Hosea
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| Tanakh Torah | Nevi'im | Ketuvim Books of Nevi'im |
| First Prophets |
|---|
| 1. Joshua |
| 2. Judges |
| 3. Samuel |
| 4. Kings |
| Later Prophets |
| 5. Isaiah |
| 6. Jeremiah |
| 7. Ezekiel |
| 8. 12 minor prophets |
See also Hoshea, who has the same name in Biblical Hebrew.
Hosea (הוֹשֵׁעַ "Salvation of/is the Lord", Standard Hebrew Hošeaʿ, Tiberian Hebrew Hôšēăʿ, Greek Ὠσηέ = Ōsēe) was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BCE. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible / Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament.
We know practically nothing about the life or social status of Hosea. According to the Book of Hosea, he married the prostitute Gomer, the daughter of Diblayim, at God's command. He lived in the Northern Kingdom in the period 740–725 BCE. In Ho. 5:8ff., there is a reference to the wars which led to the capture of the kingdom by the Assyrians (ca. 734–732 BCE). It is not certain if he has also experienced the destruction of Samaria, which is foreseen in Ho. 14:1.
Hosea's family life reflected the "adulterous" relationship which Israel had built with polytheistic gods. His children's names made them like walking prophecies of the fall of the ruling dynasty and the severed covenant with God. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration. The Talmud (Pesachim 87a) claims that he was the greatest prophet of his generation, which included the more famous Isaiah.
