Reconsidering the Date and Provenance of the Book of Hosea

The Case for Persian-Period Yehud

James M. Bos

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780567657176
• eBook ISBN: 9780567068897
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

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.

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION
• 1. The Implications of Literacy in Israel and Judah for Understanding the Production of the Prophetic Books
• 2. Evidence for the Writing Down and Preservation of Prophetic Materials in the Monarchic Period
• 3. Other Potential Literary Models for Understanding the Prophetic Books
• 4. Linguistic Evidence for the Date or Provenance of the Book of Hosea?
• 5. Earlier Treatments of the Book of Hosea That Fall Within the “New Paradigm”
• 6. Dating the Book of Hosea
• Chapter 2. THE ANTI-MONARCHICAL IDEOLOGY OF THE BOOK OF HOSEA AS EVIDENCE FOR A PERSIAN-PERIOD DATE OF COMPOSITION AND JUDAHITE PROVENANCE
• 1. Hosea 10:3–4, 7
• 2. Hosea 13:9–11 and 8:4a
• 3. Hosea 9:9 and 10:9; 9:15
• 4. Hosea 10:13b–14a; 8:14; 14:4b; 1:7; 2:20
• 5. Hosea 5:1–7; 7:3–7; 8:10
• 6. Hosea 2:2a and 3:5
• 7. Conclusion
• Chapter 3. THE ANTI-BENJAMIN, ANTI-BETHEL, AND ANTI-SAMARIA POLEMIC IN THE BOOK OF HOSEA READ AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE EARLY PERSIAN PERIOD
• 1. Jerusalem in Competition with Mizpah, Bethel, and Samaria
• 2. The Polemic Against Benjamin in the Hebrew Bible
• 3. Analysis of the Anti-Benjamin Polemic in the Book of Hosea
• 4. The Polemic Against Bethel in the Book of Hosea
• 5. Polemic Against the Benjaminite Site of Gilgal
• 6. The Polemic Against Samaria and Shechem
• 7. Conclusion
• Chapter 4. THE PERVASIVENESS OF THE JUDAHITE DUAL THEME OF EXILE–RETURN IN THE BOOK OF HOSEA AS EVIDENCE FOR A PERSIAN-PERIOD DATE
• 1. Hosea 1:6
• 2. Hosea 2:1–2
• 3. The Name “Jezreel”
• 4. Hosea 3:5
• 5. Hosea 4:16, 19
• 6. Hosea 5:8–15
• 7. Hosea 6:1–3
• 8. Hosea 7:11
• 9. Reversal of the “Exodus” in 8:13, 9:3, and 11:5
• 10. Hosea 12:7, 10
• 11. The Final Restoration: Hosea 14:2–9
• 12. Summary and Conclusion
• Chapter 5. THE TRADITIONS OF “ISRAEL” IN THE BOOK OF HOSEA: EVIDENCE FOR A POST-MONARCHIC DATE AND JUDAHITE PROVENANCE
• 1. The Date of Deuteronomy
• 2. The Covenant in the Book of Hosea
• 3. The Marriage in the Book of Hosea
• 4. Hosea 1:1
• 5. Hosea 1:4
• 6. Hosea 1:9
• 7. Hosea 2:1
• 8. Hosea 2:16–17
• 9. Hosea 9:1–9
• 10. Hosea 11:8
• 11. The Exodus Tradition in the Book of Hosea
• 12. The Wilderness Tradition in the Book of Hosea
• 13. The Jacob Tradition in the Book of Hosea
• 14. Hosea 13:10–11 (and 8:4)
• 15. Conclusion
• Chapter 6. CONCLUSION
• Bibliography
• Index of References
• Index of Authors