Hosea's Marriage and Symbolic Children
Hosea 1:1-2:1
Hos.1.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- הושע: VERB,qal,imp,2,ms
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בימי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- עזיה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- יותם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחז: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יחזקיה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מלכי: NOUN,pl,m,cons
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ובימי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ירבעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יואש: NOUN,prop,sg,m
- מלך: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:1 (verbal): Isaiah's opening names the same Judahite kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah), using a nearly identical chronological formula to situate the prophet's activity.
- Micah 1:1 (verbal): Micah's introduction likewise dates the oracle in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, paralleling Hosea's use of royal reigns as temporal markers.
- Amos 1:1 (structural): Amos opens with a prophetic introduction that names the prophet and situates his message in the days of contemporary kings—parallelous book-opening formula and method of dating.
- Jeremiah 1:1 (structural): Jeremiah's opening likewise identifies the prophet and provides contextual/chronological framing—another example of the prophetic book introduction formula (prophet’s name and setting).
- 2 Kings 14:23-29 (thematic): Historical account of Jeroboam son of Joash (Jeroboam II) and references to Uzziah’s era supply the historical background for the reigns listed in Hosea 1:1, anchoring the prophet in Israelite/Israel–Judah chronology.
Alternative generated candidates
- 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 in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.
- 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 in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.
Hos.1.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- תחלת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בהושע: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- הושע: VERB,qal,imp,2,ms
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- קח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- אשת: NOUN,f,sg,cns
- זנונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וילדי: VERB,qal,wayyiq,3,m,sg
- זנונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- זנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- תזנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מאחרי: PREP
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 3:1 (verbal): Same prophet instructed again to take or love a woman who is an adulteress — repeats the marriage/harlotry motif and the prophetic symbolic action of marrying an unfaithful woman.
- Ezekiel 16:15-16 (thematic): Describes Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness in marital/harlotry imagery — like Hosea 1:2, God accuses the land/city of playing the harlot and departing from the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:8 (allusion): God speaks of putting away unfaithful Israel for her whoredom; uses divorce/marriage imagery to portray national apostasy similar to Hosea’s charge.
- Ezekiel 23:2-4 (thematic): Portrays Samaria and Jerusalem as sisters who prostituted themselves to foreign nations — a closely parallel prophetic use of sexual allegory to depict covenant unfaithfulness.
- Isaiah 1:21 (verbal): Calls the ‘faithful city’ a harlot because of corruption and injustice — echoes the language of a land/people committing whoredom against the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- The beginning of the word of the LORD concerning Hosea: the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land plays the harlot by forsaking the LORD."
- The beginning of the word of the LORD with Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, “Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land commits harlotry by forsaking the LORD.”
Hos.1.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- וילך: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- ויקח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- גמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- דבלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ותהר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- ותלד: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hos.1.2 (structural): Immediate narrative precursor: God's command to Hosea to take a wife of prostitution—provides the rationale and prophetic context for Hosea's marriage to Gomer.
- Hos.3.1-5 (thematic): Later development/continuation of the prophetic marriage motif: Hosea's redemption and restoration of Gomer, expanding the symbolic meaning of the marriage and child.
- Isa.8.3 (verbal): Isaiah likewise takes a wife and she bears a son as a prophetic sign; parallel example of a prophet's domestic life functioning as symbolic sign-act.
- Jer.3:1-14 (thematic): Jeremiah repeatedly portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife and calls her to return—same adultery/marriage metaphor for Israel's covenant unfaithfulness used by Hosea.
- Ezek.16:1-14 (thematic): Ezekiel depicts Israel's origin as God's wife, her adornment and subsequent prostitution—close thematic parallel in marital imagery describing Israel's relationship with God.
Alternative generated candidates
- So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bore him a son.
- So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
Hos.1.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- יזרעאל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- עוד: ADV
- מעט: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ופקדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1cs
- יזרעאל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוא: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- והשבתי: VERB,hiphil,perf,1,com,sg
- ממלכות: NOUN,f,pl,cs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- 2 Kings 9:30-37 (verbal): Narrates Jehu's arrival at Jezreel and the death of Jezebel; provides the historical episode (‘blood at Jezreel’) to which Hosea's naming and threat of vengeance directly refer.
- 2 Kings 10:30-31 (allusion): God's response to Jehu after he destroyed Ahab's house—while praised for executing judgment, Jehu does not fully turn from Israel's sins; connects to Hosea's announcement that the house of Jehu will itself be held accountable and Israel's kingdom will end.
