Hosea
Old Testament · translated from the Hebrew
YHWH tells Hosea to take “a woman of prostitutions” (1:2), as a picture of Israel, which turns away from YHWH after other gods. Even so, God does not stop loving his people: he calls them to return and promises to heal them.
How it is laid out
Key verses
- Hosea 6:6 — I desire loyal love and not sacrifice
- Hosea 11:1 — Out of Egypt I called my son
- Hosea 14:4 — I will heal their turning away; I will love them freely
Who wrote it
The word of YHWH that came to Hosea son of Beeri (1:1). Apart from his marriage to Gomer (1:3), the book gives no more details about his life.
When it was written
Around 760–715 BC, in the days of Jeroboam II, king of Israel, and of the kings of Judah from Uzziah to Hezekiah (1:1).
For whom, and in what situation
For the northern kingdom, Israel, also called Ephraim, in its last years before the fall of Samaria, around 722 BC. They used for Baal what YHWH gave them (2:8) and looked for help from Egypt and Assyria (7:11).
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