Hosea 1

¹ The word of the LORD that came unto Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

² The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

³ So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.

⁴ And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.

⁵ And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.

⁶ And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.

⁷ But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.

⁸ Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.

⁹ Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.

¹⁰ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

¹¹ Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

World Behind This Chapter

Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Hosea 1.

QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

?

Why does Hosea begin with a marriage and children’s names?

The opening uses Hosea’s household as a prophetic sign-act. The children’s names are not decorative details; each becomes a compressed public message tied to Israel’s political and covenant world.

?

What historical memory is carried by the name Jezreel?

Jezreel is both a real valley/city zone and a name loaded with memories of the Jehu dynasty and royal violence. Hosea turns that place-name into a prophetic wordplay.

?

How should the names Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi be read?

The Hebrew names encode short statements—“not shown compassion” and “not my people.” Their force depends on hearing them as names and sentences at the same time.

WORTH A CLOSER LOOK

map

Orient Hosea inside the northern kingdom

A geographic thumbnail places Jezreel, Samaria, Bethel, and Jerusalem in one frame. It shows that Hosea is rooted primarily in Israel’s northern kingdom rather than in Jerusalem.

⌘ Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3

Maps & Timeline1

• Archaeology Fieldwork at JezreelUniversity of Evansville

  University overview of archaeological work at Jezreel, including surveys, roads, tombs, wine and olive-oil presses, an Iron Age winery complex, and the relationship between the fortified mound and its spring. The site provides geographical and material context for the symbolic name Jezreel and Hosea’s reference to the violence associated with the house of Jehu.

Language & Literature2

• Family Dynamics and the Reception of Hosea 1–3Religions

  Open, browser-readable scholarly study of Hosea’s marriage, Gomer, and the symbolic names Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah, and Lo-Ammi. It surveys how Jewish and Christian interpreters have understood the narrative and gives careful attention to the troubling effects of its marriage and family metaphors.

• Hosea 1 in Hebrew and EnglishMechon Mamre

  Presents the Hebrew chapter beside an English translation. Useful for examining the wordplay in Jezreel, the negative particle lo in Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi, repeated naming formulas, and the reversal from rejected children to an immeasurable and reunited people.