Hosea; introduction and commentary

the long version

The little book of Hosea is the only collection of prophetic material that we possess which emerged from the northern kingdom of Israel; all the other prophets were domiciled in the south, in Jerusalem or in Judah. So Hosea, written in the northern dialect of the Hebrew language, is a book whose background is unique. Hosea becomes the catalyst of God's second Word, the Word of forgiveness, renewal, and creative power, a Word that is stronger, not only than the apostasy of man, but even than God's Word of wrath and the power of death itself. - Introduction.