An examination of the final form of Hosea within the socio-historical context of Persian period Judah, making use of insights from historical-critical and reader-oriented perspectives. The amalgamation of these two seemingly divergent approaches creates a framework within which the setting and interpretive practices of both the modern critic and the ancient reader(s) can be taken seriously. The resulting examination proposes a reading of Hosea shaped, as far as possible, by the reading conventions and socio-religious concerns of Persian period Judahites.

An examination of the final form of Hosea within the socio-historical context of Persian period Judah, making use of insights from historical-critical and reader-oriented perspectives. The amalgamation of these two seemingly divergent approaches creates a framework within which the setting and interpretive practices of both the modern critic and the ancient reader(s) can be taken seriously. The resulting examination proposes a reading of Hosea shaped, as far as possible, by the reading conventions and socio-religious concerns of Persian period Judahites.

In this volume, a list of esteemed scholars engage with the literary readings of prophetic and poetic texts in the Hebrew Bible that revolve around sensitivity to the complexity of language, the fragility of meaning, and the interplay of texts. These themes are discussed using a variety of hermeneutical strategies. In Part 1, Poets and Poetry, some essays address the nature of poetic language itself, while others play with themes of love, beauty, and nature in specific poetic texts. The essays in Part 2, Prophets and Prophecy, consider prophets and prophecy from a number of interpretive directions, moving from internal literary analysis to the reception of these texts and their imagery in a range of ancient and modern contexts. Those in Part 3, on the other hand, Texts in Play, take more recent works (from Shakespeare to Tove Jansson's Moomin books for children) as their point of departure, developing conversations between texts across the centuries that enrich the readings of both the ancient and modern pieces of literature.

This study argues that the book of Hosea ought to be understood and read as a text that was composed in Persian-period Yehud rather than in eight-century Israel. The author challenges the traditional scholarship and emphasizes that there is the evidence to suggest that the book should be viewed as a Judahite text - a book that was composed in the late sixth or early fifth century B.C.E. Bos provides an overview of the state of prophetic research, as well as a discussion of genre and the generation of prophetic books, linguistic dating and provenance; and a survey of Hosea research. Bos discusses various aspects of the book of Hosea that aim to prove his argument the book was composed in Persian-period Yehud - the anti-monarchical ideology of the book, the dual theme of 'Exile' and 'Return' which is consistent with the discourse found in other Judahite books dating to the sixth century; and the historiographical traditions.

A current and accessible guide to the literature on Old Testament prophecy.

The book of Hosea is a labyrinth of juxtaposed images for God and God’s people, with such disparate metaphors as God the devouring lion and God the reviving dew. In Hosea’s God: A Metaphorical Theology, Mason D. Lancaster demonstrates that recent advances in metaphor theory help untangle these divergent portrayals of God. He analyzes fifteen metaphor clusters in Hosea 4–14 individually, then discerns patterns and reversals between the clusters. Finally, respecting the ancient value for emphasizing individual aspects of a depiction over a homogenized picture of the whole, the book identifies five characteristics of God prominent among the metaphors of Hosea. Based on this analysis, Lancaster asserts that Hosea’s metaphorical depiction of Yahweh ultimately derives from the primacy of Yahweh’s fidelity to Israel.

Ben Zvi's Hosea features a comprehensive introduction and careful commentary with special attention to themes of exile and restoration, as well as extended discussion of didactic prophetic readings.