Reconsidering the Date and Provenance of the Book of Hosea: The Case for Persian-Period Yehud

Description

Scholarship has viewed the book of Hosea as originating in eighth-century Israel before being taken to Judah, where it underwent one or more redactions in later centuries. However, evidence suggests that the book should be viewed as a Judahite text from the start, of late sixth or early fifth century B.C.E composition. The post-monarchic period in Yehud provides the most fitting context for the anti-monarchical ideology of the book, with the polemic against Benjamin explicable only as a result of the tension between the governing Saulides resident in Mizpah and the Judahite elite who had recently immigrated to Jerusalem from Mesopotamia in the late sixth century. The dual theme of Exile and Return present in the book is consistent with the discourse found in other sixth century Judahite books. Additionally, the book shows a broad familiarity with Judahite historiographic traditions, many of which are in all probability seventh century or later. Thus, the book of Hosea should be interpreted as a work by a Judahite scribe for a Judahite audience. 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