A Study of Gomer (Hosea’s Wife): Hosea 1:2-11
Vince De Benedetto
Bible 360 A: Women in the Bible – Sarah Baldwin
October 23, 2013

Hosea 1: 2-11
“2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, “Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.
4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”
6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy,[a] for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People,[b] for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”[c]
10 [d] Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children[e] of the living God.” 11 And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head. And they shall go up from the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Outline of the Passage/Chart:
I. Wife of Whoredom (Hosea 1:2-3)
II. Children of Whoredom (Hosea 1:4-10)
III. Redemption of Israel (Hosea 1:11)
Hosea is commanded to wed a woman who lives a life of a whore.
God compares their relationship to the relationship of Himself (God) and with Israel.
The first child is named Jezreel which means “end of Israel.”
2nd child is named Lo-ruhama which means “no mercy.”
3rd child is named Lo-ammi which means “not my people.”
God will call back Israel to call them his children once again.

Historical – Cultural
Historical:
Hosea is from the northern kingdom of Israel and is mentioned to be the son of Beeri, which nothing is known about. The commentaries say that the meaning of the verses about his marriage to Gomer is to be debated about.
Commentaries also suggest that it is difficult to pinpoint the actual sociopolitical setting for Hosea’s ministry because for Judean kings are listed which virtually span the whole entire 8th century BC.
It is speculated, however, that Hosea’s ministry is most likely to have happened during the end of Jeroboam III’s reign.
After the death of this king, Israel went through a time of a series of assassinations and coups.
Soon after Hosea’s ministry Israel was conquered by the Assyrians.
During the time of Hosea Israel had begun to dramatically change its policies toward Assyria.
During this time the social and economic inequalities between the rich and the poor have been greatly increased.
During this time we can see through the book of Hosea that Israel gets caught up with the cultic traditions of the Canaanites which is worshipping the different baals.
In 721 BC the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians under the rule of Sargon III.
Geography (see map below)
Hosea was from the northern kingdom of Israel.
This book takes place in the kingdom of Israel that Assyria will soon infiltrate and take over.

Culture:
Rain is a very important part of Israel’s survival which is why some of the scholars of the different commentaries suggest that Israel in large turned to worshipping the baals of the Canaanite cult. Baal was the storm god who is supposed to be in charge of giving rain to the