Prophet living at the time of Divided Monarchy
Hosea was a prophet who ministered to the northern kingdom of Israel during the reigns of several kings, calling the people to repent and return to God.
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Also known as Osee
Hosea was one of the minor prophets in the Old Testament who prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel during the 8th century BC. He is the author of the book that bears his name.
The opening verse of the book of Hosea (Hos.1.1) provides the historical context of his ministry, stating that he prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel.
Hosea's prophetic ministry was characterized by his unique personal life, which served as a symbolic representation of God's relationship with Israel. In Hos.1.2, God commanded Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman named Gomer, who would be unfaithful to him. This marriage symbolized Israel's unfaithfulness to God and their spiritual adultery through idolatry.
Throughout the book, Hosea confronts Israel's sin, including their idolatry, social injustice, and political corruption. He calls the people to repent and return to God, emphasizing God's steadfast love and desire to restore His relationship with them.
In Rom.9.25, the Apostle Paul quotes from Hos.2.23, applying the prophet's words to the inclusion of the Gentiles in God's plan of salvation. This demonstrates the enduring significance of Hosea's message, which extends beyond the immediate context of Israel to the universal scope of God's love and redemption.
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Salvation, the son of Beeri, and author of the book of prophecies bearing his name. He belonged to the kingdom of Israel. “His Israelitish origin is attested by the peculiar, rough, Aramaizing diction, pointing to the northern part of Palestine; by the intimate acquaintance he evinces with the localities of Ephraim (5:1; 6:8, 9; 12:12; 14:6, etc.); by passages like 1:2, where the kingdom is styled ‘the land’, and 7:5, where the Israelitish king is designated as ‘our’ king.” The period of his ministry (extending to some sixty years) is indicated in the superscription (Hos. 1:1, 2). He is the only prophet of Israel who has left any written prophecy.
(salvation), son of Beeri, and first of the minor prophets. Probably the life, or rather the prophetic career, of Hosea extended from B.C. 784 to 723, a period of fifty-nine years. The prophecies of Hosea were delivered in the kingdom of Israel. Jeroboam II was on the throne, and Israel was at the height of its earthly splendor. Nothing is known of the prophet’s life excepting what may be gained from his book.
Hoshea, savior; safety
HOSE'A (God is help) called Osee in Rom 9:25, one of the twelve Minor Prophets, who prophesied between 790 and 725 b.c. in the kingdom of Israel, under the reign of Jeroboam II., when the kingdom had reached the zenith of its earthly prosperity, and was fast ripening for ruin. He was a contemporary of Isaiah. We know nothing of his life. His character appears in his book, which reveals a heart full of sadness and sympathy in view of the sins of the people, yet full of hope. He has been called the Jeremiah of Israel. The Book of Hosea consists of 14 chapters, and relates to the kingdom of Israel. The first part (chs. 1-3) belongs to the first period of his active life under Jeroboam; the second (chs. 4-14) presents his later labors, when judgment had already set in. The discourses are partly threatening, partly hortatory and comforting. He is one of the most obscure among the prophets. "He delivers his message as though each sentence burst with a groan from his soul, and he had anew to take breath before he uttered each renewed woe. Each verse forms a whole for itself, like one heavy toll in a funeral-knell." The greatest difficulty in the book is the marriage of the prophet with Gomer, "a wife of whoredoms," by divine command, and the names of the offspring of this marriage -Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-ammi (Hos 1:2-9). The literal interpretation (of several of the Fathers, Dr. Pusey, Kurtz, and others) is scarcely reconcilable with the law which forbids a priest to marry an unchaste woman, Lev 21:7-14. It is better, therefore, to explain the marriage (with many modern commentators) figuratively, as a vision or as a symbol of the monstrous sin of spiritual whoredom or apostasy from the true God. Lo-ruhamah means "unpitied," and Lo-ammi, "not-my-people." Immediately…
HOSE'A (God is help) called Osee in Rom 9:25, one of the twelve Minor Prophets, who prophesied between 790 and 725 b.c. in the kingdom of Israel, under the reign of Jeroboam II., when the kingdom had reached the zenith of its earthly prosperity, and was fast ripening for ruin. He was a contemporary of Isaiah. We know nothing of his life. His character appears in his book, which reveals a heart full of sadness and sympathy in view of the sins of the people, yet full of hope. He has been called the Jeremiah of Israel. The Book of Hosea consists of 14 chapters, and relates to the kingdom of Israel. The first part (chs. 1-3) belongs to the first period of his active life under Jeroboam; the second (chs. 4-14) presents his later labors, when judgment had already set in. The discourses are partly threatening, partly hortatory and comforting. He is one of the most obscure among the prophets. "He delivers his message as though each sentence burst with a groan from his soul, and he had anew to take breath before he uttered each renewed woe. Each verse forms a whole for itself, like one heavy toll in a funeral-knell." The greatest difficulty in the book is the marriage of the prophet with Gomer, "a wife of whoredoms," by divine command, and the names of the offspring of this marriage -Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, and Lo-ammi (Hos 1:2-9). The literal interpretation (of several of the Fathers, Dr. Pusey, Kurtz, and others) is scarcely reconcilable with the law which forbids a priest to marry an unchaste woman, Lev 21:7-14. It is better, therefore, to explain the marriage (with many modern commentators) figuratively, as a vision or as a symbol of the monstrous sin of spiritual whoredom or apostasy from the true God. Lo-ruhamah means "unpitied," and Lo-ammi, "not-my-people." Immediately…
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
3 verses in 2 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H1954
This is the word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel.
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, He told him, “Go, take a prostitute as your wife and have children of adultery, because this land is flagrantly prostituting itself by departing from the LORD.”
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.