Hoshea: Chapter Three

Hoshea references things from Israel’s past in order to try to protect their future. Here we expose what’s behind the references and what it can teach us today.

Hoshea’s rebuke prophecy is full of references to the Creation story and specifically to Adam and Chava’s story. The references reveal what the purpose of Galut or exile is.

In this episode, we examine the names Hoshea mentions in verse one, and what is their significance in the prophecies he receives, both in form and content. We also explain the reason behind the G-dly commands Hoshea receives, as well as a look at the role of names in Tanach in general.

The first 2 verses are worded strangely, hinting that Hoshea was the first to receive prophecy. Looking at his place in the timeline of Jewish history, with the help of various Midrashim, we suddenly understand why it is worded this way and what it is trying to teach us.

In this episode, we talk about the four factors influencing any prophet when composing prophecy, which we need to bear in mind analyzing any given prophetic text. We also give a brief summary of the major historical events and nations that are key figures in all the books of The Prophets in general and in Trei Asar specifically.

This introduction to studying Nevi'im, The Prophets, clarifies what constitutes prophecy, how it works, and the role of the prophet.