Hope – Hoshama

Hope

1. Hope and faith (the soul’s forward and upward look towards God) are imperfectly differentiated in the OT, as with men who ‘greeted the promises from afar’ (Hebrews 11:13–16) hope has there the greater vogue.

Amongst theseveral Heb. words thus Tendered,(l) signifying restful hope {leaning on J’^, &c.), oftener appears as ‘trust’ and sometimes as ‘confidence’ — ‘hope’ in Job 6. Psalms 16:9. Proverbs 14:32. Eo 9:4. Jeremiah 17:7. (2) A subjective synonym (ladioally, the loins) is variously translated ‘hope,’ ‘confidence,’ and ‘folly’ (cf. AV and RV in Job ZV; also Job 4:6. Psalms 49:13 78:7 85:8. Proverbs 3. Eo 7). (3) RV corrects the ‘hope’ (AV) of Jeremiah 17:17. Joel 3:16. into ‘refuge.’ (4) A synonym hardly distinguishablefrom (5) and (6), and rendered ‘hope’ or ‘wait upon,’ occurs 8 times (Psalms 104:27 146:5 etc.). The two most distinctive OT words for hope are frequently rendered ‘wait (for or upon) .’ Of these (5) bears a relatively passive significance (e.ff. in Job 6:11 14:14. Psalms 33:18–22 42:5, Lamentations 3). (6) The term oftenest recurring, denoting practical, even siremLous, anticipation (renderea ‘expectation’ in Psalms 9:18 62:5)., has a root-meaning not far removed from that of the Heb. verb for ‘believe’; Genesis 49:18. Ruth 1:12, Job 14:7. Psalms 25:5, 21. Ezekiel 37:11. Hosea 2 afford good examples.

It is to the OT rather than the NT that one must look for definite representations of the earthly hopes belonging to God’s Kingdom, the social regeneration and national well-being that come in its train (see, e.g.. Isaiah 9:6 f. 11:1–9 65. 60 f., Pas 72. 96-98, etc.); broadly interpreted, these promises are of permanent validity (see Matthew 6:10, 33 13, 1 Timothy 4:8 etc.). Hope plays an increasing part in the later OT books; it advances in distinctness, grandeur, and spirituality with the course of revelation. The Holy One of Israel made Himself ‘the God of hope’ for mankind (Romans 15:13; cf. Jeremiah 14:8 and 17:13 with Isaiah 42:4 SI*"- 60). When the national hopes foundered, OT faith anchored itself to two objects: (a) the Messianic Kingdom (see Kingdom of God); and (6), esp. in the latest times, the resurrection of the dead (Isaiah 25:8 26:19. Daniel 12:2; probably Job 19:25 ff.; Psalms 16:8–11 17:15) — the latter conceived as necessary to the former, since otherwise those who had suffered most for God’s Kingdom would miss it (cf. Hebrews 11:35, 1 Thessalonians 4:15 ff.). The OT heritage is developed in extravagant forms by Jewish Apocalyptic literature, which was the product of a powerful ferment in the Judaism of New Test, times. Philo Judaeus, who represents philosophic Judaism at the farthest remove from popular Messianic enthusiasm, nevertheless makes hope (followed by repentance and righteousness) the leader in his triad of the elementary religious virtues (cf. 1 Corinthians 13), while faith leads the second and highest triad.

2. To both factors of ‘the hope of Israel,’ separately or together, St. Paul appealed in addressing his compatriots(Ac 13 23 268"- 28). It was ‘a lamp shining in a dark place’ (2 Peter 1:19) hope at the Christian era was flickering low in the Gentile world (see Ephesians 2:12. 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 1 Corinthians 15:32 ff. — amply confirmed by classical literature). ‘By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ humanity was ‘begotten again unto a living hope’ (1 Peter 1:3; cf. Acts 2, 1 Corinthians 15:12–26, Revelation 1:17 f.) the Israelite hope was verified, and the Christian hope founded, by the return of Jesus from the grave. The Greek word for ‘hope’ (elpis, noun; elpizo, verb) primarily meant expectation of good or evil — commonly, in effect, the former; but ‘in later Greek, at the time when hope made its presence so powerfully felt in the Christian sphere, elpis elsewhere came to be increasingly used with the sense of anxiety or fear, of which there is not a single example in the LXX or NT’ (Cremer); ‘evil hopes’ in the Gr. of Isaiah 28:11 is ironical, similarly in Wisdom 13:10. The RV rightly substitutes ‘hope’ for ■ trust ‘in the 18 places where AV rendered elpizd by the latter; for the NT clearly differentiates’ faith’ and ‘hope,’ referring the latter to the future good of Christ’s Kingdom longingly expected, while the former is directed to God’s past deeds of salvation and His present grace in Christ. ‘Hope’ is used by metonymy for the matter of hope, the thing hoped for, in Galatians 5:5. Colossians 1:5. Titus 2:13, Hebrews 6:18. It is sometimes replaced by ‘patience’ (or ‘endurance’), its expression in outward bearing (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 and 2 Thessalonians 1:3 f.) and (as in the OT) the verbs ‘hope’ and ‘wait’ or ‘look for’ or ‘expect’ are interchangeable(see Romans 8:19–25, 1 Corinthians 1:7. Galatians 5:5, Hebrews 10:13). St. Paul uses a graphic and intense synonym for hope, lit. ‘watching with outstretched head,’ in Romans 8:19, Philippians 1:20.

