This is a substantial work on a most difficult prophetic book. Pentiuc probes carefully and thoroughly into the many problems of interpretation Hosea poses, grammatical and textual, historical, literary, and theological. And he does so drawing on a very wide acquaintance with the ancient sources, both Biblical and non-Biblical, and with classical and modern scholarship, all in a variety of languages. Particularly valuable, indeed a distinctive contribution of Pentiuc's work, is the extensive use of the commentaries of the ancient Church Fathers on Hosea. As Pentiuc shows, these remain fresh and provocative, offering readers a rich array of insights, especially into the meaning of Hosea for the nature of God and His ways with humanity. (Peter Machinist) Contents Abbreviations p. ix Acknowledgments p. xv INTRODUCTION I. Historical Background: The Assyrian Expansion and the Last Years of Israel p. 1 II. The Eighth-Century Prophets: Yaweh’s Heralds at the Crossroads of History p. 4 III. Hosea: The Man and the Prophet p. 9 IV. The Book of the Prophet Hosea p. 12 1. Structure and Literary Composition p. 12 2. Language and Style p. 13 3. Text and Versions p. 17 4. Authenticity, Integrity, and Canonicity of the Book p. 19 5. Conjugal Drama of Hosea: Preliminaries p. 23 COMMENTARY The Book’s Title (1:1) 43 I. Hosea’s Conjugal Drama and Yahweh-Israel’s Covenant: From a Latent Crisis to an Obvious Breakup (1-3) 1. Hosea’s Marriage and Children (1:2-9) p. 47 2. Restoration are Judgment (2:1/1:10-2:3/1) p. 59 3. The Last Warnings before Separation (2:4/2-15/13) p. 63 4. A Date in the Wilderness (2:16/14-25/23) p. 71 5. Love and Abstinence (3:1-5) p. 83 II. Israel Between Punishment and Forgiveness (4-11) 1. Yahweh’s Dispute with Israel (4:1-3) p. 129 2. God’s Dispute with the Priests, Prophets, and People (4:4-19) p. 132 3. Leaders and People on a Wrong Path (5:1-7) p. 152 4. Ephraim and Judah in Conflict (5:8-15) p. 162 5. Repentance, Revival, and Yahweh’s Response (6:1-6) p. 173 6. Turmoil in Israel (6:7-7:2) p. 186 7. Political Instability (7:3-7) p. 195 8. Failed International Politics (7:8-16) p. 199 9. Ephraim’s Unfaithfulness (8:1-14) p. 207 10. On Exile and Prophecy (9:1-9) p. 221 11. Baal-peor and Gilgal (9:10-17) p. 232 12. Israel without Cult or King (10:1-8) p. 240 13. Gibeah and Beth-arbel (10:9-15) p. 249 14. God’s Tenderness (11:1-11) p. 257 III. The Last Sayings (12-14) 1. Ephraim and Jacob (12:1/11:12-12:15/14) p. 345 2. The Destruction (13:1-14:1/13:16) p. 360 3. Love’s Triumph (14:2/1-9/8) p. 374 4. Epilogue (14:10/9) p. 383 Selected Bibliography p. 399 Product Description Paperback: 408 Pages Publisher: Holy Cross Orthodox Press ISBN: 978-1-885652-58-4 Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 Author: Eugene J. Pentiuc Publication Year: 2002
