Book or, a canonical book of the Old Testament, occupying the first place among the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew, Alexandrian, and Vulgate Scriptures. This position has been vindicated by some from the opening verse, in which are found the words, "The beginning of the word of the Lord;" but it is more probable that it was assigned to Hosea from the greater extent, and perhaps the peculiar national character, of his book. The tribe to which the author belonged has been matter of question. Maurer pleads for Judah, and—(1.) takes the case of Amos, as showing that a Jewish prophet might be sent to Israel; (2.) appeals to the mention by Hosea of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, as showing that he regarded these as his sovereigns, and must therefore have belonged to Judah. It is replied (1.) by Credner, that the case of Amos is peculiar, and was regarded as such (Amos vii. 12), and cannot therefore be made the ground of an argument in the present case; and (2.) by Hengstenberg, that the separation of Israel from Judah during the theocracy could not have been regarded by the inspired prophet as anything but rebellion against the House of David, to whom the promises were made; that, accordingly, in the sight of God, Israel and Judah (the twelve tribes) were regarded as one religious confederation by Hosea, as they were by Elijah, when he took the twelve stones, one for each tribe; (3.) also, by Hengstenberg, that, in a chronological point of view, it was important to make the reference to the successors of Uzziah, because confusion existed at this time in the Israelitish chronology owing to interregna. The majority of commentators—such as Rosenmüller, De Wette, Eichhorn, Hengstenberg, and Uhland—adopt the opinion that Hosea was an Israelite. The probable period of his prophetical career has been made out as follows:

| During Uzziah's reign | 26 years | |-----------------------|---------| | Jotham's | 16 | | Ahaz's | 16 | | Hezekiah's | 2 |

Some, however (as Horsley), make the period longer; others (as Rosenmüller) make it shorter. The style of Hosea is abrupt, and often obscure; abounding in idiomatic and anomalous expressions and phraseology. His prophecies are mainly directed against Israel, whose history during his career was one dark tissue of robbery, assassination, and usurpation amongst the higher, and very general degradation amongst the lower ranks of the people. The command of God to the prophet to take to himself a wife of whoredoms, and beget children of whoredoms, has given rise to much difference of opinion:—(1.) Was it real? Cyril, Theodoret, Basil, Augustine, Grotius, Houbigant, Horsley, and Stuck, believed it to be so. (2.) Was it an allegory? It was so considered by the Chaldee paraphraist, Jerome, Drusius, Bauer, Rosenmüller, and South. Or, (3.) Was it a vision? So thought Maimonides, and some others. In any case, it is allowed that the transactions were of a typical character. Hengstenberg's explanation is substantially that the transactions are allegorical. The leading objection to the literal interpretation is, that the events must have spread over a period of several years, which would have been fatal to the impressiveness of the lessons intended to be taught.