elpis appears first with its full Christian meaning in the NT Epp.; for it dates from our Lord’s resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). Its object is, in general, ‘the glory of God’ (Romans 5:2, 1 Thessalonians 2:12), i.e. the glorious manifestation of His completed redemption and the ‘coming’ of His ‘kingdom in power,’ which is to be realized, particularly, in the acknowledged lordship of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:24–28, Philippians 2:9 ff.: Revelation 17:14 etc.), bringing about the glorification of His saints, shared by material nature (Romans 8:17, 25, 2 Thessalonians 1:10 f.; 1 Corinthians 15). This will begin vrith the resurrection of the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:12–23, jn szst.) and the transformation of the earthly body (1 Corinthians 15:50 ff.; 2 Corinthians 5:1 ff.: Philippians 3:21), ushering in for ‘those who are Christ’s’ the state of ‘incorruption’ which constitutes their ‘eternal life’ enjoyed in the vision of God and the full communion of the Lord Jesus (Luke 20:35 f.; 1 Corinthians 15:54 ff.; Matthew 5:8. John 14:2 f. 17:24, 1 John 3:2, Revelation 7:14–17 etc.). Its goal is in heaven; and all the proximate and earthly aims of Christianity, whether in the way of personal attainment or of social betterment, are steps in the progress towards the final ‘dell verance from the bondage of corruption’ and ‘the revealing of the sons of God’ — the great day of the Lord. Its ground lies in the ‘promise(s) of God’ (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:13–18. 2 Peter 3:13, 1 John 2:25), esp. the definite promise of the triumphant return of Jesus ensuring the consummation of the Messianic Kingdom (Matthew 24:30 f.; Acts 1:11 3:18–21. 1 Corinthians 15:24–28. Revelation 11:15–18 etc.); and its guarantee is twofold, being given objectively in the resurrection and ascension of our Lord (Acts 17, Kol’, Ephesians 1:18–23, Colossians 1, Hebrews 6:20, 1 Peter 1:21 etc.), and subjectively In ‘the earnest of the Spirit within’ Christian ‘hearts’ (2 Corinthians 1:20 ff.; Romans 8:16 f.; Ephesians 1:13 f.). Its subjects are ‘the men of faith’ (Romans 5 15 etc.): it Is ‘the hope of our caUiug’ (Ephesians 4:4, 1 Th 2f’, Revelation 19:9), ‘the hope of the gospel’ (Colossians 1:23) — that which the gospel conveys, and ‘the hope oS righteousness’ (Galatians 5:5) — that which the righteousness of faith entertains; it belongs only to the Christianly pure, and is purifying in effect (1 John 3:2 f., cf. Psalms 24:3–6, Matthew 5:8. Revelation 22:14 f.). Finally, it is a collective hope, the heritage of ‘the body of Christ,’ dear to Christian brethren because of their affection for each other (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, 2 Thessalonians 2, Ephesians 5:27. Revelation 19:8 f. 21:1–7 etc.); and is cherished esp. by ministers of Christ for those in their charge (2 Corinthians 1:7–10, 1 Thessalonians 2:19 f.; Colossians 1 3:4, Philippians 2:16 etc.), as it animated the Chief Shepherd (John 10:27 ff. 12:26 U^- 17:2 etc.). ‘In Christ Jesus’ hope is bound up as intimately with love as with faith; these are the triad of essential graces (1 Co 13:13, 1 Thessalonians 1, 2 Thessalonians 1:3 f.; Ephesians 4:1–4, Hebrews 10:22 ff.).

