ROBIN ROUTLEDGE - Hosea

Inter-Varsity Press, England

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InterVarsity Press, USA

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Robin Routledge 2020

Robin Routledge has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

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Inter-Varsity Press, England, publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

IVP originated within the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. That historic association is maintained, and all senior IVP staff and committee members subscribe to the UCCF Basis of Faith. Website: www.uccf.org.uk.

InterVarsity Press , USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.intervarsity.org.

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the niv 2011. For Bible acknowledgments, see p. xii.

First published 2020

Set in Garamond 11/13pt

Typeset in Great Britain by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

Produced on paper from sustainable forests.

UK ISBN: 9781783599646 (print)

UK ISBN: 9781783599653 (digital)

US ISBN: 9780830842711 (print)

US ISBN: 9780830842780 (digital)

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

The decision to completely revise the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries is an indication of the important role that the series has played since its opening volumes were released in the mid 1960s. They represented at that time, and have continued to represent, commentary writing that was committed to both the importance of the text of the Bible as Scripture and a desire to engage with as full a range of interpretative issues as possible without being lost in the minutiae of scholarly debate. The commentaries aimed to explain the biblical text to a generation of readers confronting models of critical scholarship and new discoveries from the Ancient Near East while remembering that the Old Testament is not simply another text from the ancient world. Although no uniform process of exegesis was required, all the original contributors were united in their conviction that the Old Testament remains the word of God for us today. That the original volumes fulfilled this role is evident from the way in which they continue to be used in so many parts of the world.

A crucial element of the original series was that it should offer an up-to-date reading of the text, and it is precisely for this reason that new volumes are required. The questions confronting readers in the first half of the twenty-first century are not necessarily those from the second half of the twentieth. Discoveries from the Ancient Near East continue to shed new light on the Old Testament, while emphases in exegesis have changed markedly. While remaining true to the goals of the initial volumes, the need for contemporary study of the text requires that the series as a whole be updated. This updating is not simply a matter of commissioning new volumes to replace the old. We have also taken the opportunity to update the format of the series to reflect a key emphasis from linguistics, which is that texts communicate in larger blocks rather than in shorter segments such as individual verses. Because of this, the treatment of each section of the text includes three segments. First, a short note on Context is offered, placing the passage under consideration in its literary setting within the book as well as noting any historical issues crucial to interpretation. The Comment segment then follows the traditional structure of the commentary, offering exegesis of the various components of a passage. Finally, a brief comment is made on Meaning , by which is meant the message that the passage seeks to communicate within the book, highlighting its key theological themes. This section brings together the detail of the Comment to show how the passage under consideration seeks to communicate as a whole.

Our prayer is that these new volumes will continue the rich heritage of the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries and that they will continue to witness to the God who is made known in the text.

David G. Firth, Series Editor

Tremper Longman III, Consulting Editor

My fascination with Hosea goes back to university days. A series of inspirational Bible studies at the church I was attending piqued my interest, and it has been my favourite Old Testament book ever since. One reason for that is the intimate portrayal of the relationship between Yahweh and his people as a husband and as a father which brings a sense of vulnerability and also highlights aspects of divine love that, in my view, come as close as anything in the Old Testament to the love revealed more fully in Christ. Some recent approaches to the prophecy have focused less on the historical aspects of Hoseas family life. I agree that details are sparse but, nevertheless, view the opening chapters as programmatic for the book as a whole, and have argued that Hoseas marital situation, where it can be reconstructed, and its parallel with Yahwehs marriage to Israel, plays a crucial part in understanding the depth of Yahwehs relationship with his people.

Perhaps in keeping with the relational aspect of the book, the most frequent title for God is yhwh, which appears as the Lord in most English versions. I have rendered the divine name Yahweh, whilst translating other terms, lhm and the less frequent l , as God.

The commentary was not without its challenges. The text of Hosea is difficult, and I lost count of the number of times commentators described one passage or another as among the most difficult in the Old Testament. Possible reasons for difficulties in translating the text are discussed in the commentary. One result of these challenges is a relatively large number of references to other commentaries and of explanatory footnotes. I hope these are helpful. When comparing differing views, I have sometimes not found it possible to come to a definite conclusion. My aim on those occasions is to note viable alternatives and provide enough information for readers to form their own opinion. Sources for further reading are included in the footnotes. Footnotes are also used to note references to the several recurring themes in the book.

In writing this commentary I am grateful for the help and encouragement of colleagues and friends, and also of students around the world, who have listened to, and given feedback on, some of the ideas expressed here. I am grateful, too, to congregations who have listened, patiently, to numerous sermons on Hosea during the years this volume has been in preparation. It is my hope that this commentary will encourage others to preach and teach on what I consider to be an important book. Thanks, too, to David Firth and Phil Duce, and the team at SPCK, for their hard work, help, encouragement and considerable patience. And thanks to my family: my wife and best friend, Ailsa, my children and my grandchildren, Darcey, Rex, Lucas and Leo, for bearing with me on those occasions when I have pulled out the computer to do just a little bit more. Thanks, finally, to God for his inspired Word, and for the divine love that the book of Hosea gives us insights into.