History of the book of hosea

Hosea, the son of beeri, prophesied for quite some time, from 785 to 725 b. Hosea was the son of beeri and apparently belonged to the upper classes. He called on israel to repent its sins of apostasy and warned of the judgment to come from god. Intro to hosea biblica the international bible society. If this becomes characteristic of society at large, dishonesty and. The collection of sayings and individual accounts, however, was probably done in judah at a much later date. Love her as the lord loves the israelites, though they turn to other gods and offer cakes of raisin. Much of the material, in oral form, goes back to hosea himself. The book of hosea marriage with an unfaithful wife. This summary of the book of hosea provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of hosea.

Hoseas primary audience was ephraim another name for the northern kingdom, israel, which is mentioned 35 times in. Our people, originally published in 1946, was the first jewish history book for the english speaking reader. Hosea is the only prophet of israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life. Abstract the book of hosea portrays the dangers of the observance of religious ceremony without genuine devotion and commitment to the. By them hosea expresses his deep woe over israels condition. The book of hosea is one of the books of the hebrew bible and of the christian old testament. We do well to recall the story, especially given the great debate among some in the church today over the question of. Book of hosea, the first of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets.

As a result, in his view, all authority had evaporated. Throughout the book, hosea will show us that salvation is found in turning to the lord and away from our sin. Book of hosea overview insight for living ministries. Read today, it still provides a comprehensive outline of jewish history, and also a view of the telling of history as it. Hosea s primary audience was ephraim another name for the northern kingdom, israel, which is mentioned 35 times in. Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophets name would be joseph in english.

Perhaps among the most surprising of the prophetic insights in hosea is the discovery of the prerequisites for the second coming of jesus christ. He may have been among the priests in his station in view of his knowledge. According to the book, the apostasy of the people was rampant, having turned away from god in order to serve both the calves of jeroboam and baal, a canaanite god the book of hosea says that, during hosea s lifetime, the kings of the northern. Book of hosea biblical studies oxford bibliographies. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 first edition with your subscription. Constables notes on hosea 2020 edition interpreters that if hosea had come from the southern kingdom, he too would have been identified as coming from the southern kingdom. In this book, hosea accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god and.

Hosea prophesied during a dark and melancholy era of israels history, the period of the northern kingdoms decline and fall in the 8th century bc. It is truly an amazing book and, like all of the books of the bible, the holy spirit always rewards the diligent student. Hosea was instructed by god to marry a certain woman and experience with her a domestic life which was a dramatization of the sin and unfaithfulness of israel. King jeroboam ii had just passed away after years of national peace and prosperity and now israel was experiencing rapid moral decline. Hosea knew she would be unfaithful, as god says this to him immediately. The book of hosea the new international commentary on the. Probably to avoid unnecessary confusion, the king james authorized version gave joshuas original name as oshea, the kings name as hoshea, and the prophets name as hosea. Hosea with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Hosea was the last of the prophets of the northern kingdom. Hosea prophesied during the latter half of the eighth century b.

It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve minor prophets. A highly complex and rhetorically rich text, the books backdrop is the rise of the assyrian empire in the mid8th century bce. Hosea 1 background information with maps and images. The book of hosea stands first in the division of the bible called the book of the twelve in the apocrypha cf. Hosea was a young preacher in the nation of israel, the northern kingdom, and he was a.

They are called minor prophets not because their material is less important or insignificant, but because of the size of the book they wrote was shorter in length. When this is true it all too easily leads to compromise, selfish ambition, and lack of integrity in ones personal activities and dealings. The first verse of chapter one provides a historical setting. The book of hosea is one of the books of the old testament, the first book of the minor prophets. The second part of the book contains longish lamentations of hosea. The apostasy of the people was rampant, having turned away. Book of hosea of the old testament your bible quotes.

Historical background of hoseaassyria steven hovater. Hosea, prophet amazing bible timeline with world history. Hosea bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse. Hosea means salvation and is the same as the original name of joshua num. We find a hidden reference to the incarnation in the name of this prophet. Epiphanius says that he was of the town of belemoth, in the tribe of issachar. The book of hosea portrays the dangers of the observance of religious ceremony without genuine devotion and commitment to the lord. At the same time he shows the future ways of god with his people. The blood of jezreel figures prominently throughout israels history and climaxes at armageddon.