The whole future of the Christian life, for man and society, is lodged with ‘Christ Jesus our hope’ (1 Timothy 1:1, Col 1)) ; N’T expectation focussed itself on His Parousia — ‘the blessed hope’ (Titus 2:13). Maranatha (‘our Lord cometh’ was a watchword of the Pauline Churches (1 Corinthians 16:22) cf. 1:7 f.). ‘The hope laid up for’ them ‘in the heavens’ formed the treasure of the first believers (Colossians 1:5 3:1–4 etc.) ; to ‘wait for’ the risen Jesus, coming as God’s son ‘from heaven’ (1 Thessalonians 1:9 f.), was half their religion. ‘By this hope’ were they ‘saved,’ being enabled in its strength to bear joyfully the ills of life and the universal contempt and persecution of the world around them, which stimulated instead of quenching their courage (Romans 5:2–5 8:18–25, 2 Corinthians 4 5:8. ph izof., Hebrews 10, Revelation 7). According to the fine figure of Hebrews 6:18 ff.; hope was their ‘anchor of the soul,’ grappled to the throne of the living, glorified Jesus ‘within the veil.’ G. G. Findlay.

Hophni and Phinehas

The two sons of EU; they were priests in the sanctuary at Shiloh, where, in spite of the presence of their father, they carried on their evil practices. In consequence of their deeds a curse is twice pronounced upon the house of Eli, first by a ‘man of God’ (1 Samuel 2:27) who is not named, and again by the mouth of Samuel (ch. 3). The curse was accomplished when Hophni and Phinehas were slain at the battle of Aphek, and the ark of God was lost — -an incident which was the cause of the death of Eli (ch. 4). The malpractices of these two consisted in their claiming and appropriating more than their due of the sacrifices (2:13–17), and in their immoral actions in the Tabernacle (v. 22) cf. Amos 2).

W. O. E. Oesterlet.

Hophra

Jeremiah 44:30; the Egyptian Wahebre, Apries of Herodotus, fourth king of the 26th Dyn. (c. B.C. 588-569 and grandson of Necho. He, or possibly his predecessor Psammetichus 11., is also referred to as Pharaoh in Jeremiah 37:5, 7, 11, Ezekiel 29 etc. Little is certainly known of his reign. Hophra must have been defeated by Nebuchadnezzar in Syria in attempting to resist the progress of the Babylonian army, and he received the fugitives from Palestine after the destruction of Jerusalem in B.C. 586. There is no evidence that Nebuchadnezzar plundered Egypt, as was anticipated by Ezekiel, though he seems to have attacked Hophra’s successor Amasis in B.C. 568 with some success, and may have overrun some part of Lower Egypt. The Syrian and other mercenary soldiers stationed at Elephantine revolted in the reign of Hophra, but were brought again to submission. Another mutiny of the Egyptian soldiery, recorded by Herodotus, resulted in Amasis being put upon the throne as champion of the natives. Hophra relied on the Greek mercenaries, and maintained himself, perhaps in a forced co-regency, in Lower Egypt until the third year of Amasis, when he was defeated and slain. F. Ll. Griffith.

Hor

1. A mountain ‘in the edge of the land of Edom’ (Numbers 33:37), where Aaron died. Constant tradition, at least since Josephus, sees Mount Hor in Jebel Harun, ‘the Mountain of Aaron,’ above Petra. This is regarded by the Arabs as the mountain sacred to the great high priest, and his tomb is shown and reverenced under a small dome on its summit. Some modern writers, especially H. C. TrumbuU, have doubted the tradition and endeavoured to fix other sites, such as Jebel Madeira, N.W. of ‘Ain Kadis. Jebel HarUn rises 4780 ft. above the sea-level. Its western side is an unscalable precipice; it is ascended from the pass leading into Petra. A very wide view over the Arabian desert, down to the Red Sea and up to the GhOr, is commanded from the summit. 2. A mountain mentioned in Numbers 34:7, 8, as in the northern boundary of the Promised Land. In all probability this is meant for Herman.

R. A. S. Macalister.

Hobam

A king of Gezer defeated and slain by Joshua (Joshua 10:33).

Horeb

See Sinai.

Horem

A city of Naphtall in the mountains (Joshua 19) prob. the modern HUrah west of Kedesh-naphtali.

