Hosea 1:2–2:1

1:2–3 Yahweh commands Hosea to marry a “wife of whoredom [zenunim].” This Hebrew term indicates illicit sexual behavior. Moses uses the word in Genesis 38:24 to refer to Tamar’s posing as a shrine prostitute in order to entice Judah. Hosea’s wife, Gomer, bears this label, not necessarily because she is a prostitute but because she is (or will become) a woman characterized by sexual infidelity.

The ESV translates the last phrase of Hosea 1:2, “for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.” The Hebrew idiom woodenly reads, “for the land commits great whoredom from after the LORD.” This is the first of a series of expressions in Hosea where God puts himself in the place of a forsaken human lover (cf. comment on 2:2–5 [esp. v. 5]). Hosea does as Yahweh instructed and marries Gomer, who then bears him a son (1:3).

1:4–5 Hosea’s firstborn is named “Jezreel.” This name is revealed to be a prophetic judgment: the “blood of Jezreel” will be visited upon the house of Jehu, and the power of Israel will be broken. “Blood of Jezreel” refers to the violent acts that took place there. In order to acquire Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, Jezebel orchestrated his murder. Because of this, Elijah pronounced a terrible judgment against her and her husband, Ahab (1 Kings 21:17–24). Jehu struck down their heir, King Joram, and disposed of his body on Naboth’s land in Jezreel. He then killed another descendant of Ahab—King Ahaziah of Judah. At Jezreel, Jezebel was thrown out of a window, her blood spattering against the wall on her way down, and she was trampled by horses (2 Kings 9:30–37). Finally, all seventy sons of Ahab were killed and their heads piled up at the entrance of the Jezreel gate (2 Kings 10:1–11). This is the “blood of Jezreel.”

There is some debate concerning the phrase “I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel.” The Hebrew wording for this phrase is “I will visit the blood of Jezreel on the house of Jehu,” which may be understood in two different ways. The word for “blood” can refer to “bloodguilt” (Lev. 20:9), so that the sense would be that the Lord will punish the house of Jehu on account of all the blood they shed at Jezreel. This does create some tension, however, since the Lord elsewhere says to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel” (2 Kings 10:30). In other words, this approach would mean that what is praised in 2 Kings is condemned here.

One possible explanation of the tension argues that Hosea is addressing a different element of the massacre than does 2 Kings 10. In 2 Kings, the emphasis is on Jehu’s going to war against Baal, thereby cleansing the land from his horrible influence. This is commendable. But God did not sanction the bloodthirstiness of how this was accomplished, and in Hosea, the emphasis is on the way in which this violence was an offense against the Lord.

A second approach, which avoids this tension, is simply to say that the prophecy against the house of Jehu (specifically, King Zechariah) is not a punishment for the carnage perpetuated by Jehu at all. The word for “blood” can refer not only to “bloodguilt” (Lev. 20:9) but also to “bloodshed” (1 Kings 2:5), so that the sense of the verse would be, “I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel on the house of Jehu”: Jehu’s wicked house will meet the same kind of violent end that it inflicted on Ahab’s house at Jezreel.

In either case, Hosea 1:5 makes clear that God will bring an end to the northern kingdom. He will break their “bow”—their military power. He will be toyed with no longer. The Valley of Jezreel, where the dynasty of Jeroboam got its start, will be emblematic of its violent end.¹

1:6–7 Gomer next gave birth to a girl, whom Yahweh named “No Mercy” (Lo-ruhama). Gone are the days of forgiveness and mercy to Israel. The tenderness one would expect of a parent toward a child is now gone. This kind of mercy, says Yahweh, will no longer characterize his treatment of Israel.

The southern tribe of Judah, however, will continue to enjoy God’s favor (v. 7). He will save them “by the LORD their God,” not through military means. Soon after Hosea’s ministry, the Assyrian army did destroy Samaria. But when they came up against King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, they were soundly defeated without an arrow being shot (2 Kings 17–19). The promise came true: for Israel there was no compassion, but for Judah there was supernatural salvation.

1:8–9 Again Gomer gave birth, and this time her baby son was named “Not My People” (Lo-ammi). The reason for this name is explained in a sort of negative covenant formula. Instead of the usual “I will be their God and they will be my people,” the Lord declares, “You are not my people, and I am not your God.” The Hebrew can also be read, “I am not I AM for you.”² Thus the divine covenantal name for God is no longer appropriate for Israel to use. He is not theirs; his ever-present reality, his “I AM–ness,” is now inaccessible to them.

1:10–11 At this point, an oracle breaks out that asserts the exact opposite of what has just been said.³ The reversals are striking. Instead of disowning Israel, as he has just done, God now blesses them with the promise of great numbers, like the immeasurable sand of the seashore. Those who had just been declared “not my people” are now named “Children of the living God.” While Israel and Judah had been sharply distinguished just three verses earlier, now together they will unite under one head, perhaps a future Davidic king (v. 11). Thus this oracle overrides the earlier point made by the naming of Hosea’s children. Everything said against them is taken back. And this joyous day will happen where else but in Jezreel, which means “God sows”! Israel will once again be a bountiful harvest (cf. 2:23).

2:1 Therefore it follows that they will be called “You are my people” and “You have received mercy.” After being alienated from Yahweh, they will be restored. In this promise of restoration, God’s own heart is on display. He desires to withhold forgiveness and mercy because of their infidelity—but he also seeks to provide these graces. He wants to punish Israel, but also to take her back.