This marriage was arranged in order to serve to the prophet as a symbol of israels unfaithfulness to the lord. Study guide for hosea 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. According to the superscription, hosea began his prophetic activity. Throughout the book, hosea will show us that salvation is found in turning to. It comes from the same hebrew root hoshea as the names joshua and jesus. Ephraim was the largest tribe in israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as ephraim.
He lived in southern judea but spent his life prophesying about the apostasy of the northern kingdom during the reigns of jeroboam ii and uzziah. The book of hosea stands first in the division of the bible called the book of the twelve in the apocrypha cf. When this is true it all too easily leads to compromise, selfish ambition, and lack of integrity in ones personal activities and dealings. The english names are from the septuagint and vulgate translations. The prophets followed the torah, the five books of the law of moses beginning with genesis, and preceded the writings beginning with psalms and the wisdom literature in hebrew scripture.
Hosee, son of beeri, was an 8thcentury bc prophet in israel who authored the book of prophecies bearing his name. Hosea, prophet amazing bible timeline with world history. Hosea appears to have had the temperament of a poet. He was required by god to marry a harlot and use his marriage as a teaching tool for telling israel about their sins and betrayal of god. The book of hosea bible scriptures learn biblical hebrew. His writings form the first of the old testament books of the minor. Sep 10, 2012 hosea was a biblical prophet in the land of israel and spoke the messages of the lord.
The marriage of hosea is problematic for some who find it difficult to accept that god would order hosea to marry a prostitute. The first part of the book narrates the family life of hosea as a symbol similar to the symbolism in the lives of isaiah, jeremiah and ezekiel to convey the message the prophet had from the lord for his people. Hosea was the son of beeri and a prophet of yhwh along with isaiah, micah and amos during the time when judahs kings jotham, ahaz. In johns gospel, that statement leads to the incarnation. Abstract the book of hosea portrays the dangers of the observance of religious ceremony without genuine devotion and commitment to the lord. Hosea was a contemporary of several of the other major prophets, but the only prophet that was of the northern kingdom. Book of hosea old testament britannica encyclopedia britannica. Little is known about hosea or of his social status. And his name is related to the name joshua, which means salvation. Its the first book in the order of the twelve minor prophets hosea prophesied the period of.
Throughout the book, hosea will show us that salvation is found in turning to the lord and away from our sin. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets set around the fall of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of hosea denounces the worship of gods other than yahweh, metaphorically comparing israels abandonment of yahweh to a. Throughout the book you will see that he refers to israel and ephraim. Of all the prophetic material contained in the ot, the writings of hosea were the only ones to come from the northern kingdom of israel. Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophet s name would be joseph in english. It made me understand that god didnt want to feel his pain alone, he wanted hosea to experience what he was experiencing. The contents of the book may be summarized as follows. But since his prophetic activity is dated by reference to kings of judah, the book was probably written in judah after the fall of the northern capital, samaria 722. He prophesied to the people of israel during the years that uzziah, jotham, ahaz and kezekiah were kings of judah and when jeroboam ii was king of israel. The quick view bible big ideas in hosea the minor prophets. Hosea with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets.
Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophets name would be joseph in english. He appears on the bible timeline poster around the 8th century b. Email citation explores the book of hosea in its book of the twelve context. The most popular bible verses from hosea found 197 verses hosea 4. Amos is the earliest prophet named in the old testament books. He called on israel to repent its sins of apostasy and warned of the judgment to come from god. In it, the prophet both models gods love for his people and laments the grave sins of the nation of israel. Structured according to the prophets speech cycles, the study provides a concise analysis of the text with particular emphasis on the historical events that the text reflects. Hosea, volume 24 in the anchor bible series of new, bookbybook translations of the old and new testaments and apocrypha is a collaboration by worldrenowned scholars francis i. The remainder of the book of hosea consists of a collection of miscellaneous statements expressing hoseas convictions concerning the character of yahweh and yahwehs relation to the people of israel. The word of the lord that came to hosea son of beeri during the reigns of uzziah, jotham. Stephen cook asserts that the prophetic efforts of this book can be summed up in this passage i have been the lord your god ever since the. The hebrew names are taken from the first line of each book in the original hebrew.
The book of hosea was likely written between 755 and 725 b. Hosea prophesied during the reign of jeroboam ii of the northern kingdom of israel 7876 7476 bce, which was a period of economic prosperity and political stability. According to the book of hosea, he married gomer, the daughter of diblaim, but she proved to be unfaithful. According to the superscription, hosea began his prophetic activity during the reign of jeroboam ii c. The book of the twelve prophets was originally on one parchment roll because of the brevity of the text, and together formed one book of the 24 books of hebrew scripture. Jan 02, 2020 hosea is the only prophet of israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life. His book offers one of the most penetrating glimpses anywhere into the very heart of god. Hosea is the only prophet of israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life. Interlinear greek interlinear hebrew strongs numbers englishmans greek concordance englishmans hebrew.