H0RE8H. — The word hSresh means ‘wooded height’ in Isaiah 17:9, Ezekiel 31:3, 2 Chronicles 27:4, and this is probably its meaning in 1 Samuel 23:15 (cf. vv. 16, 18) although some would ■ make Horesh a proper name, as in RVm.

Hor-hagg

Hor-hagg rlDGAD. — A station in the journeyings of the Israelites (Numbers 33:32, 33). . The name suggests the land of the Horites, or its neighbourhood.

Hori

1. A son of Seir (Genesis 36:22 = 1 Chronicles 1:39). 2. The father of Shaphat the Simeonite spy (Numbers 13).

Horites

The pre-Edomitic inhabitants of Seir or Edom according to Gu 14* (a late passage) and Dt 2’2. 22 (D2). Apparently they commingled with the Edomite Invaders, for Genesis 36:20, 21, 2 (pa) counts them among the descendants of Esau. The name is usually taken to mean ‘cave-dwellers,’ and this is probably correct. There are many tombs in the rocks at Petra (ct. Robinson, BBP^ ii. 129, 134), and some of these, like some at Beit Jibrin and some recently discovered at Gezer (cf . PEFSt, 1902, pp. 345 ff., and 1903, pp. 9-12) may have been used as dwellings originally. Sayce (HCM 203 ff.) derives the name from a root meaning ‘white’ as contrasted with the ‘red ‘-skinned Edomites, while Hommel (AHT 261 ff.) takes it as a form of Garu (or Kharu) of one of the Amarna tablets. Kharu was, however, in Egyptian a name for all the inhabitants of Syria (ct. W. M. Mtlller, Asien und Europa, 148 ff.), and can hardly be connected with Horites. Driver ( Deut. p. 38) favours the explanation as equivalent to’ cave-dwellers ‘or’ troglodytes.’

George A. Barton.

Hormah

Hormah (‘devoted’ or ‘accursed’) was a city, apparently not far from Kadesh, where the Israelites were overthrown, when, after the death of the ten spies, they insisted on going forward (Numbers 14, Deuteronomy 1:44). At a later time it was taken and destroyed by Israel (Numbers 21:3, Joshua 12:19), this feat being attributed in Judges 1:17 to Judah and Simeon. There we learn that the former name was Zephath, Possibly the memory of the previous disaster here led to its being called ‘Accursed.’ It was one of ‘the uttermost cities of Judah, towards the borders of Edom in the south," and is named between Chesil and Zildag (Joshua 15), also between Bethul (or Bethuel) and Ziklag (Joshua 19:4, 1 Chronicles 4), in the territory occupied by Simeon. It was one of the towns to which David sent a share of the booty taken from the Amalekites who had raided Ziklag in his absence (1 Samuel 30). There is no need to assume with Guthe (BibelviBHerbuch, s.v.) that two cities are so named. Probably, as in so many other cases, the old name persisted, and may be represented by the modern es-Sebaita, 23 miles north of ‘Ain Kadis, and 26 miles south of Beersheba. The probability is increased if Ziklag is correctly identified with ‘AslUj, 14 miles north of es-Sebaita. On the other hand, Naqb es-Safa agrees better with the position of Arad; but it seems too far from Kadesh, being more than 40 miles to the north-east (Robinson, BBP^ ii. 181).

W. EwiNQ.

Horn

(Heb. qeren, Gr. keras). Sometimes horns were wrought into vessels in which oil was stored (1 K 1’‘) or carried (1 Samuel 16:1). Probably with some dainty ornamentation, they were used to hold eye-paint (Job 42, Keren-happuch). Of rams’ horns a kind of trumpet was made Joshua 6:4)) ; see Music, 4 (2) (e) . ‘Horns’ in poetry symbolized strength (Deuteronomy 33:17 etc.). ‘Horn’ in Psalms 18:2 = 2 S 22:3 stands for offensive weapons, as ‘shield’ for defensive (Perowne). To ‘exalt one’s horn,’ or ‘cause it to bud’ (grow), is to strengthen and prosper him (1 Samuel 2:1, Ezk 29 etc.). For one to ‘lift his horn’ is to be arrogant (Psalms 75:4, 5). To crush or weaken one is to ‘break or cut ofE his horn’ (Jeremiah 48:25, Lamentations 2:3). In prophetic symbolism horns stand for kings and military powers (Daniel 7:8 8:21 etc.). The altar horns (Exodus 27:2), to which fugitives seeking asylum clung (1 Kings 1:50 etc.), were projections at the four comers, and apparently peculiarly sacred (Exodus 30:10 etc.); but their significance and use are now unknovm. W. Ewinq.