- Hosea 1:5-6 (structural): Immediate literary continuation in Hosea where further symbolic names and judgments are given; shows the pattern of prophetic child‑naming as enacted across the passage.
- Isaiah 8:3-4 (thematic): Isaiah's naming of Maher‑shalal‑hash‑baz as a prophetic sign of imminent judgment parallels Hosea's use of a child's name (Jezreel) to symbolize coming divine retribution.
- Isaiah 7:14 (thematic): The naming of Immanuel as a sign from God illustrates the prophetic practice of assigning names to children to convey God's message—parallel to Hosea's command to name a son Jezreel as an enacted prophecy.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, for soon I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
- And the LORD said to him, “Call his name Jezreel; for a little while longer and I will punish the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
Hos.1.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- ושברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- קשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בעמק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יזרעאל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 1:4 (structural): Immediate context: verse 4 names the child Jezreel and announces judgment 'for I will avenge the blood of Jezreel,' which frames the declaration in 1:5 about breaking Israel's bow in the valley of Jezreel.
- 2 Kings 9:30-37 (allusion): Narrative background: Jehu's slaughter of Ahab's house at Jezreel and Jezebel's death—Hosea 1:5 alludes to this episode and its aftermath (the valley/Naboth's field) as the historical basis for the prophetic judgment.
- Zechariah 9:10 (verbal): Shared imagery: Zechariah speaks of cutting off the 'war‑bow' (and chariot), paralleling Hosea's image of breaking Israel's bow as the divinely effected end of military power.
- Jeremiah 46:9 (thematic): Prophetic motif: Jeremiah likewise depicts God breaking the bow of a nation (Egypt) as a means of judgment—same theological motif of God disabling military strength in the valley/field of battle.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall come to pass on that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel."
- And it shall be in that day that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.”
Hos.1.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ותהר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- עוד: ADV
- ותלד: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמה: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- רחמה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,f
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- אוסיף: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
- ארחם: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- נשא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אשא: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Hos.1.9 (verbal): Same chapter’s parallel judgment language — God names the child Lo-ammi ('not my people') and reiterates the withdrawal of relationship and mercy toward Israel, echoing 1:6’s 'I will no longer have mercy.'
- Hos.2.23 (thematic): A paired/contrast passage in Hosea that promises reversal: where 1:6 announces removal of mercy, 2:23 looks forward to restoration when those once 'not my people' are called 'my people.'
- Rom.9:25-26 (quotation): Paul cites Hosea’s language about 'not my people' and the naming of those who were not beloved/my people to argue for the inclusion of Gentiles and the restoration motif rooted in Hosea’s declarations.
- 2 Kings 17:6,23 (thematic): Historical fulfillment/theme: the Assyrian exile of the northern kingdom (removal from the land) functions as the concrete consequence of God’s withdrawing favor in Hosea 1:6 — Israel suffers removal for covenant unfaithfulness.
Alternative generated candidates
- She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said, "Call her name Lo‑Ruhamah, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel; I will utterly take them away."
- She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the LORD said, “Call her name Lo‑ruhamah, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel; I will utterly take them away.”
Hos.1.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואת: CONJ
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ארחם: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- והושעתים: VERB,hif,imprf,1,sg
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- ולא: CONJ
- אושיעם: VERB,hif,imprf,1,sg
- בקשת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- ובחרב: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובמלחמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בסוסים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ובפרשים: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 20:7-8 (verbal): Expresses the same contrast between trusting in military resources (chariots/horses) and trusting in the LORD for salvation; closely parallels the wording and theme of Hosea 1:7.
- Psalm 33:16-17 (thematic): Asserts that kings and warriors are not saved by armies or horses, echoing Hosea's denial that deliverance comes by bows, swords, horses, or horsemen and emphasizing divine rather than military security.
- Isaiah 31:1-3 (allusion): Condemns reliance on Egypt and its chariots/horses and urges trust in the LORD—parallels Hosea's rejection of military means as the source of salvation and the call to depend on God.
- Jeremiah 17:5-8 (thematic): Contrasts the fate of those who trust in man with the blessing of those who trust in the LORD, resonating with Hosea's promise to save Judah by God rather than by human military strength.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen."
- Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow or by sword, by battle, by horses or by riders.”
