Abstract
This article examines a number of contested and contentious issues in the reception of Hosea 1–3, exploring how readers through the centuries have engaged with the interpretive challenges found in the initial chapters of this prophetic text. These include (1) debates concerning whether the marriage of Hosea and Gomer should be understood literally or figuratively; (2) questions concerning the identity of the woman in chp. 3 in relation to the events of chp. 1; (3) proposals on how to understand the metaphorical elements related to Hosea’s marriage and Israel’s infidelity; (4) ethical, theological, and rhetorical concerns raised by these chapters, including feminist critiques; (5) the place of Gomer’s children in the opening chapter of the book; (6) the themes and rhetoric of chp. 2, including the punishment and wooing of the wife and Israel; and (7) the role of Hos 1–3 in Jewish and Christian liturgical traditions. This study offers soundings from across historical, religious, and interpretive traditions that give a sense of the wide-ranging ways in which this book has been read and understood through the centuries. In particular, it highlights that while specific questions and issues related to Hosea have persisted through the years, the underlying interpretive assumptions and approaches to these questions have shifted considerably in various historical periods, which in turn has led to considerable diversity in the reception of this prophetic text.
Highlights
Wacker suggests that the feud in the text is really between Gomer and YHWH: “Do the children belong to the side of Gomer, the ’ēšet zĕnûnîm, who brings them into the world and nourishes them, or to the side of God, who gives them calamitous names and declares them to be living metaphors of the wicked Israel?” (Wacker 2012, p. 372)
The study focused on several key issues, including (1) debates concerning the literal or figurative nature of the marriage of Hosea and Gomer in chp. 1; (2) questions concerning how the woman of chp. 3 might be understood in relation to the events of chp. 1; (3) proposals on how to understand the marriage metaphor and its relation to Hosea’s marriage; (4) ethical, theological, and rhetorical concerns raised by these chapters, including feminist critiques; (5) the role of Gomer’s children in the opening chapter of the book; (6) the themes and rhetoric of chp. 2, including the punishment and wooing of the wife; and (7) the role of
As noted at the outset, the goal of this study was to offer soundings from diverse historical periods, religious traditions, and interpretive communities, which together give a sense of the wide-ranging ways in which readers have engaged with and made sense of
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman as a sign of Israel’s unfaithfulness This leads to further ethical and moral issues for Jerome: “who would not be immediately scandalized at the beginning of the book and say: Hosea, the first of all the prophets, is commanded to take a prostitute as a wife, and he does not protest? This exploration of reception of these chapters from antiquity to the contemporary period This exploration of the reception of Hos 1–3 attempts to rectify this by offering soundings from across historthe reception of Hos 1–3 attempts to rectify this by offering soundings from across historical, ical, religious, and interpretive traditions that give a sense of the wide-ranging ways in religious, and interpretive traditions that give a sense of the wide-ranging ways in which which this book has been read and understood through the centuries. Led to considerable diversitydiversity in the reception of this prophetic text
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