Horned Snake

See Serpent.

Hornet

Hornet (Exodus 23:28, Deuteronomy 7, Joshua 24:12). In all three references the hornet is mentioned as an instrument of the Lord to drive out the Canaanites. By most interpreters a literal interpretation is accepted, but a metaphorical use of the word is contended for by some. Sayce has suggested that the reference may be to the armies of Rameses in., as the standard-bearers wore two devices like flies. The most plentiful hornet In Palestine is the Vespa orientalis. Hornets attack only when interfered with. E. W. G. Mastebman.

Horonaim

(perh. "the two hollows’). A city of Moab, whose site has not been recovered vrith certainty. It is mentioned in Isaiah 15:5, Jeremiah 48, and also on the Moabite Stone (11. 31, 32). It may have lain to the south of the Arnon, in the neighbourhood of the Wady ed- Dera’a.

Horonite

Horonite (Nehemiah 2:10, 19 13:28). A title given to Sanballat (wh. see), the opponent of Nehemiah. The name probably denotes an inhabitant of Beth-horon (wh. see).

Horse

The Israelites must have been acquainted with horses in Egypt (Genesis 47:17), and it is evident, too, from the Tell el-Amama correspondence that horses were familiar animals in Palestine at an early period; but it would appear that the children of Israel were slow in adopting them. Throughout the OT up to the Exile they appear only as war-horses; the ass, the mule, and the camel were the beasts for riding and burden-bearing. Even for warlike purposes horses were only slowly adopted, the mountainous regions held by the Israelites being imsuitable for chariot warfare. David commenced acquiring chariots (2 Samuel 8:4), and Solomon greatly added to their numbers, obtaining horses for them from Mussri [not Mizraim, ‘Egypt’] in N. Syria and Kite, in aucia (1 Kings 10:28, 2 Chronicles 1:16 [amending the text]). Horses were obtained also from Egypt (Isaiah 31, Ezekiel 17). Some of the references may be to hired horsemen. The kings of Israel were warned against multiplying horses (Deuteronomy 17:16). Trust in horses is put in antithesis to trust in the Lord (Isaiah 30:16, Psalms 20:7 33:17). Before the reforms of Josiah, horses sacred to the sun were kept in the Temple (2 Kings 23:11; cf. ll"). The appearance of the war-horse seems to have made a deep impression (Job 39, Jeremiah 47:3, Nahum 3:2 etc.). After the Exile horses were much more common: the returning Jews brought 736 horses with them (Nehemiah 7:68). Horses were fed on barley and tibn (chopped straw) in Solomon’s time as in Palestine to-day (1 Kings 4:28). Although the breeding of horses has become so intimately associated with our ideas of the Arabs, it would seem that during the whole OT period horses were unknown. Or at least scarce, in Arabia. The equipment of horses is mentioned in the Bible — the bit and bridle (Psalms 32:9, pr 26), bells of the horses (Zee 14), and ‘precious clothes for chariots’ (Ezekiel 27:20). In OT times they were apparently unshod (Isaiah 5:28). E. W. G. Mastebman.

Horse-gate

See Jerusalem, p. 439. HORSE -LEECH Caluqah, cf. Arab, ‘alageh).— The horse-leech (Hcemopis sanguimga) and the medicinal leech {Hirudo medidnalis) are very common in Palestine and are the cause of much trouble, even sickness and death, to man and beast. They abound in many springs, streams, and pools, and lodge themselves, while still small, in the mouths of those drinking. Thence they not infrequently find their way to the pharynx, and even larynx, where they live and grow for many months. They cause frequent hsemorrhages, and, if not removed, lead to progressive ansemia and death. Their voracious appetite for blood, possibly referred to in Proverbs 30:15, is well illustrated by their habits as internal parasites. It is probable, however, that the reference here is not to the leech of common life, but to the mythological vampire, the ghul of the Arabs. E. W. G. Mastebman.

Hosah

(‘refuge’). 1. A Levltical doorkeeper of the Temple (1 Chronicles 16:38 26:10, 11, 1 f.). 2. A city of Asher, apparently south of Tyre (Joshua 19:29). The site is doubtful. HOSANNA (=‘0 save ‘I). — An acclamation used by the people on Palm Sunday in greeting Jesus on His last entry into Jerusalem, and afterwards by the children in the Temple (Matthew 21:9, 15). It occurs six times in the Gospels (all in the connexion above noted).

