Prologue
The Word of the Lord
Chapter 1
1 This is the word of the Lord[a] that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel.
The Marriage of Hosea Is a Symbol[b]
The Harlot and Her Children[c]
2 When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea:
“Go forth and take a harlot for a wife,
and father children of harlotry,
for the people have devoted themselves to adultery
and turned away from the Lord.”
3 Therefore, Hosea went forth and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son. 4 Then the Lord said to him:
“Name the boy Jezreel,
for in a short time
I will punish the house of Jehu
for the blood shed at Jezreel,
and I will bring an end to the kingdom
of the house of Israel.
5 On that day I will demolish the bow of Israel
in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 When Gomer conceived again and bore him a daughter, the Lord said to him:
“Give her the name Lo-ruhama,
for I no longer have compassion for the house of Israel,
nor do I wish to forgive them.
7 However, I do have pity on the house of Judah,
and I will save them by the Lord, their God.
But I will not deliver them by war,
nor by sword or bow,
nor by horses or horsemen.”[d]
8 After Gomer had weaned Lo-ruhama, she conceived and bore him a son. 9 Then the Lord said:
“Give him the name Lo-ammi,
for you are not my people,
and I am not your God.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 1:1 The word of the Lord: refers to the entire revelation received by the prophet over the course of a ministry that began around 750 B.C. The indications of the period of the prophet’s activity are somewhat vague; indeed, the list of kings is incomplete as far as the kingdom of Israel is concerned.
- Hosea 1:2 A prophet proclaims his message not only by what he says but also by what he does and by the way he lives. Hosea becomes a sign by reason of his strange and painful marital history and also by reason of the provocative names that he gives to his children. We are given two accounts of his marriage; these repeat and complete each other. His married life is a kind of parable of the history of Israel. God is attached to his people with a passion that resembles that of a husband; as time passes, Israel increasingly betrays the covenant by seeking to find its happiness in the many Canaanite fertility cults. Degradation leads to a complete break, but God cannot forever abandon his own; one day they will return and enjoy a new life. The Lord remains faithful, despite the continuing infidelity of the people.
- Hosea 1:2 Gomer was perhaps a sacral prostitute at some high place, or perhaps simply a young girl who vowed herself to the god Baal in order to become fertile. She represents here the situation of the country and its children, who have been contaminated by the worship of false gods. Even the name given to the children symbolizes the threat that hangs over Israel and the royal house. At Jezreel, royal residence of the northern kingdom, Jehu had ordered the massacre, in 841 B.C., of all the descendants of the wicked King Ahab (see 2 Ki 9–10). The new dynasty has likewise become unfaithful, and King Zechariah will pay for his misdeeds with his life after only a six months’ rule. The bow (v. 5), that is, the military power, will be broken in 732 B.C., by Tiglath-pileser III, who turns the Transjordan area and Galilee into Assyrian provinces. Contrary to all custom, the name of Hosea’s second child is a negative one, signifying the end, at least provisionally, of God’s mercy. The name of the third child signifies the complete break.
- Hosea 1:7 This verse was probably added by a Judean editor in order to exclude Jerusalem from the threat; Jerusalem was, in fact, spared from the Assyrian peril in 701 B.C.