CONTENTS

General Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION

I. ORIGINS AND TRANSMISSION

II. LITERARY FEATURES AND COMPOSITION
A. Literary Features
B. Written Composition and Outline

III. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO HOSEA’S PROPHECY

IV. HOSEA’S THEOLOGY
A. Narrative and Community Identity
B. Israel Is YHWH’s Household
C. Covenant and Marriage
1. Basic Terminology in Hosea and the OT
2. Covenant and Marriage Formulas and Their Institutional Settings
3. Marriage and Covenant after Hosea

V. BIBLIOGRAPHY

TEXT AND COMMENTARY

I. SUPERSCRIPTION (1:1)

II. HOSEA’S FAMILY (1:2–3:5)
A. Marriage, Children, and Judgment on Israel (1:2–9)
B. Reversal of the Judgment and Restoration of Israel and Judah (1:10–2:1 [MT
2:1–3])
C. Charge against the Mother as a Sign of the Case against Israel (2:2–13 [MT
2:4–15])
D. Reversal of the Judgment against Israel and Its Transformation (2:14–23 [MT
2:16–25])
E. Love Her Again as a Sign that YHWH Loves Israel and Judah (3:1–5)

III. GOD AND HIS PEOPLE (4:1–11:11)
A. YHWH’s Case against the People (4:1–3)
B. “Spirit of Harlotry” (4:4–5:7)
1. Priesthood and People (4:4–19)
2. Government and People (5:1–7)
C. Alarm over Israel and Judah (5:8–7:7)
1. A Lion against Ephraim and Judah (5:8–15)
2. Failed Repentance and Failed Relationships (6:1–11a)
3. Their Deeds Encompass Them (6:11b–7:2)
4. All Adulterers and the Kings Have Fallen (7:3–7)
D. Israel Is Mixed and Swallowed Up among the Nations (7:8–9:9)
1. Calling Egypt and Assyria (7:8–16)
2. Broken Covenant and Shattered Calf (8:1–6)
3. Calling Egypt and Assyria (8:7–14)
4. Days of Punishment Have Come (9:1–9)
E. The Past Presses Judgment on the Present (9:10–10:15)
1. Grapes in the Wilderness to No Fruit (9:10–17)
2. Luxuriant Vine to Thorn and Thistle (10:1–10)
3. From Trained Heifer to Fruit of Lies (10:11–15)
F. A Prodigal Son Returns Home (11:1–11)

IV. GOD AND HIS PEOPLE (11:12–14:8 [MT 12:1–14:9])
A. YHWH’s Case Continued (11:12–12:14 [MT 12:1–15])
B. Death Befits Them (13:1–16 [MT 14:1])
C. Israel’s Repentance and YHWH’s Healing Power (14:1–8 [MT 2–9])

V. THIS IS WISDOM: YHWH’S WAYS ARE RIGHT (14:9 [MT 10])

APPENDICES

1. Baal in Hosea
2. The Song of Moses and Hosea
3. Flora and Fauna Metaphors in Hosea
4. Love in the Prophecy of Hosea
5. Psalm 106 and Hosea
6. Sexual Infidelity in Hosea
7. Terms for Election in Hosea
8. Transjordan in Hosea
9. Worship Centers in Hosea
10. YHWH’s Self-Definition (Exod. 34:6–7) and Hosea

Notes

INDEXES

SUBJECTS

AUTHORS

SCRIPTURE AND OTHER ANCIENT TEXTS
FOREIGN WORDS

Here J. Andrew Dearman considers the historical context of the prophetic figure of Hosea, his roots in the prophetic activity and covenant traditions of ancient Israel, and the poetic and metaphorical aspects of the prophecy. This historical and theological commentary is a welcome addition to the NICOT series.