The expression, which has preserved Its Hebrew form (like ‘Amen’ and ‘Hallelujah’), was originally (in Hebrew) a cry addressed to God ‘Save now’\ used as an invocation of blessing. When the word passed over (transliterated into Greek) into the early Church it was misunderstood as a shout of homage or greeting = ‘Hail’ or ‘Glory to.’

The simplest form of the Palm Sunday greeting occurs in Mark 11:9 and John 12:13 ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he that Cometh in the name of the Lord,’ which really was the cry of the people. The additions that occur in the other passages (‘Hosanna to the son of David,’ Matthew 21:9, 15, and ‘Hosanna in the highest,’ Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:10) seem really to be later amplifications due to misunderstanding of the real meaning of ‘Hosanna.’ The Hosanna cry (cf. Psalms 118) and the palm branches naturally suggest the Feast of Tabernacles, when the people used to raise the cry of ‘Hosanna,’ while marching in procession and waving branches of palm, myrtle, and willow. The great occasion for this was especially the 7th day of the Feast, when the Hosanna processions were most frequent. Hence this day was early designated ‘Day of Hosha’na’ [Hosanna], and the lulab branches then used also received the same name. It was the greatest of popular hoKdays, probably the lineal descendant of an old Canaanitish festival, and still retains its joyous character in the Jewish Festival calendar (.Hosha’na Rabba).

It is not necessary, however, to suppose, with Wtinache {Erlauterungen der Evanqdien aus Talmud wnd Midrash, p. 241), that a confusion oas arisen in the Gospel accounts of Palm Sunday between Tabernacles and Passover. Such processions were not peculiar to Tabernacles. They might be extemporized for other occasions of a joyous character (cf. 1 Mao 13. 2 Maccabees 10:7). and this was the case in the scene described in the Gospels.

In its transliterated form the word ‘Hosanna’ passed over into early Mturgical (esp. doxological) use (cf. e.g. Didache 10:6 ‘Hosanna to the God of David ‘) , as an interjection of praise and joy, and was developed on these lines. The early misunderstanding of Its real meaning was perpetuated. But the history of this development lies outside the range of purely Biblical archaeology.

G. H. Box.

HOSEA.’ — The name of the prophet Hosea, though distinguished by the English translators, is identical with that of the last king of Israel and with the original name of Joshua; in these cases it appears in the EV as Hoshea. Hosea, the son of Beeri, is the only prophet, among those whose writings have survived, who was himself a native of the Northern Kingdom. The main subject of the prophecy of Amos is the Northern Kingdom, but Amos himself was a native of the South; so also were Isaiah and Micah, and these two prophets, though they included the Northern Kingdom in their denunciations, devoted themselves mainly to Judah.

Hosea’s prophetic career extended from shortly before the fall of the house of Jeroboam ii. (c. e.g. 746) to shortly before the outbreak of the Syro-Ephraimitish war in B.C. 735 — a period of rapidly advancing decay following on the success and prosperity of the reign of Jeroboam ii. He began to prophesy within some 10 or 15 years of the prophetic activity of Amos at Bethel, and continued to do so till some years after Isaiah had made his voice heard and his influence felt in the Southern Kingdom. Influenced himself probably by Amos, he seems to have exercised some influence over Isaiah; but these conclusions must rest on a comparison of the writings of the three prophets. Our direct knowledge of Hosea is derived entirely from the book which bears his name; he is mentioned nowhere else in the OT.

If the account given in the 1st and 3rd chapters of Hosea were allegory, as many ancient and some modem interpreters have held, our knowledge of Hosea would be slight indeed. But since these chapters are clearly not allegorical, there are few prophets whose spiritual experience is better known to us. In favour of an allegorical interpretation the clearly symbolical character of the names of Hosea’s children has been urged; but the names of Isaiah’s children — Shear-jashub and Maher-shalal-hash-baz — are also symbolical (cf. Isaiah 8:18). Moreover, if the narrative were allegorical, there would be just as much reason for the names of Hosea’s wife and her father as for the names of the children being symbolical; on the other hand, in real life it was within the power of the prophet to give symbolical names to the children, but not to his wife or her father. The names of Hosea’s wife, Gomer, and her father, Diblaim are not symbolical. Further, the reference to the weaning of Lo-ruhamah in 1:8 is purposeless in allegory, but natural enough in real life, since it serves to fix the interval between the birth of the two children.