According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets. 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. The study of the book of hosea is timely for the people of god in the last half of the twentieth century. The first concerns the nature of the story told inchs. The book of hosea or hosea is a biblical text that forms a part of the jewish bible tanakh, and is included in the section of minor prophets. A highly complex and rhetorically rich text, the book s backdrop is the rise of the assyrian empire in the mid8th century bce. In johns gospel, that statement leads to the incarnation. Many people of israel turned away from god to worship pagan idols. The history of the northern kingdom then spiraled downward quite swiftly. In the book of hosea, god sends hosea to israel during king jeroboam iis reign to admonish. It is offered as a prophetic oracle as well as a narrative history. The prophet hosea had a reallife situation that god used to illustrate his problem with the nation of israel. Dearman captures well the metaphorical theology of hosea, and his thoughtful reflection on the text attends to the various issues of every passage in the book.

Little is known about the life or social status of hosea. These 12 books are called minor prophets not because their message is less important but because they are so much shorter than the previous five books. The first part of the book of hosea is an account of hosea \s marriage with gomer biographically which is a metaphor for. Read today, it still provides a comprehensive outline of jewish history, and also a view of the telling of history as it evolved over the last century. This however will only be fulfilled in the time of the end. The book has a long history of formation and transmission. Draws on archaeology and ancient near eastern texts to examine the message of hosea in its historical and geographical context. Hosea, a prophet from the northern kingdom, preached in his homeland, which he addresses as israel, jacob or, frequently, ephraim. In this book, hosea accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god and warns them of the tragic consequences to follow. The marital life of hosea and his wife, gomer, provide the rich metaphor which clarifies the themes of the book. The book of hosea is pound for pound as difficult a prophetic book as one can find in the bible, so we appreciate the work of j. It comes from the same hebrew root hoshea as the names joshua and jesus.

The book of hosea written hundreds of years before daniel and is addressed to the northern kingdom of israel. Hosea prophesied during a very dark time of israel\s history. This period was an extremely difficult time in israels history, just before the northern kingdom went into exile. Hosea revealed little about his background, though his book of prophecy offers a few glimpses into his life. The book of hosea, a minor prophet, is part of the book of the twelve. May 04, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of hosea, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Unlike amos, hosea preached to his own people in israel d. Hosea son of beeri prophesied about the middle of the eighth century b. This would make him and jonah the only writing prophets from the northern kingdom. Hosea 3 god tells hosea to buy back his adulterous wife from her lover, and he did this to illustrate how the people of israel would no longer have a king or to be able to worship false gods.

According to the superscription, hosea began his prophetic activity during the reign of jeroboam ii c. Hosea accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god, and warns them of the tragic consequences to follow. The story of the prophet hosea s troubled marriage is a powerful testimony to two things. The story of gomer has been performed across the nation, reaching thousands of people with the message of gods faithfulness and love.

Read hosea commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. The book s purpose is to illustrate spiritual adultery as well as faithfulness, forgiveness and love. Prophet hosea s wife and children, hope of restoration for unfaithful israel, ephraim, return to god. And his name is related to the name joshua, which means salvation. The condition in the churches today is similar to that in israel in the middle of the eighth century b. We are currently reading from the book of the prophet hosea at daily mass.

Hosea was probably a native of the northern kingdom of israel, since he shows familiarity with the history, circumstances and topography of the north 4. Throughout the book, the prophet speaks to the people of israel about the critical situation that developed during the. When the assyrians overran the land, someone escaped to the south and brought the manuscript to the city of jerusalem. The book of hosea introduction to the book of hosea in the bible hosea 8. In hosea, the faithless actions of israel toward god are illustrated by the relationship between hosea and his adultress wife, gomer. His writings form the first of the old testament books of the minor prophets. Adapted from the book of hosea in the bible, we journey with gomer, a harlot lost in her sin until hosea, a prophet of god, offers to marry her and redeem her life from darkness. 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. Israel had become conformed to her cultural environment and had adulterated yahwism with the cultic practices of the religion of the canaanites, hoping to. Its fourteen chapters contain both a warning concerning future events and an interpretation of these events meanings. Hosea prophesied during a dark and melancholic era of israels history, the period of the northern kingdoms decline and fall in the 8th century bc.

