2. Time. — There is no reason, with De Wette, Mau- rer, and Hitzig, to doubt the genuineness of the present superscription, or, with Rosenmiiller and Jahn, to sup- pose that It may have been added by a later hand — though the last two writers uphold its authenticity. These first and second verses of the prophecy are so closely connected in the structure of the language and style of the narration, that the second verse itself would become suspicious if the first were reckoned a spurious addition. This superscription states that Hosea proph- esied during a long and eventful period, commencing in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, extending through the lives of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and con- cluding in the reign of Hezekiah. As Jeroboam died B.C. 782, and Hezekiah ascended the throne 726, we have the round term of about sixty years, B.C. cir. 784- 724, as the probable space of time covered by the utter- ance of these predictions (Maiu-er, in the Comment. Theol, p. 284, and more lately in his Comment. Gramm. Hist. Crit. in Proph. Min. Lips. 1840). The time when they were committed to writing may probably be fixed at about B.C. 725. This long duration of otfice is not im- probable, and the book itself furnishes strong presump- tive evidence in support of this chronology. The first prophecy of Hosea foretells the overthrow of Jehu's house; and the menace was fulfilled on the death of Jeroboam, his great-grandson. This prediction must have been uttered during Jeroboam's fife. Again, in ch. X, 14, allusion is made to an expedition of Shalma- neser against Israel; and if it was the first inroad against king Hoshea (2 Kings xvii, 4), who began to reign in the twelfth year of Ahaz, the event referred to by the prophet as past must have happened close upon the beginning of the government of Hezekiah. These data corroborate the limits assigned in the superscrip- tion, and they are capable of verification by reference to the contents of the prophecy, (a.) As to the begin- ning, Eichhorn has clearly shown that we cannot allow Hosea much ground in the reign of Jeroboam (823-782).
HOSEA
353
HOSEA
The book contains descriptions which arc utterly inap- plicable to the condition of the kingdom of Israel during this reign (2 Kings xiv, 25 sq.). The pictures of social and jwiitical life which Hosca draws so forcibly are rather appUcable to the interregnum Avhich followed tlie death of Jeroboam (781-771), and to the reign of the succeeding kings. The calling in of Egypt and Assyria to the aid of rival factions (x, 3 ; xiii, 10) has nothing to do with the strong and able government of Jeroboam. Nor is it conceivable that a jirophet who had lived long under Jeroboam shoidd have omitted the mention of that monarch's conquests in his enumeration of Jehovah's kindnesses to Israel (ii, 8). It seems, then, almost certain that very few at least of his prophecies were ^vritten until after the death of Jeroboam (781). (b.) As regards the end of his career, the title leaves us in still greater doubt. It merely assures us that he did not prophesy beyond the reign of Hezekiah. But here, again, the contents of the book help us to reduce the viigueness of this indication. In the sixth year of Hez- ekiah the prophecy of Ilosea was fultilled, and it is very improbable that he should have permitted this trium- phant proof of his divine mission to pass unnoticed. He could not, therefore, have lived long into the reign of Hezekiah ; and as it does not seem necessary to allow more than a year of each reign to justify his being rep- resented as a contemporary on the one hand of Jerobo- am, on the other of Hezekiah, we may suppose that the life, or, rather, the prophetic career of Ilosea, extended from 782 to 725, a period of fifty-seven years.
3. Order- in the Prophetic Series. —Rosea, is the first in order of the. twelve minor prophets in the common editions of the Scriptures (Heb., Sept., and ViUg.), an arrangement, however, supposed to have arisen from a misinterpretation of chap, i, 2, which rather denotes that what follows were the tirst divine communications en- joyed by this particular prophet (see Jerome, P?ef<it. in xii Prophetas; Hengstenberg, Christol. Keitli's transL, ii, 23 ; De AYette, Einleitun//, § 225 ; RosenmiiUer, Scho- lia in Min. Proph. p. 7 ; Newcome, Pre/, to 3Iin. P/-oph- ets, p. 45). The probable causes of this location of Ho- sea may be the thoroughly national character of his oracles, their length, their earnest tone, and vivid rep- resentations. The contour of the book has a closer re- semblance to the greater prophets than any of the eleven productions by which it is succeeded. (Sec be- low.) There is much doubt as to the relative order of the first four or five of the minor prophets : as far as titles go, Amos is Hosea's only rival ; but 2 Kings xiv, 25 goes far to show that they must both yield in priori- ty to Jonah. It is perhaps more important to know that Hosea must have been more or less contemporary with Isaiah, Amos, Jonah, Joel, and Nahum.
4. Circumstance, Scope, and Contents of the Bool: — The years of Hosea's public life were dark and melancholy (see Pusey, Minor Prophets, ad loc). The nation suffer- ed under the evils of that schism which was effected by " Jeroboam, wlio made Israel to sin." The obligations of law had been relaxed, and the claims of rehgion disre- garded; Baal became the rival of Jehovah, and in the dark recesses of the groves were practised the impure and murderous rites of heathen deities; peace and i)ros- perity fled the land, which was harassed by foreign inva- sion and domestic broils; might and murder became the twin sentinels of the throne; alliances were formed with other nations, which brov.ght with them seductions to paganism ; captivity and insult were heaped upon Israel by the uncircumcised ; the nation was thoroughly de- based, and but a fraction of its population maintained its spiritual allegiance (2 Ivings xix, 18). The death of Jero- boam II was followed by an interregnum of eleven years (B.C. 781-770), at the end of which his son Zachariah as- sumed the sovereignty, and was slain by Shallum, after the short space of six months (2 Kings xv, 10). In four weeks Shallum was assassinated by IMenahem. The as- sassin, during a disturbed reign of ten years (B.C. 7(j9- 759), became tributary to the AssjTiaii Pid. His succes-