The command in 1:2 has seemed to some, and may well seem, if prophetic methods of expression are forgotten, impossible except in allegory. It is as well, therefore, to approach the important narrative of Hosea with a recollection of such a method of describing experience as is illustrated by Jeremiah 18:1–4. This describes a perfectly familiar scene. The incident, translated out of prophetic language, is as follows. On an impulse Jeremiah one day went down to watch, as he must often have watched before, a potter at his work; but on this particular day the potter’s work taught him a new lesson. Then he recognized (1) that the impulse that had led him that day was from Jahweh, and (2) that the new suggestion of the potter’s wheel was a word from Jahweh. So again, Jeremiah 32 describes what we should term a presentiment; after it was realized, it was recognized to have been a word from Jahweh (Jeremiah 32:8). Interpreted in the light of these illustrations of prophetic methods of speech, the narrative of Hosea 1 gives us an account of the experience of Hosea, as follows. Driven by true love in which, probably enough, Hosea at the time felt the approval, not to say the direct impulse of Jahweh, Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. After marriage she proved unfaithful, and Hosea heard that the woman whom he had been led by Jahweh to marry had had within her all along the tendency to unfaithfulness. She was not at the time of marriage an actual harlot, but, had Hosea only fully understood, he would have known when he married her, as these years afterwards he has come to know, that when Jahweh said, ‘Go, marry Gomer,’ He was really saying ‘Go, marry a woman who will bestow her love on others.’ His new, sad knowledge does not make him feel less but more that his marriage had been ordered of God. Not only through the love of youth, but even more through the conflict and the treachery and the ill-return which his love has received, Jahweh is speaking. Had Hosea spoken just hke Jeremiah, he might have continued: ‘Then I discovered that my wife had played the harlot, and that my children were not mine. Then I knew that this was the word of Jahweh, and Jahweh said unto me: Even as the bride of thy youth has played the harlot, even so has My bride, Israel, played the harlot: even as thy children are children of harlotry, even so are the children of Israel children of harlotry, sons of the Baals whom they worship.’

Apparently Hosea reached the conclusion that none of the children were his; he calls them without exception ‘children of harlotry’ (1:2). But the name Jezreel (1:4) certainly does not suggest that at the birth of his firstborn he was already aware of his wife’s unfaithfulness, the name of the second, Lo-ruhamah (‘Not pitied,’ 1:6), does not prove it, and even that of the third child, Lo-ammi (‘Not my kinsman,’ 1:9), may merely carry further the judgment on the nation expressed unquestionably In the first and probably in the second. In any case we may somewhat safely infer that Hosea became a prophet before he had learned his wife’s unfaithfulness, and that in his earnest preaching he, like Amos, denounced inhumanity as offensive to God; for this is the purpose of the name Jezreel; the house of Jehu, established by means of bloodshed and inhumanity (1:4). is about to be punished. ‘Kindness not sacrifice’ (6:6) must have been the ideal of religion which from the first Hosea held up before his people.

It has generally been inferred that Hosea’s wife subsequently left him (or that he put her away), but that at last in his love for her, which could not be quenched, he rescued her from the life of shame into which she had sunk (eh 3) . And this perhaps remains most probable, though Marti has lately argued with much ability (1) that ch. 3 does not refer to Gomer, (2) that, unlike ch. 1, ch. 3 Is allegorical, and (3) that ch. 3 formed no part of the original Book of Hosea. Be this as it may, it is clear that although the circumstances of Hosea’s married life were not the cause of his becoming a prophet, they do explain certain peculiar characteristics of his message and personality: his insistence on the love of God for Israel, and on Israel’s sin as consisting in the want of love and of loyalty towards God; and the greater emotional element that marks him as compared with Amos. At the same time, it is important not to exaggerate the difference between Amos and Hosea, of to lose sight of the fact that Hosea not less than Amos or Isaiah or Micah insisted on the worthlessness of religion or of devotion to Jahweh which was not ethical (.Jezreel, 1:4; 6:6). In considering the greater sympathy of Hosea with the people whom he has to condemn, it must be remembered that he was of them, whereas Amos, a native of the South, was not. G. B. Gray.

Hosea, Book of

The Book of Hosea formed the first section of a collection of prophetic writings which was formed after the Exile, probably towards the close of the 3rd century B.C., and entitled ‘The Twelve Prophets’ (see Micah [Book of]). The greater part of the Book of Hosea clearly consists of the writings of Hosea, the son of Beeri, who prophesied in the Sth cent. B.C. (see preced. art.), but it also contains the annotations or additions of editors who lived between the Sth and the 3rd centuries. It is not always possible to determine with certainty these editorial portions of the book.

