- Hosea, most agree, prophesied between 755 B.C.E. (approximately) through the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (723-722 B.C.E.) and, accordingly, why the reference to the kings of Judea before any reference to the kings of Israel (Hosea 1:1)?
- Is any biographical data provided regarding the prophet save for the name of his father?
- In Hosea 1:2, is any reference made to the location, time, or any other element of the “beginning of God’s instruction to Hosea”?
- What is the relationship between marrying a whorish woman and the conduct of Israel?
- According to Hosea 1:3, does the prophet literally follow the instruction which is given?
- Why is the first child born of this union called Yizre’el (Hosea 1:4)?
- The second child born to the couple (Hosea 1:6) is called “No Mercy” and why that name?
- Will the future of Israel and Judea be the same according to this prophecy (Hosea 1:6-7)?
- The third child is to be named “Not My People”; the end of Hosea 1:9 has an interesting grammatical construct. It can be read “and I will not be for you” or, referring back to Moses and the Burning Bush, “I will not be Eheyeh for you” — which would seem most appropriate?
