Hosea 1—3 in Twentieth-Century Scholarship

Abstract

Throughout the twentieth century, critical scholarship on the book of Hosea has focused overwhelmingly on the marriage metaphor in Hosea 1—3. Scholars often saw these chapters as establishing the primary interpretive issues for the message of the prophet and the book as a whole, although a lack of consensus concerning even the most basic exegetical issues remains. Newer studies have rightly pushed beyond this isolation of Hosea 1—3. This article surveys the major trends of the modern interpretation of these chapters, with particular attention to the second half of the twentieth century. From the early 1900s to the 1980s, critical works focused primarily on the biographical reconstruction of the prophet and his family life, as well as related historical and form-critical concerns. From the 1930s forward, such study was particularly concerned to read Hosea 1—3 against the background of a purported sexualized Baal cult in eighth-century Israel. Beginning in the 1980s, feminist-critical readings of Hosea 1—3 came to occupy a prominent position. In subsequent years, these concerns have been complemented by an emerging emphasis on metaphor theory, as well as newer kinds of literary, book-oriented, and socio-historical analyses. A follow-up article will treat recent scholarship on Hosea 4—14.

Family Dynamics, Fertility Cults, and Feminist Critiques: The Reception of Hosea 1–3 through the Centuries

“…Over time this assuredness faded; while some relationship to divorce might be in view, the notion of a technical declaration of divorce fell out of fashion has led to some speculation that this section may have originated as part of legal proceedings-giving credence to the fact that a real marriage may have been in view. Indeed, the language of the subsequent clause in 2:2 ("for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband") has led to similar conjecture (see discussion in Kelle 2005Kelle , 2009. By the eighteenth century John Gill was suggesting that these verses indicate an official bill of divorce.…”

“…Although a number of studies have explored various aspects of the reception of Hosea 1-3, these are often quite specific in either their subject matter or the timeframe being investigated (Rowley 1956;Kelle 2009); no recent attempt has been made to track the 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 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.…”

Metaphor Research and the Hebrew Bible

“…van Hecke 2018), examining the relationship between recent form-critical analyses and metaphor theories, using agricultural and feminine metaphors in the Book of the Twelve as test cases. For a survey of metaphor studies in Hosea up until 2010, see Kelle 2009: 202-208; 2010: 355-60.…”