Though we have no positive evidence to this effect, there is no reason to doubt that Hosea himself committed to writing the prophetic poems by which he gave expression to his message and of which the greater part of the Book of Hosea consists (chs. 2. 4-14), and that he prefixed to these the prose narrative of his life (chs. 1. 3, see Hosea) with which the book now opens. It is possible, of course, that Hosea first circulated in writing single poems or a collection of two or three; but the complete collection, though scarcely made later than 735, since the prophecies make no allusion to the Syro- Ephraimitish war which broke out in that year, cannot be much earlier than 735, since the prophecies make allusions to the circumstances of the period that followed the death, in about B.C. 746, of Jeroboam n. (anarchy, 7’-‘8’; cf. 2 Kings 15; factions favouring appeal to Egypt and Assyria respectively, 5:13 7:11 8:9 12:1). and probably in particular to the payment of tribute by Menahem to Tiglath-pileser [ = Pul, 2 Kings 15:19). which took place in B.C. 738 (5:13 ICP- ‘). Again, the opening narrative (ch. 1), though it describes Hosea’s life and teaching before the death of Jeroboam u. (1:4. see Hosea), was not written until some years later, for it also records the birth of Lo-ammi (1:9). which was separated by hardly less and possibly more than 5 years from the date of Hosea’s marriage.

In its earliest form, then, the Book of Hosea was published by the prophet about the year 736 in the Northern Kingdom. Now, in common with all literature of the Northern Kingdom, Hosea owes its preservation to the care of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. It is tolerably certain that the Jews who preserved the book adapted it for Jewish use; in other words, that the Book of Hosea as we have it is a Jewish edition of the writings of an Israelite prophet. The hand of a Jewish editor (and in this case a somewhat late one) is perhaps clearest in the title (1:1). for Hosea, a citizen of the Northern Kingdom and addressing himself to the North, would scarcely date his prophecy by kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, nor would a contemporary be hkely to equate the days of Uzziah and his successors with the days of Jeroboam, since Uzziah himself outlived Jeroboam. With more or less reason, additions to or modifications of Hosea’s work by Jewish editors have been suspected in V li°-2i 3:5 (‘and David their king’) 4:15 5:5 (last clause) 6:11 8:14 10:11 11. In several other cases (5 " 6:4 12:2) it is possible that the editor has pointed the original prophecies at his own people of the South by substituting ‘Judah’ where Hosea had written ‘Israel’ ; thus, although at present Jacob- Judah are mentioned in 12:2, the terms ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel,’ synonyms for the people of the Northern Kingdom, were certainly in the mind of the writer of 12:2, 3, for in 12:3 he puns on these names: ‘In the womb he Jacobed his brother, and in his manhood Israded with God.’

Another whole group of passages has been suspected of consisting of additions to Hosea’s prophecies. These are the passages of promise (l’»-2i 2 3:1–5 [regarded as an allegory of restoration] 5:15 6:3 ll’»- " 14). There is little doubt that such passages were added to ancient prophecies, but it is not yet by any means generally admitted that the early prophets made no promises of a brighter future beyond judgment.

Apart from the intentional modifications of the original words of Hosea by later editora, the text has suffered very seriously from accidents of transmission. To some extent the Greek version allows us to see an earlier Hebrew text than that perpetuated by the Jews from which the EV is made. The English reader will find the translation from a critically emended text by Dr. G. A. Smith (.Book of the Twelve Prophets, vol. i.) of great assistance. The best English commentary ia that by W. R. Harper in the International Critical Commentary. G. B. Gkat.

Hosen

The plural of ‘hose’ (cf. ‘ox,’ ‘oxen’), only Daniel 3:21 AV, and now obsolete in the sense, here intended, of breeches or trousers. The article of dress denoted by the original is uncertain. According to an early tradition (LXX tiara), some form of headdress is intended (cf. RVm ‘turbans’), but modern opinion favours ‘coats’ or ‘tunics’ as in RV.

A. R. S. Kennedy.

Hoshaiah

(‘Jah has saved’). 1. A man who led half the princes of Judah in the procession at the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:32). 2. The father of Jezaniah (Jeremiah 42:1), or Azariah (43:2).

Hoshama

A descendant of David (1 Chronicles 3:18).