Slides from day 3 of my teaching on Hosea at Bible & Culture 2014. The slides today include quite a bit of material on Hebrew poetry and more figures of speech, both of which Hosea and other prophets use extensively.

1. HOSEA
3

2. Three periods of
history for Hosea

3. 1. Israel’s ancestors
(patriarchs)

4. 2. Exodus and wilderness

5. 3. Life in the promised land

6. Base texts
Texts which Hosea builds on

7. Torah
Genesis – Numbers, Deuteronomy?

8. Israel’s rescue
perhaps especially Exodus 3 – 4

9. Israel is my firstborn son.
Exodus 4:22

10. Decalogue (start)
Exodus 20:1–6

11. I am the Lord your God, who brought
you out of Egypt . . .
Exodus 20:2

12. You shall have no other gods before
me.
Exodus 20:3

13. Golden calf incident
Exodus 32 – 34

14. Psalm 106
especially verses 6–39

15. Structure of Hosea

16. A 1:1 – 3:5 A wayward wife
B 4:1 – 5:7 Spiritual prostitution
C 5:8 – 6:11a political corruption;
empty sacrifices
D 6:11b – 7:16 Israel has not
returned to God
C’ 8:1 – 9:7b political corruption;
empty sacrifices
B’ 9:7c – 10:15 Spiritual prostitution
A’ 11:1 – 14:10 A wayward son

17. Hosea 4:1 – 5:7

18. charge = rîb

19. covenant lawsuit
• Summons
• Charge
• Evidence
• Verdict and sentence
More on prophetic genres:
bit.ly/prophet_info

20. Hebrew poetry

21. parallelism

22. synonymous parallelism

23. I have swept away your offenses like
a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Isaiah 44:22

24. He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong
nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into
plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against
nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Micah 4:3

25. Hear this, you priests!
Pay attention, you Israelites!
Listen, royal house!
This judgement is again you.
Hosea 5:1

26. synthetic parallelism

27. ‘The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.
The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.
Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on
that day,’ declares the LORD.
Amos 2:14

28. Fallen is virgin Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to help her up
Amos 5:2

29. O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear
Or cry to you ‘Violence!’
and you will not save?
Habakkuk 1:2

30. inverted parallelism

31. I will visit upon them their ways,
and their deeds I will return to them.
Isaiah 11:13

32. I know all about Ephraim;
Israel is not hidden from me.
Hosea 5:3

33. antithetical parallelism

34. They do not cry out to me from their
hearts,
but wail upon their beds.
Hosea 7:14

35. All the nations may walk
in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the LORD
our God for ever and ever.
Micah 4:5

36. Manuscript Bible Study
• Structure (flow of the argument)?
• Repeated words, images or concepts
• Connecting words: (but, therefore, etc.)
• Figures of speech (metaphors, similes, etc.)
• Key themes, concepts or images
• What characters and places are mentioned?
• Parallels and cross-references
• Questions: what do you not understand?