Book of Hosea
Redaction-critical studies of Hosea since the 1980s have increasingly emphasized the theological and literary unity created by editors, though scholars differ significantly in their interpretations of the redaction process, stages, and the extent of the eighth-century prophet’s original contributions.
[2] Ehud Ben Zvi’s interpretation of Hosea as a product of Persian period literati constructing didactic prophetic readings has spurred much debate.
Hosea prophesied during a dark and melancholic era of Israel's history, the period of the Northern Kingdom's decline and fall in the 8th century BC.
[a] The editors of the Jerusalem Bible comment that there has been a tendency among biblical scholars to treat all the references to Judah as later additions, but argued from the 1960s that "more sober conclusions are being urged today".
However, it is probable that this was again a symbolic act, in which Hosea divorced Gomer for infidelity, and used the occasion to preach the message of God's rejection of the Northern Kingdom.
Chapters 4–10 contain a series of oracles, or prophetic sermons, showing exactly why God is rejecting the Northern Kingdom (what the grounds are for the divorce).
In the NIV translation, the omitting of the word "him" leads to speculation as to whether Lo-Ruhamah was the daughter of Hosea or one of Gomer's lovers.
[27] Biblical scholar Ehud Ben Zvi reminds readers of the socio-historical context in which Hosea was composed.
In his article "Observations on the marital metaphor of YHWH and Israel in its ancient Israelite context: general considerations and particular images in Hosea 1.2", Ben Zvi describes the role of the Gomer in the marriage metaphor as one of the "central attributes of the ideological image of a human marriage that was shared by the male authorship and the primary and intended male readership as building blocks for their imagining of the relationship.
"[28] Tristanne J. Connolly makes a similar observation, stating that the husband-wife motif reflects marriage as it was understood at the time.
[29] Connolly also suggests that in context the marriage metaphor was necessary in that it truly exemplified the unequal interaction between God and the people of Israel.
[30] Biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan describes the importance of understanding the covenant in relation to interpreting Hosea.
According to Coogan, Hosea falls within a unique genre called "covenant lawsuit", where God accuses Israel of breaking their previously made agreement.
[citation needed] Like Amos, Hosea elevated the religion of Israel to the altitude of ethical monotheism, being the first to emphasize the moral side of God's nature.
Hosea considers infidelity as the chief sin, of which Israel, the adulterous wife, has been guilty against her loving husband, God.
Against this he sets the unquenchable love of God, who, in spite of this infidelity, does not cast Israel away forever, but will draw his people to himself again after the judgment.