Outlines of the book vary, but there are several obvious transitions in the book which center on a. Sep 10, 2012 hosea 3 god tells hosea to buy back his adulterous wife from her lover, and he did this to illustrate how the people of israel would no longer have a king or to be able to worship false gods. On the bright side, if you get these two down a little bit, hosea is going to make enough sense to you for you to absorb some of its raw and powerful poetic punch. Hoseas message was primarily for the northern kingdom of israel. The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows. 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. According to the book of hosea, he married gomer, the daughter of diblaim, but she proved to be unfaithful. Like the book of amos, the book of hosea is addressed to the people of the northern kingdom israel. The names of his children indicate the attitude of god toward israel.

Israel, the northern country consisting of ten tribes, and judah, the remaining two tribes in the south. May 30, 2011 while other historical and cultural factors certainly add color to our reading of hosea, these two simply cannot be ignored if we are to grasp the essence of the books message. This does distinguish him from the last king of israel hoshea c. Hosea 4 14 the remaining chapters of the book of hosea outlines gods judgments and his call to repentance for the nation of israel. The book of hosea was written in the northern kingdom of israel in the eighth century bc, during the reign of jeroboam ii 786746 bc. While some interpreters have thought the story to be merely an allegory of the relation between god and israel, others claim, more plausibly, that the story is to be taken literally. The book of hosea is a narrative history and prophetic oracle. Hosea began his mission in a period of prosperity, the last years of jeroboam ii 783743 b. She looks at common views of the book of hosea and presents new methodologies on tradition and redaction. Spanning more than two thousand years of african history, from the african iron age to the collapse of colonialism and the beginnings of independence, hosea jaffes magisterial work remains one of the only books to fully capture the continents complex and diverse past.

Hosea is a book depicting the relationship god desires for us and helps us become aware of ways in which we can stumble. The first fouruzziah, jotham, ahaz, and hezekiahreigned over the southern kingdom of judah from 790 bc to 686 bc, while jeroboam ii ruled the northern kingdom of israel from 782 bc to 753 bc. Hosea commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Study the bible online using commentary on hosea and more. Set around the fall of the northern kingdom of israel, the book of hosea denounces the worship of gods other than yahweh. Hosea, the son of beeri, is the first of the minor prophets.

Hosea is the first book in the sections of minor prophets. Hosea prophesied during a dark and melancholic era of israels history, the period of the northern kingdoms decline. It spanned the reign of 4 kings of judah uzziah, jotham, ahaz and hezekiah and of jeroboam ii as king of israel. The book of hosea was likely written between 755 and 725 b. The northern kingdom of israel enjoyed moderate success from conquering neighboring kingdoms, but they were spiritually bankrupt on the inside. The prophet hosea personally records his messages to gods people and to the world. The time period of hoseas ministry 750s to 710s bc began during the years of prosperity and false security described in the introduction to amos.

Hosea is the first of the 12 minor prophets called minor not because they are of less importance, but because the books are shorter. Before we jump into hosea, i think it is so important to understand the context of hoseas time and what got them into the mess they were in again. Before we jump into hosea, i think it is so important to understand the context of hosea s time and what got them into the mess they were in again. Hosea was a man, but he was a man god used to speak through. Best commentaries and books on hosea logos bible software. Author hosea according to tradition date 785 bc approximately theme the apostasy of israel types and shadows in hosea jesus is the faithful husband. In the new testament the holy spirit confirms the application of these prophetic names to the state of israel since they have been cast out of their land. In ancient hebrew manuscripts the collection of the minor prophets was written on one scroll, called the book of the twelve.

The book of hosea occurs at a time when israel was divided into two regions israel ephraim to the north and judah to the south jerusalem was in judah. During the time of the minor prophets, the nation of israel had divided into two separate countries, each with its own government. The book reveals the personality of the prophet, an emotional man who in a moment could swing from violent anger to the deepest tenderness. The book of hosea has at least two perplexing problems. The nelsons illustrated bible dictionary gives the following outline of the book. May 02, 2020 hosea is the only prophet of israel who left any written prophecies which were recorded during the later years of his life. The book of hosea consists of fourteen chapters, which was the record for a minor prophet until zechariah tied it a couple centuries later. Biblical scholar holt examines the background of israel to investigate how it is used in hosea. Chapter 14 closes with an appeal to true repentance. Powerful love overcomes rebellion in the book of hosea.