Over the next several weeks, Fr. Lee is going to be leading a sermon series through the Book of Hosea. This episode is intended to give us an overview of the whole book. We'll discuss the historical setting, some critical notes and challenges, and the major themes and idea that help structure the book.
I hope you are able to take some time to listen, and I invite your feedback. Resources referenced in the episode can be found below:
The primary texts we'll be focusing on are:
Gale Yee "The Book of Hosea" - in The New Interpreter's Bible from Abingdon Press
Douglas Stuart "Hosea - Jonah" - in Word Biblical Commentary
James Mays "Hosea: A Commentary" - in The Old Testament Library from Westminster Press
Hans Wolff "Hosea" - in Hermeneia from Fortress Press
(our sermon series will also be drawing from "The Ancient Christian Commentary, v. XIV", "The Book of Hosea [NICOT]", "Hosea: An Introduction and Commentary [TOTC]", and Eidevall's "Grapes in the Desert", among others)
While our lessons will draw largely from the ESV and NRSV translations, for those seeking an accessible introductory translation of the Book of Hosea, I highly recommend both the New Living Translation and The Message - each of which helps Hosea's idioms and similes to shine without getting overly bogged-down in word-for-word reconstructions.
I also highly recommend the following video introductions to Hosea's book:
"Introduction to Hosea" - from Fuller Theological Seminary
"Overview: Hosea" - from BibleProject
You can find our previous discussion of the importance of understanding Biblical genres in:
"The Apocalypse Revisited 1 - Biblical Genres"
The art for the cover of this episode is an image of the 4Q166 Fragment - sometimes called the Hosea Commentary Scroll. It is the oldest surviving text of the Book of Hosea, including verses from chapter 2 along with commentary. CLICK HERE to view a high-definition image of this fragment.
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