ProphetOld Testament

Prophet Hosea

8th century BC (fl. c. 787–722 BC)

Also known as Osee

The first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, who called Israel back from idolatry and revealed God's covenant love through the imagery of marriage.

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Life

Hosea, son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet of the northern Kingdom of Israel and, in the traditional ordering, the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets. His name derives from the Hebrew for 'salvation.' He was active over a long span reaching from the reign of Jeroboam II into the final years before the Assyrian conquest, a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Micah, and Amos.

His preaching called a people that had turned to idolatry back to fidelity to the God of the covenant, warning of the ruin that foreign invaders would bring. His most distinctive teaching was conveyed through his own marriage: commanded to take the unfaithful Gomer as his wife, Hosea enacted in his household the relationship between God and Israel, portraying the covenant for the first time in the imagery of marriage and holding out, beyond judgment, the promise of restoration.

The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates the Prophet Hosea on October 17, with an additional remembrance on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers before the Nativity.

In his own wordsReadHide

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Hosea, 6:6 · King James Version (PD)

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 4

(Podoben: “Today You have shown forth...”) Enlightened by the Spirit, your pure heart became the dwelling place of most splendid prophecy;
for you saw things far off as if they were near.
Therefore, we honor you, blessed and glorious Prophet Hosea.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 2

We celebrate the memory
of Your prophet Hosea, O Lord;
through him we entreat You,
save our souls.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline3 momentsReadHide

8th century BCProphetic ministry in IsraelHosea, son of Beeri, prophesied in the northern Kingdom of Israel. His ministry is dated across roughly 787–722 BC, from the reign of Jeroboam II through that of Hoshea, and his detailed familiarity with the northern geography is evident throughout the book that bears his name.
c. 734–732 BCWarnings of Assyrian conquestHosea denounced the sins of the northern kingdom and foretold the misfortunes its people would suffer at the hands of invading foreigners, with his prophecies pointing to the impending Assyrian campaigns against Israel.
722/721 BCFall of SamariaHosea's ministry ended before the fall of Samaria and the Assyrian captivity of the northern kingdom, the catastrophe against which he had repeatedly warned.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

The Marriage to Gomer

According to the Book of Hosea, God commanded the prophet to marry Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, an unfaithful woman. The marriage was made a living sign of Israel's own unfaithfulness to the Lord, and their children were given names that carried the prophetic message: Lo-ruhamah ('not pitied'), signifying God's displeasure at Israel's idolatry, and Lo-ammi ('not my people'), representing the severing of the covenant bond.

The point of the sign lay in its reversal: just as Hosea kept covenant with his wayward wife, so God refused to abandon Israel despite its turning to false gods. The book is thus at once a prophecy of doom and a proclamation of God's enduring love for a sinful people, ending in promises of reconciliation and restoration.

The Book of Hosea

The Book of Hosea comprises fourteen chapters. The first three present the prophet's marriage as an extended metaphor for the covenant, while chapters four through fourteen contain prophecies against Israel's violations of that covenant. In casting the relationship between God and Israel in terms of a marriage, the book is regarded as theologically innovative.

The prophecies belong to the setting of the northern kingdom's 8th-century decline. The book warns of the Assyrian captivity that came upon Samaria, and its language is drawn upon in the New Testament: Matthew 2:13–15 applies Hosea 11:1 to the return of the Christ Child from Egypt, and Hosea 10:8 is echoed in Luke 23:30.

Christian Reading and Legacy

Orthodox tradition reckons Hosea among the tribe of Issachar and honors him as the first of the minor prophets. Three messianic readings are drawn from his words: the calling of Christ out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), the resurrection on the third day (Hosea 6:2), and the victory over death (Hosea 13:14). He is also read as foretelling the cessation of the Aaronic priesthood and its sacrificial offerings.

In the Talmudic tradition Hosea is called the greatest prophet of his generation. Jewish legend holds that he died in Babylon and asked to be buried in sacred ground, and locates his tomb in the cemetery at Safed, a claim that scholars regard as historically unfounded.

Member ofReadHide

Synaxis of the Holy Forefathers and Foremothers

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His contemporary among the Twelve, preaching in the generation that saw the fall of the northern kingdom.

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints