At a Glance
Hosea at a Glance
Hosea is the first of the twelve Minor Prophets. They are called minor because their books are short, not because their message is small. In Hosea, the prophet's own home is the sermon: a faithful husband and an unfaithful wife show how the LORD loves a people who keep wandering from Him.
- Author. Hosea the son of Beeri (Hosea 1:1). His name means salvation.
- Date. His ministry ran about 755 to 715 BC, from the last years of Jeroboam II into the reign of Hezekiah (Hosea 1:1).
- Written To. The northern kingdom of Israel, often called Ephraim after its leading tribe, with some words to Judah.
- Setting. Good years, then collapse. After Jeroboam II died, six kings sat on Israel's throne in about thirty years, four of them murdered. Assyria ended the kingdom in 722 BC.
- Key Verse. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely (Hosea 14:4).
- Key Word or Theme. Covenant love. The Hebrew word chesed, rendered lovingkindness or mercy, means loyal love that does not let go.
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Further reading
For Deeper Study
- Be AmazedAmazon Warren W. WiersbeA warm, practical Bible-study commentary on Hosea, Joel, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Malachi.
- Love to the Loveless: The Message of HoseaAmazon Derek KidnerA short, careful exposition in the Bible Speaks Today series. Kidner was an Anglican evangelical, and we differ with him on the future of Israel.
- The Minor ProphetsAmazon Charles Lee FeinbergA dispensational commentary that reads Israel's promises plainly.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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