Hosea’s Wife and Family as Symbols

Hosea 1–2

Biblical Period

Chapter 1

1The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and in the reign of King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel.

2When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, get yourself a wife of whoredom and children of whoredom; for the land will stray from following the Lord.” 3So he went and married Gomer daughter of Diblaim. She conceived and bore him a son, 4and the Lord instructed him, “Name him Jezreel; for, I will soon punish the House of Jehu for the bloody deeds at Jezreel and put an end to the monarchy of the House of Israel. 5In that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

6She conceived again and bore a daughter; and He said to him, “Name her Lo-ruhamah;a for I will no longer accept the House of Israel or pardon them. (7But I will accept the House of Judah. And I will give them victory through the Lord their God; I will not give them victory with bow and sword and battle, by horses and riders.)”

8After weaning Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. 9Then He said, “Name him Lo-ammi;b for youc are not My people, and I will not be your [God].”

Chapter 2

1The number of the people of Israel shall be like that of the sands of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted; and instead of being told, “You are Not-My-People,” they shall be called Children-of-the-Living-God. 2The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall assemble together and appoint one head over them; and they shall rise from the ground—for marvelous shall be d-the day of Jezreel!-d

3Oh, calle your brothers “My People,”
And your sisters “Lovingly Accepted!”
4Rebuke your mother, rebuke her—
For she is not My wife
And I am not her husband—
And let her put away her harlotry from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts.
5Else will I strip her naked
And leave her as on the day she was born:
And I will make her like a wilderness,
Render her like desert land,
And let her die of thirst.
6I will also disown her children;
For they are now a harlot’s brood,
7In that their mother has played the harlot,
She that conceived them has acted shamelessly—
Because she thought,
“I will go after my lovers,
Who supply my bread and my water,
My wool and my linen,
My oil and my drink.”
8Assuredly,
I will hedge up herf roads with thorns
And raise walls against her,
And she shall not find her paths.
9Pursue her lovers as she will,
She shall not overtake them;
And seek them as she may,
She shall never find them.
Then she will say,
“I will go and return
To my first husband,
For then I fared better than now.”
10And she did not consider this:
It was I who bestowed on her
The new grain and wine and oil;
I who lavished silver on her
And gold—which they used for Baal.
11Assuredly,
I will take back My new grain in its time
And My new wine in its season,
And I will snatch away My wool and My linen
That serve to cover her nakedness.
12Now will I uncover her shame
In the very sight of her lovers,
And none shall save her from Me.
13And I will end all her rejoicing:
Her festivals, new moons, and sabbaths—
All her festive seasons.
14I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
Which she thinks are a fee
She received from her lovers;
I will turn them into brushwood,
And beasts of the field shall devour them.
15Thus will I punish her
For the days of the Baalim,
On which she brought them offerings;
When, decked with earrings and jewels,
She would go after her lovers,
Forgetting Me
—declares the Lord.
16Assuredly,
I will speak coaxingly to her
And lead her through the wildernessg
And speak to her tenderly.
17I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achorh as a i-plowland of hope.-i
There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,
When she came up from the land of Egypt.
18And in that day
—declares the Lord—
You will call [Me] Ishi,j
And no more will you call Me Baali.j
19For I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth,
And they shall nevermore be mentioned by name.

20In that day, I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; I will also banish bow, sword, and war from the land. Thus I will let them lie down in safety.

21And I will espouse you forever:
I will espouse you k-with righteousness and justice,
And with goodness and mercy,
22And I will espouse you with faithfulness;-k
Then you shall be devoted to the Lord.
23In that day,
I will respond
—declares the Lord—
I will respond to the sky,
And it shall respond to the earth;
24And the earth shall respond
With new grain and wine and oil,
And they shall respond to Jezreel.l
25I will sow her in the land as My own;
And take Lo-ruhamah back in favor;
And I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are My people,”
And he will respond, “[You are] my God.”

Notes

I.e., “Not-accepted”; cf. 2:3, 6, and 25.

I.e., “Not-My-People.”

I.e., you and your fellow countrymen.

I.e., the day when the name Jezreel will convey a promise (2:23–25) instead of a threat (1:4–5).

The Lord addresses Hosea and his fellow North Israelites; see 1:9. The mother is the nation; her children the individual North Israelites.

Vv. 8–9 would read well after v. 15.

I.e., her ravaged land (see vv. 5, 10–11, 14).

A desolate region.

Connecting pethah with pittah “to plow” (see Isa. 28:24).

Both Ishi and Baali mean “my husband,” but the latter also means “my Baal.”

As the bride-price which the bridegroom will pay, He will confer these qualities on her, so that she will never offend again.

I.e., “God sows.” The names of Hosea’s children (1:3–8) are applied here to Israel.

Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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