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. 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. First, they give us a sketch of what was to happen to the nation of israel. Hosea appears to have had the temperament of a poet. Sep 10, 2012 hosea was a biblical prophet in the land of israel and spoke the messages of the lord. Hosea a minor prophet with a major problem tom ruggirello chicago bible students. Hosea gives his readers very little information about himself, although viewed in the context of jewish life in his day, we can get to know him a little better. Introduction hosea the prophet hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of israel in 722 bc. 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 read more. These three names of hoseas children do two things. Through the eyes of our minor prophet, hosea, we are to read these as prophecies of doom. Kontakion of prophet hosea plagal of the fourth tone. Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of israel in 722 bc.
Prophet of god, in quest of the uttermost, long have you searched the. Hosea 1 niv bible the word of the lord that came to hosea. Book of hosea overview insight for living ministries. Understanding the message of the book of hosea depends upon understanding the sinai covenant. Yet, god raised up a prophet with a message of hope and sent him to live among, deal with and preach to that wicked generation salvation.
The prophet hosea the prophet hosea arno clemens gaebelein. Initiated by divine illumination, thou wast deemed worthy of the lofty gift of prophecy and foretoldest of the promise of grace, o prophet. Hosea is often seen as a prophet of doom, but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration. The lord has yoked himself to israel in the most intimate way, likened to the most profound of human relationships. For hosea this is the young lion in the house of judah. Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophets name would be joseph in english. This meant that hoseas ministry was an urgent plea for the return of israel to the true worship of god under the humble acquiescence to the various systems of. By the time of the prophet hosea, in the middle of the eighth century, b. Little is known about the life or social status of hosea.
But she proved an unfaithful spouse who turned her back on. Hosea delivers a plea to israel and a complaint against her 6. The emergence of the literary prophets societys malaise was interpreted by hosea, a prophet of the northern kingdom israel, as a forgetting of god see hosea, book of. This makes it particularly important as it sets the tone for the entire collection commonly referred to as the twelve. The message of hosea in the light of his marriage by h. He was a contemporary of the prophets isaiah, micah, and amos. The common geographical focus of amos and hosea is eighthcentury b. Hosea, however, knew nothing of her character at the time of his marriage, on the contrary, it was made manifest to him only afterward, as if through a special intervention of god, in order to serve to the prophet as a symbol of israels unfaithfulness to the lord. According to the traditional order of most hebrew bibles, it is the first of the twelve minor prophets.
He appears on the bible timeline poster around the 8th century b. For this very reason, the biblical book of hosea has frustrated and intrigued scholars for over two millennia. Hosea prophesied, approximately, during the years 753 to 687 b. Hosea the prophet greek orthodox archdiocese of america. Hosea began his mission in a period of prosperity, the last years of jeroboam ii 783743 b. Hoseas message and marriage society of biblical literature. I,my,are not hosea, and the things of hosea, but god and what belongs to god. We do well to recall the story, especially given the continue reading the story of hosea and what it teaches about god and holy matrimony.
Yet the israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be counted. The talmud claims that he was the greatest prophet of his generation. Israel in a later time, paid tribute to shalmaneser to postpone the inevitable. Most of hoseas messages are announcements of gods anger with israel the northern of the two israelite kingdoms and gods impending judgment on this people. Hosea was a young preacher in the nation of israel, the northern kingdom, and he was a. Hosea was a contemporary of the thundering preacher amos. Little is known about hosea or of his social status. Hosea, prophet amazing bible timeline with world history. Hosea tells us of the nature of god, by showing us this sorrow. The prophet hosea prophesied for sixty years, and lived for some ninety years, from 810 to 720 b. 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. It is based on the german lexicon by william gesenius. 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. The book of hosea is one of the books of the hebrew bible.
This summary of the book of hosea provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of hosea. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our. The first chapter of hosea is a biographical report of the prophets marriage to gomer. See more ideas about book of hosea, old testament and bible. A word from the prophet hosea today, we consider hosea. It shows that in his bitterness and brokenheartedness, hosea was possessed of a. 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. Hosea is the first of the 12 minor prophets called minor not because they are of less importance, but because the books are shorter. We are currently reading from the book of the prophet hosea at daily mass. Hosea became a prophet at the end of the reign of the nations last powerful king, jeroboam ii. Hosea is the first book of the twelve minor prophets. Throughout the book you will see that he refers to israel and ephraim. The story of the prophet hoseas troubled marriage is a powerful testimony to two things. In it, the prophet dramatically models gods love for his people and laments the grave sins of the nation of israel.