Jan 17, 2009 although little is known about the prophet himself outside of what can be learned from the book that bears his name, his basic message of judgment and hope is clear. The life of hosea is one of the strangest of the prophets. The prophets name means salvation, likely a reference to hoseas position in israel as a beacon of hope to those who would repent and turn to god because of his message. The prophet s name means salvation, likely a reference to hosea s position in israel as a beacon of hope to those who would repent and turn to god because of his message. Hosea was a biblical prophet in the land of israel and spoke the messages of the lord. In amos, the prophetic discourses are very pronounced, while in hosea, because of the intense personal involvement of the prophet, they are not very distinctly defined from one another, a fact that makes the book difficult to outline. The book of hosea, the first of the canonical twelve minor prophets, was written by hosea whose name means salvation, or deliverance, a prophet who lived during the last years of the age of jeroboam ii in israel and the period of decline and. Hosea, volume 24 in the anchor bible series of new, book by book translations of the old and new testaments and apocrypha is a collaboration by worldrenowned scholars francis i. And the lord said to hosea, go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms. Book of hosea, also spelled osee, the first of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, considered as one book, the twelve, in the jewish canon. Two looks at israels covenant failure bibleproject.
It is ultimately a story about gods love for his people. Since ephraim is the largest tribe in the northern kingdom, sometimes the kingdom is referred to a s ephraim. Whether that was the case or not remains to be seen, but the truth is that his experience as a prophet was rather unusual. If this becomes characteristic of society at large, dishonesty and corruption become endemic. In a stricter sense, therefore, than amos who, though a native of tekoah, had a prophetic mission to the north, hosea may be called the prophet of northern israel, and his book, as ewald has said, is the prophetic voice wrung from the bosom of the kingdom itself. Greek, hosee, son of beeri, was an 8th century bc prophet in israel who authored the book of prophecies bearing his name. Newest hosea questions biblical hermeneutics stack. It is hard to outline the prophetic books because the prophets alternate between listing sins, predicting judgment and then. Watch our overview video on the book of hosea, which breaks down the literary. The latter prophets follow psalms and the wisdom books in the greek septuagint, as well as our christian old testament of the bible.
Book of hosea overview insight for living ministries. We find a hidden reference to the incarnation in the name of this prophet. The remainder of the book of hosea consists of a collection of miscellaneous statements expressing hosea s convictions concerning the character of yahweh and yahwehs relation to the people of israel. Introduction hosea the prophet hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of israel in 722 bc. God ordered hosea to marry an adulterous wife, gomer, and their three children were each given a symbolic name representing part of. In the hebrew bible, hosea son of beeri, was an 8thcentury bc prophet in israel who authored the book of prophecies bearing his name. In it, the prophet dramatically models gods love for his people and laments the grave sins of the nation of israel. Yoel and jeff gilbert begin the study of the book of hosea with a discussion of the times that hosea lived and saw.
Book of hosea read, study bible verses online bible study tools. These twelve prophets are comprised in one single book in the hebrew bible and are called the twelve. Hosea was a young preacher in the nation of israel, the northern kingdom, and he was a. Book of hosea biblical studies oxford bibliographies. The prophet hosea son of beeri lived in the tragic final days of the northern kingdom. The names hosea and hoshea are really the same, but for some reason people have chosen to pronounce the name of the prophet hosea slightly different than the name of the others of the same name perhaps out of reverence. He is one of the twelve prophets of the jewish hebrew bible, also known as the minor prophets of the christian old testament. Hosea 1 niv the word of the lord that came to hosea bible. Hosea and amos were contemporaries who overlapped both in terms of historical context and theological content. Questions about the book of the prophet hosea or the prophet himself. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on the book of hosea.
Hosea his name meaning to save, salvation is the first of the socalled minor prophets. Top 5 commentaries on the book of hosea ligonier ministries. Hosea dates his prophecy in the days of uzziah, jotham, ahaz, and hezekiah, kings of judah and in the days. Its the first book in the order of the twelve minor prophets hosea prophesied the period of the northern kingdoms decline and fall in the 8th century b. The book of hosea hebrew is a book of the old testamant. Hosea knew she would be unfaithful, as god says this to him immediately in the opening statements of the book. Hosea is the first of the 12 minor prophets called minor not because they are of less importance, but because the books are shorter. Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of israel in 722 bc. The hebrew of the book of hosea is challenging to translate, possibly because the text is corrupt or because it is written in a nonstandard dialect of hebrew. The prophets name means salvation, likely a reference to hoseas position in. More than that, hoseas marriage experience enabled him to understand, perhaps better than any other biblical writer, the profound depth of the love of god for people who rejected him. Douglas stuart hoseajonah word biblical commentary, 1987. May 06, 2017 hosea and amos were contemporaries who overlapped both in terms of historical context and theological content. Hosea revealed little about his background, though his book of prophecy offers a few glimpses into his life.
Explores the book of hosea in its book of the twelve context. Lists of books in various bibles tanakh hebrew bible law or pentateuch. God ordered hosea to marry an adulterous wife, gomer, and their three children were each given a symbolic name representing part of the ominous message. Hosea was a man, but he was a man god used to speak through. Hosea, the son of beeri, prophesied for quite some time, from 785 to 725 b. The book of hosea is one of the books of the hebrew bible. This study will give an overview of the life and writings of the prophet hosea. In ancient hebrew manuscripts the collection of the minor prophets was written on one scroll, called the book of the twelve.