Hosea
A prophet's painful marriage becomes a living picture of God's love for an unfaithful Israel.
Overview
Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom in its last, corrupt decades. God tells him to marry an unfaithful wife, Gomer, and to keep loving her when she strays — as a living picture of God's own faithfulness to an Israel that has turned to other gods. The book alternates between grief over Israel's unfaithfulness and astonishing tenderness, and ends with a call to return.
Book facts
- Author
- HoseaNamed in the first verse; a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel.
- Date written
- c. 750–722 BCIn the last decades of the northern kingdom, before its fall to Assyria.
- Original language
- HebrewDense, emotional Hebrew poetry — among the hardest in the Bible.
- Setting
- The northern kingdom of Israel, c. 750 BCA warning to Israel in its final years.
How it came to be
Hosea is named in the opening verse as the book's prophet. He prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel in the decades before it fell to Assyria.
His own marriage to Gomer is used throughout as a picture of God's relationship with Israel.
The whole book, chapter by chapter
| Chapter | What happens | Who is in it | Where it takes place |
|---|---|---|---|
The prophet's marriage — Gomer as a picture of Israel, chapters 1–3 | |||
| Chapter 1The prophet's marriage | God tells Hosea to marry Gomer, and their children are given names that spell out judgment on Israel. | , | |
| Chapter 2The unfaithful wife | Israel is pictured as an unfaithful wife, yet God promises to win her back. | — | — |
| Chapter 3The wife bought back | Hosea buys back his straying wife, as God will not give up on Israel. | , | — |
The charge against Israel — unfaithfulness, judgment, and a call to return, chapters 4–14 | |||
| Chapter 4The charge against Israel | God brings a charge against Israel for its lack of faithfulness and knowledge of God. | — | — |
| Chapter 5The word to the priests | Judgment is announced on the priests and the leaders. | — | — |
| Chapter 6The call to return | A call to return to God, who desires "mercy, and not sacrifice." | — | |
| Chapter 7The heated oven | Israel's corruption is compared to a heated oven and a silly dove. | — | — |
| Chapter 8The sown wind | "They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." | — | — |
| Chapter 9The days of punishment | The coming days of punishment and exile. | — | |
| Chapter 10The empty vine | Israel is an empty vine whose altars will be broken. | — | |
| Chapter 11The child called from Egypt | God remembers Israel as a beloved child: "out of Egypt have I called my son." | — | |
| Chapter 12The wrestling with Jacob | God recalls Jacob, and pleads with his descendants to return. | — | |
| Chapter 13The lion and the leopard | Judgment is pictured as a lion and a leopard; yet God promises to ransom from death. | — | — |
| Chapter 14The words of return | A closing call: "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord" — and a promise of healing. | — | — |
All 14 chapters. Start reading →
Worth knowing
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Some of the book's best-known lines — tap the verse to read it.
- "I desired mercy, and not sacrifice"Hosea 6:6
- "They have sown the wind"Hosea 8:7
- "Out of Egypt have I called my son"Hosea 11:1
- "O death, I will be thy plagues"Hosea 13:14