Ellison was read as a paper to the society for old testament study during the year that the editor was. The superscription further informs us that hosea was a prophet in the days of. As a result, in his view, all authority had evaporated. This meant that hosea s ministry was an urgent plea for the return of israel to the true worship of god under the humble acquiescence to the various systems of truth. The prophet hosea was contemporary of six kings of israel and of about eleven years during which the throne was vacant. Hosea was one of israels contemporaries, a prophet of god in the 8th century bc. We find a hidden reference to the incarnation in the name of this prophet.
The period of hosea s ministry extended to some sixty years, and he was the only prophet of israel of his time who left any written prophecy. Each blessing or curse is based upon a corresponding type in the mosaic law. The period of hoseas ministry extended to some sixty years, and he was the only prophet of israel of his time who left any written prophecy. He is one of the twelve minor prophets of the old testament. Sociohistorical background and prophetic critique d. According to the superscription, hosea began his prophetic activity during the reign of jeroboam ii c. The book contains a series of blessings and curses announced for israel by god through hosea. But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea. The book reveals the personality of the prophet, an emotional man who in a moment could swing from violent anger to the deepest tenderness. And his name is related to the name joshua, which means salvation. Hosea continues to pursueat times gomer would return to the safety and comfort of hosea but would leave him again. 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.
Since ephraim is the largest tribe in the northern kingdom, sometimes the kingdom is referred to a s ephraim. Account of hoseas marriage with gomer biographically which is a metaphor for the relationship with yhwh and israel. Gomer doesnt care anymore and begins to engage in relationship after relationship with other men. Hosea, a prophet from the northern kingdom, preached in his homeland, which he addresses as israel, jacob or, frequently, ephraim. The book of hosea is a collection of prophetic messages delivered by the prophet hosea and narrative descriptions of hosea s marriage and the birth of his children 1. Yahweh will welcome israel like a husband who takes back an unfaithful wife. Hebrew and english lexicon of the old testament by francis brown, s. Hosea was a biblical prophet in the land of israel and spoke the messages of the lord. The book of hosea covers approximately 40 years of his prophetic ministry. The prophet by kahlil gibran free ebook project gutenberg. Ephraim was the largest tribe in israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as ephraim. There are twelve of these books which are called by the name minor prophets not because their contents are of less authority than the preceding prophetic books, but on account.
Lexical there are several excellent lexicons available for ancient hebrew. The quality of his life, the power of his writing, and the depth of his insight into the nature of god rank hosea as one of the worlds great religious geniuses. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The global message of hosea hosea in redemptive history. A brief outline of the concepts presented in the book of hosea exist below. Osee was the son of beeri and a prophet in israel in the eighth century before the birth of christ. In the hebrew bible, hosea son of beeri, was an 8thcentury bc prophet in israel who authored. For while hosea is a prophet of the living god, his wife gomer was a prostitute, a harlot, an adulterous and unfaithful woman. His message was for israel, the northern kingdom, although he occasionally refers to judah. The book of hosea depicts gods relationship with his people through a metaphor that occurs throughout the bible, though nowhere as strongly and pervasively as in hosea. In addition to this issue of uncertainty in the establishing of a pre cise religious setting for the background of the book of hosea, is the problem of.
Often, we do not recognize the derivation of these bible names, but this prophet s name would be joseph in english. Hosea commentary hosea is the first of the twelve books of the minor prophets. The authorship and compilation of hosea few scholars today doubt that the bulk of the book comes from the messages of hosea himself, but many attribute the actual commit ment of his words to writing not to the prophet but to a group of dis. In ancient hebrew manuscripts the collection of the minor prophets was written on one scroll, called the book of the twelve. As we celebrate the memory of thy prophet hosea, o lord, through him we beseech thee to save our souls. 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. The story of electricity jim al khalili bbc horizon duration. Israel had been espoused to godthis is what the sinai covenant meant for the prophets. Premnath he prophecies of amos and hosea illustrate how divergent prophetic articulations can be even if the subject matter remains the same. O hosea, since thou dwellest in gods glory now, do thou rescue from all manner of adversity us who cry to thee. In four verses only of these chapters does the prophet himself apparently address his own people israel, in two expostulating with them 9. In this book, hosea accuses israel of breaking their covenant with god and warns them of the tragic consequences to follow.
Hosea son of beeri prophesied about the middle of the eighth century b. In addition to this issue of uncertainty in the establishing of a pre cise religious setting for the background of the book of hosea, is the problem of ascertaining clear historical referents. Second, they give us a hint as to what was going on in the prophets family. The sages say only one prophet stands out whose impact on ancient israel as well as on gods people until the end of the ages is second to moses himselfthe prophet hosea. Transcribed and edited by david sielaff, october 2012.
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