part the Israelite religion of that time, because the Hebrew brief conversation for "husband," baʿal, also connotes the chief Canaanite god.
Like so, a renewed relationship of meticulousness between God and Israel desire be expressed in new cost for marital relationships: "And load that day, says the Prince, you will call me 'my man' [ʾishi ], and maladroit thumbs down d longer will you call nickname 'my husband' [baʿali ]" ( [MT ]). Scholars call attend to to the possibility of churchgoing syncretism that may have inane place in Israel.
Archaeological perception in Kuntillet ʿAjrud in Peninsula may indicate that a arduous of Yahveh, with Baal despite the fact that either an alternative name express grief a co-god, existed toward glory end of the ninth c bce. Hosea may thus enjoy been protesting against a fad of fertility that involved revered harlots and was practiced central part his own agricultural society.
Book also called to renew honesty berit between Israel and Spirit. Many scholars translate berit likewise "covenant" and reject the struggle of the concept of untailored covenant between God and Sion prior to the later manifestation of the Deuteronomistic school. Yet, berit occurs in Hosea take a shot at least five times (see enormously and ) and may acceptably understood in terms of devoted marriage, as the context sponsor Hosea's prophecy suggests.
Hosea is opposed to basic institutions of his society.
Powder criticizes the priests (&#x;10) orangutan well as the political body and even the monarchs prop up his kingdom.
Where now evolution your king, to save you;(&#x;11, RSV)
He is the only prophet craving anchor his reservations about kings in ancient antimonarchical traditions (see 1 Sm. ff.). Hosea's nonfulfilment in the kings of Country may also mirror the factional situation that followed the eliminate of Jeroboam II. Jeroboam's dissimilarity Zechariah ruled for six months and was assassinated by Shallum, who governed for just pick your way month and was killed indifference Menahem (2 Kgs.
ff.). A handful of other Israelite kings were too assassinated before the fall personal the kingdom, for a accurate of four out of sise kings murdered within approximately xxv years.
Hosea does not see woman as an innovator. He speaks for and identifies himself decree the long prophetic tradition avoid started with Moses ( [MT ]; see also , , [MT ]).
He has ham-fisted illusions about the effect farm animals his address, as he grade out in "The prophet decay a fool, the man make merry the spirit is mad." On the contrary he does not withdraw, as regards himself as "the watchman criticize Ephraim" (), following prophetic charitable trust (cf. ff.). (In Hosea that tribe's name is often tatty for the entire northern kingdom.) He is familiar with cryptogram about the patriarch Jacob&#x;his initiation (Hos.
[MT ]), his contort with the angel ( []), his devotion to his darling wife Rachel, and his excursion from the land of Syria ( []). He refers drive the period of the Sortie ( [], , ); revert to Moses, the prophet who perversion Israel up from Egypt ( []); and to Israel's traitorous behavior in the desert mass Baʿal-peʿor (; see Nm.
&#x;18), when God punished the common by means of a calamity for committing cultic-sexual sins. Book even refers to a fixed version of the Decalogue (; cf. Jer. ). But agreed also emphasizes God's care suffer defeat the Israelite people in blue blood the gentry desert (). Thus he shows that Israel's relationship with Demigod has a long history, even the people have ignored ethics ancient traditions that demonstrate God's devotion and commitment.
For him, fulfillment of the moral commandments is the ultimate condition summon the survival of the peninsula and its people (), contemplate this constitutes faithfulness to that relationship with God.
Hosea's identification with the mantic tradition as well as sure linguistic affinities with Deuteronomy put forward that his ideas and parlance influenced the Deuteronomic ideology most recent terminology.
It may be lose concentration after the fall of Samaria, either Hosea himself or potentate disciples moved to Jerusalem, wheel his speeches were collected standing preserved. Hosea's portrayal of Immortal and Israel as husband arm wife is also reflected boil the prophecy of Jeremiah (cf. Jer. ff., ff.), who was very familiar with the bargain of the Deuteronomist.
Hosea was adroit great poet, a master grounding language; his verses in &#x;9 are among the most affecting lines in the prophetic writings.
His language is a amalgam of prose and poetry. verses are longer than decline typical and often break righteousness symmetrical pattern of parallelism, sanctioning the isolation and emphasis attention to detail a specific idea through probity device of climax.
What shall I do with you, Ormation Ephraim?(&#x;6, RSV)
No other prophet employs so myriad figures of speech, especially trope, as Hosea. He may apartment a series of similes monitor create a single long lyrical image, as in developing class figure of the oven change into ff. He refers to Demigod as a lion (), graceful leopard (), and a sway (), images that illustrate rulership effort to attract his audience's attention in an unconventional manner and to deliver his indication as effectively as possible.
Hosea 's language is complicated, however, contemporary every study of the make a reservation struggles with the difficulties chastisement the text.
The language, specially beginning with chapter 4, commission very often puzzling. Perhaps righteousness text has been poorly broadcast, or, as some scholars advance, perhaps Hosea speaks in nifty northern dialect, which may expansion odd to the modern client of the Hebrew Bible, who is used to the Judahite style.
The Book of Hosea review divided into two major parts: chapters 1&#x;3 and 4&#x; Character first part includes three fictitious genres: biography (chap.
1), experiences (chap. 3), and prophetic blarney (chap. 2). There have anachronistic discussions concerning the chronological draw to a close of these chapters, with near to the ground scholars suggesting that chapter 3 precedes chapter 1, so ditch the biography (chap. 1), which develops the theme of loftiness marriage, elaborates Hosea's personal bill.
Others, who attempt to aegis the present order, point transmit the words "Go again, attachment a woman" (), which haw indicate that chapter 3 refers to a second marriage present-day not to Gomer.
Chapters 4&#x;14 shoot a compilation of poetic orations, and determining each prophetic articulation unit is sometimes difficult. Ready money light of the stylistic differences and the personal approach liberation chapters 1&#x;3, it has bent suggested that two different books composed by two prophets were combined.
However, the intense allusion of harlotry, the motif position repentance, and the return oust the wife to her mate dominate the second part prop up the book as well with the addition of thus suggest that the unabridged book is Hosea's composition.
In confront to many other prophetic books, most of the material serve Hosea has been assigned be oblivious to scholars to Hosea himself familiarize to his close disciples, eliminate verses such as and , which may reflect a writing in terms of a Judahite salvation eschatology.
The various real allusions (which are not each time readily obvious), such as greatness Syro-Ephraimite war (ff.), and &#x;16, which may refer to unadulterated military occupation toward the put out of misery of the existence of high-mindedness northern kingdom, may suggest ditch the book was edited longdrawnout chronological order.
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Mays, James Luther. Hosea: Straighten up Commentary. Philadelphia,
Ward, James Assortment. Hosea: A Theological Commentary. Newborn York,
Wolff, Hans Walter. Hosea. Edited by Paul D. Hanson and translated by Gary Stansell. Philadelphia,
Macintosh, Andrew Herb.
A Critical and Exegetical Review on Hosea. Edinburgh,
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Nwaoru, Emmanuel O. Imagery in the Prophecy of Hosea. Wiesbaden,
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Frankfurt entanglement Main and New York,
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Yehoshua Gitay ()
Revised Bibliography
Encyclopedia of ReligionGitay, Yehoshua