Hos.1.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ותגמל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- לא: PART_NEG
- רחמה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,f
- ותהר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- ותלד: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hos.1.6 (verbal): Close intra-book parallel: both verses report the conception and birth of children to Gomer (or the prophet's household) using similar Hebrew verbal formulas, and both function to introduce prophetically named offspring.
- Isa.8.3 (structural): Very similar narrative pattern: the prophet's wife conceives and bears a son who serves as a prophetic sign and is given a symbolic name (Maher‑shalal‑hash‑baz), paralleling Hosea's birth narrative and naming function.
- Isa.7.14 (thematic): Conception and birth as a divinely given sign: Isaiah's Immanuel prophecy uses a child's birth as a sign to Israel, a theme echoed by Hosea's use of his children's births as symbolic messages about Israel's fate.
- Judg.13.2-5 (thematic): Narrative of a divinely announced conception and birth (Samson) whose circumstances and outcome have theological and national significance—paralleling Hosea's birth account as a bearer of a sign about Israel's future.
- Luke 1:26-35 (allusion): NT annunciation motif: Gabriel announces a miraculous conception whose child has salvific/significance (Jesus as sign/fulfillment). Luke echoes the OT pattern of prophetic births serving as divine signs, resonant with Hosea's sign-children.
Alternative generated candidates
- When she had weaned Lo‑Ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
- When she had weaned Lo‑ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son.
Hos.1.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- כי: CONJ
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אהיה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 2:23 (structural): Direct book-internal counterpart: here God names Israel 'Not my people,' while Hosea 2:23 (Hebrew 2:1) reverses the verdict—God declares 'You are my people,' showing restoration.
- Leviticus 26:12 (verbal): Uses the closely related formula 'I will be your God and you shall be my people,' which Hosea 1:9 negates; Leviticus supplies the covenantal ideal that Hosea’s naming confronts.
- Ezekiel 36:28 (thematic): Ezekiel promises national restoration with the language 'you shall be my people, and I will be your God,' thematically reversing Hosea’s declaration of exclusion and underscoring restoration theology.
- Romans 9:25-26 (quotation): Paul explicitly cites Hosea’s language ('I will call them my people who were not my people') to argue that Gentiles are ingrafted into God’s people, reinterpreting Hosea’s naming in a salvific light.
- 1 Peter 2:10 (quotation): Peter echoes Hosea’s reversal ('you were not a people, but now you are the people of God') to describe the Christian community’s new identity, directly engaging Hosea’s 'not my people' motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said, "Call his name Lo‑Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."
- And the LORD said, “Call his name Lo‑ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
Hos.2.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כחול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הים: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ימד: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יספר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- במקום: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- אל: NEG
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 1:10 (verbal): Nearly identical wording in Hebrew/MT tradition: the promise that those once 'not my people' will be counted like the sand of the sea and called 'sons/children of the living God.'
- Romans 9:25–26 (quotation): Paul explicitly cites Hosea’s formula—'I will call them my people... I will call her beloved' and 'you are not my people... sons of the living God'—applying it to Gentile inclusion and God’s mercy.
- 1 Peter 2:10 (allusion): Peter echoes Hosea’s reversal language—'once you were not a people, now you are God's people'—using the Hosean motif to describe the church’s status as God’s people.
- Isaiah 43:1 (thematic): Both texts address God’s restoration and belonging language (redeeming/calling by name; assuring a people that they belong to God), emphasizing divine initiative in making a community God’s own.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16–18 (allusion): Paul draws on OT promises of God dwelling with his people and adopting them (I will be a Father to you; you shall be my sons and daughters), resonating with Hosea’s theme of changing status from 'not my people' to 'children of the living God.'
Alternative generated candidates
- Then the word of the LORD came again: "Say to your brothers, 'You are my people'? and to your sisters, 'You have received mercy'?
- Then the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and in the place where it is said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Sons of the living God.”
The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah—kings of Judah—and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel.
The beginning of the word of the LORD concerning Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry; for the land commits harlotry, abandoning the LORD." So he went and took Gomer daughter of Diblaim; and she conceived and bore him a son. And the LORD said to him, "Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will visit the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel."
On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."
She conceived again and bore a daughter; and the LORD said, "Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel—I will utterly take them away." But I will show mercy to the house of Judah; I will save them by the LORD their God— not by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.
After she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and bore a son. And the LORD said, "Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God."
The number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God."