Hosea 1:1-14:9 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 1:1-3

The wife of whoredoms. We cannot doubt but that real incidents in the prophet's history underlie the representations of this chapter. Hosea, in obedience to what he recognized to be a word of God, took to wife Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. The names (Gomer, "completion;" Diblaim, "fig-cakes") may possibly be symbolical, the real name of the prophet's wife being concealed (cf. Hosea 3:1 , "The children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love grape-cakes "). We need not suppose... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Hosea 1:1

The word of the Lord, that came unto Hosea - Hosea, at the very beginning of his prophecy, declares that all this, which he delivered, came, not from his own mind but from God. As Paul says, “Paul an Apostle, not of men neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father.” He refers all to God, and claims all obedience to Him. That word came to him; it existed then before, in the mind of God. It was first God’s, then it became the prophet’s, receiving it from God. So it is said, “the word... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Hosea 1:1

Hosea 1:1. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea The name of the prophet is the same with the original name of Joshua, and signifies a Saviour. The son of Beeri This was the prophet’s surname; for in those days they had their surnames either from their parents, as we have, or from the places of their abode. Beeri signifies a well. In the days of Uzziah, &c. “If we suppose,” says Archbishop Newcome, “that Hosea prophesied during the course of sixty-six years, and place him... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Hosea 1:1-11

1:1-3:5 HOSEA’S FAMILY LIFE AND ITS LESSONSHosea, Gomer and their children (1:1-2:1)The prophet begins his book by outlining his experiences with his unfaithful wife, Gomer. Gomer was probably not a prostitute when Hosea was told to marry her. In recording the story, Hosea is looking back over the events that happened, recalling that the woman whom he married and who bore him children became a prostitute. Gomer’s unfaithfulness in leaving him for other men pictured Israel’s unfaithfulness in... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Hosea 1:1

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 . Hosea. Hebrew. Hoshe'a' = Salvation. Beeri. Jewish tradition identifies Be'eri with Be'erah, of Reuben (1 Chronicles 5:6 ). Christian tradition makes Hosea of Issachar. Both names are symbolical, like the other names in this hook. This clause not "evidently inserted by a later hand", as alleged. Uzziah. See note on p. 1208. Jeroboam: i.e. Jeroboam II, the last king hut one of the house of Jehu. See note on 2 Kings 10:30 ; 2 Kings 14:23-29 . This... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Hosea 1:1

This chapter details the prophecy of the doom of Israel as typically enacted in the tragic marital experience of the prophet himself. The infidelity of Hosea's wife, Gomer, portrayed the apostasy of Israel; and Hosea's altruistic and unfailing love depicted the unmerited love and favor of God which continued to be lavished upon faithless Israel. The names given through inspiration to the three children also foreshadowed the ultimate rejection and destruction of the once "chosen people." Thus,... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Hosea 1:1

Hosea 1:1. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri— Hosea signifies a saviour, and Beeri—of a well. Calmet observes, that if Hosea prophesied in the reign of all these princes, he must have lived a very long time; for there are one hundred and twelve years from the beginning of Uzziah's to the end of Hezekiah's reign; add, if you please, twenty or twenty-five years, which might be the age of Hosea when he began to prophesy, and this will make a hundred and thirty-two or a... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Hosea 1:1

1. The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea—See :- Jeroboam—the second; who died in the fifteenth year of Uzziah's forty-one years' reign. From his time forth all Israel's kings worshipped false gods: Zachariah (2 Kings 15:9), Menahem (2 Kings 15:18), Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:18- :), Pekah (2 Kings 15:28), Hoshea (2 Kings 17:2). As Israel was most flourishing externally under Jeroboam II, who recovered the possessions seized on by Syria, Hosea's prophecy of its downfall at that time was the more... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Hosea 1:1

I. INTRODUCTION 1:1This verse introduces the whole book. The word of Yahweh came to Hosea, the son (possibly descendant) of Beeri, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (cf. Isaiah 1:1). It also came to him during the reign of Jeroboam II of Israel (cf. Amos 1:1). As explained above under "Date," Hosea’s ministry probably extended from about 760-715 B.C. Hosea’s name means "He [Yahweh] has saved" and is a variation of "Joshua" (cf. Numbers 13:8; Numbers 13:16;... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 1:1

Hosea’s Marriage and its Lessons1. A general heading. Hosea 1:2-9. The prophet’s marriage with Gomer, the birth of her three children, and the symbolical meaning attached to them. Hosea 1:1 to Hosea 2:1. The future material and religious prosperity of the people.1. A general heading, perhaps the work of a late Judæan editor. Hosea 1-3 probably belong to the time of Jeroboam II; but it is extremely improbable that any of the prophecies belong to so late a date as the days of Hezekiah, when the... read more